When he began to doubt and his faith weakened, he sank and almost drowned. Peter could walk upon the water because he was strong in faith. A person who has a strong faith can drink poison and suffer no harm, Mark 16:18, while one who has a weak faith would thereby drink to his death. Since it is generally true of Christians that few are strong and many are weak, one simply cannot place the same burden upon everyone. Who would not acclaim these earnest people to whom death is a little thing? They willingly accept God’s chastisement, doing so without tempting God, as we shall hear later on. It takes more than a milk faith to await a death before which most of the saints themselves have been and still are in dread. They uphold a good cause, namely, a strong faith in God, and deserve commendation because they desire every Christian to hold to a strong, firm faith. I cannot censure the former for their excellent decision. Others take the position that one may properly flee, particularly if one holds no public office. They look upon running away as an outright wrong and as lack of belief in God. Rather, since death is God’s punishment, which he sends upon us for our sins, we must submit to God and with a true and firm faith patiently await our punishment. To begin with, some people are of the firm opinion that one need not and should not run away from a deadly plague. Since the rumor of death is to be heard in these and many other parts also, we have permitted these instructions of ours to be printed because others might also want to make use of them. This we would humbly submit to your judgment and to that of all devout Christians for them, as is proper, to come to their own decision and conclusion. Therefore we here give you our opinion as far as God grants us to understand and perceive. Paul repeatedly teaches, we may always agree with one another and be of one mind (1 Cor. Furthermore, it occurred to me that God, the merciful Father, has endowed you so richly with wisdom and truth in Christ that you yourself should be well qualified to decide this matter or even weightier problems in his Spirit and grace without our assistance.īut now that you keep on writing to me and have, so to speak, humbled yourself in requesting our view on this matter so that, as St. I should have answered long ago, but God has for some time disciplined and scourged me so severely that I have been unable to do much reading or writing. You wish to know whether it is proper for a Christian to run away from a deadly plague. Your letter, sent to me at Wittenberg, was received some time ago.

Grace and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. To the Reverend Doctor Johann Hess, pastor at Breslau, and to his fellow-servants of the gospel of Jesus Christ (1527 A.D.):

Why throw away your life so recklessly