This expression of Luther, with another in the same Tome,1 to wit, The justified man ought n•t to live holily, but he doth live holily: gave occasion to Antinomians to dream (but its but a dream) that Luther is theirs, as if Luther had been of their mind, that the justified is under no commanding power of the law, and that being once justified, and having obtained the Spirit, they are not obliged by any obligation of a command involving sin in case of disobedience, to either, read, hear, or meditate in the Scriptures, but are so freed from the sign, having obtained the thing, that they are not under the letter of law or Gospel written or preached, or under any outward command, or Ordinance, or Law, or Sacrament, or sin, or obligation at all, but are led by a free arbitrary Spirit separated from all letter of the word. A vain dream. For Luther holdeth the letter of the Law, to be an erroneous, false, and wicked seeking of righteousness by the works of the Law, and a living to sin, ⟨p. 142⟩and from the oldness of the letter in this sense we are freed by the Spirit of faith;2 and Luther explaineth himself, when he saith, Obtentare jam signo non opus, having obtained the Spirit, we need not the letter. He meaneth nothing less then when we have received the Spirit, we need not the written Scriptures or the Commandment or any outward Ordinances, nor any commanding. Sure Satan devised that sense, it came never in Luther, never in Pauls mind; but he meaneth having obtained the thing, that is, the Spirit, we need not the sign, that is the letter of the Law only, without the Spirit: now the letter of the Law only commandeth perfect and exactly absolute obedience under the pain of eternal damnation. But Luther explaineth himself in the very next words, Ideo obtenta re (Spiritu) jam signo non opus: Itaque neque justo lex ost posita: What is that? Luther to. 4. fol. 178. Lex justo non est posita, sic enim justus vivit ut nullâ lege opus habeat &c. He so liveth that he hath not need of the Law to teach and command without Christ that he must perform absolutely perfect obedience to the Law, otherwise he is eternally condemned; this is the letter of the Law, for the just man is in Christ. Ideo Lex (saith Luther there) non potest accusare & reos agere credentes in Christum, the Law cannot accuse and condemn believers in Christ: in the same sense, saith Luther, to.
This expression of Luther, with another in the same Tome,1 to wit, The justified man ought n•t to live holily, but hee doth live holily: gave occasion to Antinomians to dream (but its but a dream) that Luther is theirs, as if Luther had been of their minde, that the justified is under no commanding power of the law, and that being once justified, and having obtained the Spirit, they are not obliged by any obligation of a command involving sin in case of disobedience, to either, read, heare, or meditate in the Scriptures, but are so freed from the signe, having obtained the thing, that they are not under the letter of law or Gospel written or preached, or under any outward command, or Ordinance, or Law, or Sacrament, or sin, or obligation at all, but are led by a free arbitrary Spirit separated from all letter of the word. A vain dream. For Luther holdeth the letter of the Law, to be an erroneous, false, and wicked seeking of righteousnesse by the works of the Law, and a living to sin, ⟨p. 142⟩and from the oldnesse of the letter in this sense we are freed by the Spirit of faith;2 and Luther explaineth himselfe, when hee saith, Obtentare jam signo non opus, having obtained the Spirit, we need not the letter. He meaneth nothing lesse then when we have received the Spirit, we need not the written Scriptures or the Commandement or any outward Ordinances, nor any commanding. Sure Sathan devised that sense, it came never in Luther, never in Pauls minde; but he meaneth having obtained the thing, that is, the Spirit, we need not the signe, that is the letter of the Law only, without the Spirit: now the letter of the Law only commandeth perfect and exactly absolute obedience under the paine of eternall damnation. But Luther explaineth himselfe in the very next words, Ideo obtenta re (Spiritu) jam signo non opus: Itaque neque justo lex ost posita: What is that? Luther to. 4. fol. 178. Lex justo non est posita, sic enim justus vivit ut nullâ lege opus habeat &c. He so liveth that hee hath not need of the Law to teach and command without Christ that he must performe absolutely p•rfect obedience to the Law, otherwise he is eternally condemned; this is the letter of the Law, for the just man is in Christ. Ideo Lex (saith Luther there) non potest accusare & reos agere credentes in Christum, the Law cannot accuse and condemne beleevers in Christ: in the same sense, saith Luther, to.
- 1Luther to. 1. f. 451. Justus non debet be•e vivere, sed bene vivit, nec indiget lege, quae doceat cum bene vivere. In justus autem debet bene vivere, quia non bene vivit, quod lex requirit, hoc to•um urget, ne ex lege et operibus justi fieri praesumant, sed per fidem accipiant Spiritum sine lege & operibus, quo legi satisfaciant.
- 2How the believer needeth not the Law in the letter, neither is under it.How the beleever needeth not the Law in the letter, neither is under it.
