Distinct Approaches -- Scaer and Marquart (6/6)

Continuing with my observations regarding the distinct opinions of two respected churchmen of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod on the subject of the third use of the law (their papers are referenced in a previous post), my sixth and final observation is the weaknesses of each man's presentation.

• Both Dr. Scaer and Dr. Marquart equate the accusatory function of the law with the second use (p. 5 and p. 3, respectively). As I commented in a previous post, I find this approach to be unclear in its biblical and confessional roots.
  
• Dr. Marquart's underlying premise throughout his paper is that the Law can be preached in its third use distinct from the first and second uses. While the Law may be preached by men, it is used by God. It is the height of arrogance that men can dissect the Law in their regular preaching. On any given Sunday, the people gathered in my congregation need all three functions - the hypocrites (and any unbelievers present) need the first; the old Adam in believers needs the second; the new man needs the third. No matter which function each individual requires, the Law always accuses.
• Dr. Marquart says "Our lives are holy only as they conform to the revealed will of God, in other words, to the third use of the Law" (p. 3). It appears as if he is saying that we are made holy by the law. I was taught that our lives are made holy by the blood of Jesus Christ and His righteousness which is bestowed by the Holy Spirit - "And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (1 Cor 6:11). The confessions also speak of the Holy Spirit effecting holiness through the Gospel. "The Holy Spirit effects our sanctification through the following: the communion of saints or Christian church, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. In other words, he first leads us into his holy community, placing us upon the bosom of the church, where he preaches to us and brings us to Christ" (LC II.37).
• Marquart notes, "Clearly the New Testament exhortations to love and good works require conscious effort, not unthinking, automatic compliance with inner instincts!" However, note what the Formula of Concord contributes, "Fruits of the Spirit, however, are those works which the Spirit of God, who dwells in the believers, works through the regenerated, and which the regenerated perform in so far as they are reborn and do them as spontaneously as if they knew of no command, threat, or reward. In this sense the children of God live in the law and walk according to the law of God. In his epistles St. Paul calls it the law of Christ and the law of the mind. Thus God’s children are “not under the law, but under grace” (FC, Ep. VI.6).

Distinct Approaches -- Scaer and Marquart (5/6)

Continuing with my observations regarding the distinct opinions of two respected churchmen of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod on the subject of the third use of the law (their papers are referenced in a previous post), my fifth observation is how each man defines good works.

• Dr. Scaer sees good works as being "done freely" (p. 3) and from a Luther quote "as a tree bears fruit" (p. 6).
• Dr. Marquart sees good works as "conscious attempts" because we are not "automata" (p. 8).

One sees good works as those things which are done through us; the other as those things which we determine to do.

Distinct Approaches -- Scaer and Marquart (4/6)

Continuing with my observations regarding the distinct opinions of two respected churchmen of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod on the subject of the third use of the law (their papers are referenced in a previous post), my fourth observation is how each man reacts to a concern of an emeritus pastor.

Dr. Marquart recounts the following:

About two years ago an emerited colleague wrote to me complaining about a sort of preaching which “seemingly questions the Formula of Concord. . . about the Third Use of the Law.” He added: “How can one read the Scriptures over and over and not see how much and how often our Lord (in the Gospels) and the Apostles (in the Epistles) call for Christian sanctification, crucifying the flesh, putting down the old man an putting on the new man, abounding in the work of the Lord, provoking to love and good works, being fruitful . . .?”

• Dr. Marquart accepts the criticism of this pastor as true and begins his thesis that preachers should be preaching more sanctification, good works, and third use of the law.
• Dr. Scaer responds to the pastor's criticism noting that we have no details from which the pastor leveled his criticism, but this pastor's criticism tells us more about he believes is proper preaching of the third use of the law.

The problem with Dr. Marquart's approach is that we (the readers and hearers) have no way of knowing what specifically errant preaching is being chastised. We are not able to determine if the pastor's criticism is justified or not. Dr. Scaer does not dismiss the criticism, but tempers his judgment of those preachers who are being criticized.

Distinct Approaches -- Scaer and Marquart (3/6)

Continuing with my observations regarding the distinct opinions of two respected churchmen of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod on the subject of the third use of the law (their papers are referenced in a previous post), my third observation is how each man defines sanctification.

• Dr. Scaer defines sanctification: "Putting on the new man is the work of Christ (Gospel) and is the real sanctification" (p. 2).
• Dr. Marquart defines sanctification by equating it with the Third Use (p. 1) and as "our lives are holy only as they conform to the revealed will of God, in other words, to the third use of the law" (p. 3)

One sees sanctification as who and whose you are; the other views sanctification by what you do.

Distinct Approaches -- Scaer and Marquart (2/6)

Continuing with my observations regarding the distinct opinions of two respected churchmen of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod on the subject of the third use of the law (their papers are referenced in a previous post), my second observation is how each man defines antinomianism.

• Dr. Scaer defines antinomianism in two places: "Antinomianism is the belief that Christians are by faith free from all moral and ethical standards" (p. 2) and later, "...the antinomian view that the Law's accusations apply to the Christian as sinner, lex semper accusat, and not to Christian life" (p. 11).
  

• Dr. Marquart defines antinomianism: "the neo-antinomian avoidance of sanctification and the Third Use..." (p. 1).

One equeates the law with moral and ethical standards; the other with sanctification. This distinction affects how each man approaches the subject of the third use and its application to the Christian life.

Distinct Approaches -- Scaer and Marquart (1/6)

In a previous post, I mentioned the distinct opinions of two respected churchmen of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod on the subject of the third use of the law. I am sure some who have read the papers will find my thoughts too picky, others might consider them appropriate.

After hearing the presentations, Q&A sessions, and panel discussion (and after re-reading the papers), my first observation concerns each man's underlying approach to discussing the third use of the law:

• Dr. Scaer approached the topic from a descriptive view. He is more interested in how it is received by the hearer. This evidenced by his parenthetical insertions of "first use" or "second use" or "third use" throughout his paper.
• Dr. Marquart approached the topic from a prescriptive view. He is more interested in how each specific function of the law is presented by the preacher. This evidence by his repeated references to preaching.