For this lecture, Dr. Walther began the evening by explaining how all mankind is distributed among three estates, appointed and ordained by God Himself: the estate of teachers, of producers, and defenders. He goes on to explain, “True, the estate of teachers has, in general, been little respected, especially in ages gone by; and as far as the teachers of the Word of God are concerned, they are, of all men, most despised and even hated by the world. Nevertheless their estate and office is the most glorious of all, for the following reasons:
1. The work of their office centers about man’s spiritual welfare, his immortal soul.
2. They employ the most salutary means and instrument in their work, namely, the Word of the living God.
3. They aim at the most salutary and glorious end, namely, to make man truly happy in the present life and to lead him to the life of eternal bliss.
4. They are most wholesomely engaged in an occupation which entirely satisfies their spirits and advances their own selves in the way of salvation.
5. Their labor yields the most precious result, namely, the salvation of man.
6. Their labors have the most glorious promise of the cooperation of the Lord, so that they are never entirely futile and in vain.
Their labors have the promise of a gracious reward, which consists in a glory in the world to come that is unutterably great, exceeding abundantly above all they ever could have asked and prayed for in this life.”
Then Walther covers what is meant by the law of faith, “According to the apostle’s own terminology the objecters say that the Gospel, too, is a law. This is drawing a faulty inference from the apostle’s words. The apostle in this passage employs the figure of antanaclasis: he uses the same word which his opponent has used, however, in a different meaning, to refute the opponent.”
Next, Walther explains how are we to understand the word “obeyed” in Romans 10:16 – They have not all ‘obeyed’ the Gospel. “We are to obey the will of God not only as expressed in the Law, but also His gracious will. But the latter is not a will of the Law. By His gracious will, God offers and gives us all things. If we accept what He gives, we are said to obey Him. It is an act of kindness on God’s part to call it obedience. And indeed, when we do obey Him thus, we are also fulfilling the First Commandment, for faith is commanded in the Law, not in the Gospel.”
Walther covers how, “According to Luther’s description of the Gospel as the last will and testament of Christ, the Gospel is not a doctrine teaching us how we may make ourselves worthy in the sight of God, but what we are to receive from God.” Also, “It is indeed correctly said that the mere regarding of the Gospel as a truthful record is not justifying faith, but Luther means that a person believes that what the Gospel says concerns him. He who does not consider himself redeemed does not believe that the Gospel is true.”
Then Walther covers the five marks of a Bible passage referring to the Gospel in the strict sense.
1. Whenever the Gospel is contrasted with the Law.
2. Whenever the Gospel is presented as the peculiar teaching of Christ or as the doctrine that proclaims Christ.
3. Whenever poor sinners are named as the subject to whom the Gospel is addressed.
4. Whenever forgiveness of sins, righteousness, and salvation by grace are named as effects of the Gospel
5. When faith is named as the correlate of the Gospel.
Then Walther draws the lecture to a close by explaining the fifth mark, “...the reference is to the Gospel in the strict sense. Mark 1, 15 Repent ye and believe the Gospel. Mark 16, 15–16 Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. Also the passage cited last certainly refers to the Gospel in the strict sense. The remarks of the Lord about unbelievers who shall be damned, are not indeed a part of the Gospel, but Law. The Lord adds these remarks in order to let those who reject the Gospel know that by their unbelief they are doing that which will hurl them into perdition.”
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