Martin Luther (1483-1546) “rocked the boat” of Christendom with the concept of justification by faith not works. A cornerstone of the Protestant Reformation, his Ninety-Five Theses was a direct affront to the power of the church at that time. His translation of the Bible into German from Latin allowed all access to the Word, not just the clergy. Below are just a few quotes from the man who changed the course of church history with his passion for His Savior and the Word of God.
“The kingdom of God does not consist in talk, but in power, that is, in works and practice. God loves the ‘doers of the word’ in faith and love, and not the ‘mere hearers,’ who, like parrots, have learned to utter certain expressions with readiness.”
“The fewer the words the better prayer.”
“Either sin is with you, lying on your shoulders, or it is lying on Christ, the Lamb of God. Now if it is lying on your back, you are lost; but if it is resting on Christ, you are free, and you will be saved. Now choose what you want.”
“My conscience is captive to the Word of God.”
“They gave our Master a crown of thorns. Why do we hope for a crown of roses?”
“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”
“If the devil were wise enough and would stand by in silence and let the Gospel be preached, he would suffer less harm. For when there is no battle for the Gospel it rusts and it finds no cause and no occasion to show its vigor and power. Therefore, nothing better can befall the Gospel than that the world should fight it with force and cunning.”
“I have held many things in my hands, and have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.”
“The idea that the service to God should have only to do with a church altar, singing, reading, sacrifice, and the like is without doubt but the worst trick of the devil. How could the devil have led us more effectively astray than by the narrow conception that service to God takes place only in a church and by the works done therein…The whole world could abound with the services to the Lord, Gottesdienste – not only in churches but also in the home, kitchen, workshop, field.”
“What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow.”
“This is the mystery of the riches of divine grace for sinners, for by a wonderful exchange our sins are now not ours but Christ’s, and Christ’s righteousness is not Christ’s, but ours.”
Original Content: Copyright © 2012 by Susan E. Johnson
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