Thursday, November 11, 2010

Extra Nos: Re-hearing Law and Gospel

Extra Nos: Re-hearing Law and Gospel


Re-hearing Law and Gospel

The BoC says these two - Law and Gospel are to be urged upon Christians. Just been thinking about this in my quiet moments.



It is so right for me to hear this again and again. I just noticed that if I don't, I could wind up thinking that my sin is much greater than the sacrifice of Jesus that paid for it, and this is wrong.



Our souls do hunger to hear again and again, the good news, the beautiful true story of Jesus and his love.
Posted by LPC at 9:27 AM  Labels: 

2 are telling me what they think:


Schütz said...
Hi,Lito. We haven't touched base for a while, but this topic attracted me. I know how dear the Law/Gospel paradigm is for Lutherans, and believe me, I could divide Law and Gospel with the best of them once upon a time. But the problem is, it is really a paradigm that is imposed upon Scripture, rather than one inherent in it. On top of that, it is a paradigm that was unknown in the Christian tradition until the 16th Century. And it isn't even true to Paul's use of the terms "Law" and "Gospel". I can see how it has been helpful for many Lutherans in the way you describe, but there are plenty of believers out there who know that Jesus' sacrifice is sufficient for all their own sin and the sin of every human being, who don't work with this paradigm. So, I recognise that it can help and can protect certain truths of the Gospel, but it also obscures others, such as Jesus' command to "love one another as I have loved you" and his teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, and Paul's insistence upon the "obedience of faith" and his affirmation that it is the "doers of the Law who will be justified" etc. In other words, the paradigm obscures as much as it clarifies.
Thursday, November 11, 2010 10:52:00 PM GMT+11:00
LPC said...
Hi David, Glad you dropped by. Firstly I do see Law and Gospel in Gal 3. Also I read that Ambrose was into this too. However, I suspect when you were in seminary you were trained on Walther's Law and Gospel. Unfortunately, Walther's UOJ shined forth in that book. I am not a buyer of Walther after rereading some of the things he said. He made plenty of over statements. Also if you follow his method, you will wind up not having the 3rd use of the Law. I am a firm believer of the 3rd use of the Law. I believe there is the place of the Law in the Christian's life. There is a time for everything, and through the Word being used by the HS, we get exposed to what is needed at that time. As an aside, I could not criticize Walther enough. Just for your info. LPC
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