Date of Award
5-1-1993
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Sacred Theology (STM)
Department
Systematic Theology
First Advisor
Charles Arand
Scripture References in this Resource
Galatians 3:24; Romans 10:4; 1 Corinthians 9:21; Romans 13:10; Galatians 5:14; Psalm 1:1-2; Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Timothy 1:8; Leviticus 26:36; Romans 7:13; Romans 3:21; Romans 12:1-3; Philippians 3:17; Hebrews 12:1; 1 Corinthians 11:1; Psalm 119:1, 35, 47, 70, 97
Abstract
The question of whether Luther taught a third use of the law is far too broad for a thesis. We will therefore confine ourselves, in the main, to his great Galatians Commentary of 1531 / 1535, where he explicates in considerable detail the doctrine of justification and the proper distinction between law and gospel.4 Even though the nature of the letter is such that Paul speaks there more about justification than about sanctification, Luther still writes enough about the role of the law in the Christian life to warrant using this as our primary source. There are two main reasons for this choice: first, apart from the Antinomian Disputations (which would seem to us to be more appropriate for a dissertation than a thesis topic), Luther's Galatians Commentary is the best source for an extended treatment of law and gospel in relation to both justification and sanctification; secondly, it is justifiably famous, is often alluded to in the Confessions, and represents Luther's mature theology. This in many ways makes it an ideal document because, even though it does not consciously address the problems involved in the discussion about the third use of the law, the debate over the tertius usus cannot be isolated from wider questions, such as those of the relation between law and gospel, between justification and sanctification, and between faith and good works, all of which are dealt with at some length in Luther's Commentary.
Recommended Citation
Silcock, Jeffrey G., "Luther and the Third Use of the Law, with Special Reference to His Great Galatians Commentary" (1993). Master of Sacred Theology Thesis. 553.
https://scholar.csl.edu/stm/553
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