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Martin Luther – Powerful Quotes

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Most people remember Martin Luther (1483 – 1546) for his bravery when he defied the Catholic Church and launched the great Reformation. But to the Germans he did an equally awesome thing, he translated the New Testament into German. Luther, the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation, was also a German priest, theologian, professor, author, and hymnwriter.

According to Luther, salvation and eternal life are not earned by good works, but they are received as a free gift through God’s grace, by a believer’s faith in Jesus Christ. His teachings challenged the authority of the pope by believing that the Bible is the only true source of divinely revealed knowledge.

Many of his famous quotes have withstood the test of time, and were uttered some 500 years ago. Below are some of his most famous sayings.1

“I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.”

“God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does.”

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

“From the beginning of my Reformation I have asked God to send me neither dreams, nor visions, nor angels, but to give me the right understanding of His Word, the Holy Scriptures; for as long as I have God’s Word, I know that I am walking in His way and that I shall not fall into any error or delusion.”

“Pray like it all depends on God, then when you are done, go work like it all depends on you.”

“You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say.”

“Show me where a man spends his time & money, and I’ll show you his god.”

“Peace if possible, truth at all costs.”

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

“A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.”

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

“I have so much to do today, I’ll need to spend another hour on my knees.”

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”

“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.”

“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!”

“It is the duty of every Christian to be Christ to his neighbor.”

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

“A simple layman armed with Scripture is greater than the mightiest pope without it.”

“Nothing is more beautiful in the eyes of God than a soul that loves to hear His Word.”

“We believe that the very beginning and end of salvation, and the sum of Christianity, consists of faith in Christ, who by His blood alone, and not by any works of ours, has put away sin, and destroyed the power of death.”

“Always preach in such a way that if the people listening do not come to hate their sin, they will instead hate you.”

“It’s not what I don’t know that bothers me – it’s what I do know and don’t do!”

“If any earthly institution or custom conflicts with God’s will, it is your Christian duty to oppose it. You must never allow the transitory, evanescent demands of man-made institutions to take precedence over the eternal demands of the Almighty God.”


1 All of these Luther quotes are from the Website below:

  TOP 25 QUOTES BY MARTIN LUTHER (of 951) | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)