Luther's Ethics 2

summary
1. God rules the world in a twofold way. The Spiritual and Earthly. This earthly government serves to preserve external secular righteousness. The Spiritual Government help men to achieve true Christian righteousness and therewith eternal life.
2. The relationship between the two government is thus the relationship between the law and the gospel . Secular government rules with the sword; Spiritual Government rules with his word. They need each other and exist for each other.
3. Everything the Christian does presupposes that he is justified and it governs the Christian’s understanding of what the Christian life is .
4. How can the Christian live this sort of double existence ? Jesus in Sermon on the Mount calls his disciples to freedom and to love. Luther recognizes that the Freedom is thus a matter of the heart and of our inner attitude and take readiness for our neighbor in love
5. The Christian’s justifying faith and his certainty that he is saved give him very great freedom of action .
6. When the sinner has been justified, the law on new meaning for him: Christ has fulfilled the law for us. The gospel has made the law “a lovely thing” for man.
7. The Christian’s activity flows out of his experience of God’s love. This spontaneity changes the “thou shalt” to an inner “I must” (Carom huminibus)
8. The greatest and most precious fruit of faith is that I can remain confident that God means well with me and loves me even in the midst of the troubles and suffering of this life .(Carom Deo)