# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1847 06 01_S107
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Der Lutheraner.

[illegible]

"God's Word and Luther's teaching shall pass away neither now nor evermore."

Volume 3.

Edited by C. F. W. Walther.

St. Louis, Mo., June 1, 1847.

Terms: The Lutheraner appears once every two weeks, at a subscription price of one dollar for out-of-town subscribers, who must pay half of this in advance and bear the cost of postage. — In St. Louis, each individual issue is sold for 5 cents.

Excerpts from Luther's Writings on Usury.*)

(See Luther's Works, Halle Edition, Vol. X.)

I. From Luther's "Great Sermon on Usury." From the year 1519.

"First, it must be known that in our times (which the Apostle Paul, in 2 Timothy 3:1, foretold would be 'perilous') greed and usury have not only broken in upon all the world, but have also dared to seek out various cloaks of shame, under cover of which, being reckoned lawful, they might freely carry on their wickedness. And matters have come to such a pass that we hold the holy Gospel almost for nothing. Therefore it is necessary for every person, in this perilous time, to take good heed and to conduct himself in dealings involving temporal goods with proper discernment, giving diligent attention to the holy Gospel of Christ our Lord.

Secondly, it must be known that there are three distinct degrees and orders for dealing rightly and meritoriously with temporal goods. The first: if someone takes some temporal goods from us by force, we should not only let it go, but also be ready, should he wish to take more, to let him have that as well. Matthew 5:40. — Christ does not say, 'Give him your cloak also'; but 'let him have your cloak also.'" p. 978–79. — "No excuse helps; it is simply a commandment which we are bound to follow, just as Christ and his saints confirmed and set forth the same in their own lives. God does not regard it as permissible that the laws, whether spiritual or civil, allow force to be resisted by force. — Wrangling in court is punished neither by pope nor emperor, but it is punished by Christ and his teaching." p. 983. — "But this ought to happen in such a way that no one is his own accuser; rather, others, in brotherly faithfulness and care, should report to the authorities, on behalf of one another, this one's innocence and that one's wrongdoing, so that force might be met with punishment through proper right and order, by the testimony of others. Indeed, the one who suffers wrong should rather ask and prevent that his case be avenged; while others, in turn, should not let up until the evil is punished. In this way things would proceed in a friendly, Christian, and brotherly manner, and more regard would be had for the sin than for the damage. For this reason St. Paul rebukes the Corinthians (1 Cor. 6:8) for going to law with one another instead of rather suffering wrong and being defrauded; although he allowed for their imperfection in that they appointed as judges the least esteemed among them — but he did this to shame them, that they might recognize their own imperfection. So too we must still bear with those who go to law and contend over temporal goods, as with soft, childish Christians, whom one must not cast aside, for the sake of hope in their improvement. But one should tell them that this is neither Christian nor meritorious or well done, but a merely human and earthly work, more a hindrance to salvation than a help toward it." p. 984. — "Such commandments are meant to loosen us from the world and make us long for heaven; for if God did not let wrong and strife befall us, the human heart could not sustain itself — it entangles and embeds itself too deeply in temporal things, from which follow weariness of and inattention to the eternal goods in heaven." p. 986.

*) In sharing these excerpts on a subject of very great importance just now and here with our readers, and in recommending them for the most attentive study, we hope to awaken in our readers the desire to possess in full Luther's precious writings on this subject, from which these excerpts are only imperfectly drawn. — D. H.

"Now follows the second degree, which is that we should give freely and for nothing to everyone who needs or asks it of us. Matthew 5:42, 'Give to him that asketh thee.' — Deut. 15:11, 14. If, then, God commanded this already in the Old Testament, how much more should we Christians be bound not merely to this, but also to see that we let no one suffer want or beg." p. 986–87. — "Luke 14:12–14. — Oh, how terrible a judgment will fall upon those same carefree spirits, when on the Last Day it is asked what they have given!" p. 988–89. — "This commandment is given generally for all people, as Matthew 5:42 says, 'Give to him who asks of you,' and Luke 6:30 clearly expresses: 'Give to every man that asketh of thee.' Here neither the enemy nor the adversary is excluded — indeed, he is included, as the Lord himself explains and says there, verses 32 and 35: 'If ye love them only' etc., 'if ye do good only to them' etc." p. 889. — "It would be enough for one to give a small portion to churches, altars, vigils, bequests, and the like, and let the true stream flow toward the commandment of God, so that charity among Christians toward the poor might shine forth greater and more than all churches of stone and wood. We do not wish to condemn the building and adorning of proper churches, which we cannot do without, and the holding of divine worship rightly in the most fitting manner; yet there ought to be a measure in this, and more regard given that what is set apart for worship be clean rather than costly." p. 992. — "A little device has been found which teaches masterfully how we may get around such a commandment and deceive the Holy Spirit: namely, that no one is obliged to give to the needy unless they are in the utmost necessity. And they have further reserved to themselves the right to decide what counts as the utmost necessity. Thus we learn to give or help no one until they die of hunger, freeze, perish, or are driven by poverty or debt to flee. But this crafty gloss and seductive addition is refuted with a single word, which reads thus: Luke 6:31, Matthew 7:12 — 'Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.' No one is so foolish that he would not rather have been given to beforehand, than that his very soul should now be departing, or that he had fled for debt, and only then be helped, when help can no longer do any good." p. 993–94.

"Now we come to the third degree of dealing with temporal goods. This is that we should willingly and gladly lend and loan without any surcharge or interest. Matthew 5:42: 'And from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away' — that is, do not refuse him. This degree is the least demanding of all, and is also commanded in the Old Testament, where God says, Deut. 15:7–8: 'If one of thy brethren be poor within any of thy gates in thy land' etc. etc. — Not everyone is the same as to whom we should lend; there are many people who gladly lend to the rich or to good friends, more because they seek favor or because they are related to them, than because God has commanded it. — Where God's commandment points, there is toil and labor; there no one wants to lend unless the utmost necessity arises, so that lending would otherwise be of no use at all. — But Christ, in his commandment, excluded no one; indeed, he included all sorts of persons, even enemies, Luke 6:34. 'And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive again,