their churches; notwithstanding he writes that we obstruct and hinder them. O, dear Lord! thus are the pious everywhere evil spoken of, although they seek God sincerely, and would gladly see a Christian church, true in doctrine, sacraments, ordinances, and life.
In the ninth place he writes, "For two reasons we could not so soon establish it (he means the ban) as the anabaptists did. Firstly, because our gatherings are open and consist of many hundreds, whom we cannot all know; while their gatherings are secret and consist of but few. Secondly, because we do not establish sects, as they do, which is a work of the flesh, and befriended of the devil; but we establish an eternal church unto Christ, which is beguiled and robbed by the devil."
Answer. Above he has partly acknowledged that many of their hearers are of the world. Here he writes that their gatherings consist of many hundreds, and that they gather an abiding church; yet they never came to the point that they separate their disciples and church from the world, and conform to the divine ordinance. The reason is because they are of the world.
But to his writing that their assembly is large and kept in public, and that ours is small, I would, with the word of the Lord, reply in this manner, "Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it," Matt. 7: 13, 14.
Yea, my reader, if you attentively read the Scriptures you will find that the number of the chosen ones ever was small and the number of the unrighteous was always great. The pure and true gospel of Jesus Christ, the true knowledge of eternal truth, never was so appreciated by the world that the true believers can be counted by many thousands in any country or city. Christ Jesus and his eternal truth must ever abide with few, in retired places; but anti-Christ and his falsehood can go abroad undisturbedly and in public, and count his followers by thousands.
Again, by his writing that they cannot know all on account of their great numbers, he testifies that brotherly love is very scarce with them; for where is there a Christian pastor who does not know his sheep? and where is the Christian brother who does not know his neighbor? If the preachers do not know all, on account of their great numbers, still one brother should know the other; they should teach, admonish, comfort, and reprove each other; they should seek each other's salvation; for this the word and unction of God teach us.
Reader, observe. He pretends "that they cannot possibly know all;" and I, who am most of the time, keeping myself in retired places, could point them out in great numbers. Let him, once travel through city and country where they boast of the word, and let him take a close observation, and he will find out how they dare heap one falsehood upon another, and one ungodly act upon another; how they dare swear by the Lord's sacred flesh, blood, death, wounds, and sacrament, and how they are decked with different, vain ornaments. Let him take a view of the taverns, fencing-schools, the houses of ill-repute, &c., of which there is no lack in Germany; let him examine the courts of kings and princes; and into the ways of the nobility, and I presume he will find thousands doubly deserving of separation. But an earthly mind and perverse heart has, alas, little regard for the ordinance and word of the Lord.
Again, to his assertion that they do not establish sects, as he says we do, and that it is a carnal work, I would reply thus: I do sincerely wish that Gellius and all the Papists, Lutherans, Zuinglians, Davidists, &c., could appreciate this matter, for it is written of heresies and heretics, that they shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
It is a small matter to us to be called heretics by the world; for the children of God, in the apostolic times, were also called the same. Notwithstanding, we, in our humility, would say this in regard to this matter, that we point to Christ Jesus, God's eternal Wisdom, Truth, and Son; for he is the One on whom to rely, and we unreservedly refer to his doctrine, ordinance, and usage. If any one under the whole canopy of heaven, can convince us with the infallible truth that we are wrong and act contrary to his word, then we will gladly hear it and obey the truth.
But in case they cannot do so, they must
