GOSPEL SNIPPETS

(I sent these out to the family for 50 days after Easter 2005.)

The Holy Gospel makes us love It more than father, mother, wife and child, house and home, or even his own soul (Matt. 10:37). The Gospel of Christ came not to bring peace on earth, but a sword (Mat. 10:34). The Gospel must destroy all opinions contrary to Its essence, such as, "Is means signifies." The Gospel demands that we be of one faith, one mind, one heart (Eph 4:3).The Gospel shuns, condemns, and censures all in disagreement with Itself as idolaters, corrupters of God's Word, blasphemers, and liars. Those who believe the Gospel cannot keep silence over or approve blasphemy. When one blasphemously gives the lie to God in a single word, or says it is a minor matter if God is blasphemed or called a liar, one blasphemes the entire God and His Gospel. The power of the Gospel cannot be relegated to the fickleness of man's opinion. (Luther, V. 37, p. 26)

Now when God sends forth his holy Gospel he deals with us in a twofold manner, first outwardly, then inwardly. Outwardly he deals with us through the oral word of the Gospel and through material signs, that is, baptism and the sacrament of the altar. Inwardly he deals with us through the Holy Spirit, faith, and other gifts. But whatever their measure or order the outward factors should and must precede. The inward experience follows and is effected by the outward. God has determined to give the inward to no one except through the outward. Observe carefully, my brother, this order, for everything depends on it. (Luther, V. 40, p. 146)

Don't be smug… We must have a Savior who is also our Brother, who is of our flesh and blood, who become like us in all respects but sin. And in the children's Creed we say, sing, and confess; "I believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God the Father Almighty, conceived by the holy Ghost, not by Joseph, born of Mary, a true, natural man who suffered, was crucified, died, rose from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God, coequal with the Father in power and glory." With a cheerful heart I may declare: "I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, who sits on His right hand as my Advocate. He is of my flesh and blood; yes, He is my Brother. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, became incarnate, and died for our sins."

To sum up, we must, first of all, have a Savior who can save us from the power of this world's god (2 Cor. 4:4) and prince (John 16:11), the devil, that is, from sin and death. This means that He must be the true, eternal God, through whom all believers in him become righteous and are saved. For if He is not greater and more exalted than Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, or John the Baptist, he cannot be our Redeemer. But if, as God's Son, He sheds His blood to redeem us and cleanse us from sin, and if we believe this, rubbing it under the devil's nose whenever he tries to plague and terrify us with our sins, the devil will soon be beaten; he will be forced to withdraw and to stop molesting us. For the hook, which is the divinity of Christ, was concealed under the earthworm. The devil swallowed it with his jaws when Christ died and was buried. But it ripped his belly so that he could not retain it but had to disgorge it. He ate death for himself. This affords us the greatest solace; for just as the devil could not hold Christ in death, so he cannot hold us who believe in Christ.

Christ says that we are to preach in his name repentance and forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:47). Many now talk only about the forgiveness of sins and say little or nothing about repentance. There neither is forgiveness of sins without repentance nor can forgiveness of sins be understood without repentance. It follows that if we preach the forgiveness of sins without repentance that the people imagine that they have already obtained the forgiveness of sins, becoming thereby secure and without compunction of conscience. This would be a greater error and sin than all the errors hitherto prevailing. It is our duty to preach the WHOLE GOSPEL and not one portion without the other. For God says in Deut. 4:2: "You shall not add to the word… nor take from it." There are preachers who now attack the pope because of what he has added to the Scriptures, which unfortunately is all too true. But when these do not preach repentance, they tear out a great part of Scripture. So we exhort the people diligently and frequently to repent and grieve over their sins and to fear the judgment of God. Preachers are to condemn the gross sins of the common man, but more rigorously demand repentance where there is false holiness. The Gospel is to bring peace to the humble but is not to strengthen the arrogant. (Luther, V. 40, p. 274)

Be ye not complacent… For the New Testament is Gospel, spirit, forgiveness of sins in and through the blood of Christ, and whatever else we may add, for it is all one entity, gathered together into one mass or substance, the whole in the blood, the whole in the cup. Where the one is, there the other is also. Whoever names or points to the one, deals with the while. Now, how can ordinary wine "represent" or "signify" so important a think, if all the figures of the Old Testament can scarcely signify it? For Christ's blood which grants full forgiveness cannot be such an insignificant thing that it yields only a sign of the New Testament, as the calves' blood did in Moses' time. Whoever admits that he has the figure or sign of the new testament admits that he does not yet have the new testament; he has taken a backward step and denied Christ and has become a Jew. Christians have the New Testament itself, without figure or sign. We may have it hidden under an alien form, but we must have it truly present. Ought not the devil, then, hate such a Supper and rouse the fanatics against the Gospel? (Luther, V.37, p. 338)

Don't be foolish… It is necessary to preach the letter (of the Law) so that people are first killed by the law and all their arrogance is destroyed. Thus they may know themselves and become hungry for the Spirit and thirsty for the Gospel. So the letter prepares the people for the preaching of the Spirit, as it is written about St. John the Baptist that he made the people ready for Christ through the preaching of repentance. This was the office of the letter. After that he led them to Christ, saying, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29). This was the office of the Spirit. These then are the two works of God, praised many times in Scripture: He kills and give life, He wounds and heals, He destroys and helps, He condemns and saves, He humbles and elevates, He disgraces and honors. The letter does not allow anyone to stand before His wrath. The Spirit does not allow anyone to perish before His grace. Of, this is such an overwhelming affair that one could talk about it endlessly! But the pope and human law have hidden it from us and have put up an iron curtain in front of it. May God have mercy! The letter is nothing but LAW WITHOUT GRACE: the Gospel is nothing but GRACE WITHOUT LAW. Amen! Luther, V. 39, p. 188)

Works do not make a person a Christian, but a Christian should perform good works. No one becomes a Christian by means of works. A person becomes a Christian when God grants him grace to come to His Son, Christ, when he is baptized in his name, hears His Word, and accepts Christ in faith. The Christian did not carve out Christ and His grace himself. You contributed nothing to it; you did not fashion, carve, or bake Christ. It is your faith, not your good works. And then the Christian says: I believe in Christ, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary; who died, was crucified, and buried; and who rose again on the third day for my sake. Your comfort is that you yourself did nothing at all, that Christ was born, and that He also suffered. These are not our works, and this cannot be acquired by means of works. It is a devilish shame, and it grieves me no end that the articles of faith are surrendered and reliance is placed directly on good works.

The Sacrament of the Gospel is given to YOU that YOU might use it readily and personally—GIVEN TO YOU FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. The words "for you" are to be diligently noted: the two words "my" and "your" are indeed, mighty words which should fairly impel you gladly to walk over a hundred thousand miles for this Sacrament. It is your dear Lord Christ Jesus, God's Son, who shed his blood and died for you. He desires no more of you with this word "my" than that you might recognize and believe the same, that you acknowledge it, and thank him that he went to such great pains to achieve it. Further, he desires that you do not so shamefully despise his sacrament and think so lightly of it and neglect it even though it is free and does not cost you anything. He desires NOTHING in return other than praise and thanks. This is the primary benefit and fruit which accrues to you from the use of the sacrament that you are reminded of such favor and grace and that your faith and love are stimulated, renewed, and strengthened so that you might not reach the point of forgetting or despising your dear Savior and his bitter suffering and the great, manifold, eternal need and death out of which he has rescued you. (Luther, V. 38, p. 125)

Do you want to be a Christian? Do you want to understand the Gospel? Do you want the power of the Gospel in your life? Then… Remember. "Do this in remembrance of Me." To "remember" His is to praise, listen to, proclaim, laud, thank, and honor the grace and mercy which He has shown us in Christ—We REMEMBER the word and work of CHRIST. Upon Christ, God has directed and concentrated all His glory and worship so that He does not wish to know of any glory or worship apart from Christ, yes; He does not even acknowledge it. Nor does He want anybody's God apart from Christ. He has also condemned and annulled His own ancient worship, given in the law of Moses, along with all forms of worship in the whole world, no matter how great, beautiful, ancient, or glorious they might be. HEAR YE HIM. Listen to Him. Remember Him. He who hears His disciples hears HIM! REMEMBER ANDRECEIVE YE THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. (Luther, V. 38, p. 105)

Don't be smug… The Gospel teaches where and whence we may obtain grace and love, namely, in Jesus Christ, whom the Law promised and the Gospel reveals. The Law commands us to have love and Jesus Christ, but the Gospel offers and presents them both to us. Therefore, if we do not receive the Gospel for what it really is, then it is like the "written code." And properly speaking it is Gospel when it preaches Christ; but when it rebukes and gives commands, it does nothing else than to destroy those who are presumptuous concerning their own righteousness to make room for grace, that they may know that the Law is fulfilled not by their own powers but only through Christ, who pours out the Holy Spirit in our hearts. The Gospel says to those whom humbly admit their spiritual poverty and seeks Christ: "Behold, here is Christ and His Spirit." Sadly, many make Christ another law-giving Moses.

Killing the flesh" must first be accomplished through the Spirit using the Gospel in faith. Then a man becomes the enemy of his flesh and its lusts. Then come work, suffering, trouble, worry, and interrupted sleep; but he eats and drinks with confidence. {Please note that the hypocrite never does anything with confidence; he only has confidence when and because of his work. Yes, they look confident, but take away their works and they deflate like a ruptured tire.) (Luther, V. 46, p. 150)

The Gospel is surrounded by a thick cloud. This should be a blessing to you. Tell me why. Dad

Good Morning. I am including this quote so as to encourage you in your walk. I could have been spared much emotional grief had I understood this concept and, especially, had the church practiced it. I never measured up to their expectations—and probably few people did. Every individual church has its own peculiar parameters whereby they judge people and put them in their pecking order. You are "received" by them so long as you stay within acceptable limits of their guidelines. At any rate, I never felt fully accepted by any church I attended. You may assume this is due to my insecurities, but I must protest, "Upon the more uncomely members we bestow the more honor." The individual churches today have become nothing more than civil bodies of peoples who attract other people of similar minds and emotional makeups—the others are weeded out by and by. Please allow this quote to encourage you in the grace and mercy and love of Jesus Christ. Of course, don't allow it to make you smug and complacent:" The Gospel of grace does not entirely change nature but uses nature as it finds it. So if somebody is kind when converted through faith, he becomes a gentle preacher. If he is by nature irascible and severe, he preaches after this fashion. On the other hand, if he is fitted by nature with some slyness, intelligence, and power of reason, he uses these qualities for the benefit of mankind." (Luther, V. 54, p. 24)

Don't grow weary… Isaiah 2:3—"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord." The whole occupation that is praised in this kingdom is the Gospel. Here nothing but the sweetness of the Word is discussed. They have one work, namely, to hear and be taught. It is on the kingdom and on nothing else, that this Word rests. The Gospel is the force, power, and work of Christians, and those people are true Christians who from day to day learn the same Word more and more and do not quickly become disdainful and get sick of it. One can never learn enough as Paul says in Col. 3:16: "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly"; that is one must ponder it constantly, and always some new fire to arouse the heart will be found. Christians never read the same teaching enough. For the Gospel does not concern itself with knowledge; it concerns itself with feeling. We slip every day. The flesh, sin, death, and the world assail us. Not for even one moment are we safe from spiritual adultery. This is how it is because sins surround us on all sides and weaken godly feelings. Hence it is necessary to hear the Word of God constantly, in order that our feelings may be enlightened. He who does not have the Word or ponder it soon becomes a sorry wretch. If I do not reflect on a verse of a psalm or a statement of the Gospel, my heart is completely full of sins. A return to the Word guards against sins. The heart should always grind, if not something else, then at least itself. If the grain, namely, the Word of the Gospel, is good, the flour will be good, and the bread will be good. (Luther, V. 16, p. 30)

Don't be smug… The Gospel of Jesus Christ makes us truly free—not free to do what we please—but free from the eternal wrath of God. Where? In the conscience. For this is where Christ has set us free, not for a political freedom or a freedom of the flesh but for a theological or spiritual freedom, that is, to make our conscience free and joyful, unafraid of the wrath to come. This is the most genuine freedom; it is immeasurable. For who can express what a great gift it is for someone to be able to declare for certain that God neither is nor ever will be wrathful but will forever be gracious and merciful Father for the sake of Christ?

Don't be smug, but… By the Gospel we are prepared, reborn, and renewed for the future life. Through Baptism the Gospel transfers us from the bosom of our mothers and out of the grave and are put back into Paradise, out of death into life. (Luther, V. 4, p. 401)

Analyze this and you will see it is true… The Gospel produces strong men and women, not helpless infants such as are born from the weak begetting of the flesh. There is a miracle connected with the birth of the Gospel's children. The people of the Gospel are robust, energetic, and cheerful, both in spirit and in faith. After all, in Christ there is no old age but an everlasting bloom of youth which is immune to all grief and worry.

Don't lack understanding, but know the will of the Lord… Only the Gospel of Christ, the Good News that your sins are forgiven and sin and death no longer master you, belongs in the conscience; there no "I shoulds" or "I shouldn'ts" should dwell. Only the Light of the Gospel should shine in your conscience—look only to the forgiveness of sins and the pure righteousness offered and given in Christ. This truth assumes your conscience is disturbed by sin—something done or left undone. You must see your sin on Christ and not allow sin or its effects—sadness, shame, unworthiness, discouragement, hatred of self, and feelings of despair—remain in or on your heart or conscience. Christ is your husband and He dwells with you in the bedchamber of your conscience. There He woos you, speaking gently to you nothing but Good News. The Law does not belong in your conscience, but in your body; with your mind and body you serve the Law, that is, OTHERS. The Gospel does NOT belong in your societal dealings with others. As a citizen I must rebuke and be rebuked. There are times I must be stern and even exceedingly stern with others and others with me. There is no room for the Gospel in our dealings with others as we carry out our stations in life. Another should not hold my Christianity against me or over me when it is time to carry out my earthly duties. A judge sentences to death, a boss gets furious and fires, a parent whips, and I evict—all quite apart from the Gospel. That Old Ass, our nature, must have a steady diet of Law and its effects. There is a time to hear the Law and a time to despise the Law. There is a time to hear the Gospel and a time to know nothing about the Gospel. When you are weighed down by sin, it is time to hear ONLY the Gospel. But you have nothing good; in fact, you have sinned gravely. Granted. Nevertheless, I have the forgiveness of sins through Christ, on whose account all my sins are forgiven. But in a matter apart from conscience, when outward duties must be performed, then, whether you are a preacher, a magistrate, a husband, a teacher, a pupil, etc., this is no time to listen to the Gospel. You must listen to the Law and follow your vocation. Be not unwise, but understand the will of the Lord. (Luther and another, V. 26, p. 117)

Listen to this… The ear is the only tool one needs to obtain the Gospel and grace of Christ; nothing should be conceded to free will. The exertion of our free will tires us out; the listening to of the Gospel brings peace and power. If we want God to listen to our prayers, we must first listen to the Gospel of His Son. Otherwise He will not listen, even though you weep and cry out—even if you burst. (Luther, V.20, p. 80)

If I write less will you meditate more… This is the fruit of the Gospel, that Christ will remove from us every appearance of chains. (Luther, V. 16, p. 197)

Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord… Stir up the gift of God which is in you… Contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints… Micah 3:8—"But as for me, I am filled with power." He is boasting of his own power and boldness in the Gospel. It is as though he were saying: "Although all the preachers resist me, yet I go on preaching because I must. I do not forsake faithfulness to the Gospel no matter how much their frenzy rages against me. I shall finish what I have started with God's help, even if I am to be killed, because by the efficacy of the Spirit of the Lord I am filled with both power and a sense of justice. This 'sense' of justice' is that I am SURE that I am teaching correct things. Therefore, even if the enemies of the Gospel of God threaten me with death, I pay no attention to it. The Spirit of the Lord is with me. He enlivens and comforts me."

Don't be smug… The gospel deals with sin so as to remove it. The law introduces us to sin and overwhelms us with the knowledge of it. It does this so that we may seek to be freed and to sigh after grace, for the gospel also teaches and preaches two things, namely, the righteousness and the grace of God. Through righteousness it heals the corruption of nature. This is done by the true righteousness which is the gift of God, namely, faith in Christ, as Romans 3:21 says, But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law"; and also in Romans 5:1, "Since we are justified by faith, we have peace,; and Romans 3:28, "For we hold that a man is justified by faith." Almost always in Scripture, this righteousness which is contrary to sin refers to an innermost root whose fruits are good works. The companion of this faith and righteousness is grace or mercy, the goodwill and favor of God, against wrath which is the partner of sin, so that he who believes in Christ has a merciful God. For we would not be completely happy in this good of righteousness and we would not highly esteem God's gift, if that was all there was, and it did not gain for us the grace of God. This grace truly produces peace of heart until finally a man is healed from his corruption and feels he has a gracious God. It is this which fattens the bones and gives joy, security, and fearlessness to the conscience so that one dares all, can do all and, in this trust in the grace of God, laughs even a death. (Luther, V. 32, p. 226)

Isaiah 38:14—"O Lord, I am oppressed; sweeten me." The Gospel sweetens our distress. This is the highest art, that in the worst grief and distress we do not despair but rest in the Good News and call upon God. "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you" (Ps. 50:15). Because of the promise of the Gospel, we know that the Lord will relieve our lot, sweeten us, and be gentle with us. (Luther, V. 16, p. 341)

One should realize that there is only one gospel, but that it is described by many apostles. Gospel is and should be nothing else than a discourse or story about Christ. Of course, many regard the gospel as a law book in which is supposed to be taught what we are to do in which the works of Christ are pictured to us as nothing but examples. People who believe this remain as pagan as ever. (Luther V. 35, p. 117)

Remember this… Whoever wants to understand the Gospel must know these words, letter for letter: "Here my Lord has given me his body and blood in the bread and wine, in order that I should eat and drink. And they are to be MY VERY OWN, so that I may be certain that my sins are forgiven, that I am to be free from death and hell, have eternal life, and be a child of God and an heir of heaven. Therefore I go to the sacrament to seek these things. I am a poor sinner with death before me, I must go through it; and the devil threatens me with all kinds of trouble and danger. Because I am in sin, a captive of death and the devil, because I feel that I am weak in faith, cold in love, wayward, impatient, envious, with sin clinging to me before and behind; therefore I come hither where I find and hear Christ word that I shall receive the gift of forgiveness of sins." (Luther, V. 36, p. 350)

The Gospel erases original sin; many who desire a cheap gospel, minimize this sin which God so greatly emphasizes. With this harsh judgment—original sin—God wants to drive and force all men to Christ so that they—trembling, desperate, and sighing—will shelter themselves under His wings. To soften the depths of this sin is to make men rest apathetically and carelessly in the Gospel. In this way they cheapen Christ's grace and minimize God's mercy, from which necessarily follow coldness in love, slackness in praise, and lukewarmness in gratitude. They know absolutely nothing of Christ. Absolutely no man can ever discover or comprehend his wickedness, since it is infinite and eternal. On the other hand, when you maximize your wickedness, you will then discover that what the Gospel of God accomplishes for you in Christ is boundless, in that God has foreordained such powerful grace for you in Christ. Even though you merit such great evil, the Gospel will not permit all this evil to destroy you; and not only does the grace of this Man keep it from destroying you, but it will finally liberate you from it. The glory of grace must be magnified even though it cannot be sufficiently praise, so that Paul exclaims, "Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift" (II Cor. 9:15). Make no mistake. The greatness of the refuge indicates well enough how great is this sin—as long as you don't suppose that Christ, the Son of God, is some wooden statue. All the saints tremble before this judgment. They perish unless they have Christ for a hiding place—and yet we still make a game of this dispute about whether there is sin in good works. (Luther, V. 32, p. 240)

Don't be smug… The Gospel of the Meal is provided only for those who have a sad, afflicted, disturbed, perplexed and erring conscience, and that they alone commune worthily. For, since the word of divine promise in this sacrament sets forth the forgiveness of sins, let every one draw near FEARLESSLY, whoever he may be, who is troubled by his sins, whether by remorse or by temptation. For this testament of Christ is the one remedy against sins, past, present and future, if you but cling to it with unwavering faith and believe that what the words of the testament declare is freely granted to you. But if you do not believe this, you will never, anywhere, by any works or efforts of your own, be able to find peace of conscience. For faith alone means peace of conscience, while unbelief means only distress of conscience. (Luther, V. 36, p. 57)

Don't be smug… This testament of Christ—"this is the New Testament in My blood, the forgiveness of sins"—is foreshadowed in all the promises of God from the beginning of the world; hence the words "compact," "covenant," and "testament of the Lord" occur so frequently in the Scriptures. These words signified that God would one day die… It is plain therefore, that the beginning of our salvation is a faith which clings to the Word of the promising God, who, without any effort on our part, in free and unmerited mercy takes the initiative and offers us the word of his promise. First of all there is God's Word. After it follows faith; after faith, love; then love does every good work, for it does no wrong, indeed, it is the fulfilling of the law. (Luther, V. 36, p. 38)

The holy sacrament of the Gospel is of little or no benefit to those who have no misfortune or anxiety, or who not sense their adversity. For it is given only to those who need strength and comfort, who have timid hearts and terrified consciences, and who are assailed by sin, or have even fallen into sin. As Mary, the Mother of God says, "He fills only the hungry (Luke 1:53) and comforts them that are distressed." In order that the disciples might by all means be worthy and well prepared for the Last Supper, Christ first made them sorrowful, held before them his departure and death, by which they became exceedingly troubled. And then he greatly terrified them when he said that one of them would betray him. When they were thus full of sorrow and anxiety, disturbed by sorrow and the sin of betrayal, THEN they were worthy, and he gave them his holy body to strengthen them. By which he teaches us that the Gospel is strength and comfort for those who are troubled and distressed by sin and evil. As St. Augustine says the same thing, "The Food of the Gospel demands only hungry souls, and is shunned by none so greatly as by a sated soul which does not need it." (Luther, V. 35, p. 56)

Stir up your faith with this… The law has to do with doubt. It promises nothing, but demands much. For this reason, wherever you find doubt in Holy Scriptures, you should refer it to the law and say, "Here the law is speaking." You must not doubt the promises. To doubt after prayer and confession is to sin against the promises. Thus the promise of the gospel always battles against the doubt of the law. Even though doubt is really engaged in battle with the promise, yet finally the promise shall win the field. (Luther, V. 34, p. 318)

Don't be smug… The fear of the judgment of God must always exist in the right kind of person because of the old Adam; but the Gospel enables this man to overcome this fear and know he has a most gracious God. God hates and resists the old Adam so much that He gave His only begotten Son to restore him. The Gospel produces a hope for grace and sets the fear of judgment at ease within us. With this fear there must be hope for grace because of the mercy which if favorable to this fear because of the new man created through the Gospel, and who is an enemy of the old man and therefore agrees with the judgment of God that the old Adam is wretched. Thus fear and the hope of the Gospel go hand in hand. And just as the judgment of God produces fear, so fear results in crying out, and the cry brings mercy. As long as the old man lives, the fear, that is, the crucifixion and execution of this old man, must not cease; nor dare the judgment of God be forgotten. And whoever would live without this crucifying and this fear and the judgment of God to drive him to a deeper and ever newer appreciation of the Gospel, does not live aright. (Luther, V. 14, p. 190)

Faith is not the human notion and dream that some people call faith. When they see that no improvement of life and no good works follow—although they can hear and say much about faith—they fall into the error of saying {or secretly believing}, "Faith is not enough; one must do works in order to be righteous and be saved." This is due to the fact that when they hear the gospel, they get busy and by their own powers create an idea in their heart which says, "I believe"; they take this to be true faith. But the true gospel of faith comes from "the righteousness of God" because GOD GIVES IT, and counts it as righteousness for the sake of Christ our Mediator, and MAKES a man to fulfill his obligation to everybody. For through faith a man becomes free from sin and comes to take pleasure in God's commandments, thereby he gives God the honor due him, and pays him what he owes him. He who has true faith WAITS for the Gospel to work that faith into the life. (Luther, V. 35, p. 370)

Stir up the gift within you with this… Be content with the God of the Gospel—that is, the God incarnate. Then you will remain in peace and safety, and you will know God. Cast off speculations about divine glory, as the pope and Mohammed speculate and plunge themselves into confusion thereby. The Gospel becomes sweet to us because of Christ's humanity and incarnation, and through Him God becomes sweet to us. Let us therefore begin to ascent step by step from Christ's crying in His swaddling clothes up to His Passion. Then we shall easily know God. I am saying this so that you do not begin to contemplate God from the top, but start with the weak elements. We should busy ourselves completely with treating, knowing, and considering this man. Then you will know that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. So He set forth His weakness that we may approach Him with confidence. This is the Good News of the Gospel of God!

Be patient… Since it is very apparent here that bodily food and drink do not suffice if God does not give His blessing, what will happen there when God reveals Himself? There we will not look at bread and wine; we will neither need nor desire drugs or medication, but we will have sufficient solely from viewing and looking at God. This will make the whole body so beautiful, vigorous, and healthy, indeed, so light and agile, that we will soar along like a little spark, yes, just like the sun which runs its course in the heavens. In a moment we will be down here on earth or up above in the heavens. The very sight of the God of the Gospel will afford more life, joy, and delight than all creatures are able to accord, and you will have to say, "I would not exchange one moment in heaven for all the world's goods and pleasures, even though the latter endured thousands and thousands of years." (Luther, V. 28, p. 143.)

When one wants to preach the Gospel, one must treat only of the resurrection of Christ, for this is the chief article of our faith. The greatest power of faith is bound up in this article of faith. For if there were no resurrection, we would have no consolation or hope, and everything else Christ did and suffered would be futile. Therefore one must teach as follows: "Behold, Christ died for you! He took sin, death, and hell upon Himself and submitted Himself. But nothing could subdue Him, for He was too strong; He rose from the dead, was completely victorious, and subjected everything to Himself. And He did all this in order that you might be free from it and lord over it. If you believe this, you have it. For we are not able to do all this with our own power. Consequently, Christ had to do it. Otherwise there would have been no need for Him to come down from heaven." (Luther, V, 30, p. 11)

Don't be smug… The Gospel reduces everything to an easy way of life, for It requires only the ears. For is you ask a Christian what the work is by which he becomes worthy of the name "Christian," he will be able to give absolutely no other answer than that it is the hearing of the Word of God, that is, faith. Therefore the ears alone are the organs of a Christian man, for he is justified and declared to be a Christian, not because of the works of any member but because of faith. The Christian follows the bare voice of God. This is the glory of faith, namely, not to know where you are going, what you are doing, what you are suffering, and after taking everything captive to the HEARING of the Gospel—perception and understanding, strength and will—to follow the bare voice of God and to be led and driven rather than to drive. And thus it is clear that with this obedience of faith Abraham gave a supreme example of an evangelical life, because he left everything and followed the Lord. (Luther, V. 29, p. 238)

Be discerning and have a balance… Christ, like his forerunner John, not only said, "Repent, but added the word of faith, saying, "The Kingdom of heaven is at hand." Preachers of repentance and grace remain even to our day, but they do NOT explain God's law and promise that a man might learn from them the source of repentance and grace. Repentance proceeds from the law of God, but faith or grace from the promise of God, as Romans 10:17says: "So faith comes from what is HEARD, and what is heard comes by the GOSPEL of Christ." Accordingly man is consoled and exalted by faith in the divine promise AFTER he has been humbled and led to a knowledge of himself by the threats and fear of divine law. So we read in Psalm 30:5: "Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning." That is, the law is black with your sin, but the Gospel brings a bright new day! (Luther, V.31, p. 364)

Set your affections on things above… The Gospel overflows with grace of God. The greater the iniquity, the greater the grace. Because Paul was a greater sinner than Peter, he received more grace than Peter. "The grace of Christ has abounded, because I have been guilty of such a great flood of sins." Grace is that favor and beneficence of God which forgives sins and does not remember them. Grace causes God to be favorably inclined; faith and love cause man to be holy. Grace is not alone; it comes in such a way that faith and love are joined to it. It creates a new man so that I believe in Christ. It makes me more effective because I am given a faith which is effective through love in Christ. He, therefore, who was the worst, became the most beloved servant. If I have been a robber, a murderer, an oppressor of widows and little children, I must say: "You have set up Paul as an example. I do not contemplate examples of wrath and desperation set down for the terror of the stubborn." God has given no example for our despair. God says and does nothing to lead one to lose hope. (Luther, V. 28, p. 245)

Be sure, not smug… I Peter 1:19—"And we have a sure prophetic Word. You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." Peter is saying: "The whole purpose of my preaching is to make your conscience sure and to give your heart a firm footing from which it should not permit itself to be torn, in order that both you and I may be certain that we have God's Word. For the Gospel is serious business. It must be grasped and retained in all purity, without any addition or false doctrine. (Luther, V, 30, p. 164)

Don't be complacent… It is not enough to preach or hear the Gospel once. No, one must constantly move forward and progress. For the Word has such grace that the more one deals with it, THE SWEETER IT BECOMES. Although the doctrine of faith is always one and the same, one cannot hear it too often, unless there are impertinent and coarse hearts. (Luther, V. 30, p. 41)

Be ye hungry… To love the Gospel is to despise the visible things, yes, even their images, and to cling to God alone, the divine Good, that is, the divine will, in prosperity as well as in adversity. It is a great thing to be a Christian and to have one's life hidden, not in some place, as in the case of the hermits, or in one's own heart, which is exceedingly deep, but in the invisible God Himself, namely, to live amid the things of the world and to be nourished by what appears nowhere except by means of ordinary verbal indication and hearing alone, as Christ says in Matt. 4:4: "Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."

God the Father made Christ to be the Sign and Idea, in order that those who adhere to Him by faith might be transformed into the same image and thus be drawn away from the images of the world. Therefore Is. 11:12 says: "The Lord will raise an Ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel." This gathering together of the sons of God is similar to what happens when the government arranges a spectacle to which the citizens flock. They leave their work and their homes and fix their attention on it alone. Thus through the Gospel as through a spectacle exhibited to the whole world Christ attracts all men by the knowledge and contemplation of Himself and draws them away from the things to which they have clung in the world. Christ is the Cause and Leader of salvation because He draws and leads His sons to glory through Him—Christ is the Instrument and the Means by which God leads His sons. God made Christ perfect through suffering and the most perfect and complete Example through which to inspire and draw His sons{outcasts}. For God does not compel men to salvation by force and fear, but by this pleasing spectacle of His mercy and love He moves and draws through love all whom He will save. (Luther, V.29, p. 132)

Don't yawn, but the Gospel absolves you through the voice of your brother from your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; that is, he reconciles your soul to God, removes from you God's wrath and displeasure, puts you in His grace, and gives you the inheritanceof eternal life and the kingdom of heaven. You are granted forgiveness immediately and truly if you believe. (Luther, V. 5, p. 140)

Good Morning! I enjoyed going through Luther's works and sharing with you some of the best Gospel passages I have found. I will continue for awhile until I finish going through the volumes.

This passage describes what is in vogue today: This is what my Antinomians are doing today, who are preaching beautifully and (as I cannot but think) with real sincerity about Christ's grace, about the forgiveness of sin and whatever else can be said about the doctrine of redemption. But they flee as it were the very devil the consequence that they should tell the people about the third article, of sanctification, that is, of the new life in Christ. They think one should not frighten or trouble the people, but rather always preach comfortingly about grace and the forgiveness of sins in Christ, and under no circumstances use these or similar words, "Listen! You want to be a Christian and at the same time remain an adulterer, a whoremonger, a drunken swine, arrogant, covetous, a usurer, envious, vindictive, malicious, etc.!" Instead they say, "Listen! Though you are an adulterer, a whoremonger, a miser, or other kind of sinner, if you but believe, you are saved, and you need not fear the law. Christ has fulfilled all!" Tell me, my dear man, is that not granting the premise and denying the conclusion? It is, indeed, taking away Christ and bringing him to naught at the same time he is most beautifully proclaimed! And it is saying yes and no to the same thing. For there is no such Christ that died for sinners who do not, after the forgiveness of sins, desist from sins and lead a new life. They may be fine Easter preachers, but they are very poor Pentecost preachers.

GOSPEL SNIPPETS FROM LUTHER

By the Gospel we are prepared, reborn, and renewed for the future life. Through Baptism the Gospel transfers us from the bosom of our mother and out of the grave and am put back into Paradise, out of death into life.

Don't yawn, but the Gospel absolves you through the voice of your brother from your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; that is, he reconciles your soul to God, removes from you god's wrath and displeasure, puts you in His grace, and gives you the inheritance of eternal life and the kingdom of heaven. You are granted forgiveness immediately and truly if you believe. (Luther, V. 5, p. 140)

Thrive on this… When we have heard the Gospel, we condemn all our own activities and say that there is no righteousness, no wisdom, no strength—that the flesh has nothing—when this is compared with the great and beautiful righteousness of Christ; that is, we feel very humble about ourselves in the presence of the great magnificence of Christ. The Gospel moves us away from our own righteousness and we rejoice and tremble at the righteousness of Christ. We make all our acts as nothing and wonder at and take up all the acts of Christ alone. (Luther, V. 18, p. 276)

Admire this… Christ's Kingdom has no other elegance than the preaching of the Word of the Gospel. That is the great adornment and praise of Christ. Kings of this world are purple-clad, clothed and bedecked with gold and jewelry. But Christ is clad in the Light of the Gospel. Through the Gospel are preached His gentleness, sweetness, righteousness, holiness, and kindness. When He is preached "full of grace and truth," then He is adorned with His finest jewelry and most splendid glory. (Luther, V. 20, p. 70)

Don't be smug… False Gospel-lovers, such as the one who just died, have a deep concern especially for one thing—seeking their own glory. Glory, as St. Augustine says, is the mother of all heresy. But God humiliates His own with the Gospel of the cross and with tyrants that we may learn and know from EXPERIENCE that it rests with God alone that we are saved, and so we should glory only in God and not in our own wisdom, not in our own might, and not in our own strength. As Paul says, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." (2. Cor. 10:17) The knowledge of the Gospel comes from the training of the cross, when people are sorely pressed by adversity to be forced to despair over their own strength and abilities and to give honor to God alone. Otherwise, as Paul says, they cannot keep from boasting in the flesh. Paul speaks of this everywhere so that we may take glory away from the false teachers and not yield to them even a fingernail's breadth.

Rejoice! Isaiah 12:1—"You will say in that day; I will confess to Thee, O Lord, because Thou wast angry with me."

Here the prophet depicts the true and lawful worship and sacrifice of the New Testament which is a single sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Thus the Lord's Supper is called Eucharist (thanksgiving) that we may gather around it and give thanks to God. However, the best thanksgiving is that public confession before the world, where Christians who confess walk in danger. The prophet foresaw this future preaching and confession of the Gospel, which did not take place in the Old Testament. In the voice of the Gospel God is glorified and preached in Christ. Nothing else should be heard in the church but the voice of praise and proclamation of God's blessings which we have received from the Gospel. This song is in conflict with all human wisdom and righteousness, which are our works and in which we seek our own glory rather than give thanks to God. Hence, to be pleasing to God is simply to acknowledge that we are the RECIPIENTS of His blessings, NOT THE DONORS. A Christian confesses that he was condemned and lost and that he has received from Chris EVERYTHING that belongs to salvation and righteousness; all his own merits he considers worth NOTHING. This is the fullest and most perfect sacrifice, and it embraces everything in the Old Testament. There animals and cattle were slaughtered; here our own wisdom and righteousness, our endeavors and works. The church gives thanks not for wrath that is present, but for wrath that has been taken away; for when the yoke of sin and death has been removed, then it will help to remember the evils. (Luther, V. 16, p. 129)

Do you feel the truth of this?… Isaiah 53: "He was wounded for our transgression." The Gospel is the Good News that Christ ALONE is the sin bearer. The Gospel of Christ helps us say, "IT IS ALL THE SAME WHETHER I HAVE SINNED OR WHETHER I HAVE DONE WELL." This is very hard for the conscience to believe. We can preach this in public, but we can only believe it with difficulty in private. If we preserve this article, "Jesus Christ as Savior," all other articles concerning the Holy Spirit and of the church and of Scripture are safe. Thus Satan attacks no article so much as this one. He alone is a Christian who believes that Christ labors for us and that He is the Lamb of God slain for our sins. It is not enough to know and accept the fact. One must also accept the function and the power of the fact. If we have this, we stand unconquered on the royal road, and the Holy Spirit is present in the face of all sects and deceptions, such as the one thrust upon the world that Pope John Paul II was a faithful servant of God.

As for you, dear children, lift up this article and extol it above every law and righteousness and let it be to you a measureless sea over against a little spark. The sea is Christ who has suffered. Your works and your righteousness are the little spark. Therefore beware, as you place your sins on your conscience, that you do not panic, but FREELY place them on Christ, as this text says, "He has borne our iniquities." We must CLEARLY transfer our sins from ourselves to Christ. If you want to regard your sin as resting on you, such a thought in your heart is not of God but of Satan himself, contrary to Scripture, which by God's will places your sin on Christ. Hence you must say: "I see my sin in Christ, therefore my sin is not mine but another's. I see it in Christ." It is a GREAT thing to say confidently: "My sin is not mine." It is a great thing to believe the Gospel.

Be ye warmed and filled… Galatians 1:17—"Who had set me apart before I was born." It is as though Paul were saying: "Who had sanctified, ordained, and prepared me. That is, God had ordained, even before I was born, that I should rage against His church this way, and that afterwards He would mercifully call me back from my cruelty and blasphemy, by His sheer grace, into the way of truth and salvation. In brief, when I had not yet been born, I was already an apostle in the sight of God; and when the time had come, I was declared to be an apostle of the Gospel of God in the sight of the world. Every gift—whether great or small, whether physical or spiritual—that God intended to give to me, and all the good things that I was ever to do at any time in my life—all this God had predestined even before I was born, when I could not think, wish, or do anything good but was a shapeless embryo. Therefore this gift came to me by the mere predestination and merciful grace of God even before I was born. And then, after I was born, He still supported me, even though I was covered with innumerable and horrible iniquities and evils." Where is boasting? Really, where is boasting?

If I write less will you meditate more… This is the fruit of the Gospel, that Christ will remove from us every appearance of chains. (Luther, V. 16, p. 197)

The Law does not belong in your conscience, but in your body; with your mind and body you serve the Law, that is, OTHERS. The Gospel does NOT belong in your societal dealings with others. As a citizen I must rebuke and be rebuked. There are times I must be stern and even exceedingly stern with others and others with me. There is no room for the Gospel in our dealings with others as we carry out our stations in life. Another should not hold my Christianity against me or over me when it is time to carry out my earthly duties. A judge sentences to death, a boss gets furious and fires, a parent whips, and I evict—all quite apart from the Gospel. That Old Ass, our nature, must have a steady diet of Law and its effects.

There is a time to hear the Law and a time to despise the Law. There is a time to hear the Gospel and a time to know nothing about the Gospel. When you are weighed down by sin, it is time to hear ONLY the Gospel. But you have nothing good; in fact, you have sinned gravely. Granted. Nevertheless, I have the forgiveness of sins through Christ, on whose account all my sins are forgiven. But in a matter apart from conscience, when outward duties must be performed, then, whether you are a preacher, a magistrate, a husband, a teacher, a pupil, etc., this is no time to listen to the Gospel. You must listen to the Law and follow your vocation. Be not unwise, but understand the will of the Lord. (Luther and another, V. 26, p. 117)

Rejoice! Sarah, the free woman, on the other hand, that is, the true church, seems to be barren; for the Gospel, the Word of the cross, which the church preaches, is not as brilliant as is the teaching about the Law and works, and therefore it has few pupils who cling to it. Besides, it has the reputation of forbidding good works, making men idle and faint, stirring up heresies and sedition, and being the cause of every evil. Therefore it does not seem to have any success or prosperity; but everything seems to be filled with barrenness, waste, and despair. But regardless of how barren and deserted the church of Christ seems, therefore, or of how much it is said to teach heretical and seditious doctrine, it alone gives birth to children and heirs, through the ministry of the Word. The prophet grants that the church is engaged in a conflict; otherwise he would not urge it to rejoice. He grants that in the eyes of the world it is barren; otherwise he would not call it a barren and desolate one that does not bear.

But Sarah's true children—the Gospel Children—believe in Christ regardless of how terrified they are by their sin. They know that Christ is the Lord of the Law which no longer has a right to accuse and condemn them because of their sin. But you say: "I have not done anything good and am not doing anything now!" Here you neither can nor must do anything. Merely LISTEN to this joyful message, which the Spirit is bringing to you through the prophet: "REJOICE, O barren one that does not bear!" It is as though He were saying: "Why are you so sorrowful when you have no reason to be sorrowful?" "But I am barren and desolate." "Regardless of how much you are that way, since you have no righteousness on the basis of Law, Christ is still your Righteousness. He became a curse for YOU. He has redeemed you from the curse of the Law!"

Don't be smug… The Gospel of Jesus Christ makes us truly free—not free to do what we please—but free from the eternal wrath of God. Where? In the conscience. For this is where Christ has set us free, not for a political freedom or a freedom of the flesh but for a theological or spiritual freedom, that is, to make our conscience free and joyful, unafraid of the wrath to come. This is the most genuine freedom; it is immeasurable. For who can express what a great gift it is for someone to be able to declare for certain that God neither is nor ever will be wrathful but will forever be a gracious and merciful Father for the sake of Christ?

God the Father made Christ to be the Sign and Idea, in order that those who adhere to Him by faith might be transformed into the same image and thus be drawn away from the images of the world. Therefore Is. 11:12 says: "The Lord will raise an Ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel." This gathering together of the sons of God is similar to what happens when the government arranges a spectacle to which the citizens flock. They leave their work and their homes and fix their attention on it alone. Thus through the Gospel as through a spectacle exhibited to the whole world Christ attracts all men by the knowledge and contemplation of Himself and draws them away from the things to which they have clung in the world. Christ is the Cause and Leader of salvation because He draws and leads His sons to glory through Him—Christ is the Instrument and the Means by which God leads His sons. God made Christ perfect through suffering and the most perfect and complete Example through which to inspire and draw His sons {outcasts}. For God does not compel men to salvation by force and fear, but by this pleasing spectacle of His mercy and love He moves and draws through love all whom He will save. (Luther, V.29, p. 132)

Be ye hungry… To love the Gospel is to despise the visible things, yes, ever their images, and to cling to God alone, the divine Good, that is, the divine will, in prosperity as well as in adversity. It is a great thing to be a Christian and to have one's life hidden, not in some place, as in the case of the hermits, or in one's own heart, which is exceedingly deep, but in the invisible God Himself, namely, to live amid the things of the world and to be nourished by what appears nowhere except by means of ordinary verbal indication and hearing alone, as Christ says in Matt. 4:4: "Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."

62. The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.
63. But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last (Matt. 20:16).
64. On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first. (Luther, V. 31, p. 31.)

Be discerning and have a balance… Christ, like his forerunner John, not only said, "Repent, but added the word of faith, saying, "The Kingdom of heaven is at hand." Preachers of repentance and grace remain even to our day, but they do NOT explain God's law and promise that a man might learn from them the source of repentance and grace. Repentance proceeds from the law of God, but faith or grace from the promise of God, as Romans 10:17 says: "So faith comes from what is HEARD, and what is heard comes by the GOSPEL of Christ." Accordingly man is consoled and exalted by faith in the divine promise AFTER he has been humbled and led to a knowledge of himself by the threats and fear of divine law. So we read in Psalm 30:5: "Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning." That is, the law is black with your sin, but the Gospel brings a bright new day! (Luther, V. 31, p. 364)

The companion of this faith and righteousness is grace or mercy, the good will and favor of God, against wrath which is the partner of sin, so that he who believes in Christ has a merciful God. For we would not be completely happy in this good of righteousness and we would not highly esteem God's gift, if that was all there was, and it did not gain for us the grace of God. This grace truly produces peace of heart until finally a man is healed from his corruption and feels he has a gracious God. It is this which fattens the bones and gives joy, security, and fearlessness to the conscience so that one dares all, can do all and, in this trust in the grace of God, laughs even a death. (Luther, V. 32, p. 226)

Stir up you faith with this… The law has to do with doubt. It promises nothing, but demands much. For this reason, wherever you find doubt in Holy Scriptures, you should refer it to the law and say, "Here the law is speaking." You must not doubt the promises. To doubt after prayer and confession is to sin against the promises. Thus the promise of the gospel always battles against the doubt of the law. Even though doubt is really engaged in battle with the promise, yet finally the promise shall win the field. (Luther, V. 34, p. 318)

Faith is not the human notion and dream that some people call faith. When they see that no improvement of life and no good works follow—although they can hear and say much about faith—they fall into the error of saying {or secretly believing}, "Faith is not enough; one must do works in order to be righteous and be saved." This is due to the fact that when they hear the gospel, they get busy and by their own powers create an idea in their heart which says, "I believe"; they take this to be true faith. But the true gospel of faith comes from "the righteousness of God" because GOD GIVES IT, and counts it as righteousness for the sake of Christ our Mediator, and MAKES a man to fulfill his obligation to everybody. For through faith a man becomes free from sin and comes to take pleasure in God's commandments, thereby he give God the honor due him, and pays him what he owes him. He who has true faith WAITS for the Gospel to work that faith into the life. (Luther, V. 35, p. 370)

Remember this… Whoever wants to understand the Gospel must know these words, letter for letter: "Here my Lord has given me his body and blood in the bread and wine, in order that I should eat and drink. And they are to be MY VER OWN, so that I may be certain that my sins are forgiven, that I am to be free from death and hell, have eternal life, and be a child of God and an heir of heaven. Therefore I go to the sacrament to seek these things. I am a poor sinner with death before me, I must go through it; and the devil threatens me with all kinds of trouble and danger. Because I am in sin, a captive of death and the devil, because I feel that I am weak in faith, cold in love, wayward, impatient, envious, with sin clinging to me before and behind; therefore I come hither where I find and hear Christ word that I shall receive the gift of forgiveness of sins." (Luther, V. 36, p. 350)

The Holy Gospel makes us love It more than father, mother, wife and child, house and home, or even his own soul (Matt. 10:37). The Gospel of Christ came not to bring peace on earth, but a sword (Mat. 10:34). The Gospel must destroy all opinions contrary to Its essence, such as, "Is means signifies." The Gospel demands that we be of one faith, one mine, one heart (Eph 4:3). The Gospel shuns, condemns, and censures all in disagreement with Itself as idolaters, corrupters of God's Word, blasphemers, and liars. Those who believe the Gospel cannot keep silence over or approve blasphemy. When one blasphemously gives the lie to God in a single word, or says it is a minor matter if God is blasphemed or called a liar, one blasphemes the entire God and His Gospel. The power of the Gospel cannot be relegated to the fickleness of man's opinion. (Luther, V. 37, p. 26)

Do you want to be a Christian? Do you want to understand the Gospel? Do you want the power of the Gospel in your life? Then… Remember. "Do this in remembrance of Me." To "remember" His is to praise, listen to, proclaim, laud, thank, and honor the grace and mercy which He has shown us in Christ—We REMEMBER the word and work of CHRIST. Upon Christ, God has directed and concentrated all His glory and worship so that He does not wish to know of any glory or worship apart from Christ, yes; He does not even acknowledge it. Nor does He want anybody's God apart from Christ. He has also condemned and annulled His own ancient worship, given in the Law of Moses, along with all forms of worship in the whole world, no matter how great, beautiful, ancient, or glorious they might be. HEAR YE HIM. Listen to Him. Remember Him. He who hears His disciples hears HIM! REMEMBER AND RECEIVE YE THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. (Luther, V. 38, p. 105)

Don't be foolish… It is necessary to preach the letter (of the Law) so that people are first killed by the law and all their arrogance is destroyed. Thus they may know themselves and become hungry for the Spirit and thirsty for the Gospel. So the letter prepares the people for the preaching of the Spirit, as it is written about St. John the Baptist, that he made the people ready for Christ through the preaching of repentance. This was the office of the letter. After that he led them to Christ, saying, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29). This was the office of the Spirit. These then are the two works of God, praised many times in Scripture: He kills and give life, He wounds and heals, He destroys and helps, He condemns and saves, He humbles and elevates, He disgraces and honors. The letter does not allow anyone to stand before His wrath. The Spirit does not allow anyone to perish before His grace. Of, this is such an overwhelming affair that one could talk about it endlessly! But the pope and human law have hidden it from us and have put up an iron curtain in front of it. May God have mercy! The letter is nothing but LAW WITHOUT GRACE: the Gospel is nothing but GRACE WITHOUT LAW. Amen! Luther, V. 39, p. 188)

Don't be smug… We must have a Savior who is also our Brother, who is of our flesh and blood, who become like us in all respects but sin. And in the children's Creed we say, sing, and confess; "I believe in Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God the Father Almighty, conceived by the holy Ghost, not by Joseph, born of Mary, a true, natural man who suffered, was crucified, died, rose from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God, coequal with the Father in power and glory." With a cheerful heart I may declare: "I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, who sits on His right hand as my Advocate. He is of my flesh and blood; yes, He is my Brother. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, became incarnate, and died for our sins."

To sum up, we must, first of all, have a Savior who can save us from the power of this world's god (2 Cor. 4:4) and prince (John 16:11), the devil, that is, from sin and death. This means that He must bathe true, eternal God, through whom all believers in him become righteous and are saved. For if He is not greater and more exalted than Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, or John the Baptist, he cannot be our Redeemer. But if, as God's Son, He sheds His blood to redeem us and cleanse us from sin, and if we believe this, rubbing it under the devil's nose whenever he tries to plague and terrify us with our sins, the devil will soon be beaten; he will be forced to withdraw and to stop molesting us. For the hook, which is the divinity of Christ, was concealed under the earthworm. The devil swallowed it with his jaws when Christ died and was buried. But it ripped his belly so that he could not retain it but had to disgorge it. He ate death for himself. This affords us the greatest solace; for just as the devil could not hold Christ in death, so he cannot hold us who believe in Christ.

Don't be smug, that is, self-conscious, over-wrought, hypocritical, bluffing, over-done, artificial, unnatural, stilted, stiff, starchy, prim, prudish, sanctimonious, demure, shallow, stagy, conceited, giving oneself airs, showing off, swank, posturing, posing, striking an attitude, snobbish, saving appearances, going through the motions, make a show of, act a part, play to the gallery, dramatize oneself, be pretentious, and big-sounding, but rather, humbly trust the KEYS of the Gospel to guide and comfort you. Christ has given us this remedy—these keys to loose and bind sins—which we should value dearly from the depth of our heart as indescribably precious treasures and jewels for our souls. The key which binds is given that we might not remain too confident in our sins, arrogant, barbarous, and without God; and in the key which looses, that we should not despair in our sins. Thus aided we should stay on a middle road, between arrogance and faint-heartedness, in genuine humility and confidence, being richly provided for in every way. The intention of the key which binds is that we heed its threatening and thereby come to fear God. He who believes the key which threatens has satisfied it before and without performing any works. The key does not demand any other work. Afterward such faith will indeed perform works. The intention of the key which looses is to make us believe its consolation and promise of the Gospel, and so learn to love God and receive a joyful, confident, and peaceful heart. He, who has faith in the key, has satisfied it by means of such faith, before and without performing any works. This key demands no other works. Afterward such faith will indeed perform works. (Luther, V. 40, p. 375)

The Gospel does not become involved in the affairs of this world, but speaks of our life in the world in terms of suffering, injustice, the cross, patience, and contempt for this life and temporal wealth. How, then, does the gospel agree with you. Are you only trying to give your unevangelical and un-Christian enterprises an evangelical appearance; and do you not see that in so doing you are bringing shame upon the holy gospel of Christ, and making it a cover for wickedness? If you want to keep on doing these things, then use another name and do not ask anyone to call you or think of you as Christians. (Luther, V. 46, p. 36)

"Killing the flesh" must first be accomplished through the Spirit using the Gospel in faith. Then a man becomes the enemy of his flesh and its lusts. Then come work, suffering, trouble, worry, and interrupted sleep; but he eats and drinks with confidence. {Please note that the hypocrite never does anything with confidence; he only has confidence when and because of his work. Yes, they look confident, but take away their works and they deflate like a ruptured tire.) (Luther, V. 46, p. 150)

"The Gospel of grace does not entirely change nature but uses nature as it finds it. So if somebody is kind when converted through faith, he becomes a gentle preacher. If he is by nature irascible and severe, he preaches after this fashion. On the other hand, if he is fitted by nature with some slyness, intelligence, and power of reason, he uses these qualities for the benefit of mankind." (Luther, V. 54, p. 24)

God coaxes us with promises of spiritual and physical things, although eternal life is given freely to those who believe in Christ as children of adoption. So it ought to be taught in the church that God will repay good works, save in the Gospel—the article of justification, which is the origin and source of all other promises. One should say, "Believe and you will be saved; do what you will, it won't help you to be saved." (Luther, V 54, p.240.)

A friend of Luther said that the mind of man cannot comprehend the Gospel and that it is enough that we only begin to assent. Luther said, "Yes, dear Dr. Jonas, if one could only believe them the way they're written, our hearts would leap for joy. That's certain. We are so constructed by nature that we desire to have a conscious faith. We'd like to grasp it with our hands and shove it into our bosom, but we ought to apprehend it. We should hold to the Word and let ourselves drag along in this way." (Luther, V. 55, p. 453)

This is a difficult quote for me to send because it deals with the death of the best friend I've ever had; and one who is the greatest friend of the Gospel in the last two thousand years: "Let no one suppose that he has tasted the Gospel sufficiently unless he has ruled the churches with the prophets for a hundred years. We are beggars. That is true." These were the last thoughts of Dr. Martin Luther on the day before he died. (Luther, V. 55, p. 476)

If Luther was a beggar, what are you?

I have been saving this quote to use as the last sending of the Gospel passages:
2. Well, then, my beloved Germans, I have told you enough. You have heard your prophet. God grant that we may obey his word, in praise and thanksgiving to our dear Lord for his precious blood so freely offered for us; and may he preserve us from the abominable sin of ingratitude and forgetfulness of His Gospel. Amen. (Luther, V. 46, p. 258)