Historical Church Writings #4: "Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord"

Today is Historical Church Writing Thursday. Each Thursday will feature the writings of the church fathers, reformation fathers or other church writings. Today's Historical Church Writing is from the "Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord":    

"These two doctrines, we believe and confess, should always be diligently taught in God's Church forever, even to the end of the world. They must be taught with the proper distinction of which we have heard: (a) throught he preaching of the Law and it's threats in the ministry of the New Testament the hearts of impenitent people may be terrified, and (b) they may be brought to a knowlege of their sins and to repentance. This must not be done in such a way that they lose heart and despair in this process. "So then, the law aws our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith" (Galations 3:24); so the Law points and leads us not from Christ, but to Christ, who "is the end of the law" (Romans 10:4). People must be comforted and strengthened again by the preaching of the Holy Gospel about Christ, our Lord. In other words, to those who believe the Gospel, God forgives all their sins through Christ, adopts them as children for His sake, and out of pure grace -- without any merit on their part -- justifies and saves them. However, He does not do this in such a way that they may abuse God's grace and may sin hoping for grace [Romans 6:1]. Paul thoroughly and forcefully shows this in the distinction between the Law and the Gospel (2 Corinthians 3:6-9)."

     -- Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord V 24-26

Jesu Juva,
Soli Deo Gloria