Law and Gospel

By Rev. David Petersen

The Fifth Petition: And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

What does this mean? We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look at our sins, or deny our prayer because of them. We are neither worthy of the things for which we pray, nor have we deserved them, but we ask that He would give them all to us by grace, for we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment. So we too will sincerely forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against us.

Distinguishing between the Law and the Gospel is the most fundamental theological task of the Christian. Luther famously said, “Whoever has mastered the art of distinguishing the Law from the Gospel should be moved to the front of the class and called a doctor of Holy Scriptures.” When I was a seventh grade confirmation student, I heard that quote, and I thought Luther was talking about me.

It seemed so simple. The Law shows us our sins. The Gospel shows us our Savior. The Law commands and describes good works, and it forbids and describes sins. The Gospel pronounces God’s forgiveness in Jesus Christ, the love of God, the Good News of declared righteousness. The Law exposes our need for salvation but cannot save us. But the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. It actually delivers forgiveness. It declares us pleasing to God by grace.What is so hard about that?

It wasn’t that I was unappreciative of Law and Gospel. I loved Law and Gospel. I loved what the distinction meant: that while I was a sinner, accused and condemned by the Law for my failure to live up to its perfect demands, I was nonetheless a saint of God in Christ Jesus, washed clean by His holy death and resurrection.

Yet it amazed me that so many Christians were confused by this and thought they were talking about the Gospel when they were really talking about the Law. Were people really so arrogant as to think they were marginally better than their neighbors and that God would forgive their sins because they tried hard or sinned less than other people? Yes. They were (and are). I was astounded that so many of my friends thought salvation was obtained by works or being good or somehow pleasing God. On top of this, I was sorely disappointed in my early evangelism efforts. I thought I could simply tell them the truth and they would awaken out of their confusion. They didn’t. Thus, in my arrogance, I consigned them to Hell.

I look back now at my enthusiasm with serious embarrassment. I had no real appreciation for Holy Baptism. I didn’t know it, but I wasn’t very Lutheran. I was really an Arminian (ask your pastor to explain that particular error to you), and I also thought that faith was mainly a matter of the will or intellect. Worst of all, I was so focused on the right distinction between the Law and the Gospel, and wanting to hear a correct articulation of the Gospel, that I made a law of it. I made the most basic and destructive theological error: I thought I knew who was going to heaven and who wasn’t. I set myself up as the judge and used my emerging theology as the criteria. I substituted orthodoxy, and that orthodoxy by my standards, for grace.

Over the years, my love for the distinction between the Law and the Gospel has not lessened. It has grown stronger. But if it is stronger, it is also more nuanced. I am a little more careful than I used to be. I also try to listen more closely to those who say things differently than I do. My life and experience has shown me how often I have been in error and how easily I’ve slipped into a confusion of Law and Gospel even while I was striving with all my intellect to properly distinguish between them. The difficulty is not simply in knowing if a particular statement is Law or Gospel. The most difficult task is rightly applying Law and Gospel. A friend once told me he was afraid God was not real. I told him God is real and he should believe it. That was true, but it was Law. Telling him that he should believe in God was an accusation. It condemned his doubt. I wonder now if I shouldn’t have told him instead that his fear was a sign of faith’s struggle against his doubt and that his doubt is forgiven in Christ.

There is a time for the Law. To tell an unrepentant unbeliever that his doubts did not matter, that they were forgiven, would be a lie. The unrepentant need the Law to expose their need for forgiveness. But the proper work of God is done not through the Law but through the Gospel. Distinguishing between the Law and the Gospel is the most fundamental theological task of every Christian and applying them is theology’s highest art. But, as with most art, the mastery of the fundamentals takes a lifetime of practice. Thanks be to God, the Holy Spirit does not depend on our skill in these things but works through His Word despite us.

When Luther praised the ability to distinguish between Law and Gospel, he was not exaggerating. The person who masters it should be moved to the front of the class and called a doctor of Holy Scripture. We may never get there on this side of heaven, but while we wait for the promise of the Gospel to be fulfilled in us, we get to practice. We get to hear God’s Word and let it have its way with us, both convicting and cleansing us. And that is the real joy of theology and distinguishing the Law from the Gospel.

Rev. David Petersen is pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and is also on the Higher Things editorial board. His e-mail address is prdhpetersen@gmail.com.

The Lord’s Prayer. Luther's Small Catechism © 1986 Concordia Publishing House. www.cph.org.Used with permission.