The King

"Where the heart receives the king with a firm faith, it is secure and does not fear sin, death, hell, nor any other evil; for he well knows and in no wise doubts that this king is the Lord of life and death, of sin and grace, of hell and heaven, and that all things are in his hand.  For this reason he became your king and came down to us that he might deliver us from these tyrants and rule over us himself alone.  Therefore, he who is under this king cannot be harmed either by sin, death, hell, Satan, man or any other creature.  As his king lives without sin and is blessed, so must he be kept forever without sin and death in living blessedness."

Serving God

"Whoever adheres to God's Word and does what God has commanded him in his calling is adorned with divine adornment, yes, is adorned with God himself.  For this reason there is nothing more beautiful than serving God, that is, doing according to God's Word and command.  In short, it is wisdom and power at its highest, to know how one ought to serve God, and with faith in Christ to do according to God's Word and will, and ever to be found in such precious adornment.  May our dear God and Father help us to achieve this through Christ our Lord.  Amen." 

Luther on Matthew 6:24-34, 1532.

Luther on Preaching

When I am preaching, I see Dr. Jonas sitting there, and Oecolampadius, and Melanchthon and I say to myself, "Those learned doctors know enough already, so I need not trouble about them. I shall fire at the poor people in the aisles."

Taken from sermon #2646 preached by Charles H. Spurgeon

Luther and Erasmus: The Bondage of the Will

A great video presentation by R. C. Sproul on the debate between Luther and Erasmus which resulted in Luther's classic work, "The Bondage of the Will" may be found here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Happy 526th birthday to the good doctor!

He and my youngest granddaughter share the date but are separated by:

1. 525 years
2. looks (she is much cuter)
3. demeanor (at least at this point in her life, she is much more fun to be around!)
4. and love from me (despite my appreciation and fascination with Dr. Luther, Lydia will always be more near and dear to my heart!)

Luther and the Diet of Worms

I have a brief section of Luther and the Diet of Worms on my other blog. You may find it here.

October 12-14, 1518: Interview with the Cardinal

As a result of his protest against indulgences posted on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther was subsequently called to appear before Roman Catholic Church officials and to recant his words. In the city of Augsburg on October 12, 1518, Luther met with the famed Dominican Papal representative, Cardinal Cajetan. The meeting began with Luther showing great respect toward the Cardinal but soon turned more contentious. The following excerpt of a portion of the account is from the famous biography of Luther, "Here I Stand", by Roland Bainton:

...Luther...came out with a blunt rejection of the decretal and of the authority of the pope who formulated it. "I am not so audacious that for the sake of a single obscure and ambiguous decretal of a human pope I would recede from so many and such clear testimonies of divine Scripture. For, as one of the canon lawyers has said, 'in a matter of faith not only is a council above a pope but any one of the faithful, if armed with better authority and reason.'" The cardinal reminded Luther that Scripture has itself to be interpreted. The pope is the interpreter. The pope is above a council, above everything in the Church. "His Holiness abuses Scripture," retorted Luther. "I deny that he is above Scripture." The cardinal flared up and bellowed that Luther should leave and never come back unless he was ready to say, "Revoco"--"I recant."

Luther wrote home that the cardinal was no more fitted to handle the case than an ass to play on a harp. (p. 73)

Years later Luther would write about this meeting and note:

"But I could not bring myself to say those six letters, REVOCO."