1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,703 God operating with us in two dimensions. 2 00:00:10,310 --> 00:00:14,848 This is hard because I just got done this earlier this summer in June teaching 3 00:00:14,848 --> 00:00:20,820 an entire class, 30 hour class, on civil realm versus the gods realm kind of a 4 00:00:20,820 --> 00:00:24,324 thing, the two realms sort of stuff. So we you know we could spend a long time 5 00:00:24,324 --> 00:00:28,428 unpacking these things obviously, but we'll just try to do it as quickly as we 6 00:00:28,428 --> 00:00:33,233 can to give you the overall idea. God works with us in two dimensions. He works, 7 00:00:33,466 --> 00:00:40,840 he's concerned with us in a vertical relationship between myself, me, and God. 8 00:00:41,574 --> 00:00:45,345 And we talk about that as being the vertical relationship. How I understand 9 00:00:45,345 --> 00:00:49,616 God and his relationship to me. And he'll speak truth to me there and I deal with 10 00:00:49,616 --> 00:00:52,419 them there in that relationship. Typically what's going on in that 11 00:00:52,419 --> 00:00:57,357 relationship is God pointing out my error, my shortcomings, me repenting of 12 00:00:57,357 --> 00:01:02,028 my sin and receiving the grace that he gives. But then we also recognize there 13 00:01:02,028 --> 00:01:08,835 is another dimension, me and everybody else around me. The horizontal dimension. 14 00:01:12,305 --> 00:01:16,976 And we recognize that God works in both of these dimensions and has different 15 00:01:16,976 --> 00:01:24,617 things to say. In fact this is another way of expressing what we call the two 16 00:01:24,617 --> 00:01:26,052 kinds of righteousness. 17 00:01:29,689 --> 00:01:35,161 Which is a hugely important idea which you're going to be spending a lot of 18 00:01:35,161 --> 00:01:40,233 time with in Lutheran mind and in Systematics 1 and 2 and 3 and if you 19 00:01:40,233 --> 00:01:45,004 have any for any courses you'll get it just beat into you. Alright. But the two 20 00:01:45,004 --> 00:01:51,344 kinds of righteousness is the idea that in each one of these realms, this 21 00:01:51,344 --> 00:01:56,483 vertical realm or the horizontal realm, God is working and God is accomplishing 22 00:01:56,483 --> 00:02:03,723 his purposes but the purposes are different and in a sense the rules are 23 00:02:03,723 --> 00:02:09,529 different. So for example just a quick one here for you. In the vertical realm 24 00:02:09,529 --> 00:02:14,667 God's law always crushes me and condemns me and points out my sin so that I can 25 00:02:14,667 --> 00:02:18,905 hear the gospel and I can receive the forgiveness he has for me. Most of us as 26 00:02:18,905 --> 00:02:22,575 Lutherans are very familiar with the vertical realm. We spend a lot of time 27 00:02:22,575 --> 00:02:27,213 there. Talk about a lot, think about a lot, that's one we're familiar with. We're not as 28 00:02:27,213 --> 00:02:31,184 familiar with the horizontal realm. The horizontal realm deals with my 29 00:02:31,184 --> 00:02:34,787 relationship with others. When it comes to the horizontal realm I'm interested 30 00:02:34,787 --> 00:02:40,493 in my obligations, my responsibilities and God is too. And so there the law is 31 00:02:40,493 --> 00:02:45,265 pretty normative. I carry out tasks and responsibilities. So if the policeman 32 00:02:45,265 --> 00:02:51,504 pulls you over on Big Ben for doing 35 and a 30, ridiculous speed limit on Big 33 00:02:51,504 --> 00:02:55,808 Ben but that's needed here and there right now. So you get pulled over on Big 34 00:02:55,808 --> 00:03:01,247 Ben for going a few over and you say to the policeman, officer you know what 35 00:03:01,247 --> 00:03:06,419 you have to remember I have God's grace. I am forgiven and the gospel covers me. 36 00:03:06,786 --> 00:03:10,723 The sin is not a big deal. I'm forgiven. You say that's real nice. You write you the ticket 37 00:03:10,723 --> 00:03:15,995 and it's on your way. And so then you go to the judge and say judge come on come on I'm a 38 00:03:15,995 --> 00:03:19,532 Christian. I have God's forgiveness. I am forgiven for the sin. Everything's cool. 39 00:03:19,799 --> 00:03:25,205 You'll say wonderful pay the fine. You see the reality is we're functioning in 40 00:03:25,205 --> 00:03:29,509 two realms. They're just two different worlds and the gospel truth and reality 41 00:03:29,509 --> 00:03:34,647 is so but it does not negate your responsibility in the horizontal realm 42 00:03:34,647 --> 00:03:38,985 or the way things operate in the horizontal realm. Sometimes we forget that and it's 43 00:03:39,085 --> 00:03:43,489 good for us to remember that there are indeed two realms going on here and 44 00:03:43,489 --> 00:03:48,328 theology is interested in both of these because God speaks to both of these 45 00:03:48,328 --> 00:03:52,832 because it's God's world. He's interested in this and we'll have to talk about 46 00:03:52,832 --> 00:03:57,170 that more another time. That gives you an idea here enough of this page. Another 47 00:03:57,170 --> 00:03:59,973 one of the key things that we have is Lutheran and this one you've been 48 00:03:59,973 --> 00:04:09,048 waiting for is long gospel and by long gospel we mean what? What is long gospel? 49 00:04:11,751 --> 00:04:16,489 What are we talking about when we talk about law and gospel? Ten Commandments in Jesus. 50 00:04:16,923 --> 00:04:23,363 Ten Commandments in Jesus. Okay. Short and sweet basically. That's it. Law gospel 51 00:04:23,363 --> 00:04:26,466 we're talking about God speaking to us. 52 00:04:30,903 --> 00:04:36,175 God's Word to us. And so God speaks to us and God's Word comes to us and it comes 53 00:04:36,175 --> 00:04:43,916 to us as law. Do this. Don't do that. Fulfill this. Never do this. Always always do this. 54 00:04:44,250 --> 00:04:47,987 That's the law. And then it comes to us as the gospel which is the word of 55 00:04:47,987 --> 00:04:50,890 forgiveness based on what Christ has accomplished and it has nothing to do 56 00:04:50,890 --> 00:04:55,795 with your performance or your ideas or your attitude. It's simply God's 57 00:04:55,795 --> 00:05:01,734 Word, God's gift to you. They're both true aspects of this. So the law does its work 58 00:05:01,734 --> 00:05:05,538 of condemning and the gospel does its work of forgiving and you remember 59 00:05:05,538 --> 00:05:11,678 learning this wonderful acronym back in confirmation class SOS right? The law 60 00:05:11,678 --> 00:05:17,583 does what? Shows our sin. And the gospel does what? Shows our Savior. 61 00:05:17,984 --> 00:05:24,590 Thank you. Yes. Classic. The SOS of law and gospel. And it's true that's what happens 62 00:05:24,590 --> 00:05:28,861 here and this is a key component of Lutheranism. But you see it's not one of 63 00:05:28,861 --> 00:05:32,298 the only presuppositions that we have going in. We also believe in the two 64 00:05:32,298 --> 00:05:35,802 realms, the two dimensions, the two kinds of righteousness. We believe in the idea 65 00:05:35,802 --> 00:05:39,772 of the Corpus Doctrinei and we believe that God is the one who is the foundation 66 00:05:39,772 --> 00:05:44,143 of it all. All of these are presuppositions that we have going in. 67 00:05:45,712 --> 00:05:50,950 And they're going to make a difference in how we read. So I sit down now and I'm 68 00:05:50,950 --> 00:05:54,554 reading in the Gospel of Matthew and I'm in the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus 69 00:05:54,554 --> 00:06:00,593 says, you must be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. And I say, well, 70 00:06:00,593 --> 00:06:04,630 there's a standard that Christians have to do. We've got to be really good. So obviously 71 00:06:04,630 --> 00:06:07,967 Christians don't sin anymore because if Christians did sin they wouldn't be 72 00:06:07,967 --> 00:06:12,271 perfect and so the Holy Spirit must work in me the ability not to sin any longer. 73 00:06:13,306 --> 00:06:17,910 How else do I understand this? I've got to be perfect. And see my 74 00:06:17,910 --> 00:06:22,915 presuppositions make all the difference. As a Lutheran I read that and say, boy, 75 00:06:23,316 --> 00:06:27,387 that's obviously the law. God's standards are really high. That law 76 00:06:27,387 --> 00:06:31,691 smacks me around something fierce and really does me in because I'm not 77 00:06:31,691 --> 00:06:38,965 perfect. I know that keenly. In fact that hard word ultimately kills me. Exactly. So 78 00:06:38,965 --> 00:06:45,605 the law does. So we read it and say that's law. It is not describing an obligation or 79 00:06:45,605 --> 00:06:49,675 a requirement for salvation. It's describing God's will for us and how we're 80 00:06:49,675 --> 00:06:53,346 supposed to live. Realizing we don't do that. That's what the law does. And does 81 00:06:53,346 --> 00:06:57,383 that make me despair? Well, in one sense because I realize I can't ever possibly 82 00:06:57,383 --> 00:07:01,487 do that. And then what do I hear Jesus saying? I am the way and the truth and 83 00:07:01,487 --> 00:07:05,925 life known to the Father but by me and I've come to redeem the world and we've 84 00:07:05,925 --> 00:07:09,362 got the gospel. You see it makes a difference how you read. You can read the 85 00:07:09,362 --> 00:07:13,433 verse of the Bible. You say is this law or is this gospel? And it makes a world 86 00:07:13,433 --> 00:07:17,170 of difference in how you understand it and how you apply it. And that's why 87 00:07:17,170 --> 00:07:22,742 you've got to know your presuppositions going in. And a Nazarene reader would say, 88 00:07:23,109 --> 00:07:26,345 hey, it says here we got to tie it or we're not being good. Christians, I better 89 00:07:26,345 --> 00:07:30,583 tie it. And I got to do this to have God's blessing. And we say, well, you're 90 00:07:30,583 --> 00:07:34,153 getting the law and the gospel all messed up here buddy. That's too bad. And 91 00:07:34,153 --> 00:07:38,124 I don't have that problem. I sure I'll tie it. I want to do that. That's great. It's 92 00:07:38,124 --> 00:07:41,994 part of my horizontal responsibility. Fine. But does it affect where I stand 93 00:07:41,994 --> 00:07:46,833 with God? Not a bit. Different issue. And if you have your presuppositions straight, 94 00:07:47,366 --> 00:07:49,535 that makes sense. You can handle that. 95 00:07:52,672 --> 00:07:57,610 If we remove the law, do we need the gospel? To remove the law? The only way to get off, 96 00:07:57,777 --> 00:08:04,083 get rid of the law is the gospel. That's right. Only way. I guess what I'm getting at is I've heard it said we don't need the law anymore. 97 00:08:04,684 --> 00:08:07,954 Oh yeah, that's a common presupposition among Christians and among Lutherans 98 00:08:07,954 --> 00:08:12,091 because I now live in the gospel. The gospel is all I need. I've done it the 99 00:08:12,091 --> 00:08:16,729 law. And that's widespread among Lutherans. And it's dead wrong. 100 00:08:18,264 --> 00:08:23,202 But that's the top of the time. Systematics three. I have no use for that attitude. But it's 101 00:08:23,202 --> 00:08:27,340 quite widespread. And that gets very complicated. You get into gospel 102 00:08:27,340 --> 00:08:31,077 reductionism and two kinds of pieces of law and the whole business, 103 00:08:31,410 --> 00:08:39,852 estimate of the time down the road. Wait. We'll get to that someday. Alright. But we, yeah, we'll get to that. 104 00:08:40,119 --> 00:08:43,456 That leads to antinomianism and the disregard for the law. These 105 00:08:43,456 --> 00:08:48,194 are all these things that are basically licentious behavior. And it totally discounts the reality of the horizontal relationship and the 106 00:08:48,194 --> 00:08:51,664 dimension that you have an obligation to fulfill the law, even if you're in Christ. 107 00:08:52,131 --> 00:08:55,101 You see, that's why what that basically is doing is just totally missing this 108 00:08:55,101 --> 00:08:59,872 reality. Because it's saying, hey, this is all that matters. Forgiveness in Christ. 109 00:09:00,172 --> 00:09:03,876 No, that's a great thing. That's not at all that matters. Because you still got 110 00:09:03,876 --> 00:09:07,446 obligations. You know, back to my policeman again. Hey, I got the gospel. 111 00:09:07,914 --> 00:09:13,786 Wonderful. Here's your ticket. You see, it's not like the gospel obviates or sets 112 00:09:13,786 --> 00:09:17,657 aside your responsibilities in this world. And there are Christians who might not be 113 00:09:17,657 --> 00:09:22,028 so audacious to say something like that. But when it comes right down to it, they kind of operate that way. 114 00:09:22,828 --> 00:09:27,900 You know, God says I'm supposed to live a pure life. Come on. He doesn't really mean that. He knows better. 115 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:35,274 Who cares? I can do what I want. I'm trying. No way. That doesn't wash. God says, do it. 116 00:09:35,274 --> 00:09:39,545 You better do it. So you buck up and do it. That's what we do in the horizontal realm. 117 00:09:39,912 --> 00:09:45,351 Now, I fail. Great. God's got forgiveness for me. I need that. That's true in the vertical realm. 118 00:09:45,585 --> 00:09:50,656 But man, I still have my obligation in the horizontal. And just because I'm forgiven doesn't mean now I don't have to worry about it in the horizontal. 119 00:09:51,023 --> 00:09:57,330 And that's one of the big mistakes a lot of Lutherans make is they think having carte blanche here means no responsibility here. 120 00:09:57,563 --> 00:10:03,736 That's dead wrong. Okay. And yeah, I'm whetting your appetite for more. 121 00:10:03,736 --> 00:10:09,575 I hope I do that because I teach a class called Law and Gospel and Civil Righteousness and stuff, and we get into this a lot more. 122 00:10:09,675 --> 00:10:15,014 And it's really important. I want to make sure that I'm not confusing something with the whole concept of works. 123 00:10:15,715 --> 00:10:25,958 Would you throw that into, is it simple enough to put it under law or under gospel or that's kind of something that would kind of lend to each? 124 00:10:26,225 --> 00:10:30,963 The works are always an issue of who's doing them and who's doing them as a Christian and who is a Christian, 125 00:10:30,963 --> 00:10:34,800 who is the one who has God's forgiveness and who's fulfilling his responsibilities. 126 00:10:35,434 --> 00:10:42,875 And so the two dimensions, the two kinds of righteousness come together here in me. 127 00:10:43,509 --> 00:10:47,413 And so it's a Christian who's doing them, but I'm doing them because I need to. 128 00:10:47,513 --> 00:10:52,284 And I'm doing a lot of love for God. And it gets a little bit muddy in there on what's really going on. 129 00:10:52,551 --> 00:10:55,354 And some people get really hung up on getting the motives all figured out. 130 00:10:55,354 --> 00:10:59,558 And that's another topic for another time. And it probably doesn't matter that much. 131 00:10:59,825 --> 00:11:01,560 What matters is what God's called you to do. 132 00:11:03,229 --> 00:11:10,770 Yeah. Yeah. Good works are a fruit of that relationship that God has given to us, but they're done out there in the horizontal realm. 133 00:11:13,005 --> 00:11:16,942 All right. So presuppositions we have coming in. 134 00:11:17,309 --> 00:11:19,979 Even some of them. Another biggie that we have. 135 00:11:19,979 --> 00:11:26,018 Oh, so the law and gospel, it's just important to recognize is, some people say, you know what? 136 00:11:26,218 --> 00:11:30,222 Law and gospel, two realms, two dimensions, they're all the same thing. 137 00:11:30,289 --> 00:11:32,625 There are just different ways of talking about it. That's not true either. 138 00:11:33,426 --> 00:11:39,265 What's going on here is this. Law and gospel is a way of thinking when you're talking about what is God saying to me? 139 00:11:41,267 --> 00:11:45,805 OK, that's the issue you're after. What is God saying to me? How does God speak to me? 140 00:11:45,805 --> 00:11:47,840 And God speaks to me in law and gospel. 141 00:11:48,274 --> 00:11:51,711 And so law and gospel is really important when it comes to understanding God's word. 142 00:11:52,044 --> 00:11:54,613 And obviously that means understanding reading the Bible. 143 00:11:56,215 --> 00:12:01,087 Two dimensions has to do with where do I stand in this life? 144 00:12:02,188 --> 00:12:05,391 And you stand in two realms before God and before men. 145 00:12:06,058 --> 00:12:10,129 And so this is not asking the question, what is God saying to me? That's what law and gospel addresses. 146 00:12:10,463 --> 00:12:13,432 What the two dimensions is addressing is, where do I stand in the world? 147 00:12:13,432 --> 00:12:17,903 Where do I fit? And the two relationships helps us to understand that. 148 00:12:18,637 --> 00:12:22,708 All right. One other thing to talk about so far as a presupposition going in, 149 00:12:22,808 --> 00:12:28,614 and this is one that Cole does and he divides a lot of stuff underneath it, is the theology of the cross. 150 00:12:32,818 --> 00:12:35,788 Or a teologia cruces. 151 00:12:38,991 --> 00:12:45,030 And I'm not using Latin to punish you or to be ostentatious too much. 152 00:12:45,698 --> 00:12:49,969 All right. Hey, I've got the earned degree. I'm going to let you all know it. 153 00:12:50,636 --> 00:12:54,573 So you've got to deal, you've got to just come to terms with Latin. 154 00:12:54,673 --> 00:12:58,611 You're going to deal with it. Just get used to it. Swallow hard and start dealing with it. 155 00:12:58,944 --> 00:13:05,551 Don't fight it. Don't fight it. It does you no good to fight it, guys. Just accept it. 156 00:13:05,551 --> 00:13:09,688 Let it wash over you and yield to the force of systematic theology. 157 00:13:12,691 --> 00:13:17,229 You're much better off. A little word here. It's from the campus. 158 00:13:17,496 --> 00:13:26,172 No. One of the realities is when you come to the seminary, our intention here as faculty is to form you. 159 00:13:26,705 --> 00:13:31,911 This is what we're about. You'll hear this terminology thrown around pastoral formation, formation for ministry. 160 00:13:31,911 --> 00:13:38,717 Well, what does that mean? That means we want to shape how you think and how you function and who you are. 161 00:13:38,751 --> 00:13:46,158 This is our intention. And I guarantee you that when you come in and when you leave, you will not be the same person. 162 00:13:46,792 --> 00:13:51,797 You are going to be shaped. The question is how. And that's an open question. 163 00:13:52,398 --> 00:13:57,570 And you and I was sitting on that sidelines. Not in this class. I was sitting on that sidelines. 164 00:13:57,570 --> 00:14:02,775 I know what it's like. And you have this zeal. You want to just get out there and be a pastor. 165 00:14:03,409 --> 00:14:07,847 You want to get out there. Claim the gospel and help people. That's what you want to do. 166 00:14:08,013 --> 00:14:11,483 And the seminary is just one more stinking hoop in the way. 167 00:14:12,585 --> 00:14:17,356 Sometimes you add to this coming in. You know, I just got to jump through a bunch of hoops. Man, I get through this thing. 168 00:14:17,790 --> 00:14:24,730 That's unfortunate. Don't look at it that way. Look at this as your opportunity to really be shaped and to be given the tools that's going to help you. 169 00:14:24,730 --> 00:14:32,271 And be a little bit, I guess my advice to you, this was just friendly advice off the subject. 170 00:14:33,272 --> 00:14:39,945 Be intentional about how the formation is happening. Know it's going to happen. But be aware of it. 171 00:14:40,212 --> 00:14:45,084 It's happening. You're going to be shaped. Every prof is going to try to shape you. Some of them more overtly than others. 172 00:14:45,251 --> 00:14:51,824 Me, overtly. Okay. I have an agenda. I want to shape how you think. Everybody's doing it. 173 00:14:51,824 --> 00:14:55,394 Some of them are just a little more subtle about it. So you need to be aware of it. 174 00:14:55,394 --> 00:15:01,066 And you need to be making some smart choices. Ask yourself, how do I want to be shaped? Who do I let influence me? 175 00:15:01,166 --> 00:15:08,674 How am I going to be formed? Because it's going to happen. And you know, if you come in with that idea that I'm going to be the same exact as when I go out, you're only fooling yourself. 176 00:15:09,241 --> 00:15:12,444 You're not paying attention to the realities of the world. And you're denying all. 177 00:15:12,611 --> 00:15:17,783 And that's what we're back to postmodernism. What does postmodernism teach us? We're shaped and influenced all the time. 178 00:15:17,783 --> 00:15:22,955 There's no blank slate. No objective reader. It doesn't exist. So you are going to be shaped. 179 00:15:23,889 --> 00:15:32,197 So figure out in what way and what's going to happen. And let it happen. And enjoy it. Enjoy the formation process.