establish his mind. For Paul at the top of his voice, as the saying
is, cries out, Rom. 3, 24 f., and 4, 16, that sins are freely
remitted for Christ's sake. It is of faith, he says, that it might
be by grace, to the end the promise might be sure. That is, if the
promise would depend upon our works, it would not be sure. If
remission of sins would be given on account of our works, when would
we know that we had obtained it, when would a terrified conscience
find a work which it would consider sufficient to appease God's
wrath? But we spoke of the entire matter above. Thence let the
reader derive testimonies. For the unworthy treatment of the subject
has forced from us the present, not discussion, but complaint that on
this topic they have distinctly recorded themselves as disapproving
of this article of ours, that we obtain remission of sins not on
account of our works, but by faith and freely on account of Christ.

The adversaries also add testimonies to their own condemnation, and
it is worth while to recite several of them. They quote from Peter,
2. Ep. 1, 10: Give diligence to make your calling sure, etc.. Now
you see, reader, that our adversaries have not wasted labor in
learning logic, but have the art of inferring from the Scriptures
whatever pleases them [whether it is in harmony with the Scriptures
or out of harmony; whether it is correctly or incorrectly concluded.
For they conclude thus:] "Make your calling sure by good works."
Therefore works merit the remission of sins. A very agreeable mode
of reasoning, if one would argue thus concerning a person sentenced
to capital punishment, whose punishment has been remitted: "The
magistrate commands that hereafter you abstain from that which
belongs to another. Therefore you have merited the remission of the
penalty, because you are now abstaining from what belongs to another."
Thus to argue is to make a cause out of that which is not a cause.