Martin Luther

“ When we consider this great work of our Lord, consider that He has made the whole world, the heavens and all the host of them, the mighty sun, the countless stars, the earth with all its treasures, with its millions of living creatures, must we not say that God, who created all these things by His word alone, is a mighty and powerful God, more powerful and mighty than all other things which He has made? ”

“ Baptism works forgiveness by making Christ's righteousness our own.
4. Baptism delivers us from death and the devil. By sin death came into the world; death is the wages of sin. In baptism our sins are washed away for Christ's sake, and in this way we are delivered from death. In our dying hour we do not really see death, but have eternal life. In death we rejoice: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? ... But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." ”

“ There alone we learn to know our heavenly Father and the great things He has done for our temporal and eternal welfare. We shall hold His name holy and sacred "when the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity." God's Word must be preached among us without the admixture of any human thoughts and errors, just as God has given it to us, just as it reads. In God's Word we learn how great God, our Father, is, the perfectly holy and just God, and yet gracious, ever ready to forgive all our sins and heal all our transgressions, when we come to Him in the name of Christ ”

“ I know that God is my Father, and I am His child. How can a child show his love and his gratitude toward his father better than by obeying him? So will I render my thanks unto my heavenly Father by cheerfully and willingly obeying Him and by doing according to His commandments. Above all, I will, according to His First Commandment, love Him and trust in Him, my Father, in every need and danger, firmly believing that He will never leave nor forsake me. ”

“ Can there be a nobler service than to serve God, the highest Lord, to serve the highest King, who has bought and won us out of the hands of our enemies, of sin and Satan? Gladly and joyfully will we serve Him, our Savior and our Lord. ”

“ The Law tells us how, according to the will of God, we ought to be and what we must do and not do to please our God. From it we learn that we all are sinners, having not kept His commandments, and that God threatens to punish all who hate Him and break His commandments; that, therefore, as transgressors of His Law, we deserve His punishment, death and damnation. The Law does not bring us glad tidings.—The Gospel has quite another message for us. It brings a message of joy to sinners, to those who have broken the commandments. It tells us that God loves even us sinners. ”

“ The Holy Ghost has already called and enlightened us and begun to sanctify us in Holy Baptism. There already He has brought us to Christ and has bestowed His precious gifts upon us. And to-day we still have the true faith; we believe in our Savior, and in Him we are children of God. That is not our own merit, it is the work of the Holy Ghost in us. He has worked in us by the Gospel, through our parents, through the Christian school and the church, and by the Gospel. He has kept us in the true faith. "Ye are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." ”

“ The penalty of sin is death, eternal death and damnation. Christ, our Lord, has taken away our sins, He has earned forgiveness for us; therefore we have been redeemed from death. He has suffered death for us and therefore we are free from death. Eternal death has no power over us ”

“ We believe that there is a forgiveness of sins. God's Word assures us of this. "There is forgiveness with Thee." Ps. 130,4. How sorely do we need forgiveness of sins! You know that all men, also believers, commit sin. A child of God indeed earnestly strives against committing any sin, he tries not to transgress the commandments of his heavenly Father; but, alas! also God's children sin daily and much. "There is not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not." Eccl. 7,20. With our sins we deserve nothing but God's punishment. "The wages of sin is death." ”

“ My dear Father in heaven, as Thou hast forgiven me the multitude of my sins and hast granted me daily all Thy precious blessings, so will I show Thee my gratitude by heartily forgiving those who sin against me and readily doing good to them. ”

“ Those who break the commandments of God surely deserve punishment. By breaking the Law of God they sin against Him, they show that they hate God, who has created and preserved them, who gives them life and all they need, who wants to be their Father in Christ, that they may become His children. Instead of loving God, they hate Him, who is the Giver of all they have and enjoy.—What punishment does God threaten those who hate Him? ”

“ The hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice and shall come forth: they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. ”

“ To me and all believers the Lord will give eternal life, but to believers only. "He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." ”

“ We are not worthy of anything that God bestows upon us; we do not deserve His fatherly love and kindness. We have transgressed, and daily transgress, His holy commandments. We are sinners. We so often misuse God's kindness and His gifts. If God were to treat us according to our merits and worthiness, He would not be able to bless us, but he would have to punish and condemn us. In us God does not find anything that might move Him to love us and to care for us. It is purely out of His fatherly, divine goodness and mercy that He loves me and provides for me, an unworthy sinner. ”

“ In the Conclusion of the Lord's Prayer we say: "Thine is the kingdom." We mean to say: Thou alone art my Lord and King, from whom I am to seek help, and who certainly will hear my prayer. "Thine is the power": that is, Thou alone art the almighty God, Thou alone hast the power to grant my petitions. And so "Thine is the glory"; that is, all glory, all honor, all praise, shall be given to Thee alone forever and ever. ”

“ Gold and silver are, indeed, highly prized among men. Much can be accomplished, much can be bought with gold and silver for the support of our life and for our comfort here in this world. But all the gold and silver, all the treasures in the world, cannot buy our redemption. Gold and silver cannot redeem one lost and condemned sinner from sin, death, and the powers of the devil, from hell and damnation. ”

“ But not only me did He redeem, but all men, from Adam up to the last man that will be born before the Day of Judgment. God loved the world, all mankind, and He so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son to redeem and save the world. All men are lost and condemned creatures, all are under God's wrath and in the power of sin, and our Savior Himself said: "The Son of Man is come to save that which was lost." ”

“ God is the Maker of heaven and earth. Our Catechism explains these words thus: "I believe that God has made me and all creatures." God has made me; it is due to Him that I came into existence, that I am living. He gave me life and everything that I have. God, however, did not only make me, but me and all creatures. Creatures are all things that God has made. Heaven and earth, all the angels, the sun, the moon, the glittering stars, all things on earth, the mountain and the mighty oceans, all animals, large and small, all the plants on land and in the water, man himself ”

“ God will give us believers eternal life. Christ will lead His own, His believers, soul and body, into His heavenly kingdom, there to live and reign with Him in everlasting joy and glory. In heaven there will be no sin; in perfect holiness we shall serve our Lord. There will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. ”

“ God created all things by His word? In how many days did God create this world, heaven and earth?—When we thoughtfully consider this great work of God, His creation, we can learn from it how wonderful our God is. ”

“ We are deeply sorry that again we have been disobedient to His good will, that we have deserved His punishment. But we also know that God is our gracious, loving Father, always willing to forgive us our many sins. We know that Christ has paid the ransom for our transgressions and earned God's forgiveness for us. In our Savior's name, trusting in Him, we come to God every day and pray with deep shame, but also with firm confidence: My dear Father in heaven, I, a poor sinner, come to Thee and humbly confess that again I have trespassed and sinned against Thee. ”

“ Faith is our hand, with which we take God's gifts and make them our own.—During our whole life we should remember our baptism and the grace God therein has bestowed upon us. Whenever we have sinned, we should in true repentance take refuge to our baptism, to the grace of God which He has promised us there. "The covenant of my peace shall not be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." ”

“ When temptation comes near you, when you feel in your heart the sinful lust, remember: God is with me, He sees and hears everything I do, even the innermost thoughts of my heart. "How, them, can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" ”

“ Our Lord's kingdom is a twofold kingdom, the Kingdom of Grace here on earth, in which our King reigns with His grace, with forgiveness of sins, and the Kingdom of Glory in heaven, in which we shall reign with our King, freed from all evil, in His glory forever and ever. ”

“ For all these things we pray as far as we need them for our daily bread. We do not pray for riches, for many comforts or luxuries, but for that which we need. We pray: "Give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with food convenient for me, lest I be full, and deny Thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain." ”

“ When do we regard God as our God? When is He our God indeed? Our Catechism says: "We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things." When we fear God, and love Him, and trust in Him above all things, then He is truly our God. ”

“ In what manner does God, as a rule, provide us with all the things that we need to support our body and soul? Why is it that we, nevertheless, must say that God provides for us? What must God also do to preserve my body and life? Whom does God often use to protect His children from danger and evil? ”

“ We shall place God's name above every other name in heaven and on earth and hold it holy, sacred, only when we rightly know God as He is, and what He has done and will do for us His children. God has revealed Himself and His great name only in His Word. ”

“ To take God's name in vain is a grievous sin. God is greatly displeased with it. How can we, who fear and love God, grieve Him by taking His holy name in vain? And God has threatened to punish all that misuse His name. "The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain." ”

“ We have considered the Law, which teaches us that we have not kept it, that we have sinned against God and therefore deserved His punishment, eternal death and damnation.—We have considered the Three Articles of the Christian Faith, which teach us the Gospel, the glad tidings of what the Triune God, our Redeemer, has done and will do for us to save us from sin and death, that we may live in His kingdom in everlasting innocence, righteousness, and blessedness. ”

“ What He does is always good and wise, even if we do not understand it.—And remember, moreover, that God has created this beautiful world for us, His children. This great and wonderful earth is to be our dwelling-place; sun, moon, and the stars are to serve us. Is not our God a loving, a good, a merciful God? ”