From: Cmekve@aol.com
Date: Sun Jul 20 2003 - 01:12:17 EDT
In a message dated 7/19/03 4:39:21 AM Mountain Standard Time,
gmurphy@raex.com writes:
<< The law has two basic functions:
1) It maintains order in the world (civil use).
2) It makes people aware of their sin (theological use).
Those who are justified in Christ are free from the law (Rom.10:4). But
Christians
in this life are still sinners (as well as saints!) & thus always need to
hear the
law in its 2d use. They also live in the world with others, including
non-Christians,
& for the sake of their neighbors are subject to the law in its 1st use.
I think the question at issue here is whether or not the law has a "3d
use" as a
guide for the Christian life. The Reformed tradion has generally said
"Yes." The
Lutheran tradition has been somewhat ambiguous about this but I think most
consistently
says "No." This does _not_ mean that Christians are not subject to the law
at all, but
simply that it functions for them in the 2 ways noted above, & that there is
no
distinctively Christian use of the law. To put it another way, apart from
use #1 the
law always has a negative function - "the law always accuses."
>>
George:
What you say above is true but it seems to lead to typical modern Protestant
(not just Lutheran) antinomianism. If I understand them correctly (and that
could be a big 'if'!), a number of Lutheran theologians have responded to
Veritatis Splendor by emphasizing a third use of the Law. David Yeago and Reinhard
Hutter have been most vocal. For instance Hutter writes:
"Thus according to Luther's eschatological understanding of faith, when
Christ himself, the new Adam, is present in the believer, there is no difference
anymore between God's gospel -- God's forgiving, restoring, and sanctifying
acrtivity in Christ -- and God's commandments as the gospel's creaturely form of
freedom. Christ's law, Luther says, "is faith, that is, that living and
spiritual flame inscribed by the Spirit in human hearts, which wills, does, and
indeed is that which the law of Moses commands and requires verbally..."" ["The
Twofold Center of Lutheran Ethics: Christian Freedom and God's Commandments", in
Bloomquist and Stumme, 1998, The Promise of Lutheran Ethics, p44]
It seems that the argument is that perfect gospel freedom IS following the
Law (of course always keeping simul justis et peccator in mind during this
life). I probably haven't been very clear as I'm still trying to absorb it myself.
Anything here you can sink your teeth into and comment on ?
Karl
*******************
Karl V. Evans
cmekve@aol.com
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