Luther speaks of the 1st Petition of the Lord's Prayer saying, "Hallowed be Thy Name. What does this mean? God's Name is certainly holy in itself, but we pray in this petition that it may be kept holy among us also. How is God's Name kept holy? God's Name is kept holy when the Word of God is...
In his work against Desiderius Erasmus' theology of free choice, "The Bondage of the will," Luther wrote concerning the law and its purpose asserting, "When sins are unrecognized, there is no room for a remedy and no hope of a cure, because man will not submit to the touch of a healer when they...
In his preface to the book of Romans, Luther defines faith saying,"Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that the believer would stake his life on it a thousand times" (LW 35.370). What is faith? It is a certain trust in God's grace toward us. Faith is...
Luther writes in the Small Catechism saying, "Our Father who are in heaven. What does this mean? With these words God tenderly invited us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their...
Luther says in the Smalcald Articles, "Although sin in the flesh had not yet been completely remove of become dead (Romans 7:18), yet He will not punish or remember it" (Smalcald Articles III.XIII.2). When we get married we take the vows that we will love our spouse for richer or poorer...
In the Freedom of a Christian, Dr. Luther says, "By the wedding ring of faith Christ shares in the sins, death, and pains of hell which are His bride's. As a matter of fact, He makes them His own and acts as if they were His own as as if He Himself had sinned; He suffered, died, and descended...
The 8th Commandment declares, "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in...
Dr. Martin Luther, of blessed and holy memory, writes in Against the Heavenly Prophets saying, "I will here briefly recount these articles of the Christian Faith to which everyone is above all things to pay attention and hold fast. The first is the law of God, which is to be preached so...
In the Divine Service, right after corporate confession and before the Absolution is declared, the pastor says, "I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you. And in the stead and by the command of my Lord, Jesus Christ, I...
The 7th Commandment says, "You shall not steal." What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor's money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income." In the Large Catechism, Luther has...