Some Luther quotes

I came across these this morning and thought them worth sharing:

Every man must do two things alone: he must do his own believing and his own dying.

Peace if possible, truth at all costs.

The fewer the words, the better the prayer.

How soon 'not now' becomes 'never'.

Dishonouring His name by 'glossing'

I don't remember everything I read. I don't have a photographic memory. This is why I need to re-read them.

In my daily reading today (among other books, I'm currently re-reading Martin Luther's Large Catechism), I came across the following:

'By nature we all have this lovely virtue that whenever we commit a wrong we like to cover it and gloss over our disgrace so that no one may see or know it. No one is so audacious as to boast of the wickedness he or she has committed. We prefer to act in secret without anyone knowing about it. When someone is caught, then God and his name must be dragged into it, so that the dirty business may be made honorable and the disgrace noble.' (Large Catechism, 2nd Commandment, 59-60)

I was struck how true this still is. When we do something wrong and our conscience is struck by it, we either try to cover it up, excuse it, or sanctify it. By doing so we bring dishonour to the holy name of God we bear. It's therefore better to be honest and confess our wrong, make no excuses, and seek forgiveness.

We all sin. Glossing over, justifying, or making our sin seem honourable in some way doesn't get rid of it. It still stains us until we expose it and hand it over to be washed away by Christ's suffering, rejection, and death. We honour God's holy name by appealing to him in prayer, praise and thanksgiving.

I look forward to more gems of wisdom and insight over the coming days...