“You should rather tell them your reasons with fear and gentleness (as St. Peter teaches [I Pet. 3:15]), saying something like this, ‘My dear man, fasting and the eating of eggs, meat, and fish are matters of such a nature that salvation does not depend upon them. Both the doing of these things and the leaving of them undone may be for good or for evil; faith alone saves,’ etc., or, ‘The mass would be a good thing if it were properly celebrated,’ etc. In this way they would come to you and listen, and ultimately learn what you know. But now that you are so insolent, priding yourself on your superior knowledge, acting like the Pharisee in the gospel [Luke 18:11–12], and basing your pride on the fact that they do not even know that which you know, you fall under the judgment of St. Paul in Romans 14[:15], “You are no longer walking in love,’ you are despising your neighbor, whom you ought to be serving with gentleness and fear.
Take an analogous case: If an enemy had tied a rope around your brother’s neck, endangering his life, and you like a fool were to fly into a rage at rope and enemy and frantically pull the rope toward you or slash at it with a knife, you would most likely either strangle or stab your brother, doing him more harm than either rope or enemy. If you really want to help your brother, this is what you must do: You may slash away at the enemy as vigorously as you please, but the rope you must handle gently and with caution until you get it off his neck, lest you strangle your brother” (Luther’s Works, v.45 p. 72-73).