Day by Day with Martin Luther

Read: Isaiah 60:1-62:5 Philippians 1:27-2:18 Proverbs 24:11-12

“Who is an Apostle”

“Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who use their tongues and declare, ‘declares the Lord.’ Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the Lord, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the Lord.”
[Jeremiah 23:31-32]

For who can preach unless he is an apostle? But who is an apostle except one who brings the Word of God? And who can bring the Word of God except one who has listened to God? But the man who brings his own teachings or those that rest on human laws and decrees, or those of the philosopher – can he be called an apostle? Indeed, he is one who comes as a thief, a robber, and a destroyer of souls. To put it clearly, this means that as often as the Word of God is preached, it renders the conscience sad, cramped, and full of fear in itself, because it is a word of the Law, of wrath and sin; it shows what a person has failed to do and how deeply he is in debt. This is why we must follow it with the Gospel.