so, according to martin luther sin separates us from god and separation from god is a killer (in the sense that living is being in right relationship with god and dying is being separated from god). the thing about sin is that we don't always know that we do it. it's easy to justify and excuse away our many sins. this is where law comes in. now, i differ a bit from luther on the purpose of the law. for luther, law is there so people know how we have sinned (a theological understanding) and to keep us from sinning more (a civil understanding).
in this day and age, it seems that the majority of us don't really need law to know that we are separated from god, to know that we have messed up. sin is everywhere we look and we are hurting far too well to be oblivious to it. throughout the bible, we read of god's grace coming before any judgment or law. the garden of eden exists far before humans eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. according to jewish numbering, the first of the ten commandments is "i am the lord your god who brought you out of the land of egypt, out of the house of slavery." only after those words of grace and salvation does the law come in.
so the purpose of the law is to help us understand the magnitude of god's grace rather than the magnitude of our sins and separation from god. this has a twofold implication:
1-it focuses on god's action rather than our (poor/in)action. god's already saved us from our sins. jesus took care of that. in this sense it further emphasizes that god is the acting agent, not humanity, in the relationship (which is something luther was pretty big on).
2-it leads to new life and renewal in relationship. instead of making us feel bad about ourselves and our hopeless situations of sin and destruction, it encourages us and propels us into joyful response to god's grace, renewing our relationship.
for luther law confronts humanity with the reality of sin, leading us to despair and death. then, when we realize that god is confronting us with the reality of sin, we distance ourselves from god. this allows for gospel to come in so that we might be in right relationship with God. luther basically separates them out into distinct categories/things, while i see law and gospel as god's means of grace. we receive god's grace and the good news is that we can't earn it and that it is huge!! that is conveyed by law (and gospel, because it is, indeed, good news).
so then the question (regardless of which side is taken) becomes: so what? what does that have to do with us now?
if we're taking luther's approach to law and gospel, then there seem to be quite a few politicians who might need to be told that taking funds from those in need to give to big companies is sin. or perhaps person who doesn't take no for an answer in a sexual encounter. but what about us "regular" folk? do i need to know every sin i commit? do i already know that i mess up...a lot? no, i already know that. but do i need to hear the good news that god has covered my bases for me? yes. is gospel the assurance that i can't be perfect and stressing out about it will not help? yes. is that also law? yes. so maybe it really does all just fit under grace.
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