— Christians: under law and grace, or under grace alone?

Luther and Paul: same battle, same Gospel! This may well be the overall impression that stays with the reader, after he closes Luther’s large commentary on Galatians (lectures held in 1531, published in 1535). And indeed, Luther makes a strong case that his battle in the Church of the time, for the defense of justification by grace through faith, accurately mirrors the battle the apostle Paul himself has fought, to defend the Gospel of Christ against those who falsified it.

On this basis, one could expect the teaching of Luther to be in perfect harmony with the teaching of Paul. Unfortunately this is not the case. In addition to many commonalities, there are also some serious differences. When I started discovering this dissonance in 1983, it certainly was a shock, but also the beginning of a deciphering process, the opening of a new horizon. This was for me the beginning of a long journey of solitude, prayer, research and reflection, with many doubts, and from time to time discussions with Lutheran pastors, laypeople and theology professors. These exchanges usually took place in writing. In the early 2000’s, I gradually arrived at a better understanding of the location and structure of the rifts between Luther and Paul.

The following letter is part of this correspondence, and provides, I hope, a relatively thorough description of the first major difference, as I see it. For the sake of clarity, I have added several notes to the original letter. I start by showing precisely what Luther teaches concerning the dominion of Law and grace in the life of Christians, while making evident how these claims differ from what Paul has taught in Gal. 3:25 and Gal. 5:18.

I then explore what may have caused Luther to go astray on those points. And I finish by enumerating and setting side by side the different aspects of the clash between the two teachings. Links are in place to facilitate the navigation between the body of the letter and the footnotes. The emphases in the quotations are mine.

I would like to end this introduction by quoting a passage of the large commentary on Galatians, in which Luther makes recommendations that might be useful for the present situation.

“But ‘the church is holy, the fathers are holy!’ Granted. Nevertheless, even though the church is holy, it still has to pray (Matt. 6:12): “Forgive us our debts.” Similarly, even though the fathers are holy, they are still obliged to believe in the forgiveness of sins. Therefore if we teach anything contrary to the Word of God, neither I nor the church nor the fathers nor the apostles nor even an angel from heaven should be believed. But let the Word of the Lord abide forever (1 Peter 1:25), for without it this argumentation of the false apostles would have prevailed altogether against Paul’s doctrine. For it was really something tremendous to line up the whole church and all the company of the apostles on one side before the Galatians, and on the other side just Paul, a newcomer with very little authority. Thus this was a cogent and nearly conclusive argument. For no one likes to say that the church is in error; and yet, if the church teaches anything in addition or contrary to the Word of God, one must say that it is in error.“

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Chapters 1-4. Saint Louis : Concordia Publishing House, 1999, Gal. 1:11-12 p. 66-67

June 2003

Dear Professor,

I would have liked to answer your letter much sooner, but the move and the new beginning here were quite challenging. Before answering, I also wanted to have a closer look at a hypothesis. To prevent this letter from getting too long, I will limit it to what seems most important.

In part III of the letter, you say that Luther never taught that Christians in the flesh are and remain their whole life under the Law, and that Pannenberg’s claim to that effect (1) does not do justice to Luther’s teaching. I believe that, in this context, the expression “Christians in the flesh“ is liable to misunderstanding, because it can be interpreted as meaning the entire person of Christians during their earthly lives (2 Cor. 10:3; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:22-24).

I find the expression “Christians according to the flesh“ better suited to faithfully render Luther’s point of view, especially since Luther himself quite often used it. There are numerous passages in which Luther undoubtedly teaches that the flesh of Christians is under the Law, and must stay subjected to the time of the Law. Let me just quote the following passages of the commentary on Galatians.

“Every Christian experiences the same struggle. There are many hours in which I dispute with God and fight back at Him impatiently. The wrath and judgment of God are displeasing to me. On the other hand, my impatience and grumbling are displeasing to Him. This is the time of Law, under which a Christian always exists according to the flesh. “For the desires of the flesh are always against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other,” as chapter five says below (Gal. 5:17).”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:23 p. 341

“Therefore the Christian is divided this way into two times. To the extent that he is flesh, he is under the Law; to the extent that he is spirit, he is under the Gospel. To his flesh there always cling lust, greed, ambition, pride, etc. So do ignorance and contempt of God, impatience, grumbling, and wrath against God because He obstructs our plans and efforts and because He does not immediately punish the wicked who despise Him. These sins cling to the flesh of the saints. Therefore if you do not look at anything beyond the flesh, you will remain permanently under the time of the Law.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:23 p. 342

To the extent that these are present, Christ is absent; or if He is present, He is present weakly. Here there is still need for a custodian to discipline and torment the flesh, that powerful jackass, so that by this discipline sins may be diminished and the way prepared for Christ.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:25 p. 350

On a more indirect route, one comes to a similar conclusion. As is well known, Luther begins the explanations of the Ten Commandments with the words: “We should fear and love God…“ This “we“ clearly includes Christians (2). If Christians therefore remain under some obligation towards the Law, they still somehow have to be under the Law, according to Luther.

The doctrine that Christians should be under the Law according to the flesh is not a peripheral occurrence with Luther, but an inseparable part of his statements concerning the usus theologicus of the Law in relation to Christians. It forms the basis upon which the second use of the Law towards Christians rests. There can indeed only be a time of the Law for Christians, a disciplining and tormenting of their flesh by the custodian Law, in so far as they still are under the Law according to the flesh. And as such, this doctrine has been included in the Lutheran Confessions. Thus the Formula of Concord, in its Solid Declaration, echoes the last quotation above, and similar passages (3).

^“As far as the Old Adam who still adheres to them is concerned, he must be coerced not only with the law but also with miseries, for he does everything against his will and by coercion, just as the unconverted are driven and coerced into obedience by the threats of the law (1 Cor. 9:27; Rom. 7:18, 19).”

Tappert, Theodore G.: The Book of Concord : The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Philadelphia : Fortress Press, 2000, Solid Declaration VI § 19 p. 567

“For the Old Adam, like an unmanageable and recalcitrant donkey, is still a part of them and must be coerced into the obedience of Christ, not only with the instruction, admonition, urging, and threatening of the law, but frequently also with the club of punishments and miseries, until the flesh of sin is put off entirely and man is completely renewed in the resurrection. There he will no longer require either the preaching of the law or its threats and punishments, just as he will no longer require the Gospel. They belong to this imperfect life.”

Ibid. Solid Declaration VI § 24 p. 568

I am aware that Luther quite emphatically teaches the freedom of Christians from the Law, unfortunately he does not leave it at that. Somewhere in the flow of his comments, a “yes, but…“ appears, after which he introduces the necessity of a time of the Law for the flesh of the Christians. He then restricts the freedom of Christians from the Law to their conscience or their new man (4). Luther’s treatment of the text in the following quotation is typical of this procedure.

“25. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian.

That is, we are free from the Law, our prison and our custodian; for after faith has been revealed, it no longer terrifies and troubles us. Paul is speaking here about the faith promulgated through Christ at a specific time. For having assumed human nature, Christ came once for all at one time, abrogated the Law with all its effects, and by His death delivered the entire human race from sin and eternal death. Therefore if you consider Christ and what He has accomplished, there is no Law anymore. Coming at a predetermined time, He truly abolished the entire Law. But now that the Law has been abolished, we are no longer held in custody under its tyranny; but we live securely and happily with Christ, who now reigns sweetly in us by His Spirit. But where the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Cor. 3:17). If we could perfectly take hold of Christ, who has abrogated the Law and reconciled us sinners to the Father by His death, then that custodian would have no jurisdiction whatever over us. But the law in our members is at war with the law of our mind (Rom. 7:23), and it interferes so that we cannot take hold of Christ perfectly. Therefore the defect is not in Christ; it is in us, because we have not yet shed the flesh, to which sin clings as long as we live. So far as we are concerned, then, we are partly free of the Law and partly under the Law. With Paul we serve the Law of God with our mind, but with our flesh we serve the law of sin (Rom. 7:25).”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:25 p. 349

It does not seem to bother Luther that, in the end, he teaches something quite different from what the apostle has claimed in verse 25. Farther down, Luther changes the “no longer” which Paul has declared in this verse, into the completely different claim that the Law must remain a custodian insofar as the flesh remains in Christians.

“According to our feelings, however, sin still clings to the flesh and continually accuses and troubles the conscience. So long as the flesh remains, there remains the Law, the custodian who continually terrifies and distresses the conscience with his demonstrations of sin and his threats of death.^”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:25 p. 349

In the sermon about the distinction between Law and Gospel (January 1^st, 1532), Luther bends this passage a second time by changing the tense of the verb “to arrive“ from a past to a present.

“If both now, Law and Gospel, collide with each other, and the Law finds me a sinner, accuses and condemns me; the Gospel however says, Mat. 9:2: “Take heart, your sins are forgiven”, you shall be saved; both are God’s Word; but which one should I now listen to? This is what St Paul teaches you: “When faith arrives (he says), then we are no longer under the custodian”, then the Law ceases.”

W 2 vol. 9, c. 808 § 19 (translation from German by C.)

Luther has already made such a change of tense with Gal. 3:24.

(Note: Here I expand on the original letter, because the CPH translation into English differs from the Walch translation into German. For that, I had to go back to the Latin as recorded in the Weimarer Ausgabe. Luther’s initial presentation of the large commentary on Galatians was done mostly in Latin.)

“Itaque Lex paedagogus noster fuit in Christum.

Iterum affectu coniungit Legem et Evangelium quae ipsa inter se longissime separata sunt, cum inquit: ‘Lex paedagogus noster in Christum.’ Est autem et ista similitudo de paedagogo valde insignis, ideo diligenter consideranda est.”

WA 40/I Gal 3:24 p. 529

In his statement “Lex paedagogus noster in Christum“ (literally “the Law our custodian until Christ“) Luther omits the use of the auxiliary verb “to be”, which makes it possible to translate the statement either as a past, “the Law was our custodian until Christ“, as in the following CPH translation, or as a present, “the Law is our custodian until Christ“ (“Das Gesetz ist unser Zuchtmeister auf Christum.“), as in the Walch translation. In fact, as the larger context clearly shows, the Law, for Luther, both is and was our custodian until Christ. In Luther’s understanding, the Law is our custodian until Christ during the supposedly necessary time of the Law, and it was our custodian, once the Gospel is preached and heard, and the Law has to cease. The English and the German translation present each a part only of what Luther is actually saying. Paul’s use of the past definitely shuts the door on “the Law is our custodian until Christ“.

“24. So that the Law was our custodian until Christ came.

When Paul says that “the Law was our custodian until Christ came,” he once more joins Law and Gospel together in feeling, even though in themselves they are as far apart as possible. This analogy of the custodian is truly outstanding; therefore it must be considered carefully.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:24 p. 345 (see also p. 317-318 and p. 327)

“V. 24. Also ist das Gesetz unser Zuchtmeister gewesen auf Christum.

Wiederum verbindet er im Herzen das Gesetz und das Evangelium, welche der Sache nach aufs weiteste geschieden sind, da er sagt: “Das Gesetz ist unser Zuchtmeister auf Christum.“ Es ist aber auch dieses Gleichniss vom Zuchtmeister ein gar treffliches, deshalb muss es sorgfältig betrachtet werden.

W 2 Band IX, Gal. 3, 24 c. 456 § 580

With Gal. 3:26, Luther adds one more change, or at the very least, he omits the use of the past found in Paul’s writing, thus giving the expression “by nature children of wrath“ (by association) the same value as “miserable sinners“, namely that of a present.

“I leave it to the orators to explain, and expand upon, this topic of the inestimable grace and glory that we have in Christ Jesus, namely, that we miserable sinners, by nature children of wrath (Note: Eph. 2:3, Paul says: “… and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” ), may arrive at this honor, that through faith in Christ we are made children and heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17), lords of heaven and earth. Nevertheless, no tongue, either of men or of angels (1 Cor. 13:1), could proclaim the glory of this magnificently enough.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:26 p. 352 (see also p. 59 and p. 404)

But Luther does not content himself with making those changes. He goes on to halfway rebuke Paul, because the teaching of the apostle does not better fit into the (Lutheran) Law-Gospel frame. About Gal. 5:18, a further key passage, Luther adds:

“18. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

Paul cannot forget about his doctrine of faith; but he keeps on repeating and emphasizing it, even when he is dealing with good works. Here someone may raise the objection: “How can it be that we are not under the Law? After all, Paul, you yourself teach that we have a flesh whose desires are against the Spirit, a flesh that opposes, vexes, and enslaves us. And we are really conscious of our sin; nor can we be set free in the sense in which we would most like to be free. This is surely what it means to be under the Law. Then why do you say, Paul, that we are not under the Law?”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 27 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Chapters 5-6; 1519, Chapters 1-6. Saint Louis : Concordia Publishing House, 1999, Gal. 5:18 p. 77

Luther then proceeds with this verse as he did with Gal. 3:25, in the extensive quotation above. To begin with, the freedom of Christians from the accusations of the Law is affirmed, before those accusations are reintroduced, several lines farther down, for the same Christians.

“And so the godly are not under the Law, namely, by the Spirit; for the Law is unable to accuse them and to carry out its sentence of death against them, even though they are conscious of their sin and confess that they are sinners. Through Christ, “who was born under the Law to redeem those who were under the Law” (4:4–5), the Law has been deprived of its legal hold on them. In the godly, therefore, the Law does not dare accuse as sin that which truly is a sin against the Law…

… Moreover, because they walk by the Spirit and are led by Him, they are not under the Law. That is, the Law cannot accuse and terrify them; and even if it tries to do so, it cannot bring them to the point of despair.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 27 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 5:18 p. 77+79

What the Law cannot do, it will actually do anyway. This contradiction appears as well in the following passage.

“But you do not give in to it. Walk by the Spirit, and be led by Him, so that you do not gratify its desires. If you do this, you are free of the Law. Of course, it will accuse and frighten you; but it will do so in vain.” In such a battle of the flesh against the Spirit, therefore, there is nothing better than to have the Word in view and to draw from it the comfort of the Spirit.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 27 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 5:18 p. 78

I wish I could evaluate the legalism one can encounter in Lutheran Free Churches as something temporary, as a shortcoming that was caused by an overreaction to external circumstances, like prevailing rationalism, or misjudgments in matters of Christian ethics (dancing, playing cards, etc.). Considering the passages quoted above, however, I come to the conclusion that legalism is an essential feature of Lutheran teaching and preaching. In the course of time, and depending on the circumstances, this legalism may have expressed itself in different ways, but it remains a constant in those churches. It is clear that in most congregations, Law and Gospel are no longer preached à la Walther or according to the watering can principle (Note: first a Law “shower” for the whole congregation, then a Gospel “shower”), but the so-called theological use of the Law continues to be applied to Christians, even if only in a half-hearted way.

How can one expect, with Luther, for the discipline or the office of the Law to reduce sins among Christians, or for the flesh of the saints to be put to death daily by those means (5), when Paul teaches that sinful passions are aroused by the Law (Rom. 7:5) and that the power of sin is the Law (1 Cor. 15:56)? Not that Luther would have overlooked this part of Paul’s teaching; he too teaches and preaches that sin is increased by the Law (6). Luther simply leaves those two groups of contradictory and incompatible statements stand side by side.

If Paul, then, teaches that the flesh is stirred to sin by the Law, and Luther has clearly seen that, one could possibly ask why, for Luther, the flesh of Christians must nevertheless be under the Law. Why, according to Luther, must Christians be subjected to a time of the Law, when the necessary consequence of Paul’s teaching is that the flesh of Christians will be stirred to sin by the Law during a supposedly necessary time of the Law?

Is it not as if a fire chief had thoroughly explained to his crew that gas is, in and of itself, a good substance, but absolutely unsuited to combat or put out a fire, and then, during a mission, one of the firemen would anyway now and then douse the fire with a gas hose, fully convinced not only to be of help to the people inside the burning house, but also to his colleagues? What seems particularly strange about it, is that this fireman has not only understood the fire chief’s instruction not to use gas to combat fire, but also the reason for this instruction, namely that gas is a fuel that causes other fuels to flare up. And yet, he regularly uses gas during missions, and recommends other firemen do the same. Why?

In my opinion, part of the answer lies in a conviction of Luther, a conviction I would formulate this way: “Sin needs to be clubbed“, and, as a necessary consequence, “I, as a sinner, need to be clubbed“ (7). It is not surprising that, in this context, Luther keeps coming back to Rom. 7, in particular Rom. 7:25 (8). Here, Paul expresses in an irrefutable way that in him Paul, and therefore in all Christians, sin or the flesh dwells, that with their flesh Christians serve the law of sin, and that consequently, according to Luther’s logic, clubbing of the flesh or of sin has to occur there. And what is better suited for such a clubbing or hammering treatment than the Law ?! To be able to treat the flesh in that manner though, it must not be released from under the Law, but must be kept in bondage to the Law.

Now, it is possible to go a step further, and ask: “Why must sin, the flesh and Christians be clubbed with the Law? Where is the benefit?” Luther himself provides the answer to those questions. He bases the necessity of the captivity of the flesh under the Law on the supposed benefits of the blows of the Law for the sanctification of Christians: an increased understanding of one’s own sinfulness and need for salvation through Christ, the fostering of the Christian’s craving for the grace in Christ, more humility, less sin, the killing of the flesh, etc. (9) Right after having given those reasons, Luther adds one more benefit.

“But what is the value of this effect, this humiliation, this wounding and crushing by the hammer? It has this value, that grace can have access to us. Therefore the Law is a minister and a preparation for grace. For God is the God of the humble, the miserable, the afflicted, the oppressed, the desperate, and of those who have been brought down to nothing at all. And it is the nature of God to exalt the humble, to feed the hungry, to enlighten the blind, to comfort the miserable and afflicted, to justify sinners, to give life to the dead, and to save those who are desperate and damned. For He is the almighty Creator, who makes everything out of nothing.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:19 p. 314

“Therefore the best use of the Law is to be able to employ it to the point that it produces humility and a thirst for Christ. He Himself requires thirsting souls and attracts them in a most charming manner to Himself when He says (Matt. 11:28): “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Therefore He gladly soaks and irrigates this dry ground. He does not pour out His waters on ground that is fertile or fat or free of thirst. His blessings are inestimable. Therefore He grants them only to the needy; He preaches good news to the poor (Luke 4:18) and gives water to the thirsty. “If anyone thirst,” He says in John 7:37, “let him come to Me.” “He heals the brokenhearted” (Ps. 147:3). That is, He comforts and saves those who have been vexed and troubled by the Law. Accordingly, the Law is not against the promises of God.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:21 p. 330

Towards whom then is God well disposed? To whom does He show His favor? Who can see God’s gracious face? Who does Christ welcome with open arms? Who does He heal, comfort and save?

Answer: Those who have been tormented and oppressed by the Law.

(Note: The English translation “vexed and troubled by the Law“ does not render the full force of the Latin words used by Luther. “Hoc est, vexatos et tribulatos lege consolatur ac salvat.“ is more accurately translated as: “That is, He comforts and saves those who have been tormented and oppressed by the Law“.)

The Law is thus conceived of as a necessary preparation for the grace of Christ, not only at conversion, but also as a constantly recurring part of the Law-Gospel cycle (10). To the question how much clubbing with the Law is required, Luther answers with… enough, that is, not too little and not too much. These questions remain though: How much is “enough“? And who determines that? And how sure can one be that such an “enough“ is really sufficient? Does the clubbing of Christians with the Law not stand in direct contradiction to the expiatory sacrifice of the Lord, to the satisfaction He has accomplished on the cross, and to His words “It is finished”?

“But it takes work and labor for someone who has been terrified and bruised by the Law to be able to raise himself up and to say: “Now I have been crushed and troubled enough. The time of the Law has caused me enough misery. Now it is time for grace and for listening to Christ, from whose mouth there come messages of grace.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 5:19 p. 315

“Faith gives me here a heavenly sermon, which is the Gospel, so that the Law can and should no longer harm saddened and shattered hearts; it has enough tormented and beaten. This is why you should now make room for the Gospel, which presents us with and offers us God’s grace and mercy.”

Sermon about the difference between Law and Gospel (January 1^st, 1532) W 2 vol. 9, c. 809 § 21 (translation from German by C.)

At the core of the matter, I believe, are the basic human longings for gracious attention, and loving, respectful intimacy. To experience real freedom here, it is crucial to find a healthy and satisfying answer to those longings.

Luther’s restriction of the office of the Law to the old man is actually purely theoretical. Is it possible to preach the Law in such a way that it applies only to the old man? Doesn’t one always preach for the whole person of the listener? If someone really intended to apply Luther’s teaching in a sermon, he would have to preach Law and Gospel at the same time, and while doing so, restrict the Law to the old man, and the Gospel to the new man. Because this is impossible, the following procedure is recommended for all practical purposes: during the course of the sermon, a specific time is to be reserved for the preaching of the Law, and another for the preaching of the Gospel. Walther has systematized this in his own way, in “Law and Gospel”, while still remaining faithful to Luther (11).

With the teaching that Christians are under the Law according to the flesh, Luther has blurred the clear boundary which Paul has drawn in his letters for the area of dominion of the Law: outside of Christ, the Law (Rom. 3:19), inside of Christ, grace (Rom. 6:14, Rom. 7:4). If one listens to Luther to the end, it becomes quite evident that, for him, Christ is the end of the Law (Rom. 10:4) not once and for all, at our incorporation in Christ through faith and Baptism, and that for the whole person of the Christian, but only as far as the conscience or the new man of the Christian are concerned, and insofar as the time of grace, or the Gospel, replaces the time of the Law in the Law-Gospel cycle (12).

To this blurring of the boundary between the area of dominion of the Law and the area of dominion of grace correspond the displacement of the Apostle Paul’s freedom statement by a statement of partial freedom (free from the Law / free from the Law according to the conscience or the new man), the above mentioned chronological shift from the past to the present (the Law was our custodian until Christ / the Law is our custodian until Christ, we were children of wrath by nature / we are children of wrath by nature), and, finally, the blurring, in the address to the audience, of the boundary between those who are in Christ, and those who are outside of Christ, with the use of collective terms like “man” or “sinner” (13). However one chooses to call Christians, the designation should after all take into account, or at least not stand in the way of the reality of the new birth and the new man, which is not the case with the “totus peccator”, in the Lutheran “totus justus – totus peccator”.

The clear pattern “before Christ-after Christ (14), before faith/baptism-after faith/baptism, outside Christ-inside Christ, under the law-under grace” used by Paul in his letters and in his preaching, has been turned by Luther into a cycle in which the Law, as well as the Gospel, are granted a specific time, and proclaimed to all the members of the audience as applying to them. Of course, the Gospel is supposed to always have the last word, but it has to do so in this sequence, the Law-Gospel sequence, a sequence or cycle to be repeated Sunday after Sunday.

I would like to send the second part of the answer at a later time, hopefully before the end of the year.

With friendly greetings,

Christian

(1) “As concerns the distinction of law and gospel, however, the finality of the turn that for Paul came with Christ’s coming did not make its full impact because Luther, unlike Paul, viewed Christian life in the flesh as a life still subject to law. Paul precisely did not say that Christian life “in the flesh” is still under the law. For him believers are already to let their earthly life be determined by the Spirit (Gal. 5:18; Rom. 8:4), so that they no longer live under law but under grace (Rom. 6:12-14).

Wolfhart Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Vol. 3, p. 86, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids Michigan, 1998

(Note: Wolfhart Pannenberg (1928 – 2014) is one of the foremost Lutheran theologians of the 20th century. He has taught Systematic Theology from 1958 to 1961 at the College of Theology, Wuppertal, from 1961 to 1967 at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Mainz, and from 1967 to his retirement in 1994 at the Faculty of Protestant Theology of the University of Munich. He has played an important role in the ecumenical dialog with the Catholic Church.)

Back

(2) In his catechetical work “Kurze Auslegung der Lehrstücke des Katechismus“ (“A short exposition of Dr. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism“), Schwan addresses this point. Question 12 asks: ”Whom does God mean when in the Ten Commandments He says, “You shall”? Answer: Me and all other human beings.”

Heinrich Christian Schwan, “Kurze Auslegung der Lehrstücke des Katechismus“ (“A short exposition of Dr. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism“), 1896

Schwan quotes no biblical passages for this question.

(Note: Pastor Heinrich Christian Schwan (Horneburg, Kingdom of Hanover 1819 – Cleveland 1905) was President of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (then called ”Deutsche Evangelisch-Lutherische Synode von Missouri, Ohio und anderen Staaten”) from 1878 to 1899. The work by Schwan mentioned above was the official catechism of the Missouri Synod till the early 40s. It was translated into English in 1897, and officially adopted by the Synod in 1898.

Back

(3) “Christian righteousness applies to the new man, and the righteousness of the Law applies to the old man, who is born of flesh and blood. Upon this latter, as upon an ass, a burden must be put that will oppress him. He must not enjoy the freedom of the spirit or of grace unless he has first put on the new man by faith in Christ, but this does not happen fully in this life. Then he may enjoy the kingdom and the ineffable gift of grace.” Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, p. 7

“These two must be distinguished in your mind in such a way that when your conscience is completely terrified by a sense of sin, you will think of yourself. “At the moment you are busy on earth. Here let the ass work, let him serve and carry the burden that has been laid upon him; that is, let the body and its members be subject to the Law.³⁴ But when you ascend into heaven, leave the ass with his burdens on earth; for the conscience has no relation to the Law or to works or to earthly righteousness. Thus the ass remains in the valley; but the conscience ascends the mountain with Isaac, knowing absolutely nothing about the Law or its works but looking only to the forgiveness of sins and the pure righteousness offered and given in Christ.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 2:14 p. 116

“When Christ comes, therefore, we must know nothing whatever about the Law, except to the extent that it has dominion over the flesh, which it constrains and oppresses.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 4:3 p. 366

“Let the slaves remain in the valley with the ass, and let Isaac ascend the mountain along with Abraham, his father.²⁴ That is, let the Law have its dominion over the flesh and the old self; let this be under the Law; let this permit the burden to be laid upon it; let this permit itself to be disciplined and vexed by the Law; let the Law prescribe to this what it should do and accomplish, and how it should deal with other men. But let the Law not pollute the chamber in which Christ alone should take His rest and sleep; that is, let it not disturb the conscience, which should live only with Christ, its Bridegroom, in the realm of freedom and sonship.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 4:7 p. 391

Back

(4) “For the flesh or the old man, the Law and works, are all joined together. In the same way the spirit or the new man is joined to the promise and to grace. Therefore when I see that a man is sufficiently contrite, oppressed by the Law, terrified by sin, and thirsting for comfort, then it is time for me to take the Law and active righteousness from his sight and to set forth before him, through the Gospel, the passive righteousness which excludes Moses and the Law and shows the promise of Christ, who came for the afflicted and for sinners. Here a man is raised up again and gains hope. Nor is he any longer under the Law; he is under grace, as the apostle says (Rom. 6:14): “You are not under law but under grace.” How not under law? According to the new man, to whom the Law does not apply.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, p. 7 (see also p. 11)

In the following quotation, Pelikan translates “secundum conscientiam” as “consciously”. But the context and similar passages indicate that it would be more appropriately translated as “according to the conscience” or “as far as the conscience is concerned”.

“Paul says the exact opposite, namely, that we cannot live to God unless we have died to the Law. Therefore we must climb up to this heavenly altitude, in order that we may establish for certain that we are far above the Law, in fact, that we are completely dead to the Law. Now if we are dead to the Law, then the Law has no jurisdiction over us, just as it has no jurisdiction over Christ, who has liberated us from the Law in order that in this way we may live to God. This supports the declaration that the Law does not justify, but that only faith in Christ justifies…

… For the Christian, therefore, the entire Law has been completely abrogated—whether it be the Ceremonial Law or the Decalog—because he has died to it…

… Thus human reason and wisdom are astounded and dazed when they hear that we are not justified unless we are dead to the Law, for reason cannot grasp this.

But let us teach that when by faith we consciously⁷⁶ take hold of Christ Himself, we enter into a kind of new Law which devours the other Law that held us captive. Just as the grave in which Christ lay dead opened and was seen to be empty after He had risen, and Christ disappeared, so when I believe in Christ, I rise with Him and die to my grave, that is, to the Law that held me captive. Hence the Law is now empty; and I have escaped from my prison and grave, that is, from the Law. Therefore the Law has no further right to accuse me or to hold me, for I have risen again…

… The righteousness of grace simply does not pertain to the flesh. For the flesh must not be free but must stay in the grave, in the prison, and on the couch. It must be subjected to the Law and be disciplined by the Egyptians. But the Christian conscience must be dead to the Law, that is, free from the Law, and must have no business with it. This important and basic doctrine does much to comfort afflicted consciences…

… This is easy enough to say. But blessed is the man who knows this properly amid a conflict of conscience, who, when sin attacks him and the Law accuses and terrifies him, can say: “Law, what is it to me if you make me guilty and convict me of having committed many sins? In fact, I am still committing many sins every day. This does not affect me; I am deaf and do not hear you. Therefore you are telling your story to a deaf man,⁷⁸ for I am deaf to you. But if you really want to argue with me about sins, then go over to my flesh and my limbs, which are my servants. Teach them; discipline and crucify them. But do not trouble my conscience, which is lord and king; for I have nothing to do with you. For I am dead to you; I now live to Christ, where I am under another Law, namely, the Law of grace, which rules over sin and the Law.” By what means? Through faith in Christ, as Paul will explain below.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 2:19 p. 156-159

“As I often insist, therefore, these two, the Law and the promise, must be very carefully distinguished; for they are as far apart in time, place, person, and all features as heaven and earth, the beginning of the world and its end. They are indeed close together, because they are joined in one man or in one soul. Nevertheless, in attitude and function they should be separated as far as possible, in such a way that the Law has dominion over the flesh, but the promise reigns sweetly in the conscience.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:17 p. 301

“From this it follows that according to our conscience we are completely free of the Law. Therefore this custodian must not rule in our conscience, that is, must not menace it with his terrors, threats, and captivity. No matter how he tries this, the conscience remains unmoved; for it has in view Christ the crucified, who abolished all the claims of the Law upon the conscience, “having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands” (Col. 2:14). Therefore the conscience must be as unaware, in fact, as dead toward the Law as a virgin is toward a man, and vice versa. This does not come by works or by any righteousness of the Law; it comes by faith, which takes hold of Christ. According to our feelings, however, sin still clings to the flesh and continually accuses and troubles the conscience. So long as the flesh remains, there remains the Law, the custodian who continually terrifies and distresses the conscience with his demonstrations of sin and his threats of death. But it is always encouraged by the daily coming of Christ. Just as He once came into the world at a specific time to redeem us from the harsh dominion of our custodian, so He comes to us spiritually every day, causing us to grow in faith and in our knowledge of Him. Thus the conscience takes hold of Christ more perfectly day by day; and day by day the law of flesh and sin, the fear of death, and whatever other evils the Law brings with it are diminishing. For as long as we live in a flesh that is not free of sin, so long the Law keeps coming back and performing its function, more in one person and less in another, not to harm but to save. This discipline of the Law is the daily mortification of the flesh, the reason, and our powers, and the renewal of our mind (2 Cor. 4:16).”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:25 p. 349-350

“With this allegory, then, Paul shows the distinction between the Law and the Gospel very clearly: first, when he calls Hagar the old covenant and Sarah the new; next, when he calls the former a slave and the latter a free woman…

…Now just as the people of grace neither has the Law nor can have it, so the people of the Law neither has grace nor can have it; for it is impossible for Law and grace to exist together. Either we must be justified by faith and lose the righteousness of the Law, or we must be justified by the Law and lose grace and the righteousness of faith. It is a bitter and tragic loss when we keep the Law and lose grace. On the other hand, it is a fortunate and saving loss when we keep grace and lose the Law. Seeing that Paul set this forth with the greatest care, we are very careful to show the difference between the Law and the Gospel clearly. This is very easy so far as the words themselves are concerned. For who does not see that Hagar is not Sarah and that Sarah is not Hagar, or that Ishmael neither is nor has what Isaac is and has? This can be determined easily. But in profound terrors and in the agony of death, when the conscience struggles with the judgment of God, to be able to say with firm confidence: “The Law does not apply to me at all, because my mother is Sarah, who gives birth, not to slaves but to free children and heirs”—this is the most difficult thing there is…

…I have said several times before, and I repeat now—for this is a thing that cannot be emphasized enough—that the Christian who by faith takes hold of the benefits of Christ has no Law at all but is free of it. This passage in Isaiah about the free mother who gives birth to free children teaches the same thing, namely, that for those who believe in Christ the entire Law, with all its terrors and troubles, has been abrogated…

…When you want to speak about the abrogation of the Law, discuss chiefly the Law in the proper sense of the word—the Law in the spiritual sense. Include the entire Law, without distinguishing between the civil, the ceremonial, and the moral. For when Paul says that through Christ we have been set free from the curse of the Law (Gal. 3:13), he is certainly speaking about the entire Law, and especially about the Moral Law. It alone actually accuses, curses, and condemns consciences; but the other two kinds do not. Therefore we say that the Law of the Decalog has no right to accuse and terrify the conscience in which Christ reigns through grace, for Christ has made this right obsolete.

This does not mean that the conscience does not feel the terrors of the Law at all. Of course it feels them. But it means that the conscience cannot be condemned and brought to the point of despair by such things. For “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1); again: “If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). Regardless of how terrified the Christian is by the Law and how much he acknowledges his sin, he does not despair; for he believes in Christ, into whom he has been baptized and through whom he has the forgiveness of sins. Now if our sin has been forgiven through Christ Himself, the Lord of the Law—and forgiven by His having given Himself for it—the Law, that slave, no longer has a right to accuse and condemn us because of our sin; for this has been forgiven, and we have become free by the deliverance of the Son. Therefore the entire Law has been abrogated for believers in Christ.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 4:27 p. 444-447 (see also Gal. 4:7 p. 390-391 and Gal. 4:9 p. 410)

Back

(5) “For as long as we live in a flesh that is not free of sin, so long the Law keeps coming back and performing its function, more in one person and less in another, not to harm but to save. This discipline of the Law is the daily mortification of the flesh, the reason, and our powers, and the renewal of our mind (2 Cor. 4:16).”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:25 p. 350

“Thus if I look at Christ, I am completely holy and pure, and I know nothing at all about the Law; for Christ is my leaven. But if I look at my flesh, I feel greed, sexual desire, anger, pride, the terror of death, sadness, fear, hate, grumbling, and impatience against God. To the extent that these are present, Christ is absent; or if He is present, He is present weakly. Here there is still need for a custodian to discipline and torment the flesh, that powerful jackass, so that by this discipline sins may be diminished and the way prepared for Christ.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:25 p. 350

Back

(6) “Thus it is impossible for us to keep the Law in the manner they dream of, much less for us to be justified through it. Evidence for this comes, first, from the Law itself, which has an altogether opposite effect. For it increases sin, works wrath, accuses, terrifies, and condemns. How, then, could it justify?”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:10 p. 254

“In this way the Law produces extreme hate toward God. This means that through the Law sin is not only disclosed and recognized, but that through this disclosure sin is increased, inflated, inflamed, and magnified. This is what Paul is saying in Rom. 7:13: “It was sin, working death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.” There he discusses this effect of the Law at some length.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:19 p. 314

“In the experience of the Christian, therefore, both are found, the time of Law and the time of grace. The time of Law is when the Law disciplines, vexes, and saddens me, when it brings me to a knowledge of sin and increases this. Then the Law is being employed in its true use, which a Christian experiences constantly as long as he lives.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:23 p. 341 (see also Gal. 4:7 p. 254-255, Gal. 4:8-9 p. 321-322, p. 364 and p. 393)

Back

(7) “Hence this use of the Law is extremely beneficial and very necessary. For if someone is not a murderer, adulterer, or thief, and abstains from external sins, as that Pharisee did (Luke 18:11), he would swear, being possessed by the devil, that he is a righteous man; therefore he develops the presumption of righteousness and relies on his good works. God cannot soften and humble this man or make him acknowledge his misery and damnation any other way than by the Law. Therefore the proper and absolute use of the Law is to terrify with lightning (as on Mt. Sinai), thunder, and the blare of the trumpet, with a thunderbolt to burn and crush that brute which is called the presumption of righteousness. Hence God says through Jeremiah (23:29): “My Word is a hammer which breaks the rock in pieces.” For as long as the presumption of righteousness remains in a man, there remain immense pride, self-trust, smugness, hate of God, contempt of grace and mercy, ignorance of the promises and of Christ. The proclamation of free grace and the forgiveness of sins does not enter his heart and understanding, because that huge rock and solid wall, namely, the presumption of righteousness by which the heart itself is surrounded, prevents this from happening.

Therefore this presumption of righteousness is a huge and a horrible monster. To break and crush it, God needs a large and powerful hammer, that is, the Law, which is the hammer of death, the thunder of hell, and the lightning of divine wrath. To what purpose? To attack the presumption of righteousness, which is a rebellious, stubborn, and stiff-necked beast. And so when the Law accuses and terrifies the conscience—“You must do this or that! You have not done so! Then you are condemned to the wrath of God and to eternal death!”—then the Law is being employed in its proper use and for its proper purpose. Then the heart is crushed to the point of despair. This use and function of the Law is felt by terrified and desperate consciences, who yearn for death or want to inflict death on themselves because of the anguish of conscience.

Therefore the Law is a hammer that crushes rocks, a fire, a wind, and a great and mighty earthquake that overturns mountains. When Elijah could not bear the terrors of the Law that were signified by these events, he wrapped his head in his mantle; and after the storm he had seen was over, there came a still small voice, in which the Lord was present (1 Kings 19:11–13). But the violence of the fire, the storm, and the earthquake had to come first, before the Lord Himself followed in the still small voice.“

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:19 p. 310-311

“This is what finally happens to all self-righteous people who are drunk with the presumption of their own righteousness. They think that when there is no trouble, they are the dearly beloved of God, and that God has regard for their vows, fasts, little prayers, and alms and will grant them a special crown in heaven in exchange for these. But when thunder and lightning come out of the blue, the fire and hammer that smashes rocks, that is, the Law of God that reveals sin and that shows the wrath and judgment of God, they are driven to despair.“

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:19 p. 312

“He does not allow Himself to be interfered with by that dangerous pest, the presumption of righteousness, which refuses to be sinful, impure, miserable, and damned but wants to be righteous and holy. Therefore God has to make use of that hammer of His, namely, the Law, to break, bruise, crush, and annihilate this beast with its false confidence, wisdom, righteousness, and power, so that it learns that it has been destroyed and damned by its evil. Then, when the conscience has been terrified this way by the Law, there is a place for the doctrine of the Gospel and of grace, which raises it up again and comforts it; it says that Christ did not come into the world to break the bruised reed or to quench the dimly burning wick (Is. 42:3) but to announce the Gospel to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, and to proclaim liberty to the captives (Is. 61:1).“

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:19 p. 314-315

In the large commentary on Galatians, Luther compares the law to a hammer on 9 occasions. The 3 places that are not quoted in this footnote are: Gal. 3:19 p. 314 (quoted after (9) in the body of the letter), Gal. 3:19 p. 316 (quoted in footnote 9) and Gal. 3:23 p. 336 (quoted in footnote 13).

Back

(8) “But we who are justified by faith, as the patriarchs, prophets, and all the saints were, do not rely on works of the Law so far as justification is concerned. To the extent that we are in the flesh and still have remnants of sin in us, we are under the Law (though not under the curse, because for the sake of Christ, in whom we believe, this is imputed to us). The flesh is hostile to the Law of God; and lust not only does not fulfill the Law but even sins against the Law. Indeed, it battles against us and takes us captive into bondage (Rom. 7:23).”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:12 p. 275-276

“If we could perfectly take hold of Christ, who has abrogated the Law and reconciled us sinners to the Father by His death, then that custodian would have no jurisdiction whatever over us. But the law in our members is at war with the law of our mind (Rom. 7:23), and it interferes so that we cannot take hold of Christ perfectly. Therefore the defect is not in Christ; it is in us, because we have not yet shed the flesh, to which sin clings as long as we live. So far as we are concerned, then, we are partly free of the Law and partly under the Law. With Paul we serve the Law of God with our mind, but with our flesh we serve the law of sin (Rom. 7:25).“

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:25 p. 349

“Do not let this bother you,” he says. “Only concentrate on this, that you be led by the Spirit, that is, that you obey the will which is opposed to the flesh and that you refuse to gratify the desires of the flesh; for this is what it means to be led and drawn by the Spirit. And then you will not be under the Law.” Thus Paul speaks of himself in Rom. 7:25: “I serve the Law of God with my mind; that is, in the Spirit I am not guilty of any sin. But with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” And so the godly are not under the Law, namely, by the Spirit; for the Law is unable to accuse them and to carry out its sentence of death against them, even though they are conscious of their sin and confess that they are sinners. Through Christ, “who was born under the Law to redeem those who were under the Law” (4:4–5), the Law has been deprived of its legal hold on them. In the godly, therefore, the Law does not dare accuse as sin that which truly is a sin against the Law.“

Luther’s Works, Vol. 27 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 5:18 p. 77

Back

(9) “After the Law has humbled, terrified, and completely crushed you, so that you are on the brink of despair, then see to it that you know how to use the Law correctly; for its function and use is not only to disclose the sin and wrath of God but also to drive us to Christ. None but the Holy Spirit is intent on this use of the Law or preaches the Gospel, because nothing but the Gospel says that God is present with those who are contrite in heart (Is. 57:15). Therefore if you have been crushed by that hammer, do not use your contrition wrongly by burdening yourself with even more laws. Listen to Christ when He says (Matt. 11:28): “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” When the Law drives you this way, so that you despair of everything that is your own and seek help and solace from Christ, then it is being used correctly; and so, through the Gospel, it serves the cause of justification. This is the best and most perfect use of the Law.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:19 p. 315-316

“Secondly, although the Law discloses and increases sin, it is still not against the promises of God but is, in fact, for them. For in its true and proper work and purpose it humbles a man and prepares him—if he uses the Law correctly—to yearn and seek for grace. For only when a man’s sin is disclosed and increased through the Law does he begin to see the wickedness of the human heart and its hostility toward the Law and toward God, the Author of the Law. Then he seriously feels that he not only does not love but hates and blasphemes God, the supremely good, with His most holy Law. Now he is forced to confess that there is nothing good in him at all. When he has been crushed and humbled this way, he acknowledges that he is truly miserable and damned…

… He who has never tasted the bitter will not remember the sweet;¹⁰⁸ hunger is the best cook. As the dry earth thirsts for rain, so the Law makes the troubled heart thirst for Christ. To such hearts Christ tastes sweetest; to them He is joy, comfort, and life. Only then are Christ and His work understood correctly. Therefore the best use of the Law is to be able to employ it to the point that it produces humility and a thirst for Christ.“

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:21 p. 328-329 (see also p. 331-332)

“In this way the Law is like a stimulus that drives the hungry toward Christ, in order that He may fill them with His benefits. Therefore the proper function of the Law is to make us guilty, to humble us, to kill us, to lead us down to hell, and to take everything away from us, but all with the purpose that we may be justified, exalted, made alive, lifted up to heaven, and endowed with all things. Therefore it does not merely kill, but it kills for the sake of life.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3: 23 p. 345

Back

(10) “ Thus the Gospel leads us above and beyond the light of the Law and reason into the darkness of faith, where the Law and reason have no business. The Law, too, deserves a hearing, but in its proper place and time. When Moses was on the mountain speaking with God face to face, he neither had nor established nor administered the Law. But now that he has come down from the mountain, he is a lawgiver and rules the people by the Law. So the conscience must be free from the Law, but the body must obey the Law.” Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 2:13 p. 113-114

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:21 p. 328-329

“Kept under restraint until faith should be revealed.

Paul is referring to the time of fulfillment, when Christ came. But you should apply it not only to the time but also to feelings; for what happened historically and temporally when Christ came—namely, that He abrogated the Law and brought liberty and eternal life to light—this happens personally and spiritually every day in any Christian, in whom there are found the time of Law and the time of grace in constant alternation.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:23 p. 340

Back

(11) In the edition of “Die rechte Unterscheidung von Gesetz und Evangelium“ (The proper distinction between Law and Gospel) published in 1897 by Concordia Publishing House, the editor indicates right at the beginning of the preface, what relationship there is between this book by Walther, and the 1893 edition of “Gesetz und Evangelium“ (Law and Gospel) by the same author.

“Four years ago, ten evening lectures held by Dr Walther before his students in 1878 were published under the title: “Law and Gospel. By Dr C. F. W. Walther. Collected from his written works.“ In the present volume, the gentle reader is presented with thirty nine evening lectures by Dr Walther, about the proper distinction between Law and Gospel, with the help of twenty five theses. These thirty nine lectures were held by the blessed author during the years 1884 and 1885, and belong therefore to the last works of the divinely gifted teacher. They are an expansion and amplification of the first series held on this subject.” (translation from German by C.)

There is therefore a continuity between the two editions, a continuity one can already recognize from the fact that the theses of the first edition have been taken over word for word in the second edition. Thus the 1897 edition, too, has Walther’s recommendation to preach the Law in all its sternness during the time of the Law, as well as the advice to make poor sinners of children during the instruction about the Ten Commandments. Although in this edition, Walther also mentions the displeasure that was caused in some congregations by this kind of preaching.

“A preacher must proclaim the Law in such a manner that there remains in it nothing pleasant to lost and condemned sinners.”

The proper distinction between Law and Gospel. Thirty-nine evening lectures by Dr. C. F. W. Walther. Reproduced from the German edition of 1897 by W. H. T. Dau. CPH. 1928 p. 80

“When preaching the Law, you must ever bear in mind that the Law makes no concessions. That is utterly beside the character of the Law; it only makes demands. The Law says: “You must do this; if you fail to do it, you have no recourse to the patience, loving-kindness, and long-suffering of God; you will have to go to perdition for your wrong-doing.” Ibid. p. 80

“Rom. 3,20 we read: By the Law is the knowledge of sin. God does not tell you to preach the Law in order thereby to make men godly. The Law makes no one godly; but when it begins to produce its proper effects, the person who is feeling its power begins to fume and rage against God. He hates the preacher who has shouted the Law into his heart, and he feels that he cannot slip off its coils. Where this has happened, you may hear people say: “We shall never again go to that church. Why, that preacher strikes terror into my soul. I prefer to attend the services of the Rev. So-and-so. He makes you feel good. While listening to him, you discover what a good man you really are.” Ibid. p. 81-82

“By this spectacle (gift of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai) God has indicated to us how we are to preach the Law. True, we cannot reproduce the thunder and lightning of that day, except in a spiritual way. If we do, it will be a salutary sermon when the people sit in their pews and the preacher begins to preach the Law in its fullness and to expound its spiritual meaning. There may be many in the audience who will say to themselves, “If that man is right, I am lost.” Some, indeed, may say: “That is not the way for an evangelical minister to preach.” But it certainly is; he could not be an evangelical preacher if he did not preach the Law thus. The Law must precede the preaching of the Gospel, otherwise the latter will have no effect. First comes Moses, then Christ; or: First John the Baptist, the forerunner, then Christ. At first the people will exclaim, How terrible is all this! But presently the preacher, with shining eyes, passes over to the Gospel, and then the hearts of people are cheered. They see the object of the preacher’s preceding remarks: he wanted to make them see how awfully contaminated with sins they were and how sorely they needed the Gospel.

For your catechizing you must adopt the same method. When explaining the Law, do not mingle Gospel elements with your catechization, except in the conclusion. Even little children have to pass through these experiences of anguish and terror in the presence of the Law. The reason why so many imagine that they can pass for really good Christians is because their parents reared them to be self-righteous Pharisees; they never made them aware of the fact that they are poor, miserable sinners.” Ibid. p. 82-83

Fundamentally, Walther seems to divide up mankind and the congregation assembled for worship into two groups: the impenitent sinners, and the poor, frightened sinners.

“Finally, there is a sixth point of difference between the Law and the Gospel: it relates to the persons to whom either doctrine is to be preached. In other words, there is a difference in the subjects to whom they must be applied. The persons on whom either doctrine is to operate, and the end for which it is to operate, are utterly different. The Law is to be preached to secure sinners and the Gospel to alarmed sinners. Ibid. p. 17

“As long as a person is at ease in his sins, as long as he is unwilling to quit some particular sin, so long only the Law, which curses and condemns him, is to be preached to him. However, the moment he becomes frightened at his condition, the Gospel is to be promptly administered to him; for from that moment on he no longer can be classified with secure sinners.” Ibid. p. 17

“Now, to such poor, sad-hearted sinners – I repeat it – not a word of the Law must be preached. Woe to the preacher who would continue to preach the Law to a famished sinner!” Ibid. p. 18

Where does this approach leave any room for a Christian life oriented towards growth and fruits, for a life as it is presented and encouraged in Paul’s letters, and in fact, the entire New Testament?

The following passages are evidence of this basic orientation of the New Testament, and are written out at the end of this footnote.

Mt 21:33-34; Mk 4:20; Lk 19:16-17; Jn 15:1-2; Ac 9:36; Ro 14:19; 1Co 15:58; 2Co 8:7; Gal 6:9-10; Eph 2:10; Eph 4:11-16; Php 1:9-11; Php 4:17; Col 1:9-11; 1Th 3:12-13; 1Th 4:1-2; 2Th 3:13; 1Ti 6:17-19; 2Ti 2:22; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 12:1-2; Jas 1:2-4; Jas 2:15-17; 1Pe 1:13-16; 2Pe 1:5-11; 1Jn 3:16-18; Rev 2:2-5; Rev 2:19.

(Note: Pastor Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther (Langenchursdorf, Kingdom of Saxony 1811 – Saint Louis 1887) has largely contributed to the creation of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (1847), and was its first President from 1847 to 1850, with a second period of presidency from 1864 to 1870. Through his ministry among immigrants from Saxony, in particular as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, in Saint Louis, from 1841 until his death in 1887, his teaching of theology from 1850 to 1857, his writings and his commitment to confessional Lutheranism, Walther has been a major influence not only within the Missouri Synod, but also among a significant number of confessional Lutherans in Europe, for instance in Saxony, through the ”Evangelisch-Lutherische Freikirche” (Evangelical Lutheran Free Church), and in Alsace, France, where a good part of the pastors of the ”Protestegemeinden” (protesting congregations), and later of the ”Eglise Evangélique Luthérienne – Synode de France et de Belgique” (Evangelical Lutheran Church – Synod of France and Belgium) have been trained by the Missouri Synod – for ex. Pastors Strassen, Sengele, Michalk, Muller, Kreiss, Wolff.)

Mt 21:33-34 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.”

Mk 4:20 “Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop-thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times what was sown.”

Lk 19:16-17 “The first one came and said, ’Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ ‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.”

Jn 15:1-2 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

Ac 9:36 “In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor.”

Ro 14:19 “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”

1 Co 15:58 “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

2 Co 8:7 “But just as you excel in everything-in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us- see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”

Gal 6:9-10 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Eph 2:10 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Eph 4:11-16 “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

Php 1:9-11 “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God.”

Php 4:17 “Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.”

Col 1:9-11 “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”

1 Th 3:12-13 “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”

1 Th 4:1-2 “Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.”

2 Th 3:13 “And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.”

1 Ti 6:17-19 “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

2 Ti 2:22 “Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

Tit 2:11-14 “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

Heb 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jas 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Jas 2:15-17 “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does not nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

1 Pe 1:13-16 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” “

2 Pe 1:5-11 “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

1 Jn 3:16-18 “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

Rev 2:2-5 “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have them found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken you first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”

Rev 2:19 “I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more that you did at first.”

Back

(12) “Paul says the exact opposite, namely, that we cannot live to God unless we have died to the Law. Therefore we must climb up to this heavenly altitude, in order that we may establish for certain that we are far above the Law, in fact, that we are completely dead to the Law. Now if we are dead to the Law, then the Law has no jurisdiction over us, just as it has no jurisdiction over Christ, who has liberated us from the Law in order that in this way we may live to God. This supports the declaration that the Law does not justify, but that only faith in Christ justifies…

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 2:19 p. 156+158

“You see, then, that there is no life unless you are without the Law, indeed, unless you are completely dead to the Law, namely, in your conscience. Meanwhile, as long as the body is alive, the flesh must be disciplined by laws and vexed by the requirements and punishments of laws, as I have often admonished. But the inner man, who owes nothing to the Law but is free of it, is a living, righteous, and holy person—not of himself or in his own substance but in Christ, because he believes in Him…”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 2:19 p. 164-165

“Paul indicates this when he says: “We were confined under the Law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed.” Therefore it is not enough for us to be confined under the Law; for if nothing else were to follow, we would be forced to despair and to die in our sins. But Paul adds that we are confined and restrained under a custodian, the Law, not forever but until Christ, who is the end of the Law (Rom. 10:4)…

… Therefore just as civic confinement or prison is the affliction of the body by which the prisoner is deprived of the use of his body, so the theological prison is the trouble and anxiety of the spirit by which the prisoner is deprived of peace of conscience and quietness of heart. Yet this is not forever, as the reason supposes when it feels this prison, but “until faith should be revealed.” Therefore the heart that has been confined under the Law should be encouraged and comforted this way: “Brother, you have indeed been confined. But you should know that this is not being done so that you will be held in the confinement of this prison forever, for it is written that we are confined until faith should be revealed. Therefore you are being afflicted by this prison, not to do you harm but to re-create you through the Blessed Offspring. You are being killed by the Law in order to be made alive through Christ.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:23 p. 337-339

… The time of grace is when the heart is encouraged again by the promise of the free mercy of God and says (Ps. 42:5): “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Do you not see anything except Law, sin, terror, sadness, despair, death, hell, and the devil? Are there not also grace, the forgiveness of sins, righteousness, comfort, joy, peace, life, heaven, God, and Christ? Stop troubling me, O my soul. What are Law, sin, and all evils in comparison with these? Hope in God, who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up to the death of the cross for your sins (Rom. 8:32).” This, then, is what it means to be confined under the Law according to the flesh, not forever but until the coming of Christ.

… Therefore the Christian is divided this way into two times. To the extent that he is flesh, he is under the Law; to the extent that he is spirit, he is under the Gospel.

… Therefore the time of Law is not forever; but it has an end, which is Christ. But the time of grace is forever; for Christ, having died once for all, will never die again (Rom. 6:9–10). He is eternal; therefore the time of grace is eternal also.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:23 p. 341-342

“Now what St Paul says belongs here: “Before faith came, we were detained and locked away under the Law etc. so that a Christian may know how to distinguish between Law and Gospel, work and faith, particularly in finali and materiali causa, and counter the Law in such a manner: You certainly demand a lot, and force grave condemnation on those who cannot give; but do you also know how far your rule is supposed to go? did you forget that it has a definite time, as St Paul says: When faith comes, it has to stop, no longer make demands, frighten, nor condemn?”

Sermon about the difference between Law and Gospel (January 1^st, 1532) W 2 vol. 9, c. 804-805 § 12 (translation from German by C.)

“Because the old man must be bound and held captive under the Law, in order for it to stop us, drive us and demand from us, so that we don’t live willfully. But such a compulsion and prison should not last any longer than when the Gospel is revealed, and one recognizes how we should believe in Christ. Then I say: “Law, move away, I will no longer be held captive by you in my heart, so that I should trust that I have done this and that, or despair because I haven’t done it.”

Sermon about the difference between Law and Gospel (January 1^st, 1532) W 2 vol. 9, c. 809 § 21 (translation from German by C.)

Back

(13) “The other use of the Law is the theological or spiritual one, which serves to increase transgressions. This is the primary purpose of the Law of Moses, that through it sin might grow and be multiplied, especially in the conscience. Paul discusses this magnificently in Rom. 7. Therefore the true function and the chief and proper use of the Law is to reveal to man his sin, blindness, misery, wickedness, ignorance, hate and contempt of God, death, hell, judgment, and the well-deserved wrath of God. Yet this use of the Law is completely unknown to the hypocrites, the sophists in the universities, and to all men who go along in the presumption of the righteousness of the Law or of their own righteousness.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:19 p. 309

“Therefore the function of the Law is only to kill, yet in such a way that God may be able to make alive. Thus the Law was not given merely for the sake of death; but because man is proud and supposes that he is wise, righteous, and holy, therefore it is necessary that he be humbled by the Law, in order that this beast, the presumption of righteousness, may be killed, since man cannot live unless it is killed.

… This was not to be permanent; but it had as its purpose that when this pestilence was killed, man would be raised up again and would hear this voice beyond the Law: “Do not fear…

… A presumption of good works and of righteousness leaves no room for the fear of God. But where there is no fear of God, there cannot be a thirst for grace and life. Therefore God must have a mighty hammer to crush the rocks, and a fire burning in the midst of heaven to overthrow the mountains, that is, to crush that stubborn and perverse beast, presumption. When a man has been brought to nothing by this pounding, despairs of his own powers, righteousness, and works, and trembles before God, he will, in his terror, begin to thirst for mercy and the forgiveness of sins.”

Luther’s Works, Vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Gal. 3:23 p. 335-336

“When now the conscience is truly touched, so that it really feels sin, is mired in mortal danger, is burdened with war, pestilence, poverty, shame and similar misfortune, and the Law then says: You are worthy of death, and damned, this and that I demand from you, this you have not done, nor were able to do. When the Law (I say) hits in such a manner and frightens man with fear of death and hell, and despair, then it is high time to know how to distinguish between Law and Gospel, and direct each one to its proper place. Here, whoever can distinguish, should distinguish, because the time and necessity to do so has come.”

Sermon about the difference between Law and Gospel (January 1^st, 1532) W 2 vol. 9, c. 804 § 11 (translation from German by C.)

“For God has given these two different words, Law and Gospel, one as well as the other, and each one with its mandate: the Law, to require perfect justice of everybody; the Gospel, to offer by grace the justice required by the Law to those who don’t have it (that is to all humans).”

Sermon about the difference between Law and Gospel (January 1^st, 1532) W 2 vol. 9, c. 806 § 16 (translation from German by C.)

“It is extremely difficult however, that for your own person, as a poor, unworthy, damned sinner, you should wholeheartedly and firmly believe, hold, and say without any doubt: Christ, the Son of God, has been given for your sins, which are not only many, but also great and heavy, you who have never become worthy of such grace. This is, I say, certainly difficult, and a lot of effort and labor, etc…

… For Christ is never such a man who would require or demand anything from us, but he is rather a reconciler, someone who has reconciled every human in the world with God. Therefore, if you are a sinner (as we truly all are, and worse than we believe or understand), then under no circumstance make of him a severe judge sitting on the rainbow, being angry with sinners, and intent on condemning them…”

Sermon about Gal 1:4-5 (1538) W 2 vol. 9, c. 779+786 § 12+23 (translation from German by C.)

Back

(14) In “before Christ/after Christ“, “Christ“ refers to a double reality: first to the “proclaimed Christ“ when the Gospel is preached, and then to the “believed Christ“ when faith is created in the hearts by the word of Christ. This is what Paul says in Rom. 10:14,17: “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.“

Back