Another of the 95 Theses:
31. Rare as is the man that is truly penitent, so rare is also the man who truly buys indulgences, i.e., such men are most rare.
The previous thesis said that no man was certain of the sincerity of his own contrition, yet here Luther pretends to know that few other people are truly penitent. (Luther’s perception that true penitence is rare could have something to do with later developments in his doctrine of justification.)
I can’t presume to determine whether anyone else is penitent, and it wouldn’t be proper for me to attempt to do so. Regardless of how penitent or impenitent anyone else is, it is incumbent upon me to be penitent for my own sins.

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