Martin Luther King - But if Not - Full Sermon
935,341
Published 2011-07-12
Audio is from the Internet Archive: www.archive.org/details/MlkButIfNot
Picture is from the Library of Congress via wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Martin_Luther_King_Jr_N…
Full transcription available on my blog: notoriousbiggins.blogspot.com/2010/01/but-if-not-s…
One great quote:
I want to say to you this morning, my friends, that somewhere along the way you should discover something that's so dear, so precious to you, that is so eternally worthful, that you will never give it up. You ought to discover some principle, you ought to have some great faith that grips you so much that you will never give it up. Somehow you go on and say "I know that the God that I worship is able to deliver me, but if not, I'm going on anyhow, I'm going to stand up for it anyway." What does this mean? It means, in the final analysis, you do right not to avoid hell. If you're doing right merely to keep from going to something that traditional theology has called hell then you aren't doing right. If you do right merely to go to a condition that theologians have called heaven, you aren't doing right. If you are doing right to avoid pain and to achieve happiness and pleasure then you aren't doing right. Ultimately you must do right because it's right to do right. And you got to say "But if not." You must love ultimately because it's lovely to love. You must be just because it's right to be just. You must be honest because it's right to be honest. This is what this text is saying more than anything else. And finally, you must do it because it has gripped you so much that you are willing to die for it if necessary. And I say to you this morning, that if you have never found something so dear and so precious to you that you will die for it, then you aren't fit to live. You may be 38 years old as I happen to be, and one day some great opportunity stands before you and calls upon you to stand up for some great principle, some great issue, some great cause--and you refuse to do it because you are afraid; you refuse to do it because you want to live longer; you're afraid that you will lose your job, or you're afraid that you will be criticized or that you will lose your popularity or you're afraid that somebody will stab you or shoot at you or bomb your house, and so you refuse to take the stand. Well you may go on and live until you are 90, but you're just as dead at 38 as you would be at 90! And the cessation of breathing in your life is but the belated announcement of an earlier death of the spirit. You died when you refused to stand up for right, you died when you refused to stand up for truth, you died when you refused to stand up for justice.
All Comments (21)
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"You do right, because it is right to do right" "You must love ultimately, because it is lovely to love" "You must be just, because it is right to be just" "You must be honest, because it is right to be honest"
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“One with God is the majority”.
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To rejuvenate myself I listen to the sermons of Martin Luther King.
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I would do anything to be in your Congregation just one time. Martin Luther King, you are a prophet of God. Your legacy lives on, my brother.
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If only we had leadership like the kind that Dr. King gave us, this world would be a lot closer to way the Creator intended it to be. Do you think Dr. King is an easy life to emulate? I’d answer absolutely. Since our tragic loss of Dr. King, there has yet to be another come close to the example he set for us. I believe Dr. King had conquered himself (the flesh) and we lack leaders today in America that have truly conquered themselves. Instead of selfless leadership, we have selfish leadership. Instead of leadership that unites ALL people, we have leadership that divides us from our fellow brethren. Our nation longs for good, Godly men to lead. We have to be the change we wish to see. We must become the good & Godly leader for ourselves & our families. God Bless.
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When King speaks, he'll make it plain!!
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I needed a word today, and I by chance turned to this sermon. Thank You Lord for hearing the longing of my heart
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As a non-religious person but a person that studied the ways of discourse in college this is truly, truly a piece of art. From the way it was written to the way it was said. MLK is one of the people that understood what it takes to be a speaker and the importance of doing so. The way he says “because” multiple times during the speech, with the intonation changing so drastically is just so well done. A speaker of this caliber is only born every generation or so.
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He is God's vessel....u can hear the anointing in his words, his voice.....absolutely breathtaking.....Arguably the greatest speaker that ever lived....U have so much POWER in your words.. H
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his unbiased and knowledge of the scriptures is unparalleled. If ever there was a demonstration of Gods love for human beings (aside from Christ) it was Martin Luther King JR. As a Caucasian male, I am encouraged by the demonstration of a person who experienced great unimaginable struggle. I believe overcoming adversity is only attainable, through intrinsic and divine experience.
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I’ve seen the lightning flashing, And heard the thunder roll, I’ve felt sin’s breakers dashing, Trying to conquer my soul; I’ve heard the voice of my Savior, Telling me still to fight on, He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone.
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Never Bow before the gods of evil.
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This was a Real Man ! Godly wisdom beyond his years!
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I wish there were a million more men just like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today!
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Only what you do for Christ will last
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every now and then i hear his voice and in accordance to his faith in GOD,the more i feel to continue where He left even here in Zambia.The problems faced and tackled by The Rev.DR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR are no different even today.We now have modernised problems which needs men and women with the spirit of DR KING,THE THREE HEBREW BOYS,THE PROPHETS OF GOD IN THE OLDEN TIMES,who fear nothing but GOD alone.We are still in need of Civil rights activists and Southern christian leadership conferences (SCLC).WE STILL NEED HIS COURAGE again and AGAIN
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I have listened to this amazing sermon so many times of the last 10 years, when I need strength and a reminder that I must always do the right thing. Thank you for sharing this.
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God's way is always the way we should choose when faced with life's many decissions.
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The comments on this sermon warm my heart. In God, love and truth is the tie that binds. Division is not caused by things that divide the world. I love my Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
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One of my favorite Books of the Bible (Daniel) and how the Very loyal men of God rather burn than bow before any Image or idol It speaks today to our loyalty or just going along to not Stand on Truth, Stand for God They rather be thrown in the furnace And were but.............
