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Luther on Law, Gospel, and the Third Use of the Law

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Luther on Law, Gospel, and the Third Use of the Law THE SPRINGFIELDER April 1974 Volume 38, Number 2 Luther on Law, Gospel, and the Third Use of the Law NE OF THE STRANGE ::ilNOhlAL,IF,S k11id the ironic tragedies 0 of our day is that within conscr\:;~ti\:cl,utlierai~ ~lleolog!. there should be a str~igglcover the subject of the La\\: and Gospel, and, more specifically, ovcr the third use of the Law. Strange and ironicl we say, because tlie Confessions, especially the Forniula of Coiicord (Articles IV, 17, and VI), have really spolien tllc definitive word 011 the subject. 13ecnuse these weye 111atters of scrious contention in the tro~iblcdperiod after 1.-uther's dcath, the fran~ersof the For~nula of Co~lcorclspelled ~LILver! carefull!. the Refo~:iiintio~~position, \\!hat: it meant to be 3 SII~ISCI-~~)CI-of tlic I,~ithc~:anpositio~l on Law a1.1(1 Gosl)el according to the Augsburg Confcssion. Thus wc inight j:ightl!; expect that the tlleological. dust \sould have remained settled, especially lor 3'Jissouri. ilftc~:all it nas shc that gave the wol:l(l C. F. TY. TL'althcr, thc 19th centur!; genius tvho lwoduced tlie famous lecture series, Iiiter piiblislietl in booli fo~ni,011 3'12.c Proper Distirrctio~r 13ct1reelr L(711: nlirl Gospc'l. I'd(: spol,c out of i~ riel-1 l~~cl<~roundof teacl.ling ant1 pnst-or:~lcspcricncc!; b~itahovc all lie hnd beliefitcd on 1-his subject- from his assicll~ousst~id~ of T-ut'lier's writings. not;-\bly thc (.;rrlntin~r Col~r/iret~tc~r!.. Jt Ivas LValthcr' wl~oempllasizctl anew on t'hc America11 sccnc: thougll his voice was heascl, in Europe, too, that Lniv i111t1 Gospel stand at ol>posil~glxlIes, iliametricall!/ ol~l)osite,mi~tui~lly cxcl~isivc. on the lnnttcr of. a man's justificatiol~1)efore God. Hcre tlicrc was 1x1 mean, or ~niddlegroul~tl, as Lutliel: p~~t.it 111 his Colntiari Cow- riler~inry.' Tlicre could be no co~np~:oiiiiscbet\vcen active r.igllti:ous- ]less, ~vliichis by thc I,nw, nntl passive rigl~tcousncss,\vl.~icli is 11); faith through thr Gospel. This Christian righteousness, as 1.utller also calls the latter, is thcre for faith's acceptance, for imputation to oul' acco~~ntbefore God in hcavcn, bccausc Christ nailed our trans- ~lressionsagainst the Law of God to the tree of the cross (Col. 2, 1 5). l'onards, or for, this rjghtcousness k2.e con tribute "11otl11og at all," says I,uther, for Christ "has been nladc for us \vistlanl, riu,lltco~~sncss, sanctification, and redemption" (1 Car. 1, 30); and, thcrcfore, "here one notices no sin and feels no terror or remorse of' coi~sciencc," sinrc "sin cannot happen in this Cliristian righteousness; for \rhel.e tliel-e is no Law, there cannot be anv transgression (Ron]. 4, 151."" This article is the hallmark of ~llristianit~,puts Sat-all :~ndhis accusations down, alone comforts troubled and aRicted consciences, cnal~lingthen1 "to tale hold of the 1,romise of grace nifcrcd in Christ, that is, this righteousness of faith, this passive or Lhristiao righte0~1~-- ness, . this righteousness of Christ and of the Holy Sl3irit ~vliich we (10 not perform but receive, which we do not 11avc but accept, 117hel1 Cod the Father grants it to ~1sthroli~h Jcsos Christ.".' This is so totally vital in the life of the believer indiviilually and of the cl~urchcorporately that, says Luther, if this "doctrine of-' justification is lost, the whole of Christian doctrine is lost."" 'I'llis is the liberty, Paul teaches so eloquently in his Galatian r,etter, in which we stand. None ~~nclerstooclthis better and shared it illore convincingly with the \vorlcl than Luthcr, who hail struggled through the deadening load of Romanist, nronastic, legalistic burdens. It was this song whlch he sang wit11 such delight and such light heart for Leo X, in 1520, to whom he dedicated his famous treatise 011 Th.c Freedom of thc Christin~~."The proposition that "a Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none," was grounded on God's promjsed forgiveness in Christ, the passive or imputecl right- eousness to faith, rvhikh brings pardon, endows with the riches of Cllrist, linl<s the sinner with Christ as bride to briclegroo~n, and I~cstows the perfect peace that passes all understancling. Little wonder that Luther would exult that "the highest art ant1 -\.visdon~of Christians is not to ltnotv the Law!"' Because in his justific~?tionbefore Goil the Christian believer stootl free in Christ ant1 coulrl, al~clshoultl, "ignore \vorlcs and all active righteousness!"" 'The belicvcr's comfort of consciencc is that he is pronounceil right- coils 11); grace, for Christ's salte, through faith.!' "Christ is not a .lawgiver, hut a forgiver of sins and a savior."J0This is groundcd by I,~lth~ron Paul's elocluent statclient in Galatians 2, 16, where at least six tilncs the nlx~stlc,with amazing conlpactness and invincible ar~~i~ncnt,nails doivn the truth that our justification is by faith itlonc \vjtliout the worl<sof the Law. I'recisely this was the dif'ference bet~vcentheology of tllc cross, ihcologin crucis, and tlleology of glory, thcologin glorioe. The first rests on LII~passive, Christian righteousness; thc second on the active, ~vorlis-rigilteo~isness."A thedogian of glory," Luthcr stated at Jleidclherg ( 1518)) in Thesis 2 1, "calls the bad goocl and good bad;"" in other words, masimizes worlcs and miniinlzes God's free gift in (;Ill-ist. St puffs up'" swells the pretension of righteousness within thc intlivitlual, till 'he has dropsy of the soul':' ailcl is spiritually inehl-i;~t-ctl.lELI~ whilc the Law lays clon~n its demai~dsand says, "do this," a~tl"it is never clone," it is the office of the Gospel and grace, thcology of tbe cross, to come announcing: "Bclievc .in this one (Christ) iind c\ler!;thing is (lone."'" \Vc arc ;IS free in Christ, as Peter was from the prison, Jairus' daughter from rlcath's grasp, the young nlan of Nain from thc coffin, as Christ I-Jimself from the tolnb. Our release from the Law and its condemnations allo~vsus to exult: 0 Law, thou canst as little hold nic, as the empty tojnb co~~lcll~olcl my Lord, Chri~t.'~ "Thus with the sweetest names Christ is called my Lord, my sin, and my death, in opposition to the Law, sin, and cleath, even though in fact He is nothing but sheer libertv, righteousness, life, and eternal ~alvation."'~I,uther was deeply inlpressed with the utter clarity of Hol~Scripture and the apostle Paul's precision of expression on this subject. "Paul guarded his words carefully and spoke pre- cisely . For he tloes not say that Christ became a curse on His Lzlth~'~.072 Tl~ir.tEUsc 157 -.- -.- - - -- .. .. - .. ~-.-. - own account, hut that He becaliic a curse 'for us.' ?'lius the nlhole elnpllasis Is on the phrasc 'for LIS.' "''Precisely this is our freedom, true theology of the cross, C;liristian Gospel, "our highest comfort," says .I.,uthcr, "for just as Christ is wrapl~cdup in our f-lcsh and blood, so we must l<no\v Him to be ~\~rappeclup in our sins, our curse, our death, ar~tlc\~er\-thing e\,il."'!' Surel!. this is purest Gospel, and "l'aul prescnts n powcrf~~largument," stntcs I,uther, 011 the basis of Gala- tions 3, 13 ';)gainst ell the 1-ig~llteousnessof tlie flcsh," or a,(rood rvorks, becausc his nrgunicnt "conta~nsthis invincible and irrefutable an- tithesis: If the sins of the entire worl(1 arc on that one man, Jesus Christ, thcn they arc not 011 the world. Hut if they are not on Him, then tllev are still on the ~~'orld. But if he is innocciit and does not carr)i our sins, then 'cvc carry them ancl shall die mil be damned in tlicm. 'But thanlts be to God, \vho gives us the victory through our Lortl Jcsus Christ! Amen. (I Cor. 15, 57)"" "ever Ivas the Gospd set fort11 in Inore brilliant light than ~vllenI. uther slio.cved forth plainly thc Scripture's meaning, especiall!. in his Crilnticr~c Coliz1ne71tlir)~. 11. 'Tho Gospel cannot, Ilo.tvcver, do its saving \vorl< ilnless thc 1.aw prccecles. Scripture tenchcs two chief uses for the Larv, Luther points out; the o11c is political, the other theological. Undcr the first wc understand the Mol!. IVill of God by ~vhiclimen ancl nations arc ordcrcd, or set in order, for it is Gocl who has ortlnineti civil laws and. l,ro\iides then1 Ivith their content and sovereignt\l. licstraint of sin ancl evil in the sinful, ~vicketl\,vorld is the chief purl>osc servecl I)\, the Law in this its civil function. Rut in 1:o wa); doc.s it fol1o1.i. &at, l~ccaoscthe Law successfull>- rcstruins sin, it can also rnaltc men rigl-itco1.1s. Just the opposite is the case. By the \:cry fact that it must restrain evil, the Law demonstrates not nlan's goodness I~utthe Oeptli ant1 extent of his unrighteousness. The Law's primary function now, ho.ivc\~er,is spiritual, or theological, as Luther states, "to re1:cal to man his sin, blindness, ~l~isery,nlickcdncss, ignorance, hate and contempt of God, death, hell, jiidgmen t, and the well-dcservecl \,vrath of God."" This is its proper :mtl principal function, in vie\%:of ~narl'ssinfulness, for Got1 needs to crush and llrlnl~nerto pieces the opinion or pretensioll of right- eousness which natural ma11 always has within him.
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