Distinctions of Meats, and like traditions of men, are works
profitable to merit grace, and able to make satisfactions for
sins. And that the world so thought, appears from this, that
new ceremonies, new orders, new holy-days, and new fastings
were daily instituted, and the teachers in the churches did
exact these works as a service necessary to merit grace, and
did greatly terrify men's consciences, if they should omit any
of these things. From this persuasion concerning traditions
much detriment has resulted in the Church.

First, the doctrine of grace and of the righteousness of faith
has been obscured by it, which is the chief part of the
Gospel, and ought to stand out as the most prominent in the
Church, in order that the merit of Christ may be well known,
and faith, which believes that sins are forgiven for Christ's
sake be exalted far above works. Wherefore Paul also lays the
greatest stress on this article, putting aside the Law and
human traditions, in order to show that Christian
righteousness is something else than such works, to wit, the
faith which believes that sins are freely forgiven for
Christ's sake. But this doctrine of Paul has been almost
wholly smothered by traditions, which have produced an opinion
that, by making distinctions in meats and like services, we
must merit grace and righteousness. In treating of repentance,
there was no mention made of faith; only those works of
satisfaction were set forth; in these the entire repentance
seemed to consist.

Secondly, these traditions have obscured the commandments of
God, because traditions were placed far above the commandments