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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from The Smalcald Articles by Dr. Martin Luther: and the more he humiliates himself and debases himself before
the priest, the sooner and better he renders satisfaction for
his sins; for such humility certainly would earn grace before
God.
Here, too, there was no faith nor Christ, and the virtue of
the absolution was not declared to him, but upon his
enumeration of sins and his self-abasement depended his
consolation. What torture, rascality, and idolatry such
confession has produced is more than can be related.
As to satisfaction, this is by far the most involved
[perplexing] part of all. For no man could know how much to
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