of the Lord, bring forth also the fruits of the spirit. (Gal. 5.) But that you do not bury your sins, but serve them in full power, and also bring not forth the fruits of the spirit, is daily testified by your vain, sensual, abominable life. My friends, out of true love I warn you to awaken and observe what the word of the Lord teaches; for the spirit of the Lord will not dwell in a wicked soul, nor in a body subjected to sin. (Wis. 1.) In the second place, I tell you: If your are rightly baptized according to the word of the Lord, as you imagine, then you have put on Christ, (Gal. 3,) and live no longer after Adam's inbred evil nature, but after Christ's regenerated good nature, &c. But since this is not the case with you, but you are yet altogether sensual and earthly as is evident from all your fruits, hence it is clear, that you are not regenerated, baptized christians, but impenitent, sensual pagans, for your works are chiefly done after a heathen will, as we may see and hear. Once more, I say; awaken and hear what the word of the Lord says: For if you have put on Christ, that is, if Christ be in you, the boly is dead because of sin: but the spirit is life because of righteousness. (Rom. 8.)

In the third place, I tell you; if you are rightly baptized according to the word of the Lord, then you are members and joint heirs of the body of Christ, (1 Cor. 12,) and have the evidence of a good conscience before God. (1 Pet. 3.) Inasmuch as a body is never divided in itself, nor hates its members, or does them harm, but one member serves, and assists another; and since it is evident, and is indeed found to be so with you, that you unmercifully persecute, murder and exterminate the chosen members of Christ, who are of your own flesh and blood, whom he purchased by his death, regenerated by his word, endowed with his spirit, and has chosen as his own people; and besides they seek no help nor comfort of human institutions, but solely adhere with a pure faith to the Lord's grace, righteousness, prayer, merits, death and blood; and you depend upon and comfort yourselves with the priests and monk's masses, confession, absolution, holy water, bread, wine, oil and vigils; so the works themselves testify that you are not serviceable members of the aforementioned body, but are much more destroyers and defilers. That you have not a firm, joyful, peaceable and good conscience, but a wavering, damning, restless and evil conscience before God; for all unrighteousness is esteemed as abomination by the consciences

of the pious; but we see that it is to your conscience, great consolation, because you neither have nor know Christ. My friends, beware, you are miserably deceived by your comforters. The spirit of prophecy says: And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things says the first and the last, which was dead and is alive-I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not; but are of the synagogue of satan. (Rev. 2.) Well may it be said at the present time to all the great and specious sects: I know the great defamations, and see the wicked lives of those, who say they are regenerated, baptised christians, and are not, but are satan's synagogue; for I know not how they could do worse.

But if we come to the chief and mighty rulers, there we find pride and wantonness, dancing, whoring, chasing, stabbing, breaking, fighting, destroying of cities and countries-living

after the lusts of their hearts.

If we come to the subordinate officers, there we find insatiable avarice, treachery and roguery, cunning devices to defraud the helpless godfearing, (the good and pious I do not mean) they take gifts and presents; the right of the righteous they pervert and willingly accept of gifts to shed innocent blood; they persecute the truth; they reject what is right and good; the fear of God is not before their eyes.

If we come to the divines whether preachers, priests or monks, there we find such an idle, lazy, wanton and sensual life, such a corrupted, anti-christian doctrine, and understanding of the scriptures; such hatred, envy, defaming, betraying, lying and uproar against all the pious, that I would be ashamed to mention it before the virtuous.-The common people run, as a frantic heifer, as the prophet laments. (Hos. 4.) They lie and cheat, curse and swear by the Lord's wounds and sacraments, by his judgment, hand, power, might, suffering, death and blood. I am ashamed and astonished that I have to think of these scandalous abominations. They gamble, drink and wrestle, wrangle and quarrel. In short, their prevalent, horrible, cruel and wicked lives are not to be related, and their great folly can not be prevented; yet it must be said; that the mentioned lords, judges, learned and common people, are the truly regenerated church and baptized community of Christ. May the merciful Lord graciously preserve all his chosen children from such a regeneration, baptism and community, Amen.

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I testify to you the truth in Christ Jesus, take heed, if you please Jesus Christ did not endure from the beginning such openly impenitent, sensual sinners in his holy city, kingdom and community, and he will never endure them-believe this to be true.

O almighty God and Lord how miserably thy holy and pa ternal will and thy adorably great name are derided, and how little is thy saving, precious word esteemed: yea what an abominable, idolatrous, sensual, revengeful and blood thirsty devil is made of thy beloved son; for they cover all their abominations, sins and disgraces with his blessed, holy name, word, death and blood.

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Be ashamed, O you heedless, perverted men, be ashamed, I say, before God and his angels that you are so rebellious and refractory; that you live so rudely. But yet you say that you are the rightly regenerated community and baptized church'of Christ. Oft have I told you, and tell you again; all who are born of God, rightly baptized with the spirit, fire and water, as the scriptures teach, are of a heavenly and divine mind; their sins they bury, lead a penitent, pious life according to the Lord's word. They show the nature and power of Christ which dwells in them by word and work; they bring forth the fruits of the spirit, and subdue the works of the flesh; they are useful members of the body of Christ, and labor according to the gift received. In short, they are fruitful branches of the true vine, and their fruits abide to eternal life. (John15.)

But since it is manifest in you, that you show the reverse in all your fruits, and we do see in your whole lives, that it is but word and flesh with you, hence it is more than clear, that your boasting of the new birth, spirit, baptism, community and church, is not the truth; but lies and falsehood.

The holy scriptures and our common belief, teach us that the holy christian church is an assembly of the righteous, and a community of saints; and he that can see but partially into the scriptures, must confess that your church and assembly are a church and assembly of the unrighteous, of the lacivious, of the impenitent and sensual; yea, of the blood thirsty wolves, lions, bears, basalisks, serpents, and fiery, flying dragons.

Ah! friends, lift your heads, and open your eyes? O ye be witched! look over the whole world, what life they lead who "have received the same baptism with you; who practice like ordinances and worships, who indulge in the same boasting

of the Lord's death and blood, and say that they are the church and people of Christ. For it is clearer than mid-day, that many of you are so insane, so influenced by the spirit of the devil, that you hate, envy, bite and devour one another; so that you wholly destroy principalities, cities, castles and citadels with your accursed fightings and uproar; human blood you shed like water; deprive the poor citizen and peasant (those of your own faith) of body and possessions by burning, robbing, plundering, catching, imposition, torturing, nay even those who have never harmed you, or given you a rash word. In truth, I know not, how the infernal Behemoth could be more devilish and cruel than you or your members, who ima gine that they are the church of Christ. God preserve us! You disgrace females, you persecute the righteous; you encourage open brothels, tippling houses, boxing schools, gaming boards, and the like disgraces, idolatrous houses and images, with all false service and the like, without measure and bounds. I will not touch your intolerable, scandalous cursing and swearing, drunkenness, wantonness, &c. I cannot say much, I tremble; for it strikes me that none is to be found under the canopy of heaven, who can minutely relate your belief, and baptized persons' great abominations, wicked acts, misusages, gross scandals; a righteous person must be astounded, and terror stricken at those great sins. O dear Lord strengthen us! Yea he that does not rightly understand that you are not born from above, but are baptized contrary to all scripture, and that all your boasting of the forgiveness of sins, Christ's mercy, grace, merits, flesh, blood, cross, death, community, kingdom and eternal promise, is vain, and without the scriptures, he must be, we may say, an irrational man.

Ah readers! How little you think upon the word of the Lord, which is so highly recommended to you; and how little you regard your poor souls, which are bought with such a precious price, and are eternally to live with God in heaven, or eternally to be dying with the devil in hell. Think you, my friends, that the Lord is a dreamer, or his word is false? Ah no! not a letter will fall to the ground of all that he spoke. It is high time that you would reflect that God's promise and grace are not to the unregenerated and impenitent, but to the regenerated and penitent. Let every one take warning and trust no longer in lies, believing that he is baptized and regenerated, nor trust to long standing usages, nor upon papistic

decretals, nor imperial mandates, nor upon the wisdom and glossaries of the learned, nor upon the opinion of any man, council, institution and wisdom. God says through the prophet: My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. God's word is eternal. Neither princes, nor power, nor the commands of men with all their imperial edicts can save a single soul. (Isa. 29, 40, 46; 1 Pet. 1; Matt. 25.) Only the heavenly counsel we must hear and follow-that which Jesus Christ, God's true and only begotten son himself brought from heaven, and taught from the mouth of his Father, and confirmed by signs and wonders, and finally sealed it with his crimson blood. This counsel stands, I say, and can never be changed or prevailed against by the gates of hell. By this counsel we are in common taught, that we must hear Christbelieve on him-follow his footsteps-that we must repent-be born from above become like little children, not in understanding, but in malice-be of the same mind with Christthat we have to walk as he did-deny ourselves, take up his cross and follow him-that if we love father and mother, children or life more than him, we are not worthy of him, nor are we his disciples. Again, that adulterers, whoremongers, drunkards, murderers, idolaters and the like, shall not inherit the kingdom of God. That we love not the world and the things therein-nor conform to the world-that we through faith are to die unto our evil flesh, and conquer the devil-that we are to lead an upright, unblamable, pious life through faith in all things, act according to the will of the Lord. Again, that we are to baptize upon faith and not without it-celebrate the Lord's supper in a sincerely penitent communion, I mean so far as man can judge. That we practice exclusion or the ban according to the scriptures. That we are to fear and serve the Lord with all the heart, and walk in his cominands-and that we are to assist and serve our neighbor as much as in us is, and the like doctrine and instruction. (John 3, 8, 13; Matt. 5, 7, 10, 11, 16, 19, 22, 28; 1 John 1, 2, 5; Luke 13, 14, 18, 22, 24; 1 Cor. 5, 6, 11; Gal. 5; Rom. 12, 16; 1 Pet. 2, 3, 5; Phil. 12; Mark 16, 24; Tit. 3; 2 Thes. 3; Deut. 5, 10; John 14; Isa. 28; Lev. 19.)

Behold, worthy reader, here you have in part the immutable, eternal council of God, which was sealed in the councils of his Majesty, and besides this, he recognizes no other. Blessed are they who receive this with a firm faith,