Quotes from Martin Luther

All Christian doctrine and life are gone, and there is left, instead of Christ, nothing more than Mohammed with his doctrine of works and especially of the sword. That is the chief doctrine of the Turkish faith in which all abominations, all errors, all devils are piled up in one heap.

And when the angel orders the resurrection of Christ to be announced to the disciples, he wants it to be made known to Peter in particular, because he was in the greatest distress. Peter knew how to decline the word !

For He has His strength in His mouth, not a sword in His hand.

Hence every external worship and religion is dregs, which alone are left to be drunk by those who by it exalt themselves over others.

In brief, trust not in any who exalt you, but in those who humiliate you. For this is the judgment of God: "He hath cast down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.

For repentance comes from the law of God, but faith or grace from the promises of God, as it is said, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God

If, therefore, you acknowledge that you have sin, if you tremble, if you are troubled by a feeling of God's wrath and by a horror of God's judgment and of hell, then have confidence. You are the one with whom God wants to speak, to whom God wants to show His mercy, and whom He wants to save.

Thus it is impossible that he should take his ease in this life, and not work for the good of his neighbours, since he must needs speak, act, and converse among men, just as Christ was made in the likeness of men and found in fashion as a man, and had His conversation among men.

As long as a person is in the world he cannot by his own efforts rid himself of sin, because the world is bent upon evil. The people of the world are the slaves of the devil. If we are not in the Kingdom of Christ, it is certain we belong to the kingdom of Satan and we are pressed into his service with every talent we possess.

To hear commandments is nothing unless the Spirit teaches us the Law without a mediator and Moses.

Thus the Apostle commands us to work with our own hands, that we may have to give to those that need. He might have said, that we may support ourselves; but he tells us to give to those that need.

What can it profit the soul that the body should be in good condition, free, and full of life; that it should eat, drink, and act according to its pleasure; when even the most impious slaves of every kind of vice are prosperous in these matters?