The Devil's Nature

If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
1 JOHN 2:1
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The Devil's Nature
And this is the devil's nature and true color by which he should be recognized. He is such a wicked spirit that he can make great sins so small that they will not be seen; and, on the other hand, he can make small sins great, so that someone gnaws at, torments, and kills himself over them. Therefore, a Christian ought to learn not to let his conscience be easily troubled. But if he believes in Christ and desires to be righteous, if he contends against sin as much as he can, yet in the expectation that at times he will trip and stumble, then he does not allow such stumbling to destroy his good conscience. Instead, he says, “May this wrongdoing and stumbling depart from me along with the other infirmities and sins that I must include in the article of the Creed, 'I believe in the forgiveness of sins,' and the Fifth Petition of the Our Father, 'Forgive us our trespasses.' "

From Sermons on the Gospel of John, Chapters 17-20 (Luther's Works 69:203)
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