Quotes of Note: Martin Luther—Master Pastor, Part 8

Note: You’re reading Part 8 of a blog mini-series sharing Quotes of Note derived from my Ph.D. dissertation: Spiritual Care in Historical Perspective: Martin Luther as a Case Study in Christian Sustaining, Healing, Reconciling, and Guiding. Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, and Part 7. 

So far we’ve shared quotes from Luther’s pastoral care ministry of sustaining, healing, reconciling, and guiding. Now we shift focus to factors that shaped Luther’s pastoral counseling: his spiritual trials and his theological convictions.

Spiritual Trials and Biblical Counseling 

Luther called his spiritual trials anfechtungen (the plural form for spiritual trials) or anfechtung (the singular form of the same word). He clearly connected these strivings to his theological development.

Bainton emphasized the importance of anfechtung, while he also provided a working definition.

“Toward God he was at once attracted and repelled. Only in harmony with the Ultimate could he find peace. But how could a pygmy stand before divine Majesty; how could a transgressor confront divine Holiness? Before God the high and holy Luther was stupefied. For such an experience he had a word. The word he used was Anfechtung, for which there is no English equivalent. It may be a trial sent from God to test man, or an assault by the Devil to destroy man. It is all the doubt, turmoil, pang, terror, panic, despair, desolation, and desperation which invade the spirit of man” (p. 42).

“I didn’t learn my theology all at once. I had to ponder over it ever more deeply, and my spiritual trials were of help to me, for one does not learn anything without practice” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 50).

“If I live longer, I would like to write a book about anfechtungen, for without them no person is able to know Holy Scripture, nor faith, the fear or the love of God. He does not know the meaning of hope who was never subject to temptations” (cited in Vallee, p. 294).

Speaking of his battle with anfechtungen, Luther wrote, “living, dying and being damned make the real theologian” (LW, Vol. 41, p. xi).

“I can say nothing about grace outside of those temptations” (cited in Vallee, p. 294).

“Theology is not learned on a peaceful path, or through tranquil reflection: it is acquired per afflictions” (cited in Vallee, p. 294).

“Anfechtung is the touchstone which teaches you not only to know and understand, but also to experience how right, how true, how sweet, how lovely, how mighty, how comforting the Word of God is, wisdom beyond all wisdom” (cited in Vallee, p. 294).

Luther As Physician of His Own Soul

“When I was in spiritual distress (anfechtung) a gentle word would restore my spirit. Sometimes my confessor said to me when I repeatedly discussed silly sins with him, ‘You are a fool. God is not incensed against you. God is not angry with you, but you are angry with God’” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 15).

“It is not as reason and Satan argue: See there God flings you into prison, endangers your life. Surely he hates you. He is angry with you; for if He did not hate you, He would not allow this thing to happen. In this way Satan turns the rod of a Father into the rope of a hangman and the most salutary remedy into the deadliest poison” (LW, Vol. 16, p. 214).

“I was very pious in the monastery, yet I was sad because I thought God was not gracious to me” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 95).

“How can I face the terror of the Holy? The words ‘righteous’ and ‘righteousness of God’ struck my conscience like lightning. When I heard them I was exceedingly terrified. If God is righteous I thought, he must punish me” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 193).

“He (the devil) can make the oddest syllogisms: ‘You have sinned. God is angry with sinners. Therefore despair!’ Accordingly we must proceed from the law to the gospel and grasp the article concerning the forgiveness of sin” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 275).

The Rest of the Story 

In Part 9, we’ll explore how Luther attempted to cure his own soul using the church culture remedies of his day. Then in Part 10 we’ll examine how Luther’s theological convictions about salvation by grace alone through faith alone through Christ alone led to Christ’s healing of Luther’s soul.

Join the Conversation 

Which of today’s Quotes of Note impact your life and ministry the most?

Note: These quotes are derived from Spiritual Care in Historical Perspective: Martin Luther as a Case Study in Christian Sustaining, Healing, Reconciling, and Guiding. The entire 212-page dissertation is available in PDF form at the RPM Store. 

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Quotes of Note: Martin Luther—Master Pastor, Part 7

Note: You’re reading Part 7 of a blog mini-series sharing Quotes of Note derived from my Ph.D. dissertation: Spiritual Care in Historical Perspective: Martin Luther as a Case Study in Christian Sustaining, Healing, Reconciling, and Guiding. Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6. 

In historic guiding, the pastoral counselor helps people to live out their faith in love in the power of grace: it’s supernatural to mature. In Luther’s guiding, he helped people to ask and find answers to questions about loving God and others in the daily outworking of life’s obligations.

Luther taught that when Scripture was dogmatic, then the counselor could be dogmatic. The spiritual director can say, “Thus saith the Lord,” if it is clearly written in the Word (LW, Vol. 48, pp. 256-263). Since the Scriptures purposely do not address every detail of life, wisdom is necessary. He wanted people seeking answers to wisdom questions such as these.

• What are my home, work, community, and church relationships like?

• In these relationships, am I doing those things which are indicative of faith in Christ?

• In these relationships am I doing those things which are indicative of love for others?

• In these relationships am I doing anything which is contrary to my conscience?

Principle # 1 in Discerning God’s Will: Am I Doing What Is Indicative of Faith in Christ?

“There is only one article of faith and one rule of theology, and this is true faith or trust in Christ” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 157).

“Concerning the verse in Galatians (5:6), ‘faith working through love,’ we also say that faith doesn’t exist without works. However, Paul’s view is this: Faith is active in love, that is, that faith justifies which expresses itself in acts. Faith comes first and then love follows” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 74).

“All that remains is for us now to pray that our eyes, that is the eyes of our faith, may be opened that we may see. Then there will be nothing for us to fear” (LW, Vol. 42, p. 163).

“The devil is a master at finding the spot it hurts most. He can fashion the oddest syllogisms. For example, ‘You have sinned; God is wrathful toward sinners; therefore despair.’ Here it is necessary that we proceed from the Law to the Gospel and lay hold of the article of the forgiveness of sins” (LSC, p. 100).

Principle # 2 in Discerning God’s Will: Am I Doing What Is Indicative of Love for Others

“One must not flee into a corner. So the second table teaches that one must do good to one’s neighbor. We ought not to isolate ourselves but enter into companionship with our neighbor. Likewise it (this notion) is in conflict with marriage, economic life, and political existence and is contrary to the life of Christ, who didn’t choose solitude. Christ’s life was very turbulent, for people were always moving about him. He was never alone, except when he prayed. Away with those who say, ‘Be glad to be alone and your heart will be pure’” (LW, Vol. 54, pp. 140-141).

“God created man for society and not for solitude. This may be supported by the argument that he created two sexes, male and female. Likewise God founded the Christian Church, the communion of saints, and instituted the Sacraments, preaching and consolations in the Church” (LSC, p. 95).

“A woman suckling an infant or a maid sweeping a threshing floor with a broom is just as pleasing to God as an idle nun” (LW, Vol. 6, p. 348).

“God wants no lazy idlers. Men should work diligently and faithfully, each according to his calling and profession, and then God will give blessings and success” (LW, Vol. 14, p. 115).

Principle # 3 in Discerning God’s Will: Never Do Anything Contrary to the Conscience

“Everything that is not of faith is sin, because it goes counter to faith and conscience; for we must beware with all possible zeal that we may not violate our conscience” (Commentary on Romans, p. 206).

“What the Apostle teaches is that in the new Law (the Gospel covenant) everything is free and nothing necessary (for salvation) for those who believe in Christ, except ‘charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned’ (I Tim. 1:5) (Commentary on Romans, p. 195).

“We fail to take into consideration that we should do all things not under the pressure of coercion, or driven by the goad of anxious fear, but moved by a cheerful and fully free will, if they are to please God. In all we do, we must consider not what we have done or what there is to be done; not what we failed to do or what we should fail to do; also not what good we have done or what good we have omitted, or what evil we have done or omitted. But we should rather consider of what nature and how strong our good will has been, and the readiness and cheerfulness of our heart with which we have done all or intend to do all” (Commentary on Romans, p. 197).

The Rest of the Story

In Part 8, we’ll shift focus from Luther’s actual pastoral care to shaping factors in Luther’s life that influenced how he sustain, healed, reconciled, and guided others.

Join the Conversation

Which of today’s Quotes of Note impact your life and ministry the most?

Note: These quotes are derived from Spiritual Care in Historical Perspective: Martin Luther as a Case Study in Christian Sustaining, Healing, Reconciling, and Guiding. The entire 212-page dissertation is available in PDF form at the RPM Store.

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth

Quotes of Note: Martin Luther—Master Pastor, Part 5

Note: You’re reading Part 5 of a blog mini-series sharing Quotes of Note derived from my Ph.D. dissertation: Spiritual Care in Historical Perspective: Martin Luther as a Case Study in Christian Sustaining, Healing, Reconciling, and Guiding. Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.  

When hurting, suffering people came to Luther, he sought to encourage them to face their suffering face to face with Christ. The heart of Luther’s healing counsel was to turn people to the heart of God. Yes, life is bad, but God is good—He’s good all the time.

The Heart of Luther’s Healing Counsel: Turning People to the Heart of God

“I know nothing of any other Christ than he whom the Father gave and who died for me and for my sins, and I know that he is not angry with me, but is kind and gracious to me; for he would not otherwise have had the heart to die for me and for my benefit” (LSA, pp. 180-181).

“The conscience, spurred by the devil, the flesh, and the fallen world; says, ‘God is your enemy. Give up in despair.’ God, in His own Fatherly love and through His Son’s grace and through His Word and through the witness of His people; says, ‘I have no wrath. You are accepted in the beloved. I am not angry with you. We are reconciled!’ (LW, Vol. 16, p. 214).

“When the devil casts up to us our sin, and declares us unworthy of death and hell, we must say: ‘I confess that I am worthy of death and hell. What more have you to say?’ ‘Then you will be lost forever!’ ‘Not in the least: for I know One who suffered for me and made satisfaction for my sins, and his name is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. So long as he shall live, I shall live also.’ Therefore treat the devil thus: Spit on him, and say: ‘Have I sinned? Well, then I have sinned, and I am sorry; but I will not on that account despair, for Christ has borne and taken away all my sin, yes, and the sin of the whole world, if it will only confess its sin, reform and believe on Christ. What should I do if I had committed murder or adultery, or even crucified Christ? Why, even then, I should be forgiven, as he prayed on the cross: ‘Father, forgive them’ (Luke xxiii. 34). This I am in duty bound to believe. I have been acquitted. Then away with you, devil!’” (LSA, pp. 213-215).

“God is not the one who accuses or threatens us, but he reconciles and intercedes for us by his own death and by his shed blood for us, that we may not be afraid of him, but draw near to him with all confidence” (LSA, p. 236).

“By the temptation of faith is meant that the evil conscience drives out of a person his confidence in the pardoning grace of God, and leads him to imagine that God is angry and wishes the death of the sinner, or that, in other words, the conscience places Moses upon the judgment-seat, and casts down the Savior of sinners from the throne of grace . . . He says, ‘God is the enemy of sinners, you are a sinner, therefore, God is your enemy’” (LSA, pp. 189-190).

“For the spirit and heart of man is not able to endure the thought of the wrath of God, as the devil represents and urges it. Therefore, whatever thoughts the devil awakens within us in temptation we should put away from us and cast out of our minds, so that we can see and hear nothing else than the kind, comforting word of the promise of Christ, and of the gracious will of the heavenly Father, who has given his own Son for us, as Christ, our dear Lord, declares in John iii. 16: ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ Everything else, now, which the devil may suggest to us beyond this, that God the Father is reconciled to us, and graciously inclined to us, and merciful and powerful for the sake of his dear Son, we should cast out of our minds as wandering and unprofitable thoughts” (LSA, pp. 184-185).

“Let it be granted, that God appears to be angry when we are vexed and tempted; yet, if we repent and believe, we shall come to see that beneath the wrath of God lie hidden grace and goodness, just as his strength and power lie concealed beneath our weakness . . . . He who is assailed by temptations to doubt should bury himself in the Holy Scriptures. He should diligently read them and hear them, should meditate upon and lay them to heart. The comfort of the Gospel is this, It is a falsehood, that God is an enemy of sinners, for Christ roundly and plainly declares, by commandment of the Father: ‘I am come to save sinners’” (LSA, pp. 192-193).

“Believe that God esteems and loves you more than does Dr. Luther or any other Christian” (LSC, p. 92).

Affirming Faith Resources: Sharing Heroic Narratives

“You who are so pugnacious in everything else, fight against yourself . . .” (LSC, p. 146).

“I believe that you have wrestled manfully with the demons this past week” (LSC, p. 154).

“I take the liberty of engaging in such pleasantries with Your Honor, and yet I write with more than pleasantries in mind, for I found special pleasure in learning that Your Honor, above all others, has been of good courage and stout heart in this trial of ours” (LSC, pp. 155-156).

“Only be a man and hope in God” (LSC, p. 156).

You are as “guests in an inn whose keeper is a villain. Be strong through this evil” (LSA, p. 174).

“Let your heart be strong and at ease in your trouble” (LSC, p. 30).

“Pluck up courage and confidence” (LSA, p. 201).

The Rest of the Story

In Part 6, we’ll learn how Luther sought to help people to re-establish broken relationships between themselves and God—how he offered the pastoral care ministry of reconciling.

Join the Conversation

Which of today’s Quotes of Note impact your life and ministry the most?

Note: These quotes are derived from Spiritual Care in Historical Perspective: Martin Luther as a Case Study in Christian Sustaining, Healing, Reconciling, and Guiding. The entire 212-page dissertation is available in PDF form at the RPM Store.

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth

Quotes of Note: Martin Luther—Master Pastor, Part 2

Note: You’re reading Part 2 of a blog mini-series sharing Quotes of Note derived from my Ph.D. dissertation: Spiritual Care in Historical Perspective: Martin Luther as a Case Study in Christian Sustaining, Healing, Reconciling, and Guiding. Read Part 1.  

In Part 1, we enjoyed quotes regarding Luther’s ministry of biblical sustaining: bringing people God’s comfort by empathizing with their suffering. Foremost in this process was helping people to turn their eyes to the cross of Christ and the Christ of the cross.

Having turned people to Christ for His infinite comfort, Luther then became “Jesus with skin on” by empathizing with his hurting spiritual friends.

Participation in Suffering: I Suffer with You

“I wish to write this to you because I am anxious about your illness (for we know not the hour), that I might become a participant of your faith, temptation, consolation, and thanks to God for his holy Word . . .” (LSC, p. 31).

“So I pray that the Lord will make me sick in your place.” (LSC, p. 48).

“We must support one another and be supported” (LSC, p. 40).

“I know that your trials contribute to the glory of God and to your profit and that of many others. I, too, suffered from such trials, and at the time I had nobody to console me. When I complained about such spiritual assaults to my good Staupitz, he replied, ‘I don’t understand this; I know nothing about it.’ You now have the advantage that you can come to me, to Philip (Melanchthon), or to Cordatus to seek comfort . . . .” (LW, Vol. 54, pp. 132-133).

“Accordingly we all are deeply grieved by his death . . . As is natural, your son’s death, and the report of it, will distress and grieve your heart and that of your wife, since you are his parents. I do not blame you for this, for all of us—I in particular—are stricken with sorrow” (LW, Vol. 50, p. 51).

Permission to Grieve

“It is quite inconceivable that you should not be mourning. In fact, it would not be encouraging to learn that a father and mother are not grieved over the death of their son. The wise man, Jesus Sirach, says this in ch. 22: ‘Weep for the dead, for light hath failed him . . .’” (LSC, p. 61).

“Grace and peace. My dear Ambrose: I am not so inhuman that I cannot appreciate how deeply the death of Margaret distresses you. For the great and godly affection which binds a husband to his wife is so strong that it cannot easily be shaken off, and this feeling of sorrow is not so displeasing to God . . . since it is an expression of what God has assuredly implanted in you. Nor would I account you a man, to say nothing of a good husband, if you could at once throw off your grief” (LSC, p. 62).

“Grace and peace in Christ. My dear Cordatus: May Christ comfort you in this sorrow and affliction of yours. Who else can soothe such a grief? I can easily believe what you write, for I too have had experience of such a calamity, which comes to a father’s heart sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing even to the marrow, etc. But you ought to remember that it is not to be marvelled at if he, who is more truly and properly a father than you were, preferred for his own glory that your son—nay, rather his son—should be with him rather than with you, for he is safer there than here. But all of this is vain, a story that falls on deaf ears, when your grief is so new. I therefore yield to your sorrows. Greater and better men than we are have given way to grief and are not blamed for it” (LSC, p. 60).

“When I asked him about the passage in which Jeremiah cursed the day in which he had been born and suggested that such impatience was a sin, he (Martin Luther) replied, ‘Sometimes one has to wake up our Lord God with such words. Otherwise he doesn’t hear. It is a case of real murmuring on the part of Jeremiah. Christ spoke in this way. ‘How long am I to be with you?’ (Mark 9:19). Moses went so far as to throw his keys at our Lord God’s feet when he asked, ‘Did I conceive all this people?’ (Num. 11:12).’ Accordingly it is only speculative theologians who condemn such impatience and recommend patience. If they get down to the realm of practice, they will be aware of this” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 30-31).

“The Scriptures do not prohibit mourning and grieving over deceased children. On the contrary, we have many examples of godly patriarchs and kings who mournfully bewailed the death of their sons. At the same time you ought to leave room for consolation” (LSC, p. 67).

Comfort in Community: Do Not Grieve Alone

“‘He’s gnawing at his own heart, said Luther. ‘I, too, often suffer from severe trials and sorrows. At such times I seek the fellowship of men, for the humblest maid has often comforted me. A man doesn’t have control of himself when he is downcast and alone, even if he is well equipped with a knowledge of the Scriptures. It is not for nothing that Christ gathers his church around the Word and the sacraments and around prayer and hymns and is unwilling to let these be hidden in a corner. Away with monks and hermits! These are inventions of Satan because they exist apart from all the godly ordinances and arrangements of God. According to the plan of creation every man is either a domestic or a political or an ecclesiastical person. Outside of these ordinances he is not a man, unless he is miraculously exempted. Accordingly a solitary life should be avoided as much as possible’” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 268).

“The papists and Anabaptists teach: ‘If you wish to know Christ, try to be alone, don’t associate with men, become a separatist.’ This is plainly diabolical advice which is in conflict with the first and second table . . .” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 140).

“Thereupon he entreated Weller to cultivate the company of men when he is afflicted with such melancholy and not live alone. ‘Woe to him who is alone,’ the preacher says (Eccles. 4:10). When I’m morose I flee above all from solitude” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 276).

“Be very careful not to leave your husband alone for a single moment, and leave nothing lying about with which he might harm himself. Solitude is poison to him. For this reason the devil drives him to it” (LSC, p. 91).

“This is my only and best advice: Don’t remain alone when you are assailed! Flee solitude!” (LSA, p. 277).

“Seek the company of others who may be able to rejoice with Your Grace in a godly and honorable way. For solitude and melancholy are poisonous and fatal to all people, and especially to a young man. No one realizes how much harm it does a young person to avoid pleasure and cultivate solitude and sadness” (LSC, p. 93).

“All Christians truly are of the spiritual estate, and there is no difference among them except to office. Paul says in I Corinthians 12 that we are all one body, yet every member has its own work by which it serves the others. This is because we all have one baptism, one gospel, and faith, and are all Christians alike; for baptism, gospel, and faith alone make us spiritual and a Christian people” (LW, Vol. 44, p. 127).

The Rest of the Story 

In Part 3, we’ll see how Luther, having first turned empathized with and comforted others, next encouraged others to find Christ’s healing hope.

Join the Conversation 

Which of today’s Quotes of Note impact your life and ministry the most?

Note: These quotes are derived from Spiritual Care in Historical Perspective: Martin Luther as a Case Study in Christian Sustaining, Healing, Reconciling, and Guiding. The entire 212-page dissertation is available in PDF form at the RPM Store for $15.

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth

Quotes of Note: Martin Luther—Master Pastor, Part 1

In my Ph.D. dissertation, I studied Martin Luther’s pastoral care. The official title was Spiritual Care in Historical Perspective: Martin Luther as a Case Study in Christian Sustaining, Healing, Reconciling, and Guiding. 

I learned so much about biblical counseling from Luther that I want to share with you Quotes of Note from my study. In Part One of this blog mini-series, we enjoy quotes regarding Luther’s ministry of biblical sustaining: bringing people God’s comfort by empathizing with their suffering.

Specifically, Luther began his sustaining ministry by joining people in developing a faith perspective on their suffering. Foremost in this process was helping people to turn their eyes to the cross of Christ and the Christ of the cross.

Developing a Faith Perspective on Suffering

“If only a man could see his God in such a light of love how happy, how calm, how safe he would be! He would then truly have a God from whom he would know with certainty that all his fortunes—whatever they might be—had come to him and were still coming to him under the guidance of God’s most gracious will” (LW, Vol. 42, p. 154).

“The mercy of God shows us in our infirmity that even though death should not be taken away, its power has been reduced by him to a mere shadow” (LW, Vo. 42, p. 150).

“It is not as reason and Satan argue: ‘See there God flings you into prison, endangers your life. Surely He hates you. He is angry with you; for if He did not hate you, He would not allow this thing to happen.’ In this way Satan turns the rod of a Father into the rope of a hangman and the most salutary remedy into the deadliest poison” (LW, Vol. 16, p. 214).

“He who does not believe that he is forgiven by the inexhaustible riches of Christ’s righteousness is like a deaf man hearing a story. If we considered it properly and with an attentive heart, this one image—even if there were no other—would suffice to fill us with such comfort that we should not only not grieve over our evils, but should also glory in our tribulations, scarcely feeling them for the joy that we have in Christ.” (LW, Vol. 42, p. 165)

“All that remains is for us now to pray that our eyes, that is the eyes of our faith, may be opened that we may see. Then there will be nothing for us to fear” (LW, Vol. 42, p. 163).

“And it is equally true that we measure, feel, or do not feel our evils not on the basis of the facts, but on the basis of our thoughts and feelings about them” (LW, Vol. 42, p. 127).

“Faith, is, as it were, the center of a circle. If anybody strays from the center, it is impossible for him to have the circle around him, and he must blunder. The center is Christ” (LW, Vol. 54, p. 45).

“In speaking of the consolations which Christians have, the Apostle Paul in Romans 15:4 writes, ‘Brethren, whatever was written, was written for our instruction, so that through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope.’ In this passage he plainly teaches us that our consolations are to be drawn from the Holy Scriptures” (LW, Vol. 42, p. 124).

“Her illness is, as you see, rather of the mind than of the body. I am comforting her as much as I can, with my knowledge. In a word, her disease is not for the apothecaries (as they call them), nor is it to be treated with the salves of Hippocrates, but by constantly applying plasters of Scripture and the Word of God” (LC, p. 402).

Turn Your Eyes Upon the Cross of Christ: Christ Suffers with Us

“The flesh cries out against the belief that God is good, but the suffering Savior brings consolation that this is indeed true” (LSA, p. 157).

“God’s friendship is a bigger comfort than that of the whole world” (LW, Vol. 49, p. 306).

“When, therefore, I learned, most illustrious prince, that Your Lordship has been afflicted with a grave illness and that Christ has at the same time become ill in you, I counted it my duty to visit Your Lordship with a little writing of mine. I cannot pretend that I do not hear the voice of Christ crying out to me from Your Lordship’s body and flesh saying, ‘Behold, I am sick.’ This is so because such evils as illness and the like are not borne by us who are Christians but by Christ himself, our Lord and Savior, in whom we live even as Christ plainly testifies in the Gospel when he says, ‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me,” (LSC, p. 27).

“Jesus Christ, God’s Son, has by his most holy touch consecrated and hallowed all sufferings, even death itself, has blessed the curse, and has glorified shame and enriched poverty so that death is now a door to life, the curse a fount of blessing, and shame the mother of glory. Suffering has been touched and bathed by Christ’s pure and holy flesh and blood and thus have become holy, harmless, and wholesome, blessed, and full of joy for you. There is nothing, not even death, that his passion cannot sweeten” (LW, Vol. 42, pp. 141-142).

“Grace and peace in the Lord. Christ has given me abundant testimony of you, dear brother Lambert, that you do not need my words, for He Himself suffers in you and is glorified in you. He is taken captive in you and reigns in you, He is oppressed in you and triumphs in you, for He has given you that holy knowledge of Himself which is hidden from the world.” (LC, p. 213).

“Herewith I commend you to Him who loves you more than you love yourself” (LW, Vol. 49, p. 270).

“True faith draws forth the following conclusion: God is God for me because He speaks to me. He forgives my sins. He is not angry with me, just as He promises: ‘I am the Lord your God.’ Now search your heart, and ask whether you believe that God is your God, Father, Savior, and Deliverer, who wants to rescue you” (LW, Vol. 4, p. 149).

(Discussing Psalm 119, “In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me.”) “The first verse teaches us where we should turn when misfortune comes upon us—not to the emperor, not to the sword, not to our own devices and wisdom, but to the Lord, who is our only real help in time of need. ‘I cried unto the Lord in my distress,’ he says. That we should do this confidently, cheerfully, and without fail he makes clear when he says, ‘And he heard me.’ It is as if he would say, ‘The Lord is pleased to have us turn to him in our distress and is glad to hear and help us’ (LSC, p. 204).

“Our sufferings have not yet become so deep and bitter as were those of his own dear Son and of the mother of our Lord. By the thought of these we should be comforted and strengthened in our sufferings, as St. Peter teaches us (first epistle, iii.18): ‘Christ has once suffered for us, the just for the unjust’” (LSA, p. 148).

The Rest of the Story

In Part Two, we’ll see how Luther, having first turned people to Christ for His infinite comfort, then became “Jesus with skin on” by empathizing with his hurting spiritual friends.

Join the Conversation

Which of today’s Quotes of Note impact your life and ministry the most?

Note: These quotes are derived from Spiritual Care in Historical Perspective: Martin Luther as a Case Study in Christian Sustaining, Healing, Reconciling, and Guiding. The entire 212-page dissertation is available in PDF form at the RPM Store for $15.

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth

Not Your Father’s Pastoral Counseling Class

The first week of 2012, I’ll be teaching a modular (Tuesday-Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM) Pastoral Counseling class at Moody Theological Seminary.

After some personal introductions and connecting as a class, I begin with the phrase, “This is not your father’s pastoral counseling class.” 

In the past, Pastoral Counseling classes sought to give a person a fish, but not to teach a person how to fish.

Typically, they focus their energies giving students an eclectic smattering of resources on about a dozen typical pastoral counseling issues. This might spend two hours each on pre-marital, marital, family issues, depression, anxiety, suicide, financial, conflict, anger, pornography, abuse issues, and general spiritual growth.

A fine list. All important topics.

But they’re all fish.

Teaching Care-Givers to Fish

I prefer teaching people to fish, rather than simply giving a person a fish.

When we know how to fish, then we can develop our resources for a lifetime.

How do I do that in a one-week course?

We address life’s seven ultimate questions. Anyone who gains biblical insight into these seven ultimate questions will be able to:

• Develop their own biblical resources for addressing any specific life issue.

• Assess extra-biblical resources written about any specific life issue.

Life’s Seven Ultimate Questions That Every Pastoral Counselor Must Address 

Here’s what you need to ponder and probe to be a competent and compassionate soul physician.

1. Do I know how to use God’s Word to change lives?

• Nourishing the Hunger of the Soul: Preventative Medicine—God’s Word

2. Do I comprehend how the Trinity serves as the foundation for how I relate to others?

• Knowing the Creator of the Soul: The Great Physician—The Trinity

3. Do I understand people—biblically?

• Examining the Spiritual Anatomy of the Soul: People—Creation

4. Can I diagnose problems—biblically?

• Diagnosing the Fallen Condition of the Soul: Problems—Fall

5. Can I prescribe God’s solutions (soul-u-tions)—biblically?

• Prescribing God’s Cure for the Soul: Solutions (Soul-u-tions)—Redemption

6. Do I grasp how our eternal future makes all the difference in present living?

• Envisioning the Final Healing of the Soul: Home—Glorification

7. Am I able to dispense God’s care for others by caring like Christ?

• Caring Like Christ/Dispensing God’s Care for the Soul: Spiritual Friends—Sanctification

These seven biblical categories are essential for developing a theology and methodology of soul care and spiritual direction.

In the class, and in my book Soul Physicians, we examine these seven categories meticulously, as a physician would the skeletal structure of the human body.

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Are you equipped to care like Christ?

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth