Love and Faith
                        by Dr. Martin Luther, 1483-1546
                           Translated by Frank Hale
              Excerpted from: "Fastenpostille 1525, Matt. 8:1 ff"
               D. MARTIN LUTHERS WERKE. KRITISCHE GESAMMTAUSGABE
                         17. Band., Zweite Abteilung,
                  (Weimar: Hermann Boehlau Nachfolger, 1927),
                       p. 74, line 20 to p. 75, line 12.
                                   May 1995
                                

       Furthermore, here is the example of love for the one learned in
       Christ toward the leper.  Because there you see how love made Him
       a servant, that He might help the poor freely and without any
       return; he sought neither profit nor honor from it, but only the
       benefit of the poor and the honor of God the Father.  That is why
       He also commanded him, that he should tell it to no one, so that
       it would be a truely pure work of free and good love. That is, as
       I have  often said, In the way that faith makes us lords, love
       makes us servants, even that through faith we become Gods and
       partakers of the Divine nature and name, as Psalm 81 says, "I
       have said, you are Gods, and all children of the most high."  Yet
       through love we all become like the poorest one. Through faith we
       lack nothing and have abundance.  Through love we serve everyone. 
       Through faith we receive good things from God above.  Through love
       we distribute them to a neighbor. Just as Christ lacked nothing
       according to Divinity, but according to humanity served everyone,
       according to their need.

       We have spoken of this often enough, that we also then through
       faith must be born to be God's children and gods, lords and kings,
       just as Christ was born of the Father in eternity, a true God. And
       furthermore, through love we reach out to abundantly help those
       nearby, just as Christ became man to help us all.  And Christ is
       God in the same way, not through merit of work done before, nor 
       through what He earned as a man; but He was the same from birth, 
       without any work, and earlier, before He was man. Thus we also
       have  the divine sonship, that is the forgiving of our sins and
       that death and hell cannot harm, not earned through work or love,
       but without work and before love, through the faith in the gospel
       received out of grace.  And as Christ first of all, being eternal
       God, became man to serve us, so we should likewise do good and
       love our neightbor, if we are already devout, without sin,
       enlivened, blessed and childred of God.  That is from the first
       example of the leper.                
       _________________________________________________________________

       This text was translated for Project Wittenberg by Frank Hale and
       is in the public domain.  You may freely distribute, copy or print
       this text.  Please direct any comments or suggestions to: 

                             Rev. Robert E. Smith
                                Walther Library
                        Concordia Theological Seminary
       
                        E-mail: cosmithb@crf.cuis.edu
   
          Surface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft.  Wayne, IN 46825 USA
       Phone: (219) 452-2123                        Fax: (219) 452-2126
       ________________________________________________________________