Martin Luther: Trending quotes (page 4)

“Tell your master that if there were as many devils at Worms as tiles on its roofs, I would enter.”

“Omnipotence and foreknowledge of God, I repeat, utterly destroy the doctrine of 'free-will' … doubtless it gives the greatest possible offense to common sense or natural reason, that God, Who is proclaimed as being full of mercy and goodness, and so on, should of His own mere will abandon, harden and damn men, as though He delighted in the sins and great eternal torments of such poor wretches. It seems an iniquitous, cruel, intolerable thought to think of God; and it is this that has been such a stumbling block to so many great men down through the ages. And who would not stumble at it? I have stumbled at it myself more than once, down to the deepest pit of despair, so that I wished I had never been made a man. (That was before I knew how health-giving that despair was, and how close to grace”

“God the Almighty has made our rulers mad; they actually think they can do—and order their subjects to do—whatever they please. And the subjects make the mistake of believing that they, in turn, are bound to obey their rulers in everything.”

“In particular, at this point also urge governing authorities and parents to rule well and to send their children to school. Point out how they are obliged to do so and what a damnable sin they commit if they do not, for thereby, as the worst enemies of God and humanity, they overthrow and lay waste both the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world. Explain very clearly what kind of horrible damage they do when they do not help to train children as pastors, preachers, civil servants, etc., and tell them that God will punish them dreadfully for this. For in our day and age it is necessary to preach about these things. The extent to which parents and governing authorities are now sinning in these matters defies description. The devil, too, intends to do something horrible in all this.”

“We may search long to find where God is, but we shall find Him in those who keep the words of Christ. For the Lord Christ saith, " If any man love me, he will keep my words; and we will make our abode with him."”

“All the passages in the Holy Scriptures that mention assistance are they that do away with "free-will", and these are countless…For grace is needed, and the help of grace is given, because "free-will" can do nothing.”

“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.”

“One learns more of Christ in being married and rearing children than in several lifetimes spent in study in a monastery.”

“Here I stand; I can do no otherwise. God help me. Amen!”

“Every book is a great action and every great action is a book!”

“The soul can do without everything except the word of God, without which none at all of its wants are provided for.”

“Faith must trample under foot all reason, sense, and understanding.”

“The truth of the matter is rather as Christ says, "He who is not with me is against me."… He does not say "He who is not with me is not against me either, but merely neutral.”

“Be thou comforted, little dog; thou too in Resurrection shall have a little golden tail.”

“The gospel cannot be truly preached without offense and tumult.”

“You cannot keep birds from flying over your head
but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair”

“Pestis eram vivus… moriens tua mors ero - "Living, I was your plague… dying, I shall be your death.”

“Pray, and let God worry.”

“To be convinced in our hearts that we have forgiveness of sins and peace with God by grace alone is the hardest thing.”