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Lowell Brueckner

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Martin Luther and God’s Law

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(click to see Luther's quote in larger print)
I am about half-way through reading Luther's commentary on Galatians for the second time. I read it many years ago and I find things of high value for Christians, especially in our day, and I feel obligated to pass them on. I want to lay before you Luther's claim that the Law must be implemented in evangelism. I hope the reader will understand that I am not talking about keeping the law (because he is a new man, from his heart he is compatible with the law of God's nature) but using it to show the sinner that he is guilty before God.

For several decades, Ray Comfort has been trying to reestablish this same principle in the church. I, for one, believe him and hopefully, God´s people will understand and accept his affirmation as Bible truth. Of course, he is not the only one, who sees this need in our day. There are men and churches that have never departed from proclaiming the Law in conjunction with the preaching of the gospel, but unfortunately, they have mostly gone unnoticed.


(click to see Comfort's quote in larger print 
The great evangelists throughout the history of the Church knew how to use the Law, so it is not that Comfort is trying out a new method. It is THE Scriptural method, the way of God, since the beginning of time. First came the fall of man, then the promise of a Redeemer, and then the Law, to show man that he is an incurable sinner. When he learns that lesson, then grace shows another way… “a new and living way,” wrote the writer of Hebrews (10:20). It is through the cross of Christ and the gift of God, by which man is freely justified (pardoned, not guilty, right before God).

Martin Luther commented on Galatians 3:19: "The proper use and function of the Law is to threaten until the conscience is scared stiff!" He complained of some around him, who thought, "If the Law does not justify, it is good for nothing?" Luther argues, "Because money does not justify, would you say that money is good for nothing? Because the eyes do not justify, would you have them taken out?" He continues, "The Law has a twofold purpose: "It restrains me as iron bars restrain a lion and a bear... Such forceful restraint cannot be regarded as righteousness, rather as an indication of unrighteousness... The Law bridles mad and furious man to keep him from running wild." In other words, because the Law is a necessity, it shows that man is an unrighteous sinner and he must be restrained by it, to keep him from doing his worst and to keep society relatively safe.

"The second purpose of the Law," Luther explains, "is to tear to pieces that monster called self-righteousness… As long as a person is not a murderer, adulterer, thief, he would swear that he is righteous… As long as a person thinks he is right he is going to be incomprehensibly proud and presumptuous.... The gospel of the free forgiveness of sins through Christ will never appeal to the self-righteous… How is God going to humble such a person except by the Law? The Law is the hammer of death, the thunder of hell, and the lightning of God's wrath to bring down the proud and shameless."

"This monster of self-righteousness, this stiff-necked beast, needs a big axe. And that is what the Law is, a big axe. When the children of Israel saw the whole mountain burning and smoking, the black clouds rent by fierce lightning flashing up and down in the inky darkness, they begged Moses, 'Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.' Not a single one could stand in the presence of the glorious Lord."

"The Law is meant to produce the same effect today which it produced at Mt. Sinai long ago. I WANT TO ENCOURAGE ALL WHO FEAR GOD, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO INTEND TO BECOME MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL, TO LEARN FROM THE APOSTLE THE PROPER USE OF THE LAW. I FEAR THAT AFTER OUR TIME THE RIGHT HANDLING OF THE LAW WILL BECOME A LOST ART. EVEN NOW, WE HAVE THOSE AMONG US WHO DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW THE LAW SHOULD BE USED. WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE WHEN WE ARE DEAD AND GONE?"

I'm afraid that we have to sadly answer that question: We have churches full of unrepentant sinners, sitting in the pews, as if they were saints, who have never seen that they are absolutely unfit to stand before an infinitely holy God. They have not seen themselves as "sin factories", which can produce nothing besides sin. At their best, they are wretches, worthless, unable to do any good, unable to understand the things of God, and are incapable of seeking after Him. Those are not my words; they are the words of Paul (Ro.3:10-18). The great need of our day is a revival of the fear of God, through the use of the Law, which can convert sinners into saints.


Paul tells Timothy, "Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully," To the Romans: "Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God...through the law comes knowledge of sin." To the Galatians: "Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions... We were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came." That is the clear teaching of the New Testament. How do you evangelize?


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