Luther? "When I look at myself, I don't see how I can be saved. When I look at Christ, I don't see how I can be lost."

Here's an obscure Martin Luther quote making the cyber-rounds:"When I look at myself, I don't see how I can be saved. When I look at Christ, I don't see how I can be lost." Dr. Joel Beeke says he has this quote taped to his computer! I also saw that another popular apologist referenced it on his X feed. Did Luther actually write this?  In this form, I'm not sure... but I don't think so.

Cursory searches reveal this popular quote is either attributed to Luther or left unattributed. Interestingly, the oldest usages of the quote I found are from Seventh-day Adventist publications. Here's an obscured partial hit going back to an Adventist magazine from 1979. Because the quote isn't visible in the search result, I can't know for sure if the quote is attributed to Martin Luther. I contacted this SDA magazine to find out if I there was a way to gain access to the entire article... but received no response. Fast forward to 2001 and here's an example of a page from a Seventh-day Adventist devotional. Here's a few more SDA examples.

Luther's Commentary on Galatians?
A few years ago, someone else sought to track this quote down and was given a response saying the quote is from Luther's Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians: 

In the Apostolic Creed we confess: "I believe in the holy Christian* Church." That means, I believe that there is no sin, no curse, no evil in the Church of God. Faith says: "I believe that." But if you want to believe your eyes you will find many shortcomings and offenses in the members of the holy Church. You see them succumb to temptation, you see them weak in faith, you see them giving way to anger, envy, and other evil dispositions. "How can the Church be holy?" you ask. It is with the Christian Church as it is with the individual Christian. If I examine myself I find enough unholiness to shock me. But when I look at Christ in me I find that I am altogether holy. And so it is with the Church (source).

Frankly, I do not think this is where this quote comes from. True there is a comparison being made between self and Jesus Christ. However, the comparison is about holiness, not salvation and the main subject is the church. While these are all symbiotically related, the nuance Luther is making is in regard as to how it's possible to refer to the "holy Christian church." I do think there is a sense in which the quotes can be harmonized by the perfect righteousness of Christ, but yet the quotes seem too different to me:  

"When I look at myself, I don't see how I can be saved. When I look at Christ, I don't see how I can be lost."

"If I examine myself I find enough unholiness to shock me. But when I look at Christ in me I find that I am altogether holy."

One curiosity of this proposed source is that it comes from an abridged English translation in which the translator wanted "to make Luther talk American." The superior unabridged English translation in LW 26 reads differently and demonstrates the point Luther was making about the Church: 

If I look at my own person or at that of my neighbor, the church will never be holy. But if I look at Christ, who is the Propitiator and Cleanser of the church, then it is completely holy; for He bore the sins of the entire world (LW 26:285).

Conclusion
Frankly, "When I look at myself, I don't see how I can be saved. When I look at Christ, I don't see how I can be lost" is ambiguous enough to work in almost any form of Christian theism. Because of ambiguity, I think it's possible the quote could be used by a Roman Catholic as well as a Jehovah's Witness. If someone wants to use this quote and attribute it to Luther, be faithful to Luther's theology. Use the quote so that it is harmonious with his thought that a Christian is simultaneously a saint and sinner (Simul Iustus et Peccator):

Thus if I look at Christ, I am completely holy and pure, and I know nothing at all about the Law; for Christ is my leaven. But if I look at my flesh, I feel greed, sexual desire, anger, pride, the terror of death, sadness, fear, hate, grumbling, and impatience against God. (LW 26:350).

Certainly insofar as I am a Christian, that is, for to the extent I am righteous, godly, and belong to Christ. But insofar as I look at myself and my sin, I am wretched and the greatest sinner. so in Christ, there is no sin while in our flesh, there is no peace and quiet, but a constant battle as long as this old Adam and this corrupt nature remain and they will not be destroyed except by the same death (LW 73:176).

These are only two examples, I'm sure many others could be dug up. The quote certainly sounds like something Luther may have said or written, but I can't shake the suspicion that the 1979 Seventh-day Adventist magazine is the key to solving the mystery. If you have any verifiable Luther quotes that sound like the quote, please post them in the comments section!   

Addendum: 2001 Seventh-day Adventist devotional

Helpful chart that compares the Judaizers with Roman Catholic system of salvation

William Webster on Roman Catholicism's teaching on Salvation and Justification.

The entire article by Webster is very good; I just wanted to highlight this helpful chart, which shows the similarity between the Roman Catholic system of salvation and justification with the Judaizers of the book of Galatians, that Paul says twice are accursed for teaching a false gospel (Galatians 1:6-9; 2:4; 2:21), because they added the merit of good works to Christ's final work of redemption on the cross, as more conditions for justification.   Man's responsibility is faith alone in Christ alone.    Good works are the necessary result of true faith and justification, (Ephesians 2:10; James 2:14-26), but good works are not conditions that one must fulfill in order to earn one's final justification.  Judaizers 1. Belief in Jesus as Messiah and Son of God 2. Circumcision 3. Become a Jew 4. Sacrificial System 5. Priests 6. High Priests 7. Altars 8. Feast Days 9. Laver of Water 10. Dietary Regulations 11. Candles 12. Incense 13. Shew Bread 14. Keep the Ten Commandments 15. Tradition of the Elders Note:  I had trouble getting the chart to come out exactly right; but I guess this is close enough.

Roman Catholicism 1. Belief in Jesus as Messiah and Son of God 2. Baptism 3. Become a Roman Catholic 4. Sacrificial System 5. Priests 6. High Priests 7. Altars 8. Feast Days 9. Font of Holy Water 10. Dietary Regulations (Until recently) 11. Candles 12. Incense 13. The Eucharist Wafer 14. Keep the Ten Commandments  15. Tradition of the Church Fathers

The Meaning of "Hope"

The English sense of hope (as read in translated Scripture) is different than what is conveyed in the Greek. Timothy Keller explains why this is important in his notes on Galatians 5:1-15:

3. Why do you think Paul would say we hope for righteousness (v.5) when in 3:6 and elsewhere he says we have righteousness? How can we wait for it practically?

Why does he tell us to hope and wait?

The Biblical word elpida translated “hope” does not have the much weaker connotations that it has in English. Cf. Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see.” In the Bible, “hope” does not mean “hope so.” It means a powerful assurance and certainty of something. This is a major problem for the reader of the English Bible. The very word that means “assurance” in Greek means “not so sure” in English! It is hard then to understand many passages.

The true sense of the word “hope” is indicated in the very verse we have in front of us, because Paul says that we simply “await”for this righteousness. We don’t work or strive for it. We know it is coming, on its way. In fact, we eagerly await it, not anxiously. What is it that we await? Righteousness means more than goodness, but rather, a completely right record and right relationship with God. Paul is saying that we can live today in light of our certain, guaranteed future glorification and welcome by God into his arms. He already said it in 4:7: “Since you are a son, God has made you an heir.” No one else, no secular person, no adherent of any other religion, can look at their future like this! Irreligious people have no idea where they will be a million years from now, and religious people without the gospel are anxiously striving for it and cannot relax nor eagerly await it. (We do not say this to put others down, but to give our own hearts a due sense of our privilege.) The certainty of our future with God is a fruit of the gospel. (Note: See why this does not comport well with the idea that we can lose our salvation if we don’t “keep up” our Christians lives?)

By referring to the future, Paul turns our imaginations to what it will mean to be radiant, glorious, beautiful and perfect. Elsewhere Paul says that Jesus lives to present us to himself “…radiant… without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph.4:27). We know that this is guaranteed, and therefore, is essentially true now. What Paul is saying in v.5 he says eloquently in Colossians 1:22. “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” We are to live today knowing we are, and always will be, an absolute beauty in the eyes of God. Put another way, we are as loved and honored by God now as we will be when we are perfectly radiant in heaven (Paul's Letter to the Galatians, 134-135).

The Implications of Being Clothed With Christ

I've been working through Timothy Keller’s study on Galatians in a small group and recently arrived at an encouraging section analyzing what it means to be "clothed with Christ":

2. [Galatians 3:27] says all Christians have "clothed themselves" with Christ. Meditate on this image. What are the implications of the metaphor? What does it tell us about being in Christ?

“This is a favorite metaphor of Paul’s (cf. Rom.13:12; Eph.4:24; Col.3:12f.). But here (and in Romans 13:14) is his most daring use of it, in which he likens Christ himself to a garment. The expression conveys a striking suggestion of the closeness which exists between Christ and the believer. Those who put on Christ can do no other than act in accordance with the Spirit of Christ… The metaphor conveys essentially a new kind of life. Everything is now to be related to Christ.”
— D.Guthrie, Galatians, p. 110.

The idea of “putting on” Christ like a garment implies:

a) Our primary identity is in Christ. Our clothing tells people who we are. Nearly every kind of clothing is actually a uniform showing that we are identified with others of the same gender, social class national group. But to say that Christ is our clothing is to say that our ultimate identity is found, not in any of these classifications, but in Christ. (Paul spells this out in the next verses.)

b) The closeness of our relationship to Christ. Your clothes are kept closer to you than any other possession. You rely on them for shelter every moment. They go everywhere with you. So to say Christ is our clothing is to call us to moment-by-moment dependence and existential awareness of Christ. We are to spiritually “practice his presence.”

c) The imitation of Christ. To practice the presence of Christ entails that we continually think and act as if we were directly before his face. A similar Biblical phrase is to “walk before him.” It means to take Jesus into every area of life and change it in accordance with his will and Spirit. We are to “put on” his virtues and actions. We are to “dress up like Jesus.”

d) Our acceptability to God. Finally, clothing is worn as adornment. It covers our nakedness (cf. Gen 3.) To say that Christ is our clothing is to say that in God's sight we are loved because of Jesus’ work and salvation.

In summary, it is a daring and comprehensive metaphor for a whole new life. It means to think of Christ constantly, to have his spirit and his character infuse and permeate everything you think, say, and do. This goes so far beyond the keeping of rules and regulations. This goes even beyond simple obedience. This is virtually to be in love with him, bathed in him, awash in him. So Paul counters the teaching that a baptized Christian needs some additional commitment to the Mosaic law in order to receive or maintain full acceptance with God. (Paul's Letter to the Galatians, 80-81)