Reflections on Law and Gospel in Christian Teaching

~ The Thirty ~ The Thirty- -Eighth ~ Evening Lecture Evening Lecture Eighth ~

What purpose has the Law never served (not even in the Garden of Eden)? When it comes to the things we desire, what perverse trait is common to all human beings? What does Walther say is the most common reason for a congregation that does not bring forth abundant fruits of faith? 2

The principal matter is that he attain to full assurance of his state of grace and his salvation. 3

Preaching the Gospel means nothing else than telling men that they have been reconciled, perfectly reconciled, with God by Christ. (same with Baptism, absolution and Holy Communion). 4

Nowhere in the Holy Scriptures do we find the apostles treating the members of the congregations as if they were uncertain regarding their standing with God. Their treatment of them is always such that one can see they presuppose that their members, in spite of their weaknesses and blemishes, are dear, beloved children of God. 5

The reason is that ministers, as a rule, [are] confounding Law and Gospel. For when the Gospel is preached with an admixture of Law, it is impossible for a hearer to attain to faith in the forgiveness of his sins. 6

In the twentieth place, the Word of God is not rightly divided when the unforgiven sin against the Holy Ghost is described in a manner as if it could not be forgiven because of its magnitude. 7

The Gospel absolves the sinner from all sins without an exception. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white a snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Is 1, 18. 8

Matthew 12:3032 Mark 3:28 30 Luke 12:10 Hebrews 6:4 8 1 John 5:16 9

The meaning of this passage cannot be that the unforgivable sin is blasphemy against the person of the Holy Spirit; for blasphemy against the Father and the Son is exactly the same sin. The blasphemy to which our text refers is directed against the office, or operation of the Holy Spirit. 10

When I am sitting in a beautiful room with windows open and a bad boy throws dirt into the room, I am not responsible for this. In the same way, earnest Christians . . . have been harassed with the most horrible thoughts against the Holy Ghost. Such thoughts are the devil s filth. 11

When Christ, by the finger of God, cast out devils, the Pharisees, who had come down from Jerusalem, declared this operation of the Holy Spirit a work of the devil. This, even though they were convinced in their hearts that it was a divine work. Definition: To declare a work of the Holy Ghost a work of the devil when one is convinced that it is a work of the Holy Ghost, that is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. Franz Pieper: When, after the Holy Ghost has convinced a person in his heart of the divine truth, that person nevertheless not only rejects the truth he is convinced of, but also blasphemes it. (Dogmatics, vol. 1, p 573) 12

Unless the Holy Spirit brings us to faith, we shall never attain it. Whoever rejects the Holy Spirit is beyond help, even by God. 13

The person who has committed it cannot be restored to repentance. Why? Because he cannot be induced to repent. The soil of his heart has been finally blasted and is no longer fructified by the dew and rain of divine grace. 14

The Christians in the days of the apostles had the gift to discern the spirits. We can say of no person before his death that he has committed the sin against the Holy Ghost. Even when his mouth utters blasphemies, we do not know to what extent his heart is implicated. 15

The person is not at all rejoicing over what he tells you; it is all so awfully horrid to him. This shows that God has at least begun to lead him to repentance. When you ask him whether he wishes he had not done those evil things, he will answer: Yes, indeed; these things are causing me to most awful worry. That is a sure sign that God has begun the work of repentance in that person. 16

The minister must aim at convincing his hearers that they have not committed this sin rather than warning them not to commit it. To a person who has really committed this sin preaching is of no benefit. 17

The sin is not unpardonable because of its magnitude. The Apostle, as we heard, has distinctly declared: Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Rather, it is unpardonable because the person committing this sin rejects the only means by which he can be brought to repentance. 18

It is undoubtedly incorrect to regard impenitence unto the end as the sin against the Holy Ghost. In that case most men would have committed this sin! However, final impenitence is a feature of this sin. 19

Yes! Let every one beware of resisting the Holy Ghost. When a sin has been revealed to him and his own heart affirms that it is a sin, let not his mouth deny the fact. That may not yet be the sin against the Holy Ghost, but it may be a step in that direction. 20

They would not feel distressed if they really had committed that sin Rather, they would find their constant delight in blaspheming the Gospel. 21

his unbelief. The Calvinists teach the really diabolical error that such men cannot be saved for the reason that Christ did not suffer and atone for their sins and did not redeem them. 22

Francesco Spiera (1502-1548) From Wikipedia: Protestants of early modern period used his case as an example of the dreadful consequences of the sin against the Holy Ghost: he discerned evangelical truth, but denied and abjured it for external reasons. Spiera had a respected position in his native town; and a fine house, in which ten children grew up, appeared to insure his happiness. Besides the Scriptures, there fell into his hands various evangelical writings, such as The Benefit of Christ's Death, Doctrine Old and New, and Summary of Sacred Scripture, which instilled in him doubts about Roman Catholic teachings, such as those on purgatory and veneration of the saints. With others he was arraigned before the Inquisition at Venice; and his trial came off between May 24 and June 20, 1548. On the latter day in St. Mark's Spiera made solemn abjuration of his "errors," and subscribed the abjuration, which he then repeated on the following Sunday in Cittadella, after mass in the cathedral. On returning home, so he related it himself, "the Spirit," or the voice of his conscience, began to reproach him for having denied the truth. Amid grounds of comfort that either he or his friends advanced, and a state of despair that grew more and more hopeless, there began a terrible struggle within himself, which so affected him physically that he was taken to Padua to be treated by physicians. The treatment was in vain, and the conflict, which Pier Paolo Vergerio and others witnessed, ended in his death, shortly after his return to his home. That Spiera laid violent hands on himself is later invention. 23