Heidelcast 74: Nomism And Antinomianism (12)

Before I began this series my intent was to do a series of episodes on the Reformed understanding of the Christian use of the moral law as the norm or rule of the Christian life. Confessional Protestants (Reformed and Lutheran) call it the “Third Use of the Law” (tertius usus legis). This has been a basic part of confessional Reformational theology from the beginning. We have not always used the language but we’ve always taught the substance of the doctrine against both those who would use the law improperly as a way to be accepted with God (justification) and those who, under the pretense of spirituality, dispense with the moral law (antinomonianism). This is our last stop, as it were, on our trip through the The Marrow of Modern Divinity before we begin our walk through each of the 10 commandments. In this episode, the Reformed Pastor explains to his friends the proper motives for sincerely obeying the law, how our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him, and he helps the legalist see how he doesn’t understand all that the law really demands.

Here’s the episode:

RSS iconIf you benefit from the Heidelcast please share it with your friends. Leave a rating on iTunes so that others find it.

Subscribe to the Heidelcast in iTunes or another podcast app (e.g., Podcruncher  is working well for me).

Send us a note and we may read it on the show and remember, when the coin in the coffer clinks…

Thanks for your support.

Subscribe to the Heidelblog today!


2 comments

  1. This was a great series. Thank you for doing that. I laughed so hard when the CAST AWAY sound clip registered. “Wilson, Wilson, … Wilson!”

    The book “Marrow of Modern Divinity” was an absolutely wonderful read.


    Mr. Legality is gracious with bourgeois who are condign.
    God says “Mercy triumphs over judgement.”
    But with Mr. Legality you will find
    he must consult with lawyers of like mind.

    “Depart in peace, be warm and filled”,
    because Christians of our kind
    don’t associate with sinners of your ilk.

    For all his talk of grace
    he will, in the final analysis,
    put a heavy yoke upon your neck
    as he rings his hands in his middle-class palaces.

    Law or grace? He doesn’t know,
    his cold heart in bondage still.
    “It’s a gracious law by which we work”
    he says as he travels land and sea.

    He wins his convert with natural ease
    making them twice as much a child of hell.

    He can’t love the Lord his God or
    his neighbor as himself because the law
    for him is not a normative guide
    but rather the legal road by which he strives.
    ‘I lie in righteousness’, says he,
    as he transgresses every jot and tittle.

    He proudly trumpets loud and far,
    ‘My works contribute just enough
    even though they are so little.’

    The faithful when they see him crowing as he rides
    turn and weep seeking mercy from the Lord
    for ever turning right or left and
    for having ever followed such blind guides.

Comments are closed.