“How to Fight the Daily Battle of Faith” – Luther

 

Martin Luther on the battle we all face daily.

Although I feel my sin and cannot have as confident and cheerful a heart as I should like, still I must permit the Word to have sway and say accordingly: “I am lord over sin, and I don’t want to know of any sin.” “Indeed,” you will say, “let your own conscience say that; it feels and experiences something far different.” That is surely true; if things followed the rule of feeling, I would surely be lost. But the Word must be valid over and beyond all of the world’s feeling and mine. It must remain true no matter how insignificant it may appear and how feebly it may be believed by me; for we all see and experience the fact that sin condemns us straightway and consigns us to hell, that death consumes us and all the world, and that no one can escape it. And you venture to speak to me of life and of righteousness, of which I cannot behold as much as a small spark! To be sure, that must be but a feeble life. Yes, indeed, but a feeble life by reason of our faith. But no matter how feeble it is, as long as the Word and a small spark of faith remain in the heart, it shall develop into a fire of life which fills heaven and earth and quenches both death and every other misfortune like a little drop of water. And the feeble faith shall tear these asunder so that neither death nor sin will be seen or felt any longer. However, to adhere to faith in the face of seeing and feeling calls for an arduous battle.

Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 28: 1 Corinthians 7, 1 Corinthians 15, Lectures on 1 Timothy, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald and Helmut T. Lehmann, 1 Co 15:1–2 (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999).

Source: Daily Luther: How to Fight the Daily Battle of Faith | CyberBrethren – A Lutheran Blog.

 

“How to Know the Mighty Power of God” – Luther

 

Wisdom from Martin Luther:

We must learn to know the power and might of God in this same Word, namely, that we are saved thereby and solely by it resist the devil’s power and all errors. For to believe firmly that I am a Christian, a child of God, and that I am saved, when I feel sin and a bad conscience; to believe that I will live eternally, endowed with a beautiful, glorious body, although I lie under the sod—that requires a divine and heavenly power and a wisdom which is not governed by any feeling or perceiving, but which can look beyond that, convinced that this is not human prattle or phantasy but that it is the Word of God, “who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20).

Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 28: 1 Corinthians 7, 1 Corinthians 15, Lectures on 1 Timothy, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald and Helmut T. Lehmann, 1 Co 15:1–2 (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999).

Source: Daily Luther: How to Know the Mighty Power of God | CyberBrethren – A Lutheran Blog.

 

“Why We Must Cling to the Word and Sacraments” – Luther

 

Martin Luther on clinging to the Word and Sacraments.

Whoever wants to be proof against that and be safe must take this admonition to heart and be warned to retain and cling to this Word which Paul proclaimed and to ignore whatever objections others might raise to it, even though these may boast of their side of the story and lend it a good appearance. For here you hear what fruit this Gospel of St. Paul produced among them and what fruit it still produces, namely, that all became Christians through it and were saved and that people must still be saved by it. And since this fruit is ours by virtue of the Gospel, why should we search further or permit ourselves to be diverted from this and be directed and led to other things? For whatever directs us otherwise can surely not be as good, but it must be false and sheer seduction, since it pretends to have something which we already have by means of this Gospel; and thereby it denies all this or disdains it utterly. Therefore Paul addresses the Corinthians as though it were unnecessary to admonish them beyond asking them to recall and observe what they received and how they became Christians. “For if you note that,” he wants to say, “you will surely adhere to it and remain safe from all sorts of error. For you can easily differentiate between my doctrine and theirs and judge in accordance with what you gain from each, observing whether they are able to submit something better than my Gospel, by which you are saved.” And let us note here that Paul is speaking of the oral presentation of the Gospel preached by him and that he assigns to it such a claim and such praise, that they “stand in it and are saved by it” alone. This is clone in contrast to our blind spirits who disdain the external Word and Sacrament, and in their stead adduce their own imaginary spiritism.

Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 28: 1 Corinthians 7, 1 Corinthians 15, Lectures on 1 Timothy, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald and Helmut T. Lehmann, 1 Co 15:1–2 (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999).

Source: Daily Luther: Why We Must Cling to the Word and Sacraments | CyberBrethren – A Lutheran Blog.

 

“The Dangers of Satiety and Curiosity” – Luther

There can be danger when it comes to things like curiosity.

Factious spirits enjoy two great advantages with the rabble: the one is curiosity, the other, satiety. Those are two large gates through which the devil can pass with a wagon of hay, indeed, with all of hell, prompting them to say: “Oh, this man can preach about nothing but Baptism, the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Creed, with which even the children are conversant. What’s the idea, that he constantly harangues us with the same message? Who is not able to do that? After all, one must not always stick with the same thing, but develop and progress, etc.” That signifies satiety with and weariness of the message. Junker Curiosity joins himself to this and says: “Oh, we must also hear this fellow. He is a fine, learned, and pious man, etc.” Thus they lend a hand and humor this curiosity to hear whatever their ears itch to hear, saying: “Dear people, all this while you have been hearing the selfsame thing. You must progress beyond that and hear and examine not only one but also others.” And thus a person follows these people, lets himself be coaxed and wheedled, stands there gaping and staring and gives ear to all that is told him.

Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 28: 1 Corinthians 7, 1 Corinthians 15, Lectures on 1 Timothy, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald and Helmut T. Lehmann, 1 Co 15:1–2 (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999).

Source: Daily Luther: The Dangers of Satiety and Curiosity | CyberBrethren – A Lutheran Blog.