Luther neither removed the Apocrypha from the Bible nor discouraged its use. Rather, he received and preserved the ancient distinction inherited from the fathers: the Apocrypha is valuable, edifying, and worthy of reading, but it is not Holy Scripture and therefore cannot serve as the foundation of Christian doctrine.
The confessors at Augsburg remind us that every generation of Christians is called to bear witness to the gospel amid the challenges and pressures of its own age. As they confessed Christ before emperors and kingdoms, so the Church continues to confess Him before the world today.
When Jesus washes you with baptismal water, you can rest assured that the Lion of Judah is on the move.

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This earth is not the place where your promise is to be found. Rejoice because the kingdom of God comes to you!
When your identity is tied up in the judgment of others—you're in deep trouble. Because, however well-curated and photo-shopped your life may be, sooner or later someone is going to look at you, they'll swipe, and they'll move on.
It’s easy to slip into thinking about forgiveness solely in terms of our authority over it.
God's city is beautiful because God has constructed it to offer eternal safety to all weary sinners.
We need to remember that we belong to God by Grace Alone. It’s not by our best works. Not by the sweat of our brow, it’s not even by our best attempts to repent.
We now stand holy and blameless before our Heavenly Father as his own dear children, and we are set free to serve our neighbor in love.
Christians are in a unique position to show the world something truly other-worldly. We are free from living in our world as if it contained all there is.
How we define holiness will affect our approach to God.
Jesus has conquered the storm’s power to condemn me – for by his death on the cross for my sins, he has removed any barrier between God and myself.
What is it that the 13th session actually has to say about the Eucharist, and how does it compare to what Luther and the reformers confessed about the Lord’s Supper?
We are given the peace to know that all our sin is forgiven by our gracious God. We enjoy the comfort of knowing that our ways are watched over and protected by the Lord...
This is an excerpt from “The Freedom of the Christian” written by Martin Luther and translated and edited by Adam Francisco (1517 Publishing, 2020).