man--unless he desires to be a liar and a true disciple of the devil
instead of a child of God and a faithful Christian--will be
presumptuous enough to put himself on an equality with Christ, will
dare boast himself without sin in word and act. Christ alone has
suffered, the righteous for the unrighteous; that prerogative can
honorably and truthfully be ascribed only to Christ the Lord, and is
his perpetually. No man is just and innocent in word and act. All must
confess their sufferings, of whatever nature, to be the result of
their own sins, and well deserved chastisement. For the fact of having
escaped the eternal wrath, condemnation and punishment of God, they
must thank this just one alone, he who, being himself blameless,
voluntarily suffered to make satisfaction for the unrighteous, and
appeased God's wrath. The sufferings of all saints, then, must be
rated far below those of Christ the Lord. The saints must clothe and
adorn themselves with his innocence, and with the entire Christian
Church pray, "Forgive us our trespasses"; and they must confess the
article, "I believe in the forgiveness of sins."

20. Now, let us sum up the three arguments Peter uses in admonishing
Christians to patience in suffering. First: He says, "Hereunto were ye
called." Though you do have to suffer much and severely, you have ever
before you the example of Christ, to the limit of whose sufferings you
can never attain. You dare not boast even if you have suffered
everything. Moreover, you are under obligation to suffer for God's
sake. Second: Christ did not suffer for his own sake, nor of
necessity; he suffered for your sake, and all from good will toward
you. Third: He was wholly innocent--free from sin; internally--in
heart--and externally--in word and deed. For where evil dwells in the
heart, it cannot long remain concealed. It must manifest itself in
words, at least. Christ says (Mt 12, 34), "Out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth speaketh."

21. Why, then, should you complain of your suffering or refuse to
suffer what your sins really deserve? Indeed, you deserve much more
than you receive--even eternal suffering. But God forgives you and
remits the eternal punishment for the sake of Christ the Lord,
desiring that you patiently endure the lesser suffering for the utter
mortification of the sins inherent in your flesh and blood. To make
such lot the less grievous to you, Christ has gone before and left you
an example of perf