_3_How the Divine Law is Made Known to Man

Though the Gospel remains hidden to the natural heart of man (1 Cor. 2:9: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him”), man has a natural knowledge of the Law. Also after the Fall the conscience (, conscientia) of man still bears witness of the divine will, or Law. Man’s conscience functions in two ways: a) it reveals and demands (Rom. 2:15a: The heathen, who do not have the written Law, “show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness”); and b) it judges and condemns (Rom. 2:15b: “Their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another”).17

But since the Fall the conscience does not give a fully reliable testimony concerning the will of God. There is such a thing as an erring conscience (conscientia erronea). Fallen man regards certain things as permitted, yea, even commanded, which God has forbidden. He will commit idolatry (Gal. 4:8: “When ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods”), submit to the Antichrist (2 Thess. 2:11: “that they should believe a lie”), murder Christians (John 16:2: “Whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service”). And fallen man regards as forbidden what God has permitted. He will, for instance, abstain from certain foods (Rom. 14:1 ff.). Therefore since the Fall the knowledge of God’s immutable will is gained with certainty only from God’s revelation in the Word, namely, in Holy Scripture. While the real scope of the Scriptures is the Gospel (John 5:39; Acts 10:43; 1 Cor. 2:2), they nevertheless also contain a complete revelation of the immutable will of God. Matt. 5: 18-19: “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments,” etc.

Holy Scripture also determines exactly which laws applied only temporarily and locally, for instance, only to the Jews under the covenant of the Law, and are therefore not the divine norm for all men of all times. A great and harmful confusion of the consciences of men is, even to our day, caused by generalizing temporary and local laws. With reference, for instance, to the commandment given Ex. 31: 14-15: “Ye shall keep the Sabbath … everyone that defileth it shall surely be put to death,” and Lev. 19:26: “Ye shall not eat anything with the blood,” and Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 (the catalog of clean and unclean beasts), the New Testament distinctly says: “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days” (Col. 2:16). We get this result: Only that is divine Law for all men which is taught in Holy Writ as binding on all. Not even the Ten Commandments in the form in which they were given to the Jews (Exodus 20) are binding on all men, but only the Ten Commandments as set down in the New Testament, as we have them, e. g., in Luther’s Catechism.18 — Commandments given to individuals (mandata specialia), e.g., the commandment received by Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, do not obligate others. In general, the rule to be applied to the life and acts of the saints is, in the words of the Apology: “Examples ought to be interpreted according to the rule, i. e., according to certain and clear passages of Scripture, not contrary to the rule, that is, contrary to Scripture” (Trigl. 441, 60).