24 July 2007

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

"When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, 'Repent,' he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance." (Luther, first of the 95 Theses) This repentance Luther sees as a "transmentation," the assumption of another mind and feelings, the recovery of one's true senses, the transition from an awareness merely of earthly matters to a knowledge of spiritual things, a change of heart that results in a hatred of sin. This repentance involves the totality of life and the totality of Christians; it must mark the life alike of the king in his purple robes, of the priest in his sacerdotal ornaments, of the monk in his cell, and of the beggar in his poverty. Repentance is our own response of self-displeasure to our own perennial prayer, "Forgive us our debts." - Piepkorn, *The Church* pp. 107, 108

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