The Reformation produced quite a few Theological slogans: Law and Gospel, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Word Alone, Two kinds of righteousness. It is my reflection that you start with some complexity. How life actually works creates some cognitive dissonance with our story of how it works. In Luther’s case the story received was infused grace. “Martin, if you just keep on doing your Monk thing, God will continue to give you more grace. And eventually you will have made yourself a saint. And if not a saint, well, you will have done enough.” And it took someone like Martin Luther and his some might say overactive conscience to pursue that for over a decade and think “it is not, it will never be, enough.” And that is the gospel moment. That is the moment the Old Adam died. The Old Adam that was constantly working hoping to pay off the debt. This is the best of the Old Adam. And it would never be enough. So either God is cruel liar sentencing everyone to torment, or it has to be another way. I can’t merit more grace. It has to be grace alone. And it is a pure reception of the grace by faith alone. I have nothing to do with it. Christ alone has given me the victory. The New Man can rise and live.
That complexity and cognitive dissonance eventually resolves itself down to the slogan. The slogan, the simplicity on the far side of complexity – on the far side of the anfechtung, the struggle – captures it. But then as generations pass they have this slogan and often take great pride in the slogan, but often no longer understand the path to it. They have the answer, but they have forgotten the question. They have the technology, but can barely maintain it let alone create it again.
Those Reformation Slogans I think tend to walk together. If you forget one, or elevate one far above the others, things go out of whack. The gospel breakthrough of the Reformation which we eventually receive in the doctrine of Justification is the chief article. The entire church does stand or fall upon the teaching that we receive salvation by faith alone. But if we lose how that came out of Law and Gospel or a recognition of two kinds of righteousness, we slip into a different type of trouble.
“The righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law (Romans 3:21).” Notice that this recognition doesn’t say there is no righteousness in the law. It is the righteousness of God that has been manifested apart from the law. The righteousness of God had been clearly manifested in the law in one way – death. “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through works of the law comes knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20).” The law communicates to us the righteousness of God and that we will never reach it. It tells us all the ways we fall short. But in Christ that righteousness of God has been manifested – revealed, made known, shown – apart from the law. “The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe (Romans 3:22).” God has put forward his righteousness for all as a gift though the blood of Christ. Sinners, you without righteousness of your own, this is yours.
The righteousness of God in the law only kills us. That drives us towards the gospel for life. But that also doesn’t drain the law of all righteousness. We can’t stand before God on the basis of keeping the law. “What becomes of our boasting? It is excluded (Romans 3:27).” But there is still a civil righteousness. That law remains the law. This is how God intended people to live. And the new man who has entered the Kingdom by faith lives this way. It is the daily struggle of drowning the Old Adam and the daily renewal of the new man to live before God.
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