Possessing Christ By Faith Dispels Terror

“Faith, if it is to be sure and steadfast, must lay hold upon nothing else but Christ alone, and in the conflict and terrors of conscience it has nothing else to lean on but this precious pearl Christ Jesus. So, he who apprehends Christ by faith, although he be terrified with the law and oppressed with the weight of his sins, yet he may be bold to glory that he is righteous. How? Even by that precious jewel Christ Jesus, whom he possesses by faith.”

—Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians, 99

HT: Of First Importance

Martin Luther On False Religion

Martin Luther hit the nail precisely on the head:

All manner of religion, where people serve God without his Word and command, is simply idolatry, and the more holy and spiritual such a religion seems, the more hurtful and venomous it is; for it leads people away from the faith of Christ, and makes them rely and depend upon their own strength, works, and righteousness.

Hit It Stone Cold in the Face With the Truth

In my humble estimation, at least ninety percent of the people who claim to be Christian and say we must be "sensitive" to the "postmodern culture" have already compromised with it.

Thank God not everyone has. Here is how John MacArthur displays Christian sensitivity in preaching:

"In my own preaching, my objective is not to court the postmodern mind. My objective is to confront it—to hit it stone cold in the face with truth. It’s irrelevant to me how the person thinks. It’s only relevant to me how they need to think."

(HT: Pulpit Magazine)

Hug No Traitor To Thy Bosom

Listen to the words of Pastor Charles Haddon Spurgeon on Christian leaders, so-called, who gut the Gospel of its meaning, and then turn around and ask us to tolerate them in "charity:"

They believe in Christ, but it is a Christ without his crown, his atonement, his judgment-seat, or even his Godhead. They mock us with orthodox phrases, from which the essential truth is gone. They pretend that they believe in the atonement, and when we listen to their atonement we find that it does not effectually atone for anyone. It is a mere fiction, and not a fact. It saves nobody, but is a mere sham.

They have eviscerated the gospel, and then they hold up the empty carcass, and claim that they are Christians still. Christians who have murdered Christianity! Believers who doubt whether there is anything to be believed! Yet we are entreated in our charity to hug such traitors to our bosom. We shall do nothing of the kind. We would sooner believe in infidels outright than in those who pretend to be Christians and are infidels at heart.

C.H. Spurgeon, "Recruits for King Jesus," a sermon preached at the Met Tab on Sunday evening, 17 February 1884.

(HT: Pyromaniacs)

Martin Luther Recants

Whatever else you can say about Martin Luther, he did not beat around the bush.

"Previously I said the Pope was the vicar of Christ. I recant. Now I say the Pope is the adversary of Christ and the apostle of the Devil."

Would that we had more saints who would "recant" like this today.


(Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand: The Life of Martin Luther, p. 139)

HT: Berean Call

Martin Luther on Sola Fide

For those who doubt that Martin Luther "got it right" about salvation by faith alone (sola fide), let us hear what he has to say in his own words and search the Scriptures, like the noble Bereans, to see if these things are so:

"Whilst a man is persuaded that he has it in his power to contribute anything, be it ever so little, to his salvation, he remains in carnal self-confidence; he is not a self-despairer, and therefore is not duly humbled before God, he believes he may lend a helping hand in his salvation, but on the contrary, whoever is truly convinced that the whole work depends singly on the will of God, such a person renounces his own will and strength; he waits and prays for the operation of God, nor waits and prays in vain . . ."

Martin Luther did not believe that human works can in any way contribute anything to the salvation of the believer. N.T. Wright and the New Perspective crowd think Luther got Paul all wrong, but there is no doubt about where Luther stood on the subject.