Martin Luther Quotes
Martin Luther was a German Augustinian friar, theologian, and the principal initiator of the Protestant Reformation. After years of monastic struggle over the question of how a sinful human being can stand before a righteous God, he came to the conviction that justification is by faith alone in the grace of Christ. The quotes below are attributed to Martin Luther, organized by topic.
Browse Martin Luther by topic
Martin Luther on Death
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“If a woman becomes weary and at last dead from bearing, that matters not; let her only die from bearing, she is there to do it.”
Sermon Von dem ehelichen Stande (1519), p. 41 — as quoted in The Ethic of Freethought: A Selection of Essays and Lectures (1888) by Karl Pearson , "The Sex-Relations in Germany", p. 424 | The quote actually comes from Von dem eelichen Leben (1522). It can be seen in an original edition here , in a 19th century reissue here , and in English translation (as " On the Estate of Marriage ") here . -
“A theologian is born by living, nay dying and being damned, not by thinking, reading, or speculating.”
Table Talk(1569) | 352 -
“Justice is a temporary thing that must at last come to an end; but the conscience is eternal and will never die.”
On Marriage (1530) -
“The works of the righteous would be mortal sins if they would not be feared as mortal sins by the righteous themselves out of pious fear of God.”
"Heidelberg Disputation: Thesis 7" (1518), http://bookofconcord.org/heidelberg.php#7 -
“A mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing. Our helper He amid the flood Of mortal ills prevailing.”
Psalm. Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott (1529), translated by Frederic H. Hedge, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations , 10th ed. (1919)
Martin Luther on God
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“Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace.”
An Introduction to St. Paul's Letter to the Romans from Dr. Martin Luthers Vermischte Deutsche Schriften . Johann K. Irmischer, ed. Vol. 63(Erlangen: Heyder and Zimmer, 1854), pp. 124-125. (EA 63:124-125) -
“Pray, and let God worry.”
In, I Am a Christian: The Nun, the Devil, and Martin Luther , Carolyn M. Schneider, Fortress Press 2010, ISBN 0800697324 ISBN 978-0800697327 p . 49. (citing in Notes (p. 148), WA , Tr 2:131–32). | Expurgated version in, What Luther Says , Ewald M. Plass, vol. 1, pp. 403-404, (citing WA , Tr 2, No. 1557). 1191 How Luther Handled the Devil, May 20, 1532. "When the devil comes during the night to pla -
Attributed to Martin Luther:
“A simple layman armed with Scripture is greater than the mightiest pope without it.”
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“The heathen really make their self-invented notions and dreams of God and idol. Ultimately, they put their trust in that which is nothing. So it is with all idolatry. For it happens not merely by erecting an image and worshipping it, but rather it happens in the heart. For the heart seeks help and consolation from creatures, saints, or devils. It neither cares for God, nor looks to Him for anything better than to believe that He is willing to help.”
On Infant Baptism," Large Catechism (1529) -
“Some will object that the Law is divine and holy. Let it be divine and holy. The Law has no right to tell me that I must be justified by it.”
Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians(1535) | Chapter 2 -
“The Mass is the greatest blasphemy of God, and the highest idolatry upon earth, an abomination the like of which has never been in Christendom since the time of the Apostles.”
Table Talk(1569) | 171 -
“Man is by nature unable to want God to be God. Indeed, he himself wants to be God, and does not want God to be God.”
Disputation against Scholastic Theology(1517) | Thesis 17 -
“For where God built a church, there the Devil would also build a chapel...Thus is the Devil ever God's ape.”
Table Talk(1569) | 67. Compare "Where God hath a temple, the Devil will have a chapel", Robert Burton , Anatomy of Melancholy , part III, section 4, member 1, subsection 1 -
“God has formed the soul and body of the Virgin Mary full of the Holy Spirit, so that she is without all sins, for she has conceived and borne the Lord Jesus.”
D. Martin Luthers Werke , Kritische Gesamtausgabe, 61 vols., (Weimar: Verlag Hermann Böhlaus Nochfolger, 1883-1983), 52:39 [hereinafter: WA] 1544
Martin Luther on Justice
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“Christ ought to be preached with this goal in mind — that we might be moved to faith in him so that he is not just a distant historical figure but actually Christ for you and me.”
The Freedom of a Christian(1520) | p. 69
Martin Luther on Knowledge
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“Latin text: Weimar Briefwechsel (correspondence), 1, n. 62, p. 152, 6)”
Wikiquote -
“The quote actually comes from Von dem eelichen Leben (1522). It can be seen in an original edition here , in a 19th century reissue here , and in English translation (as " On the Estate of Marriage ") here .”
If a woman becomes weary and at last dead from bearing, that matters not; let her only die from bearing, she is there to do it. -
“On Infant Baptism," Large Catechism (1529)”
Lastly, we must also know what Baptism signifies, and why God has ordained just such external sign and ceremony for the Sacrament by which we are first received into the Christian Church. But the act or ceremony is this, that we are sunk under the water, which passes over us, and afterwards are drawn out again. These two parts, to be sunk under the water and drawn out again, signify the power and -
“On Infant Baptism," Large Catechism (1529)”
The heathen really make their self-invented notions and dreams of God and idol. Ultimately, they put their trust in that which is nothing. So it is with all idolatry. For it happens not merely by erecting an image and worshipping it, but rather it happens in the heart. For the heart seeks help and consolation from creatures, saints, or devils. It neither cares for God, nor looks to Him for anythin -
“By the law is the knowledge of sin [Rom 3:20], so the word of grace comes only to those who are distressed by a sense of sin and tempted to despair.”
On the Bondage of the Will(1525) | p. 168 -
“I know that a Christian should be humble, but against the Pope I am going to be proud and say to him: “You, Pope, I will not have you for my boss, for I am sure that my doctrine is divine.””
Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians(1535) | Chapter 2, Verse 6 -
“Those who read and rightly understand my teaching will not start an insurrection; they have not learned that from me.”
A Sincere Admonition to All Christians to Guard Against Insurrection and Rebellion(1522) | p. 65 -
“If it were art to overcome heresy with fire, the executioners would be the most learned doctors on earth.”
To the Christian Nobility of the German States (1520), translated by Charles M. Jacobs, reported in rev. James Atkinson, The Christian in Society , I (Luther's Works, ed. James Atkinson, vol. 44), p. 207 (1966) -
“There can be no doubt that the Virgin Mary is in heaven. How it happened we do not know.”
Weimar edition of Martin Luther's Works (Translation by William J. Cole) Vol. 10, p. 268
Martin Luther on Life
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“Never any good came out of female domination. God created Adam master and lord of living creatures, but Eve spoiled it all.”
Table Talk(1569) | -- Table Talk, quoted in Luther On "Woman" -
“When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, "Repent," he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”
Ninety-five Theses(1517) | Thesis 1
Martin Luther on Love
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“Mother love is stronger than the filth and scabbiness on a child, and so the love of God toward us is stronger than the dirt that clings to us.”
Table Talk(1569) | 94 -
“For Christ is Joy and Sweetness to a broken heart. Christ is a Lover of poor sinners, and such a Lover that He gave Himself for us. Now if this is true, and it is true, then are we never justified by our own righteousness.”
Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians(1535) | Chapter 3, verse 20 -
“Faith, like light, should ever be simple and unbending; while love, like warmth, should beam forth on every side, and bend to every necessity of our brethren.”
Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers(1895) | p. 220
Martin Luther on Mind
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“We must calm the mind of the common man, and tell him to abstain from the words and even the passions which lead to insurrection.”
A Sincere Admonition to All Christians to Guard Against Insurrection and Rebellion(1522) | p. 62 -
“so it is with human reason, which strives not against faith, when enlightened, but rather furthers and advances it.”
Table Talk(1569) | On Justification CCXCIV
Martin Luther on Nature
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“Leave the ass burdened with laws behind in the valley. But your conscience, let it ascend with Isaac into the mountain.”
Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians(1535) | Chapter 2, Verse 14
Martin Luther on Politics
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“On War against the Turk (1529)”
His Mohammed, as has been said, commands that ruling is to be done by the sword, and in his Koran the sword is the commonest and noblest work. Thus the Turk is, in truth, nothing but a murderer or highwayman, as his deeds show before men’s eyes. -
“We refuse to have our conscience bound by any work or law, so that by doing this or that we should be righteous, or leaving this or that undone we should be damned.”
Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians(1535) | Chapter 2 -
“When you see a person squirming in the clutches of the Law, say to him: “Brother, get things straight. You let the Law talk to your conscience. Make it talk to your flesh.”
Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians(1535) | Chapter 2, Verse 19
Martin Luther on Truth
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“Here I stand. I can do no other.”
Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against con -
“His Mohammed, as has been said, commands that ruling is to be done by the sword, and in his Koran the sword is the commonest and noblest work. Thus the Turk is, in truth, nothing but a murderer or highwayman, as his deeds show before men’s eyes.”
On War against the Turk (1529) -
“Our stubbornness is right, because we want to preserve the liberty which we have in Christ. Only by preserving our liberty shall we be able to retain the truth of the Gospel inviolate.”
Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians(1535) | Chapter 2 -
“The true Gospel has it that we are justified by faith alone, without the deeds of the Law.”
Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians(1535) | Chapter 2 -
“Superstition, idolatry, and hypocrisy have ample wages, but truth goes a-begging.”
Table Talk(1569) | 53 -
“Faith looks to the word and the promise; that is, to the truth. But hope looks to that which the word has promised, to the gift.”
Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers(1895) | p. 221 -
“"She is rightly called not only the mother of the man, but also the Mother of God ... It is certain that Mary is the Mother of the real and true God.”
Weimar edition of Martin Luther's Works, English translation edited by J. Pelikan [Concordia: St. Louis], Vol. 11, Vol. 24, 107
Martin Luther on Virtue
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Attributed to Martin Luther:
“I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals.”
Things actually not said by Martin Luther
A number of widely-shared lines are circulated as Martin Luther but are in fact from someone else. Did Martin Luther say these? No. Each entry below pairs the line with the person who actually wrote it.
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Did Martin Luther say this? No.
“Hier stehe ich, ich kann nicht anders.”
Translation: Here I stand; I can do no other. Often attributed as part of Luther's statement before the Diet of Worms (19 April 1521), there are no indications in the transcripts of the Diet or in eyewitness accounts that he ever said this, and most scholars now doubt these words were spoken. See 'Hier Stehe Ich!' by Elesha Coffman , in Christianity Today (1 April 2002) . Diarmaid MacCulloch in 'Reformation: Europe's House Divided' (2003), attributes the origins of the quotation to Georg Rörer, the editor of Luther's collected works, who wanted to add a summary of Luther's statement. Variants: (Disputed.)
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Did Martin Luther say this? No.
“Here I stand; I can do no otherwise. God help me. Amen!”
As reported in Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895) by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, p. 186; and in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations , 10th ed. (1919) (Disputed.)
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Did Martin Luther say this? No.
“I’d rather be ruled by a competent Turk than an incompetent Christian.”
The earliest published source for such a statement yet located is in Pat Robertson — Where He Stands (1988) by Hubert Morken, p. 42, where such a comment is attributed to Luther without citation. (Disputed.)
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Did Martin Luther say this? No.
“Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep; whoever sleeps long, does not sin; whoever does not sin, enters Heaven! Thus, let us drink beer!”
Widely attributed to Luther, but actually is an example given in 1658 book Ἑρμηνεια logica of faulty logic. In Latin: Si vero termini in sorite sunt causae subordinatae per accidens, sorites non valet; ut ia hoc, Qui bene bibit, bene dormit; qui bene dormit, non peccat; qui non peccat, est beatus; ergo: qui bene bibit est beatus. Vitium est, quod bene bibere sit causa per accidens somni. Translated via Fauxtations : If, however, the conclusions in the sorite are subordinate by accident, the sorites is not valid; as in this one, He who sleeps well, drinks well; he who sleeps well, does not sin; he who does not sin, is blessed; therefore, he who drinks well is blessed. The problem is that to… (Disputed.)
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Did Martin Luther say this? No.
“Widely attributed to Luther, but actually is an example given in 1658 book Ἑρμηνεια logica of faulty logic. In Latin:”
Si vero termini in sorite sunt causae subordinatae per accidens, sorites non valet; ut ia hoc, Qui bene bibit, bene dormit; qui bene dormit, non peccat; qui non peccat, est beatus; ergo: qui bene bibit est beatus. Vitium est, quod bene bibere sit causa per accidens somni. (Disputed.)
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Did Martin Luther say this? No.
“Translated via Fauxtations :”
If, however, the conclusions in the sorite are subordinate by accident, the sorites is not valid; as in this one, He who sleeps well, drinks well; he who sleeps well, does not sin; he who does not sin, is blessed; therefore, he who drinks well is blessed. The problem is that to drink well is a cause of sleep only by accident. (Disputed.)
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Did Martin Luther say this? No.
“Do not fight against these harmful spells. For you do not know what God wants with them. You do not know the greater divine plan behind it all."”
As attributed by Kai Lehmann, curator of the exhibition "Luther und die Hexen" ("Luther and the witches"). (2013) in “Interview with Dr. Kai Lehmann, curator of the exhibition "Luther und die Hexen" ("Luther and the witches")“ (Disputed.)
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Did Martin Luther say this? No.
“Even if I knew the world would end tomorrow, I would continue to plant my apple trees.”
Earliest record is in a circular letter from Hessian Church minister Karl Lotz on 5 October 1944 and modified from a quote by Johanan ben Zakai according to Landes, Richard Allen (2011). Heaven on Earth: The varieties of the millennial experience . USA: Oxford University Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-19-975359-8 . (Disputed.)