Saturday, January 4, 2014

Two Little Pieper Quotes

While the law does have a role in the work of sanctification, its role is purely negative and only in service of the gospel. According to Scripture, sanctification, expressed negatively, consists in the putting off of the old man, and positively, in the putting on of the new man.

- Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 3:15.

Strictly speaking, only that Word which mortifies the old man and supplies strength to the new man is the means of sanctification, namely, the Gospel (the means of grace), not the Law. It is only the Gospel which dethrones sin; the Law can only multiply sin (Rom 6:14; 7:5, 6; Jer 31:31 ff.). However, the Law has its place in the work of sanctification; it serves the Gospel.

- Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 3:18.
 
Why do we seem to think it is such a mean thing to serve the Gospel?

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