Lutherna View of Church and State

JUSTIFICATION

2006-2007

LESSON THREE

I. The Need for the Promise of the Gospel. (p. 455)

A. Law promises not only temporal promises, but also righteousness and eternal life.

1. Lev 18:5.

2. Ro 2:13.

B. Gospel also has promise of salvation and eternal life.

C. Some imagine two roads to eternal life, but there is but one.

1. Law requires perfect fulfillment; useless to us.

2. Heb 7:18,19.

D. Not a weakness of the Law; but the weakness is of our flesh.

E. Law not contrary to promise of the Gospel (Gal 3:21).

F. Law not destroyed through faith, but rather established (Ro 3:31).

G. Benefits of Christ (of Gospel) nothing else than satisfaction for guilt and punishment we owe to the Law and that perfect obedience which righteousness of the Law demands.

H. Therefore, we can not understand greatness of benefit of Christ unless compared to rigor and severity of the Law.

I. Through Christ, righteousness of the Law fulfilled in us.

1. By imputation through faith.

2. By the beginning stage when Law through the Spirit is written in our hearts.

3. In eternal life, when our obedience to the law of God will be brought to completion.

II. All Saints of all Ages saved by Same Gospel. (p. 456)

A. We first observe two particular points.

1. The same teaching and belief concerning righteousness before God has always been in the church among all the saints.

2. In succeeding ages, by repetition of this same doctrine, the Gospel has little by little been more clearly revealed.

B. From the Fall to the Flood. (p. 456)

1. Ge 3:15.

2. Ge 4:1 - shows Eve understood the promise. (Chemnitz: son named “a man, Jehovah”)

3. Ge 4:3-7 - God Himself interprets the promise i.e. through the remission of sin.

4. Heb 11:4 - Abel’s faith.

5. Ge 4:26 - Shows what this faith is.

6. Heb 11:5.

7. Heb 11:7 - Noah

8. Promise developed and explained: (cf names recorded in Ge 5)

a. What the seed is.

b. What the head of the serpent is.

c. What contrition is.

d. How this promise is received.

C. From the Flood to Moses. (p. 457)

1. Ge 8:20,21.

2. Ge 9:26, Noah is saying:

a. He is speaking of the blessing; and

b. “The Lord will be your God”.

3. Repetition of the promise of the Gospel to Abraham.

a. Ge 12:1-3.

b. Ge 14:18-20 - note priest and king (cf Messiah in Heb 7). (Melchizedek means “My king is righteousness” or “king of righteousness”. Luther and Chemnitz both tie these two meanings to name “Shem”.)

c. Ge 15:6.

d. Ge 17:5. “Abram”: “exalted father”. “Abraham”: “father of many”.

e. Ge 22:17,18 - the “Seed”.

f. Ge 32:10 - first time “mercy” - “truth” mentioned.

g. Heb 11:21,22.

h. Ex 1:16,22: shows teaching of liberation through the Seed continued to sound forth.

D. From Moses to the Prophets (p. 457)

1. Jn 5:46.

2. Heb 9:9,10 - “shadows, types and figures”.

3. Mercy seat of Ex 25:17(-22) prefigures Christ (Ro 3:25, (26).

4. Passover - 1Co 5:7.

5. Jn 3:14,15 (re Nu 21:8,9).

6. Dt 18:15-19.

7. Heb 11:32-40

E. From the Prophets to Christ (p. 458)

1. Ac 3:24.

2. 2 Sa 7:12-14.

3. Ps 45:6: calls Him “God”.

4. Ps 45:7; 2:2 - “Messiah” attributed to the Seed.

5. In Psalms, for the first time Hebr. “yāsha” from which is derived name “Jesus” begins to be used in reference to matter of salvation. c.f. Ps 98:3 (yeshū‘ath).

6. Others that prefigured Jesus.

a. Solomon (Mt 12:42).

b. Jonah (Mt 12:40).

7. Isaiah e.g. 7:14;43:25.

8. Micah e.g. 5:2,4.

9. Others, e.g.

a. Joel 2:28.

b. Nah 1:15.

c. Hab 2:3,4.

d. Zep 3:9ff

e. Jer 23:5 and 33:15,16.

f. Eze 11:17ff.

g. Zec 9:9;11:12;12:10;13:1;13:7.

F. “(T)hey believed in the Messiah who was to come, and we in the One who has been manifested.” (p. 459)