and God are
altogether vain and lost. And is not this blindness beyond all blindness
that he does not want to preach the Law without and before the Gospel?
For are these not impossible things? How is it possible to preach of
forgiveness of sins if previously there have been no sins? How can one
proclaim life if previously there is no death? Are we to preach to
angels who have neither sin nor death concerning forgiveness of sins
and redemption from death? But how can one preach of sins or know that
there are sins, if the Law does not reveal them? For according to its
proper office the Gospel does not say who [is a sinner] and what is sin;
it does, however, indicate that there must be some great hurt, since so
great a remedy is required; but it does not say how the sin is called,
or what it is. The Law must do this. Thus Master Eisleben must in fact
(_re ipsa_) allow the Law to perform its duty (_occidere_, to kill,
etc.) prior to the [preaching of the] Gospel, no matter how decidedly
he, with words only, denies it, to spite the Wittenbergers, in order
that he also, as _novus autor_ (new author), may produce something of
his own and confuse the people and separate the churches." (1658.)

From the 20 theses which Luther treated in his last disputation against
the Antinomians we cull the following: "1. The inference of St. Paul:
'For where no law is there is no transgression' [Rom. 4, 15] is valid
not only theologically, but also politically and naturally (_non solum
theologice, sed etiam politice et naturaliter_). 2. Likewise this too:
Where there is no sin, there is neither punishment nor remission. 3.
Likewise this too: Where there is neither punishment nor remission,
there is neither wrath nor grace. 4. Likewise this too: Where there is
neither wrath nor grace, there is neither divine nor human government.
5. Likewise this too: Where there is neither divine nor human
government, there is neither God nor man. 6. Likewise this too: Where
there is neither God nor man, there is nothing except perhaps the devil.
7. Hence it is that the Antinomians, the enemies of the Law, evidently
are either devils themselves or the brothers of the devil. 8. It avails
the Antinomians nothing to boast that they teach very much of God,
Christ, grace, Law, etc. 10. This confession of the Antinomians is like
the one when the devils cried: 'Thou art the Son of the living God,'
[Luke 4, 34; 8, 28.] 12. Whoever denies that the damning Law must be