Quotes by Martin Luther

If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.

You have as much laughter as you have faith.

Peace is more important than all justice; and peace was not made for the sake of justice, but justice for the sake of peace.

A man cannot do good before he is made good.

A unjust law, is no law at all.

The dog is the most faithful of animals and would be much esteemed were it not so common. Our Lord God has made His greatest gifts the commonest.

Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep;
whoever sleeps long, does not sin;
whoever does not sin, enters Heaven!
Thus, let us drink beer!

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us.

We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.

All our experience with history should teach us, when we look back, how badly human wisdom is betrayed when it relies on itself.

True humility does not know that it is humble. If it did, it would be proud from the contemplation of so fine a virtue.

Music is the art of the prophets and the gift of God.

To have peace and love in a marriage is a gift that is next to the knowledge of the gospel.

God has set the type of marriage everywhere throughout the creation. Every creature seeks its perfection in another. The very heavens and earth picture it to us.

A mighty fortress is our God , A sword and shield victorious ; He breaks the cruel oppressors rod And wins salvation glorious .

Faith is a living and unshakable confidence. a belief in God so assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake.

Sinners are attractive because they are loved; they are not loved because they are attractive.

I always loved music; whoso has skill in this art is of good temperament, fitted for all things. We must teach music in
schools; a schoolmaster ought to have skill in music, or I would not regard him.

The Holy Spirit is no skeptic. He has written neither doubt nor mere opinion into our hearts, but rather solid assurances, which are more sure and solid than all experience and even life itself.

Christian life consists of faith and charity.

A good servant is a real godsend, but truly this is a rare bird in the land.

An earthly kingdom cannot exist without inequality of persons. Some must be free, some serfs, some rulers, some subjects.

Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly.

In our sad condition our only consolation is the expectancy of another life. Here below all is incomprehensible.

There is no more lovely, friendly, and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage.

A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject of all, subject to all.

So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!

Sin cannot tear you away from him Christ even though you commit adultery a hundred times a day and commit as many murders.

Reason is a whore, the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but more frequently than not struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God.

My temptations have been my masters in divinity.

We are but the instruments or assistants, by whom God works.

If the earth is fit for laughter then surely heaven is filled with it. Heaven is the birthplace of laughter.

The confidence that God is mindful of the individual is of tremendous value in dealing with the disease of fear, for it gives us a sense of worth, of belonging, and of at homeness in the universe.

Dearest Jesus, holy child, make thee a bed, soft, undefiled, within my heart, that it may be a quiet chamber kept for thee.

Forgiveness is God's command.

Sheep, cattle, men-servants were all possessions to be sold as it pleased their masters. It were a good thing were it still so. For else no man may compel nor tame the servile folk.

A Christian is never in a state of completion but always in a process of becoming.

What the situation will be like in the world before the Lord returns, namely, Christ will be despised, and the preachers of the Gospel will be regarded as fools.

God may delay, but He always comes.

Whenever I have prayed earnestly, I have always received more than I asked for. God may delay, but He always comes.

What shall we do with...the Jews?...their homes also should be razed and destroyed.

I do not admit that my doctrine can be judged by anyone.

What man, if he were God, would humble himself to lie in the feedbox of a donkey or to hang upon a cross?

The truth is mightier than eloquence, the Spirit greater than genius, faith more than education.

How rich a God our God is! He gives enough, but we don't notice it. He gave the whole world to Adam, but this was nothing in Adam's eyes; he was concerned about one tree and had to ask why God had forbidden him to eat it.

What is sought by means of free choice is to make room for merits.

I frankly confess that even if it were possible I should not wish to have free choice given to me, or to have anything left in my own hands by which I might strive for salvation.

The inner man cannot be forced to do out of his own free will, what he should do, except the grace of God change the heart and make it willing.

The forces of good and evil are working within and around me, I must choose, and in a free will universe I do have a choice.

The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me.

He who receives a sacrament does not perform a good work; he receives a benefit. In the mass we give Christ nothing; we only receive from Him.

Not only the adoration of images is idolatry, but also trust in one's own righteousness, works and merits, and putting confidence in riches and power. As the latter is the commonest, so it also is the most noxious.

Some indeed have invented outrageous lies about the Turks in order to stir up us Germans against them, but there is no need for lies; the truth is all too great.

For hardly any of the ecclesiastical writers have handled the Divine Scriptures more ineptly and absurdly than Origen and Jerome.

This new subterfuge is, of course, calculated to deceive the simple and innocent into thinking that the matter is settled.

A prince is venison in heaven.

What more scoundrelly trick could you have played on us?

You see, however, which is called the Court of Rome, and which neither you nor any man can deny to be more corrupt than any Babylon or Sodom, and quite, as I believe, of a lost, desperate and hopeless impiety.

These words of yours, devoid of Christ, devoid of Spirit, are colder than ice itself, so that they tarnish the beauty of your eloquence. Perhaps they were dragged out of you, poor fellow, by fear of the pontiffs and tyrants, lest you should seem altogether an atheist!

Rome, who was formerly the gate of heaven, is now a sort of open mouth of hell.

I owe you a small thanks, for you have made me far more sure of my own position by letting me see the case for free choice put forward with all the energy of so distinguished and powerful a mind, but with no other effect than to make things worse than before.

If I had to baptise a Jew, I would take him to the bridge of the Elbe, hang a stone around his neck and push him over with the words 'I baptise thee in the name of Abraham'.

Anything that one imagines of God apart from Christ is only useless thinking and vain idolatry.

It is not our work, but God's gift, that we now hate ourselves and our sinful lusts and follow after love.

Well, there is nothing we can do about it. We have to put up with these snakes, dogs, and swine surrounding us and corrupting the Gospel both in doctrine and in life. Wherever there are faithful preachers they always have to take this. Such is the fortune of the Gospel in the world.

Virtually the whole of the scriptures and the understanding of the whole of theology--the entire Christian life, even--depends upon the true understanding of the law and the gospel.

Rest in the Lord; wait patiently for Him. In Hebrew, Be silent in God, and let Him mould thee. Keep still, and He will mould thee to the right shape.

I would rather obey than work miracles.

May the Lord fill you with His blessings and with hatred of the Pope.

After the devil himself, there is no worse folk than the pope and his followers.

Great thieves go Scott-free, as the Pope and his crew.

A preacher must be both soldier and shepherd. He must nourish, defend, and teach; he must have teeth in his mouth, and be able to bite and fight.

A preacher should have the skill to teach the unlearned simply roundly, and plainly; for teaching is of more importance than exhorting.

It is neither safe nor prudent to do anything against conscience.

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 ... A Christian should and must be a cheerful person.

Let Christ's righteousness and grace, not yours, be your refuge.

What harm would it do, if a man told a good strong lie for the sake of the good.

Our bodies are always exposed to Satan. The maladies I suffer are not natural, but Devil's spells.

The quest for glory can never be satisfied, it must be extinguished.

For all works and things, which are either commanded or forbidden by God and thus have been instituted by the
supreme Majesty, are 'musts.' Nevertheless, no one should be dragged to them or away from them by the hair, for I can drive no man to heaven or beat him into it with a club.

Women should remain at home, sit still, and bear children.

In a delightful garden, sowing, planting or digging are not hardship but are done with a zeal and a certain pleasure.

I compare it with a lie, which like to a snowball, the longer it is rolled the greater it becomes.

Divinity consists in use and practice, not in speculation.

And though this world with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us.

To do so no more is the truest repentance.

Why do you rant and brag with such a spate of words, as if you wanted to overwhelm me with a sort of tempest and deluge of oratory-which nevertheless falls with the greater force on your own head, while my ark rides aloft in safety?

The bible is a remarkable fountain: the more one draws and drinks of it, the more it stimulates thirst.

I have many times essayed thoroughly to investigate the ten commandments, but at the very outset, I am the Lord thy God, I stuck fast; that very one word, I, put me to a non-plus. He that has but one word of God before him, and out of that word cannot make a sermon, can never be a preacher.

Exhort your household to learn the Ten Commandments word for word, that they should obey God…For if you teach and urge your families things will go forward.

Against the flying ball no valor avails.

If you could understand a single grain of wheat you would die of wonder.

Heavy thoughts bring on physical maladies; when the soul is oppressed so is the body.

It is impossible for one man both to labor day and night to get a living, and at the same time give himself to the study of sacred learning as the preaching office requires.

The reproduction of mankind is a great marvel and mystery. Had God consulted me in the matter, I should have advised him to continue the generation of the species by fashioning them out of clay.

We may search long to find where God is, but we shall find Him in those who keep the words of Christ. For the Lord Christ saith, If any man love me, he will keep my words; and we will make our abode with him.

Earth has nothing more tender than a woman's heart when it is the abode of piety.

Adam and Eve derived the fullness of joy and bliss from their contemplation of all the animal creatures.

Antichrist is the pope and the Turk Muslim together. A beast full of life must have a body and soul. The spirit or soul of Antichrist is the pope, his flesh or body the Turk.

Personally I declare that I owe the Pope no other obedience than that to Antichrist.

Without armaments peace cannot be kept; wars are waged not only to repel injustice but also to establish a firm peace.

What shall we Christians do now with this depraved and damned people of the Jews? ... I will give my faithful advice: First, that one should set fire to their synagogues... Then that one should also break down and destroy their houses... That one should drive them out the country.

Unto him who is able to keep us from falling, and lift us from the dark to the bright mountain of hope, from the midnight of desperation to the daybreak of joy, to him be power and authority for ever and ever.

Thus, dear friends, I have said it clearly enough, and I believe you ought to understand it and not make liberty a law.

Sleep is a most useful and most salutary operation of nature. Scarcely any minor annoyance angers me more than the being suddenly awakened out of a pleasant slumber. I understand that in Italy they torture poor people by depriving them of sleep. 'Tis a torture that cannot long be endured.

Let whatsoever will or can befall me, I will surely cleave by my sweet Savior Christ Jesus, for in Him am I baptized; I can neither do nor know anything but only what He has taught me.

When I was a child there were many witches, and they bewitched both cattle and men, especially children.

Rough, boisterous, stormy and altogether warlike, I am born to fight against innumerable monsters and devils.

There are two days in my calendar: This day and that Day.

Holy Christendom has, in my judgment, no better teacher after the apostles than St. Augustine.

What would it matter if, for the sake of the Christian Church, one were to tell a big lie?

There are three conversions necessary (for the Christian life): the conversion of the heart, the mind, and the purse.

The Clergy is the greatest hindrance to faith.

The defects of a preacher are soon spied.

How often have not the demons called 'Nix,' drawn women and girls into the water, and there had commerce with them, with fearful consequences.

The authority of Scripture is greater than the comprehension of the whole of man's reason.

Obedience is the crown and honour of all virtue.

May the Lord, whose cause this is, enlighten you and make you a vessel to honour and glory. Amen.

Everything bad in the Old Testament (and there's a lot) is there to point out our sin, while everything good in the Old Testament is there to point us to our Savior.

Animals are footprints of God.

The Mass is the greatest blasphemy of God, and the highest idolatry upon earth, an abomination the like of which has never been in Christendom since the time of the Apostles.

Unthankfulness is theft.

For some years now I have read through the Bible twice every year. If you picture the Bible to be a mighty tree and every word a little branch, I have shaken every one of these branches because I wanted to know what it was and what it meant.

I have such hatred of divorce that I prefer bigamy to divorce. Anyway, I think we should see other people.

Yes, I see the Church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists.

The Devil, it is true, is not exactly a doctor who has taken degrees, but he is very learned, very expert for all that. He has not been carrying on his business during thousands of years for nothing.

The purpose of marriage is not to have pleasure and to be idle but to procreate and bring up children, to support a household. This, of course, is a huge burden full of great cares and toils. But you have been created by God to be a husband or a wife and that you may learn to bear these troubles.

Christian living does not mean to be good but to become good; not to be well, but to get well; not being but becoming; nor rest but training. We are not yet, but we shall be. It has not yet happened, but it is the way. Not everything shines and sparkles as yet, but everything is getting better.

Pure Christian love is not derived from the merit of the object.

Some plague the people with too long sermons; for the faculty of listening is a tender thing, and soon becomes weary and satiated.

If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.

The word and works of God is quite clear, that women were made either to be wives or prostitutes.

They gave our Master a crown of thorns, why do we hope for a crown of roses?

We do not become righteous by doing righteous deed but, having been made righteous, we do righteous deeds.

This is the mystery of the riches of divine grace for sinners; for by a wonderful exchange our sins are now not ours but Christ's, and Christ's righteousness is not Christ's but ours.

We know that death never skips or spares anybody and that no one ever returns. And yet we go on like the blind, who see as little at midday as in the pitch-dark night. We do not take these examples to heart; we do not realize that today or tomorrow our turn will come.

Even if those in authority are evil or without faith, nevertheless the authority and its power is good and from God…. Therefore, where there is power and where it flourishes, there it is and there it remains because God has ordained it.

It is pleasing to the dear God whenever thou rejoicest or laughest from the bottom of thy heart.

If the heart has been reformed by the spirit, it makes use of both the useful and delightful things created and given by God in a holy manner and with thanksgiving.

I cannot believe that my illness is natural. I suspect Satan, and therefore I am the more inclined to take it lightly.

Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but more frequently than not struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God.

The whole being of any Christian is faith and love. Faith brings the person to God, love brings the person to people.

The Holy Spirit has a way of His own to say much in few words.

For feelings come and feelings go,
And feelings are deceiving;
My warrant is the Word of God -
Naught else is worth believing.
I'll trust in God's unchanging Word
Till soul and body sever,
For, though all things shall pass away,
His Word shall stand forever!

Music is one of the fairest and most glorious gifts of God, to which Satan is a bitter enemy; for it removes from the heart the weight of sorrow, and the fascination of evil thoughts.

It is the nature of all hypocrites and false prophets to create a conscience where there is none, and to cause conscience to disappear where it does exist.

My dear pope, I will kiss your feet and acknowledge you as supreme bishop if you will worship my Christ and grant that through His death and resurrection, not through keeping your traditions, we have forgiveness of sins and life eternal.

We may well lie with what seems to be a woman of flesh and blood, and yet all the time it is only a devil in the shape of a woman.

Despair makes priests and friars.

I have no pleasure in any man who despises music. It is no invention of ours: it is a gift of God. I place it next to theology. Satan hates music: he knows how it drives the evil spirit out of us.

The irony is I stopped going to church a few weeks later.

Look to it that you do not try to do all of it, do not try to do too much, lest your spirit grow weary. Besides, a good prayer mustn't be too long. Do not draw it out. Prayer ought to be frequent and fervent.

No gown worse becomes a woman than the desire to be wise.

A man who has no part in the grace of God, cannot keep the commandments of God, or prepare himself, either wholly or in part, to receive grace; but he rests of necessity under the power of sin.

I have before me God's Word which cannot fail, nor can the gates of hell prevail against it; thereby will I remain, though the whole world be against me.

If God is to create or to preserve a creature, God must be present and must make and preserve God's creation both in its innermost and outermost aspects.

In a mouse we admire God's creation and craft work. The same may be said about flies.

God created Adam master and lord of living creatures, but Eve spoilt all, when she persuaded him to set himself above God's will. 'Tis you women, with your tricks and artifices, that lead men into error.

A dairymaid can milk cows to the glory of God.

When God creates faith in a man, that is as great a work as if He created heaven and earth all over again.

Heaven and earth, all the emperors, kings, and princes of the world, could not raise a fit dwelling-place for God; yet, in a weak human soul, that keeps His Word, He willingly resides.

No one may forsake their neighbors when they are in trouble. Everybody is under obligation to help and support their neighbors as they would themselves like to be helped.

If we Christians would join the Wise Men, we must close our eyes to all that glitters before the world and look rather on the despised and foolish things, help the poor, comfort the despised, and aid the neighbor in his need.

How can a reason which hates God be called sound?

The less I pray, the harder it gets; the more I pray, the better it goes.

The most damnable and pernicious heresy that has ever plagued the mind of man was the idea that somehow he could make himself good enough to deserve to live with an all-holy God.

Christ ought to be preached with this goal in mind -- that we might be moved to faith in him so that he is not just a distant historical figure but actually Christ for you and me.

You parents can provide no better gift for your children than an education in the liberal arts. House and home burn down, but an education is easy to carry along.

The whole Turkish empire is nothing else but a crust cast by Heaven's great Housekeeper to His dogs.

It is not the imitation that makes sons; it is sonship that makes imitators.

Adam was created, as it were, intoxicated with rejoicing toward God and was delighted also with all the other creatures.

I felt that I had been born anew and that the gates of heaven had been opened. The whole of Scripture gained a new meaning. And from that point on the phrase, 'the justice of God' no longer filled me with hatred, but rather became unspeakable sweet by virtue of a great love.

Ah, if I could only pray the way that dog looks at meat.

The Gospel is nothing less than laughter and joy.

Our Lord God doesn't do great things except by violence, as they say.

Know that no one can have indulged in the Holy Writers sufficiently, unless he has governed churches for a hundred years with the prophets, such as Elijah and Elisha, John the Baptist, Christ and the apostles... We are beggars: this is true.

Our loving God wills that we eat, drink and be merry.

Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.

The works of the righteous would be mortal sins if they would not be feared as mortal sins by the righteous themselves out of pious fear of God.

Temptations, of course, cannot be avoided, but because we cannot prevent the birds from flying over our heads, there is no need that we should let them nest in our hair.

Faith is under the left nipple.