On Suffering

"In 1523 an Augustinian friar, Lambert Thorn was arrested for adhering to his evangelical faith. Thorn spent five years in prison where he eventually died in 1528 - without recanting. On January 19, 1524 early in Thorn's imprisonment, Luther sent Thorn a letter of spiritual encouragement.
Luther led with reminders of Thorn's union with Christ and the strength this union provides: "Christ who is in you, has given abundant testimony that you do not need my words, for he himself suffers in you and is glorified in you. He has taken captive in you and reigns in you. He is oppressed in you and triumphs in you" Christ in us is not only the hope of glory; our union with him is also our sure hope this side of glory.
Luther told Lambert to be "mindful that you are not suffering alone but that He is with you who says, 'I will be with him in trouble; because he has set his love upon me, therefore I will deliver him. I will set him on high because he has known my name ... Be of good courage and he will strengthen your heart" Luther's counsel is the counsel of the Word: "He has said: In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
Counseling Under The Cross - How Martin Luther Applied The Gospel To Daily LIfe by Bob Kellemen, pg. 108

Be encouraged Saints God is with you and God is for you.

A Happy Fart

We are celebrating the 500 anniversary of a German Monk nailing his 95 Thesis to the door of the church. Martin Luther the man who started the Reformation. I wonder sometimes how many churches would welcome the man who said the following:

A happy fart never comes from a miserable ass.
Martin Luther
He who loves not wine, women and song remains a fool his whole life long.
Martin Luther
False preachers are worse than deflowerers of virgins.
Martin Luther

Luther was full of lines like these, he was tough, his speech could be street level, he could be brash and did things that offended people. But this was the man God chose, he was not perfect but these are the reason's that I am drawn to Luther. I have found that he is a good companion to have as I pursue God. My only wish is to be as witty as he and to believe and preach the word of God with the power and strength that he demonstrated. If you didn't laugh at the line about a happy fart than you just might be a miserable ass. (Mic drop)

The Gift Of Music

Heres a word to go to sleep on or to get up to:“The devil, the originator of sorrowful anxieties and restless troubles, flees before the sound of music almost as much as before the Word of God....Music is a gift and grace of God, not an invention of men. Thus it drives out the devil and makes people cheerful. Then one forgets all wrath, impurity, and other devices.” Martin Luther
This is why I love music all music. I thank God for the ability to play music, let your heart rejoice at the gift of music.

Luther on Salvation

“So then, have we nothing to do to obtain this righteousness? No, nothing at all! For this righteousness comes by doing nothing, hearing nothing, knowing nothing, but rather in knowing and
believing this only – that Christ has gone to the right hand of the Father, not to become our judge, but to become for us our wisdom, our righteousness, our holiness, our salvation! Now God sees no sin in us, for in this heavenly righteousness sin has no place. So now we may certainly think, ‘Although I still sin, I don’t despair, because Christ lives, who is both my righteousness and my eternal life.’ In that righteousness I have no sin, no fear, no guilty conscience, no fear of death. I am indeed a sinner in this life of mine and in my own righteousness, but I have another life, another righteousness above this life, which is in Christ, the Son of God, who knows no sin or death, but is eternal righteousness and eternal life. For if the truth of being justified by Christ alone (not by our works) is lost, then all Christian truths are lost… On this truth and only on this truth the Church is built and has its being.” (Martin Luther) 

On this truth I stand and am convinced that it is the only solid foundation the church can be built on. I so desire that Christians know this truth and build their lives upon it and take great comfort in it. I challenge you to print this out carry it around with you and read it over and over until the truth of it frees your soul from all the religious bondage you have been taught and the condemnation that weighs you down and you experience the deep peace of God. If this makes me a Lutheran than so be it.

Martin Luther compares the Devil to a Chained Dog

Martin Luther compares the devil to a chained dog:

Why should you fear? Why should you be afraid? Do you not know that the prince of this world has been judged? He is no lord, no prince any more. You have a different, a stronger Lord, Christ, who has overcome and bound him. Therefore let the prince and god of this world look sour, bare his teeth, make a great noise, threaten, and act in an unmannerly way; he can do no more than a bad dog on a chain, which may bark, run here and there, and tear at the chain. But because it is tied and you avoid it, it cannot bite you. So the devil acts toward every Christian. Therefore everything depends on this that we do not feel secure but continue in the fear of God and in prayer; then the chained dog cannot harm us. But this chained dog may at least frighten him who would be secure and go ahead without caution, although he may not come close enough to be bitten.

The person who is secure is trusting in himself and rushes forward without caution. Learn the lesson of Colossians 2:15 "He (Jesus) disarmed the (demonic) rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in the cross" Get this picture of Satan and his demons in your head and do not be afraid.

The Working Of God's Word

"In short, I will preach it, teach it, write it, but I will constrain no man by force, for faith must come freely without compulsion. Take myself as an example. I opposed indulgences and all the papists, but never with force. I simply taught, preached, and wrote God's Word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept, or drank Wittenberg beer with my friends Philip and Amsdorf, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such loses upon it. I did nothing; the Word did everything." Martin Luther

Our confidence must be in the Word of God not our ability, or our programs, or our music, or the latest bestseller, or our advertising, only the Word of God can accomplish God's purposes and change lives.

'The Three Kinds of Good Life for the Instruction of Consciences"

In 1521 the Martin Luther preached a sermon called 'The Three Kinds of Good Life for the Instruction of Consciences,' found in vol. 44 of LW. This goes along with what I posted by C.S.Lewis:

Luther says there are 'three kinds of conscience and three kinds of sin, as well as three kinds of the good life with three kinds of good works' (235). The first kind 'is concerned only with outward works' (235). 'As a result of this kind of teaching, people become hardened and blind' (236). '[T]heir holiness is circumscribed by their five senses and their bodily existence. And yet, this very holiness shines brighter in the eyes of the world than does real holiness' (238). This is the Pharisee, the person who does the right things but with a rotten heart.

The second kind of person has a well-developed conscience. It understands 'humility, meekness, gentleness, peace, fidelity, love, propriety, purity, and the like'(239). Such people, however, 'set about them in the wrong way' (240). They 'maintain a pious posture not out of their own desire, but because they fear disgrace, punishment, or hell. . . . And this false ground is so deep that no saint has ever fathomed its bottom.' Such people have a sensitive conscience, unlike the first kind, but they follow it not from godliness but self-love. Luther then prepares to transition into the third kind of person. 'God does not just want such works by themselves. He wants them to be performed gladly and willingly. And when there is no joy in doing them and the right will and motive are absent, then they are dead in God's eyes' (240). Luther explains that none of us can rise above this second kind of person of our own ability.

The third kind of person is different not in externals but is qualitatively different in the heart--this person wants to obey. They are characterized by two realities, says Luther: self-denial and the Holy Spirit. He then concludes: 'When the Spirit comes . . . look, he makes a pure, free, cheerful, glad, and loving heart, a heart which is simply gratuitously righteous, seeking no reward, fearing no punishment. Such a heart is holy for the sake of holiness . . . and does everything with joy' (241-42).

The Great Exchange

“This is that mystery which is rich in divine grace to sinners: wherein by a wonderful exchange our sins are no longer ours but Christ’s, and the righteousness of Christ not Christ’s but ours. He has emptied himself of his righteousness that he might clothe us with it and fill us with it; and he has taken our evils upon himself that he might deliver us from them."

“Learn Christ and him crucified. Learn to pray to him and, despairing of yourself, say, ‘Thou, Lord Jesus, art my righteousness, but I am thy sin. Thou hast taken upon thyself what is mine and hast given to me what is thine. Thou hast taken upon thyself what thou wast not and hast given to me what I was not.'”

Martin Luther, quoted in J. I. Packer and Mark Dever, In My Place Condemned He Stood (Wheaton, 2008), page 85

What Wisdom! This Is Why I Love Luther

"If there is anything in us, it is not our own; it is a gift of God. But if it is a gift of God, then it is entirely a debt one owes to love, that is, to the law of Christ. And if it is a debt owed to love, then I must serve others with it, not myself.
Thus my learning is not my own; it belongs to the unlearned and is the debt I owe them...My wisdom belongs to the foolish, my power to the oppressed. Thus my wealth belongs to the poor, my righteousness to the sinners...
It is with all these qualities that we must stand before God and intervene on behalf of those who do not have them, as though clothed with someone else's garment...But even before men we must, with the same love, render them service against their detractors and those who are violent toward them; for this is what Christ did for us.” 

― Martin Luther, Luther's Works Lectures on Galatians/Chapters 5-6 Chapters 1-6

Here is how grace is manifest in the Christian's life, this is true freedom. This is what the church needs to teach and live. I must say this refreshed my weary soul and I hope it does for your soul also.

The Right To Become A Child Of God

In John 1:12, the apostle writes that 'to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.' On August 25, 1537, Martin Luther entered a pulpit in Denmark to fill in for a friend and preached on this text.

No man, no matter, who he may be, can ponder the magnificence sufficiently or express it adequately in words. We poor mortals, who are condemned and miserable sinners through our first birth from Adam, are singled out for such great honor and nobility that the eternal and almighty God is our Father and we are His children. Christ is our Brother, and we are His fellow heirs (Rom 8:17). And the dear angels, such as Michael and Gabriel, are not to be our masters but our brothers and servants. . . .
This is a grand and overpowering thought! Whoever really reflects on it--the children of the world will not, but Christians will, although not all of them either--will be so startled and frightened by the thought that he will be prompted to ask: 'My dear, can this really be possible and true?'
. . . [T]he world rates it a much higher honor and privilege to be the son and heir of a prince, a king, or a count than to be the possessor of God's spiritual goods, although by comparison all these are nothing but poor bags of worms and their glory sheer stench. Just compare all this with the ineffable dignity and nobility of which the evangelist speaks. . . . If we really believed with all our heart, firmly and unflinchingly, that the eternal God, Creator and Ruler of the world, is our Father, with whom we have an everlasting abode as children and heirs, not of this transitory wicked world but of all God's imperishable, heavenly, and inexpressible treasures, then we would, indeed, concern ourselves but little with all that the world prizes so highly; much less would we covet it and strive after it.

Indeed, we would regard the world's riches, treasures, glories, splendor, and might--compared with the dignity and honor due us as the children and heirs, not of a mortal emperor but of the eternal and almighty God--as trifling, paltry, vile, leprous, yes, as stinking filth and poison.
--Luther, preaching on John 1:12, in LW 22:87-89

Law or Gospel?

“The Law terrorizes the conscience. The Law reveals the wrath and judgment of God. The Gospel does not threaten. The Gospel announces that Christ is come to forgive the sins of the world. The Gospel conveys to us the inestimable treasures of God.”
― Martin Luther, Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians

How The Gospel Is Lost

“When the offense of the Cross ceases, when the rage of the enemies of the Cross abates, when everything is quiet, it is a sign that the devil is the door-keeper of the Church and that the pure doctrine of God's Word has been lost.”
― Martin Luther, Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians

Paul said, "If I still preach circumcision why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed." Paul is saying if I was still preaching the law why would people persecute me? There is no offense in the law or rules or standards of conduct. When the church stops preaching the cross stops preaching the gospel the devil moves into the church and the word of God is lost.

The Devil Can Kiss My Backside

“It is the supreme art of the devil that he can make the law out of the gospel. If I can hold on to the distinction between law and gospel, I can say to him any and every time that he should kiss my backside. Even if I sinned I would say, ‘Should I deny the gospel on this account?’ . . . Once I debate about what I have done and left undone, I am finished. But if I reply on the basis of the gospel, ‘The forgiveness of sins covers it all,’ I have won.” ( Martin Luther).

Are You a Sinner/Saint or are You a Religious Hypocrite?

Intrinsically the saints are always sinners; extrinsically, therefore, they are always justified. Hypocrites, on the other hand, are always [viewing themselves as] intrinsically righteous; extrinsically, therefore, they are always sinners.
--Martin Luther, LW 25:257; quoted in Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, 4:194

If you are a saint you are intrinsically always a sinner. Sin belongs to your essential nature. Extrinsically you are always justified, because you know that your justification does not come from you at all, it is a gift by grace from God. On the other hand if you are a sinner but you view yourself as intrinsically righteous you are a hypocrite and are always a sinner extrinsically. If you think basically you are a good person you are deceived and extrinsically you are always a sinner because you don't acknowledge or believe you are a sinner. Justification is not extrinsically yours because its not a basic part of you. Religious people always get this backwards that's why they are hypocrites. Are you a sinner/saint or are you a religious hypocrite? Thanks Marty for this nugget of truth.

God Gives Grace To The Humble

He gives grace to the humble. -1 Peter 5:5

God has assuredly promised his grace to the humble, that is, to those who lament and despair of themselves. But no man can be thoroughly humbled until he knows that his salvation is utterly beyond his own powers, devices, endeavors, will, and works, and depends entirely on the choice, will, and work of another, namely, of God alone.

For as long as he is persuaded that he himself can do even the least thing toward his salvation, he retains some self-confidence and does not altogether despair of himself, and therefore he is not humbled before God, but presumes that there is--or at least hopes or desires that there may be--some place, time, and work for him, by which he may at length attain to salvation. But when a man has no doubt that everything depends on the will of God, then he completely despairs of himself and chooses nothing for himself, but waits for God to work; then he has come close to grace.
Martin Luther -- Bondage of the Will, in Luther's Works, 33:61-62

The older I get the more I despair of myself because I know that my salvation is completely beyond my own power my own will my own works and I am depending entirely on the choice, will, and work of God alone.

Jesus Offers Pure Grace

'. . . full of grace and truth.' -John 1:14
Luther, preaching on this text--
This world is a veritable vale of tears, an abode of sadness, a cheerless desert; for we behold Adam and all men full of God's disfavor, displeasure, wrath, curse, and condemnation. Adam is not full of grace.
By contrast, nothing but pure grace, love, peace, joy, and favor is evident in Christ. All of these are lavishly and profusely His, since He is the dear Child of the heavenly Father. Therefore He is a far different man from Adam. The comparison between the two is like that of devil and angel. (LW, 22:119)

We are surrounded by the children of Adam who are lost blinded by the devil and are the children of disobedience. Paul added "among whom we all once lived ... and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind" Whats the difference? We have received mercy and grace. We were lost in Adam but in Christ we received "nothing but pure grace, love, peace, and favor in Christ" Think about what God has freely given to you and be thankful.

Don't Make Jesus Unprofitable To You

Paul does not say that works are objectionable, but to build one’s hopes for righteousness on works is disastrous, for that makes Christ good for nothing. Let us bear this in mind when the devil accuses our conscience. When that dragon accuses us of having done no good at all, say to him, “You trouble me with the remembrance of my past sins; you remind me that I have done no good. But this does not bother me, because if I were to trust in my own good deeds, or despair because I have done no good deeds, Christ would profit me neither way. I am not going to make Him unprofitable to me. This I would do if I should presume to purchase for myself the favor of God by my good deeds or if I should despair of my salvation because of my sins.”
Luther’s commentary on Galatians

I hope your not getting tired of my Luther quotes, I find him so refreshing, so straight forward, so clear as to the gospel and the law. I always feel liberated when I read Luther it clears my mind from all the religious mumbo-jumbo and gets right to the heart of the matter.

Are You God's Material?

"Therefore, God accepts only the forsaken, cures only the sick, gives sight only to the blind, restores life to only the dead, sanctifies only the sinners, gives wisdom only to the unwise fools. In short, He has mercy only on those who are wretched, and gives grace only to those who are not in grace. Therefore no proud saint, no wise or just person, can become God's material, and God's purpose cannot be fulfilled in him. He remains in his own work and makes a fictitious, pretended, false, and painted saint of himself, that is, a hypocrite." - Martin Luther from "The Seven Penitential Psalms."

Profound thoughts from Luther he pulls no punches he makes it as clear as it could possibly be made. The question is can you see it? Do you know pure grace?

Thoughts On Spiritual Warfare from Martin Luther

By good experience, I know the devil’s craft and subtlety, that he not only blows the law into us, to terrify and affright us, and out of mole-hills to make mountains,—that is, to make a very hell of what is but a small and little sin, which as a wondrous juggler he can perform artfully; but also, can sometimes make such to be great and heavy sins which are no sins; for he brings one threatening sentence or other out of the Holy Scriptures, and before we are aware, gives so hard a blow to our hearts, in a moment, that we lose all light and sight, and take him to be the true Christ, whereas it is only the envious devil.
Though Satan ceases not to plague the Christians, and to shoot at us his fiery darts, ’tis very good and profitable for us, for thereby he makes us the more sure of the word and doctrine, so that faith increases, and is stronger in us. We are often shaken, and, indeed, now and then the devil drives out of us a sour and bitter sweat, but he cannot bring us to despair; for Christ always has kept the field, and through us he will keep it still. Through hope, in all manner of trials and temptations, we hold ourselves on Christ.
It is almost incredible how God enables us, weak flesh and blood, to enter combat with the devil, and to beat and overcome so powerful a spirit as he, and with no other weapon but only his Word, which by faith we take hold on. This must needs grieve and vex that great and powerful enemy.
From Table Talk by Martin Luther

Luther knew a lot about spiritual warfare and offers insight and encouragement to us about what we need to remember when we are attacked.

Laughing At The Devil - Spiritual Counsel From Martin Luther

The following is from a letter written in July 1530 to Jerome Weller, a 31-year-old friend who had previously lived in the Luther home, tutored his children, and was now struggling with spiritual despair:
. . Excellent Jerome, You ought to rejoice in this temptation of the devil because it is a certain sign that God is propitious and merciful to you.
You say that the temptation is heavier than you can bear, and that you fear that it will so break and beat you down as to drive you to despair and blasphemy. I know this wile of the devil. If he cannot break a person with his first attack, he tries by persevering to wear him out and weaken him until the person falls and confesses himself beaten.
Whenever this temptation comes to you, avoid entering upon a disputation with the devil and do not allow yourself to dwell on those deadly thoughts, for to do so is nothing short of yielding to the devil and letting him have his way. Try as hard as you can to despise those thoughts which are induced by the devil. In this sort of temptation and struggle, contempt is the best and easiest method of winning over the devil. Laugh your adversary to scorn and ask who it is with whom you are talking.
By all means flee solitude, for the devil watches and lies in wait for you most of all when you are alone. This devil is conquered by mocking and despising him, not by resisting and arguing with him. . When the devil throws our sins up to us and declares we deserve death and hell, we ought to speak thus:
“I admit that I deserve death and hell.
What of it?
Does this mean that I shall be sentenced to eternal damnation?
By no means.
For I know One who suffered and made a satisfaction in my behalf.
His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Where he is, there I shall be also.”
Yours, Martin Luther

Luther: Letters of Spiritual Counsel, trans. and ed. Theodore G. Tappert (orig., 1960; reprint, Vancouver, BC: Regent College Publishing, 2003), 85

Tremendous spiritual counsel offered up by Luther, let this sink in its very liberating.