THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
Thus the permanent part in the law is its content, in so far as it corresponds to our conception of salvation and as the Gospel realizes it, while its legal form is only a temporary means. Since this was only the final result of Paul's reflections, it was possible for him to concede previously to the legal form that it must be satisfied by the death of Christ before the order of grace can become efficacious.
Jesus had a different conception of law and Gospel. Not only does he use the terms differently, in so far as " the Gospel " was for him the message of the nearness of the kingdom of God, understood in eschatological sense, and in so far as he subjected his disciples to " the law," not dissolving it, but advocating its fulfilment to its fullest extent, but also there is an essential difference, in so far as Jesus, instead of starting from the experience of the present redemption from guilt and the power of sin, appealed to the will by means of fear and hope so that justification of life might 2. The be brought about, and in so far as he, Conception instead of deriving all salvation from
of Jesus, his own person and will, placed both behind what men are to do and what God will do. But in the innermost essence, there is no real difference between Paul and Jesus. The seeming contrast is to be explained from the fact that the sermon of Jesus is a means of the educating and hence redeeming activity of the bearer of revelation, while Paul speaks out of the consciousness of the redeemed. Jesus filled the traditional formula " through fulfilment of the law to reward " with a new content — the same which Paul advocated. This is manifest from the most peculiar thought of Jesus, that of Adoption (q.v.). Without infringing upon the ritualistic commands of the law, he asserted, as that which pleases God, only that attitude of the heart which manifests itself in childlike trust in God, and in imitation of God's disposition in the love of our fellow men. He excluded the legal conception of our relation to God by demanding an unassuming childlike spirit and calling the reward a superabundant reward of grace. Thus he changed the demand; but adoption was for him more than an obligatory demand. For himself, his life and activity were the reflex of the love of God as he had experienced it in his heart, however much in individual cases obedience conformable to duty was not strange to him. But as he disclosed his knowledge of the Father to his disciples and assured them of God's forgiveness and care, and as the impression of his unity with God gave emphasis to his work, his admonition to trust in the Father and become similar to God grew powerful in such a way that it raised it into the life of adoption which will be perfected in the coming kingdom of God. Therefore those who have heeded his admonition become, first of all, certain of the fact that they have been saved.
Under the presupposition of the consciousness of salvation, the writings of John place the self-activity to be expected of the regenerated, especially that of love, under the view-point of a new commandment, whose fulfilment is the condition for the continuance and perfection of the new life. This
does not mean the reestablishment of law; for the experience of the love of God is the motive of the fulfilment of the commandment. The 3. The new law in the sense of John is not a Writings sum of commandments as they are of John, given to servants, but a disclosure of the entire and uniform will of God as it is made to friends of Christ. Its fulfilment is immediate life and blessedness. Moreover, the consciousness of duty toward God's commandment is overshadowed by the consciousness of dependence upon the preserving, purifying, and perfecting activity of God.
In the early Church Christianity was at first understood as new law in the Judaistic sense, in so far as free persons have to acquire the eternal reward by their own fulfilment of moral demands, and grace is limited to knowledge of God and forgiveness of sin in baptism. This was not altered when Irenasus disclosed Christ again as 4. Early the Redeemer, because redemption in and his sense is only physical; or when the Medieval institution of penance mediated for- Church. giveness of sins also after baptism, because this relates only to particular sins and does not give an individual certainty of the state of grace. The Roman spirit even intensified the legal conception, since the relation to God was considered after the manner of civil law, and there was not only demanded that the Christian should earn for himself the reward of God, but should give him satisfaction also for sins by voluntary painful works. Augustine renewed the doctrine of Paul concerning law and Gospel, law of works and law of faith; both aim at the realization of love to God as the highest good, but are opposed to each other in so far as this love is only demanded by the law, while it is actually given as a blessing in the Gospel. " By the law of works God says to us, ' do what I command thee '; but by the law of faith we say to God, ' give me what thou commandest ' " (De spiritu et littera, xxii., NPNF, 1st ser., v. 92). They are related to each other in so far as the law, by inciting lust, shows that the motive of its fulfilment is not love to God, but " the fear of punishment " and " the love of gain," and thus compels us to seek faith, which as hope and prayer takes refuge in God's mercy. But his mercy infuses love of him or of righteousness into the soul of the believer, by means of which the will after its cure fulfils the law without the law, and desires no other reward but progress and perfection, being conscious that the fulfilment is due to the grace of God. But Augustine does not come up to the standard of Paul since he knows grace only as a secret power. and has not attained an absolute certainty of salvation. Moreover, he combined with Paulinism the common view of Catholicism concerning the law, by repeatedly estimating the. achievements due to grace as merits and satisfactions. In the Middle Ages this combination of Augustine remained as basis, but by enlarging the conception of merit and applying it to actions which are possible without grace and necessary for its preparation, and by deriving all hope of salvation by means of the uncertain de-