The Proper Distinction between Law and Gospel

 

Definitions

The Gospel – a Christian declaration that God has reconciled His people to himself. This was accomplished by the persona and work of Jesus.

Faith – certaintly in a promise. Faith in Jesus takes his promises as certain.

Comparing Law & Gospel

Law	Gospel
Preach every Sunday	Preach every Sunday
First Commandment cannot be kept	I AM (Matt 22:37)
To unrepentant sinners to CRUSH them scoffers will ignore, … wise will listen	To crushed sinners to lift / save
Death	Liberated from sin, death, and the devil
We must ascend to Heaven	God descends to meet us
Pray, struggle, wrestle	Believe in Christ
Doubt and purgetory	Certainty of reconciliation and salvation
In NT	In OT, like Psalm 51
Sin has earthly consequences	Sin still has consequences until we repent
What we ought to do	God's work/agency, God's kindness
God is difficult – Commands and demands	Childlike faith – No demands
Moses, John the Baptist, the rich young man	Jesus! and the Holy Spirit
Quit Sinai	go to Golgotha
Shall NOT	A gift passively received
Shows man's depravity	New creation
Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is unforgivable	Aegidius Mimmius, ... can repent
Written on human hearts	Only possible via the Holy Spirit
Death/darkness/thirst	Life/light/refreshed
Concupiscence	… can repent
Roman Catholic tradition is new law	NOT a new "law"
"on account" of faith (works)	"by" faith (Grace)
To appease God/gods	To glorify God
ll belief systems have law – there is NO exit	There will always be a remnant

After the Gospel

After the Holy Spirit indwells us (the Gospel has taken hold) we can:

Receive the benefits of the Sacraments … Grace   Justification   Reflect God's kindness   Perform works that please God   Daily repentance (in the narrow sense) that brings absolution   Pray effectively   Have feelings that further develop our faith   Sanctification   …   New Heavens and new earth

Doctrine

Point of Doctine	Participants
Jesus was/is eternal	Athanasius and Arius, 319 AD
Preach Law and Gospel every sermon	Antinomian heresy
Man does NOT have Free Will in matters of faith	Augustine of Hippo
Fear The LORD	.. future discussion ..
The Bible is discernable, it is a reliable witness	.. future discussion ..
Elected / Lutheran Predestination	.. future discussion ..
The Keys / Forgiveness	.. future discussion ..

Miscellaneous Notes

8/23  Session 9

•   Faith is the narrow path

8/9  Session 8

•   Original Sin and human depravity is offensive to unbelievers
•   A free gift of salvation is offensive to unbelievers
•   The Church cannot bring peace to the world; we are in the devil's sphere

7/26  Session 7

•   Those who love to sin will reject God's Grace
•   Scripture read - Eph 2:8–9, Matt 19, Phil 3:8–9, Hab 2:4, and Gal 3:21

7/12  Session 6

•   Should we pray for temporal things?  Isaiah 1:15, a lengthy discussion
  • YES!  Isaiah 1:15 was told to an unrepentant/wayward Isra'el.
•   Heresies (generally) deny God's Grace
•   Christian Liberty – can do what is NOT commanded and what is NOT forbidden
•   I believe, help my unbelief.
•   A book suggestion, "How Good do You Have to Be?" by Charles Stanley (answer: just believe)

6/14 and 6/28  Sessions 4 and 5

•   Prayer
•   Good works follow faith; works without faith are dirty rags
•   You will love the Law after being foregiven
•   Crucify! vs Hosanna! … different crowds?
•   Need to speak Truth to the culture … NO to wokeness

	Getting	NOT Getting
What you deserve	The World … Justice?	Mercy
What you do NOT deserve	Grace	??

5/24/23  Session 3

•   Ed presented part of his Chat GPT report on CFW Walther
•   Preaching that does NOT mention Law, nor Gospel ruins and damns
•   The distinction is more difficult when conseling/pastoring (1-on-1)
•   The distinction was maintained until the 6^th century
•   Rediscovered by Luther
•   isms ... especially Rationalism of the 1880s
•   The pope is antichrist, comingling Law and Gospel
•   Vatican I and Vatican II

5/10/23  Session 2

•   The devil comingles Law & Gospel to confuse/mislead
•   Casual Christians vs indwelt Christians
•   The Sower (parable) – can hear God's Word and reject faith
•   Humility

4/26/23  Session 1

•   Cannot comingle/muddle Law & Gospel, but must always preach both
•   The distinction guides our way to witness
•   Walther's book is for preachers
•   Gay "churches" … how is that possible?  (a later add) cannot be comfortable in Sin

 

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