Woe to the church that uses other weapons, and would even borrow them from the world! She is no longer a Church of her Lord. No theological learning, no ‘Christian culture,’ no wise church politicking, and no attempt to win ‘influence’ in the world conquers the world for Christ and defeats the kingdom of darkness, but the Word of God alone.

from Herman Sasse, Witness (2013), 204. Originally preached 1936.

In short, I will preach it, teach it, write it, but I will constrain no man by force, for faith must come freely without compulsion. Take myself as an example. I opposed indulgences and all the papists, but never with force. I simply taught, preached, and wrote God’s Word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept, or drank Wittenberg beer with my friends, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it. I did nothing; the Word did everything. Had I desired to foment trouble, I could have brought great bloodshed upon Germany; indeed, I could have started such a game that even the emperor would not have been safe. But what would it have been? Mere fool’s play. I did nothing; I let the Word do its work.

from Martin Luther, 2nd of the Invocavit Sermons, 1522

Consider also – D. Z. Phillips on Religion and Culture