ROUGHLY EDITED COPY CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY EDUCATION NETWORK CUENET LUTHERAN CONFESSIONS 2-11 DR. ROBERT KOLB CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY: CAPTION FIRST, INC. P.O. BOX 1024 LOMBARD, IL 60148 800-825-5234 *** THIS TEXT IS BEING PROVIDED IN A ROUGH DRAFT FORMAT. COMMUNICATION ACCESS REALTIME TRANSLATION (CART) IS PROVIDED IN ORDER TO FACILITATE COMMUNICATION ACCESSIBILITY AND MAY NOT BE A TOTALLY VERBATIM RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS. *** LC2-11 >> SO IT IS IMPORTANT TO LEARN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS TO KNOW WHAT TO DO AND NOT TO DO. THIS IS ONE OF THE THREE PURPOSES FOR THE LAW, RIGHT? >>DR. ROBERT KOLB: THAT'S CORRECT. AND AS LUTHER FRAMES THE VERY SUCCINCT DEFINITIONS OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN THE SMALL CATECHISM, AS HE EXPANDS IN THOSE DEFINITIONS IN THE LARGE CATECHISM, WE DO GET A PICTURE OF THE TOTALITY OF HUMAN LIFE. SO INDEED, THE COMMANDMENTS DEAL WITH WHAT WE ARE TO DO, WHAT WE ARE TO AVOID DOING. IT GIVES US A SUMMARY OF GOD'S CLUES FOR HUMAN PERFORMANCE. BUT CRITICAL FOR LUTHER'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IS WHAT HE CALLED OUR THEOLOGY IN 1535 AND THE PREFACE TO HIS GALATIONS LECTURES. OUR THEOLOGY HE SAID IS THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE TWO KINDS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. RIGHTEOUSNESS IS NOT A WORD YOU CAN USE ON THE STREET VERY MUCH TODAY. TO BE RIGHTEOUS IN LUTHER'S TIME MEANT SIMPLY TO BE WHAT YOU OUGHT TO BE. THEY DIDN'T USE THE TERM IN THIS WAY. BUT YOU COULD SAY A RIGHTEOUS TABLE IS ONE WITH FOUR LEGS THAT ARE HOLDING IT UP WITH A GOOD SOLID TOP THAT LETS ME SPREAD OUT MY BOOKS OR MY DINNER OR WHATEVER. THAT'S A TABLE BEING A RIGHT OR RIGHTEOUS TABLE. WHEN LUTHER TALKED ABOUT THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD, FOR INSTANCE, HE BROKE WITH THE MEDIEVAL VIEW THAT THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD WAS HIS HOLDING THINGS IN ORDER. HIS BEING FAIR AND SO FORTH. LUTHER'S THEOLOGY OF THE CROSS BROUGHT HIM TO THINK OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. GOD IS THE -- THE ESSENCE OF GOD, THE BASIC DEFINITION OF GOD, IS HIS STEDFAST LOVING KINDNESS AND HIS NEVER ENDING UNCONDITIONAL MERCY. WELL, LUTHER IN CONTRAST TO MEDIEVAL THEOLOGIANS SAID THAT THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF A HUMAN BEING IS TWO DIMENSIONAL. I LIKE TO USE VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL AS A KIND OF SYMBOL OF WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT. BUT HE SAID WHAT MAKES US A CHILD OF GOD IN RELATIONSHIP TO GOD IS QUITE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT MAKES US A CHILD OF GOD IN RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PEOPLE IN OUR DAILY LIVES. AND IT -- ALTHOUGH HE DIDN'T DRAW THE PARALLEL, THE PARALLEL TO BEING A BABY AND BEING AN ADULT IS HELPFUL I THINK IN THIS REGARD. THE VERTICAL KIND OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, IF YOU WILL, IS A PASSIVE RIGHTEOUSNESS HE SAID. AND JUST AS EARTH IS WATERED BY THE RAIN THAT COMES DOWN -- THIS IS FROM HIS GALATIONS COMMENTARY PREFACE, 15:35, AS THE RAIN COMES DOWN AND WATERS THE EARTH WITHOUT THE EARTH'S CONTRIBUTION, SO GOD POURS OUT HIS MERCY UPON US. JUST AS YOU WEREN'T CONSULTED BY YOUR PARENTS AS TO WHETHER YOU WANTED TO BE BORN OR NOT. JUST AS YOU CONTRIBUTED ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO YOUR CONCEPTION, TO YOUR BIRTH, SO GOD RECREATES US IN HIS OWN IMAGE. GOD MAKES US ANEW AS NEW CREATURES SIMPLY BECAUSE OF HIS GRACE, SIMPLY BECAUSE OF HIS FAVOR. THERE'S NO EXPLANATION GIVEN. AND THERE'S NO EXPLANATION WE CAN DEVISE. WE ARE GOD'S CHILDREN JUST BECAUSE HE WANTS US AS HIS CHILDREN. BUT JUST AS PARENTS HAVE EXPECTATIONS FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF THEIR CHILDREN, THEY WANT THEM TO BEHAVE, JUST AS WHEN THE RAIN COMES DOWN, IT DOES SO IN ORDER THAT THE EARTH MAY GIVE FRUIT, SO GOD WHEN HE CREATES US AS HIS CHILDREN WITHOUT ANY MERIT OR WORTHINESS IN US, AS WE'LL HEAR IN THE CREED, WHEN GOD MAKES US HIS OWN PEOPLE. THEN HE EXPECTS US TO LIVE AS HIS OWN PEOPLE. HE DOESN'T WANT TO BE EMBARRASSED BY HIS OWN KIDS. AND SO LUTHER SAW THAT WHAT THE TEN COMMANDMENTS DO, WHAT COMMANDMENTS 2 THROUGH 10, DO TELL US -- IS TO TELL US ABOUT OUR HUMAN PERFORMANCE. THEY TELL US HOW WE OUGHT TO BEHAVE BECAUSE OF WHAT THE FIRST COMMANDMENT TELLS US. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT TELLS US WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD. THAT WE HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE HIM. THAT OUR LIVES ARE LIVES OF FEARING, LOVING AND TRUSTING HIM. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, WE ARE THEN ABLE TO PERFORM THE WORKS OF THE OTHER COMMANDMENTS. THAT'S THE WAY HIS EXPLANATIONS TO THE COMMANDMENTS ACTUALLY READ. *** THIS TEXT IS BEING PROVIDED IN A ROUGH DRAFT FORMAT. COMMUNICATION ACCESS REALTIME TRANSLATION (CART) IS PROVIDED IN ORDER TO FACILITATE COMMUNICATION ACCESSIBILITY AND MAY NOT BE A TOTALLY VERBATIM RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS. ***