Locus 7 — The Gospel
really terrified by the judgment of God. Therefore there be banished from our consciences and they may have firm comfort in the face of the real terrors that afflict us.
In their midst we can correctly judge how necessary this gracious promise is. And it is to this struggle that this doctrine is especially to be referred. is need for a gracious and free forgiveness, and God has revealed through His mercy that He is willing to forgive us and restore eternal life to us. He has also supplied the Sacrifice for us, His own Son, that we may know that these blessings have been given for the sake of His Son and not because of our worthiness or merit.
This Gospel promise was revealed immediately after the fall of Adam, so that there was no lack of comfort for that first church.
We must also understand that the promise has to be received by faith, as Paul teaches in Rom. 4:16:
"Therefore it is freely by faith, that the promise might be sure. ..." And in 1 John 5:10: "He who does not believe God makes Him a liar." Thus the word "freely" does not exclude faith, but it does exclude our worthi ness as a condition, and it transfers the cause of this blessing from ourselves to Christ. It does not exclude our obedience, but it only transfers the cause of our blessing away from the worthiness of our own obedi ence and attributes it to Christ, in order that the blessing may be certain. Thus the Gospel speaks of repentance, but in order that the reconciliation may be certain, it teaches that sins are forgiven and that we are pleasing to God not because of the worthiness of our repentance or our renewal. This is necessary comfort for pious con sciences. From this we can judge how to reconcile our statement that the Gospel speaks about repentance and yet freely promises reconciliation. Later we shall speak more fully on this paradox.
This is the one and the same Gospel by which all the saints from the beginning of the world have been saved in all periods of history—Adam, Noah, Abraham,
Jacob, the prophets, and the apostles. Therefore we must not imagine that the patriarchs vyere saved by the natural law and the Jews by the law of Moses and that we are saved by some kind of law of our own. There is absolutely only one Law, the moral law of all ages and of all peoples, as we have said above; but neither the patriarchs nor the Jews nor the Gentiles nor we ourselves are saved by satisfying this Law. No one satisfies the Law. The Law leaves our consciences in doubt.
The difference between the patriarchs and Xen ophon, Cicero, and other good men like them is that although they all knew the Law, they did not all know the Gospel. Thus Xenophon, Cicero, and the others were in doubt as to whether God cared about them, whether God was favorably inclined toward them, whether they were heard by God. For since they knew the Law, they saw that they were not innocent; but the Christ defines the Gospel in the last chapter of Luke as clearly as an artist when He commands us to teach "repentance and remission of sins in His name"
[v. 47], Therefore the Gospel is the preaching of re pentance and the promise. Human reason does not by nature comprehend this, but it is divinely revealed that God has promised that for the sake of Christ, His Son,
He will remit sins and pronounce us righteous, that is, accepted by Him; and He gives the Holy Spirit and eternal life, if only we believe, that is, trust that these blessings come to us for the sake of Christ. These things are promised freely, that they may be sure.
Law taught them that God was kindly disposed toward those who are without sin. They did not know the Gos pel about the free remission of sins. On the other hand,
Abraham, Jacob, and men like them, because they knew the Gospel, knew that their sins were forgiven them, that they had a God who was favorable toward them, that God cared about them, that they were heard by God, even though they were unworthy. Therefore it is written: "Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness" [Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:3].
This is the definition of the Gospel in which we lay hold on three Gospel blessings: that for the sake of Christ our sins are freely remitted; that we are freely pronounced righteous, that is, reconciled or accepted by God; that we are made heirs of eternal life. These three parts we shall explain later on. Only keep this in mind, that these blessings belong to the Gospel and are otherwise summed up in the one word "justification."
There is one Law, known by nature to all peoples and ages; and there is one Gospel, but it is not known by nature but only by divine revelation. Thus Paul calls it a "hidden mystery" [1 Cor. 2:7]. And John [1:18] says that "the Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has revealed Him to us." All of these points will be explained more fully when we speak a little later about grace and about justification.
The Need for the Promise of the Gospel Now, since we say that the Fathers received the same Gospel, we must show first in what way the Gos pel was revealed from the beginning. I will cite a few such passages and from them similar passages in the reading of the prophets should be referred to. For the Gospel was revealed and appeared little by little, with increasing clarity, as the prophets preached this free and gracious reconciliation.
After human nature has become oppressed by sin and death because of the fall of Adam, even though some knowledge of the Law remains, yet because sin inheres in our nature, our consciences cannot under stand that God is willing to forgive if they hear nothing except the Law. For the Law does not teach that sins are forgiven freely. We know that we are not without sin, and we perceive it very clearly when our minds are
The promise concerning Christ and His benefits
statements are in the Psalms and the prophets. The Gospel is set forth very clearly in some of these. In the Psalms, David seeks forgiveness of his sins for the sake of God's mercy and not on the grounds of his own worthiness or merit; for example, "Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for no one living shall be justified in Your sight," Ps. 143:2. It is certainly not the was first revealed to Adam immediately after the Fall, so that, even though he had fallen under death and the wrath of God, he yet might have the consolation by which he could know both that God was again and would continue to be favorably inclined toward him and that death at some point would be overcome. That first promise clearly sets forth these two benefits, even though it seems to be rather obscure to us; but to Adam in his status at that time it was not obscure. "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall crush your head, and you shall lie in wait for His heel," Gen. 3:15. preaching of the Law which seeks mercy and confesses sins; indeed, the Law condemns all, in order that we all may know that our sins are freely forgiven. Again,
"If You should mark iniquities, O Lord, who will stand?"
Ps. 130:3. Or, "I said I will confess against myself my unrighteousness, and You have forgiven the wicked ness of my heart," Ps. 32:5. Or the passage which describes Christ as a priest, Ps. 110:4, "You are a priest forever," which testifies that this priest will propitiate
God and restore eternal righteousness and eternal life, for it calls Him "a priest forever."
This is a marvelous account, one that can seem ridiculous and fabulous to the ungodly. But the pious will see that the most important matters are here dealt with in the briefest possible way. Here is a description of the beginning of the punishment for sin, thqt because of sin the devil with his cruel tyranny is going to oppress the human race with sins and death, as the very history of the world testifies and which is all shown in the terri ble sentence laid upon Adam.
We must apply similar passages in the Psalms to this teaching concerning the gracious forgiveness of sins. For these lovely songs sing sweetly to us about this and bring us great comfort. If we believe that these promises depend upon our worthiness, when the Psalms command us to rejoice and trust in God's mercy, then our consciences would always remind us that we are unworthy and that these promises in no way apply to the unworthy. Therefore we must guard our minds against this doubt and be aware that these very words which command us to rejoice have been spoken in order that they may relieve this doubt which has arisen from our unworthiness.
Then there is added in this verse a brief descrip tion of the reign of Christ, that it is in the future, that the seed of the woman is going to crush the head, that is, the kingdom, of the serpent; that is, that He will destroy sin and death. This consolation raises Adam up; he recognizes that he is at peace with God, even though he sees that he is unworthy and unclean. He sees what he has lost, but he awaits that Seed by whom his lost righteousness and eternal life are to be restored to him. This trust in His mercy pleases God. The words that are added, that the devil "will lie in wait for the heel of the Seed," Adam understood to mean that Christ and the saints will be afflicted in this life but that Christ will nevertheless overcome the kingdom of the devil.
If we believe that reconciliation has been freely promised to us, then faith will be certain and we will rejoice in God's mercy and give Him thanks. But so great is the weakness and frailty of the human mind that it cannot grasp the greatness of this mercy. We are so burdened down under work-righteousness and the judgment of the Law that we cannot be persuaded that the Gospel freely offers mercy to all. Therefore faith must always struggle with this weakness of ours in or der that we may take courage and learn to trust in God and truly invoke and worship Him.
Later on the promise was renewed to Abraham:
"In your Seed shall all the nations be blessed," Gen.
12:3. This means that all the nations are now under the curse, that God is angry at all nations, and that they all are oppressed by sin and death. But the time is coming when through the Seed of Abraham they shall again be freed from these evils. The apostles interpreted this promise in this way, as is evident from the Book of Acts and from Paul.
In Isaiah there are many statements which deal with Christ, the remission of sins, and eternal life. Chap ter 53 clearly bears witness to the promise of the re mission of sins for the sake of Christ and not because of our own worthiness. The Lord "has laid upon Him the iniquities of us all," v. 6. And lest the Jews get the idea that they merited the remission of their sins by reason of the Levitical sacrifices, Isaiah testifies that there is still another sacrifice by which sin is truly ab solved: "He shall make His soul an offering for sin," v.
Furthermore, in this same account of Abraham is added the idea of justification. God comforts Abra ham by saying: "Do not be afraid; I am your Protector,"
Gen. 15:1. Then He adds the promise concerning the Seed, and Abraham believes this word, that is, although he sees and realizes that he is unclean and unworthy, yet he understands that he has a God who is favorable toward him for the sake of His own mercy and the prom ise of the Seed, and thus he is pronounced righteous.
This example teaches that we obtain reconciliation through the promise and faith, for faith does not rely on our own worthiness but only on the mercy of God.
10. Again, He condemns all, for he says, "All we like sheep have gone astray," v. 6, in order that we know that we have received the benefits of Christ because of His mercy and not because of our own worthiness.
And finally he adds the clearest testimony of all, "By His knowledge He shall justify many," v. 11. This means
Gradually many other statements and examples followed concerning the remission of sins. The clearest
that we must definitely establish the fact that we are pronounced righteous if we confess Christ, that is, if we confess that God is favorable toward us for the sake of Christ. Therefore there must be no doubt regarding our own unworthiness and no feeling that we are righ teous because of the Law. But I shall cite no more testimonies, for I have cited these for the sake of ex ample so that the readers can see in Scripture which passages are speaking properly of the Law and which properly of the Gospel, and thus can note the difference between the Law and the promise of the Gospel. For these two particular loci are the chief teaching of Scrip ture, to which all parts of Scripture must be wisely compared. a certain few others, but not to ourselves. There is no doubt that this thought troubles the minds of all people.
From this have arisen many useless controversies by writers on the subject of predestination. But we must make up our minds that the promise of the Gospel is universal.. For just as the preaching of repentance is universal, so also is the preaching of the remission of sins universal. Under this heading belong the various statements of Scripture pertaining to the universality of the Gospel, such as John 3:16: ''God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever be lieves in Him should not perish ..Likewise in Paul,
"God has imprisoned all under sin that He might have mercy upon all" [Rom. 11:32; cf. Gal. 3:22]. This is sufficient instruction for the moment. But below, under Thus far, we have described the Gospel and shown the difference between the Law and the Gospel.
But all this will be illustrated when we speak of justifi cation, faith, and works. Now only one part, as it were, needs to be added, namely this: just as it is necessary to know that the Gospel is a gracious and free promise, so also it is necessary to know that the Gospel is a universal promise, that is, that reconciliation is offered and promised to all people. the locus on predestination, we must speak again re garding this universal promise.
That not all obtain the Gospel promise comes from the fact that they do not all believe. For the Gospel, even though it promises freely, yet requires faith; it is necessary that the promise be received by faith. The term "freely" does not exclude faith, but it does exclude our worthiness as a condition, as we have said above; and it demands that we accept the promise, and this
We must retain this universal promise against dangers we might imagine regarding predestination, so that we do not argue that this promise pertains only to cannot take place except through faith.
Locus 8 Grace and Justification This locus contains the sum and substance of the Gospel. It shows the benefit of Christ in the proper sense, it offers a firm comfort to pious minds, it teaches the true worship of God, true invocation, and it espe cially distinguishes the church of God from other peo ple—the Jews, the Mohammedans, and the Pelagians, that is, from all who imagine that man is righteous by the Law or by discipline and who want us to be in doubt regarding the remission of our sins. There is great dis sension of opinions about this subject, for many follow human judgments and neglect the simple teaching of the prophets, Christ, and the apostles. They bhange this teaching into a philosophy, minimize the sin in our nature, and believe that only discipline is required by the law of God. From here they go on to imagine that there is no difference between the teaching of the phi losophers and that of Christ. essary to explain this locus of justification and with a grateful mind receive this blessing of God which the light of the Gospel has again restored.
It cannot be denied that there were errors in the teaching of the monks, and although they have cor rected some of them, their substance remains. In re gard to the remission of sins they still vociferously assert that it is not correct to teach that remission of sins is received by faith, freely, for the sake of Christ, and they do not admit that the term "by faith'' means to trust in the mercy of God. Indeed, they want us al ways to be in doubt as to whether we are in grace.
Then they add that we merit the remission of sins be cause of contrition and love. When they speak of a contrition or sorrow or shame which is without trust in God's mercy, the stronger it is the more it drives a person to despair, as Paul says: "The Law works wrath"
[Rom. 4:15], In all periods of history these ungodly and human fabrications have obscured the true doctrine of the church. For example, the Pharisees believed that they were righteous by the Law. Then, because it became necessary to ask why the Messiah was going to come, they dreamed up the idea that He was going to come to establish His rule over the world, not understanding that He had to become a sacrifice for the human race in order to satisfy the wrath of God against sin and that another kind of righteousness was going to be given to men. Even before the Pharisees, hypocrites in the church in the period of the patriarchs had believed the same things.
Then they say, further, that the regenerate satisfy the law of God and are righteous because of their ful fillment of the Law, and that this very thing is a merit and the reward is eternal life, and that in the regenerate there is no remaining disobedience in conflict with the law of God. They add that the regenerate still must be in doubt as to whether they are in grace, and they must remain in this doubt.
This kind of doubt is plainly heathenish. Nor are these errors only minor matters, but rather they cast darkness over the Gospel, hide the benefits of Christ, take away true comfort of conscience, and destroy true prayer. Therefore it is necessary that the church be warned about these important matters. For this reason
But the prophets attacked these errors and cried that sin is not taken away by the righteousness of the Law, that sin still remains in this mortal nature of ours, but that believers are righteous, their prayers are heard, and eternal life is given to them by God because of the promised Savior (cf. Ps. 143:2; 2:11; Is. 53:11). Thus, when Christ and the apostles revived this teaching, im mediately human opinions regarding discipline began to be spread abroad, because it is something great to govern external morals. As a result, fanatical spirits arose who drastically changed the Gospel into Law, or Pharisaism, and imagined that people are righteous by the Law. Lest Christ seem to have brought in nothing new, they said that He handed down some new laws regarding celibacy and not taking revenge.
I shall explain the sum of this matter as clearly and plainly as possible.
First. In regard to discipline, we loudly proclaim that all human beings must be trained by discipline, that is, by that righteousness which even the unregen erate must and can produce. As Paul says, "The Law was laid down for the unrighteous" [1 Tim. 1:9]. And God punishes the violation of discipline with temporal and eternal punishments. It is a great proclamation of discipline when Paul says: "The Law is our school master unto Christ" [Gal. 3:24], because the Gospel is not effective in those who do not cease to go against conscience.
These ridiculous notions were spawned imme diately after the apostles. It is no wonder that darkness also followed. Although some godly people did retain the true understanding, yet there was a great difference among writers, with one speaking more accurately than another. But we shall speak elsewhere regarding these writers. At this point I only want to say as a preface that the pious reader should understand that it is nec
Although no human activity is more beautiful than discipline, as Aristotle correctly says: "Righteousness is more lovely than the evening or morning star," yet we must not accept the notion that it is the fulfillment of the Law, that it merits remission of sins, and that because of it a person is righteous, that is, reconciled with God. Paul says that the Jews look upon the face of Moses under a veil [2 Cor. 3:13], that is, not correctly