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It is always necessary that the substance or essence of a person be good before there can be any good works and that good works follow and proceed from a person who is already good. Christ says in Matthew 7:18: “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.” ... The fruit does not make the tree good or bad but the tree itself is what determines the nature of the fruit. In the same way, a person first must be good or bad before doing a good or bad work.

— Martin Luther The Freedom of a Christian (1520)

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More quotes by Martin Luther

When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, "Repent," he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.

Ninety-five Theses (1517)

Faith is a living, bold trust in God's grace, so certain of God's favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it.

Through faith we are restored to paradise and created anew.

The Freedom of a Christian (1520)

Justice is a temporary thing that must at last come to an end; but the conscience is eternal and will never die.

On Marriage (1530)

Religion is not 'doctrinal knowledge,' but wisdom born of personal experience.

All Martin Luther quotes →

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Martin Luther (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.