Dying for Christ
"This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him."
MATTHEW 17:5
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Dying for Christ
Without an appearance of angels, and strengthened by the Word alone, the martyrs met death for the sake of the name of Christ. Why should we, too, not be satisfied with the same thing? Baptism is a sufficiently manifest and clear appearance. So are the Eucharist, the Keys, the ministry of the Word. They are equal to—yes, they even surpass—all the appearances of all angels, in comparison with which Abraham had only droplets and crumbs. Hence I am not concerned about angels . . . In spiritual matters we should not regard the angels as necessary, because God's promise has been amply displayed and made manifest in Christ. He has left me His Word, with which I instruct and strengthen myself. Nor is it the case that I fear that He is so fickle and changeable that sometimes He proclaims one doctrine and sometimes another. . .. We have the Word of God, the Eucharist, Baptism, the Ten Commandments, matrimony, ordinances of the state, and the administration of the household. Let us be satisfied with these and occupy ourselves with them until the end of the world.
From Lectures on Genesis (Luther's Works 4:126-27)
MATTHEW 17:5
+
Dying for Christ
Without an appearance of angels, and strengthened by the Word alone, the martyrs met death for the sake of the name of Christ. Why should we, too, not be satisfied with the same thing? Baptism is a sufficiently manifest and clear appearance. So are the Eucharist, the Keys, the ministry of the Word. They are equal to—yes, they even surpass—all the appearances of all angels, in comparison with which Abraham had only droplets and crumbs. Hence I am not concerned about angels . . . In spiritual matters we should not regard the angels as necessary, because God's promise has been amply displayed and made manifest in Christ. He has left me His Word, with which I instruct and strengthen myself. Nor is it the case that I fear that He is so fickle and changeable that sometimes He proclaims one doctrine and sometimes another. . .. We have the Word of God, the Eucharist, Baptism, the Ten Commandments, matrimony, ordinances of the state, and the administration of the household. Let us be satisfied with these and occupy ourselves with them until the end of the world.
From Lectures on Genesis (Luther's Works 4:126-27)
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