ct in this
treatise to make it perfectly clear what is the essence of good works.
Whenever the essence of good works has been understood, then the
accusations against him will quickly collapse.

In the fundamental part he therefore argues: "Truly good works are not
self-elected works of monastic or any other holiness, but such only as
God has commanded, and as are comprehended within the bounds of one's
particular calling, and all works, let their name be what it may,
become good only when they flow from faith, the first, greatest, and
noblest of good works." (John 6:29.) In this connection the essence of
faith, that only source of all truly good works, must of course be
rightly understood. It is the sure confidence in God, that all my doing
is wellpleasing to Him; it is trust in His mercy, even though He
appears angry and puts sufferings and adversities upon us; it is the
assurance of the divine good will even though "God should reprove the
conscience with sin, death and hell, and deny it all grace and mercy,
as though He would condemn and show His wrath eternally." Where such
faith lives in the heart, there the works are good "even though they
were as insignificant as the picking up of a straw"; but where it is
wanting, there are only such works as "heathen, Jew and Turk" may have
and do. Where such faith possesses the man, he needs no teacher in good
works, as little as does the husband or the wife, who only look for
love and favor from one another, nor need any instruction therein "how
they are to stand toward each other, what they are to do, to leave
undone, to say, to leave unsaid, to think."

This faith, Luther continues, is "the true fulfilment of the First
Commandment, apart from which there is no work that could do justice to
this Commandment." With this sentence he combines, on the one hand, the
whole argument on faith, as the best and noblest of good works, with
his opening proposition (there are no good works besides those
commanded of God), and, on the other hand, he prepares the way for the
following argument, wherein he proposes to exhibit the good works
according to the Ten Commandments. For the First Commandment does not
forbid this and that, nor does it require this and that; it forbids but
one thing, unbelief; it requires but one thing, faith, "that confidence
in God's good will at all times." Without this faith the best works are
as nothing, and if man should think that by them he could be
well-pl