In need of grace

I’m Lutheran, and we Lutherans often get ourselves tied up in knots over the use of the law in the life of faith.

I believe, as Luther did, that Scripture reveals Christ through both Law and Gospel. Law, for Lutherans, is whatever convicts us of our sin and our need for Christ.

Another use of the Law, and a hotly disputed one at least in Lutheran circles, is what the reformers knew as the “third use of the Law.” Here the Law serves not only as a mirror for our sinful nature and its desires, but as a guide for proper conduct. That’s where we Lutherans get tied up in knots, as we also hold to th...