"You see, 'Return to Me, etc.,' is the word of the Law. Consequently this text does not speak in favor of our will but against free will. Lawyers speak this way—and correctly—that bad habits produce good laws. After all, laws are publicized because what is required by law is not happening. You see, whenever I demand something of someone, I immediately convince him that it is not being done by him. Otherwise I would be making a foolish demand. Thus any child who knows his ABCs can laugh at this lack of logic. But if we had had to concede this to those who favor free will, they wold have all the laws of Scripture on their side, and with all of them they would be able to establish the power of the will. Indeed, this turning is twofold. One is our turning to God; the other is His to us. After all, it is one thing when God turns toward us, and another when we turn to God. The Lord demands that we turn, not because this is something we can accomplish by our own power, but rather that we may acknowledge our own weakness and implore the help of the Spirit, whose prompting can turn us. This, then, is the conversion caused by the Gospel. There is, you see, a twofold conversion—that of the Gospel and that of the Law. The Law merely gives the command, but nothing is accomplished; something is accomplished, however, through the Gospel, when the Spirit is added. He renews hearts, and then God turns toward us. This is the conversion of peace, that is, that we are not merely righteous but also filled with joy and find delight in God's goodness. This is what Paul always wished the Christians: 'Grace and peace.'" (20/9)

It is my observation that Christians are willing to condemn themselves in selected areas, but are unwilling to have anyone condemn them in any other area. We pick and choose our own issues of repentance. This most certainly makes for a comfortable Christianity—but a false one. No one practices Augustine's statement: "Even our good works need God's pardoning mercy"; nor do we practice Luther's paradigm of, "If we deserve hell, then what is a little punishment here on earth?"

I have been listening to Job on tape many nights for the last year. It has been difficult for me to see and believe his extreme need to repent of his self-righteousness. Job deserved everything which bore down on him and more, yet he was lost in his own holiness and presumptiveness. Satan and his friends did him a great justice and favor by opposing him. Without this opposition he may have gone to hell. Yes, the Lord knew the way he would take.

"The Lord answered Job out of the storm. He said, 'Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you and you will answer me.'" (38:1-2) Keep in mind that the Lord tears into Job after Satan, his friends, and his wife had done their godly part in exasperating him. Then after over 70 verses of the Lord's questions, the Lord asks, "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!" (40:1-2)

It is the essence of human nature to challenge and correct God. Most of Christianity does this by resisting the truth about the Table and Baptism, and all of Christianity does it with their assumed holiness and godliness. Job was guilty of this and the Lord took great pains to deliver Job from this, until at last Job cried out: "I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer—twice, but I will say no more." (40:4-5) But even this confession was not evidence of Job's repentance. It was a start. Yes, shutting up is a START, and a good start if one is able to continue to shut up until he knows God has truly humbled him. But please be reminded that this humbling process is most arduous and a certain death to human nature. We crave an easy and convenient repentance and humbling.

After Job put his hand over his mouth, which I will call the first work or evidence of true repentance, the Lord saw fit to vex Job further. For another 50 verses the Lord continues to chip away at Job's confidence with His questions—questions designed to bring Job to the terrible death of many of his presuppositions about righteousness and true holiness. Human nature shrieks at this death with all its being.

"Then Job replied to the Lord: 'I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge? Surely I spoke of things too wonderful for me to know. You said, Listen now, and I will speak: I will question you, and you shall answer me. My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.'" (42:1-6) Job had been hearing without hearing; he had ears but he heard not. I more than suspect that Job is eternally grateful for all he experienced because it enabled him to truly experience God. But who wants to go through anything like Job went through in order to experience God? We only want to take a class in experiencing God and assume that what we experience along with all mankind counts as a suffering which brings us to true repentance and the true God. No one wants to die to their own opinions about God, which is why no one is willing to humble themselves too much to the teachings of Martin Luther.

We want God to doubly bless us as a result of our common human suffering, but are unwilling to learn the true theology of the cross. We would rather give up smoking than give up the sins of our arrogant minds. We would rather give up movies than mindsets, objects rather than opinions. Yet the whole Christian life is primarily one of having our minds renewed through the Word, which is why Luther said, "Belief is more important than faith or works." Faith and works must be predicated upon proper belief—that is, a sound interpretation of the Word of God.

Luther has this sound and proper understanding of the Word, yet everyone wants to discredit him to one degree or another. This action of the church proves its unwillingness to repent. At the very least it proves its foolishness by not fearing its self-deceit. My exhortations are dismissed as lunacy because they need to hear that I am making Luther infallible, or worshipping Luther, or insulting their dignity as if they had nothing to offer by way of Scriptural understanding.

No one will even put their hand over their mouth, much less despise themselves. How is the Lord going to work repentance? If we think we have the answers and will not give Luther a fair and long-lived hearing until we come to fully reconcile Luther's teachings with our beliefs, how will we ever repent? If we assume our holiness even though it contradicts that taught by Luther, how will we ever be brought to shame? In fact, the church is fighting shame as vigorously as the world. We do not want to shame anyone, therefore we will not properly examine those who partake of the Lord's Supper. And where is the pastor who tells parents they have raised a brat, but instead condones their putting the brat on meds? Oh no, we don't want to cause shame. Certainly Christ came to take away our shame, right?

The story of Jonah provides an excellent example of the process of repentance. Allow me to string together a litany of quotes by Luther from Jonah. Luther begins: "This is certainly a pleasant and wonderful account, that Jonah was able to remain in the faith in this way, even though his conscience was so thoroughly terrified. For he realized that he had committed a great sin. He felt this and likewise sensed the wrath of God, namely, punishment for sin, just as he himself says later (2:2), 'I have cried from the belly of the deep.'" Luther states that "God is coming down to us when we feel Him in our conscience. Our evil is arising before Him when our conscience troubles us concerning sin." Would it not be an accurate conclusion that ANYTHING the church or mankind does to appease the conscience takes God away from us? Why does the church say so little about an evil conscience today? Is not a troubled, terrified, and evil conscience a wonderful, blessed thing if we are taught to look ONLY to Christ for relief and to be willing to wait for said relief according to the will of God? Is there anything which will effectively work as the antidote to the dignity and esteem of modern man as a troubled conscience pricked by the Law of God?

Luther states that Jonah's "penalty was that, in addition to being terrified by the wrath of the Lord in an external way, he felt the wrath of God in his conscience also. However, Jonah remained in the faith despite the fact that a much greater storm was raging in his heart and conscience than raged on the sea outside. Because we are only spectators of the tragedies of this sort, they do not appear so great and so terrible to us as they really are. But if we were experiencing them ourselves in our consciences, we would understand what it is to feel God's wrath against oneself and what that faith is which even in the middle of wrath holds on to God as merciful and kind." Statements such as these encourage me to believe that we make it too easy to get over an evil and troubled conscience.

I also believe that the generally favorable conditions of modern man make this quote from Luther most significant: "Human nature, when it is free from temptation, becomes proud because circumstances are favorable; it becomes boastful and free from worry, promising many things to itself. But when it is in adversity, when it sees that it is done for, human nature submits to all things, even to some very low things. It is this way in the case of those sailors, for they are in a desperate condition and in danger of death. They seek aid wherever they can; they flee to Jonah, about whom they had been totally unconcerned before they came into danger. This is the way human reason is; it cannot act differently in trial. Similarly, when we were hard pressed in our consciences by sin, we ran to the monks or to this or that other person to find consolation."

I am not saying that my family is the only place faith is found, just that the purest faith is found here. I do know that God is going to purify the faith of His Elect, those who are currently deceived even though they believe they are so enlightened. Let us just imagine what is going to happen to "faith" when this world becomes truly, overtly, rigorously insecure? It is easy now to be a Christian and even to make much money from it. But how long do you believe God is going to withhold His judgment in light of all the ways we find consolation outside of him? And for those who want to criticize or minimize Luther because of his delicate conscience, I contend Satan did a wonderful job of raising up such a corrupt organization if it prepared even one Christian heart and mind to be prepared for the reception of the true Gospel.

So, how do you find consolation? For the sake of the one or two of you who want to know how to truly be a Christian, I give you my advice. Stand in judgment in the fear and mercy of God on these things: what you remember; what you fear; current and past troubles; what you dream about; your self talk; what you are criticized for—especially by those in authority over you; your early memories because they indicate how you live apart from the faith and fear of the Lord; what you take medication for; and all the other things that alleviate your conscience such as addictions, good works, what you love and hate, societal outlook, self-help groups and books, pastors, and what you enjoy, just to name a few. When you exhaust this list I will provide another.

"We beseech Thee, O Lord, let us not perish (1:14) That dread of death was good for them, for they turned to the true God." This is why I look very much forward to severe tribulation coming upon the church. Only an horrible, terrible fear of death and life itself is going to purge the Elect of today to turn back toward God, In the meantime they go smugly along, living in the vulgarity of an untested faith. May God have mercy on the Elect.

Luther comments: "In order that the terror of death might be all the greater, not only was Jonah thrown into the sea, where there was no hope for help either from God or man, but when he thought that he must surely die, he was also swallowed alive by a fish, a fish the Lord provided for this very purpose. In this way it came about that, although he was in the midst of death, still he was alive. This is a wonderful account, in which the excellent, most high God has wished us to become very certain that He is the Lord of death and life, that all things are in His hand. For He Himself is the one who kills and makes alive, makes alive and kills, leads down to hell and brings out again. From this we ought to learn that we have a God who is able to save us even in the midst of death, in the midst of sin and of hell, just as He here wonderfully saved His Jonah, who saw nothing, and could hope for nothing, except death. Jonah must have shrunk back in horror because, when he was thrown into the sea and was about to perish in the waves, he became aware of still another devourer who swallowed him alive in his gaping mouth."

Luther rather believed that "in the midst of death we are in life," more so than "in the midst of life we are in death." This explains why Luther saw this world as nothing more than a prison of thorns, and why he urged that our five senses are mighty kingdoms taking us away from Christ. Opposed to this philosophy is that of the church and our society which has perfected the maxim, "Live life to the fullest." It is time the church asks itself, "Has God already approved its work?"

"I called to the Lord out of my distress" (2:1). Luther comments that "our desires, our powers are nothing, just as Jonah here called out in pressing need. No merit was present, for he had sinned very seriously against the Lord. And so the only thing to do was to cry out, to cry out 'to the Lord.' For the Lord is the only one to whom we must flee as to a sacred anchor and the only safety on those occasions when we think that we are done for. But this is the gist of the matter, that even though we feel that God is against us and that we have an angry God and that we are sinners who have deserved wrath and damnation, still it is possible for us to pray to God as to our kind and placable Father, for that is the kind of God He always is, and He ought never to be understood in any other way."

"Aptly Jonah says 'Thy waves,' because he means, 'My conscience tells me that it is You who are bringing this punishment on me, this horror of death and of hell.' This is the punishment of consciences, that in trouble we feel the wrath of God against us, that it is He who lays these misfortunes and very great afflictions on us. At this point (2:3,4) Jonah thought he was done for both in body and soul. It is as if he were saying: 'All these things that You were doing to me were driving me to despair. Terrified by these signs of Your wrath I saw nothing except that I was done for, that I was hurled forth from Your presence.' This is the common factor in indescribable groanings. This is the deepest sighing and the supreme death in temptation. These are not empty words, but the only people who can understand them are those who have at some time been in this kind of trouble. Such people will know what it is to feel their conscience against them and to be truly thrown out by God." Do I really have to argue that our pastors will not allow us to consider this concept of "being thrown out by God?" This is one of those main concepts Luther stressed throughout his life, which pastors want to throw out because Luther did not benefit from modern scholarship. Please tell me how modern scholarship and discovery would change such a belief Luther held. This is as ungodly as a child disrespecting his parents because they had not read the latest child-rearing book.

"How shall I again look upon Thy holy temple?" (2:4) Luther says that this should be understood in this sense: "You don't think that I will ever see Your holy temple, do You?" Luther makes similar statements concerning Jacob's wrestling with the angel. Yet the church has become a giant enabler, salving the modern conscience with the putrid balm of cheap grace, or as my sister rebuked me, "God is love, Tim, that is all God is, Tim, love." Luther states that Jonah "intensifies and enlarges the temptation," while it is our motivation to minimize the punishment of God.

"Yet Thou didst bring up my life from the Pit." (2:6) "This utterance was altogether an utterance of faith, and when this is truly said by us, it is impossible for us to perish, even if we are in the midst of death and hell. And here he prescribes for us the manner in which we must be saved from temptation, as if to say: 'If someone is knocked down, if he feels the horror of death and is in hell, let him call on the Lord, just as also I have called on Him. Think on the Lord, call on Him confidently, and immediately He who has been called will be present."

"Those who pay regard to vain idols." (2:8) Luther: "Here the Spirit is immediately at work, so that the same person who has learned from his own experience also teaches others and condemns whatever it is we trust in when we are safe from temptation. The only completely true worship of God is for us in trouble to flee to Him as to a father in hope of receiving help." Make no mistake about it: Most religious opinions today are nothing more than vain idols which have been pulled down by Luther and which will be burned up soon by Christ.

Luther stresses that "we do not learn to hold on to the mercy of God except in temptation when we think that we are done for, when not only God but also all creatures seem to be against us, when we cannot be healed from misfortune by our own plans, wisdom, reason, and all our own efforts." Yet the church is quick to make light work of penance and absolution. Many others think they can somehow repay God, even though the only "proper sacrifice of the saint is the voice of thanksgiving."

"It vomited Jonah upon the dry land." (2:10) "In this way death and sin are an opportunity for life and righteousness for the saints: shame becomes an opportunity for glory." I just cannot believe I have to spend any time proving that our society, and the whole world because of America's influence, is doing everything possible to do away with shame; but when shame is gone, our connection to God is also gone.

"And put on sackcloth." (3:5) This means to "lay aside clean and splendid clothes and to put on dirty ones. Is. 50:3: 'I clothe the heavens with blackness and make sackcloth their covering,' that is, 'I make heaven sad, cloudy, and obscure.'…The king proved his internal grief…Thus whatever a contrite heart does by faith is very pleasing to God—no matter how ridiculous it may look. It is true repentance and true faith when the works correspond to it. We must not relapse from faith again into unholy living and deceive ourselves into thinking we truly believe." Of all the things the modern church needs to repent of, the greatest is its indifference to the teachings of Luther. No one will be sad in his mind for even a moment until, in the Spirit, they were able to sincerely say:

"Who knows, God may yet repent?" (3:9) "There is a conflict between faith and despair. For in temptation, when God seems to be our enemy and to be angry with us, faith feels its strife and despair. However, faith does not yield to despair. "God saw what they did." (3:10) "They believed God's Word, and by turning away from their wickedness they proved their internal faith by their external works." Our so-called faith protects us from approaching and learning from despair. This refusal to live in despair has made us smug, making us callous to God's anger for not rightly dividing His Word. God's wrath has come upon the church because it has allowed His Word to become nothing more than the word of man. The true Word of God has become nothing more than a labrynth of private opinion. The irony of the situation is that God is severely judging the church but the church continues to try to heal itself rather than repenting of improper belief.

The church refuses to suffer but rather becomes softer each day. Luther stated that "no suffering, no temptation is adequate for putting the old man completely to death; that old Adam does not stop being like himself, no matter how great the temptation may be, until he finally perishes completely, when the entire old man will be choked to death once for all."

"And repentest of evil." (4:2) "God rises above evil, God is greater than the evil. God is the one who is accustomed to call back the punishment which He had decided to inflict. All these words are surely words of faith; to be able to grasp and imagine that God is this way, this certainly is life and salvation." God will rise above the evil of today's church. I await your salvation, O Lord!

"You pity the ivy, for which you did not labor." Luther: "This shows how much God does not desire the death of a sinner. He desires rather that the sinner be converted and live (Ezek. 33:11). These will be wonderful words of comfort to the Elect in the coming judgment.

This is the conclusion of what I am including from Luther's 1525 commentary on Jonah. Below I will string together a few texts dealing with repentance from his 1526 comments on Jonah:

"I remain in the kingdom of grace when I do not despair of God's mercy, no matter how great my sin may be, but resolutely pin mind and conscience to the belief that there is still grace and forgiveness for me, even if the wrath of God and that of all creatures would threaten to consume me and even if my conscience would bear out this wrath and say that the supply of mercy is exhausted and that God will not forgive me. That is elevating God's grace above everything else, praising and extolling it and with it defying all anger and judgment, joining in the words of the Epistle of James (2:13): 'MERCY TRIUMPHS OVER JUDGMENT.' (Emphas is mine. I want the church to experience the truth of this statement, but it cannot until it repents in sackcloth and ashes.)

"The second manner in which I sin against grace is if I perform good works with the simultaneous devilish though that I comfort myself with these or rely on them, that I tell my conscience that I can stand before God with these, as if there were no sin." This, of course, is exactly what the church is doing today, but is deceived by the large words they choke over, words which Luther restored, 'not by works of righteousness which we have done.' We gobble these words up and shit them out before we receive any nourishment from them.

"Whoever despairs in his sin or relies on good works sins against the Holy Spirit and against grace. Of course, I should intercede for such people and pray that they may be freed from that sin and be converted; but it is impossible that God be gracious to them so long as they are given to that sin, it is impossible that God's grace be of greater effect in their hearts than that sin, as is true of other sins. If I were to pray for that, I would be asking that God's grace be less effective and at the same time more effective than that sin. That is out of the question. No, I must pray against that sin, as Moses did in Num. 16:15, against Korah, saying: 'Do not respect their offering.' For Korah, too, aspired to esteem before God by reason of his works, and so he sinned against grace. That is an intolerable sin. All other sins which let grace triumph and reign are forgivable." This is the very reason I cannot in all good conscience pray for the church-at-large today because they persist in their sin. It is absorbed in its good works and sincere intentions and these are making them deaf to my preaching. I pray for the Elect, who will be made known under severe persecution and suffering, but how can I pray for those who are bent on destruction?

The Elect are asleep just as Jonah was. They are both "blinded, obdurate, and submerged in sin, yes, dead, lying in the pit of an unrepentant heart. Jonah, as the church, would remain there eternally and perish too; for sin would not permit any power for good to bestir itself, free will or no free will, reason or no reason. There he lies and snores, just like the church of the final hour, in his sin, he hears nothing and sees nothing, nor does he feel what God's wrath contemplates doing with him. But when he is awakened by the captain, matters change. Oh, how humble he is now. He absolves all other people on the ship from sin; he does not regard them as sinners. He sees no sin but his own. That is the way of remorse. When that comes to a person and stings and terrifies the conscience, the entire world looks pious to him, and only he himself is a sinner. Thus we behold here how obstinate, callous, and virtually dead sin makes man; he is sensitive neither to himself nor to God and walks along securely and unafraid until God comes and arouses him. Thus the glory of free will is laid low."

Hearts that are awake, "sensible hearts, turn their minds away from fear and concentrate mainly on sin, confess this, and free themselves of it; and no matter if they should be haunted by fear forever, they reconcile themselves to this, as does Jonah. But it is the way of all the ungodly that they fear and heed the punishment but pay no heed to the sin. There is no worse burden on earth than sin and conscience"—is it any wonder modern man has destroyed conscience. And it has done so with the aid of the church—all churches, all denominations. No exceptions, Susan.

"The people did not turn to Him who smote them," declares Isaiah. Luther: "Therefore human nature forever flees, and yet it does not escape but must thus remain condemned in wrath, sin, death, and hell. Here you can glimpse a goodly portion of hell; you see how sinners fare after this life, namely, they flee from God's anger but never elude it, and yet they do not cry to God and implore Him. It is impossible for nature to act or conduct itself contrary to what it feels. And now that it feels God's anger and punishment, it cannot view God otherwise than as an angry tyrant. But God does not let you go unanswered so long as you can call upon Him, even if you can do no more than that. He does not ask about your merits. He is well aware that you are a sinner deserving of His anger."

"We must feel that our crying out to God is of a nature that God will answer, that we may glory with Jonah in the knowledge that God answers us when we cry to Him in our necessity. That means nothing else but to cry to God with the heart's true voice of faith; for the head cannot be comforted, nor can we raise our hands in prayer, until the heart is consoled. And as I have already said, the heart finds solace when it hastens to the angry God with the aid of the Holy Spirit and seeks mercy amid wrath, lets God punish and at the same time dares to find comfort in His goodness. Take note what sharp eyes the heart must have, for it is surrounded by nothing but tokens of God's anger and punishment and yet beholds and feels no punishment and anger but only kindness and grace; that is, the heart must be so disposed that it does not want to see and feel punishment and anger, though in reality it does see and feel them, and it must be determined to see and feel grace and goodness, even though these are completely hidden from view."

Jonah does not simply say: "The waves and the billows passed over me," but "THY waves and THY billows, etc.," for he feels in his conscience that the sea with its waves and billows serve God and His wrath for the punishment of sin. And so he says: "All Thy waves and Thy billows passed over me," for it seems to him that every wave in heaven and on earth were encompassing him and that God's wrath concentrated solely on him. Thus others, too, who are in great distress say: "It seems to me that heaven and earth are pressing down upon me."

But rather than fully feel this the church turns to its own works and righteousness; for this reason Jonah says, "They who observe lying vanities forsake mercy." Luther: "With this verse Jonah rebukes the foolish work-righteous and hypocrites, who do not rely solely on God's grace but on their own works. He rebukes the same people because they do not know what faith is, because they have never been in distress where they might have learned how beneficial faith is and how ineffective good works are, and because they do not change but they depreciate grace and appreciate their own doing." May God have mercy on the Elect.

Before I compile other statements from the rest of Luther's writings concerning repentance, I will share with the reader two false views of repentance and grace:

The first view was espoused by a Presbyterian minister who used Luther to support his Calvinistic ungodliness. He represents those false Christians who are smug and emphasize grace because they do not want to feel the effects of sin in their hearts and minds, but would rather cover their guilt and guilt feelings with a cheap and easy grace. The guilt they experience is the same as any man and the way they deal with it is the same as any man. Any Man says, "I am doing the best I can." Sure, he is hard on himself for awhile, but in the end he justifies himself. The Christian Any Man says, "Christ has done it all for me." The net result is the same; neither of them fully condemns himself and waits in hell for Christ to descend to him.

This minister went to Luther and found these truly wonderful quotes from Luther: The best and infallible preparation for grace and the only things that precedes grace is the eternal election and predestination of God…On the part of man, nothing precedes grace except indisposition and rebellion against grace…It is clear enough that grace comes so freely that no thought of it, let alone any endeavor or striving after it, precedes its coming…Those who build forgiveness on repentance are building the faith of God on sand, that is, on the work of man. In fact, one should inquire far more diligently of a sinner whether he believes that he is absolved that whether he is sorry for his sins…A penitent heart is a rare thing and a great grace; one cannot produce it by dwelling on sin and hell. Only the Holy Spirit can give it…We must receive before we can give; before we can do acts of mercy, we must receive mercy from God…Thus in the prophet Isaiah 65, God says, "I am inquired of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not." And at the end of the same chapter he says: "And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." For before we seek Him, he finds us; before we ask for him, he has us.

I will list many quotes from Luther which emphasize repentance as much as the above quotes seem to disregard repentance. So is Luther fickle? I think not. It is too bad the modern church is so modern and advanced that it looks at Luther as some sort of prehistoric theologian. I ask, "How in hell has modern scholarship improved upon the basic meaning of the Word?" It has not. Luther himself never claimed to be infallible or to have all the answers. There are many times where he says, "I don't know the meaning of this word or phrase." And do we have all the answers?

What we have here is a classic case of a blind man trying to handle the Word of God—he will always fall into the ditch. Luther taught that the only things that makes a person a theologian is the ability to distinguish between the Law and the Gospel. The above position emphasizes the Gospel to the virtual exclusion of the Law, while the position below emphasizes Law to the virtual exclusion of grace. Neither has an experiential understanding of the other's view. Both are born of hell, death, and sin. They are both cancerous blots on the surface of the Word, and would not be there had they fully given themselves to a proper and rigorous understanding of Luther. This is a tremendous judgment of God and proves our obdurancy in that God is allowing us to fall away from Truth further and further. May God have mercy.

I implore the reader to make full use of Luther with the aid of the Spirit until the true Christ be formed in him. If you demand this formation in a moment or even a month, then the wrong Christ may indeed be formed in you. I will give some general comments in response to the above quotes. These will direct you in the proper way, but you will have to wait on the Lord for an experiential understanding of how to rightly divide the Word of Truth, of how to make Luther whole and consistent. May God be with you, whoever you may be and whenever you read this. I know to whom I am writing and ministering.

Luther stated that the Christian life is one of repentance and that he who does not hasten to repent proves that he is no sinner. This statement alone should make the uninitiated fall from the grace and understanding of Luther. So then how will we reconcile these polar statements? I can only stress the spiritual fact that human nature creates a pendulum swinging blindly and wildly between the poles of Law and Gospel. Too much talk about the Gospel by pastors who do not know what their people need propels the people to an unbalanced "Gospel" position. Too much talk about the Law by a blind fool of a shepherd forces his people to an unbalanced and precarious "Law" position. There is no "winning" this game, and there is no room for letting up, for we are not ignorant of Satan's devices. It is the rare minister who has the wisdom and courage to vigilantly look after his people and give them the goodly and proper amount of either the Law or the Gospel.

If you are not occupied with repentance and sorrow for sin you must of necessity doubt your salvation; if you are mostly absorbed with sorrow rather than sin's balm, you are blaspheming the Spirit—we must do the one without leaving the other undone. My hatred of myself is perpetual, but my focus on grace is persistent. I agree that we have NO part in salvation other than to resist grace, BUT I cannot de-emphasize what God emphasized, that is, a sound and wholesome preaching of the Word. This includes an expert appropriation of the Law. In all this, God alone receives the glory for any conversion. When a man is truly converted to the true Christ, this is saying nothing else than the Word has been effectual and has not returned to Him void, but has accomplished what it set out to accomplish. If this accomplishment is the saving of only one person, then God's Word has been fully and completely effectual. Resistance by the throng does not make God's Word void. Our stubbornness makes God's Word void to us-ward. So, can I humble myself? I should not have to be disgraced by having that question asked of me. How dare I take credit for what the Word has performed in me!

Repentance must not be viewed as our work nor must we take satisfaction in our sorrow for sin, but satisfaction comes only from Christ's "external righteousness." It is relevant that many of Luther's quotes which seem to be against repentance are directed at people who only feel good when they feel bad. These people look at sin, hell, death, and the cross as an end in themselves as a means to create their own atonement. Guilt always seeks a sense of atonement apart from the Word. But repentance must be stressed because the Word stresses it: "Except ye repent, you will likewise perish." If repentance and the Law is not properly stressed then there would be no salvation because human nature always seeks to pervert the Word and salvation. There must be some message of warning that we might, because of our old nature, be spurred to stir up the gift of God within us, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, and to be careful lest any root of bitterness spring up and take us away from Christ.

While it is true that grace comes freely, it is also true that it is built upon the proper and Spiritual work of the Law. Repentance is a fruit of free grace, yea, the most important fruit of grace. My faith, my love, and my hope mean nothing to me if I do not see within and below these a Spirit-induced grieving for sin and need of these gifts of faith, love, and hope. Otherwise I do not know but what I am requisitioning these gifts for my own selfish interests, like a drug addict misuses his legal prescription drugs. Just as the addict wants to avoid the unpleasant realities of life, it is the nature of the so-called Christian to be averse to the true feeling of repentance and hatred, a godly hatred of self and this life. It is natural to fight against repentance and only affirm grace.

Why did Luther spend so much time explaining the Ten Commandments? Are we to despise the proper teaching of the commandments just because nature is prone to either blaspheme God by assuming they keep them or blaspheme God by only focusing on their shortcoming? Judas focused on his guilt and went to hell while David, after the rebuke of Nathan, focused on grace and remained the man after God's own heart. Truly any person who wants to de-emphasize repentance and the preaching of the Law proclaims God a fool who wants His ministers to foolishly preach the whole counsel of God.

I might add that most Lutherans have fallen into the same trap as this Presbyterian minister. They think that they are spiritual and quite in concord with the Word when they make it so easy for people to receive the grace of God. They have added their own laziness to the Word and so have perverted the Word they say they are committed to. Luther severely condemned these "soft" ministers over and over again, but they persist in thinking they are of Luther's stock.

The next position is demonstrated by the following comments. These comments were made within the context of decrying the popular "Prayer of Jabez," which advocates what, in fact, we have, a greedy Christianity. Please note that Luther stated that the three enemies of the church are tyrants, heresies, and greed: greed is by far the worst.

The comments: "How many copies would a book on dying-to self, repentance, brokenness, submission, obedience, and receiving, sell in today's market? It would be fortunate to hit 100,000…Our Christian walk has to do with 'death to self' and not territory expansion. Our death will put us into a position to receive from Him out of our obedience and submission to Him…If we are fully yielding to Him, do we also have to remind the Lord each day to enlarge our territory or to keep us from evil?…God did not ask us to be spiritual, but to be available to Him and full of the Spirit…The Lord doesn't share glory…The root of "Jabez" thinking has to do with our becoming 'more significant.'…The real walk comes from knowing the Lord in a deep and intimate way…As a reminder, our performance and striving were nailed to the cross… 'For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse'…A majority of the Church is living under the 'curse' because they are operating by works and partaking in the 'naming it and claiming it' mantra of today…When we are ready to fully yield to Him by 'dying to self' in humility, He promises us to bring forth His glory by giving to us generously {You see how this fool does and does not want to "share the glory" with the Lord.}…Friends, we are not God, and we are not called to share His glory! So let's immerse ourselves in God's Word and not be deceived…The church in the United States has lost direction and is being led astray by many false teachings…If the work doesn't amplify Jesus, and if it amplifies man, it is of and from the flesh…Our territory will be as large as our submission to his resurrected life within. We hear about revival daily in our nation, but the only chance of 'true revival' begins with judgment, then repentance, then revival and then a new awakening…We should be focusing on our obedience"

This is a splendid example of how the false church strains at a gnat and swallows a camel. They see some problems and put forth what they believe are spiritual solutions, but they are rather the doctrines of devils. They cannot let go of their works-righteousness to save their soul. I was once firmly embedded in this vain philosophy and perversion, but the Lord delivered me. The way I know I have been delivered is the fact that I focus on the sacrament of the Table. I believe the Lord will give me all I need, through no effort of my own, other than to believe the truth about the Holy Meal. We receive everything through this meal, for it is the Word of God given to us for the remission of sin. I have adequately addressed this subject elsewhere, as has Luther.

This person has a form of godliness but denies the power thereof because he has denied the Word. He denies the Word when he disagrees with Luther on this subject. He denies the Word even though he may be correct on every other doctrine. As Luther stated, "everything is to be believed or nothing is to be believed." God has judged this person and allows Satan to take him further and further from the truth. This process has been going on now for 500 years and will continue until Christ does do what this man relishes—come to judge the church. But he will be surprised when he, himself, falls under the most severe judgment.

I hope I do not have to say much in response to this person's self-righteousness other than to say he bases his salvation on what he does, all the while claiming he only looks to Christ for the completed work. This hypocrite focuses on his own work rather than focusing on the Word: THIS IS MY BODY, THIS IS MY BLOOD, GIVEN TO YOU FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS. My heart only aches for my family and friends and other sincere people who would receive the Word of God if it were not for God's judgment in sending us lying tongues such as this lying tongue. May God have mercy!

Below are the remaining quotes from Luther which I hope will help you comes to grips with this most important subject. I trust you will also compare this to the other subjects I have compiled, especially the Table, Process, and Conscience. (The first two pages are taken from Volume 44.)

Many have set faith not above but beside other virtues. (P. 25)

The great thing in life is to have a sure confidence in God when, at least as far as we can see or understand, he shows himself in wrath, and to expect better at his hands than we now know. Lamentations 3:32-33: "He casts men aside, but that is not the intention of his heart." (P. 28)

To believe at such times that God is gracious and well-disposed toward us is the greatest work that may ever happen to and in a man, but of this the work-righteous and the doers of good works know nothing at all. (P. 29)

If we presume to please Him first and foremost by good works, then it is all pure deception. To all appearances God is honored, but in reality the self has been set up as an idol. (P. 31)

Now since the being and nature of man cannot exist for an instant unless it is doing or not doing something, putting up with or running away from something (for as we know, life never stands still), well then, let him who wants to be holy and full of good works begin to exercise himself at all times in this faith in all his life and works. Let him learn to do and to leave undone all things in such continual faith. Then he will find how much work he has to do, and how completely all things are included in faith, and how he may never grow idle because his very idling must be the exercise and work of faith. In short, nothing can be in or about us and nothing can happen to us but what must be good and serviceable to us, as long as we believe that all things please God. (P. 34)

But you say, how can I be absolutely sure that all my works are pleasing to God, when at times I fall, talk, eat, drink, and sleep too much, or otherwise transgress in ways I cannot avoid? Answer: This question shows that you still regard faith as a work among other works and do not set it above all works. It is the highest work because it blots out these everyday sins and still stands fast by never doubting that God is so favorably disposed toward you that he overlooks such everyday failures and offenses. (P. 37)

Faith does not originate in works; neither do works create faith, but faith must spring up and flow from the blood and wounds and death of Christ. (P. 38)

Next to faith the second work is the work of the second commandment, that we shall honor God's name and not take it in vain. This, like all other works, cannot be done without faith. However, if it is done without faith, it is simply sham and show. After faith we can do no greater work than to praise, preach, sing, and in every way laud and magnify God's glory, honor, and name. (P. 39)

A man can find God by no other work than faith and trust; a man can lose God by no work other than unbelief and doubt. (P. 40)

Tell me, what moment can pass in which we do not unceasingly receive God's blessings, or, on the other hand, suffer adversity? But what else are God's blessings and adversities than a constant urging and stirring up to praise, honor, and bless God, and to call upon him and his name? Now if you had nothing else to do at all would you not have enough to do with this commandment alone, simply to bless, sing, praise, and honor God's name without ceasing?…What work is there in Heaven except that of this second commandment? (P. 40)

Self-satisfaction is the very last vice to be overcome. St. Augustine says all other vices are practiced in doing evil works; it is only honor and self-satisfaction that are practiced in good works and by means of them. (P. 43)

No one can benefit from attending communion unless his heart is deeply troubled and he longs for divine mercy and desires to be rid of his sins; or unless, if he has evil intentions, he is changed during communion and comes to have a desire for this testament. (P. 56)

The sermon ought to be nothing else than the proclamation of this testament…This preaching should induce sinners to grieve over their sins and should kindle within them a longing for the treasure. (P. 57)

God is not hostile to sinners, only to unbelievers. (P. 64)

Open your eyes and look into your own life and into the life of all Christendom, particularly that of the spiritual estate. You will find how low faith, hope, love, obedience, chastity, and all virtue are, while all manner of heinous vice reigns supreme. (P. 68)

Therefore, to destroy such works of ours as well as the old Adam in us, God overwhelms us with those things which move us to anger, with many sufferings which rouse us to impatience, and last of all, even with death and the abuse of the world. By means of these he seeks nothing else but to drive out of us anger, impatience, and unrest, and to perfect his own work in us, that is, his peace. (P. 77)

To despair of grace is a greater sin because it cannot be forgiven, for God has determined for Christ's sake to forgive the sin of those who believe. This sin is so great and wicked that it leads either to despair or to presumption. Consequently one ought to be disposed to say, "It is true. I have sinned. But I will not despair on this account or commit the sin again." However, it's a calumny to conclude from these words of mine that it is permissible to sin and then to believe, for one can't believe in Christ unless one declares and resolves not to sin again. Sin carries us down to despair or up to presumption. In either case the sin is not repented of, for sin is either exaggerated or not acknowledged at all. (V. 54, p. 37)

But a Christian remains firmly attached to Christ and says, "If I'm not good, Peter wasn't either, but Christ is good." Such are the elect. Others say, "God is gracious to me because I hope to amend my ways," but this is only a gallows repentance; the heart isn't in it. Although the wicked sometimes have compunctions (so they call them)—that is, promise themselves that they will be good—they soon depart from the straight path and seek to merit a reward. But a Christian says, "I wish to do as much as I can, but Christ is the bishop of souls. To him will I cling, even if I sin." It is thus that one has assurance. (V. 54, p. 87)

True repentance is not contrition alone; it is also faith, which takes hold of the promise, lest the penitent perish. (V. 7, p. 257)

Then Simeon and Levi trembled and howled horribly, and could not deny the deed. "Alas, why did we obey your counsels?" they said. "What shall we do now? Shall we leave Benjamin here and return to our father? What if he drags us all back in chains?" They had reached no other conclusion in their hearts than that they would have to perish, and for this reason they poured out the whole force of their anger on Simeon and Levi. They probably quarreled a great deal with one another on the way. They recalled Jacob's pitiful and final complaint about his bereavement. Then their hearts boiled over with great grief, penitence, and pain in regard to their sin. This, however, is not yet true contrition, because they are considering only their own distress and danger. (V. 7, p. 363)

Whether contrition is genuine or not is a question which cannot be left to our own discretion, but must be left to the judgment of God…If a man were required to say that he was truly contrite, he would be driven to presumption and to the impossible task of knowing all sin and evil in his heart. And since all the saints still have sin and evil within them, it is impossible for anyone to have such contrition as will be adequate in God's judgment, but they all say with David, "Lord, enter not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight will no man living be found justified" (Ps. 143:2). (V. 32, p. 53)

I did not learn my theology all at once. I had to ponder it ever more deeply, and my spiritual trials were of help to me in this, for one does not learn anything without practice. This is what the spiritualists and sects lack. They don't have the right adversary, the devil. He would teach them well. (V. 54, p. 50)

When the devil can bring this about {depression}, it means that imagination has produced the effect. On this account his thoughts ought to be changed. He ought to think about Christ. You should say to your depressed friend, "Christ lives. You have been baptized. God is not a God of sadness, death, etc., but the devil is. Christ is a God of joy, and so the Scriptures often say that we should rejoice, be glad, etc. This is Christ. Because you have a gracious God, he won't take you by the throat."

A Christian should and must be a cheerful person. If he isn't, the devil is tempting him. I have sometimes been grievously tempted while bathing in my garden, and then I have sung the hymn, "Let us now praise Christ." Otherwise I would have been lost then and there. Accordingly, when you notice that you have some such thoughts, say, "This isn't Christ." To be sure, he can hear the name of Christ, but it's a lie because Christ says, "Let not your hearts be troubled. Trust in me. This is a command of God: "Rejoice!" I now preach this, and I also write it, but I haven't as yet learned it. But it happens that we learn as we're tempted. If we were always glad, the devil would befoul us. Christ knows that our hearts are troubled, and it is for this reason that he says and commands, "Let not your hearts by troubled." (V. 54, p. 96)

God allows us to suffer in order to test our hearts, whether we are willing to do without the promised blessings for a time. We shall not do without them forever. This is certain. And if God did not test us and postpone His promises, we would not be able to love Him wholeheartedly. For if He immediately gave everything He promises, we would not believe but would immerse ourselves in the blessings that are at hand and forget God…One must be carefully fortified and strengthened against the displeasure of the flesh, which fights against faith and the spirit during this waiting, as that murmuring of the flesh is described in the example of Job's wife. (V. 5, p. 202)

I know that the bread and the wine in the Lord's Supper are the body and blood of Christ and that the word of the pastor, whether he preaches or absolves, is the Word of God. Yet the flesh is weighed down by doubt, so that it does not believe these things. This is great wretchedness and is bitterer than death itself. Indeed, the reason why death is bitter is that the hindrances of the flesh prevent us from believing. Otherwise affliction would be a joy, and death would be a sleep for us who believe. (V. 5, p. 22)

What do we care (about suffering)? We who serve the most ungrateful world have the promise and hope of a heavenly kingdom, and so great indeed will be the compensation and remuneration for this wretchedness of ours that we will vigorously censure ourselves for ever letting a little tear or a single groan fall from us on account of this contempt and ingratitude. "Why have we not suffered heavier burdens?" we shall say. "I would never have believed that there would be such great glory in eternal life; otherwise I would hot have been afraid even to endure much more." (V. 7, p. 64)

When the saints rejoice in the spirit and sing "The Lord is my Strength and my Song" (Ps. 118:14), then the devil is far away, and murmuring and impatience cease. But when the barrier has been trodden down, then the rascal comes. As long as those words of praise and thanksgiving resound: "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth" (Ps. 34:1), and "I will exult in God, my Salvation"—so long all trials of sadness and unbelief vanish, and heaven and paradise are opened wide. Hell has disappeared. But when they are abandoned again, then the thought of disaster, desertion, and exile returns…This is the devil; he likes to fish in troubled waters and comes with murderous assaults, with the trials of unbelief and despair. (V. 7, p. 127)

Accordingly, we do not groan, weep, and suffer in vain. Everything is written and noted down in God's commentaries. This means that He looks carefully at everything. God does not look at us from afar but is close to us. He counts my fancies and thoughts, my sorrow and griefs, even during the night; and He wants to remunerate me far more richly than I have asked for or understood…If you weep, He has a golden basin or dish and catches the tears! But whose tears does he gather? The tears of sinners. Who gathers them? God, the Creator of all things. This, therefore, should often be reflected on, to awaken faith, hope, and love in us, since we have the Word, the examples, and the proper experience of the boundless goodness of God. (V.7, p. 138)

Faith must precede, and then the waiting must follow, just as Joseph, in fetters and imprisonment, waited for the Lord. There a sword pierced his soul and humbled his heart. Nevertheless, he endured and waited. How truly, therefore, Paul says: "God is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think (Eph. 3:20)! Our petitions are too weak and feeble. Joseph did not have the courage to pray for what he obtained; but he held in his heart a dimly burning wick and a bruised reed, yes that ineffable groaning (Rom. 8:26) which was a sweet-smelling column of smoke that ascended into heaven. Oh, his heart was a beautiful censer! And God is wonderfully pleased with that odor of groaning and weakness of ours. (V. 7, p. 174)

Nearly all people are tempted by despair, and the godlier they are, the more frequently they are attacked with this weapon of Satan…God Himself wants to make use of this occasion to crush the head of the serpent in me (Gen 3:15). For the heart of man is unsearchable; and the mind of the flesh is enmity against God (Rom 8:7). Nor does man perceive this except through the word of the Law, through which the head of the serpent is killed, in order that we may be made alive, as Scripture says (1 Sam. 2:6): "God brings down to Sheol and raises up." (V. 4, p. 95)

A "gallows repentance is when I repent in such a way that I am not ashamed of having offended God but am ashamed because I have done harm to myself. Such a repentance is very common, and I myself have often repented in this manner; and I felt sorry that I had done something foolishly, unwisely, and with harm. I was more ashamed of the foolishness and harm than of the sin, than of the guilt or offense. But to feel sorry only for the harm that has been done is a repentance of which God has no knowledge…
For true repentance looks at God's wrath on account of sin. It earnestly desires that He be appeased; it shuns the wrath of God. It not only produces grief on account of the harm and no anger or hatred against the brother, but this is what it says: "Provided that God were willing to be gracious to me, I would gladly bear any harm and evil whatever." …The feeling of true penitence is like this: "Alas, why have I offended God? Why have I stirred up His wrath and judgment against myself? Let Him make of me whatever example He wants provided that He forgives and pardons my sin…By all means. Let the Lord do with me what he wants, provided that He is propitious to me!"…To repent is to feel seriously God's wrath because of sin, so that the sinner is troubled in his heart and plagued by a desire for salvation and for the mercy of God. But he who can should buoy up and comfort this person, lest he despair and perish, as Judas despaired. For such a heart does not feel otherwise than that it would gladly throw everything overboard, provided that it found comfort and had help even from a very little child who proclaims the promise of salvation. It thinks: "Provided that I am freed from God's wrath, by which I am wretchedly tortured, I shall care nothing about recovering what I have lost. I have acted foolishly, I shall surely pay the price or penalty for my folly, provided that God is gracious to me. But this is how Esau felt: "If I had my birthright, I would not care about whether God is gracious or not." (V. 5, p. 152-4)

They will not listen or discuss. This is the sin against the Holy Spirit, which cannot be forgiven. It will not repent or be sorry, but will only defend and excuse itself, as though it were something holy and precious and as though the Gospel which opposes it were something demonic. (V. 14, p. 272)

There are two elements in true repentance: recognition of sin and recognition of grace; or, to use the more familiar terms, the fear of God and trust in mercy. (V. 12, p. 305)

He who does not constantly hasten to repentance declares in deed that he does not need repentance. (V. 10, p. 106)
"We must also seriously consider the fact that it is not sufficient to confess with the mouth that one is sinner, unrighteous, liar, and fool. For what is easier, especially when you are at peace and live without temptation? But when you have confessed with your mouth that you are such a person, then you must also earnestly feel the same way about yourself in your heart, and you must conduct yourself in this manner in every act and in your entire life. For this reason he is a very rare man who confesses and believes that he is a sinner. For how is he to confess that he is a sinner if he is unwilling to endure even a word of criticism against himself or his actions or his ideas, but immediately rushes into the controversy and does not confess with his mouth that he is a liar bur rather contends that he is truthful and well-intentioned and that he has been wickedly resisted and falsely accused? But if he is compelled to endure something, he becomes furious and wears everyone out by complaining of the injury which he alone of all people has suffered. Look at the hypocrite who confesses that he is a sinner but is willing to do and to suffer nothing which befits a sinner but only that which is proper for a righteous man and a saint. And thus we are all ready to say: 'I am a wretched sinner.' But seldom if ever does a man want to be a sinner. For what is it to be a sinner if not to be worthy of all punishment and trouble? And to confess with your mouth that you are such a person but to be unwilling to act like a sinner, this is hypocrisy, this is lying. For it befits a righteous man to have peace, glory, honor, and all good things. Therefore, if you deny that you are righteous, you must also deny these good things. And if you confess that you are a sinner, you must take punishments, injuries, and ignominy as your own and your rightful possessions. But you must flee those things as belonging to someone else which belong only to a righteous man. Therefore if shame or an insulting word, if a beating or an injury, if condemnation or disease befall you, and you say: 'I do not deserve it, why must I endure it? An injury has been done to me; I am innocent,' are you not thereby denying that you are a sinner, are you not resisting God and with your own mouth convicting yourself as a liar? For with all these things God is proving and asserting that you are a sinner, because He brings to you the things which befit sinners. And He cannot err or lie. But you rise up and contradict Him, resisting and opposing Him, as if God were the one who was acting wickedly, foolishly, and dishonestly. And thus you are like those of whom we spoke above, 'for those who are factious and do not obey the truth but obey wickedness (Rom. 16:8). For you also do not obey the truth.'

But if you say when these things happen: 'Indeed, I surely deserve these things, I have been fairly treated, I freely admit that I am truly a sinner, so that all these things are just and true; I have certainly sinned against Thee, so that Thy actions and Thy words are justified, and Thou art the truthful and righteous God; Thou art not mistaken concerning me, there is no lying in Thee. For just as in all these things Thou does show that I am a sinner, so it is true I am indeed a sinner.' Behold, this is simply saying, 'Against Thee have I sinned and done that which is evil in Thy sight, so that Thou art justified in Thy words' (Ps. 51:4)." (Vol. 16, p. 216-17)

"When you sin and have a good conscience about it, this is the sin against the Holy Spirit." (54/60) (The whole church is now guilty of this.)

"Now that he (David) has shown the sons of men the true Savior, he next prepares them for true repentance and most beautifully describes it. And if you will take a good look, you will see that everyone who has begun to acknowledge Christ and the truth soon begins to abhor his own vanity. When the Lord has enlightened us the more clearly we know Christ, and the more abominably we abhor the former vanity. Hence he says, 'be angry,' namely, with yourselves because of what has gone on before…So 'be angry' is used, that is, 'you will have anger,' and so is 'feel remorse, etc.' These words will teach you to be angry and repent, and I exhort you to do it and be angry, and this with reference to the past. But as for the future, 'sin not,' that is, get yourselves a new spirit and a new heart.' 'Speak in your hearts and feel remorse on your beds,' to me, means that repentance should be done inwardly before God and in secret, not before the eyes of men for the purpose of vain boasting. So Joel says: 'Rend your hearts and not your garments' (2:13). Psalm 15:2, 'Who speaks the truth in his heart,' that is, confess your evils from your whole heart and in your hearts, not with the mouth like the hypocrites, who honor God with their lips." (10/64-65)

"In this way He shows at the same time what true repentance is, namely, a burning thirst for mercy in the affliction of conscience. For to them alone is sweet mercy offered, not to the hypocrites." (9/60)

I Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slow about His promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

"The true knowledge of Christ causes a person to feel that he has sin. Furthermore, it causes us to lament this. The papists and those who are in despair are opposed to this. Those who despair are those who feel sin, die in their consciences, and are tormented to such an extent on all sides that they are compelled to despair. Nevertheless, one should not despair because of sin or the fruits of sin. For even if we fall we must rise again." (30/229)

"For other sins—sins that are committed either because of weakness or on some occasion—I can pray that they be remitted and not imputed. For the heretics I cannot do this when they do not acknowledge their sin. To be sure, I can pray that God may convert them before they are hardened through and through; but when they refuse to be corrected, I pray: 'Lord, do not let what these people desire be righteousness or right; but reveal Thy righteousness in them.' Therefore I understand heresy, which they substitute for the truth, to be a mortal sin. When they do not come to their senses after being admonished once and once again, then it is a mortal sin." (30/325)

"The mother of hypocrites and the cause of hypocrisy is this very smugness. For God leaves us in this sin, in the tinder, in our sinful lusts, in order that He may keep us in his fear and humility so that we may always flee to His grace, always in fear and sinning, that is, always praying that He will not impute our sin to us nor let sin have dominion over us. Indeed we sin even by not being afraid of sin…For when this fear and anxiety cease, then very soon smugness takes hold of us, and as soon as this happens, God's imputation of sin returns, for God has determined that He will impute sin to no one who mourns and fears his sins and anxiously seeks His mercy. By this most merciful counsel our most blessed God compels us to grow weary of this life and to hope for the future life, to a desire of His grace, to a hatred of sin, to repentance, etc." (25/268)

"Your words still sound as though they ascribe a good deal to works. This is what we think. When the Holy Spirit makes us aware of the work of Christ and of his merit, outwardly through the Gospel and inwardly through his gift, when he bestows this merit upon us and causes us to believe in it, then this faith is nothing else than a living trust and confidence in the merit that Christ has bestowed upon us. We rely upon it from the bottom of our hearts, without doing any works of our own. We are confident that it is not our own works but the work and merit of Christ that destroys our sins, overcomes death, and swallows up hell. This means that no work is required in order to believe in God or to have a true and living faith. Rather it is this living faith in God which subsequently does good works to one's neighbor, as Christ has done to him." (36/301)

"In order to explore their individual spirit, too, you should inquire whether they have experienced spiritual distress and the divine birth, death, and hell. If you should hear that all their experiences are pleasant, quiet, devout, and spiritual, then don't approve of them, even if they should say that they were caught up to the third heaven. The sign of the Son of Man is then missing, which is the only touchstone of Christians and a certain differentiator between the spirits. Do you want to know the place, time, and manner of true conversations with God? Listen: 'Like a lion he has broken all my bones'; 'I am cast out from before your eyes'; 'My soul is filled grief, and my life has approached hell.' The Divine Majesty does not speak in such a direct way to man that man could actually see it; but rather, 'Man shall not see me and live.' Our nature cannot bear even a small glimmer of God's direct speaking. As a result God speaks through men indirectly, because not all can endure his speaking. The angel frightened even the Virgin, and also Daniel. And Jeremiah pleads, 'Correct me O Lord but in just measure,' and 'Be not a terror to me.' Why should I say more? As if the Divine Majesty could speak familiarly with the Old Adam without first killing him and drying him out so that his horrible stench would not be so foul, since God is a consuming fire! The dreams and visions of the saints are horrifying, too, at least after they are understood. Therefore examine them and do not even listen if they speak of the glorified Jesus, unless you have first heard of the crucified Jesus." (48/366-67)

"It is a totally different thing to accept, endure, and assist with greatest gentleness those whom you have rebuked. This belongs to the realm of love and service, and not to the ministry of the Word. Faith, however, or the Word, endures nothing but rather reproves and consumes, or as Jeremiah says, plucks out, destroys, and overthrows, and, 'Cursed be he who does the work of the Lord in a cheating way.' Your way brings about a situation in which truth is never recognized, and yet it is nevertheless assumed that evil is corrected by flattery and false kindness. Our way is to not lack gentleness, kindness, peace, and joy with someone who agrees with our word yet cannot be perfect at once. We are content that he has meanwhile recognized truth and has not resisted or condemned it." (48/374-75)

"God humbles those who are His to exalt them; He kills them to make them alive; He confounds them to glorify them; He makes them subject to raise them up. This is the art of arts and science of sciences which is not usually learned or discovered except with great toil and by a few; but it is nevertheless sure and certain, as this example testifies, for what is stated in Ps. 105:21 is true: 'The Lord appointed Joseph king of Egypt and lord and savior of many.' How? By having him sold, cast off, killed. These are works of God which are not understood unless they are fulfilled and completed. In the meantime, however, while they are being carried out, they cannot be grasped except by faith alone. For it is necessary simply to hold fast to this: 'I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, etc.'" (6/400)

"But you will say, 'Why should I shout? I feel I am being mortified.' Here God replies: 'I do not want the death of the sinner (Ezek. 18:23). 'What then.' 'I want your shouting, that I may deal wonderfully with you, and that you may understand your uncleanness, which I shall remove in this manner. To Me, of course, it is a game; but to you it is death. Yet is it expedient for you to know that you have need of cleansing.' This 'know (Ps. 4:3) must be learned. But the condition of those with whom the Lord does not play is different; for these, too, are harassed, exercised, and afflicted. But they do not shout, and they do not think that the Lord is playing with them." (7/230)

"One should take the royal road, and sin should be shunned. For although God has promised pardon, as Augustine says, yet He does not promise that you will be sure to return after a fall. Thus Saul and Judas do not return. It is not in our power to take hold of grace; nor do you know whether you are able to accept the remission that is offered. Therefore one should fear God. He hates both presumption and despair. Do not be so confident of atonement that you add sin to sin. Do not say: 'His mercy is great, He will forgive the multitude of my sins,' for both mercy and wrath are with Him, and His anger rests on sinners. We Germans say: 'Do not sin on the strength of mercy.' Do not say: 'I sinned, and what happened to me?' For the Lord is patient, but He will not let you go without punishment." (8/329-30)

"Whenever God gives us a new degree of grace, He gives in such a way that it conflicts with all our thinking and understanding. Thus he who then will not yield or change his thinking or wait, but repels God's grace and is impatient, never acquires this grace. Therefore the transformation of our mind is the most useful knowledge that believers in Christ can possess. And the preservation of one's own mind is the most harmful resistance to the Holy Spirit. For in the church God does nothing else but transforms the mind, and His transformation they resist who are satisfied with their own thinking; they disturb everything and produce schisms and heresies. They are 'men of corrupt minds,' as he calls them in 2 Timothy 3:8." (25/438)

"Penance also is to be reckoned as a sacrament—all sacraments are a kind of penance. It is necessary to preach penance, and to punish fearless behavior which is now in the world and has its origin, at least in part, in a wrong understanding of faith. For many who hear that they should believe, so that all their sins will be forgiven, fashion their own faith and think they are pure. Thus they become secure and arrogant. Such carnal security is worse than all the errors hitherto prevailing. Therefore in preaching the gospel it is necessary in every way to instruct the people where faith may be found and how one attains it. For true faith cannot exist where there is not true contrition and true fear and terror before God. This is most important in teaching the people. For where there is not contrition and sorrow for sin, there also is no true faith. One should not believe those who cry, "Peace, Peace," when there is no peace. But, as we have often said, this faith cannot be until there has been contrition and sorrow. For contrition without faith is the contrition of Judas and Saul; it is despair. So faith without contrition is presumption and carnal security." (40/296)

"Seek the Lord, all you gentle of the land. That is, See to it that you do not come together in vain. See to it that this assembly of yours is not useless. Rather, by prayer and preaching summon each other back to your senses, all you gentle of the land. I translate the Hebrew word 'gentle' as humble, oppressed, those cast down before the world, whom few respect." (18/339)

"The force and power of the law is to slay, or to show that sin must be punished with eternal death. When a man really begins to feel this force, with the Spirit reproving him, he soon despairs of God's mercy. But despair of God's mercy is the greatest sin and is unforgivable unless grace cancels it in suitable time. This is what Paul says, that through the law sin is made beyond measure; through the law sin slays me; and the law brings wrath (Romans 5:20-21; 4:15)." (34/116)

"Repentance is the transformation of corruption and the continual renewal from sin which is effected by faith, the gift of God, and the gift of grace is forgiveness, so that in that case the wrath against sin ceases. There must be repentance and renewal so that sin may be expelled as long as there is preaching, as long as there is life." (32/232)

"The highest wisdom is the 'fear of God,' to know God's wrath and, as a result, to live and to perform everything we do with humble hearts." (13/100)

"When the effect of the Law reaches its climax, when it achieves its best and highest purpose by leading a person to such a degree of knowledge that he sees and understands that God's Commandments demand a perfect obedience of the heart him, which he is not able to do, so that he is not able to feel anything but sin in himself and God's wrath over him—at this point there arises a truly horrible attitude of disobedience toward God, and a man truly recognizes that human nature is utterly incapable of being willingly and genuinely obedient to God on the basis of laws. For human nature becomes hostile to the Law and develops a horrible and bitter wrath and hate toward God the moment it discovers itself damned by the Law, placed under the wrath of God, and condemned to hell. Then human nature begins to blaspheme God until it falls into despair and eternal death—unless the Gospel of Christ rescues it from this condition." (13/288) (Today's church is far too holy and godly to admit of anything like Luther explained above.)

"Whoever, therefore, does not consider the judgment of God, does not fear; and whoever does not fear, does not cry out; and whoever does not cry out, finds no grace." (14/190)

"This is characteristic of the ungodly, not to fear God and, sure of His mercy (as they think), to take everything for granted. The godly, however, like Job, fear for all their works." (14/292)

"A storm forms in the conscience when the Law is spiritually understood. Then the soul experiences darkness, storms, it fears death and hell; at every moment it is afraid that it will die eternally. The feeling of death, sin, hell, and the wrath of God is there. From the outward sight the Children of Israel conceived the inner sight. They could not bear it (Heb. 12:20). The Law is unbearable; in the Law is only fear; in the Gospel there is only hope." (9/57)

"The new prophets proceed thus: First they lay hold on mortification. This they divide into many steps or weights, which they call by various names. And to no person do they ascribe righteousness until he has advanced by these steps to perfect mortification. Then they are filled with the Holy Spirit, so that they can do everything, know everything, and desire everything. For the Spirit comes to them, not from hearing the Word, which they proudly despise, but from mortification." (9/186)

"The antinomians want the doctrine of repentance to begin directly from grace. But I myself did not proceed in this manner, for I know that Ishmael was cast out and in despair before he heard the comfort of the angel. Accordingly, I followed this example and comforted only those who were first contrite and despairing, whom the Law had thoroughly frightened and Leviathan had crushed and stunned. For Christ came into the world for their sake, and He does not want the smoking flax (Matt. 12:20) to be completely extinguished. Therefore He cries (Matt. 11:28) 'Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy-laden.'" (4/51)

"To feel sin and the wrath of God because of sin is very great grace, and salvation is close to such sinners. As a result, they are easily brought to repentance." (5/157)

"Every Christian, when baptized and dedicated to Christ, may and must accept and expect encounters with terror and anxiety, which will make his heart afraid and dejected, whether these feelings arise from one or from many enemies and adversaries. For a Christian has an exceedingly large number of enemies if he want to remain loyal to his Lord." (24/11)

Trials and strife are to let us experience something that preaching alone is not able to do, namely, how powerful Christ is and how the Father loves us." (24/150)

"Whenever faith is not preached and is not given primary importance, wherever we do not begin by learning how we are united with Christ and become branches in Him, all the world concentrates only on its works. On the other hand, wherever faith alone is taught, this leads to false Christians, who boast of their faith, are baptized, and are counted among the Christians but give no evidence of fruit and strength. This makes it difficult to preach to people. No matter how one preaches, things go wrong; the people always hedge. If one does not preach faith, nothing but hypocritical works result. But if one confines one's preaching to faith, no works ensue. In brief, the outcome is either works without faith or faith without works. Therefore the sermon must address itself to those who accept and apprehend both faith and works; the others, who do not want to follow, remain behind." (24/249)

"Christ wants to say that one of two things must happen: 'You must have anxiety and tribulation either outwardly, in your bodies, or inwardly, in your hearts. Consequently, when I say that you shall have peace, you must understand this to mean that you will have to experience anxiety in the world. You must realize that peace means fear in the world." (24/421)

"We claim to be holy by reason of the doctrine; and, as a matter of fact, we are just that. For a proper Baptism, the true Word of God in the Sacrament of the Altar, Holy Writ, the Holy Spirit, and other gifts of God are holy. By means of these we are made holy." (23/235)

"Therefore God will have to forsake us and let us die of thirst, for He remains only with those who feel their wretched condition. But few are aware of this. The majority pervert the Gospel into carnal license, a carnal refreshment and drink, so that they no longer want to fast and pray. They have gained some benefit from the Gospel, and now they are no longer concerned about the welfare of their souls. They no longer seek comfort in the Gospel, nor do they have any more appetite for it. Therefore these two points must be made: The Law creates a thirst and leads to hell; the Gospel, however, satisfies the thirst and leads to heaven. Therefore he who masters the art of exact distinction between the Law and the Gospel should be called a real theologian. These two must be kept apart. The function of the Law is to frighten men and drive them to despair, especially the coarse and secure sinners, until they realize their inability to meet the demands of the Law or to obtain grace." (23/270)

"Gross arrogance is now making itself in the papacy, yes, also among us. Many of us say boastfully: 'We are evangelicals; we have learned this doctrine well.'" (23/415)

"It is a comforting message with a charming sound when one says: 'Christ wants to sacrifice His life and His soul for you.' But when we take a man to task properly and reprimand him for his sins, it's the devil, and he refuses to tolerate it. One must proceed thus: First teach man that he is saved by Christ alone. Then hold the prospect of judgment before the ungodly. Tell them that man cannot endure the light which shows him how he is saved, but that he wants to persist in his usury and in other sins." (22/373)

"Even if your sin and your conscience plague and oppress you and you stand in awe of God's judgment, you must realize that all has been changed and that judgment has been abolished. Instead of harboring fear of the Final Judgment you must yearn and long for it, since it does not denote your judgment at all but your redemption." (22/389)

"This knowledge of sin (Ps. 51) is not some sort of speculation or an idea which the mind things up for itself. It is a true feeling, a true experience, and a very serious struggle of the heart, as he testifies when he says (v. 3), 'I know (that is, I feel or experience) my transgressions.' This is what the Hebrew word really means. It does not mean to call to mind what one has done and what one has failed to do; but it means to feel and to experience the intolerable burden of the wrath of God. The knowledge of sin is itself the feeling of sin, and the sinful man is the one who is oppressed by his conscience and tossed to and fro, not knowing where to turn. Therefore, the proper subject of theology is man guilty of sin and condemned, and God the Justifier and Savior of man the sinner. Whatever is asked or discussed in theology outside this subject, is error and poison. All Scripture points to this, that God commends His kindness to us and in His Son restores to righteousness and life the nature that has fallen into sin and condemnation." (12/310-11)

"A godly man feels sin more than grace, wrath more than favor, judgment more than redemption. An ungodly man feels almost no wrath, but is smug as though there were no wrath anywhere, as though there were no God anywhere who vindicates His righteousness. This happens mostly in those who strive for some appearance or religion. Thus many wickedly boast that their religion is most like the life of Christ, and therefore in their smugness they do not pray. On the other hand, the more a godly man feels his weakness, the more earnest he is in prayer. With this wisdom there simultaneously begins continuous prayer. Because the feeling of sin does not cease, sighing and prayer do not cease, asking that this wisdom may be made perfect. This prayer is a fervent desire against the battle of the flesh which we feel, that as the feeling of sin abounds, so the feeling of grace and the consolation of the Spirit may abound even more. Therefore in Zechariah (12:10) the spirit of grace is joined to the spirit of prayer." (12/358)

"Today we are dealing with a feast of trumpets when in conversion to the new life we preach penitence and affliction and the cross and the winepress. For thus preparations made for a feast of atonement in which everyone's soul should be afflicted." (11/101)

"We must praise God and bewail our sins at the same time; praise because we have been saved, groan because we have sinned and are in the evils and dangers of this life. These things can be done at the same time, that we praise Christ and love Him and delight in Him and yet blame and hate ourselves and be sad within ourselves." (11/139)

"God is wonderful in His saints. (Ps. 68:35) That is to say, He turns His Christian over to every kind of suffering and death and trouble, and yet saves him at the same time. And when God abandons him the most, then He takes him up the most. And when He condemns, He saves most of all. Hence, since God is always to be called on, therefore one must always be in trouble. And if trouble does not finds us, we ought to find it in our conscience and contrition, as Ps. 4:4 says: 'Be sorry on your beds.'" (11/237)

"Hence we learn that as all our things began with confession, so they end in confession, yes, in magnificence—that is a magnificent confession." (11/262)

"The confession of sin alone is nothing but pure destruction. Confessing to God is not done by the despairing, who well confess their evils to each other, but not to God, because they do not hope for pardon from Him. Therefore they do not give glory to God to confess to Him their sins and His goodness. As Judas confessed not to God but to the ungodly and his peers, so also the demons and criminals do among themselves, not confessing to God by a confession of praise, but confessing to themselves by a confession of sin." (11/383)

"Reason willingly hears one thing—that God gives strength, but it does not want to be worn out and nothing. So all the self-righteous willingly receive strength from God, but they do not want to be faint, as if God would give strength to the weary. What need is there for the secure to receive strength? But God gives strength to the weary, the oppressed, and the troubled. This happened to me, Martin Luther, who against my will came up against the whole world, and then God helped me." (17/31)

Conclusion

Be it known that I do not attribute repentance to the work of man, but I do attest and warn that the church is allowing its work to interfere with that of the Spirit's work. Scripture is clear, "Except ye repent, ye shall likewise perish." Are we not perishing? May God add His bountiful blessing to His Word and prepare soft hearts for those who are to receive it.

Timothy Vance
August 27, 2002

A Prayer

(Based on Luther's comments from Habakkuk's prayer.)

O Lord, You know my heart's desire and prayer for the Elect—I sincerely crave their salvation. If You did not care about them You would have not raised me up to warn, rebuke, prepare them for tribulation, and pray for them. I am humbly aware that my prayers sustain the Church. Why You have chosen me for this ministry is perplexing and with David I exclaim, "Who am I and what is my house that you have chosen me for such great things!"

Father, like Habakkuk before me, I come to You to intercede for the ignorant. There are some who are truly innocent in their fall from the true faith once for all delivered to the saints and fully explained by Your servant Luther. My heart breaks for them because they have been led into the captivity of a false faith and a false and uncertain Christianity. I know that even in the midst of this Protestant Captivity You can and have ordained faith. I pray and look forward with delight for the day when you will open the eyes of Your precious Elect and make them see how generous You are even though they had been deceived by doctrines of demons.

It is for this reason that I come boldly before You to proclaim their ignorance and innocence. If they had proper shepherds they would have proper faith. I would not want to resist Your hand, in that, You have given us the shepherds we truly deserve because of our lust and greed. You know the heart of man that it wants to fall away from You. But I will not believe that such a gracious God would destroy the righteous with the evil. Again, I protest that there must be a true remnant who would be faithful if only they had the opportunity. I agree with You assessment that they deserve to be sorely disciplined in order to prepare them for the life to come. I beg Your pardon on their behalf for refusing to listen and humble themselves to me, your humble servant. They truly do not know what they are doing.

I know and firmly believe You are building Your church even today amidst this great apostasy. I know Your work stands and continues. I implore You to have mercy in Your great wrath which is to come upon us. Renew and bring to completion Your work which you began with Your Son, our Savior, and continued with Paul and confirmed through Luther. I wait for Your deliverance, though the time of the waiting is oppressive.

Father, I ask you to do quickly what You have promised, that is, allow Your Son to offer to You a glorious church without spot or blemish, fully of one mind, heart, soul, and heartthrob for Your glory and truth. It seems as if this is impossible today because the city of faith lies in smoldering ruins. From the midst of this chaos and clutter, O Lord, rise up, rise up, O Lord, and do not delay Your work.

If You do not cut off the waiting and the delay I fear there will truly be no more faith left; Satan will win the victory and Your name will be forever tarnished. How long O Lord, forever; will You cast us off forever? Certainly not! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right! But my prayer for shortness remains because the dimly burning wick has all but gone out and the bruised reed is almost broken. I truly fear Your Son will find no faith when He returns.

I most humbly and earnestly prayer that You will sustain the Chosen in the coming flood of troubles. We will be tempted to complain against You because of the trouble and agitation. May we not pray for the rocks to fall upon us as a way to escape Your wrath and punishment, but may we remember and fully believe that even in the midst of this great wrath Your hand shelters us in the cleft of faith's rock.

I pray for the destruction of Your enemies, but the deliverance of Your saints. May those who trample Your truth be brought very low, even to hell; You know who these are, they are almost all pastors who have masqueraded as great and lofty teachers, but who are clouds without rain. Have no mercy on them, O Lord, destroy them, but preserve the faithful innocent whom You have given true faith amidst death and decay.

I will gladly endure Your wrath upon this world because of Your righteousness and faithfulness. I know that to the Elect this wrathful display is only a game for the Elect wherein the only victory is our shouting for deliverance, fully persuaded that You are able to keep that which we have committed to you until that peaceful day. May God be praised and may we have wisdom to find the love in the wrath. But destroy the hardened, O Lord. Destroy them fully.

Like Habakkuk before me, I hear and my body trembles. I am sickened in my stomach that Your enemies have virtually succeeded in creating a new faith that almost everyone can subscribe to and participate in. Your chosen have to crawl around in their mud and slime pits, being laughed at and ridiculed by them because we do not give credence to their new kind of crossless faith—a faith of only music and motion. My bones are weak from fear and confusion from being forced to hear and see their foolishness. I sit and I eat my heart out. How long, O Lord?

I know You have allowed these snakes and vipers to gain the upper hand, yet I will say with the Psalmist, "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are your disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my Help and my God." I know you will make the Elect's feet like hinds feet; you will cause the progress of their affairs to be favorable, grant success, and keep them safe as they run in the ministry of the Word. You will bring them back to glory from this mud in which we are now being trampled. Have mercy, O Lord, on our mud—this mud of isolation, disunity, and disbelief.

May You grant that Your chosen sing with Silas with joy and gladness, even in the midst of present affliction; may we know that within a short time we will glory again, rejoice and triumph, and be brought back from captivity.

How Long, O Lord? How long!

Shortly.

"So determined is God to comfort and strengthen a terrified, trembling conscience and to have man finally return to Him. You see, this kind of terror of consciences is monstrous and horrible beyond measure. The conscience is so delicate, weak, and helpless a thing that, once it has been terrified, the great concern and greater comfort of the holy Word can barely renew it to keep it from becoming more and more desperate every day. The people who in our time write much about developing man's character do not know this. If these people had learned just once how great the anguish and terror of the afflicted conscience is, how great its fear, they would soon stop urging character so much. Almighty God knows His handiwork; He knows our weakness. Therefore He also sees what manifold and sweet promises and comfort we need. O God, it is a much greater thing that this kind of conscience be lifted up then as they think." (20/22)

"For I was angry a little while—Here He explains what He means by 'jealousy.' He says in effect: 'I did not want My people to be ruined and abandoned; I merely reproved then in the direction of the good. I wanted to cure them, not kill them.' In this way He offers complete comfort to their afflicted minds, and He does this with very sweet words. After all, what is sweeter and more pleasant than to know that God punishes just like a father? When the heart knows this, there is surely more sweetness in this understanding of the Father's will than there is pain because of His punishment. In fact, when the heart understands the Father, this mitigates all the pan we indeed feel as we are being punished. Hence this statement can be a source of comfort in finally any adversity at all. When God throws us into poverty or disgrace, when He nails us to a cross, when He allows our property to be taken from us. let us always say: 'Let it go. God intends nothing bad.' The Word teaches us that He not only is not angry with us as He whips us but also that He hates the whipping He uses against us." (20/20)