Martin Luther Quotes
-
The Holy Ghost must here be our only master and tutor.
-
The dog is the most faithful of animals and would be much esteemed were it not so common. Our Lord God has made His greatest gifts the commonest.
-
Let all the 'free-will' in the world do all it can with all its strength; it will never give rise to a single instance of ability to avoid being hardened if God does not give the Spirit, or of meriting mercy if it is left to its own strength.
-
Spare the rod and spoil the child - that is true. But, beside the rod, keep an apple to give him when he has done well.
-
The universities only ought to turn out men who are experts in the Holy Scriptures, men who can become bishops and priests, and stand in the front line against heretics, the devil, and all the world. But where do you find that?
-
Whatever we make the most of is our God.
-
To pray diligently is more than half the task.
-
If it were art to overcome heresy with fire, the executioners would be the most learned doctors on earth.
-
Some plague the people with too long sermons; for the faculty of listening is a tender thing, and soon becomes weary and satiated.
-
The fewer the words, the better the prayer.
-
To turn one's eyes away from Jesus means to turn them to the Law.
-
The Christian gospel is a two-way road. On the one hand, it seeks to change the souls of men, and thereby unite them with God; on the other hand, it seeks to change the environmental conditions of men so the soul will have a chance after it is changed.
-
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing: For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal.
-
Jesus Christ never died for our good works. They were not worth dying for. But he gave himself for our sins, according to the Scriptures.
-
God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does.
-
Sleep is a most useful and most salutary operation of nature. Scarcely any minor annoyance angers me more than the being suddenly awakened out of a pleasant slumber. I understand that in Italy they torture poor people by depriving them of sleep. `Tis a torture that cannot long be endured.
-
An angel is a spiritual creature created by God without a body, for the service of Christendom and of the church.
-
On coming to the house, they (the Magi), saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. (Matthew 2:11) This adoration, too, was not the same as the worship of God. In my opinion they did not yet recognize him as God, but they acted in keeping with the custom mentioned in Scripture, according to which Kings and important people were worshiped; this did not mean more than falling down before them at their feet and honoring them.
-
The curses of the ungodly are more pleasing to God's ears than the hallelujahs of the pious.
-
This doctrine (justification) is the head and the cornerstone. It alone begets, nourishes, builds, preserves, and defends the church of God and without it the church of God cannot exist for one hour.
-
Prayer, study, and suffering make a pastor.
-
Whenever the devil harasses you, seek the company of men or drink more, or joke and talk nonsense, or do some other merry thing. Sometimes we must drink more, sport, recreate ourselves, and even sin a little to spite the devil, so that we leave him no place for troubling our consciences with trifles. We are conquered if we try too conscientiously not to sin at all. So when the devil says to you: do not drink, answer him: I will drink, and right freely, just because you tell me not to.
-
Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave.
-
A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of Saint Thomas Aquinas, an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law.