Page:Complete Works of Menno Simons.djvu/364

64 will require the poor, deceived souls, and the innocent blood at their hands, and he will give them their reward.

Behold, dear reader, from this you may see that the doctrine and confession of the preachers in regard to infant baptism, can not stand, according to the Scriptures; that it is not founded upon the Lord's command, nor upon the doctrine or practice of the holy apostles, as is the baptism of the believing, but merely upon logic, opinion, conjecture, falsehood, borrowed names, and custom. If you be of reasonable mind, then let the infallible and true word of the Lord, and your impartial heart judge between us and the learned.

I would hereby, for God's sake, beseech all readers not to think hard of it that I reprove falsehood, according to the Scriptures; defend truth with truth, point out the right way, seek the salvation of your souls, controvert the false prophets, expose their deceiving, secret snares, and defend the Lord's praise. He who seeks the Lord in sincerity of heart, read and judge.

will very briefly review and reply to the treatise of Gellius on the sacrament called the Lord's Supper, because we have published our foundation and belief of this matter, and referred to many Scriptures, in the past. Whosoever finds a delight in the truth, may read them and reflect on them in the fear of God. Yet we would, in our weakness, remind the pious reader, before we commence our reply to Gellius' publication, that it is written, "For we, being many, are one bread and one body; for we are all partakers of that one bread," 1 Cor. 10: 17. Since we learn from the Scriptures that the Holy Supper was instituted of the Lord as a sign and testimony, not to the world but to the church of God, that all of us who are one bread are members of one body, namely, of the body of Christ; and since we plainly see that both the dispensers and partakers of the worldly supper, are not true members of the Lord's body, because the dispensers are all hirelings, thieves of the honor of God, and murderers of our souls, who retain the thoughtless, reckless people in all manner of unrighteousness, blindness, and in an unbridled, carnal life, by their promises, philosophy, and logic; who deceive all the world and hate, upbraid, belie, apprehend, banish, and exterminate the pious, who renounce evil, follow the word of the Lord, and ever eat of his bread; and because the partakers, generally, are an impenitent, light-minded, and vain people, nay, worldlings, part of whom not only little regard the Spirit, word, and knowledge of the Lord, but trample it under foot, as may be seen—therefore we abstain from their supper; for the sincere fear in our hearts, caused by the word of God, prevents us from partaking of it with such dispensers and partakers, lest we also partake of their deceiving actions and abominable abuse, and, at the day of Christ, receive the same reward with them.

He boasts a great deal of his admonition, yet all his admonition is nothing but vain boasting, without all power; for how can he and his like preachers rightly teach Christ, and admonish others, while they are yet filled from the top of their heads to the soles of their feet, with all manner of unrighteousness, blindness and disgrace?

They would do well to reflect upon the words of Sirach, and rightly learn to know themselves, because many of them are as yet such useless people, that they are more fit to be herders of swine than to be shepherds of the sheep of Christ, as he writes. And because Gellius is not only an adulterer of the Scriptures and deceiver of souls, but also a very cruel, profane, and defaming man, as may be very clearly educed from his writings. He writes that they admonish them in the first place, what should be the qualifications of the partakers,