11. Law and Gospel
11. Law and Gospel
Here see you the nature of the law and the nature of the evangelion: how the law is the key that binds and damns all men, and the evangelion is the key that looses them again. The law goes before and the evangelion follows. When a preacher preaches the law, he binds all consciences; and when he preaches the gospel, he looses them again. God and His preacher use these two salves (I mean the law and the gospel) to heal and cure sinners withal. The law drives out the disease, and makes it appear, and is a sharp salve, and a fretting corosy,37 and kills the dead flesh, and looses and draws the sores out by the roots, and all corruption. It pulls from a man the trust and confidence that he has in himself and in his own works, merits, deservings, and ceremonies, and robs him of all his righteousness and makes him poor. It kills him, sends him down to hell, and brings him to utter desperation, and prepares the way of the Lord, as it is written of John the Baptist. For it is not possible that Christ should come to a man, as long as he trusts in himself, or in any worldly thing, or has any righteousness of his own, or riches of holy works. Then comes the evangelion, a more gentle pastor, which supples and assuages38 the wounds of the conscience and brings health. It brings the Spirit of God, Who looses the bonds of Satan, and couples us to God and His will through strong faith and fervent love, with bonds too strong for the devil, the world, or any creature to loose them. And the poor and wretched sinner feels so great mercy, love, and kindness in God, that he is sure in himself how that it is not possible that God should forsake him or withdraw His mercy and love from him, and boldly cries out with Paul, saying, “Who shall separate us from the love that God loveth us withal?” (Rom 8:4ff). That is to say, What shall make me believe that God loves me not? Shall tribulation, anguish, persecution? Shall hunger, nakedness? Shall sword? Nay, “I am sure that neither death, nor life, neither angel, neither rule nor power, neither present things nor things to come, neither high nor low, neither any creature is able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” In all such tribulations, a Christian man perceives that God is his Father, and loves him, even as He loved Christ when He shed His blood on the cross.
Finally, as before, when I was bond to the devil and his will, I wrought all manner evil and wickedness, not for hell’s sake, which is the reward of sin; but I did evil because by birth I was heir of hell and bondage to the devil. For I could do no otherwise do; to do sin was my nature. Even so now, since I am coupled to God by Christ’s blood, do I well, not for heaven’s sake, which is yet the reward of well doing. But because I am heir of heaven by grace and Christ’s purchasing, and have the Spirit of God, I do good freely, for so is my nature, as a good tree brings forth good fruit, and an evil tree evil fruit. By the fruits shall you know what the tree is. A man’s deeds declare what he is within, but make him neither good nor bad, though, after we be created anew by the Spirit and doctrine of Christ, we wax more perfect always with working according to the doctrine, and not with blind works of our own imagining. We must be first evil ere we do evil, as a serpent is first poisoned ere he poison. We must also be good ere we do good, as the fire must be first hot, ere it heat another thing. Take an example. As those blind and deaf which are cured in the gospel could not see nor hear till Christ had given them sight and hearing, and those sick could not do the deeds of an whole man till Christ had given them health, so can no man do good in his soul till Christ have loosed him out of the bonds of Satan, and have given him wherewith to do good, yea, and first have poured into him that self39 good thing which he sheds forth afterward on others. Whatsoever is our own is sin. Whatsoever is above that is Christ’s gift, purchase, doing, and working. He bought it of His Father dearly,40 with His blood, yea, with His most bitter death, and gave His life for it. Whatsoever good thing is in us, that is given us freely without our deserving or merits for Christ’s blood’s sake. That we desire to follow the will of God, it is the gift of Christ’s blood. That we now hate the devil’s will (whereunto we were so fast locked, and could not but love it) is also the gift of Christ’s blood, unto Whom belongs the praise and honor of our good deeds, and not unto us.