Background Image

...

We Cannot Attain To The Understanding Of Scripture Either By Study Or By The Intellect. Your First Duty Is To Begin By Prayer. Entreat The Lord To Grant You, Of His Great Mercy, The True Understanding Of His Word. There Is No Other Interpreter Of The Word Of God Than The Author Of This Word, As He Himself Has Said, "they Shall Be All Taught Of God" (john 6:45). Hope For Nothing From Your Own Labors, From Your Own Understanding: Trust Solely In God, And In The Influence Of His Spirit. Believe This On The Word Of A Man Who Has Experience.

-Martin Luther

...

Please Wait....
Translating....

We Cannot Attain To

Martin Luther

...

We Cannot Attain To The Understanding Of Scripture Either By Study Or By The Intellect. Your First Duty Is To Begin By Prayer. Entreat The Lord To Grant You, Of His Great Mercy, The True Understanding Of His Word. There Is No Other Interpreter Of The Word Of God Than The Author Of This Word, As He Himself Has Said, "they Shall Be All Taught Of God" (john 6:45). Hope For Nothing From Your Own Labors, From Your Own Understanding: Trust Solely In God, And In The Influence Of His Spirit. Believe This On The Word Of A Man Who Has Experience.

Views: 84305

Topic

More From Martin Luther

My Conscience Is Captive To The Word Of God

The Veneration Of Mary Is Inscribed In The Very Depths Of The Human Heart

I Hate Myself, That I Cannot Believe It So Constantly And Surely As I Should; But No Human Creature Can Rightly Know How Mercifully God Is Inclined Toward Those That Steadfastly Believe In Christ.

All Our Work In The Field, In The Garden, In The City, In The Home, In Struggle, In Government-to What Does It All Amount Before God Except Child's Play, By Means Of Which God Is Pleased To Give His Gifts In The Field, At Home, And Everywhere? These Are The Masks Of Our Lord God, Behind Which He Wants To Be Hidden And To Do All Things.

If I Did Not See That The Lord Kept Watch Over The Ship, I Should Long Since Have Abandoned The Helm. But I See Him! - Through The Storm, Strengthening The Tackling, Handling The Yards, Spreading The Sails - Yes More, Commanding The Very Winds! Should I Not Be A Coward If I Abandoned My Post? Let Him Govern, Let Him Carry Us Forward, Let Him Hasten Or Delay; We Will Fear Nothing!

First I Shake The Whole Apple Tree, That The Ripest Might Fall. Then I Climb The Tree And Shake Each Limb, And Then Each Branch And Then Each Twig, And Then I Look Under Each Leaf.

God's Mark Is On Everything That Obeys Him.

Therefore, Is Thy Brother A Sinner? Then Cover His Sin And Pray For Him. Dost Thou Publish His Sins, Then Truly Thou Art Not A Child Of Your Merciful Father; For Otherwise Thou Wouldst Be Also As He, Merciful. It Is Certainly True That We Cannot Show As Great Mercy To Our Neighbor, As God Has To Us; But It Is The True Work Of The Devil That We Do The Very Opposite Of Mercy, Which Is A Sure Sign That There Is Not A Grain Of Mercy In Us.

Why Do You Rant And Brag With Such A Spate Of Words, As If You Wanted To Overwhelm Me With A Sort Of Tempest And Deluge Of Oratory-which Nevertheless Falls With The Greater Force On Your Own Head, While My Ark Rides Aloft In Safety?

Not Only The Adoration Of Images Is Idolatry, But Also Trust In One's Own Righteousness, Works And Merits, And Putting Confidence In Riches And Power. As The Latter Is The Commonest, So It Also Is The Most Noxious.

Then They Began To Say: 'yes, But How Can We Know What Is God's Word, And What Is Right Or Wrong? We Must Learn This From The Pope And The Councils.' Very Well Then, Let Them Conclude And Say What They Please, Yet I Will Reply, You Cannot Put Your Confidence In That Nor Thus Satisfy Your Conscience, For You Must Determine This Matter Yourself, For Your Very Life Depends Upon It. Therefore God Must Speak To Your Heart: This Is God's Word; Otherwise You Are Undecided.

The Law Is For The Proud And The Gospel For The Brokenhearted.

Adam Was Created, As It Were, Intoxicated With Rejoicing Toward God And Was Delighted Also With All The Other Creatures.

For What God Gives I Thank Indeed; What He Withholds I Do Not Need

God Our Father Has Made All Things Depend On Faith So That Whoever Has Faith Will Have Everything, And Whoever Does Not Have Faith Will Have Nothing

Nothing Is Easier Than Sinning.

What Is Sought By Means Of Free Choice Is To Make Room For Merits.

Our Loving God Wills That We Eat, Drink And Be Merry.

If I Had To Refute All The Other Articles Of The Jewish Faith, I Should Be Obliged To Write Against Them As Much And For As Long A Time As They Have Used For Inventing Their Lies - That Is, Longer Than Two Thousand Years.

God Is Not Hostile To Sinners, But Only To Unbelievers.

God Can Be Found Only In Suffering And The Cross.

Women Should Remain At Home, Sit Still, Keep House, And Bear And Bring Up Children...if A Woman Grows Weary And, At Last, Dies From Childbearing, It Matters Not. Let Her Die From Bearing - She Is There To Do It.

When I Was Abandoned By Everybody, In My Greatest Weakness, Trembling And Afraid Of Death, When I Was Persecuted By This Wicked World, Then I Often Felt Most Surely The Divine Power In This Name, Jesus Christ... So, By God's Grace, I Will Live And Die For That Name.

This Is True Faith, A Living Confidence In The Goodness Of God.

[our] Plan Is To Follow The Example Of The Prophets And The Ancient Fathers Of The Church, And To Compose Psalms...so That The Word Of God May Be Among The People Also In The Form Of Music.

The Holy Spirit Has A Way Of His Own To Say Much In Few Words.

There Is On Earth Among All Dangers, No More Dangerous Thing Than A Richly Endowed And Adroid Reason, Especially If She Enters Into Spiritual Matters Which Concern The Soul And God. For It Is More Possible To Teach An Ass To Read Than To Blind Such A Reason And Lead It Right; For Reason Must Be Deluded, Blinded, And Destroyed.

We Old Folks Have To Find Our Cushions And Pillows In Our Tankards. Strong Beer Is The Milk Of The Old.

For God Is Wholly Present In All Creation, In Every Corner, He Is Behind You And Before You. Do You Think He Is Sleeping On A Pillow In Heaven? He Is Watching Over You And Protecting You.

Dear Rulers ... I Maintain That The Civil Authorities Are Under Obligation To Compel The People To Send Their Children To School. ... If The Government Can Compel Such Citizens As Are Fit For Military Service To Bear Spear And Rifle, To Mount Ramparts, And Perform Other Martial Duties In Time Of War, How Much More Has It A Right To Compel The People To Send Their Children To School, Because In This Case We Are Warring With The Devil, Whose Object It Is Secretly To Exhaust Our Cities And Principalities Of Their Strong Men.

God Indeed Tempteth No Man; But Yet We Ask, In This Petition, That He Would Keep And Preserve Us, Lest The Devil, The World, And Our Own Flesh Delude And Draw Us Away From The True Faith, And Throw Us Into Superstition, Distrust, Despair, And Other Grievous Sins And Wickedness; And That, If We Should Be Tempted Therewith Even To The Highest Degree, We Still May Conquer, And At Last Triumph Over Them.

The Best Way To Drive Out The Devil, If He Will Not Yield To Texts Of Scripture, Is To Jeer And Flout Him, For He Cannot Bear Scorn.

He Who Loves Not Women, Wine, And Song Remains A Fool His Whole Life Long.

The First Duty Of The Gospel Preacher Is To Declare God's Law And To Show The Nature Of Sin.

Preaching The Gospel

Father And Mother Are Apostles, Bishops And Priests To Their Children, For It Is They Who Make Them Acquainted With The Gospel.

He That Will Maintain That Man's Free Will Is Able To Do Or Work Anything In Spiritual Cases, Be They Never So Small, Denies Christ.

Our Most Merciful Father, Seeing Us To Be Oppressed And Overwhelmed With The Curse Of The Law . . . Sent His Only Son Into The World And Laid Upon Him All The Sins Of All Men, Saying, 'you Be Peter That Denier, Paul That Persecutor, Blasphemer And Cruel Oppressor, David That Adulterer, That Sinner Who Ate The Apple In Paradise, That Thief Who Hung Upon The Cross, And Briefly, You Be The Person Who Has Committed The Sins Of All Men. See Therefore That You Pay And Satisfy For Them.'

Thus My Learning Is Not My Own; It Belongs To The Unlearned And Is The Debt I Owe Themmy Wisdom Belongs To The Foolish, My Power To The Oppressed. Thus My Wealth Belongs To The Poor, My Righteousness To The Sinners.

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.

Next To Theology I Give To Music The Highest Place And Honor. And We See How David And All The Saints Have Wrought Their Godly Thoughts Into Verse, Rhyme, And Song.

A Safe Stronghold Our God Is Still. A Trusty Shield And Weapon.

Riches, Understanding, Beauty, Are Fair Gifts Of God.

My Heart, Which Is So Full To Overflowing, Has Often Been Solaced And Refreshed By Music When Sick And Weary.

Human Nature Is Like A Drunk Peasant. Lift Him Into The Saddle On One Side, Over He Topples On The Other Side.

When I Am Assailed With Heavy Tribulations, I Rush Out Among My Pigs Rather Than Remain Alone By Myself. The Human Heart Is Like A Millstone In A Mill: When You Put Wheat Under It, It Turns And Grinds And Bruises The Wheat To Flour; If You Put No Wheat, It Still Grinds On, But Then 'tis Itself It Grinds And Wears Away. So The Human Heart, Unless It Be Occupied With Some Employment, Leaves Space For The Devil, Who Wriggles Himself In And Brings With Him A Whole Host Of Evil Thoughts, Temptations, And Tribulations, Which Grind Out The Heart.

The Devil And Temptations Also Do Give Occasion Unto Us Somewhat To Learn And Understand The Scriptures, By Experience And Practice. Without Trials And Temptations We Should Never Understand Anything Thereof; No, Not Although We Diligently Read And Heard The Same.

May A Merciful God Preserve Me From A Christian Church In Which Everyone Is A Saint! I Want To Be And Remain In The Church And Little Flock Of The Fainthearted, The Feeble And The Ailing, Who Feel And Recognize The Wretchedness Of Their Sins, Who Sigh And Cry To God Incessantly For Comfort And Help, Who Believe In The Forgiveness Of Sins.

God Created Adam Lord Of All Living Creatures, But Eve Spoiled It All.

We Must Meet Hate With Love. We Must Meet Physical Force With Soul Force.

All We Who Believe On Christ Are Kings And Priests In Christ.

No Other God Have I But Thee, Born In A Manger, Died On A Tree.

The Devil Is God's Ape!

I Shall Never Be A Heretic; I May Err In Dispute, But I Do Not Wish To Decide Anything Finally; On The Other Hand, I Am Not Bound By The Opinions Of Men.

I Know That A Christian Should Be Humble, But Against The Pope I Am Going To Be Proud And Say To Him: "you, Pope, I Will Not Have You For My Boss, For I Am Sure That My Doctrine Is Divine.

God Wants To Be Praised For Nourishing And Cherishing, For He Cherishes All Creatures. He Is Not Only The Creator, But He Is Also The Sustainer And Nourisher.

A Woman Has No Control Over Herself.

The Truth Is Mightier Than Eloquence, The Spirit Greater Than Genius, Faith More Than Education.

Many Demons Are In Woods, In Waters, In Wildernesses, And In Dark Poolly Places Ready To Hurt...people.

Astrology Is Framed By The Devil, To The End People May Be Scared From Entering Into The State Of Matrimony, And From Every Divine And Human Office And Calling.

Marriage Is A Civic Matter. It Is Really Not, Together With All Its Circumstances, The Business Of The Church.

Let Us Not Lose The Bible, But With Diligence, In Fear And Invocation Of God, Read And Preach It. While That Remains And Flourishes, All Prospers With The State; 'tis Head And Empress Of All Arts And Faculties. Let But Divinity Fall, And I Would Not Give A Straw For The Rest.

If You Preach The Gospel In All Aspects With The Exception Of The Issues Which Deal Specifically With Your Time, You Are Not Preaching The Gospel At All.

Preaching The Gospel

Exhort Your Household To Learn [the Ten Commandments] Word For Word, That They Should Obey God…for If You Teach And Urge Your Families Things Will Go Forward.

Whoever Wishes To Be A Christian, Let Him Pluck Out The Eyes Of His Reason.

The Multitude Of Books Is A Great Evil. There Is No Limit To This Fever For Writing; Every One Must Be An Author; Some Out Of Vanity, To Acquire Celebrity And Raise Up A Name, Others For The Sake Of Mere Gain.

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.

For From The Error Of Not Knowing, Or Understanding, What Sin Is, There Necessarily Arises Another Error, That People Cannot Know Or Understand What Grace Is.

Faith Is A Free Surrenderand A Joyous Wager On The Unseen, Unknown, Untested Goodness Of God.

World, Death, Devil, Hell, Away And Leave Me In Peace! You Have No Hold On Me. If You Will Not Let Me Live, Then I Will Die. But You Won't Succeed In That. Chop My Head Off, And It Won't Harm Me. I Have A God Who Will Give Me A New One.

The Holy Spirit Is No Skeptic, & The Things He Has Written In Our Hearts Are Not Doubts Or Opinions, But Assertions - Surer & More Certain Than Sense & Life Itself.

Every Evening Brings Us Nearer God.

I Have Undertaken To Translate The Bible Into German. This Was Good For Me; Otherwise I Might Have Died In The Mistaken Notion That I Was A Learned Fellow.

Justice Is A Temporary Thing That Must At Last Come To An End; But The Conscience Is Eternal And Will Never Die.

To Do So No More Is The Truest Repentance.

A Happy Fart Never Comes From A Miserable Ass.

The Quest For Glory Can Never Be Satisfied, It Must Be Extinguished.

Farewell Unhappy, Hopeless, Blasphemous Rome! The Wrath Of God Has Come Upon You, As You Deserve. We Cared For Babylon, And She Is Not Healed; Let Us Then Leave Her, That She May Become The Habitation Of Dragons, Spectres, And Witches.

At Night Always Carry In Your Heart Something From Holy Scriptures To Bed With You, Meditate Upon It Like A Ruminant Animal, And Go Softly To Sleep; But This Must Not Be Too Much, Rather A Little That May Be Well Pondered And Understood, That You May Find A Remnant Of It In Your Mind When You Rise In The Morning.

Ah, If I Could Only Pray The Way That Dog Looks At Meat.

I Believe That The Devil Has Destroyed Many Good Books Of The Church, As, Aforetime, He Killed And Crushed Many Holy Persons, The Memory Of Whom Has Now Passed Away; But The Bible He Was Fain To Leave Subsisting.

I Would Advise No One To Send His Child Where The Holy Scriptures Are Not Supreme. Every Institution That Does Not Unceasingly Pursue The Study Of God's Word Becomes Corrupt. Because Of This We Can See What Kind Of People They Become In The Universities And What They Are Like Now.

Where The Battle Rages, There The Loyalty Of The Soldier Is Proved.

Either Sin Is With You, Lying On Your Shoulders, Or It Is Lying On Christ, The Lamb Of God.

The Devil Flees Before The Sound Of Music Almost As Much As Before The Word Of God.

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.

Holy Christendom Has, In My Judgment, No Better Teacher After The Apostles Than St. Augustine.

You Have As Much Laughter As You Have Faith.

From You, My Dear Erasmus, Let Me Obtain This Request, That Just As I Bear With Your Ignorance In These Matters, So You In Turn Will Bear With My Lack Of Eloquence.

I Cannot And Will Not Recant Anything, For To Go Against Conscience Is Neither Right Nor Safe. Here I Stand, I Can Do No Other, So Help Me God. Amen.

I Can't Keep The Sparrows From Flying Around My Head, But I Can Keep Them From Making A Nest In My Hair.

We Should Consider The Histories Of Christ Three Manner Of Ways; First, As A History Of Acts Or Legends; Second, As A Gift Or A Present; Thirdly, As An Example, Which We Should Believe And Follow.

We Are Saved By Faith Alone, But The Faith That Saves Is Never Alone.

Justification By Faith

Like The Early Christians, We Must Move Into A Sometime Hostile World Armed With The Revolutionary Gospel Of Jesus Christ. With This Powerful Gospel We Shall Boldly Challenge The Status Quo.

God Does Not Save Those Who Are Only Imaginary Sinners. Be A Sinner, And Let Your Sins Be Strong (sin Boldly), But Let Your Trust In Christ Be Stronger, And Rejoice In Christ Who Is The Victor Over Sin, Death, And The World. We Will Commit Sins While We Are Here, For This Life Is Not A Place Where Justice Resides. We, However, ... Are Looking Forward To A New Heaven And A New Earth Where Justice Will Reign.

Everything Is From God Himself, Both Commandment And Fulfillment. He Alone Commands; He Alone Fulfills.

I Did Not Learn My Theology All At Once, But Had To Search Constantly Deeper And Deeper For It. My Temptations Did That For Me, For No One Can Understand Holy Scripture Without Practice And Temptations...i T Is Not By Reading, Writing, Or Speculation That One Becomes A Theologian. Nay, Rather, It Is Living, Dying, And Being Damned That Makes One A Theologian.

Prayer, Study, And Suffering Make A Pastor.

Faith Ever Says, "if Thou Wilt," Not "if Thou Canst.

Adam And Eve Derived The Fullness Of Joy And Bliss From Their Contemplation Of All The Animal Creatures.

Bewilderment Is The True Comprehension. Not To Know Where You Are Going Is The True Knowledge.

Where You Are Going

A Theologian Should Be Thoroughly In Possession Of The Basis And Source Of Faith--that Is To Say, The Holy Scriptures. Armed With This Knowledge It Was That I Confounded And Silenced All My Adversaries; For They Seek Not To Fathom And Understand The Scriptures; They Run Them Over Negligently And Drowsily; They Speak, They Write, They Teach, According To The Suggestion Of Their Heedless Imaginations.

This Is The Reason Why Our Theology Is Certain: Because It Seizes Us From Ourselves And Places Us Outside Ourselves.

We Need To Pledge Ourselves Anew To The Cause Of Christ. We Must Capture The Spirit Of The Early Church. Wherever The Early Christians Went, They Made A Triumphant Witness For Christ. Whether On The Village Streets Or In The City Jails, They Daringly Proclaimed The Good News Of The Gospel.

Women Should Remain At Home, Sit Still, And Bear Children.

The Holy Ghost Is Not A Sceptic, And He Has Not Inscribed In Our Hearts Uncertain Opinions, But, Rather, Affirmations Of The Strongest Sorts.

So It Is With Human Reason, Which Strives Not Against Faith, When Enlightened, But Rather Furthers And Advances It.

Many Demons Are In Woods, In Waters, In Wildernesses, And In Dark Poolly Places Ready To Hurt And Prejudice People; Some Are Also In The Thick Black Clouds, Which Cause Hail, Lightning And Thunder, And Poison The Air, The Pastures And Grounds.

A Simple Layman Armed With Scripture Is Greater Than The Mightiest Pope Without It

The Whole Turkish Empire Is Nothing Else But A Crust Cast By Heaven's Great Housekeeper To His Dogs.

A Great Variety Of Reading Confuses And Does Not Teach. It Makes The Student Like A Man Who Dwells Everywhere And, Therefore, Nowhere In Particular.

Undoubtedly They Do More And Viler Things Than Those Which We Know And Discover

Let Your Holy Angel Have Charge Concerning Us, That The Wicked One Have No Power Over Us.

It Is A Tremendously Hard Thing To Pray Aright, Yea, It Is Verily The Science Of All Sciences.

The Bible Is The Book That Makes Fools Of The Wise Of This World; It Is Only Understood By The Plain And Simple Hearted.

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.

In His Life Christ Is An Example Showing Us How To Live In His Death He Is A Sacrifice Satisfying Our Sins In His Resurrection A Conqueror In His Ascension A King In His Intercession A High Priest.

I Have Lived To See The Greatest Plague On Earth -- The Condemning Of God's Word, A Fearful Thing, Surpassing All Other Plagues In The World; For Thereupon Most Surely Follow All Manner Of Punishments, Eternal And Corporal.

Not Only The Words (vocabula) Which The Holy Spirit And Scripture Use Are Divine, But Also The Phrasing

They Gave Our Master A Crown Of Thorns, Why Do We Hope For A Crown Of Roses?

Peace If Possible, Truth At All Costs.

Without Images We Can Neither Think Nor Understand Anything.

The Heart Overflows With Gladness, And Leaps And Dances For The Joy It Has Found In God. In This Experience The Holy Spirit Is Active, And Has Taught Us In The Flash Of A Moment The Deep Secret Of Joy. You Will Have As Much Joy And Laughter In Life As You Have Faith In God.

The Body They May Kill: God’s Truth Abideth Still, His Kingdom Is Forever.

No Man Ought To Lay A Cross Upon Himself, Or To Adopt Tribulation, As Is Done In Popedom; But If A Cross Or Tribulation Come Upon Him, Then Let Him Suffer It Patiently, And Know That It Is Good And Profitable For Him.

War For The Sake Of War Is Sin, But War For The Sake Of Defense Is Duty.

The Bible Is Alive, It Speaks To Me; It Has Feet, It Runs After Me; It Has Hands, It Lays Hold Of Me.

Whoever Would Like To Cherish Such Adders And Puny Devils - Who Are The Worst Enemies Of Christ And Us All - To Befriend Them And To Do Them Honour Simply In Order To Be Cheated, Plundered, Robbed, Disgraced, And Forced To Howl And Curse And Suffer Every Kind Of Evil, To Him I Would Commend The Jews. And If This Is Not Enough, Let Him Tell The Jews To Use His Mouth As A Privy, Or Else Crawl Into The Jew's Hind Parts, And There Worship The Holy Thing, So As Afterwards To Be Able To Boast Of Having Been Merciful, And Of Having Helped The Devil And His Progeny To Blaspheme Our Dear Lord.

Whoever Does Not Accept My Teaching May Not Be Saved - For It Is God's Teaching And Not Mine.

In Ourselves, We Are Sinners, And Yet Through Faith We Are Righteous By The Imputation Of God. For We Trust Him Who Promises To Deliver Us, And In The Meantime Struggle So That Sin May Not Overwhelm Us, But That We May Stand Up To It Until He Finally Take It Away From Us.

If I Had To Baptise A Jew, I Would Take Him To The Bridge Of The Elbe, Hang A Stone Around His Neck And Push Him Over With The Words 'i Baptise Thee In The Name Of Abraham'.

The Confidence That God Is Mindful Of The Individual Is Of Tremendous Value In Dealing With The Disease Of Fear, For It Gives Us A Sense Of Worth, Of Belonging, And Of At Homeness In The Universe.

To Be A Christian, You Must Pluck Out The Eye Of Reason.

To Gather With God's People In United Adoration Of The Father Is As Necessary To The Christian Life As Prayer.

When God Works In Us, The Will, Being Changed And Sweetly Breathed Upon By The Spirit Of God, Desires And Acts, Not From Compulsion, But Responsively.

The Recognition Of Sin Is The Beginning Of Salvation

The Devil Fears The Word Of God, He Can't Bite It; It Breaks His Teeth.

It Is Impossible To Separate Works From Faith- Yea, Just As Impossible As To Separate Burning And Shining From Fire.

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.

We Are Not To Look Upon Our Sins As Insignificant Trifles. On The Other Hand, We Are Not To Regard Them As So Terrible That We Must Despair. Learn To Believe That Christ Was Given, Not For Picayune And Imaginary Transgressions, But For Mountainous Sins; Not For One Or Two, But For All; Not For Sins That Can Be Discarded, But For Sins That Are Stubbornly Ingrained.

Therefore We Christians, In Turn, Are Obliged Not To Tolerate Their Wanton And Conscious Blasphemy.

Where Faith Is Not Continually Kept In Motion And Exercised, It Weakens And Decreases, So That It Must Indeed Vanish; And Yet We Do Not See Nor Feel This Weakness Ourselves, Except In Times Of Need And Temptation, When Unbelief Rages Too Strongly; And Yet For That Very Reason Faith Must Have Temptations In Which It May Battle And Grow.

A Religion That Gives Nothing, Costs Nothing, And Suffers Nothing, Is Worth Nothing.

God Freely Forgives Us On Account Of Christnot On Account Of Our Works, Contrition, Confession, Or Satisfactions.

Rest In The Lord; Wait Patiently For Him. In Hebrew, "be Silent In God, And Let Him Mould Thee." Keep Still, And He Will Mould Thee To The Right Shape.

He Who Wholly Renounces Himself, And Relies Not On Mere Human Reason, Will Make Good Progress In The Scriptures; But The World Comprehends Them Not, From Ignorance Of That Mortification Which Is The Gift Of God's Word.

For Some Years Now I Have Read Through The Bible Twice Every Year. If You Picture The Bible To Be A Mighty Tree And Every Word A Little Branch, I Have Shaken Every One Of These Branches Because I Wanted To Know What It Was And What It Meant.

I Know Not The Way God Leads Me, But Well Do I Know My Guide.

It Is Impossible For One Man Both To Labor Day And Night To Get A Living, And At The Same Time Give Himself To The Study Of Sacred Learning As The Preaching Office Requires.

The Hair Is The Finest Ornament Women Have. Of Old, Virgins Used To Wear It Loose, Except When They Were In Mourning.

Truly, If Faith Is There, The Believer Cannot Hold Back... He Breaks Out Into Good Works.

The Bible Is The Cradle Wherein Christ Is Laid.

Christian Inspirational

Nothing In The World Causes So Much Misery As Uncertainty.

Demons Live In Many Lands, But Particularly In Prussia.

What Shall We Do With...the Jews?...i Advise That Safe-conduct On The Highways Be Abolished Completely For The Jews.

They [rulers] Must Act Like A Good Physician Who, When Gangrene Has Set In Proceeds Without Mercy To Cut, Saw, And Burn Flesh, Veins, Bone, And Marrow. Such A Procedure Must Also Be Followed In This Instance. Burn Down Their Synagogues, Forbid All That I Enumerated Earlier, Force Them To Work, And Deal Harshly With Them, As Moses Did... If This Does Not Help We Must Drive Them Out Like Mad Dogs.

Faith, Like Light, Should Always Be Simple And Unbending; While Love, Like Warmth, Should Beam Forth On Every Side, And Bend To Every Necessity Of Our Brethren.

People Must Have Righteous Principals In The First, And Then They Will Not Fail To Perform Virtuous Actions.

Look To It That You Do Not Try To Do All Of It, Do Not Try To Do Too Much, Lest Your Spirit Grow Weary. Besides, A Good Prayer Mustn't Be Too Long. Do Not Draw It Out. Prayer Ought To Be Frequent And Fervent.

You Are Not Only Responsible For What You Say, But Also For What You Do Not Say

Inspirational Kindness

I Am Of A Different Mind Ten Times In The Course Of A Day. But I Resist The Devil, And Often It Is With A Fart That I Chase Him Away. When He Tempts Me With Silly Sins I Say, 'devil, Yesterday I Broke Wind Too. Have You Written It Down On Your List?

Earth Has Nothing More Tender Than A Woman's Heart When It Is The Abode Of Piety.

Rough, Boisterous, Stormy And Altogether Warlike, I Am Born To Fight Against Innumerable Monsters And Devils.

Someone Asked Luther, "do You Feel That You've Been Forgiven?" He Answered, "no, But I'm As Sure As There's A God In Heaven!"

Ultimately, However, Conflict Lies Not In Objective Reality, But In People's Heads. Truth Is Simple One Argument - Perhaps A Good One, Perhaps Not - For Dealing With The Difference. The Difference Itself Exists Because It Exists In Their Thinking.

No One Can Believe How Powerful Prayer Is And What It Can Effect, Except Those Who Have Learned It By Experience. Whenever I Have Prayed Earnestly, I Have Been Heard And Have Obtained More Than I Prayed For. God Sometimes Delays, But He Always Comes.

Forgiveness Is God's Command.

A Christian Is A Perfectly Free Lord Of All, Subject To None. A Christian Is A Perfectly Dutiful Servant Of All, Subject Of All, Subject To All.

What Is Our Death But A Night's Sleep? For As Through Sleep All Weariness And Faintness Pass Away And Cease, And The Powers Of The Spirit Come Back Again, So That In The Morning We Arise Fresh And Strong And Joyous; So At The Last Day We Shall Rise Again As If We Had Only Slept A Night, And Shall Be Fresh And Strong.

No Great Saint Lived Without Errors.

Many Pass For Saints On Earth Whose Souls Are In Hell.

Christ And His Word Can Hardly Be Recognized Because Of The Great Vermin Of Human Ordinances. However, Let This Suffice For The Time Being On Their Lies Against Doctrine Or Faith.

The Mass Is The Greatest Blasphemy Of God, And The Highest Idolatry Upon Earth, An Abomination The Like Of Which Has Never Been In Christendom Since The Time Of The Apostles.

The Fact That The Biblical Book Hebrews Is Not An Epistle Of St Paul, Or Of Any Other Apostle, Is Proved By What It Says In Chapter Two.

The Gospel Cannot Be Truly Preached Without Offense And Tumult.

Now The Church Is Not Wood And Stone, But The Company Of Believing People; One Must Hold To Them, And See How They Believe, Live And Teach.

If We Esteem Them Too Highly, Good Works Can Become The Greatest Idolatry.

Personally I Declare That I Owe The Pope No Other Obedience Than That To Antichrist.

The Curses Of The Ungodly Are More Pleasing To God's Ears Than The Hallelujahs Of The Pious

The Lord Commonly Gives Riches To Foolish People, To Whom He Gives Nothing Else.

In The Bonds Of Death He Lay Who For Our Offence Was Slain; But The Lord Is Risen To-day, Christ Hath Brought Us Life Again, Wherefore Let Us All Rejoice, Singing Loud, With Cheerful Voice, Hallelujah!

Angels Are Our True And Trusty Servants, Performing Offices And Works That One Poor Miserable Mendicant Would Be Ashamed To Do For Another.

To Preach Christ Is To Feed The Soul, To Justify It, To Set It Free, And To Save It, If It Believes The Preaching.

God Uses Lust To Impel Men To Marry, Ambition To Office, Avarice To Earning, And Fear To Faith. God Led Me Like An Old Blind Goat.

The Holy Scriptures Surpass In Efficaciousness All The Arts And All The Sciences Of The Philosophers And Jurists; These, Though Good And Necessary To Life Here Below, Are Vain And Of No Effect As To What Concerns The Life Eternal.

For God Does Not Want To Save Us By Our Own But By An Extraneous Righteousness, One That Does Not Originate In Ourselves But Comes To Us From Beyond Ourselves, Which Does Not Arise On Earth But Comes From Heaven.

Do Not Suppose That Abuses Are Eliminated By Destroying The Object Which Is Abused. Men Can Go Wrong With Wine And Women. Shall We Then Prohibit And Abolish Women?

Some Plague The People With Too Long Sermons; For The Faculty Of Listening Is A Tender Thing, And Soon Becomes Weary And Satiated.

Man Is Man Because He Is Free To Operate Within A Framework Of His Destiny. He Is Free To Deliberate, To Make Decisions, And To Choose Between Alternatives. He Is Distinguished From Animals By His Freedom To Do Evil Or To Do Good And To Walk The High Road Of Beauty Or Tread The Low Road Of Ugly Degeneracy.

I Compare It With A Lie, Which Like To A Snowball, The Longer It Is Rolled The Greater It Becomes.

There Is No Wisdom Save In Truth.

Where The Battle Rages, There The Loyalty Of The Soldier Is Proved; And To Be Steady On All The Battlefield Besides, Is Mere Flight And Disgrace If He Flinches At That Point.

Either God Must Be Unjust, Or You, Jews, Wicked And Ungodly. You Have Been, About Fifteen Hundred Years, A Race Rejected Of God.

The Gospel Cannot Be Preached And Heard Enough, For It Cannot Be Grasped Well Enough ... Moreover, Our Greatest Task Is To Keep You Faithful To This Article And To Bequeath This Treasure To You When We Die.

Christ Wants To Slay Reason And Subdue The Arrogance Of The Jews.

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.

Nothing Is More Unbecoming To A Teacher Of The Word Than Flippancy. He Must Be Serious And Should Not Act Like A Clown.

Daily There Have To Be Many Troubles And Trials In Every House, City, And Country. No Station In Life Is Free Of Suffering And Pain, Both From Your Own, Like Your Wife Or Children Or Household Help Or Subjects, And From The Outside, From Your Neighbors And All Sorts Of Accidental Trouble.

God Is Not A God Of Sadness, Death, Etc., But The Devil Is. Christ Is A God Of Joy, And So The Scriptures Often Say That We Should Rejoice ... A Christian Should And Must Be A Cheerful Person.

Do Not Suppose That Abuses Are Eliminated By Destroying The Object Which Is Abused. Men Can Go Wrong With Wine And Women. Shall We Then Prohibit And Abolish Women? The Sun, The Moon, And The Stars Have Been Worshiped. Shall We Then Pluck Them Out Of The Sky? ...see How Much He [god] Has Been Able To Accomplish Through Me, Though I Did No More Than Pray And Preach. The Word Did It All. Had I Wished I Might Have Started A Conflagration At Worms. But While I Sat Still And Drank Beer With Philip And Amsdorf, God Dealt The Papacy A Mighty Blow.

Let A Man Be Endowed With Ten Virtues And Have But One Fault And The One Fault Will Eclipse And Darken All The Virtues.

Trending Author

Eduardo Chillida

Category