A Comforted Conscience Apart from Feelings

In the struggle with conscience the feeling of sin, the wrath of God, death, hell, and all other terrors exert a powerful control, as we know by experience. Then we must tell the tempted one: Brother, you desire to have a righteousness that one is able to feel, that is, you want to feel your righteousness as you feel your sin. But it will not be so.... Your righteousness cannot be seen, cannot be felt; rather you must hope that it will be revealed in due time. This is why you must not judge by the feeling of sin, which troubles and terrifies you, but by the promise and teaching of faith, by which Christ is promised, who is your perfect and everlasting Righteousness.

Source: Quoted in Ewald M. Plass, What Luther Says, A Practical In-home Theology for the Active Christian.  St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.  1959 Edition, 10th Printing (1994), p. 668.