Our New Motivation

"Whoever is of God hears the words of God."
JOHN 8:47
+
Our New Motivation
Therefore a new creation is not a change in clothing or in outward manner, . . . but a renewal of the mind by the Holy Spirit; this is then followed by an outward change in the flesh, in the parts of the body, and in the senses. For when the heart acquires new light, a new judgment, and new motivation through the Gospel, this also brings about a renewal of the senses. The ears long to hear the Word of God instead of listening any longer to human traditions and notions. The lips and the tongue do not boast of their own works, righteousness, and monastic rule; but joyfully they proclaim nothing but the mercy of God, disclosed in Christ. These changes . . . produce a new mind, a new will, new senses, and even new actions by the flesh, so that the eyes, the ears, the lips, and the tongue not only see, hear, and speak otherwise than they used to, but the mind itself evaluates things and acts upon them differently from the way it did before.

From Lectures on Galatians (1535) (Luther's Works 27:140)
Posted in

Recent

Archive

Categories

Tags