Therefore let us arm our hearts with these and similar statements of Scripture so that, when the devil accuses us by saying: You are a sinner; therefore you are damned, we can reply: The very fact that you say I am a sinner makes me want to be just and saved. Nay, you will be damned, says the devil. Indeed not, I reply, for I take refuge in Christ, who gave Himself for my sins. Therefore you will accomplish nothing, Satan, by trying to frighten me by setting the greatness of my sins before me and thus seducing me to sadness, doubt, despair, hatred, contempt, and blasphemy of God. Indeed, by calling me a sinner you are supplying me with weapons against yourself so that I can slay and destroy you with your own sword; for Christ died for sinners. Furthermore, you yourself proclaim the glory of God to me; you remind me of God's paternal love for me, a miserable and lost sinner; for He so loved the world that He gave His Son (John 3:16). Again, whenever you throw up to me that I am a sinner, you revive in my memory the blessing of Christ, my Redeemer, on whose shoulders, and not on mine, lie all my sins; for "the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" and "for the transgression of His people was He stricken" (Is. 53:6-8). Therefore when you throw up to me that I am a sinner, you are not terrifying me; you are comforting me beyond measure.[Ewald Plass, What Luther Says 3:1315].
Wow! Just Wow! I had never read that before. He sure nailed that one.
I agree! And just remember, that like Luther talked about Satan and his tricks to discourage believers and to get them to doubt the grace and mercy of God, so he is talking about those who do the same things as Satan does to believers. Those who torment and accuse of heresy those who proclaim the Biblical truth of the Gospel are doing the work of the devil. Those who mock and refer to others as “swine” are not acting in a way that honors God but, in fact, they are joining with the devil and his demons to rile up others to anger and to get them to act on that anger and sin. We should rebuke them with Scripture - just as our Lord did to Satan - and we should speak the truth in love. When that does not quiet the raging, then ignoring them is the best we can do for them. Let the Holy Spirit convict them of their unrighteousness and let those who read their un-Christian ravings be able to recognize who the genuine Christ’s ones are. They will know we are Christians by our love.
Therefore let us arm our hearts with these and similar statements of Scripture so that, when the devil accuses us by saying: You are a sinner; therefore you are damned, we can reply: The very fact that you say I am a sinner makes me want to be just and saved. Just... wow....
That's right. We can come back to the enemy with, *I am not damned, you are. I know salvation. You can NEVER know salvation and you cannot rob me of it either.*