Sunday, February 4, 2018

A Quick Study on Law and Gospel, Thesis 1, February 4, 2018

This quick study on Law and Gospel was given at the end of service at St. Peter–Immanuel Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, WI, on February 4, 2018. The text of the study is included and you may play the audio of the study here.





In Walther’s The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel, he comes up with 25 theses, 25 thoughts that he really fleshes out, on the topic.  We won’t spend as much time on each as he did, but for instance, he devotes 20 pages of the text to the first thesis.  The most in-depth thesis he goes into is the ninth, devoting over 80 pages of text to it.  For each thesis, he may have lectured over multiple weeks.  We won’t do the same for each one, but we’ll try to flesh it out at least somewhat satisfyingly in the quick time we have.
Walther’s first thesis on Law and Gospel is that, “The doctrinal contents of all Holy Scripture, both the Old Testament and the New Testament, consist of two doctrine that differ fundamentally from each other.  These two doctrines are Law and Gospel.”  Now, what that really means is that all over the Scriptures we find that God speaks two in two ways, and in two ways only, according to His Law and according to His Gospel.  Both are necessary.  The Law isn’t bad and the Gospel good.  They are both good, right, and holy for they come from God.  He gives Gospel in the Old Testament and Law in the New and even vice versa.  They are not opposed to one another, but are both good, and used for different purposes.
Where Law and Gospel differ is the key: they differ in how they are revealed, what they reveal, what they promise, what they threaten, the effect and function of each, and to whom they should be preached.  God wrote His Law into the hearts of man, and it convicts us even according to our conscience.  But the Gospel was delivered, not to mankind’s heart, but through the revelation of Jesus Christ, who He has claimed to be.  This must be given to you from outside of you.
Another difference is that the Law says what to do, and the Gospel tells us what God is doing.  Another is that the Law promises life and salvation, just like the Gospel does, but you must meet all the conditions of the Law’s demands.  The Gospel give salvation freely through what Christ has done.  Another is that the Gospel threatens nothing whatsoever and only consolation.  The Law, however, threatens punishment for disobedience.
The Law tells us what to do, though not giving us the ability to do it.  The Law uncover’s a person’s sin, but doesn’t help free him from it.  The Law might inspire fear of punishment, but it has no comfort.  However, the Gospel demands faith and at the same time offers and gives that faith.  The Gospel doesn’t rebuke sinners in any way, but frees them from sin and delivers to them peace in Christ.  The Gospel doesn’t require obedience to it, it has no orders, but changes people.  It gives them the power and the ability to do the works of the Law.
Finally, Law and Gospel differ in this way: the Law must be preached to secure sinners and the Gospel to alarmed sinners.  Notice, sinners always get the Law and the Gospel, but how you apply it matters.  Both must be contained in every single sermon, in all our dealings in life, but when it comes to personal application, the Law is given to those who refuse to recognize or repent of their sin, and the Gospel is given to those who are so crushed beneath their sin they finally realize the need for their Savior.  A person who studies the Scriptures and knows how they speak will begin the process of distinguishing the two words of God, and be able to recognize when they are not being properly distinguished by others.  This ability helps each of us to keep the Church’s doctrine and practice pure and undefiled, even though it may not make you the most liked person in the world.  You’ll speak truth, and that’s not always a comfortable place to be.  We’ll pick up thesis two next week.

No comments:

Post a Comment