Law and Gospel—Taxis or Praxis?

The proper distinction of the Law and the Gospel in God’s Word is, according to the Lutheran understanding, the mark of a true theologian. Confuse, mix, or otherwise mishandle them, and the Gospel will be lost. And when the Gospel is lost, faith is destroyed, and salvation is lost also. Plenty has been written on…

First chicken, then egg

You are not rightly distinguishing Law and Gospel in the Word of God if you first preach … sanctification and then justification, … or first good works and then grace. C.F.W. Walther, Law and Gospel, Thesis VII

Beauty, not relevance

"Relevant" is another word to put in scare quotes when talking about sermons. For just as I think "practical" sermons do little practical good, I think the attempt to make the gospel "relevant" is irrelevant to someone who knows Christ. It's boring, because it's about an imaginary Christ designed for those who define themselves in…