On the Law

by Johann Gerhard

Publisher:

Concordia Publishing House

, 2015

Overview

Johann Gerhard was the premier Lutheran theologian of the early seventeenth century. Combining his profound understanding of evangelical Lutheran theology with a broad interest in ethics and culture, he produced significant works on biblical, doctrinal, pastoral, and devotional theology. His Loci Theologici are regarded as the standard compendium of Lutheran orthodoxy, with topics ranging from the proper understanding and interpretation of Scripture to eschatology. They interact with the writings of the Church Fathers, Luther and his contemporaries, and the Catholic and Calvinist theologians of his day.

In his Loci, Gerhard addresses the doctrines of the Lutheran faith with skill and precision. His series remains a classic of Lutheran theology and offers contemporary church workers and researchers a wealth of material on the distinctive of Lutheran doctrine.

The Theological Commonplaces series is the first-ever English translation of Johann Gerhard’s famous Loci Theologici. The series, which will total 17 volumes, will be among the most thorough and comprehensive presentations of Lutheran theology in the English language.

Gerhard explores the moral Law of God, revealed in Scripture and nature, as well as all other kinds of laws, such as the ceremonies and civil laws of the Old Testament. Here the reader finds a comprehensive Lutheran moral theology rooted in God’s command and Christ’s fulfillment of the Law. Gerhard examines each commandment in detail and resolves various difficulties and cases of conscience, which are still relevant today.

This volume contains:

• On the Law of God
• On the Ceremonial and Forensic Laws

Key Features

• Presents a Lutheran perspective on issues not commonly addressed by Lutheran theologians
• Unpacks Lutheran biblical interpretation in the context of systematic theology
• Provides a fresh translation for modern readers

Contents

On the Law of God

• The nomenclature of “Law”
• Various descriptions of Law
• Divisions of laws
• The moral Law specifically

On the Ceremonial and Forensic Laws

• The Ceremonial and Forensic Laws Taken Together
  • The distinction of ceremonial and forensic laws from the moral Law
  • The criteria that show which commands belong to the moral Law
• The Ceremonial Laws Specifically
  • The etymology of “ceremonial laws”
  • Divisions of the ceremonial laws
  • The End Purpose of the Ceremonial Laws
  • The Abrogation of the Ceremonial Laws
• The Forensic Laws Specifically
  • The term “judicial laws”
  • Referral of the forensic laws to the Decalogue
  • Divisions of the forensic laws
  • The abrogation of the forensic laws

Product Details

• Title: On the Law
• Author: Johann Gerhard
• Editors: Benjamin T. G. Mayes and Joshua J. Hayes
• Translator: Richard J. Dinda
• Series: Theological Commonplaces
• Publisher: Concordia
• Publication Date: 2015
• Pages: 362
• Christian Group: Lutheran
• Resource Type: Systematic Theology
• Topic: Moral Theology

About Johann Gerhard

Johann Gerhard (October 17, 1582 – August 10, 1637) was a Lutheran church leader and Lutheran Scholastic theologian during the period of Orthodoxy.