Luther on the Adventus Domini

Luther on the Adventus Domini:

“This is what is meant by ‘Thy king cometh.’  You do not seek him, but he seeks you.  You do not find him, he finds you.  For the preachers come from him, not from you; their sermons come from him, not from you; your faith comes from him, not from you; everything that faith works in you comes from him, not from you; and where he does not come, you remain outside; and where there is no Gospel there is no God but only sin and damnation, free will may do, suffer, work and live as it may and can.  Therefore you should not ask where to begin to be godly; there is no beginning, except where the king enters and is proclaimed.

The Complete Sermons of Martin Luther, volume 1.1-2.  Edited by John Nicholas Lenker, translated by John Nicholas Lenker and Others.  2000, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House Company.  Page 27.

Graphic: Stained Glass Window by Sir John Ninian Comper, 1896 A.+D. St. John the Baptist Church, East Markham, Nottinghamshire, England