Menno Simons · 51 of 73

THE CROSS OF CHRIST · Part 2

O Lord! how lamentably and grievously the righteous are destroyed on account of their piety, by this abominable, bloody, murderous world, and no one takes it to heart. Yea, they are so dealt with, that it appears before the eyes of the unwise, as if the godly were an offence and an abomination, and were banished and cursed of God, and that they might neither hope for, nor find, to all eternity, comfort or grace from God. O no! The Lord be blessed; although their lives may appear to the foolish world to be but idle phrensy, and their end to be without honor, yet do we know that they are the people and children of the Lord, and the apple of his eye, that their blood and death are dear to him; that after a little suffering and trouble they shall be recompensed with good; that theirs is the kingdom of heaven; that they will not be touched with the pains of eternal death, Wis. 3, but their precious souls shall be in eternal rest and peace. Yes, my brethren, every christian may trust and rejoice in the Lord in all his trials and in all his need.

Again, Stephen, the crowned of God, a man full of faith, power and the Holy Ghost, who did great signs and wonders among the people, as Luke writes, was endued of God with such wisdom and spirit, according to the promises of Christ, that also his enemies, namely, the Libertines, Cyrenians, Alexandrians, &c., were silent, and stood abashed before him. As they saw this, the spirit of their fathers displayed itself as it had done from the beginning; consuming envy must use its artifices; Stephen must lead the way; they have rejected justice and equity; the men of Belial they employed to belie the pious Stephen, and say, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God; and that Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered unto us; thus have the lies of the serpent overcome justice. They counsel to exterminate the saints. His own enemies saw his countenance, as the countenance of an angel of God. He spake the word of the Lord without fear, rebuked the false trust in the law and the temple, and testified of Jesus Christ in great power, of whom Moses and all the prophets prophesied. At length he grew very warm and ardent in his speech to the multitude, because they had ungratefully rejected the merciful visitation of God in his proffered race. O ye stiff‑necked! He said, and you uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fathers did, so also do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? They have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the just One, of whom you have been now the betrayers and murderers; who have received the law through the dispositions of angels, and have not kept it; and when they heard these reproving and sharp words, they could no longer endure it, for they were cut to the heart, and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, "I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God," Acts 7:51‑56. Then they called aloud and stopped their ears, and as if they could not longer endure the blasphemous words with which the wicked heretic (as they considered him), boasted and with which he gave such honor to Christ; they rushed upon him with one accord and with great vehemence and wrath, cast him out of the city, and stoned him, but Saul kept the witnesses' clothing. Stephen called out, Lord Jesus receive my spirit. He kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, after the example of his master on the cross, "Lord lay not this sin to their charge, for they know not what they do," Acts 7. Thus the pious martyr fell asleep in the Lord, and received the crown of life which God has promised to all those who fear, love and seek him from the heart, with all sincerity.

O! God‑fearing reader, observe and learn to know by such examples, that all those who believe the word of the Lord with true hearts, who become partakers of the Holy Ghost, who are clothed with power from on high, out of whose mouth flow grace and wisdom, who shame the world, rebuke sin, and with Stephen, must be cast out of the city and stoned.

Dear brethren, pray ardently and prepare yourselves. Through much misery and trouble you must enter into the kingdom of heaven. Here is the patience and faith of the saints. O my brethren, watch.

Again, Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, a chosen vessel, a champion of the holy word, an apostle and teacher of the Gentiles, who was not called by men, but of God himself, from heaven to the service of the gospel, was powerful and zealous in his teaching, and unblam­able in his life. He labored more than all the other apostles, cast out devils in the name of the Lord, awakened the dead Euty­chus again to life, restored health to the sick, shook off the serpent without receiving injury; as a true prophet, he foretold many things which were to come to pass in the last times, was taken up into the third heaven and to the paradise of God, and saw such vision, of which no man might with propriety speak. He was an infallible leader in all righteousness, holiness, piety and virtue, who sought and loved not him­self, but God and his neighbor from the whole heart; he had nothing by which to justify himself; he regarded all gain as loss, that he might win Christ alone; yes, he dare not speak of any thing, but what Christ had wrought through him. It availed not how holy, unblamable, zealous, high called, pow­erful or how devout he was; yet he must, with Simon, the Cyrenian, help to bear the cross of Christ; for as soon as he was called from heaven, taught and baptized by Ana­nias, and had left off his tyranny, and preached Christ in Damascus, he was let down over the wall in a basket to escape the snares of the blood‑thirsty.

He was often imprisoned; thrice scourged with rods, stoned once, in Ephesus he was cast to wild beasts, and at last, after incon­ceivable and innumerable pains and jour­neys from one land to another, after endur­ing much from nakedness, cold, heat, thirst, hunger, labor, watchings, dangers and an­guish, he was seized by the Jews at Jerusa­lem, and scourged; they accused him before the judges, swore to take his life, secured him in Cesarea, and after his appeal to Caesar, he arrived with much danger and shipwreck at Rome, he was brought before the emperor, and at last, under Nero, the most blood‑thirsty of tyrants, was put to death by the sword. He offered up his soul and surrendered his life.

In like manner were the apostles impris­oned and scourged in Jerusalem; the church was dispersed and persecuted, and James was put to death with the sword under Her­od. All who desire to become acquainted with other narratives besides those here no­ticed, from the Holy Scriptures, can read the church history by Eusebius, there will they find similar inhuman abominations, tyranny, unmercifulness and envious false­hoods against the innocent. Besides they will find such extraordinarily strange in­ventions to torture, martyr, kill, root out and murder christians, that a natural man, to say nothing of a spiritual one, must in his heart, be awe‑stricken and sickened.

My most beloved brethren in Christ Jesus, be of good cheer and trust ye in the Lord, you who willingly submit to the cross of Christ. You may see and observe from the Scriptures, in the above examples from the Old and New Testaments, how all pious men and children of God, the righteous and prophets, apostles and true witnesses of Christ, yea, Christ himself, as we shall yet hear, have gone through this lonesome wil­derness, through thus narrow, ignominious and bloody way of misery, crosses and suf­ferings, to the true, promised land, and to eternal glory.

Yea, this is, and remains the only narrow and straight way, and door through which we must all enter, neither can we ever desire in any other way to enter with the saints into eternal life, rest and peace, as Christ himself said, Whosoever will follow after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me; therefore, dear brethren, you who have sought, feared and loved the Lord, must suffer and bear much from this wicked and idolatrous race. Fear not those who take your earthly goods from you; for Christ and heaven they cannot take from you, or those who kill the body, for they cannot kill your soul, but fear him who has power to cast both soul and body eternally into hell. Yes, my brethren, would you be the people and disciples of the Lord, you must also bear the cross of Christ; this is, without doubt, the truth.

Again, we have set forth to the kind read­er, several excellent histories out of the Scriptures, in which are represented the ty­rannical mind, the envious heart, the wolfish rage, the murdering deeds of this miserable, brutal, murderous and blood‑thirsty world, against the righteous. We shall now, through the grace of God, notice for a short time, not only how the servants, of whom we have spoken, suffered but also how the Lord and Prince himself had to endure much, to again enter into his glory.

The apostles abundantly testify that the Lamb of God, the ever blessed Christ Jesus, the true Head of all true believers, had not only suffered from the beginning, as above said, but that he must suffer in the flesh in these last times, although he was the conqueror of the serpent, was promised to Adam and Eve; a blessing and benediction to all people, the true Shiloh, Messiah and Em­manuel, the true plant of David, the Lord who justifies us, the Prince of Peace, and the true Son of the Almighty and living God, whom all the righteous and true proph­ets desired.

When he had now become man, according to the promise of the fathers, he preached repentance and regeneration in the full pow­er of the Spirit, in all love, righteousness, peace, humility and obedience; the rigid, terrible judgment of God over the impenitent; and also the eternal kingdom, grace, mercy, the sincere favor and love of his heavenly father over the penitent. He was himself that Word, fulfilling all righteousness, blessed of God forever, the infallible Example, the eternal Wisdom, Love and Truth, the brightness of the divine glory, the express image of his Father, after whom the first man was created, understand according to the inner man, the eternal power of God, the Almighty Word of God, through whom all things were created, are governed, and in whom all things stand. He knew no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth; he is the true light of eternal life, and by the darkness, which is in the world, he is hated, blasphemed, rejected, despised, and trampled upon as the most degraded of men. The King of kings, the Lord of lords, became poorer than the foxes or the birds; for he had not where to rest his blessed head. On the day of his birth, there was no room in the inn; the manger was his couch. Even shortly after his birth, his parents had to fly with him to the land of Egypt.

Although in the time of his ministry he made the blind see, the deaf hear, the dumb speak, the leprous clean, the palsied and feeble, sound, cast out devils, restored the dead, twice he fed thousands with a few loaves and fishes, and showed to them the works and service of pure love, and although none could rebuke him in his word or his life, yet, their blood‑thirsty, envious hearts were so enraged at him, that they desired that the wicked murderer, Barabbas, who was sentenced to death by the law, should live, and that the eternal Life himself, the Creator and Upholder of all creatures, should die. His pure, heavenly body, the seat of all virtue, is scourged and abused, the glorious countenance and head of all honor is disfigured with blood, spit and thorns. They also mocked him with a ludicrous garment, so that even the heathen judge, Pilate, pitying, said, "Behold the man!" Yea, worthy brethren, it avails nothing, no pain, torture, nor misery was enough; they would not be satisfied, till he was taken away and condemned to the most shameful death, extended upon the cross, his hands and feet nailed to the wood, and his side pierced with a spear. He was crucified as a prince and leader of the vicious, and reckoned among murderers. Thus they requited him for his incompre­hensibly great love and beneficence, and in his great, bitter thirst, in the last hour of his sufferings, he could not obtain a drop of water, but they gave him vinegar and gall. In short, they treated him so that he cried, while extended upon the cross, with a loud voice to his Father, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" He also la­ments through the prophet, "I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men and des­pised of the people." He might well sigh and lament with Jeremiah or Jerusalem, and say, "All ye who pass, behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow." Thus he, who was eternally rich, for our sakes became poor; the eternal Glory was dishonored, eternal Righteousness, persecu­ted, eternal Truth, blasphemed, eternal Hap­piness, rejected, eternal Blessing, cursed, and the eternal Life was made to suffer a shameful death.

Most beloved brethren in the Lord, ob­serve well, if the laborers have not spared their Lord's Son, but have cast him out of the vineyard and have slain him, how much more shall they destroy the servants. "If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?" Matt. 10:25. Christ said, "If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you." And further, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you," for the disciple is not greater than his master, nor the servant than his lord; but it is enough for the dis­ciple to be like his master, and the servant to be like his lord; and other like passages may be found in Scripture.

I hope, worthy brethren, that from these examples, the pious may have learned and fully understood, what kind of a people it always has been, from what father they are born, and by what spirit they are moved, who from the beginning till the present day, have rejected and persecuted Christ, the love­ly, peaceful, innocent and obedient Lamb and his saints; who have plundered, belied, imprisoned, tortured, crucified, stoned, be­headed, drowned, roasted, strangled, slain and murdered them; and, according to my understanding of the word of the Lord, this tyranny shall not cease till the rejected, murdered and crucified Christ Jesus, and all his saints shall appear in the clouds as an almighty Potentate, Conqueror and glorious King, before all the tribes and people, at the last judgment.

Inasmuch as the fearful tyranny of this blind world, always has been and is yet practiced upon the children of God, and as said, will probably always be practiced; and since, no other way leads, nor can lead through the narrow door to life, than this only, stony and thorny way of the cross (I mean according to the flesh; for according to the spirit it is broad and easy), as the Scriptures testify; therefore, have your feet shod with the gospel of peace, with the pre­cious promises of God, with the pure knowl­edge of Christ, with the denial of yourselves, with the patience and faith of the saints and with the sure hope of the kingdom of God; that the hard stones and the sharp, stinging thorns of persecution, through which all the pious are tempted, do not ter­rify you and lead you upon the broad, easy way of the flesh. Lay aside all obstacles and besetting sins, the cursed works of darkness, avarice, unnecessary cares, love of home, goods, gold, silver, pomp and splendor; all things which are perishable, drunk­enness, superfluity, idolatry, vanity, carnal and improper words, and all manner of wickedness, that you may not be overcome and thus led off the only, narrow high‑way, upon crooked and dark by‑ways. As, alas, may be frequently seen in our days.

Therefore, my dear brethren and sisters in the Lord, take the crucified Jesus as your example, and also all the righteous apostles and prophets of God, and learn through them, how they all entered at this strait gate and forsook their all. They prepared their hearts and were endued and drawn of God, that they knew, sought, loved and desired nothing else than eternal, heavenly blessings, the unchangeable things, God and eternal life. Thus they were grounded in ardent love, and became firm and immovable, so that they could not be affrighted from the love of Christ, neither by life nor death, angel, prince, potentate, hunger, sword, martyrdom, pain nor ease. Their thoughts, words, acts, sufferings, life and death, were Christ's. They sought not their kingdom and rest upon earth, for they were spiritually, heavenly‑minded. All their fruit was righteousness, light and truth. Their whole lives were pure love, chastity, humil­ity, obedience and peace. The perishable, wicked world with all its evil works, was to them an offence and abomination. They loved their God with all their soul, and therefore, they rebuked all that was against his holy will, honor and word. They loved their neighbors as themselves, and there­fore, they admonished and rebuked them in love, served them, pointed out and taught them God's pure will, word and truth, and sought their salvation with all their power, with great loss of life, goods and reputa­tion, therefore has the foolish, envious, un­thankful world, which swims in blood, so grievously hated, persecuted and rewarded them with death.

My dear brethren, it was not only the prophets, apostles and those of former times, to whom those things happened, which the Scriptures relate, but we have in these times witnessed the like with our own eyes. How many pious children of God have we known in the space of a few years, and we yet know some, the Lord be praised, who sought Jesus Christ and the eternal, unchangeably life, and continue so to seek, who fear God from their inmost soul, whose hearts burn with the word and love of the Lord, out of their mouths flowed power, spirit and wisdom. Their whole life was repentance and piety, they hated, shunned and rebuked all ungodliness. None could reprove their conduct with the word of God; they were opposed to the idle, fleshly, un­godly life of this world, as they yet are, and by the grace of God will continue to be. They listen not to the deceiving prophets, confide not their precious souls to the care of the spiritual thieves and murderers, nether serve nor honor wooden, stone and silver gods, and do not use the unscriptural, earthly sacraments, &c. In short, because they heard, believed, feared, served and loved the true and living God, therefore, did, the lying serpent open its mouth and spew out so many false, slanderous, yea, inhuman lies, into the face of the pious, and has, from the seat of its pestilences, defamed and depicted them in such horrible colors and shape, through their blind disciples, that they have become the curse and offense of the whole world; that all the people close their mouths and noses, and flee from them in horror; yes, every one, who can slander and defame the poor, god‑fearing christians, is the favorite preacher and esteemed teacher of the world.

No lie is so gross and disgraceful, that they dare not bring it against the godly. At one time they accuse and upbraid us, as though we wished to invade cities and coun­tries; they say, That we will injure the whole world; now we are adulterers, again, thieves and murderers; now, we say there is no repentance left to the sinner; again, we have rejected Christ and the Testament. In short, whosoever does not defame and upbraid the godly, is not considered by the world as a christian! O Lord, how pure and free are all the saints in heart and con­science before God, from all these and such like lies and slanders.

All these unchristian, infernal lies are not enough for the world, but they who know Christ, and would gladly live after his word, must endure something harder; they must meet with severer persecution, as we may witness with our own eyes, for how many pious children of God, have they within a few years deprived of their homes and pos­sessions, for the testimony of God and their conscience sake; how many have they be­trayed, driven out of city and country, and put them to the stocks and torture; the poor orphans and children are left naked in the streets; some they have hanged, some they punished with inhuman tyranny, afterwards choked them with cords on stocks and pil­lars; some they roasted and burned alive; some with their own reeking bowels in their hands, powerfully confessed the word of God; some they slew with the sword and gave them as food to the fowls of the air; some they cast to the wild beasts, some have their houses torn down, some have been cast into the muddy bogs, some have had their feet cut off, one of whom I have seen and conversed with; others wander about here and there, in hunger, afliction, mountains, deserts, holes and caves of the earth, as Paul says. They must fly with their wives and little children, from one country to an­other, from one city to another. They are hated, abused, slandered and belied by all men, and spoken against in the pulpit and the councils; they have deprived them of food, driven them forth in the cold winter, and point at them with the finger of scorn, yea, whoever can wrong a poor, oppressed christian, supposes he has done God some service, as Christ says in John 16:2.

Observe, dear brethren, how far the whole world is from God and his word, how swift their feet are to shed blood, how maliciously they hate the light, and how bitterly they persecute, defame and destroy the eternal, saving truth, the immaculate gospel of Jesus Christ, the pious, godly life of the saints. This is not only done by the papists and Turks, but also by those who boast of the holy word; who at first preached much con­cerning faith, that it was the gift of God, and that it must not be forced with the iron sword, but with the word, into the hearts of men, for it is a willing assent of the heart.

But the learned, within the last few years, have suppressed this doctrine, and as it ap­pears to me, have effaced it from their books, for lately they draw unto their car­nal doctrine, lords, princes, cities and coun­tries; they preach the contrary from that which they did formerly, as is evident from their writings. By their seditious writings and preachings they deliver into the hands of executioners, many pious hearts, who gainsay, reprove and admonish them, by the clear word of God, and point out to them the true ground of the gospel, which is powerful, active faith, which works by love, a penitent, new life, obedience to God and Christ, and the true, evangelical ordinances of baptism, Lord's Supper and Separation, as Christ himself instituted and command­ed, and his holy apostles practiced and taught.

Yea, all who do this out of pure love, must be accursed as anabaptists, factionists, deceivers and heretics, all the pious may expect this, nevertheless all of them, lords, princes, preachers, scribes and common people, be they Papists, Lutherans, or Zu­inglians, wish to be called the christian community and holy church;; and never take notice of their ungodly, impure and impenitent lives, that they are altogether earthly, carnal, and contrary to the word of God. There are some, whose hands are stained and reeking with the blood of chris­tians, and all their doings are diametrically opposed to the Spirit, word, and example of Christ. O! That these poor, blind, hard­ened ones would lay this well to heart, and examine well the nature and spirit of true christianity. They would be ashamed be­fore God, and sincerely lament that they so miserably abuse his glorious name, blessed word, divine grace, and his crimson, pre­cious blood, of which they vainly boast, and thus make the name of Christ as a cov­er to all their wickedness and disgrace.

For a truly believing christian is one that is born of God according to the Spirit, has become a new creature in Christ, crucified his flesh with its lusts, and hates all ungod­liness and sin. All his fruits are righteous­ness, patience, truth, obedience, humility, chastity, love, and peace; he is influenced by the Spirit of the Lord, and his delight is in his law; he meditates thereon by day and by night, all his words are seasoned by grace, he sincerely strives for the life which is from God, and fears him with all his soul. In short, according to the grace received, he is of one mind with Christ.

Could these miserable people only see that a christian is thus minded, as related, that he is such an amiable and peaceable creature and child of God; and if they had the grace, they also would be thus minded. If they were christians as they boast, they would then hate none, but would be hated, would belie none, but would be belied, would prejudge none, but be prejudged, would betray none, but be betrayed, would rob none, but be robbed, would not murder, but be murdered, would not devour the lamb, but be torn of wolves, not ensnare the dove, but be taken by the falconer and de­voured.

If our persecutors are christians, as they imagine, Why are they then not of God and born of his word? Why are they yet the old, accursed creature, and live accord­ing to the lusts of the flesh? Why are they influenced by the spirit of the devil? Why have they fixed their thoughts and affections upon perishable and temporal things, and are concerned therewith day and night? Why are they guilty of talking of all man­ner of unchastity, vanity, lying, cursing and swearing? Why do they not fear God and his word? Why are they like the old, deceitful serpent, and obedient to him? Why are they still like terrible, ravenous beasts and birds of prey, instead of inno­cent lambs and doves, as the Scriptures teach?

Ah! dear brethren, let them boast as they will, Christ Jesus does not know such wick­ed and blood‑thirsty christians. He only knows those having his Spirit, who sincere­ly believe and are obedient to him; are flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone; are meek, humble, pious, holy and pure of heart; con­fess Christ Jesus in word and deed before this wicked world; deny themselves and take up the cross and follow him, and say with holy Paul, "Who shall separate us from the love of God?" They glory in noth­ing but in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which they are dead to the world and the world unto them. All who are thus minded, are the anointed of God, saints and christians, and not the impenitent, carnal, blood‑thirsty boasters. Every one may be mindful that this is true, else the whole Scriptures are false.

It appears to me, dear brethren, that the pious reader may fully understand from what has been said, what kind of people these are, who so shamefully tread you with their feet; strike, belie, and deprive you of life and property, and also the reason why they do so, namely, on account of your in­fallible testimony of God and your con­sciences. Even as all from the beginning, who sought, feared and loved God, walked according to his divine word and will, re­proved and admonished the confused and erring world, for their good, and were ever considered as off‑scourings and heretics.

We will now proceed in the name of the Lord, and show with few words, what a feeble and unbecoming excuse our persecu­tors advance, which before God is as stub­ble and sulphur before fire, whereby they think to excuse themselves, that they are doing right to slander and molest the pious; all sinners seek some excuse, and no matter how disgracefully soever any one conducts himself, he wishes not to be considered as wicked, but as a righteous, pious and true christian!

In the first place, our persecutors accuse us as seditious, even as those of Munster are, and that we are not obedient to the magistracy.

To which we reply, in the first place: That the Munsterites were seditious, and in many things acted contrary to the word of God. But we do not agree with them. We are wholly opposed to these seditious abomi­nations, such as resisting the king, seeking earthly power, taking up the sword, polyg­amy, acting the hypocrite with the world and the like guilt and disapprove of them; we neither eat, drink, nor have any commun­ion with those who do such things, accord­ing to the doctrine of Christ and Paul, unless they renounce their errors and become sound in the saving doctrine of Christ.