"God has surely promised His grace to the humbled: that is, to those who mourn over and despair of themselves. But a man cannot be thoroughly humbled till he realizes that his salvation is utterly beyond his own powers, counsels, efforts, will and works, and depends absolutely on the will, counsel, pleasure and work of Another -- God alone. As long as a man is persuaded that he can make even the smallest contribution to his salvation, he remains self-confident and does not utterly despair of himself, and so is not humbled before God. Such a man plans out for himself - or at least hopes and longs for - a position, an occasion, a work, which shall bring him final salvation, but which will not. Conversely, the man who is out of doubt that his destiny depends entirely on the will of God, despairs entirely of himself, chooses nothing for himself, but waits for God to work in him; and such a man is very near to grace for his salvation." Bondage Of The Will

"So these truths are published for the sake of the elect, that they may be humbled and brought down to nothing, and so saved. The rest of men resist this humiliation; indeed, they condemn the teaching of self-despair; they want a little something left that they can do for themselves. Secretly they continue proud, and therefore enemies of the grace of God." Bondage Of The Will

"When God quickens, He does so by killing; when He justifies, He does so by pronouncing guilty; when He carries up to heaven, He does so by bringing us down to hell." Bondage Of The Will

"Now the highest degree of faith is to believe that God is merciful, though He saves so few and damns so many." Bondage Of The Will

"Among all the ecclesiastical writers there are scarcely any who have handled the words of God in a more absurd and clumsy fashion than Origen and Jerome." Bondage Of The Will

"The brightest virtues among the heathen, the best works among the philosophers, the most excellent deeds among men, which appear in the sight of the world to be upright and good, and are so called, are really flesh in the sight of God, and minister to the kingdom of Satan." Bondage Of The Will

"All that is wrought and done among men is either righteousness or sin in God's sight: righteousness if faith is with it; sin if faith is lacking." Bondage Of The Will

"There is a life after this life; and all that is not punished and repaid here will be punished and repaid there; for this life is nothing more than a precursor, or, rather, a beginning, of the life that is to come." Bondage Of The Will

"Nobody who has not the Spirit of God can see a jot of what is in the Scriptures. All men have their hearts darkened, so that even when they can discuss and quote all that is in Scripture, they do not understand or really know it... The Spirit is needed for the understanding of all Scripture and every part of Scripture." The Bondage Of The Will

"If any man doth ascribe of salvation, even the very least, to the free will of man, he knoweth nothing of grace, and he hath not learnt Jesus Christ aright." Spurgeon Quoting Luther

"The Holy Spirit himself always teaches every faithful preacher in the church to know that the kingdom of God does not stand in word but in power." Treasury of David, Vol I Psalm I

"Yet how many are there, who build, increase and adorn churches, monasteries, altars, vessels, garments, etc., who, all the while never so much as think of the works of righteousness; nay, who tread righteousness under foot that they may work these their own works, and because of them hope to gain the pardon of their unrighteousness, while thousands are deceived by these means!" Treasury of David, Vol I Psalm XV

"Therefore is the Papacy a slaughter-house of consciences, and the very kingdom of the devil." Commentary On St. Paul's Epistle To The Galatians

"Oh! how delightful are all God's precepts when we read them not only in books, but also in our Saviour's precious wounds!" D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book II, Chapter IV

"He who undertakes any thing without a Divine call seeks his own glory." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book II, Chapter VII

"Within my heart reigns alone - and it ought thus to reign alone - faith in my Lord Jesus Christ, who is the beginning, middle, and end of all the thoughts that occupy my mind by day and night."  Commentary On St. Paul's Epistle To The Galatians, Preface

"The old Adam is the vanity of vanities; he is the universal vanity; and he renders all other creatures vain, however good they may be." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book II, Chapter IX

"The old Adam is called the flesh, not only because he is led by the lusts of the flesh, but further, because should he be chaste, prudent, and righteous, he is not born again of God by the Holy Ghost." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book II, Chapter IX

"A man who has no part in the grace of God, cannot keep the commandments of God, or prepare himself, either wholly or in part, to receive grace; but he rests of necessity under the power of sin." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book II, Chapter IX

"The will of man without grace is not free, but is enslaved, and that too with its own consent." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book II, Chapter IX

"Jesus Christ, our strength and our righteousness, he who trieth the heart and reins, is the only discerner and judge of our merits." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book II, Chapter IX

"Since all is possible, by Christ, to the believer, it is superstitious to seek for other help, either in man's will or in the saints." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book II, Chapter IX

"You seek peace, but it is the peace of the world, and not the peace of Christ that you seek. Do you not know that our God has set his peace in the midst of war? He whom no one disturbs has not peace. But he who, troubled by all men and by the things of this life, bears all with tranquility and joy - he possesses the true peace. You say with Israel: Peace, peace! and there is no peace. Say rather with Christ: The cross, the cross! and there will be no cross. For the cross ceases to be a cross as soon as we can say with love: O blessed cross, there is no wood like thine." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book II, Chapter IX

"Man, who has become a corrupt tree, can will or do nothing but evil." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book II, Chapter XI

"It is false that the will, left to itself, can do good as well as evil, for it is not free, but in bondage." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book II, Chapter XI

"The excellent, infallible, and sole preparation for grace, is the eternal election and predestination of God." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book II, Chapter XI

"Human nature possesses neither a pure reason nor a good will." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book II, Chapter XI

"On the side of man there is nothing that goes before grace, unless it be impotency and even rebellion." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book II, Chapter XI

"Aristotle is to divinity what darkness is to light." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book II, Chapter XI

"Man is a greater enemy to the grace of God than he is to the law itself." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book II, Chapter XI

"The will, when it turns towards the law without the grace of God, does so in its own interest alone." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book II, Chapter XI

"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." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book III, Chapter VII

"To say that works done outside of Christ are truly dead, but not deadly, is a dangerous forgetfulness of the fear of God." Heidelberg Disputation

"Since the fall of man, free-will is but an idle word, and if a man does all he can, he still sins mortally." Heidelberg Disputation

"A man who imagines to arrive at grace by doing all that he is able to do, adds sin to sin, and is doubly guilty." Heidelberg Disputation

"It is certain that man must altogether despair of himself in order to be made capable of receiving Christ's grace." Heidelberg Disputation

"The love of God finds nothing in man, but creates in him what he loves. The love of man proceeds from his well-beloved." Heidelberg Disputation

"Christ is a teacher of the spirit and not of the letter, and his words are spirit and life." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol I, Book IV, Chapter I

"Now Paul was a marvelously cunning workman in handling of allegories; for he is wont to apply them to the doctrine of faith, to grace, and to Christ, and not to the law and the works thereof, as Origen and Jerome do, who are worthily reprehended for that they turned the plain sentences of the Scripture, where allegories have no place, into unfit and foolish allegories." Commentary On St. Paul's Epistle To The Galatians, p 414

"The world is continued on account of the Church which is in it; otherwise the heaven and earth would be burnt up in one moment; because the whole world is not worth one grain of wheat, as it is indeed full of blasphemy and impiety; unless the Church supported the world by word and prayer, all things would be destroyed instantly." Genesis XXX

"My maxim is - to love all men, but to fear none." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book V, Chapter VII

"Since our sins were so great that nothing could take them away except a ransom so immeasurable, shall we still claim to obtain righteousness by the strength of our own will, by the power of the law, or by the teaching of men? What shall we do with all these artifices, with all these delusions?" D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book V, Chapter VIII

"Too much folly is displeasing to men, but too much discretion is displeasing to God." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book V, Chapter VIII

"Why should you imagine that Christ will advance his cause by peace? Did he not fight with his own blood, and all the martyrs after him?" D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book V, Chapter VIII

"I will not have recourse to arms and bloodshed in defence of the Gospel. By the Word the earth has been subdued; by the Word the Church has been saved; and by the Word also it shall be reestablished." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter II

"The first, the noblest, the sublimest of all works is faith in Jesus Christ. It is from this work that all other works must proceed." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter II

"I have always extolled faith. But in the world it is otherwise. There, in the world, the essential thing is to have many works - works high and great, and of every dimension, without caring whether they are quickened by faith. Thus, men build their peace, not on God's good pleasure, but on their own merits - that is to say, on sand." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter II

"All Christians belong to the spiritual state, and there is no other difference between them than that arising from the functions which they discharge. We have all one baptism, one faith, and this it is which constitutes the spiritual man. The unction, the tonsure, ordination, consecration by the bishop or the pope may make a hypocrite, but never a spiritual man." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter III

"It is a horrible thing to behold the man who styles himself Christ's vicegerent displaying a magnificence that no emperor can equal. Is this being like the poor Jesus, or the humble Peter? He is (say they) the lord of the world. But Christ, whose vicar he boasts of being, has said, My kingdom is not of this world. Can the dominion of a vicar extend beyond those of his superior?" D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter III

"Antichrist must possess the treasures of the earth." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter III

"No man that warreth, saith Saint Paul, entangleth himself with the affairs of this life. (2 Timothy 2:4) Yet the pope, who pretends to be the leader of the Church militant, entangles himself with the affairs of this life more than any emperor or king." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter III

"Hearest thou this, O pope! not most holy, but most sinful pope! May God from his throne in heaven soon hurl thee from thy throne into the bottomless pit." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter III

"I am much afraid that the universities will prove to be the great gates of hell, unless they diligently labour in explaining the Holy Scriptures, and engraving them in the hearts of youth. I advise no one to place his child where Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution in which men are not unceasingly occupied with the Word of God must become corrupt." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter III

"Let the world, rather than God, be offended with me." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter III

"What is most precious in every sacrament, and consequently, in the eucharist, is the promises in the Word of God. Without faith in this Word and these promises, the sacrament is dead; it is a body without a soul, a cup without wine, a purse without money, a type without fulfillment, a letter without spirit, a casket without jewels, a scabbard without a sword." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter VI

"The papacy is none other than the kingdom of Babylon, and the violence of Nimrod the mighty hunter... The papacy is a general chase led by the Roman bishop to catch and destroy souls." The Babylonian Captivity Of The Church

"Neither pope, nor bishop, nor any man living, has authority to impose the least thing on a Christian without his own consent. All that is done from without is an act of tyranny." The Babylonian Captivity Of The Church

"Let every man who enters the priesthood or any religious order be assured that the works of a monk or of a priest differ in no respect before God from those of a peasant who tills his fields, or of a woman who manages her house. God estimates all things by the standard of faith." The Babylonian Captivity Of The Church

"I know that the pope is Antichrist, and that his throne is that of Satan himself." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter IX

"The [Papal] Decretals resemble a body whose face is meek as a young maiden's, whose limbs are full of violence like those of a lion, and whose tail is filled with wiles like a serpent. Among all the laws of the popes, there is not one word that teaches us who is Jesus Christ." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter X

"If you do not contend with your whole heart against the impious government of the pope, you cannot be saved. Whoever takes delight in the religion and worship of popery, will be eternally lost in the world to come." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter X

"Christian doctrines have been lost sight of by those who should have preserved them." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter X

"It is not by reflecting on sin and its consequences that we arrive at repentance; but it is by contemplating Jesus Christ, his wounds, and his infinite love. f997 The knowledge of sin must proceed from repentance, and not repentance from the knowledge of sin. Knowledge is the fruit, repentance is the tree. In my country, the fruit grows on the tree; but it would appear that in the states of the holy Father the tree grows on the fruit." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter X

"If Peter himself were now sitting at Rome, I should deny that he was pope by Divine appointment." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter X

"If the Gospel was of a nature to be propagated or maintained by the powers of this world, God would not have entrusted it to fishermen. It belongs not to the princes and pontiffs of this age to defend the Word of God. They have enough to do to shelter themselves from the judgments of the Lord and of his Anointed." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter XI

"The Word of Jesus Christ is a Word not of peace, but of the sword. If you will not follow Jesus Christ, I will walk alone, will advance alone, and alone I will carry the fortress." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VI, Chapter XII

"Often do Christians stumble, and, to look at them outwardly, they seem all weakness and reproach. But this matters not, for beneath this weakness and this foolishness dwells in secret a power that the world cannot know, and which yet overcometh the world; for Christ dwelleth in us. I have sometimes beheld Christians walking lamely and with great feebleness; but when came the hour of conflict or of appearing before the bar of the world, Christ suddenly stirred with them, and they became so strong and so resolute, that Satan fled away frightened from before their face." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VII, Chapter I

"Before works, we must have eternal life. But when we are born again, and made children of God by the Word of grace, then we perform good works." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VII, Chapter IV

"Christ has vanquished! this is the joyful news! and we are saved by his work, and not by our own. The pope says differently: but I affirm that the holy mother of God herself was saved, neither by her virginity, nor by her maternity, nor by her purity, nor by her works, but solely by the instrumentality of faith and the works of God." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VII, Chapter VII

"The Gospel of Christ cannot be preached without offence." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VII, Chapter X

"The pope is no judge in the things belonging to the Word of God. Every Christian should see and decide for himself how he ought to live and die." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol II, Book VII, Chapter X

"Now God made a testament: therefore it was necessary that He should die. But God could not die unless He became man. Thus both the incarnation and the death of Christ are briefly comprehended in this one word: TESTAMENT." The Babylonian Captivity Of The Church

"Melancthon is a wonder; all men confess it now. He is the most formidable enemy of Satan and the schoolmen, for he knows their foolishness, and Christ the rock. The little Grecian surpasses me even in divinity; he will be as serviceable to you as many Luthers." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol III, Book IX, Chapter I

"They bring forward these words of St. James - Confess your faults to one another - Singular confessor! His name is ONE ANOTHER. Where it would follow that the confessors should also confess themselves to their penitents; that each Christian should be, in his turn, pope, bishop, priest; and that the pope himself should confess to all." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol III, Book IX, Chapter II

"So long as the doctrine of justification by faith remains pure and undefiled in the Church, no one can become a monk." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol III, Book IX, Chapter III

"Know that I shall discharge the duties that Christian charity has imposed upon me, without fearing the gates of hell, and much less the pope, his bishops, and cardinals." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol III, Book IX, Chapter IV

"Scripture without any comment is the sun whence all teachers receive their light." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol III, Book IX, Chapter V

"Of all deadly sins, this is the most deadly, namely, that any one should think he is not guilty of a damnable and deadly sin before God." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol III, Book IX, Chapter V

"I received the Gödel not from men but from heaven, through our Lord Jesus Christ." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol III, Book IX, Chapter VIII

"It is with the Word that we must fight, by the Word must we overthrow and destroy what has been set up by violence. I will not make use of force against the superstitious and unbelieving. Let him who believeth draw nigh! Let him who believeth not keep afar off! No one must be constrained. Liberty is the very essence of faith!" D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol III, Book IX, Chapter VIII

"The mass is a bad thing; God is opposed to it; it ought to be abolished; and I would that throughout the whole world it were replaced by the Supper of the Gospel. But let no one be torn from it by force. We must leave the matter in God's hands. His Word must act, and not we. And why so, you will ask? Because I do not hold men's hearts in my hand, as the potter holds the clay. We have a right to speak; we have not the right to act. Let us preach: the rest belongs unto God." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol III, Book IX, Chapter VIII

"Our first object must be to win men's hearts; and for that purpose we must preach the Gospel. Today the Word will fall in one heart, tomorrow in another, and it will operate in such a manner that each one will withdraw from the mass and abandon it. God does more by his Word alone than you and I and all the world by our united strength. God lays hold upon the heart; and when the heart is taken, all is won." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol III, Book IX, Chapter VIII

"He who does not groan under his sins must not approach the altar: what can he do there?" D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol III, Book IX, Chapter VIII

"If you desire to become theologians, read Melancthon." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol III, Book IX, Chapter IX

"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." Table Talk, Free Will

"Even like as St. Paul was converted, just so are all others converted; for we all resist God, but the Holy Ghost draws the will of mankind, when he pleases, through preaching." Table Talk, Free Will

"Our enemies threaten us with death, but if they had as much wisdom as foolishness, they would, on the contrary, threaten us with life. What an absurdity and insult to presume to threaten death to Christ and Christians, who are themselves lords and conquerors of death!" D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol III, Book IX, Chapter XII

Pope Adrian VI, succeeding Leo X upon his sudden death, stated that the Roman Catholic church needed reform, but that "we must go step by step." To which Luther replied -

"The pope means that a few centuries should intervene between each step." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol III, Book X, Chapter II

"The children of Israel, whenever they repented of their sins, turned their thoughts first of all to the exodus from Egypt, and, remembering this, returned to God Who had brought them out. This memory and this refuge were many times impressed upon them by Moses, and afterward repeated by David. How much rather ought we to call to mind our exodus from Egypt, and, remembering, turn back again to Him Who led us forth through the washing of regeneration, which we are bidden remember for this very purpose." The Babylon Captivity Of The Church

"Do not think lightly of faith, which is a work, and of all works the most excellent and the most difficult to do. Through it alone you will be saved, even if you should be compelled to do without any other works. For it is a work of God, not of man, as Paul teaches. The other works He works through us and with our help, but this one He works in us and without our help." The Babylon Captivity Of The Church

"If I did not offend the world, I should have cause to fear that what I have done is displeasing to God." D'Aubigne, History Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century, Vol III, Book X, Chapter XIII

"Those things which have been delivered to us by God in the Sacred Scriptures must be sharply distinguished from those that have been invented by men in the Church, it matters not how eminent they be for saintliness and scholarship." The Babylon Captivity Of The Church

"We ought to see to it that every article of faith of which we boast be certain, pure, and based on clear passages of scripture." The Babylon Captivity Of The Church

"The Word of God is incomparably superior to the Church, and in this Word the Church, being a creature, has nothing to decree, ordain, or make, but only to be decreed, ordained, and made." The Babylon Captivity Of The Church

"The Church can give no promise of grace; that is the work of God alone." The Babylon Captivity Of The Church

"It is a shameful and wicked slavery for a Christian man, who is free, to be subject to any but heavenly and divine traditions." The Babylon Captivity Of The Church

"The sacrament of ordination has been and is a most approved device for the establishing of all the horrible things that have been wrought hitherto and will yet be wrought in the Church. Here Christian brotherhood has perished, here shepherds have been turned into wolves, servants into tyrants, churchmen into worse than worldlings." The Babylon Captivity Of The Church

"We are all priests, as many of us as are Christians." The Babylon Captivity Of The Church

"The Devil begat Darknesse; Darknesse begat Ignorance; Ignorance begat Errour, and his Brethren: Errour begat Free-will, and Presumption out of Self conceit; Free-will begat Merit..." Prophecyes Of Martin Luther

"Whatsoever the world counteth to be good and holy without Christ, is nothing else but sin, error, and flesh." Commentary On St. Paul's Epistle To The Galatians

"God is a Being whose will acknowledges no cause: neither is it for us to prescribe rules to His sovereign pleasure, or call Him to account for what He does. He has neither superior nor equal; and His will is the rule of all things. He did not thus will such and such things because they were right, and He was bound to will them; but they are therefore equitable and right because He wills them. The will of man, indeed, may be influenced and moved; but God's will never can. To assert the contrary is to undeify Him." Bondage Of The Will

"The devil is a marvellous persuader, and knoweth how to amplify the least sin, yea a very trifle, in such sort, that he which is tempted shall think it to be a most heinous and horrible crime, and worthy of eternal damnation." Bondage Of The Will

"Accursed be that charity which is preserved through the loss of the doctrine of faith, to the which all things ought to give place, be it charity, an Apostle, or an angel from heaven, &c." Commentary On St. Paul's Epistle To The Galatians

"The first and principal fruit of the power of the Word is faith." The Fruits And Signs Of The Power Of The Word Of God, Complete Sermons Of Martin Luther, Vol I

"The true difference between godly faith and human faith consists also in this, that human faith cleaves to the person of the preacher, believes, trusts and honors the Word for the sake of him who spake it. But godly faith, on the other hand, cleaves to the Word, which is God himself; he believes trusts and honors the Word, not because of him who preaches it; but because he feels it so surely the truth that no one can ever turn him again from it, even if the same preacher were to try to do it." The Fruits And Signs Of The Power Of The Word Of God, Complete Sermons Of Martin Luther, Vol I

"Unity, peace, and humility are also found among murderers, public sinners, even among hypocrites. It is however a unity of the flesh and not of the spirit; as Pilate and Herod became reconciled to one another and exercised a peaceful and humble spirit toward each other." The Fruits And Signs Of The Power Of The Word Of God, Complete Sermons Of Martin Luther, Vol I

"A Christian should be a man of few words and of many deeds, as he will surely be, if he is a true Christian. If he is not such a man then he is not yet a real Christian." The Fruits And Signs Of The Power Of The Word Of God, Complete Sermons Of Martin Luther, Vol I

"God judges according to what is at the bottom of the heart, and for this reason, His law makes its demands on the inmost heart and cannot be satisfied with works, but rather punishes works that are done otherwise than from the bottom of the heart, as hypocrisy and lies. Hence all men are called liars, in Psalm cxvi, for the reason that no one keeps or can keep God's law from the bottom of the heart... and God's wrath is deserved, even though outwardly there seem to be many good works and an honorable life." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"You will find that doing the works of the law and fulfilling the law are two very different things... since under all these works and along with them there remains in the heart dislike for the law and the compulsion to keep it, these works are all wasted and have no value." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"Pleasure and love for the law is put into the heart by the Holy Ghost... But the Holy Ghost is not given except in, with, and by faith in Jesus Christ... and faith does not come, save only through God's Word or Gospel, which preaches Christ, that He is God's Son and a man, and has died and risen again for our sakes... Hence it comes that faith alone makes righteous and fulfils the law; for out of Christ's merit, it brings the Spirit, and the Spirit makes the heart glad and free, as the law requires that it shall be. Thus good works come out of faith." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"Sin, in the Scripture, means not only the outward works of the body, but all the activities that move men to the outward works, namely, the inmost heart, with all its powers... the Scriptures look especially into the heart and have regard to the root and source of all sin, which is unbelief in the inmost heart. As, therefore, faith alone makes righteous, and brings the Spirit, and produces pleasure in good, eternal works, so unbelief alone commits sin, and brings up the flesh, and produces bad external works." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"Before good or bad works are done, which are the fruits, there must first be in the heart faith or unbelief, which is the root, the sap, the chief power of all sin." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"Grace means properly God's favor, or the good-will God bears us, by which He is disposed to give us Christ and to pour into us the Holy Ghost, with His gifts." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"Grace does so much that we are accounted wholly righteous before God, for His grace is not divided or broken up, as are the gifts, but it takes us entirely into favor, for the sake of Christ our Intercessor and Mediator, and because of that the gifts are begun in us." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"Faith, however, is a divine work in us... No one can give himself faith... Pray God to work faith in you; else you will remain forever without faith, whatever you think or do." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"It is impossible to separate works from faith, quite as impossible as to separate heat and light from fire." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"All that is done apart from faith, or in unbelief, is false; it is hypocrisy and sin, no matter how good a show it makes." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"Thus the flesh is a man who lives and works inwardly and outwardly in the service of the flesh's profit and of this temporal life; the spirit is the man who lives and works, inwardly and outwardly, in the service of the Spirit and the future life." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"It is the nature of all the hypocrites to think themselves pure, and yet be full of covetousness, hatred, pride, and all uncleanness. These are they who despise God's goodness and in their hardness heap wrath upon themselves." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"The law works wrath rather than grace, because no one keeps it out of love for it and pleasure in it, so that what comes by the works of the law is disgrace rather than grace." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"By faith we are not so freed from sin that we can be idle, slack, and careless, as though there were no longer any sin in us. There is sin; but it is no longer counted for condemnation, because of the faith that strives against it. Therefore we have enough to do all our life long in taming the body, slaying its lusts, and compelling its members to obey the spirit and not the lusts, thus making our lives like the death and resurrection of Christ and completing our baptism -- which signifies the death of sin and the new life of grace -- until we are entirely pure of sins, and even our bodies rise again with Christ and live forever." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"Just as it is the nature of the divine law to drive men and make demands of them, so the flesh drives men and makes demands and rages against the spirit, and will have its own way. The spirit, too, drives men and makes demands contrary to the flesh, and will have its own way." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"The Spirit sighs within us and the creation longs with us that we may be rid of the flesh and of sin." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"We are so weak and uncertain that, if it were in our power, surely not one man would be saved, the devil would surely overpower us all; but since God is certain, and His predestination cannot fail, and no one can withstand Him, we still have hope against sin." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"In the absence of suffering and the cross and the danger of death, one cannot deal with predestination without harm and without secret wrath against God. The old Adam must die before he can endure this subject and drink the strong wine of it." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"He [Paul] teaches what true worship is; and he makes all Christians priests, who are to offer not money and cattle, as under the law, but their own bodies, with a slaying of the lusts. Then he describes the outward conduct of Christians, under spiritual government, telling how they are to teach, preach, rule, serve, give, suffer, love, live, and act toward friend, foe and all men. These are the works that a Christian does; for, as has been said, faith takes no holidays." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"It is better to yield a little to the weak in faith, until they grow stronger, than to have the doctrine of the Gospel come to naught. This is a peculiar work of love, for which there is great need even now, when with meat-eating and other liberties, men are rudely and roughly shaking weak consciences, before they know the truth." The Works Of Martin Luther, Vol VI, Preface To The Epistle To The Romans

"One little drop [speaking of the blood of Christ] is more worth than heaven and earth." Quoted By Thomas Brooks in Precious Remedies

"Few are saved, infinitely many are damned." Table Talk

"We must know that we are the children of wrath, and all our works, intentions and thoughts are nothing at all." Works, Vol. II

"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." Table Talk

"Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has: it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but, more frequently than not, struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God." Table Talk