24. Lo, how the dragon’s tail of the devil and all hell must follow unbelief!
The reason is, that he who does not believe in Christ, has already turned away from God and quite separated himself from him. Therefore he cannot have the Holy Spirit, nor originate good thoughts, nor have a true, hearty pleasure in living according to God’s will; notwithstanding he may outwardly assume a different appearance, like a hypocrite, and act so as not to be rebuked or chastised. Just like a bad, ill-behaved servant, who is inimical to his master, and does what he hates to do, only because he is compelled, and as opportunity arises, does evil. Such are the beautiful, precious fruits, produced by this fountain and stem, if Christ is not accepted and heard as the Savior, presented to us by God in order to blot out our sin and to take from us God’s wrath.
Cantate - Third Sermon - Luther's Sermons, Lenker edition
9.
Now what does such preaching call for? It calls for this, that I believe in it,
for in no other way can I apprehend it. If you write it in a book, it will be
of no use to any man, though you indulge in much thinking about it. Again, you
may preach and speak about it, or hear it; it will be to no purpose. You must
believe it and confidently rely upon it that the thing is as the Gospel says,
that not your works but the Lord Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection takes
away your sin and death. This you cannot attain to except by faith.
10. Again, Christ says: “He that disbelieveth,” even though he be baptized, “shall be damned.” These words, too, you must allow to remain just as they are. For he does not say thus: He that disbelieves and does evil works besides; but, without any varnish he says: If thou hadst the chastity of all virgins, the sufferings of all martyrs, and, to be concise, if thou hadst all the works that ever were done by all the saints — if thou hadst all these in a heap, yet, if faith were lacking, all would be lost.
Ascension Sermon, Vol 3, Luther's Sermons
The
Word, which is called the Word of Christ, must be the rule and touchstone by
which the Church is to be discerned and by which it must govern itself. There
must be a certain rule by which the Church shall measure its conduct. It will
not do for individuals to formulate their own ideas of conduct, act accordingly,
and then say that the Church is led by the Holy Spirit.
Third Sermon, Pentecost. #52 Luther's Sermons, Volume 3, Lenker Edition
