Seven Marks of a True Church

Bryan Wolfmueller has edited and made available a work by Martin Luther entitled On the Councils and the Churches. One of the treasures in this book is Luther’s list of seven marks for a true church.

1. This Christian, holy people is to be known by this, that it has God’s Word, though in quite unequal measure, as St. Paul says. Some have it altogether pure, others not entirely pure.… This is the main point. It is the high, chief, holy possession from which the Christian people take the name “holy,” for God’s Word is holy and sanctifies everything it touches; nay, it is the very holiness of God.
2. God’s people, or the Christian holy people, is known by the holy Sacrament of Baptism, when it is rightly taught and believed and used according to Christ’s ordinance.
3. God’s people, or a Christian, holy Church is known by the holy Sacrament of the Altar, when it is rightly administered according to Christ’s institution and is believed and received.
4. The people of God, or holy Christians, are known by the keys, which they publicly use. Christ decrees, in Matthew 18:15 that if a Christian sins, he shall be rebuked, and if he does not amend his ways, he shall be bound and cast out; but if he amends, he shall be set free. This is the power of the keys.
5. The Church is known outwardly by the fact that it consecrates or calls ministers, or has offices which they occupy. For we must have bishops, pastors, or preachers, to give, administer and use, publicly and privately, the four things, or precious possessions, that have been mentioned, for the sake of and in the name of the Church, or rather because of their institution by Christ…. The whole group cannot do these things, but must commit them, or allow them to be committed, to someone.
6. The holy, Christian people is known by prayer and public thanksgiving and praise to God. Where you see and hear that the Lord’s Prayer is prayed and the use of it is taught; where Psalms, or spiritual songs, are sung, in accordance with the Word of God and the right faith; when the Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Catechism are openly used; — there be sure that a holy Christian people is; for prayer, too, is one of the precious holy possessions, whereby everything is made holy, as St. Paul says.
7. The holy, Christian Church is outwardly known by the holy possession of the Holy Cross. It must endure all hardship and persecution, all kinds of temptation and evil (as the Lord’s Prayer says) from devil, world, and flesh; it must be inwardly sad, timid, terrified; outwardly poor, despised, sick, weak; thus it becomes like its head, Christ.

Every church has some or many of these marks to one degree or another, but where one finds these in there entirety and used correctly should be the norm.

Crucifying the Flesh

And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  (Gal 5:24)

True believers are no hypocrites.  They crucify the flesh with its evil desires and lusts.  Inasmuch as they have not altogether put off the sinful flesh they are inclined to sin.  They do not fear or love God as they should.  They are likely to be provoked to anger, to envy, to impatience, to carnal lust, and other emotions.  But they will not do the things to which the flesh incites them.  They crucify the flesh with its evil desires and lusts by fasting and exercise and, above all, by a walk in the Spirit.

Martin Luther, “Homily on the Epistle for Trinity XIV”, Church Postil

HT: Wil Weedon

Entirely Righteous and Holy

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lᴏʀᴅ.”  (1 Cor. 1:30-31)

What I have hitherto and constantly taught concerning this I know not how to change in the least, namely, that by faith, as St. Peter says, we acquire a new and clean heart, and God will and does account us entirely righteous and holy for the sake of Christ, our Mediator.  And although sin in the flesh has not yet been altogether removed or become dead, yet He will not punish or remember it.

And such faith, renewal, and forgiveness of sins is followed by good works.  And what there is still sinful or imperfect also in them shall not be accounted as sin or defect, for Christ's sake.  The entire man, both as to his person and his works, is declared to be righteous and holy from pure grace and mercy, shed upon us and spread over us in Christ.  Therefore we cannot boast of many merits and works, if they are viewed apart from grace and mercy, but as it is written, 1 Cor. 1:31: He who glories, let him glory in the Lᴏʀᴅ, namely, that he has a gracious God.  For thus all is well.  We say, besides, that if good works do not follow, faith is false and not true.

Martin Luther, Smalcald Articles Part III, Article XIII

Wrath and Grace—The Same God Pours Out Both

You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.  (Ex 20:5-6)

Although these words relate to all the commandments (as we shall hereafter learn), yet they are joined to this chief commandment because it is of first importance that men have a right head; for where the head is right, the whole life must be right, and vice versa.  Learn, therefore, from these words how angry God is with those who trust in anything but Him, and again, how good and gracious He is to those who trust and believe in Him alone with the whole heart;* so that His anger does not cease until the fourth generation, while, on the other hand, His blessing and goodness extend to many thousands, lest you live in such security and commit yourself to chance, as men of brutal heart, who think that it makes no great difference how they live.  He is a God who will not leave it unavenged if men turn from Him, and will not cease to be angry until the fourth generation, even until they are utterly exterminated.  Therefore He is to be feared, and not to be despised.† … Let every one seriously take this to heart, lest it be regarded as though a man had spoken it.  For to you it is a question either of eternal blessing, happiness, and salvation, or of eternal wrath, misery, and woe.  What more would you have or desire than that He so kindly promises to be yours with every blessing, and to protect and help you in all need?

Martin Luther, Large Catechism: 31-34, 41

*  Deuteronomy 6:5
†  Deuteronomy 10:20

From Heaven Above to Earth I Come

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”  (Luke 2:10-14)

“From heaven above to earth I come
To bear good news to every home;
Glad tidings of great joy I bring,
Whereof I now will say and sing:

“To you this night is born a child
Of Mary, chosen virgin mild;
This little child, of lowly birth,
Shall be the joy of all the earth.

“This is the Christ, our God and Lord,
Who in all need shall aid afford;
He will Himself your Savior be
From all your sins to set you free.

“He will on you the gifts bestow
Prepared by God for all below,
That in His kingdom, bright and fair,
You may with us His glory share.

“These are the tokens ye shall mark:
The swaddling-clothes and manger dark;
There ye shall find the Infant laid
By whom the heavens and earth were made.”

Now let us all with gladsome cheer
Go with the shepherds and draw near
To see the precious gift of God,
Who hath His own dear Son bestowed.

Give heed, my heart, lift up thine eyes!
What is it in yon manger lies?
Who is this child, so young and fair?
The blessed Christ-child lieth there.

Welcome to earth, Thou noble Guest,
Through whom the sinful world is blest!
Thou com’st to share my misery;
What thanks shall I return to Thee?

Ah, Lord, who hast created all,
How weak art Thou, how poor and small,
That Thou dost choose Thine infant bed
Where humble cattle lately fed!

Were earth a thousand times as fair,
Beset with gold and jewels rare,
It yet were far too poor to be
A narrow cradle, Lord, for Thee.

For velvets soft and silken stuff
Thou hast but hay and straw so rough,
Whereon Thou, King, so rich and great,
As 'twere Thy heaven, art throned in state.

And thus, dear Lord, it pleaseth Thee
To make this truth quite plain to me,
That all the world's wealth, honor, might,
Are naught and worthless in Thy sight.

Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,
Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
Within my heart, that it may be
A quiet chamber kept for Thee.

My heart for very joy doth leap,
My lips no more can silence keep;
I, too, must sing with joyful tongue
That sweetest ancient cradle-song:

Glory to God in highest heav’n,
Who unto us His Son hath giv’n!
While angels sing with pious mirth
A glad new year to all the earth.*

Words: Martin Luther
Translated: Catherine Winkworth, alt.

*  Historical note: In Saxony, where Martin Luther lived, the new year began on Christmas day.

God's Promises Depend on Him, Not Us

Is the law then contrary to the promises of God?  Certainly not!  For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.  But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.  (Gal 3:21-22)

God does not delay His promises, Paul says, on account of our sins; nor does He hasten them on account of our righteousness and our merits.  He does not consider either one.  Therefore even if we were made worse through the Law and hated God more, God would still not be moved by this to defer the promise; for it does not depend on our worthiness and righteousness but on His goodness and mercy.  Therefore it is a pure fiction when the Jews say: "The Messiah has not come, because our sins are delaying His coming."  As though God would become unjust on account of our sins or a liar on account of our lies!  He Himself always remains righteous and truthful, whether we sin or do not sin.  Therefore His truth is the only reason for His observing and fulfilling the promise.

Martin Luther, Lectures on Galatians

The Righteousness of One by Jordan Cooper - Book Review

Available at Amazon

From the back cover:

Since the publication of E.P. Sanders' Paul and Palestinian Judaism in 1977, Paul's soteriology has received extensive evaluation in light of second temple Judaism.  These works have focused on exegesis of the Pauline text and evaluating Sanders' proposal of covenantal nomism within the second temple Jewish literature.  There has been an unfortunate gap in this discussion: historical theology.  This work addresses the historical claims made by proponents of the New Perspective on Paul regarding Luther's theology and the early church.  In The Righteousness of One, Jordan Cooper demonstrates that the portrait of Luther given by many of the New Perspective writers is a caricature, read through the lens of both Protestant scholasticism and twentieth-century existentialist theology.  Luther's views are more nuanced and balanced than many Pauline interpreters are willing to admit.  In light of this reevaluation of Luther's own theology, early Patristic writings are evaluated in terms of similarity and disparity between Patristic Pauline interpretation and Lutheran Pauline interpretation, and thus it becomes apparent that there is continuity between the patristic tradition and Luther's reading of the Pauline text.  Rather than being driven purely by medieval debates about merit, Luther's reading of Paul is both exegetically sensitive and consistent with the broader catholic tradition.

My understanding of the New Perspective of Paul (NPP) cannot be considered anywhere near comprehensive.  What I have gleaned from that hermeneutic is derived mainly from critiques of Sanders, James D. G. Dunn, and N. T. Wright, plus my own reading of Dunn's commentary on Romans and Wright's The New Testament and the People of God.  The latter especially has an engaging writing style that allows him to handily communicate and apply NPP to the New Testament.

The outstanding question to be asked for any developing theory must be: Is it true?  Rather than using the time-tested method of comparing what is proposed with that which was handed down from previous generations to establish veracity, proponents of NPP have dismantled what had been commonly taught and built a completely new supporting framework in order to promulgate their teaching.  They assert that Martin Luther, being a victim of medieval theology and philosophy, misunderstood the apostle Paul concerning justification, so that those who followed built on a faulty platform.  Jordan Cooper undertakes the thesis that Luther was not mistaken about justification and righteousness, but actually followed in the steps of the Early Church Fathers.

Cooper builds his case by first articulating what Luther taught and believed about soteriology, especially as it is developed in his commentary on Galatians.  This helps to establish what came from the reformer rather than how he is portrayed amongst the NPP authors.  True, Luther did develop his thinking over time, yet we are able to get a firm grasp on his position.

Next, the author draws from four early sources—Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to Diognetus, and Justin Martyr—which addressed the basis of salvation.  He wisely notes that these do not have a fully-developed soteriology, yet they are useful because of common elements across the works, demonstrating a developing teaching consistency in the Christian world.  These works are shown to contain the rudimentary elements upon which the Reformers built, with the conclusion that Luther was faithful in building on what the early church had believed and taught.

Cooper does a solid job of building his case for consistency from Paul to Luther using the post-apostolic fathers.  Being a revision of his master's thesis, I understand why he used only a limited number.  Perhaps there might be an enlarged edition of this work, drawing from more sources in the patristic era in order to further bolster the argument.  Still, I recommend the work for those wanting some background while dealing with the New Perspective.

Approach the Scriptures with Humility

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.  (Psalm 119:18)

The Holy Scriptures require a humble reader who shows reverence and fear toward the Word of God and constantly says, "Teach me, teach me, teach me!"  The Spirit resists the proud.  Though they study diligently and some preach Christ purely for a time, nevertheless God excludes them from the church if they're proud.  Therefore every proud person is a heretic, if not actually, then potentially.  However, it's difficult for a man who has excellent gifts not to be arrogant.  Those whom God adorns with great gifts he plunges into the most severe trials in order that they may learn that they're nothing.  Paul got a thorn in the flesh to keep him from being haughty.…  Pride drove the angel out of heaven and spoils many preachers.  Accordingly it's humility that's needed in the study of sacred literature.

Martin Luther, Table Talk 5017

Pastors, Return to the Scriptures

• Psalm 77:11-15
• I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
•         yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
• I will ponder all your work,
•         and meditate on your mighty deeds.
• Your way, O God, is holy.
•         What god is great like our God?
• You are the God who works wonders;
•         you have made known your might among the peoples.
• You with your arm redeemed your people,
•         the children of Jacob and Joseph.  Selah

In the introduction to the Large Catechism, Martin Luther rails against pastors who are "altogether shameful gluttons and servants of their own bellies who ought to be more properly swineherds and dog tenders than caretakers of souls and pastors." (2)  Sadly, this malady continues to the present day.  In the past, I have called out or linked to blog posts of local assemblies who are being led into tomfoolery rather than sound biblical teaching.

Luther, in his inimitable style, offers a solution to these goatherds:

[O]h, that, instead thereof, they would only, morning, noon, and evening, read a page or two in the catechism, the prayer book, the New Testament, or elsewhere in the Bible, and pray the Lord's Prayer for themselves and their parishioners, so that they might render, in return, honor and thanks to the Gospel, by which they have been delivered from burdens and troubles so manifold, and might feel a little shame because like pigs and dogs they retain no more of the Gospel than such a lazy, pernicious, shameful, carnal liberty!… Therefore I beg such lazy paunches or presumptuous saints to be persuaded and believe for God's sake that they are verily, verily! not so learned or such great doctors as they imagine; and never to presume that they have finished learning this, or know it well enough in all points, even though they think that they know it ever so well.  For though they should know and understand it perfectly (which, however, is impossible in this life), yet there are manifold benefits and fruits still to be obtained, if it be daily read and practiced in thought and speech; namely, that the Holy Spirit is present in such reading and repetition and meditation, and bestows ever new and more light and devoutness, so that it is daily relished and appreciated better, as Christ promises, Matt. 18:20 "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them." (3, 9)

If only pastors continuously return to the font of wisdom from which they fed as growing believers, they might not become full of themselves and be self-deceived into believing they can do a new thing for God.

Luther Against the Self-Indulgences of the Modern Church

For this Reformation Day, Carl Trueman provides a realistic look at Martin Luther compared to the self-aggrandizing that has become so common in the modern church.  Here are the main points, which are explained further in his post.

Thesis One: Martin Luther saw church leadership as primarily marked by servanthood.

Thesis Two: Martin Luther understood worship as rooted in repentance.

Thesis Three: Martin Luther did not care for the myth of cultural influence nor for the prerequisite cultural swagger necessary to catch the attention of the great and good.

Thesis Four: Luther saw suffering as a mark of the true church.

Thesis Five: Martin Luther was pastorally sensitive to the cherished practices of older Christians.

Thesis Six: Luther did not agree to differ on matters of importance and thus to make them into practical trivia.

Thesis Seven: Luther saw the existence of the ordained ministry as a mark of the church.

Thesis Eight: Luther saw the problem of a leadership accountable only to itself.

Thesis Nine: Luther thought very little of his own literary contribution to Christianity.

Do Not Let Worship Style Obscure the Preached Word

I confess that I am not favorably disposed even toward necessary ceremonies, but that I am opposed to those that are not necessary.  Not only have I been (and still am) incensed by my experience under the papacy, but the example of the Ancient Church is also disquieting to me.  It easily happens that ceremonies become laws, and after they are established as laws, they quickly become snares to men’s consciences.  Meanwhile pure doctrine is obscured and buried, especially if those who come after are indifferent and unschooled folk who are more concerned about ceremonies than they are about mortifying the lusts of the flesh.  We see this even among those who are now living; strife and divisions arise when everybody follows his own opinion.  In short, contempt for the Word on our side and blasphemy on the side of our opponents seem to me to point to the time of which John prophesied when he said to his people, “The ax is laid unto the root of the trees,”* etc.

At all events, since the end is close at hand, it does not seem to me that it is necessary (at least in this blessed time) to be too concerned about introducing ceremonies, making them uniform, and fixing them permanently by law.  The one thing that needs to be done is this: the Word must be preached often and purely, and competent and learned ministers must be secured who are concerned above all else that they be of one heart and one mind in the Lord.  If this is achieved, it will undoubtedly be easy to secure uniformity in ceremonies, or at least to tolerate differences.  Without such internal unity, on the other hand, there will be no end to differences and no way to deal with them, for those who come after us will claim the same right that we exercise, and flesh will be set against flesh, a consequence of corrupt nature.

Martin Luther, Letter to Prince George of Anhalt [July 10, 1545]

* Matthew 3:10

God Himself Is Our Inheritance

Paul McCain brings a Luther quote to light.  I was struck by the beginning.

This is the consolation we derive from yonder life, that God Himself will be ours and that He will be everything to us.  For picture to yourself all that you would like to have, and you will find nothing better and dearer and worth wishing for than to have God Himself, who is the life and an inexhaustible depth of everything good and of eternal joy.  There is nothing more precious on earth than life.  The whole world dreads nothing more than death and desires nothing more than life.  And this treasure we are to have in Him without measure and without end.

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 15:28 (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999).

Eloquence in the Pulpit

[Eloquent preachers] are praised because the common people admire them when they hear them tell stories and examples and play with words and allegories.  But no one is judged eloquent on the article of justification, nor do people like to hear him or praise him.  Take this as a sure sign that the common people sleep and cough when we preach the article of justification but prick up their ears at stories.

Martin Luther, Weimar Tischreden (St. Louis), 22, 640, No. 19

Luther's Suggestions for Prayer

I have heard messages on prayer wherein helps were given to organize prayer and keep ones mind on track.  The most well-known is based on a summary pattern in the Lord's Prayer: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Adoration (or ACTS).

Recently, a resource for prayer came to my attention via podcast interview (I forget which).  Martin Luther was asked by his barber, Peter Beskendorf, for help with prayer.  Dr. Luther produced an open letter for a broader audience.  His suggestions came from the basics of what a Christian should know: Lord's Prayer, Ten Commandments, and Apostle's Creed.  He recommended using each petition, commandment, or doctrine as a basis of forming prayer.

The Ten commandments section has an interesting method that might be used in a devotional way for any portion of scripture.  Here is how Luther explains his pattern using the first commandment as an example:

If I have had time and opportunity to go through the Lord's Prayer, I do the same with the Ten Commandments.  I take one part after another and free myself as much as possible from distractions in order to pray.  I divide each commandment into four parts, thereby fashioning a garland of four strands.  That is, I think of each commandment as, first, instruction, which is really what it is intended to be, and consider what the Lord God demands of me so earnestly.  Second, I turn it into a thanksgiving; third, a confession; and fourth, a prayer.

I do so in thoughts or words such as these: "I am the Lord your God, etc.  You shall have no other gods before me," etc.  Here I earnestly consider that God expects and teaches me to trust him sincerely in all things and that it is his most earnest purpose to be my God.  I must think of him in this way at the risk of losing eternal salvation.  My heart must not build upon anything else or trust in any other thing, be it wealth, prestige, wisdom, might, piety, or anything else.

Second, I give thanks for his infinite compassion by which he has come to me in such a fatherly way and, unasked, unbidden, and unmerited, has offered to be my God, to care for me, and to be my comfort, guardian, help, and strength in every time of need.  We poor mortals have sought so many gods and would have to seek them still if he did not enable us to hear him openly tell us in our own language that he intends to be our God.  How could we ever―in all eternity―thank him enough!

Third, I confess and acknowledge my great sin and ingratitude for having so shamefully despised such sublime teachings and such a precious gift throughout my whole life, and for having fearfully provoked his wrath by countless acts of idolatry.  I repent of these and ask for his grace.

Fourth, I pray and say: "O my God and Lord, help me by your grace to learn and understand your commandments more fully every day and to live by them in sincere confidence.  Preserve my heart so that I shall never again become forgetful and ungrateful, that I may never seek after other gods or other consolation on earth or in any creature, but cling truly and solely to thee, my only God.  Amen, dear Lord God and Father.  Amen."

To his credit, Luther gave an admonition to not approach the matter of prayer, especially when using the Lord's Prayer for a pattern, of vain repetition:

You should also know that I do not want you to recite all these words in your prayer.  That would make it nothing but idle chatter and prattle, read word for word out of a book as were the rosaries by the laity and the prayers of the priests and monks.  Rather do I want your heart to be stirred and guided concerning the thoughts which ought to be comprehended in the Lord's Prayer.

Neither did he wish that the pattern be held slavishly:

These thoughts may be expressed, if your heart is rightly warmed and inclined toward prayer, in many different ways and with more words or fewer.  I do not bind myself to such words or syllables, but say my prayers in one fashion today, in another tomorrow, depending upon my mood and feeling.  I stay however, as nearly as I can, with the same general thoughts and ideas.  It may happen occasionally that I may get lost among so many ideas in one petition that I forego the other six.  If such an abundance of good thoughts comes to us we ought to disregard the other petitions, make room for such thoughts, listen in silence, and under no circumstances obstruct them.  The Holy Spirit himself preaches here, and one word of his sermon is far better than a thousand of our prayers.  Many times I have learned more from one prayer than I might have learned from much reading and speculation.

The whole tract is freely available.  It can be found by searching for either title: How One Should Pray or A Simple Way to Pray.

Luther on Examining Ourselves for Communion

My thanks to Scott Diekmann at Stand Firm for this content.  What he posted from Martin Luther (as found in Logia, Vol I, No, 1) was too good not to share.

To examine one’s self means to consider well in what condition we are.  If we find that our hearts are hardened, that we are not willing to refrain from sin, and that we do not fear its presence, then we may well conclude that we should not go to the Sacrament; for we are then no Christians.  The best thing we could do, under such circumstances, would be to put a stop to such wickedness, to repent, to trust faithfully in the promises and mercy of God, and to unite again with Christians in the participation of the Holy Sacrament.  If, however, we are unwilling to do this, we ought not to approach the Lord’s Table; for we would surely eat and drink damnation there.  Let us carefully meditate upon what eternity has in store for us, if we thus fall under the judgment of God.  If we are mindful of this, we will not be slow to repent, to put aside anger and other kinds of wickedness, and to make our peace with God in His Holy Supper.  Again, if our hearts are contrite, if we confess our sins before God and are heartily sorry on account of them, if we believe that God in mercy, for Christ’s sake, will pardon us, then we are well prepared and can confidently say to the Savior: “O Lord, we are poor sinners, and therefore come to Your table to receive consolation.”  If we approach the Sacrament in such a spirit, we shall be truly ready and receive the richest blessings.  In behalf of such contrite and sorrowing souls the Lord’s Table was prepared, so that they might find there consolation and joy.

Ten Reasons to Love Luther

Over at Internet Monk, Chaplain Mike has posted ten reasons why he loves Martin Luther.  I give those ten here:

1.	For Luther, it was all about Christ.
2.	He loved and listened to God’s Word.
3.	I love a good “Rocky” story.
4.	The guy had a way with words.
5.	He treasured music right up there next to the Bible.
6.	He never wrote a systematic theology.
7.	He had a pastor’s heart that cared deeply about the church.
8.	He loved a good time, especially when beer was involved.
9.	He cherished his wife and family.
10.	He was utterly human, completely dependent on God’s grace.

I pretty much agree with his sentiments.  Luther was noted for his colorful commentary.  One case in particular that struck me was a treatise on making vows of celibacy.  He said, as best as I remember:

Do you want to make a good vow?  Vow that you will not bite the nose off your face.  That one you can keep.

The entire article with the specifics behind the above can be found here.

Seek the Righteousness Found in Christ

I wish to know the condition of your soul, namely, whether you have at last come to hate your own righteousness and, instead, desire to rejoice in the righteousness of Christ and to be of good cheer because of it.  For these day, people are desperately tempted to be arrogant, particularly people who work mightily to be righteous and godly and who do not know of the immaculate righteousness of God that is freely given in Christ.  For this reason they keep searching for something good in themselves, until they become confident that they can pass muster before God as people who are properly dressed with virtuous and meritorious deeds—all of which is impossible.  While you were with us, you held this opinion, or rather, this error—just as I did.  For my part, I am still wrestling with this error and am not quite rid of it yet.  Therefore, my dear brother, learn Christ—Christ crucified.  Learn to sing praises to Him and to despair completely of your own works.

Martin Luther, Letter to George Spenlein, 1516

Cited in C.F.W. Walther, Law & Gospel, (St. Louis: Concordia, 2010), 123.

95 Theses Rap

Martin Luther disses the pope, et al, and gives a "shout out" to Gutenberg.

If you have trouble understanding the lyrics (like me), they can be found at the YouTube location.

He Died for Me

Let this, then, be the sum of this article that the little word Lord signifies simply as much as Redeemer, i.e., He who has brought us from Satan to God, from death to life, from sin to righteousness, and who preserves us in the same. But all the points which follow in order in this article serve no other end than to explain and express this redemption, how and whereby it was accomplished, that is, how much it cost Him, and what He spent and risked that He might win us and bring us under His dominion, namely, that He became man, conceived and born without sin, of the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary, that He might overcome sin; moreover, that He suffered, died and was buried, that He might make satisfaction for me and pay what I owe, not with silver nor gold, but with His own precious blood. And all this, in order to become my Lord; for He did none of these for Himself, nor had He any need of it.

Martin Luther, The Large Catechism, The Apostles Creed, Article II, Paragraph 31

[Emphasis added]

Luther on Worship

The very highest worship of God is this that we ascribe to him truthfulness, righteousness, and whatever else should be ascribed to one who is trusted. When this is done, the soul consents to his will. Then it hallows his name and allows itself to be treated according to God's good pleasure for, clinging to God's promises, it does not doubt that he who is true, just, and wise will do, dispose, and provide all things well.

--Martin Luther, The Freedom of a Christian