Conviction
Comments on Galatians with an ear to Luther’s commentary
Scripture Text: Galatians 1:1-9 and Jude 3-4
If your convictions rest on the sure Word of God, then you have something worth sharing with your neighbor.
MoreIf your convictions rest on the sure Word of God, then you have something worth sharing with your neighbor.
MoreOne should not force a way into the divine office. God must call so that the pastor speaks with the "holy pride" of his calling.
MoreOne should not force a way into the divine office. God must call so that the pastor speaks with the "holy pride" of his calling.
MoreOur faith must be fixed on the Who, not the what. Christ alone is our righteousness, hope, and victory.
MoreThe Christian's peace is not found in the world but upon the cross. Christ Crucified is our only comfort, glory, and hope.
MoreWe need the article of justification repeatedly preached to us because the infirmity of our flesh does not allow us to believe it with all our heart.
More"The more a person seeks credit for himself by his own efforts, the deeper he goes into debt. Nothing can take away sin except the grace of God."
MoreThe world views God's grace as a pernicious doctrine, that our own free will should take hold of life and troubles and fix things ourselves. But we cannot conjure peace.
More"True Christian theology does not inquire into the nature of God, but into God’s purpose and will in Christ." And his purpose is to bring our souls to himself.
More"Without Christ there is no access to the Father, but futile rambling; no truth, but hypocrisy; no life, but eternal death."
MoreAugustine said, "Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.” The hard stuff is believed through God's grace.
More"You are established in this belief that Christ is very God because he gives grace and peace, gifts which only God can create and bestow.”
More"If our sins could be removed by our own efforts, what need was there for the Son of God to be given for them?"
MoreGod loves you when you are at your worst, so we see that sin cannot harm those who believe in Christ, because he has overcome sin by his death.
MoreIt is not your spiritual might that saves you, any more than it is your spiritual weakness that condemns you. It is Christ who saves you in spite of you.
MoreChrist, the Son of God, was not given for the righteous or the holy, but for sinners that they may be holy in the righteousness of Christ alone.
MoreIf the devil tells you that you will be damned, tell him. “I will fly to Christ who gave himself for my sins." Remind yourself of the Father's favorable will.
MoreTell the devil that Christ Jesus has given himself for our sins, that by his sacrifice he has taken away your sins along with those of the whole world.
MoreGod loves you, not because of your ability to not sin, but because Christ died for your sin. He loves you for Christ's sake, not for the sake of your piety.
MoreThere is no one who does good—no, not one. All have fallen short of the glory of God, and their own "goodness" will in no way make up the deficit.
MoreIn this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. —1 John 4:10
MoreOne becomes rightly related to God by becoming a friend of Jesus. So, when he speaks the “follow me” to your heart ... follow.
MorePaul was astonished that the Galatians were deserting Jesus for the law again, so that the onus for salvation was once again upon themselves.
MoreImitators of God forgive others, even when they sin against them. They give the weak a hand up when they fail and fall.
MorePaul and Luther deplored the fact that the happy condition of the church, secured by years of arduous labors, some lunatic might spoil in a moment.
MoreThere will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them.
MoreWe are to abound in love with knowledge and discernment so that we may approve what is excellent, and be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.
MoreChristianity is not seasonal. It does not cool off. Faith does not become slack; it is constant. Have you left your faith at the altar or are you following Jesus?
MoreSometimes people want grace but then let go of it because they do not want Christ. They want to have the benefits of grace without being a follower of Jesus.
MoreUnder the devil's direction the world persecutes the gospel and would nail again Christ, the Son of God, to the cross although he gave himself for the world.
MoreWhy would put God to the test by placing the yoke of the law on the neck of disciples that neither our predecessors nor we have been able to bear?
MoreA person is saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ's work on the cross, not by adding their own works to his.
MoreThe devil wants to do away with Christ's church but with the inability to accomplish that goal, he wishes to water down the Word the church proclaims.
MoreThose who teach false doctrines in the Church of Christ are "troublemakers," as Luther termed them, and must be corrected.
MoreThe old covenant of law and blessing has been fulfilled by Christ Jesus. The new covenant is is one of faith and blessing through God's grace to sinners.
MoreEmbrace the grace that God has freely given you. Embrace it through faith, not by then trying to pay for it with religious works.
MoreDon't trust your subjective feelings. The true and objective way to know God's will and ways is by hearing and reading the Sacred Scriptures.
MoreTruth offends. It is meant to do so, as it exposes sin. Since the inclination of the heart is to sin, then of course, truth will offend human nature.
MoreAre you hearing things? I hope so, and that what you're hearing is the very Word of God because you're listening there, in the volume of the Book.
MoreGod loved you before you had the slightest care for him. He does not need your works in order to love you; he requires your continued faith.
MoreIf you think you stand justified before God because your works are good enough, that you are pious, take heed for you are slipping and about to fall.
MoreOne can never ascribe too much glory, goodness, and mercy unto God. But it sure is easy to give man too much glory. This ruins man and insults God.
MoreNo one is to be trusted at face-value — neither pastor, professor, pope, or bishop. Examine the Scriptures daily to see if what they say is true.
MoreReligion, what man thinks he is doing for a god, can trip your up, making you a hater of God and neighbor. Walk away. Walk away to God.
MoreHow much are you required to give to the one who has already given you everything, who wholly loves you? Then again, how much do you want to give?
MoreWhat deserves your immediate attention today? God's will? What is God calling you to do today? Something of benefit to your neighbor, your vocation?
MoreReligion never equals righteousness. The wise and faithful friend of God understands that she must trust in the Lord’s righteousness and never her own.
MoreWhat is truth? Whose authority should be trusted? Whose words believed. The only reliable source for truth is judging by the standard of The Book.
MoreYou had better be careful; scratching that itch will damage your spiritual ears, leading to the inability to hear or endure the truth of the gospel.
MoreGod not only has a plan for your life, he has inserted himself into the center of your life, sanctifying and preparing you for who you are to be for him.
MoreLuther asked about God, "What prompted Him to call me?" The answer was, "His grace alone.” And so, we see that God makes somebodies out of nobodies.
MoreThe law terrorizes the conscience, revealing the wrath and judgment of God. The gospel announces that Christ is come to forgive the sins of the world.
MoreThe Spirit of Jesus opens our minds to understand the Scriptures so that we may receive the grace of God promised throughout the Old and New Testaments.
MoreWoe to those whose religious demands and pious pretense shut off the kingdom of heaven from people, for they too will not enter the kingdom.
MoreIn Jesus is life, and this life is the light of all people. The light, Christ Jesus, shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not, nor ever will, overcome it.
MoreGod accepts all peoples, all nationalities, all cultures, all races, women and men, old and young, so long as they fear him and do what is right.
MoreWe are no longer to be children ... but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him who is the head, even Christ ...
MoreLutherans, like the Apostle Paul, confess and hold that one is justified by faith alone, apart from works of the law, even of those deeds are religious.
MorePaul preaching justification with God by faith in Christ Jesus through the power at work in the Holy Spirit in the Word, without the deeds of the law.
MoreUnlike those who opposed Paul, asserting that the law ought to be kept and that the Gentiles be circumcised to be saved, we must insist on God's grace.
More“Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
MoreThat we are Christian is based on faith in what Christ Jesus accomplished, not in what we do, and certainly not in how we feel on a given day.
MoreBe careful with religious works, that you do something from the right motive, from the faith motive, so that good works flow from faith.
MoreIt is easy to get distracted when people start talking about religious rules — unless your faith is about Christ Jesus instead of traditions and rules.
MoreThe fathers were not justified by circumcision. To them, it was a sign and seal of righteousness, and viewed as a confession of their faith.
MoreBe careful that you do not hold over the head of someone else your own brand of Christianity, your dogma, instead of offering the free grace of God.
MoreLet us get to work, but not depend upon our works or hold them conditionally over the lives of others. Faith — in Christ alone — saves.
MoreFaith looks to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, not to the works one has done, whether they are religious in nature or civil, nor to works left undone.
MoreTrue faith lays hold of Christ and trusts in him alone, something that the spiritually blind cannot see, that the unbelieving considers foolishness.
MoreWe refuse to have our consciences bound by any work or law that says by doing this or that we are righteous, or leaving this or that undone we are damned.
MoreIf we do not believe that faith in Christ is the only thing that can justify us, the death and resurrection of Jesus are without meaning, and a Savior is relegated to myth.
MoreChristians strive to live by God's rules but do not depend upon them for salvation, but on the grace of the one who rules over the rules.
MoreWhen Jesus is not lifted up and glorified by a religious work, but instead, the so-called righteous deed is honored, then the deed is beyond suspect.
MoreWhat does the Scripture say? Always appeal to the Word of God and be careful you are not using the Word to defend a personal viewpoint.
MoreIf one takes the sum of the apostles, including Paul, then too, Martin Luther, Billy Graham, and the Pope, the gospel is still more excellent and true.
MoreWe are to esteem the Word of God, not people, whether presidents or preachers, authors or musicians, persons or personalities. The Word!
MoreBe careful to not attach so much importance to any person — be she mother, doctor, president, pastor — that she is remembered and God forgotten.
MoreWe may suffer the loss of our good name, of life itself, but we must not lose the gospel and our faith in Jesus Christ, nor stand for those who would rob us of faith.
MoreWhen family and friends refuse to hear the message of the gospel, like Paul, we must turn to others, even the whole world, with the good news of Jesus.
MorePeter is not the chief Apostle, as all of the apostles were equals, having the same charge and the identical gospel of Christ Jesus to proclaim to the world.
MorePaul and Peter received their powerful authority from God, who gave of the same Spirit to Luther, and today gives to you in whatever vocation is yours.
MoreThose who are called to ministry will often enough have to patiently endure adversity in order to fulfill their ministries of preaching the Word preach .
MoreWhen you hear that people receive the Christ through the simple preaching of faith, do you glorify God for his grace in the ministries of others?
MoreDifferences in whom we preach the gospel to ought not to hinder our fellowship and Christian friendship, since we preach the same gospel.
MoreWhere the Church is, there will also be the poor, for the world and the devil persecute the church and end up impoverishing many faithful Christians.
MoreWe must be as determined as the Apostle Paul to stand up with the simple but powerful gospel message of nothing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
MoreWe are not called to defend Peter’s cause, or the cause of our parents, or that of the government, or that of the world, but unyieldingly, the cause of God.
MoreYou are far from perfect but you are holy because Christ Jesus has assigned his perfect holiness to imperfect you through your faith in his promises.
MoreNo one has fallen so far that he cannot rise, just as no one stands so well that he might not fall. If Peter fell, I may fall. If he rose again, I too may rise.
MoreWhen it becomes about the rules instead of about Jesus, then the church, at best, goes into the world making rule followers, not Christ followers.
MoreTo do certain things, or not do them, is immaterial; what is of utmost importance is Christ, and him crucified and risen for your salvation.
MoreWe can sometimes seem like we worship our ways, so we must remind ourselves that Christ is on the throne and not the ways we worship him.
MoreIt should not seem odd to us that some insist on the church sliding back into law-keeping, while they also seem to find it so difficult to be gracious.
MoreIt is marvelous how God preserves the church by a single person, sometimes one person doing more than the whole assembly.
MoreThe law is good to remind us of areas for moral improvement in life but have no place in our salvation which is accomplished through Christ alone.
MoreLet us search the Scriptures with humility, praying that we never lose the light of the gospel by trusting ourselves for justification instead of God.
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