From "The Formula of Concord, Epitome," Article 6
1 The law has been given to men for three reasons: (1) to maintain external discipline against unruly and disobedient men, (2) to lead men to a knowledge of their sin, (3) after they are reborn, and although the flesh still inheres in them, to give them on that account a definite rule according to which they should pattern and regulate their entire life. It is concerning the third function of the law that a controversy has arisen among a few theologians. The question therefore is whether or not the law is to be urged upon reborn Christians. One party said Yes, the other says No.
The Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. 1959 (T. G. Tappert, Ed.) (479–480). Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press.
The 3-Fold Purpose of the Law
What is the Law of God? We sing in Church "The Law of God is good and wise," and this is the first truth we must see. Some have come to think of the Law as bad because it accuses us of our sin; it shows where we have failed to "be holy as the Lord, your God, is holy" (Leviticus. 11:44, 45, 19:2). Because it makes us feel like we've failed (and we have), many call the Law bad. But this is not the case.
The Law of God is good and wise because it is a reflection of the holiness of God. To call the Law bad is to call the holiness of God bad, and no good Christian would think to do that. The Triune God made us in his image to be perfect and holy like he is, and so the Law would merely be descriptive for the perfect man rather than condemning – just as it was for Christ. Yet, in the Fall, man turned against God's Law and therefore against his holiness and found himself corrupted by that sin. Now all mankind bears that corruption in our flesh of no longer being able to fulfill the Law, as Paul says, "There is no one righteous, no not one; no one understands; no one seeks God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one" (Romans 3:10-12).
Now man must grapple with the Law of God in the midst of his sin. And here the Law serves two purposes. 1) The Law is used by those in authority to prevent unjust and unrighteous actions and words in our communities. This is called the Civil use of the Law because it's used by the civil authorities. An illustration for this kind of Law is a curb. God actually instituted the governing authorities to enact this form of Law (Romans 13:1-7, 1 Peter 2:13-15). Sinful man can live a righteous life according to this Law because it is entirely outward, action-oriented and does not require faith in God. So we would call the fulfillment of this Law a righteousness before the world. Christians are encouraged to live according to this righteousness in their daily lives.
2) The Law is used against all people to accuse them of their failure to live up to God's Law; their failure to be righteous before God. This is called the Accusatory use of the Law because, as long as we are corrupted by sin, this Law will always accuse every single person of sin (except for Jesus, Hebrews 4:15). An illustration for this is the mirror: it shows us our sin. We must confess that we have all sinned and even as Christians still live with the corruption of sin in our life, as John says, "If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). Sinful man can never live a righteous life according to this Law because it must be fulfilled completely and perfectly by faith, for Hebrews says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God" (11:6), and Paul says, "But Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works" (Romans 9:31-32).
Yet God is not cruel. He doesn't put his perfect Law before us in order to leave us in despair but to drive us to plead for his mercy without pride or boast in our own works (Ephesians 2:8-10). He breaks us with the full sternness of his Law so that we may hold fast to the full sweetness of the message of Jesus Christ. Our Lord perfectly fulfilled the Law in our place, he was sent away from the people bearing our sin, and he was slaughtered as a sacrifice to make atonement in his blood – for such did our sin deserve and the Law require. He rose again and sent forth his Apostles to preach that Gospel and to Baptize men, women, and children (Acts 2:39) into his perfect life, death, and resurrection that they may believe that the weight of the Law's accusation has been taken off of them and put on Christ, and so live in freedom by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:1-11).
For all who've been set free then from the Law, there exists a third use of God's Law: 3) the guide. Filled with the Holy Spirit and living in Christ, the Christian rejoices in the holiness and righteousness of God and so sees the Law as opportunities to please God with our spiritual sacrifices of thanksgiving. Yet, because sin still corrupts the flesh, man will never be completely free from the 1st and 2nd use of the Law until Christ returns and gives us perfect and glorious bodies. So we pray, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus!"
Law and Gospel: Distinguishing the Word of God
The first president of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Rev. C.F.W. Walther, called the doctrine of Law and Gospel "a most glorious light" by which to see the meaning and application of God's Word in our lives. Sadly, not everyone knows about this glorious light. So let's spend some time looking at Law and Gospel.
How do you explain what happens when Jonah declares to Nineveh, "Yet 40 days and Nineveh will be destroyed," – as a sure a absolute word from God – and yet Nineveh was not destroyed? And there are many other examples of this threat of God which is spoken and prophesied as absolute destructions to come upon a people that never come to be. Is this a sign of God not fulfilling his Word? No. This is where Law and Gospel sheds light on God's will.
God declares the absolute truth that sinful man is condemned under the Law of his holiness. This condemnation deserves full punishment and cleansing. So God declares the Law through threats and punishments which will actually come about because of our sin. It teaches what is right and God-pleasing and it condemns everything that is sinful and contrary to God's will. Since all are sinful and all are deserving of God's wrath and judgment against sin, all are under God's Law and need to hear the preaching of the threats and condemnations of the Law. Now, even sinful humans recognize that if the Almighty God is promising the coming of terrors that we can pray to him for salvation from these threats and he may well relent. This is what happened in Nineveh. God's absolute Law of destruction of sin was preached and the people repented of their sins and prayed that God would forgive them – and God did. This is Law and Gospel. The Law is preached to show us our sins and the wrath of God against those sins in order to lead us to the mercy of God, which is called the Gospel. This is how God speaks his Word to people: through Law and Gospel.
For that reason, we proclaim and apply the Word of God in preaching and in Lutheran hymns through Law and Gospel. We let the Law of God's Scripture condemn the sin in our lives by preaching the full sternness of God's Law so that no one escapes the accountability of God's command to "Be holy as I am holy." And as God's Law reveals our complete inability to be holy like God is holy, as it declares us to be incapable of true good works on our own, we thereby discover our need for a Savior from the consequences of our sin. And by God's design and purpose, here then comes the place of the Gospel – the proclamation of the perfect life of Jesus Christ offered up on your behalf to take away your sin and so cause God to declare you innocent by faith in His blood. So the Law is intended to lead you to the Gospel.
Therefore we never proclaim the Law without then the Gospel. To leave a sinner in the condemnation of the Law without the promise of the Gospel is cruel and contrary to the purpose God shows in the Bible. The Law is evident to all. One need only look at the creation to know that there is a Creator and that we are accountable to Him, and furthermore, it's very easy to see that we don't live up to his standards. This is the natural law, written on our hearts and evidenced in nature. However, the Gospel of Jesus Christ isn't so obvious. It must be revealed by the proclamation of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ through the Word and Sacraments. This is the revealed Gospel coming down from above to change man's sinful condition. So to leave a sinner in the condemnation of the Law is not the Christian way and will lead no one to faith but to despair. That's why we proclaim from Scripture the distinction between Law and Gospel.
Sadly, this is a concept articulated mostly by the Lutherans. Many others do this, but not consciously or for the same reasons. That's why many revivalist preachers were known as "hellfire and brimstone" preachers – because they only preached the Law and hardly any Gospel. That's why some pastors can go their entire sermon and never mention the atoning death of Jesus Christ for sins to be received by faith and still think they've preached a biblical, Christian sermon. Yet Lutherans, after careful study of God's Word, declare that God meant preachers to declare both Law and Gospel with the Gospel predominating. So that's what we do, and that's why we do: Law and Gospel. For more, read Walther's "Law and Gospel: How to read and apply the Bible" from CPH.
What is the Law of God? We sing in Church "The Law of God is good and wise," and this is the first truth we must see. Some have come to think of the Law as bad because it accuses us of our sin; it shows where we have failed to "be holy as the Lord, your God, is holy" (Leviticus. 11:44, 45, 19:2). Because it makes us feel like we've failed (and we have), many call the Law bad. But this is not the case.
The Law of God is good and wise because it is a reflection of the holiness of God. To call the Law bad is to call the holiness of God bad, and no good Christian would think to do that. The Triune God made us in his image to be perfect and holy like he is, and so the Law would merely be descriptive for the perfect man rather than condemning – just as it was for Christ. Yet, in the Fall, man turned against God's Law and therefore against his holiness and found himself corrupted by that sin. Now all mankind bears that corruption in our flesh of no longer being able to fulfill the Law, as Paul says, "There is no one righteous, no not one; no one understands; no one seeks God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one" (Romans 3:10-12).
Now man must grapple with the Law of God in the midst of his sin. And here the Law serves two purposes. 1) The Law is used by those in authority to prevent unjust and unrighteous actions and words in our communities. This is called the Civil use of the Law because it's used by the civil authorities. An illustration for this kind of Law is a curb. God actually instituted the governing authorities to enact this form of Law (Romans 13:1-7, 1 Peter 2:13-15). Sinful man can live a righteous life according to this Law because it is entirely outward, action-oriented and does not require faith in God. So we would call the fulfillment of this Law a righteousness before the world. Christians are encouraged to live according to this righteousness in their daily lives.
2) The Law is used against all people to accuse them of their failure to live up to God's Law; their failure to be righteous before God. This is called the Accusatory use of the Law because, as long as we are corrupted by sin, this Law will always accuse every single person of sin (except for Jesus, Hebrews 4:15). An illustration for this is the mirror: it shows us our sin. We must confess that we have all sinned and even as Christians still live with the corruption of sin in our life, as John says, "If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). Sinful man can never live a righteous life according to this Law because it must be fulfilled completely and perfectly by faith, for Hebrews says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God" (11:6), and Paul says, "But Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works" (Romans 9:31-32).
Yet God is not cruel. He doesn't put his perfect Law before us in order to leave us in despair but to drive us to plead for his mercy without pride or boast in our own works (Ephesians 2:8-10). He breaks us with the full sternness of his Law so that we may hold fast to the full sweetness of the message of Jesus Christ. Our Lord perfectly fulfilled the Law in our place, he was sent away from the people bearing our sin, and he was slaughtered as a sacrifice to make atonement in his blood – for such did our sin deserve and the Law require. He rose again and sent forth his Apostles to preach that Gospel and to Baptize men, women, and children (Acts 2:39) into his perfect life, death, and resurrection that they may believe that the weight of the Law's accusation has been taken off of them and put on Christ, and so live in freedom by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:1-11).
For all who've been set free then from the Law, there exists a third use of God's Law: 3) the guide. Filled with the Holy Spirit and living in Christ, the Christian rejoices in the holiness and righteousness of God and so sees the Law as opportunities to please God with our spiritual sacrifices of thanksgiving. Yet, because sin still corrupts the flesh, man will never be completely free from the 1st and 2nd use of the Law until Christ returns and gives us perfect and glorious bodies. So we pray, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus!"
Law and Gospel: Distinguishing the Word of God
The first president of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Rev. C.F.W. Walther, called the doctrine of Law and Gospel "a most glorious light" by which to see the meaning and application of God's Word in our lives. Sadly, not everyone knows about this glorious light. So let's spend some time looking at Law and Gospel.
How do you explain what happens when Jonah declares to Nineveh, "Yet 40 days and Nineveh will be destroyed," – as a sure a absolute word from God – and yet Nineveh was not destroyed? And there are many other examples of this threat of God which is spoken and prophesied as absolute destructions to come upon a people that never come to be. Is this a sign of God not fulfilling his Word? No. This is where Law and Gospel sheds light on God's will.
God declares the absolute truth that sinful man is condemned under the Law of his holiness. This condemnation deserves full punishment and cleansing. So God declares the Law through threats and punishments which will actually come about because of our sin. It teaches what is right and God-pleasing and it condemns everything that is sinful and contrary to God's will. Since all are sinful and all are deserving of God's wrath and judgment against sin, all are under God's Law and need to hear the preaching of the threats and condemnations of the Law. Now, even sinful humans recognize that if the Almighty God is promising the coming of terrors that we can pray to him for salvation from these threats and he may well relent. This is what happened in Nineveh. God's absolute Law of destruction of sin was preached and the people repented of their sins and prayed that God would forgive them – and God did. This is Law and Gospel. The Law is preached to show us our sins and the wrath of God against those sins in order to lead us to the mercy of God, which is called the Gospel. This is how God speaks his Word to people: through Law and Gospel.
For that reason, we proclaim and apply the Word of God in preaching and in Lutheran hymns through Law and Gospel. We let the Law of God's Scripture condemn the sin in our lives by preaching the full sternness of God's Law so that no one escapes the accountability of God's command to "Be holy as I am holy." And as God's Law reveals our complete inability to be holy like God is holy, as it declares us to be incapable of true good works on our own, we thereby discover our need for a Savior from the consequences of our sin. And by God's design and purpose, here then comes the place of the Gospel – the proclamation of the perfect life of Jesus Christ offered up on your behalf to take away your sin and so cause God to declare you innocent by faith in His blood. So the Law is intended to lead you to the Gospel.
Therefore we never proclaim the Law without then the Gospel. To leave a sinner in the condemnation of the Law without the promise of the Gospel is cruel and contrary to the purpose God shows in the Bible. The Law is evident to all. One need only look at the creation to know that there is a Creator and that we are accountable to Him, and furthermore, it's very easy to see that we don't live up to his standards. This is the natural law, written on our hearts and evidenced in nature. However, the Gospel of Jesus Christ isn't so obvious. It must be revealed by the proclamation of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ through the Word and Sacraments. This is the revealed Gospel coming down from above to change man's sinful condition. So to leave a sinner in the condemnation of the Law is not the Christian way and will lead no one to faith but to despair. That's why we proclaim from Scripture the distinction between Law and Gospel.
Sadly, this is a concept articulated mostly by the Lutherans. Many others do this, but not consciously or for the same reasons. That's why many revivalist preachers were known as "hellfire and brimstone" preachers – because they only preached the Law and hardly any Gospel. That's why some pastors can go their entire sermon and never mention the atoning death of Jesus Christ for sins to be received by faith and still think they've preached a biblical, Christian sermon. Yet Lutherans, after careful study of God's Word, declare that God meant preachers to declare both Law and Gospel with the Gospel predominating. So that's what we do, and that's why we do: Law and Gospel. For more, read Walther's "Law and Gospel: How to read and apply the Bible" from CPH.
