Lutherans understand that God’s Word comes to us as both Law and Gospel. For Lutherans, the Law comes to us first to reveal our sin and convicts our hearts of the folly of trying to be righteous and earn God’s favor. Recognition of our sin drives us to the Cross. It is in the Cross of Christ, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, that we receive God’s grace (the Gospel). The Law convicts us of our sin. The Gospel proclaims our forgiveness.
The verse from the Gospel of John above reveals that the Law that convicts us came to us through Moses when God brought him to Mount Sinai and gave him and the people of Israel the Law, what we now understand to be the Ten Commandments. These laws were given by God to shape the ancient Israelites into a people wholly devoted to the one true God and to bring order to society. The law, though, did not bring the people forgiveness for their sins: “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” This is key for understanding how Lutherans interpret Scripture. Sinners are justified before God by his grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ. Sinners are brought to repentance through the condemning force of the Law and brought to salvation by the freeing force of grace.
For Luther, the Scriptures and his interpretation/explanation of the texts, both include and exclude actions, and offer prohibitions and invitations. In a nutshell, the Scriptures, all of Scripture, can and should be interpreted as both Law and Gospel. Luther takes the Law (the Ten Commandments) and interprets them with positive commands (in a sense, the Gospel). Instead of focusing on the "you shall not" Luther emphasizes the "you shall" in light of the Gospel, turning each Law into an opportunity to love and serve our neighbor, thereby providing instruction on how to live as Christians.
Luther wrote extensively not only on the concepts of Law and Gospel, but on the meaning of faith for the common man. As he toured the Saxon countryside near Wittenberg where he was a professor of theology, Luther found a distinct lack of understanding of the basics of the Christian faith in both the laity and the clergy. How disheartening this must have been for one so dedicated to uncovering and sharing the truth of Scripture! Luther risked his life to liberate the Scriptures and make them available to the people. After several failed attempts by others to compile a “new” catechism (a summary of the principles of Christian religion in the form of questions and answers), Luther took to the task himself, drawing on his sermons, and published the Large Catechism in 1529. With its longer expositions and instructions, the Large Catechism became a handbook for pastors. The Small Catechism, written in simpler form and targeted at the heads of households to be used to teach the faith to the family, came shortly thereafter.
The Large and Small Catechisms begin with an explanation of the Ten Commandments. Keeping in mind that we have a merciful God, Luther takes each emphatic commandment, explains what we as God’s people are NOT TO DO, followed by examples of what WE MUST DO in order to fulfill the commandment and live in the light of the Gospel.
Over the next two weeks, Let’s Talk Lutheran will present both the Small and Large Catechism explanations of each of the Ten Commandments in the hopes that by exploring God’s law in depth, we can come to a deeper appreciation of God’s grace and mercy toward us, poor wretched sinners that we are.
Your sister in Christ,