Notes On Walther's Seventh Evening Lecture

Joseph D. Klotz

August 10, 2024

These notes are my summary of Walther's Seventh Evening Lecture as presented in "Law & Gospel: How to Read and Apply the Bible Seventh Lecture," please see the full citation at the end of the article. The text contained inside brackets are my own comments or questions. - THL

Walther reiterates that distinguishing between Law and Gospel is not easy. One cannot do it by the power of our own reason. The ability to properly distinguish Law and Gospel, Walther says, comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Christian, and what he calls "Christian experience." What Walther means by "Christian experience" is having experienced the crushing of the Law and the comfort of the Gospel personally. Walther says that the purpose of saying this, and all his lectures, is not to discourage men from becoming pastors. It is to humble those who are proud, and think they have mastered this skill (Walther, 2010, p. 57).

Walter says it doesn't matter how learned one is. The skill of distinguishing Law and Gospel is taught by the Holy Spirit. He gives some examples, among them St. John Chrysostom. Chrysostom, Walther admits, was a fine orator. But, in Walther's estimation, Chrysostom "accomplished little" because he often confused Law and Gospel. (Walther, 2010, p. 57).

Walther says the teaching given by the Holy Spirit is worth more than other human education. In Walther's estimation, unlearned "rural" preachers who have experienced the crushing of the Law and the comfort and promise of the Gospel make better preachers than Chrysostom, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen (Walther, 2010, p. 58).

Walther says that, for the theologian, every other skill is of lesser value compared with rightly distinguishing Law and Gospel. To Walther, the issue isn't just that the Word of God is preached. He says that people must be dealt with according to the spiritual condition they are in. (2 Timothy 2:15; Luke 12:42-44.) (Walther, 2010, pp. 58-59).

Law and Gospel must be preached together (2 Corinthians 2:16; 3:4-6). Walther explains that this is why Paul talks about the "letter" and the "spirit"; he is talking about Law and Gospel. As always, Walther says, the ability to do this must be given by the Holy Spirit (Walther, 2010, p. 59).

Walther says no man can rightly distinguish Law and Gospel by nature. He must be "divorced from the spirit of the world...for the Spirit of God does not live in a heart in which the spirit of the world claims a place." [How does this relate to SA III iii 43ff? Doesn't this exclusion apply to everyone because Christians are simultaneously justified and sinner?] (Walther, 2010, p. 59).

Walther says that the good preacher must first become a Christian. This seems obvious, but what he really means is that the good preacher is one who has experienced the working of the Law and the comfort of the Gospel personally. Only after he is thus conditioned will the preacher be able to preach Law and Gospel rightly. He must also become good at diagnosing those "souls" who hear him. Walther says the preacher must give his hearers what they need and not just preach a generic word. Walther warns that the Word of God is a sharp sword that will kill those who hear a preacher who wields it carelessly. (Walther, 2010, p. 60).

[Walther is certainly correct in his warning about wielding the Word of God carelessly. A careless preacher, or worse, an evil one, can do great damage to people and lead many astray. We see this every day in America in the teaching of the Word of Faith heretics. It is so pervasive that false teachers like Joel Osteen and Kenneth Copeland are the face of American Christianity for a large number of non-Christians. But how are we supposed to diagnose those to whom we preach? How are we to know which word, either Law or Gospel, they need? According to the Lutheran Confessions, we cannot apply the Law according to its various uses, first, second, or third. The Holy Spirit instead decides how He will use the means of God's Law preached as He wishes.] (Walther, 2010, p. 60).

Walther isn't talking about diagnosing individual people, however, He is saying that the preacher is to diagnose individual types of people: the hypocrite, the penitent sinner, the impenitent sinner, etc. [To be effective, the good preacher must craft his sermon to speak to all the types of people who may be in his audience.] Walther explains that general presentations of doctrine do not do what needs to be done in a sermon, even if it is orthodox teaching (Walther, 2010, p. 60).

Walther commends to his students the sermons of Luther. He says that Luther's sermons are effective because Luther was such a preacher as Walther describes. Luther preaches Law and Gospel side by side. He does not try to teach people how to better themselves, thereby turning his sermon into a self-help seminar. Luther, Walther says, presents the Law to bring his hearers to despair, and he immediately then gives the Gospel to those penitent hearers for comfort (Walther, 2010, pp. 60-61).

Regarding preaching, Walther's overarching principle is this: Take care not to be misunderstood in your sermon (Walther, 2010, pp. 61-62).

Sermons must not contain that which is contrary to Law and Gospel. Walther gives this example: A preacher must not say things like, "If a person is afraid of dying, he is not a child of God." This is not true. The Christian who is not afraid to stand before God because he is baptized into Christ may indeed be frightened by death and decay in the grave. [Such preaching is a mingling of Law and Gospel and gives no comfort.] Walther cautions his students to be on the lookout for such things in their sermons. (Walther, 2010, p. 61).

Walther also cautions preachers to be careful how they address the worldly. Preachers must be careful not to assert what is not true. For example, they must not say things like the worldly have no joy or peace as the Christian does. [Certainly, the worldly do not have joy and peace in the way that Christians do; they do not have the hope of justification before God in Christ, and the hope of eternal life. The worldly, however, do experience joy and peace. To say such a thing in such a way will cause the worldly hearer to dismiss what is preached as nonsense because it is contrary to what they have experienced.] Instead, Walther explains, the preacher must preach in such a way as to make them think, "What if he is right?" (Walther, 2010, p. 61).

Another thing to avoid in one's preaching, Walther says, is portraying Christians as perpetually happy, and without care or trouble. It would seem silly, even though the Christian in the midst of trials is far happier. [To preach this way gives the impression that life gets easier when one becomes a Christian, which is not what Christ has promised. Christ promised His Christians that in this world, we will have trouble. Christ has promised us a cross. He calls us to take up your cross, which is an instrument of torture and death, and follow Him. He also encourages us to take heart, because He has overcome the world. If this is not taught properly, however, hearers will become discouraged when they become Christians, and their lives don't immediately improve according to their worldly standards.] (Walther, 2010, pp. 61-62).

Walther says that Christians sometimes sin with knowledge and intent. He calls this being attacked by sin "deep inside or externally." Walther calls such sins "hasty sins." Walther's example is the hot-tempered man who is set off by something and loses his temper, is subsequently rebuked by the Holy Spirit inside him, and repents (Walther, 2010, p. 62). [Isn't what Walther describes here the manifest sin having its way, as Luther writes in the Smalcald Articles (SA III iii 43f)?

The "hasty sins" Walther describes certainly grieve the Holy Spirit. The preacher, Walther says, must warn the people that they may lose the Holy Spirit and fall away if they don't repent and remain penitent. (Walther, 2010, p. 62).

Walther cautions the novice preacher to be careful not to confuse people over the necessity of good works. Good works are necessary, Walther rightly teaches, but they do not merit justification (Walther, 2010, p. 62).

Walther explains that a sin committed may not immediately condemn a person. Sin does still cause harm. [Eventually, such sin sears the conscience.] (Walther, 2010, p. 62).

Walther cautions the preacher to be careful when explaining the so-called unforgivable sin. It can be misunderstood so that people think they have blasphemed the Holy Spirit and are now lost without hope of restoration. But the sin is unforgivable, or unforgiven, because those who commit it refuse to repent of it, not because Jesus' blood is insufficient to cover it or God is unwilling to dismiss it (Walther, 2010, pp. 62-63).

Walther says that it is harder to distinguish between Law and Gospel when dealing with individuals than when preaching to groups. In these cases, the preacher must judge them as they appear to him and give them what they require, either Law or Gospel. If such an individual seeking counsel has deceived the pastor, that is the responsibility of the individual, not the pastor. The pastor is only responsible if he is misunderstood because of his own fault (Walther, 2010, p. 63).

When evaluating people and deciding how to deal with them, Walther explains, the pastor must take into account their personality traits and disposition. If he does not, the pastor might misread the effect his preaching has on the person. The pastor might mistakenly attribute to the crushing of the Law or the comfort of the Gospel what is, in reality, an emotional reaction or state attributable to their personality. Walther also warns the pastor not to focus so intently on the "faults of a particular temperament" that he fails to see the good traits in that person as well (Walther, 2010, p. 64).

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