olim erant Pharisæi, aut in peccatis suis desperant, quod Judas proditor ille fecit. Eam, ob causam Christus sumsit sibi Legem explicandam spiritualiter (Matt. v. 21 sqq.; Rom. vii. 14), et hoc modo ira Dei de coelo revelatur super omnes peccatores (Rom. i. 18), ut, vera Legis sententia intellecta, animadvertatur, quanta sit illa ira. Et sic demum peccatores ad Legem remissi vere et recte peccata sua agnoscunt. Talem vero peccatorum agnitionem solus Moises nunquam ex ipsis extorquere potuisset. aforetime the Pharisees, or grow desperate in their sins, as did the traitor Judas. On this account Christ took upon him to explain the Law spiritually (Matt. v. 21 sqq.; Rom. vii. 14), and in this manner is the wrath of God revealed from heaven against all sinners (Rom. i. 18), in order that, by perceiving the true meaning of the Law, it may be understood how great is that wrath. And .thus at length sinners, being remanded to the Law, truly and rightly come to know their own sins. But such an acknowledgment of sins Moses alone could never have extorted from them. Etsi igitur concio illa de passione et morte Christi Filii Dei, severitatis et terroris plena est, quæ iram Dei adversus peccata ostendit, unde demum homines ad Legem Dei propius adducuntur, postquam velum illud Moisis ablatum est, ut tandem exacte agnoscant, quanta videlicet Dominus in Lege sua a nobis exigat, quorum, nihil nos præstare possumus, ita, ut universam nostram justitiam in solo Christo quærere oporteat: Although, therefore, this preaching of the passion and death of Christ, the Son of God, is full of severity and terror, inasmuch as it sets forth the anger of God against sin, from whence men at length are brought nearer to the Law of God, after that veil of Moses is taken away, that at length they may exactly perceive how great things God exacts from us in his Law, none of which we are able to perform, so that it behooves us to seek the whole of our righteousness in Christ alone: VIII. Tamen, quam diu nobis Christi passio et mors iram Dei ob oculos ponunt, et hominem perterrefaciunt, tam diu non sunt proprie concio Evangelii, VIII. Nevertheless, so long as the passion and death of Christ place before the eyes the wrath of God and terrify man, so long they are not properly the preaching of the
sed Legis et Moisis doctrina, et sunt alienum opus Christi, per quod accedit ad proprium suum Officium, quod est, prædicare de gratia Dei, consolari et vivificare. Hæc propria sunt prædicationis Evangelicæ. Gospel, but the teaching of the Law and Moses, and are Christ's strange work, through which he proceeds to his proper office, which is to declare the grace of God, to console and vivify, These things are the peculiar function of the evangelical preaching. Negativa. Negative. Contraria et falsa doctrina, quæ rejicitur. Contrary and false doctrine, which is rejected. Rejicimus igitur, ut falsum et periculosum dogma, cum asseritur: quod Evangelion proprie sit concio poenitentiæ, arguens, accusans et damnans peccata, quodque non sit tantummodo concio de gratia Dei. Hac enim ratione Evangelion rursus in Legem transformatur, meritum, Christi et sacræ literæ obscurantur, piis mentibus vera et solida consolatio eripitur, et Pontificiis erroribus et superstitionibus fores aperiuntur. We reject, therefore, as a false and perilous dogma, the assertion that the Gospel is properly a preaching of repentance, rebuking, accusing, and condemning sins, and that it is not solely a preaching of the grace of God. For in this way the Gospel is transformed again into Law, the merit of Christ and the Holy Scriptures are obscured, a true and solid consolation is wrested away from godly souls, and the way is opened to the papal errors and superstitions. Art. VI. Art. VI. DE TERTIO USU LEGIS. OF THE THIRD USE OF THE LAW. Status Controversiæ. Statement of the Controversy. Cum constet, Legem Dei propter tres causas hominibus datam esse, primo, ut externa quædam disciplina conservetur, et feri atque intractabiles homines quasi repagulis quibusdam coerceantur, Since it is established that the Law of God was given to men for three causes: first, that a certain external discipline might be preserved, and wild and intractable men might be restrained, as it were,
secundo, ut per Legem homines ad agnitionem suorum peccatorum adducantur, tertio, ut homines jam renati, quibus tamen omnibus multum adhuc carnis adhæret, eam ipsam ob causam certam aliquam regulam habeant, ad quam totam suam vitam formare possint et debeant, etc., orta est inter paucos quosdam Theologos controversia, super tertio usu Legis: videlicet, an Lex etiam, renatis inculcanda, et ejus observatio apud eos urgenda sit, an non. Alii urgendam Legem censuerunt: alii negarunt. by certain barriers; secondly, that by the Law men might be brought to an acknowledgment of their sins; thirdly, that regenerate men, to all of whom, nevertheless, much of the flesh still cleaves, for that very reason may have some certain rule after which they may and ought to shape their life, etc., a controversy has arisen among some few theologians concerning the third use of the Law, to wit: whether the Law is to be inculcated upon the regenerate also, and its observation urged upon them or not? Some have judged that the Law should be urged, others have denied it. Affirmativa. Affirmative. Sincera et pia doctrina de hac controversia. The sound and godly doctrine concerning this controversy. I. Credimus, docemus et confitemur, etsi vere in Christum credentes, et sincere ad Deum conversi, a maledictione et coactione Legis per Christum liberati sunt [gefreiet und ledig gemacht], quod ii tamen propterea non sint absque Lege, quippe quos Filius Dei eam ob causam redemit, ut Legem Dei diu noctuque meditentur, atque in ejus observatione sese assidue exerceant (Psa. i. 2; cxix. 1). Etenim ne primi quidem nostri parentes, etiam ante lapsum, prorsus sine Lege vixerunt, quæ certe cordibus I. We believe, teach, and confess that although they who truly believe in Christ, and are sincerely converted to God, are through Christ set free from the curse and constraint of the Law, they are not, nevertheless, on that account without Law, inasmuch as the Son of God redeemed them for the very reason that they might meditate on the Law of God day and night, and continually exercise themselves in the keeping thereof (Psa. i. 2; cxix. 1 sqq.). For not even our first parents, even before the fall, lived
ipsorum tum inscripta erat, quia Dominus eos ad imaginem suam creaverat (Gen. i. 26 sq.; ii. 16 sqq.; iii. 3). wholly without Law, which was certainly at that time graven on their hearts, because the Lord had created them after his own image (Gen. i. 26 sq.; ii. 16 sqq.; iii. 3). II. Credimus, docemus et confitemur, concionem Legis non modo apud eos, qui fidem in Christum non habent, et poenitentiam nondum agunt, sed etiam apud eos, qui vere in Christum credunt, vere ad Deum conversi et renati, et per fidem justificati sunt, sedulo urgendam esse. II. We believe, teach, and confess that the preaching of the Law should be urged not only upon those who have not faith in Christ, and do not yet repent, but also upon those who truly believe in Christ, are truly converted to God, and regenerated and are justified by faith. III. Etsi enim renati, et spiritu mentis suæ renovati sunt: tamen regeneratio illa et renovatio, in hac vita non est omnibus numeris absoluta, sed duntaxat inchoata. Et credentes illi, spiritu, mentis suæ perpetuo luctantur cum carne, hoc est, cum corrupta natura, quæ in nobis ad mortem usque hæret (Gal. v. 17; Rom. vii. 21, 23). Et propter veterem Adamum, qui adhuc in hominis intellectu, voluntate, et in omnibus viribus ejus infixus residet, opus est, ut homini Lex Dei semper præluceat, ne quid privatæ devotionis affectu in negotio religionis confingat, et cultus divinos verbo Dei non institutos eligat. Item, ne vetus Adam. pro suo ingenio agat, sed potius contra suam voluntatem, non III. For, although they are regenerate and renewed in the spirit of their mind, yet this regeneration and renewal is in this life not absolutely complete, but only begun. And they that believe according to the spirit of their mind have perpetually to struggle with their flesh, that is, with corrupt nature, which inheres in us even till death (Gal. v. 17; Rom. vii. 21, 23). And on account of the old Adam, which still remains fixed in the intellect and will of man and in all his powers, there is need that the law of God should always shine before man, that he may not frame any thing in matter of religion under an impulse of self-devised devotion, and may not choose out ways of honoring God not instituted by the Word of God. Also, lest the old Adam
modo admonitionibus et minis Legis, verum etiam pænis et plagis coerceatur, ut Spiritui obsequatur, segue ipsi captivum tradat (1 Cor. ix. 27; Rom. vi. 12; Gal. vi. 14; Psa. cxix. 1 sqq.; Heb. xii. 1; xiii. 21). should act according to his own bent, but that he may the rather be constrained against his own will, not only by the admonitions and threats of the Law, but also by punishments and plagues, in order that he may give obedience to the Spirit, and render himself up captive to the same (1 Cor. ix. 27; Rom. vi. 12; Gal. vi. 14; Psa. cxix. 1 sqq.; Heb. xii. 1; xiii. 21). IV. Jam quod ad discrimen operum Legis et fructuum Spiritus attinet, credimus, docemus et confitemur, quod opera illa, quæ secundum præscriptum Legis fiunt, eatenus opera Legis sint et appellentur, quatenus ea solummodo urgendo, et minis pænarum atque iræ divinæ, ab homine extorquentur. IV. As respects now the distinction between the works of the Law and the fruits of the Spirit, we believe, teach, and confess that those works, which are done according to the commandment of the Law, are and are called works of the Law so far as they are extorted from man only by sharp urgency, and by the threats of punishment and of the divine wrath. V. Fructus vero Spiritus sunt opera illa, quæ Spiritus Dei, in credentibus habitans, per homines renatos operatur, et quæ a credentibus fiunt, quatenus renati sunt, ita quidem sponte ac libere, quasi nullum præceptum unquam accepissent, nullas minas audivissent, nullamque remunerationem expectarent. Et hoc modo filii Dei in Lege vivunt, et secundum normam Legis divinæ vitam suam instituunt; hanc vivendi rationem V. But the fruits of the Spirit are those works which the Spirit of God, dwelling in believers, effects through regenerate men, and which are done by believers so far as they are regenerate, and therefore freely and spontaneously, as if they had never received any precept, had never heard any threats, and expected no remuneration. And in this way do the children of God live in the Law, and fashion their life according to the rule of the divine Law, which way of living
D. Paulus vocare solet in suis Epistolis Legem Christi et Legem mentis (Rom. vii. 25; viii. 2, 7; Gal. vi. 2). St. Paul is wont to call in his epistles the Law of Christ and the Law of the mind (Rom. vii. 25; viii. 2, 7; Gal. vi. 2). VI. Ad hunc modum una eademque Lex est manetque, immota videlicet Dei voluntas, sive poenitentibus sive impoenitentibus, renatis aut non renatis proponatur. Discrimen autem, quo ad obedientiam, duntaxat in hominibus est: quorum alii non renati Legi obedientiam, qualemcunque a Lege requisitam præstant, sed coacti et inviti id faciunt {sicut etiam renati faciunt, quatenus adhuc carnales sunt): credentes vero in Christum, quatenus renati sunt, absque coactione, libero et spontaneo spiritu, talem obedientiam præstant, qualem alias nullæ quantumvis severissimæ Legis comminationes extorquere possent. VI. After this manner the Law is and remains one and the same, to wit: the unchangeable will of God, whether it be set forth before the penitent or the impenitent, the regenerate or the unregenerate. But the distinction, as to obedience, is only in men, of whom some, not being regenerate, render to the Law a certain manner of obedience required by the Law, but do this constrainedly and unwillingly (as also the regenerate do, so far as they are yet carnal); but believers in Christ, so far as they are regenerate, do without compulsion, with a free and unconstrained mind, render such an obedience as otherwise no threatenings of the Law, however grievous, would be able to extort. Negativa. Negative. Falsæ doctrinæ rejectio. Rejection of false doctrine. Repudiamus itaque ut perniciosum et falsum dogma, quod Christianæ disciplinæ et veræ pietati adversatur, cum docetur, quod Lex Dei {eo modo, quo supra dictum est) non sit piis et vere credentibus, sed tantum impiis, infidelibus et non agentibus poenitentiam, We repudiate, therefore, as a false and pernicious dogma, contrary to Christian discipline and true piety, the teaching that the Law of God (in such wise as is described above) is not to be set forth before the godly and true believers, but only before the ungodly, unbelievers, and