A Luther Quote To Wake Up The Sleepers
April 15, 2009 by iMonk
This post is from November of ‘04. It’s a little quote from Martin Luther that’s the kind of anti-legalism/moralism injection all of us need occasionally. Some of you won’t like it for better reasons than others. I like it because Luther gets Jesus and isn’t afraid to be provocative to help me get him too.
This woud be a great excuse for you to buy the NRP “Weak on Sanctification” t-shirt.
“Whenever the devil harasses you, seek the company of men or drink more, or joke and talk nonsense, or do some other merry thing. Sometimes we must drink more, sport, recreate ourselves, and even sin a little to spite the devil, so that we leave him no place for troubling our consciences with trifles. We are conquered if we try too conscientiously not to sin at all. So when the devil says to you: do not drink, answer him: I will drink, and right freely, just because you tell me not to.” -Martin Luther
Martin Luther is certainly my favorite person in church history. Time and again his grasp of the Gospel and unabashed honest humanity have come to my rescue. Luther has an ability to make the Gospel as outrageous as possible, and to chase the rats of legalism out of the attic before they make a nest.
The above quote is a good example. Luther recommending sin? Well…he doesn’t mean adultery or stealing. What Luther is talking about here is something C.S. Lewis talks about in Chapter 14 of The Screwtape Letters: the particular temptations that come to the person who is aware of his/her own righteousness. Even if it is an awareness of love, forgiveness or humility– all bring the possibility of self-centeredness and pride. But Lewis (and Luther) were especially aware of the spiritual dangers of trying to not sin. Yes…trying to not sin.
Since encouraging people to try and not sin is a major occupation of confused evangelicalism, Luther sounds strange. But it’s clear what he means: we can’t get caught in the trap of trying to generate our own righteousness, even in the name of obedience. Luther’s encouragement to sin just to spite the devil is his provocative way of suggesting a Christian TRUST CHRIST and have confidence in justification by faith. So much so, that instead of living in a state of perpetual self-examination, we live with the freedom to be less than perfect.
Isn’t sinning intentionally a really bad thing? A Christian’s attitude toward sin must be based on a thorough acceptance of the fact that our depravity isn’t going to be erased by efforts. Even our righteousness and obedience are thoroughly tainted with sin. Luther says we need to take the sting out of the devil’s condemnation with a willingness to be human, and rejoice that God loves us and Christ died for us.
Let Luther bother you a bit. Particularly if you are starting to get miserable in this Christian life, and wonder where the laughter and honesty are among Christians. We can find it again, but it comes with embracing justification by faith existentially, and not just as a doctrine.
I am told that when creating an oriental rug the waver deliberately makes one mistake because in the Islam it is considered a blasphemy to even aspire to perfection since perfection belongs only to God. It’s a concept that I think that we Christians can learn from as well. I have always felt that a few conspicuous vices are essential to a healthy Christian Witness (It important not to intimidate the potential convert). I will how ever concede that I may have taken this concept a little too far.
God Bless
Steve in Toronto
Wowzas! That made MY jaw drop… and I’m Lutheran. (a new one, however)
I get it, but clearly not well enough.
As a UM, I believe that I would much rather hang with Brother Martin than “Father” John Wesley. Luther seemed to me to be truly pious rather than “piass,” as many of the so-called righteous tend to be.
Michael (or anyone else that reads this), can you recommend a good biography of Luther, one that brings out the aspect of his theology evidenced by this quote?
Thanks. Chris.
http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Luther-Christian-between-Death/dp/067400387X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239828249&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Luther-Man-Between-God-Devil/dp/0300103131
Wow! This is pretty mind-blowing.
If I were to put Luther’s quote a different way, I might say: “When tempted by a legalistic mindset, intentionally do something to show that that aspect of legalism has no hold on you, and to show that you are guided by Christ and not by a set of rules and regulations.”
Do I understand him correctly?
Martin Marty wrote a nice biography as well, but I haven’t read the others to compare. (http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Luther-Penguin-Life-Lives/dp/0670032727/ref=ed_oe_h)
iMonk, do you have any favorite writings by Luther? I haven’t read “On The Bondage of the Will” yet, but plan to soon enough. Any others?
I can second the recommendation for Dr. Oberman Luther Biography. Oberman is particularly strong on Luther’s debt to Augustinian Monasticism. It’s too easy to see the Luther and the other reformers threw the lens of the enlightenment. Oberman works hard to help us see him as a man very rooted in the late middle ages.
God Bless
Steve in Toronto
Love it.
If you had thrown this at me a few months ago I would have baulked at it and sought to wriggle away from what it was saying. But I was wrestling with some university coursework one day (I can’t even remember what it was now – it might even have been sermon preparation) and it suddenly struck me that God loves me. That sounds terribly trite, but the real impact of it hit me at the time and suddenly there was happiness in the Christian life and the real joy of really knowing that I didn’t need to try and earn anything. I really can’t describe what it’s like but I absolutely ‘get’ Luther when he says this, because it reflects what I ‘know’. I think it’s something you simply ‘get’ or continue to struggle with. Maybe that’s the ‘existential’ bit of your post. It’s something that simply ‘is’. It can’t be learnt or rationalised.
Sorry, I’m just burbling now, but, as always, so much of what you write just strikes a chord with me.
and you’re still not a lutheran…
Colin:
Galatians
Babylonian Captivity
Table Talk
Sermons
There are no Lutheran churches within two hours. Why don’t you Lutherans do some church planting and help a fellow out?
Mike
Where is this quote from? Would love to read more around it!
another Mike
I don’t know the context or the meaning in the original language, and I hate speculating, but… (That means feel free to correct me if I’m completely off.)
Perhaps he’s talking about “sinning” in the gray areas of Christian freedom Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians. The various general rules regarding behavior (don’t cause a brother to stumble, hold ourselves to a higher standard than the world) can lead to rules not necessarily explicit in the Bible (no alcohol). I don’t necessarily consider it legalistic to adhere strictly to explicit commandments (it would depend on how and why the commandments are followed), but strict adherence to these types of rules is pretty legalistic.
I think what Luther was talking about was preventing a kind of unhappy pride from forming, and destroying the assumption that just because a person abstains from more “worldly” pleasures, they must be a better person.
Also, in committing these types of “sins,” the person is putting more faith in God. Knowing full well He does not condemn an action, reveling in it is to be encouraged. We should not sin abundantly so that grace may be even more abundant. But I think the type of sin Luther is referring to is not the type that separates us from Christ, but rather the type separates us from prideful legalism.
Again, speculation… Feel free to slap me around
I love Luther’s radical grace. Don’t we realize that when we try not to sin, sin is still present? I find that as I let go of my perfectionistic tendencies and allow myself to “sin a little”, I allow God the room to work in my life. I grow spiritually by letting go of my self-righteousness.
Mike:
Sorry I don’t know. Table talk is a likely source.
From Surfnetter:
How about when God tells you to “sin”…?
Acts 12:10-14 (Eating unclean animals)
Mat. 16:16 (It was a sin to call a man God)
Does Luther have anything to say about that …?
It seems that in every case, when a faith hero acted on the Voice he or she heard, it was to commit “sin” according to their understanding and/or that of their neighbors and families.
There must be something wrong with me because this doesn’t bother me at all.
“Sin and sin boldly, but believe more boldly still”
Martin Luther 1521
JohnO, I hear you. I wish I could be hit with the realization that God loves me. I know it in my brain, but not my heart.
Moonshadow I agree wholeheartedly
Honestly, though, this bothers the snot out of me.
But not because I disagree.
It is just so hard for me to truly understand and accept it. God loves me even if I sin…
Then why have I been trying too hard?
I gotta print this and stick it in my Bible so I’m reminded daily that it’s not about my works to achieve righteousness… It’s what He is doing in me.
I find I have grown so much in my relationship with God once I stopped trying to please him by keeping small inconsequential acts out of my life. Only when I accepted that God loves me unconditionaly did I fully grasp the gospel, even though it had grasped me years before.
Well,,wow,,where to begin. First,since mankind never had a struggle with conscience before the fall,,I believe this is one area Christ restored to us believers. We ARE the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. We ARE fully justified ,if by faith we recieve that, so weather we live in that or not is up to us.The word says that you will KNOW the truth and the truth will set you free. Notice,,,it is NOT the truth that sets you free,,,it is the TRUTH THAT YOU KNOW, that sets you free!! I love most of what is being said here but I do not think we need to just delibertly sin to take the sting out of the devils condemning thoughts,,,all we need do is believe God’s word and tell the enemy he is a liar!! WE ARE RIGHTEOUS, WE ARE HOLY, WE ARE JUSTIFIED!! When our loving Papa God see’s us,this is how He see’s us!!The church is so “sin conscious”. That is why we have grown up believing so wrongly. Even the bible has been so misinterperted because it has been filtered through the conciousness of sin. Maybe I too sound radical but let me speak truth,,,IT IS NO LONGER ABOUT SIN!!! Besides,sin is not just what you do or dont do. The word tells us that “by nature we were all children of wrath…” Because of grace we do have the freedom to be less than perfect,,this writer is correct to say that our depravity CANNOT be erased by our oun efforts,,,it dosent have to be,,,,WHY,,,,IT IS FINISHED!!! It is all grace through faith. Believe Father when He say’s. there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!!! Now this IS good news, isn’t it!!!! I like what the writer said about embracing justification by faith and living that,,not just using it as doctrine.
Father loves us, we really are His son’s and daughters,,,it was Father’s good pleasure to bruise His first born,,that is how much He loves us. He knew we could never be all He intended us to be unless Jesus,sinless God son,,came in the flesh to restore kingdom life. We need to stop “doing” and just be,,,and just believe. The devil has the church dooped into saying grace grace while still trying to follow the law,,if even only in some ways. The two do not mix,,,it is not now ,,nor will it ever be both. It is grace by faith,,,,WHEN WILL WE JUST BELIEVE GOD!!!
Please don’t type in caps.
And please don’t waste your time sending comments that are just going to be moderated and not published.
Paul said simply, “Everything that does not come from faith is sin.” he also said the “commandment is summed up in this one rule, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ agreeing with Jesus, of course. It would seem then that if we are seeking God in faith, even if in a bumbling way, and loving our neighbor as best we know how, rules fly out the window. Perhaps Luther meant by sin rule breaking; to that I say Hallelujah! (spelling?) in good Pentecostal fashion, even if more than a few of my brethern might disagree, but there is a strony Calvinistic bent in some of us; and more than a few would be ahppy to have a drink with Luher. So Yes! Let’s break a few rules set up by stodgy, hidebound, holier than thou religionists. I can’t help but think this is what Luther had in mind.
iMonk,
I do not understand what you mean with your response to me in regard to not wasting my time on comments that are going to be moderated and not published? Please explain.
Thanks, Denise
[mod edit]
Snark aside, I have no idea how to take this quote. I like the idea that maybe some vices serve a purpose, but then again, I don’t trust the notion that you can be a better Christian by deliberately not trying to be a better Christian. I don’t feel any liberating sense of self-forgiveness or Devil-getback when I try not to mind God and drink a lot or lust after women or generally act a ass – but then again, maybe there’s a Zen to believing in this kind of God and I’m just doing it wrong.
Maybe I’m really a Lutheran…
Has anyone heard of the book Drinking With Calvin and Luther by Jim West?
http://tiny.cc/AzA9S
I’ve been wanting to read it since I learned of its existence several months ago. This post inspired me to finally order it.
I think this is probably one of the most helpful posts I’ve ever read from you IMonk.
Thanks.
I have always been intrigued by James 4:7 where it talks about resisting the devil. I use biblegateway.com to compare translations of the Bible and I get a kick out of sometimes seeing what Eugene Peterson does in his “Message” Bible. The NIV translation says in James 4:7-10,”Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
Look what “The Message” does with this passage: “So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.” Peterson gets very creative, I would say! I particularly liked, “Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.”
Here’s a little bit on Peterson for anyone who does not know him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_H._Peterson
Denise,
The CAPS request was for you.
The nasty comments that will not be posted obviously was for someone else who was not posted.
peace
ms
Catholics:
If you feel the need to say something nasty about Luther, that’s great. There’s plenty to work with, but it has nothing to do with this discussion. This is not your post to go after Luther.
peace
ms
“drink more, or joke and talk nonsense”
I’ll drink to that!
i read the screwtape letters a few years back. and as far as i can remember the devi is portrayed as organized, very purposeful (i actually want to say “purpose-driven”) and wants the christian to accept his best life is the now, stay put and be stagnant. this luther quote is really radical and i believe, emphasizes an essence of the Gospel which is all about God’s grace.
steve in toronto, i like what you said about the oriental rug. thank you.
have a blessed day everyone! let’s celebrate all we have in Christ!
Luther=deeply flawed
Luther=deeply saved
Luther=me
Thank you Michael for a very needful reminder.
My favorite verse is Isaiah 26:12 where we hear God saying to us that He will ordain peace for us, since He has done for us all our works. He’s done it. Not me, not you, not anyone born of Adam. He’s done it…alone. That is my only comfort past, present and future. Thank God!
The way I read it — all of it — is that “Sin and Death” as an active principle is just an old Hebrew story we have been told. By the time the rest of the world heard about this — and began to believe these tales — Jesus had long ago put sin to death on the Cross, and death was swallowed up in the victory of the Resurrection. Believe that story and it’s all yours.
But the consequences of our bad acts are still there. You can run into real trouble if you don’t try to straighten those things out. Mat. 5:23-26
So, if while you’re carousing with Luther and your buddies, you make some stupid comment about someone’s wife, or his chosen belief system or some such thing — whether it is sin or not is not the question:
“First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”
Jesus said this immediately after his expansion on the requirements of the Law explained them to be far more than anyone can ever fulfill — to even thinking about adultery, or being angry without an outward expression. But the requirements of the Law have been fulfilled in Christ, haven’t they …? Not so the law of human consequences.
God may no longer have a bone to pick with you, but your brother might — and it counts ….
Yes! This is wise counsel. The more we focus on sin the more power it has over us.
Good stuff!
Another great Luther quote a friend sent me:
“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! (there is no beer in heaven, so let us drink it here).”
Yes Yes Yes! That’s what I’m talkin’ about.
This quote gives you a taste of the Lutheran ethos.
Dr. Rosenbladt calls Luther’s theology the ‘happiest’ theology, because it banks on God’s forgiveness and offers real hope to those who are broken by their sin. It also points you to Christ and His work outside of you, doing away with the unfortunate habit of ‘taking your own spiritual temperature’ every five minutes.
It has saved my life to be able to hang out with Christian brothers after a week of being beaten down by the world, my flesh, and the devil. My friends hand me a stiff drink and a cigar, let me vent, and then we laugh, joke and talk foolishness for awhile.
Thank God for a theology that doesn’t break the bruised reeds and snuff out the smoldering wicks.
I also kinda like Dallas Willard’s analogy. He says you can’t get to New York by not going to Boston. In other words, sometimes focusing on all were not supposed to do gets our eyes off of prize so to speak.
Well, I’m Catholic and I’m pretty sure I get that quote. I believe I’ve experienced it. Taking it upon ourselves to “fight sin” too hard can possibly work a very ironic opposite inside us.
Hmm – be ignorant and drink some beer, joke, laugh – I’m thinking maybe some ‘o that is ‘gonna be happnin Sunday night somewhere.
Well, if the quote refers to breaking “manmade” regulations like “Don’t drink at all,” then sure. Sound advice.
I’ve heard from a few priests I respect that it’s better to not dwell on temptation and distract oneself than to try to fight it too hard since obsessing about sin only gives the enemy the upper hand. If that’s what Luther meant, I’m right there with him.
But if he was referring to real sins and the necessity to fight them with a passionate zeal that realizes the danger sin poses to our souls, I have to wonder why the Scriptures are always on about that very thing?
Why the buffeting of our bodies? Why the cutting off of the offending member? Why the working out of salvation with fear and trembling? Why the fear that any of us believers might have in us an evil and unbelieving heart?
If sin is lurking at the door and it’s desire is for us, if the devil is prowling about like a lion seeking whom he may devour, if we will be held accountable for every single idle word, it seems a dose of the sober-mindedness to which St. Paul calls us might be in order.
Wow — what a party animal, that Luther.
Never thought about tossing down a few with the Pope. I wonder if Benedict XVI ever kicks back after Mass with a Becks and a big old stogy ….
(gonna Photoshop a jpeg and see how it all comes down)
I know Luther gets a lot of heat for this sort of peccata fortier quotes, but as a teacher, I think there is a lot of wisdom in them–at least for some.
It is not at all uncommon for a good student to come up to me, pointing at the relevant information, and asking if it means the answer would be X (which it does)–but yet hesitating because they’re not at all sure, and don’t want to put something wrong. And often they talk themselves out of putting the correct answer, because, well, maybe they’re wrong.
I think our modern answer is “be more confident in yourself.” But as Chesterton shows, this is the wisdom of the insane asylum. Do not be confident in yourself, hope and trust in Christ. “Sin more boldly, but hope and trust in Christ more boldly still.” is precisely the advice (and lesson) the student needs to learn. They are too afraid to die, and trust not enough in the God who raises the dead.
Of course there are other students–far too self-confident–I’d never tell to sin more boldly. They sin far to boldly already, with no trust or hope in Christ. They need to be told that they will die, and there is nothing they can do about it. And, without the God who has risen again, death is final. Sin less boldly, but more boldly than you sin now, hope and trust in Christ.
Yes, yes!
Enough navel-gazing self-micromanaging angst – this is the time to jump in and get totally immersed in what God wants to do in your life and that of the group you may belong to. Time may be running out and the move of God may just pass us by while we nit-pick.
Michael, I absolutely love this post. This is what King Solomon meant when he wrote “Do not be excessively righteous, and to not be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself?” Ecclesiastes 7:16
I like Marty too!!
Brother Martin must have been of the same spirit as the Orthodox priest who, when his overly-scrupulous Evangelical catechumen asked him about Lenten fasting rules, plopped a six pack of a local brew down in front of him and told him to come back when he had finished.
The convert related that action saved his soul.
Thanks for the Ecclesiates passage, Steve Scott. Reading through all of chapter 7, I really also like Ecclesiastes 7:21-22, which says, “Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others.” That’s good advice. And it’s a very good thing that we don’t hear all that people say about us.
I do have a bone to pick with the writer of Ecclesiates though. He does not seem to find women very worthy, as you can read further along in chapter 7. I have found that quite often in the “Old Testament.” Thank God that Jesus showed us how he loved women!
To give cred to the LCMS brothas, perhaps Thesis VIII from Dr. C.F.W. Walther’s The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel is appropriate here:
“In the fourth place, the Word of God is not rightly divided when the Law is preached to those who are already in terror an account of their sins or the Gospel to those who live securely in their sins.”