Hans. “Well then, go into the city, to every place, to the drunkards, whoremongers, swearers, railers, covetous, proud, idolaters, revellers, gluttons, and murderers, who shed innocent blood; all these are still your brethren; go, seek their souls; Christ has found mine.”
Ans. “We admonish them, and then we have delivered our souls.”
Hans. “That is not enough; you must go to them, and reprove them, and if they will not hear you, you must bring them before the church, and reprove them openly; if they still refuse to hear, exclude them from the church, and let them be unto you as heathen and open sinners, as Christ teaches, and Paul writes to the Corinthians. Reprove also your judges, who do violence and injustice, yea, who shed innocent blood.”
One of the priests then said: “Should we go and reprove the magistrates?”
I asked whether God was a respecter of persons.
Ans. “No.”
Hans. “Would you be a minister of God, and have respect to persons?”
Ans. “This would cause an uproar in the city, and they would kill us.”
Hans. “Then suffer for righteousness’ sake.”
But it seemed to me they had no great desire to suffer for it. In short, we treated so much of the ban, that if the words of Christ and Paul were followed, the Pope, Prelates, Emperor and King, yea, they themselves with all their multitude would be excluded, and only a very small number remain.