Luther's warning: contradict the willful spirits, "a wolf and a fox"

      There were so many jewels of spiritual wisdom gleaned from Hochstetter's History.  One of those I marked for a future blog, from page 473, was a quote from Martin Luther that Hochstetter used to defend the Missouri Synod's polemics against false doctrine.  It is much needed counsel for the church today.  Although I found the source of the Luther quote in the St. Louis Edition, I could not find where this full specific writing was translated into English.  This seemed quite strange to me because I recall reading references to it in other writings.  An essay entitled (translated) “Important Points in the Proper Evaluation and Utilization of the Written Testimony Against Unionism” by Prof. Paul Kretzmann in CTM, vol. 4, p. 915 (Dec. 1933) also quoted Luther from this same writing.  It refers to the upcoming Regensburg Colloquy of 1546 – see this reference to the preparation for this "hopeless" conference, as Luther calls it. So here is my translation, except for the portion dark highlighted, which is Dr. Fred Kramer's translation that I used in Hochstetter's History.

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Translation by BackToLuther using online resources from St.L ed. Vol. 17, p. 1180; all highlighting and bolding are mine.

1425. Martin Luther's conversation, which he held with Dr. Georg Major before he left for the colloquium in Regensburg as a certain collocutor. Mid-January 1546.

This document is in the Altenburg edition, vol. VIII, p. 502; in the Leipzig edition, vol. XXI, p. 688 and in the Erlangen edition, vol. 65, p. 86.

Doctor Major was sent to Regensburg at that time for the Colloquium instead of Philip [Melanchthon], for Dr. Luther was careful because of Philip's infirmity, and wrote to the princes of the church with these words: "Because it will be a vain and futile colloquium, since there is no hope, let Philip, who is truly ill, be spared; so Dr Major is more than enough for that, if he could not do anything but say no or yes to it. So let Schnepf and Brenz also be there, who will let nothing be taken from them, etc."

But when Dr. Major would travel to Regensburg, he went first to Dr. Luther to bless him, and in the entrance to his study room these words were written in Dr. Luther's hand: Nostri Professores examinandi sunt de Coena Domini, that is, "Our professors shall be examined on the Lord's Supper." So he asked: “Venerable Father, what do these words mean?” To which the great Doctor answered him: “What you read, and what they say, so it is the opinion, and when you return home, and I as well, an examination will have to be taken, for which you shall be required as well as others. But when Dr. Major wanted to get rid of his suspicions with great respect and clear confession, he finally got the answer:

“You make yourself suspicious with silence and cloaks; but if you believe, as you speak before me, so speak such things in the church, in lectures, debates and private conversations, and strengthen your brothers, and help the erring ones back on to the right path, and contradict the willful spirits, otherwise your confession will be merely a mask, and of no use. Whoever considers his doctrine, faith, and confession, to be true, and not uncertain, cannot stand in the same stall with others, who teach false doctrine, or are adherents of the same, and cannot continue to speak fair words to the devil and his allies. A teacher who keeps silence in the face of errors and nevertheless wants to be a true teacher is worse than an open enthusiast, and does greater harm with his hypocrisy than a heretic; you cannot trust him; he is a wolf and a fox, a hired servant and a belly server [Ro. 16:18], etc, and may despise and hand over doctrines, word, faith, sacrament, churches, and schools; either he lies secretly in cahoots with his enemies, or he is a doubter and a windfallower, and wants to see where it will end, whether Christ or the devil will prevail; or he is completely uncertain in himself, and not worthy that he should be called a pupil, let alone a teacher, and will not enrage anybody, nor speak Christ's Word, nor woe to the devil and the world, etc.” Dr. Major considered such things, pondered them, and faithfully promised to follow them, and thus was blessed by Luther; he also often recited and narrated such serious discourse, which the great man of God had given him.

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      This is a powerful Luther passage that speaks through the ages to the Christian Church.  Luther shows his great patience with those weak in faith, but was unbending on orthodoxy… which reminds me of C.F.W. Walther's manner.  Georg Major would later, after Luther's death, show his weakness by instigating the Majoristic Controversy, which was settled by the Formula of Concord.