A LETTER WRITTEN BY SAID WALTER OF STOELWIJK, TREATING OF THE SUFFERING AND THE GLORY OF CHRISTIANS.

Grace, peace, and mercy from God our heavenly Father, and from Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, be with all those who live godly in Christ Jesus, and therefore suffer persecution, to the glory and praise of the true God, to the trial of their faith, and the eternal salvation of their souls. Amen. Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:3; 2 Tim. 3:12.

Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his unfathomable grace and mercy hath called us out of darkness unto his marvelous light, and still daily lets his face shine upon us, that we may know his way on the earth, and his salvation among the Gentiles. Yea, blessed, praised, and glorified be God our most blessed Lord and most merciful Father, who, through his unspeakable goodness, and not through the merits of our works, has chosen us, through Jesus Christ, to be his children, that we should be heirs of his eternal kingdom, and inherit all things as true children and heirs of God; children of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we do the will of God our heavenly Father, that we may be glorified with him, and enter into his glory. Tit. 3:5; 2 Tim. 1:9; Eph. 2:6; Rom. 8:17. For it is true what Christ says: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Matt. 7:21. Now it is the will of our heavenly Father, that we deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus Christ.

In the first place, we must deny ourselves; that is, we must forsake our own will, and surrender ourselves wholly to Jesus Christ, so that according, to the words of the apostle, we live no more unto ourselves, but unto Jesus Christ, who died for us, that he may be Lord both of the dead and living, and that no one shall live unto himself, but unto him who died for him, and rose again. O Lord God, how few there are who are willing thus to deny themselves, and desire only to do the will of God; yea, how many do not yet know which is the true will of God, but hold to the doctrine and commandments of the Roman Pope and antichrist, and are in such a condition, that they do not know Jesus Christ. To these, the Almighty God, according to the pleasure of his will, must open the eyes of their understanding, with the radiance of his grace, that they may emerge from this blindness into the true light, and know with all the saints, what is the delusion and sorcery of the Babylonian whore (Rev. 18:2), and that the teachings and commandments of Christ Jesus alone are to be kept, yea, that we must follow and preserve only the teachings and commandments of Christ Jesus, and that we may in no wise live according to our own will, but are to consider that Christ Jesus himself did not his own will, but the will of his Father, who sent him; which was done and written for our admonition and instruction, that we should not fulfill our own will, which, because of the innate wickedness of our cursed nature, is prone to evil; but the acceptable and perfect will of God, so that we may pray aright, as Christ has taught us, saying: Heavenly Father, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Matt. 6:9,10. How many there are who do not say this with a good heart, but with false 440 lips, even as Judas said to Christ: “Hail, Master” (Matt. 26:49; Mark 14:45; Luke 22:47), at the same time betraying him; so they say with the mouth, that God’s will is to be done; while at the same time all their thoughts and works are contrary to the will of God. These are those real false Christians who say to Christ Jesus: “Lord, Lord,” and yet do not what he has commanded them. These are the true Pharisees, the hypocritical saints, who honor God with their lips, while their heart is far from him. These are the true unbelievers of whom St. Paul says that with their words they profess to know God, but in works deny him, so that they are abominable to the Lord, because they are disobedient to him, and reprobate unto every good work. Yea, these are the true hypocrites, the disciples of deceitful Satan, who have learned from their master, to disguise their inward craftiness, and outwardly to adorn themselves with a beautiful appearance. Such hypocrites the Lord will forever curse and cast out, and say to them: “Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity; I know you not.” Matt. 7:23; Ps. 6:8. But he will bless the pious Christians and bless and glorify the good and true disciples of Jesus Christ, who deny themselves, and have surrendered themselves unto the will of God, which is the true beginning of the Christian life, and without which life can not be begun.