>> Luther was not “white-washed into Catholicism”; Luther WAS a Catholic, an Augustinian monk. <<
Yes, yes, Luther HAD BEEN Catholic. Every idiot knows that. What I meant was that his LATER beliefs were so white-washed that what is taught by Lutheranism nearly match what the Catholic Church taught in opposition to him.
>> His creed was not simply “sola fide”, it was “sola gratia, sola fide, sola scriptura” <<
Yes, he also taught the Catholic doctrine of Sola Gratia, but that it was ONLY THROUGH faith. There’s no point in arguing “only” something also includes something else. Faith is necessary, but contra Luther, it is not sufficient, as is clearly taught in scripture: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?... In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead... The devils have faith and tremble.” Of course, Luther simply threw this out of the bible, which brings us to the Catholic objection to sola scriptura
Mottoes typically are short and sweet as a aid to remembrance, but there is a depth of meaning that is taught and catechized by the orthodox Lutheran church in American, the LCMS.
(works are an evidence of faith in salvation, but not a means to it)