The Light of the World
The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
ROMANS 13:12
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The Light of the World
The doctrine of the Law, or the first light, is the moon. It teaches our obligation to bear fruits, as a good tree should. The other light is the sun. It speaks of the new man, of a different tree, telling us that we receive the Gospel from Christ. There we hear whence and how a man becomes good, namely, through faith. Thus the Gospel deals, not with our works but with grace and gifts, with the good that God does for us and presents to us through Christ. The Ten Commandments tell us about our duties toward God. Now, to be sure, the moon shines at night, but still it does not turn night into day. Christ, however, is the true Sun. He ushers in the morning and the day. He teaches us how to be saved and how to be delivered from death and sin. Therefore He says: "I am the Light which illumines the whole world"; for He alone liberates from sin, death, the devil, and hell. . . Now again the proclamation is issued that sin is condemned solely in Christ, and that we are delivered from sin without our works, boasts, or deeds but only through the death of Christ. This is the message of the Gospel. This is the light and the true brilliance of the sun, which radiates through the entire world. So Christ's claim is just. The doctrine in itself is true; He is the Light of the world.
The From Sermons on the Gospel of John, Chapters 6-8 (Luther's Works 11 23:324-25)
ROMANS 13:12
+
The Light of the World
The doctrine of the Law, or the first light, is the moon. It teaches our obligation to bear fruits, as a good tree should. The other light is the sun. It speaks of the new man, of a different tree, telling us that we receive the Gospel from Christ. There we hear whence and how a man becomes good, namely, through faith. Thus the Gospel deals, not with our works but with grace and gifts, with the good that God does for us and presents to us through Christ. The Ten Commandments tell us about our duties toward God. Now, to be sure, the moon shines at night, but still it does not turn night into day. Christ, however, is the true Sun. He ushers in the morning and the day. He teaches us how to be saved and how to be delivered from death and sin. Therefore He says: "I am the Light which illumines the whole world"; for He alone liberates from sin, death, the devil, and hell. . . Now again the proclamation is issued that sin is condemned solely in Christ, and that we are delivered from sin without our works, boasts, or deeds but only through the death of Christ. This is the message of the Gospel. This is the light and the true brilliance of the sun, which radiates through the entire world. So Christ's claim is just. The doctrine in itself is true; He is the Light of the world.
The From Sermons on the Gospel of John, Chapters 6-8 (Luther's Works 11 23:324-25)
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