Martin Luther Quotes
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It is cheering to note that Martin Luther (1524) did not see why schools should not be fun as well: "Now since the young must leap and jump, or have something to do, because they have a natural desire for it which should not be restrained (for it is not well to check them in everything) why should we not provide for them such schools, and lay before them such studies?
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A man must be able to affirm, I know for certain, that what I teach is the only Word of the high Majesty of God in heaven, his final conclusion and everlasting, unchangeable truth, and whatsoever concurs and agrees not with this doctrine, is altogether false, and spun by the devil.
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That which the sober man keeps in his breast, the drunken man lets out at the lips. Astute people, when they want to ascertain a man's true character, make him drunk.
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We know that death never skips or spares anybody and that no one ever returns. And yet we go on like the blind, who see as little at midday as in the pitch-dark night. We do not take these examples to heart; we do not realize that today or tomorrow our turn will come.
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How is God's name hallowed among us? When both our doctrine and living are truly Christian.
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The fatuous idea that a person can be holy by himself denies God the pleasure of saving sinners. God must therefore first take the sledge-hammer of the Law in His fists and smash the beast of self-righteousness and its brood of self-confidence, self wisdom, and self-help. When the conscience has been thoroughly frightened by the Law it welcomes the Gospel of grace with its message of a Savior Who came-not to break the bruised reed nor to quench the smoking flax-but to preach glad tidings to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, and to grant forgiveness of sins to all the captives.
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What shall we do with...the Jews?...I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings...are to be taken from them.
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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.
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God wants us to pray, and he wants to hear our prayers-not because we are worthy, but because he is merciful.
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We are but the instruments or assistants, by whom God works.
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This is the good and happy news, that Christ has paid for our sin, and through His suffering has redeemed us from eternal death. It is His kingdom and His ministry, to preach the Gospel to the poor; that is His purpose. For to the great and holy He cannot come. They do not wish to be counted sinners, and therefore do not need His Gospel.
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How can a reason which hates God be called sound?
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The church converteth the whole world by blood and prayer.
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The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me.
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Small Catechism, The Fifth Commandment, (1529).
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Our works do not generate righteousness, rather our righteousness in Christ generates works.
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People must have righteous principals in the first, and then they will not fail to perform virtuous actions.
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The worship of God....should be free at table, in private rooms, downstairs, upstairs, at home, abroad, in all places, by all peoples, at all times.
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The reproduction of mankind is a great marvel and mystery. Had God consulted me in the matter, I should have advised him to continue the generation of the species by fashioning them out of clay.
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My temptations have been my Masters of Divinity.
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Every man must decide whether he will walk in the creative light of altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the judgment. Life's persistent and most urgent question is 'What are you doing for others?'
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He who receives a sacrament does not perform a good work; he receives a benefit. In the mass we give Christ nothing; we only receive from Him.
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Unthankfulness is theft.
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At the center of the Christian faith is the affirmation that there is a God in the universe who is the ground and essence of all reality. A Being of infinite love and boundless power, God is the creator, sustainer, and conserver of values....In contrast to the ethical relativism of totalitarianism, Christianity sets forth a system of absolute moral values and affirms that God has placed within the very structure of this universe certain moral principles that are fixed and immutable.