"Only he is an orthodox teacher who not only presents all the articles of faith in accordance with Scripture, but also rightly distinguishes from each other the Law and the Gospel." C. F. W. Walther's Thesis 2.
When you get sick, one of the more important things that a doctor can do is give you the proper medication for what ails you. If he/she were to give you a treatment plan that didn't match what the problem was, the situation could actually be made worse. Imagine being told that you were going to need surgery for a cold, or being told that your broken bone would be fine if you took cough syrup. It would make no sense, and could actually end up doing far more damage.
As we look at this thesis, there are a couple of things at work here. The first one corresponds with the first phrase, that an orthodox teacher presents all the articles of faith in accordance with the Scriptures. This is an important point to make. God speaks many things in His Word. While different parts of what God says apply to our lives at different times, we still need to hear everything that God teaches us. From how we have been made, to what God has done for us in redeeming us, to what our interactions are to look like with each other, and the importance of reaching out to those who don't know the good news, God teaches us a lot of different things. A true teacher of God's Word will make sure to teach on all of these, not leaving any of them out.
However, as yesterday's blog discussed, the whole realm of Scripture finds two major teachings at work, that of God's Law and that of God's Gospel. This same teacher of God's Word not only strives to teach everything that God teaches in His Word, but strives to do so by rightly figuring out if something is God's command to us, or if it is God's good news to be proclaimed to us. If he were to speak, say, of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, and instead of making it good news, were to make it come across as though you now had to live up to that sacrifice in order to be pleasing to God, he would be failing to distinguish the good news from God's commands.
We will touch on these things much more in this series. These various theses will hone us in on how exactly we do this, why it is important, and what all is at stake as we apply the Law/Gospel dynamic to God's Word. So keep reading and commenting as we think through these matters.
When you get sick, one of the more important things that a doctor can do is give you the proper medication for what ails you. If he/she were to give you a treatment plan that didn't match what the problem was, the situation could actually be made worse. Imagine being told that you were going to need surgery for a cold, or being told that your broken bone would be fine if you took cough syrup. It would make no sense, and could actually end up doing far more damage.
As we look at this thesis, there are a couple of things at work here. The first one corresponds with the first phrase, that an orthodox teacher presents all the articles of faith in accordance with the Scriptures. This is an important point to make. God speaks many things in His Word. While different parts of what God says apply to our lives at different times, we still need to hear everything that God teaches us. From how we have been made, to what God has done for us in redeeming us, to what our interactions are to look like with each other, and the importance of reaching out to those who don't know the good news, God teaches us a lot of different things. A true teacher of God's Word will make sure to teach on all of these, not leaving any of them out.
However, as yesterday's blog discussed, the whole realm of Scripture finds two major teachings at work, that of God's Law and that of God's Gospel. This same teacher of God's Word not only strives to teach everything that God teaches in His Word, but strives to do so by rightly figuring out if something is God's command to us, or if it is God's good news to be proclaimed to us. If he were to speak, say, of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, and instead of making it good news, were to make it come across as though you now had to live up to that sacrifice in order to be pleasing to God, he would be failing to distinguish the good news from God's commands.
We will touch on these things much more in this series. These various theses will hone us in on how exactly we do this, why it is important, and what all is at stake as we apply the Law/Gospel dynamic to God's Word. So keep reading and commenting as we think through these matters.
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