Thursday, August 19, 2010

"The Chief Work"

"[A]ll those who do not at all times trust God and do not in all their works or sufferings, life and death, trust in His favor, grace and good-will, but seek His favor in other things or in themselves, do not keep this [First] Commandment*, and practice real idolatry, even if they were to do the works of all the others Commandments, and in addition had all the prayers, fasting, obedience, patience, chastity, and innocence of all the saints combined. For the chief work is not present, without which all the others are nothing but mere sham, show and pretense."

-- Martin Luther, "A Treatise on Good Works"

*The First Commandment: "You shall have no other gods before me."

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