17 February 2008

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

Many think that once a person has been converted, he is finished with the difficult work of repentance and he can rest. He is like one who, after a story voyage at sea, has finally arrived in safe harbor; the danger of perishing is happily past, and the soul of such an individual is safely brought in and need no longer fear shipwreck. However, this is an extremely dangerous deception. It is precisely at the point of conversion that the true fight begins in him. When Christ says, "Strive to enter by the narrow gate," He is referring not just to the initial act of repentance but rather the entire progress of the Christian life until death. All of this, taken together, is the narrow gate and the narrow path that lead to life. -- C.F.W. Walther *God Grant It!* p. 263

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