In the past two months, our “What We Believe” series has made the case for our belief in God Himself, and has discussed the Bible as the inerrant Word of God. So how are we to take that Word of God, or interpret it? There are several foundations for interpreting Scripture, yet the one at the heart of our teaching is the Law and Gospel dynamic. All Scripture can be approached from this understanding, and as such both the will of God and His blessing come forth.

So, let’s define our terms. The Law is the 10 Commandments and anything else that tells us how God commands us to live. The Law of God specifically states what we should or should not do. The Law in general tells us that we are sinners by nature, guilty of disobedience to God and worthy of God’s punishment. This Law definitely comes off as authoritative and convicting. Yet, do not stop reading here! While the Law is bad news for us, the Gospel is our saving grace (or rather, God’s saving grace to us).

The Gospel is defined as the saving work of Jesus Christ and anything describing this work and its meaning. The Gospel tells us how Jesus saved us, that we are forgiven by Jesus’ death and resurrection. The Gospel tells us that the Law no longer condemns us, that we are forgiven by God through our faith in Jesus. So where the Law commands, the Gospel promises; where the Law threats, the Gospel comforts; where the Law is the conviction of sins, the Gospel is deliverance from sin; where the Law kills, the Gospel makes alive; where the Law is our dark cloud, the Gospel is our silver lining.

To use an example from Scripture: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23. Our Law/Gospel interpretation here tells us our wages we earn, and our sin deserves God’s wrath and eternal separation from God. Yet that is not what the faithful receive. The “Gift of God,” something we did not earn or deserve; forgiveness, restoration, eternal life – this is what we receive from God, all for the sake of His Son Jesus who took our sins to the cross and died for them. Hence, the Law is our responsibility, 100 percent, yet we cannot keep the Law because of our sinful nature. Yet God is 100 percent responsible for the Gospel, the saving grace and love of God for us, and He indeed keeps His Word.

The work of saving grace has been done. Our purpose of doing the Law, or trying to keep God’s Commands, is not an exercise in futility, or done to earn God’s love, or even a condition for God’s saving grace, but a response to the grace we have already been given through Jesus’ work on the cross. Having received the precious Gospel, we want to respond to God and keep His commands (His will).

As we look at Scripture from this approach, the story of salvation in the past and Christian living in the present take on a true significance where we can confidently say salvation is by grace through faith, not of our own, so we cannot boast.

To learn more about our Law/Gospel belief, contact one of our churches: St. Paul Lutheran Church in Fredonia (672-6731), Immanuel Lutheran Church in Gowanda (532-4342), or Trinity Lutheran Church in Silver Creek (934-2002).