Martin Luther and God’s Law
Labels:
Important messages
 |
| (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?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Recommended Books
Post a Comment