Quotes About Belief

Faith is Individual

Wer ein Christ sein will, der steche seiner Vernunft die Augen aus.

One thing, and one alone, is necessary for life, justification, and Christian liberty; and that is the most holy word of God, the Gospel of Christ, as He says, "I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me shall not die eternally" (John xi. 25), and also, "If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John viii. 36), and, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. iv. 4).

Thus a Christian, being consecrated by his faith, does good works; but he is not by these works made a more sacred person, or more a Christian.

The most important requirement of prayer is firmly holding on to God and believing that he is merciful and compassionate—someone who wants to help us.

For as works do not make a believing man, so neither do they make a justified man; but faith, as it makes a man a believer and justified, so also it makes his works good.

Therefore I permit every man to hold either of these opinions, as he chooses. My one concern at present is to remove all scruples of conscience, so that no one may fear being called a heretic if he believes that real bread and real wine are present on the altar, and that every one may feel at liberty to ponder, hold, and believe either one view or the other without endangering his salvation.

You will thus wrong your faith, which alone bestows all things on you, and the increase of which, either by working or by suffering, is alone to be cared for.

M]y conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.

We conclude therefore that a Christian man does not live in himself, but in Christ and in his neighbour, or else is no Christian: in Christ by faith; in his neighbour by love.

I rejoice greatly that the simple faith of this sacrament is still to be found, at least among the common people. For as they do not understand, neither do they dispute whether accidents are present without substance, but believe with a simple faith that Christ's body and blood are truly contained there, and leave to those who have nothing else to do the argument about what contains them.

That's why God imposes the cross on all believers. He wants us to experience and demonstrate God's power.

21. A theologian of glory calls evil good and good evil. A theologian of the cross calls a thing what it actually is.

Human reason can think only in terms of the Law. It mumbles: "This I have done, this I have not done." But faith looks to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, given into death for the sins of the whole world. To turn one's eyes away from Jesus means to turn them to the Law.

For the Spirit blows where He wills (John 3:8), not where we will.

For my part, if I cannot fathom how the bread is the body of Christ, yet I will take my reason captive to the obedience of Christ [II Cor. 10:5], and clinging simply to his words, firmly believe not only that the body of Christ is in the bread, but that the bread is the body of Christ.

We say, faith apprehends Jesus Christ. Christian faith is not an inactive quality in the heart. If it is true faith it will surely take Christ for its object. Christ, apprehended by faith and dwelling in the heart, constitutes Christian righteousness, for which God gives eternal life.

The true God has never yet smiled upon a person for his charity or virtues, but only for the sake of Christ's merits.

it is completely contrary to the nature of sin to confess that one has sinned.

Let us then consider it certain and firmly established that the soul can do without anything except the Word of God and that where the Word of God is missing there is no help at all for the soul.

For example, imagine that two people each have a hundred dollars. One person carries it in a paper bag. The other keeps it in an iron chest. Both have the same treasure no matter where they put it. Similarly, we all have the same Christ. It doesn't matter if one person has a stronger or weaker faith than another. Both of them still believe in the same Christ and have everything through him.

God doesn't test us because he enjoys it. He tests us to find out whether we love him above all things.

Therefore the whole meaning is that he who by the grace of God believes suffers persecution either from the world or from the flesh.

Ask God to work faith in you; otherwise you will remain eternally without faith, no matter what you try to do or fabricate.