sermon on the same day about faith
alone and to the effect that the law does not condemn them because the
Lord has fulfilled it for them, and that of themselves they cannot do any
good which is not self-righteous and thus that one's works have nothing
saving in them, only faith alone has, these same persons return home
completely forgetting their earlier confession and rejecting it so far as
they think along the lines of the sermon. But which is true, the latter
or the former? Contrary to each other, both cannot be true. Which is?
That there can be no forgiveness of sins, thus no salvation but only
eternal damnation, apart from self-examination, the knowledge and
acknowledgment, confession and breaking off of sins, that is, apart from
repentance? Or that such things effect nothing towards salvation inasmuch
as full satisfaction for all the sins of men has been made by the Lord
through the passion of the cross for those who have faith, and that those
in faith alone with trust that it is so and with confidence in the
imputation of the Lord's merit, are sinless and appear before God like
men with shining faces for having washed?

[3] It is plain from this that the religion common to all churches in
Christendom is that one shall examine himself, see and acknowledge his
sins and then desist from them, and that otherwise there is no salvation,
but damnation. This, moreover, is divine truth itself, as is plain from
passages in the Word in which man is bidden to do penitence, as from the
following:

John said, Do . . . fruits worthy of repentance . . . this moment the axe
is at the root of the tree; every tree not giving good fruit will be cut
down and cast into the fire (Lu 3:8, 9).

Jesus said, Unless you do repentance, you shall all . . . perish
(Lu 13:3,5).

Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom of God; . . . do repentance, and
believe the gospel (Mk 1:14, 15).

Jesus sent out the disciples who on going out were to preach that men
should repent (Mk 6:12).

Jesus told the apostles that they were to preach repentance and the
remission of sins to all peoples (Lu 24:27).

John preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (Mk
1:4; Lu 3:3).

Think about this also with some degree of understanding; if you have
religion, you will see that repentance of one's sins is the way to
heaven, that faith apart from repentance is not faith, and that those in
no faith for lack of repenting are in the way to hell.