Quotes from Martin Luther

No matter how insignificant the little office may be, they take a foot though they do not have an inch,73 and always want to be God themselves when they ought to be God's maid.

God has found out the guilt of your servants;

El hecho de que Cristo haya venido a este mundo y haya sufrido la muerte, significa que sin Cristo el hombre está perdido; significa que Cristo ha llegado a ser la única, la última posibilidad de salvación para el hombre.

For since through the sin of Adam we are sunk in blindness, so that we are wholly ignorant of God in all His will and counsel, it is not only foolish but also impossible of ourselves to prepare a light and a way by which to approach God and find out what He would have us do, as He says in the Book of Wisdom (9:13-14): "The thoughts of mortals are fearful and uncertain. For who among men can know what God wants?

The cause of this is not the rage and wickedness of the devil, nor that of the hordes of his Mohammed, but the damnable ingratitude and contempt for the Gospel on the part of those who have it but do not seriously care about it and see to it that they retain it.

For even the heathen poet said, "I was wrong in thinking that that kingdom which is established by force is stronger than that which is joined together by friendship."6

Accordingly, since a good nature and the Holy Spirit were joined, he had to become a distinguished poet, and there is no doubt at all that throughout his governorship he produced many other poems and contrived many other artifices of this kind that are not recorded in this book. But from this one example one can judge what kind of prophet he was, a man of the highest talent and spirit. In addition to these gifts, he had practice and experience in many troubles and vexations.

Therefore he who apprehends and believes the Word is upright, holy, and righteous. On the contrary, all enemies of the Word, although outwardly holy, are worthless and damned. These

He has come that they might reject their works; but this is a thing they cannot suffer, and they reject Him.

For it is difficult to believe in God without an example, to be led by God as He led Abraham, a solitary individual, to see all the other peoples having an abhorrence for the religion you follow, to find that you alone believe and follow something different from all other men.

God is the Poet, and we are the verses or songs He writes.

Begin with Christ. He came down to earth, lived among men, suffered, was crucified, and then He died, standing clearly before us, so that our hearts and eyes may fasten upon Him. Thus we shall be kept from climbing into heaven in a curious and futile search after the nature of God.

Thus a certain Silvanus refused to look at the sun because it was a physical light. At last, however, he saw in a vision that hell was full of monks.5 God undoubtedly abominates and condemns the superstitions of those men.

In everything we do or experience we should have a happy heart and know that for Christ's sake we are in grace and that everything we do pleases God, even the fact that out of the needs of the body we eat and drink and do our work.

La realidad de la situación del hombre —su efectiva carencia de libertad— le está oculta a éste mientras no conozca a Aquel en quien llega a entender y captar simultáneamente su propia realidad y la de Dios, su perdida condición y la misericordia divina, esas dos realidades que el hombre sólo puede comprender en uno y el mismo momento —o nunca.

Let us act wisely, therefore, and in the fear of God.

Holy Ghost goes first and before in what pertains to teaching; but in what concerns hearing, the Word goes first and before, and then the Holy Ghost follows after. For we must first hear the Word, and then afterwards the Holy Ghost 'works in our hearts; he works in the hearts of whom he will, and how he will, but never without the Word.

Y por esto mismo, su obra acerca del albedrío esclavo se convirtió al mismo tiempo en un cántico de alabanza a la libre majestad de Dios y su elección de gracia, por cuanto ambos, Dios y el hombre, recobran ahora el título correcto que les corresponde.

The gospel also is not a law book that contains many good teachings, as has been thought in the past. It doesn't tell us to do good works to become virtuous but announces God's grace to us, given freely and without our merit. It tells us how Christ stood as our representative. He paid for our sins and wiped them out so that we can become faithful and blessed through his work.

Even if I knew the world was going to go to pieces I'd still plant an apple tree today

we shouldn't attribute the power of justification to something formed in us that makes us pleasing to God. We must attribute it to faith, which takes hold of Christ the Savior and keeps him in our hearts. This faith justifies us apart from love and prior to love. We concede that we must also teach about good works and love. But we only teach these at the proper time and place—when the question deals with how we should live, not how we are justified.

Therefore it is better to endure troubles with the hope of eternal deliverance than to avoid them and rush into eternal ruin.

For the world does not discern what faith is and what power faith has, such a hidden and unknown thing is faith to reason. According to the statement of Christ (cf. John 14:17), "The world cannot receive the Holy Spirit"; it neither sees nor hears nor perceives Him by any sense.

For this ought, above all things, to be received, and most firmly settled among Christians: - that the Holy Scriptures are a spiritual light by far more clear than the sun itself, especially in those things which pertain unto salvation or necessity.