If you wake up in the middle of the night with a sore throat, do you reach for the After Bite cream? No, you find a throat lozenge. If your head hurts, do you gargle with salt water? No, you take aspirin. If your stomach is upset, do apply Vicks VapoRub to your belly? No, you gulp Pepto-Bismol. There may be more than a dozen medications in your bathroom cabinet, but you know exactly which one to reach for depending on the ailment. You also know how dangerous it is to apply medication in an inappropriate way. Taking too much aspirin, for example, can lead to stomach problems.
Well did you know that opening your Bible is like opening a medicine cabinet? What you find is the cure for sin and its sentence of eternal damnation. But the medication comes in two parts: law and gospel—the two main teachings of the Bible. If we don’t understand what these teachings are or how to apply them, we can do eternal damage to our soul and body. Let’s find out more as we begin this new sermon series celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Let’s learn how the Lutheran mind is a biblical mind when it comes to knowing the difference between law and gospel.
In our text the Apostle John introduces Jesus to his readers. He makes clear that Jesus is the Son of God who came from the Father to save us from our sins. John’s aim was to get his original readers, the Jews of his day, to put their faith and trust in Jesus. However, most of the religious leaders thought that Moses and his teachings were the end all be all. Of course Moses himself hadn’t come up with any teachings. He received those teachings from God on Mt. Sinai, the most famous of which are the Ten Commandments.
So what is the purpose of the Ten Commandments? I bet most people would answer that question like this—the purpose of the Ten Commandments is to show us how to get into heaven. Now it is true that Jesus himself said that if we could keep those commands perfectly all the time, then we would earn eternal life. But what many people don’t realize is that from the moment we are conceived we inherit sin from our parents. We’re defective, like a bicycle that’s missing its wheels. Even if you pedal furiously on such a bike, you won’t get anywhere without wheels. Likewise no matter how hard you try to keep the Ten Commandments, you can’t do so perfectly to earn eternal life.
So why did God give the Ten Commandments to people he knew were unable to keep them? One reason he gave us those commands is to teach us the best way to live—just as the user manual for your phone will tell you the best way to operate it. If we all followed what God has to say about marriage, or about telling the truth, or about being a faithful employee, life here on earth would be good.
But the main purpose of the law is not as a user manual for life. The Apostle Paul explained the purpose of the law when he wrote to Christians living in Rome: “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin” (Romans 3:20). The main purpose of the law is as a mirror because it shows our sin.
Since law exposes our sin, you probably don’t enjoy hearing the law. I don’t. Take the Parable of the Good Samaritan for example. Jesus told that parable to illustrate what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. It means that you willingly stop and help whoever needs your aid, no matter who that person is, and no matter how busy you might be. We’re to be like the good Samaritan who not only offered first aid, but also paid for the man’s ongoing medical bills.
That parable always makes me feel guilty as I think about the many people I’ve walked by without offering help. “But I’m a busy pastor who is already spending my life in service to the Lord. Let someone else look after that guy on the side of the road.” That’s often what I think, but that excuse limps when I hear the Apostle Paul quote Deuteronomy 27: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law” (Galatians 3:10). Every time I walk by someone who could use my help, I ought to be damned, regardless of the excuse I might offer in my defense.
So where does that leave us? Well if I can’t keep God’s commands I’m doomed! That’s what Martin Luther realized. And he wasn’t the type of person who brushed away God’s law as if it was nothing more than an annoying cobweb in his path. No, Luther was terrified at the thought of spending an eternity in hell. So he tried harder to obey God’s commands. It was one reason he became a monk. He thought that if he could dedicate his life to prayer and good works, he could somehow get closer to God. Luther distinguished himself as a monk with his pious life and his hard work, but it didn’t bring him peace. It just made him more afraid as he realized that he still failed in showing love to his neighbor. The harder Luther tried, the more of a failure he realized he was.
The law was doing its intended work in Luther. Like an x-ray that proves to a patient that he really does have a tumor and needs help, the law declares to each one of us that there is something desperately wrong with us. But the law doesn’t give us the remedy for our problem any more than an x-ray offers the cure for a brain tumor. No, the remedy for the curse of sin comes from the gospel.
The gospel is the good news about what Jesus has done for us. It announces that like the professional pitcher who nails the targets at that tricky carnival game and gives you the prize, so Jesus kept perfectly all of God’s laws and gives us credit for this. Not only that, the gospel describes how Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins—like that same big-league pitcher who pays for the damage you did to someone else’s car when you peeled out of the carnival parking lot too quickly.
Martin Luther summarized the difference between law and gospel like this. The law commands and demands, while the gospel promises and gives. The law can only offer guilt while the gospel provides grace (from Luther’s sermon on Law & Gospel). It’s a matter of life and death to understand the different purposes of the law and gospel. To the person who is weighed down by guilt, I need to share the gospel and point them to Jesus. But to the person who thinks that what he’s doing is OK even though God says that it is not, I cannot share the gospel. I need to make clear that by his impenitent actions he is going down the path to hell. I need to share the law.
How well are we properly dividing law and gospel in our interactions with one another? Are we hesitant to share the law with another because we think that how another lives is none of our business—that it is God’s place to judge? But when you share God’s law you’re not judging another person’s heart. You’re simply saying, “What I observe in your actions and attitudes is not in line with God’s commands. If that’s the case, then you are rebelling against God. I don’t want you to have to face the eternal consequences for that! Turn from your sin now.”
On the other hand are we reluctant to extend the gospel and share grace because we’re afraid this will encourage someone in their bad behavior? That was the fear of the Roman Catholic Church in Luther’s day. It was afraid that if you told people that there was nothing they had to do to get into heaven, nothing they had to do to show they were “worthy” of forgiveness, then you wouldn’t get anyone to behave!
But the gospel is not just a message, it’s a power. Through the gospel, the love of Jesus and the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts so that we don’t want to sin anymore. I suppose it’s a bit like receiving a motivational talk from your coach right before a race. Those words don’t just convey a message, they inspire. And there is no end to the inspiration that Jesus offers you through the gospel. John wrote in our text: “Indeed, we have all received grace after grace from his fullness” (John 1:16b). “Grace after grace.” That’s what God offers us through the gospel of Jesus, or as Martin Luther pictured it, “…just as there is more than enough sunshine for a world full of people, so there is more than enough love and forgiveness from Jesus for a world full of sinners.” (paraphrased, and unable to locate source of quote)
The abundance of God’s love and the message of the gospel doesn’t mean of course that we can just keep sinning. Such a person has turned his back on the sunshine of God’s love. He’s stated that he would rather live in the shadow of his sin and doesn’t want to have any part with God. Such a person will be condemned eternally if he doesn’t repent and come back to God’s grace in Jesus.
Yes, just as the medication we find in our cabinets treat different ailments and should be applied with care, so the two main teachings of the Bible treat different spiritual ailments. The law treats those who are self-righteous by exposing their sin, while the gospel binds up those disheartened by their sin by pointing them to Jesus. Know the difference between the two so that you apply them in the proper way at the proper time. Only then can we fully know, appreciate, and benefit from God’s work in our lives. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
The two main teachings of the Bible are _________ & ___________.
The law is summarized in the ______________________________.
Why is trying to keep the Ten Commandments like riding a bike without any wheels?
Explain: The main purpose of the law is as a mirror. (For extra credit, name the two other purposes of the law.)
Martin Luther dreaded God’s laws. How did he try to get rid of his dread?
In what way is the law like an x-ray?
What do we mean by “gospel”?
Explain: The gospel is not just a message, it’s a power.
And often it’s really hard to know which one to share.
