Lectures on Genesis Quotes

“for Isaac was neither afraid nor terrified, but of his own accord obeyed his father and God. For not terror but spontaneous obedience and fortitude should be attributed to the saints. For fear signifies that sin is ruling, and sin was not ruling in Isaac, but an obedient spirit. Although the flesh fought back, nevertheless the spirit, which subjected the flesh to itself, conquered and gained dominion. But”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“Let us learn, then, to despise the threats and cruel plans of our enemies and conclude for certain that God in the heavens has decided on quite different things and is already laughing at them but playing with us so that He may prove our faith and hope and discipline us.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“Therefore when we are afflicted and disciplined, our heart must be aroused against the feeling of evil, and we must say (cf. Ps. 118:17): “I shall not die, but I shall live, however different it may appear. Although I may, indeed, be compelled to despair of myself, I shall nevertheless hope in Him who made all things out of nothing and can restore me intact after being reduced to nothing, to my very great benefit and that of others.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“For such thoughts are accustomed to occur to men’s minds when God wants to punish sins; they regard God’s Word and absolute truth as something quite absurd.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“It is far better to bear the contempt and hatred of adversaries than to fall into reproach and into the snare of the devil, as Paul says in 1 Tim. 3:7. The”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“For this is what GOD means when Peter says: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of GOD” (1 Peter 5:6), and for this reason He humbles and disciplines His saints so that they should not be proud.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“This name reminds us of Baptism, which should be practiced in daily tribulations and produce its effects so that we grow into a new and perfect man (cf. Eph. 4:13-15) and in this way the name of Christian be perfected until our name and Old Adam are abolished. Therefore”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“The Turk and the devils break through without any trouble and lay everything waste, because God does not want His people to trust in anything else but Himself. This is the reason why men have acknowledged this confidence in the Creator through the Son, through whom He has received us into favor and made a covenant with us, and this covenant is to have the confidence that our life depends on God alone, against all the snares and might of Satan and the world. If He wants me destroyed, He has no need to send soldiers, but if not, defiance to all the Turks, death, and the devil in hell! Therefore”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“If ever it seems good to God that the Turk should fall upon Germany, those mounds piled up at great expense and toil will not protect us, and in that case I would certainly not like to stay in this town; I would rather crawl out. But when we bend our knees and cry out to our Creator, He will be able to surround us with walls of fire, as is testified in Ps. 125:2: “As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people, from this time forth and for-evermore.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“For we Germans are snoring, buried in sleep and wine, and we are destitute of leaders who could measure up in wisdom, strategy, and strength of heart to manage such great undertakings.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“Therefore it is better to endure troubles with the hope of eternal deliverance than to avoid them and rush into eternal ruin.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“He who has once forsaken God finds it impossible to abide by one definite deity, that is, in one religion or definite worship of God, just as there is an infinite succession of sins through unbelief, or the loss of faith. It”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“It is necessary for the saints to be disciplined in this way, to descend into hell and the abyss, and to be recalled from there into heaven. For”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“This is an illustrious example which reminds us that good and saintly men sometimes run into the greatest of misfortunes and dangers not through their own but by someone else’s fault. To the others, indeed, who are involved in the same danger no way of salvation or liberation appears, but they think that all is lost. But because there are some godly men, or only one godly man, in the same ship, the ship must reach port safe and sound, however much it has been tossed about by a heavy storm, even though a thousand devils have been fighting in opposition and causing tumult in the same ship.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“The insanity of our rulers also calls down punishments upon us which we have merited for a long time so that our princes become insane and mad and let the Turk come into the land.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“Sirach calls the people who dwelt at Shechem a foolish people (Ecclus. 50:26), just as the Germans are accustomed to judge concerning the Swabians and the Bavarians. They were a proud people given to luxury.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“I do not always pray, nor do I always meditate on the Law of the Lord and struggle continually with sin, death, and the devil; but I put on my clothes, I sleep, I play with the children, eat, drink, etc. If all these things are done in faith, they are approved by God’s judgment as having been done rightly. This”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“So also in the terrors of sin and death, I do not exchange death with life, and Christ with the devil, although in the midst of temptation it seems like this.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“if He pretends that He is unfriendly and angry with you inasmuch as He does not want to hear you and help you, then say: “Lord God, You have promised this in Your Word. Therefore You will not change Your promise. I have been baptized: I have been absolved.” If you persistently urge and press on in this way, He will be conquered and say: “Let it be done unto you as you have petitioned, for you have the promise and the blessing. I have to give in to you. For a constant and persistent seeker and petitioner is the sweetest sacrifice.” It”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“Hence one should follow the advice of the hermit to whom a youth complained that he rather often experienced imaginations concerned with lusts and other sins and to whom the old man replied: “You cannot prevent the birds from flying over your head. But let them only fly and do not let them build nests in the hair of your head. Let them be thoughts and remain such; but do not let them become conclusions.”32”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“We should give heed to what has been said by the heathen poet: “Do not yield to evils but proceed more boldly against them.”15”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“This is exactly the way others argue from predestination: “If I am predestined, I cannot perish, whatever I do.” These are voices of Satan which should be avoided. It is, indeed, true that whatever is foreordained will come to pass, but it should be added that this is unknown to you. You do not know, for example, whether you will die tomorrow or live, and it is God’s will that you do not know this. It is therefore foolish for you to search out what God by His special counsel has concealed from you. But because you do not know how long you will survive, you should use the things necessary for life. If it is foreordained that you should die after a month, nevertheless, God should not be tempted since, indeed, you are uncertain about that, but you should use the things necessary to sustain life. Therefore,”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“God has not given us reason and the counsels and help of reason that we should despise them. This is what those men do who are either presumptuous or in a state of despair. When they say: “Whatever I do, I shall not hinder what must necessarily come to pass by a kind of fate,” this is the voice of those in despair. But the presumptuous are accustomed to make this boast: “If I have to live, I shall live even if I do not eat. God has promised life, therefore it does not matter whether I eat or do not eat.” But since we have God’s promises, we must take careful precautions not to tempt God by presumption and not to sin by despair. When you have a ladder, there is no reason for throwing yourself out of a window, nor should you go through the middle of the Elbe when you have a bridge. But each one should do what reason instructs him to do and commend the rest to God. He will grant fitting results. Here”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“Consolation or protection must not be expected from the world and the princes of this world, nor should carnal counsels be sought from ourselves, for they are vain. Indeed, those who seek or await help of this kind experience what is said in the psalm (116:11), “All men are liars,” and again (Ps. 146:3), “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no help.” But the whole world is carried along in its blind frenzy and perishes in its vain counsels and endeavors because it does not want to suffer the persecution of the devil, the ungodly, and the flesh. Hence,”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“For the world does not discern what faith is and what power faith has, such a hidden and unknown thing is faith to reason. According to the statement of Christ (cf. John 14:17), “The world cannot receive the Holy Spirit”; it neither sees nor hears nor perceives Him by any sense.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“Therefore he who apprehends and believes the Word is upright, holy, and righteous. On the contrary, all enemies of the Word, although outwardly holy, are worthless and damned. These”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“But God so governs His saints that even though they err and stray, the outcomes are nevertheless salutary or without great loss. For all things work together for good to the elect and those who believe (cf. Rom. 8:28), even errors and sins, and this is absolutely certain.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“This is the work and skill of God, to correct and emend what had been ruined by Jacob’s error. He can make evil matters good when we have spoiled and harmed matters.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“For so it usually happens in the world. Righteous men are regarded as sinners and vice versa. No one in the whole world is a sinner except the man who has the Word and believes in Christ. But those who persecute and hate the Word are the righteous ones. As Christ says (cf. John 16:2): “They think they are offering God a service.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works

“For so it usually happens in the world. Righteous men are regarded as sinners and vice versa.”
― Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 6: Genesis Chapters 31-37 (Luther's Works