Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Being A Theologian of the Cross - Law & Gospel

“The words must be law and gospel in such a way that there is no escape.” "On Being a Theologian of the Cross"
According to Gerhard Forde, this is the goal a theologian of the cross must strive for if he is to be such a theologian.

The theologian of glory will have a perspective that cannot abide suffering in any form. This perspective can only see suffering as evil and that which is apart from the work of God. Suffering for such a theologian has no benefit for the believer. The theologian of the glory looks through or passed the suffering in hopes of finding some explanation for it and a way to escape it. The Law isn't the Law anymore and neither is the Gospel. As such, neither does it proper work.
The theologian of the cross has a totally different perspective. Through the cross, suffering becomes a means by which the believer is blessed, as suffering drives the old man to despair and finally death. The theologian of the cross knows that God is involved because it is the Law, the judgment of God that has driven his conscience to suffering the torments of dread and despair. The theologian of the cross looks at such suffering and sees the cross there and God in the midst of it. Seeing the cross, this theologian will look on to the resurrection of Christ and the new life that is freely offered to all those who have died in the cross – life that is eternal in the midst of and beyond all suffering. Here the Law is the Law and left to do its work. The Gospel is the the Gospel and it is sought to do its work and lives are saved.

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