The Law of God in reformation Church Creeds

The Waldensian Catechism

"The Waldensian Catechism ... must have been written before 1500.... It consists of fifty-seven

questions.... and as many answers. ... It embodies the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's prayer, and the
Ten Commandments.... Under the head of Faith we have a practical exposition of the Apostles' Creed
and the Ten Commandments, showing their subjective bearing on a living faith." - Volume 1, pp. 572, 573.
"9. What is living faith?
"It is faith active in love (as the apostle testifies, Gal. 5:15), that is, by keeping God's
commandments. Living faith is to believe in God, that is, to love Him and to keep His commandments."-Ibid., p. 575.

The Confession of the Waldenses, AD. 1655

"This confession belongs to the Calvinistic family.... It is still in force, or at least highly prized

among the Waldenses in Italy. The occasion which called it forth entitles it to special consideration. It
was prepared and issued in 1655, together with an appeal to Protestant nations, in consequence of one
of the most cruel persecutions which Roman bigotry could inspire." - Volume 3, p. 757.
"We believe, . . .
        -XXXIII. Finally, that we ought to receive the symbol of the apostles, the Lord's prayer, and
the decalogue as fundamentals of our faith and our devotion. "-Ibid., p. 768.

 

Luther's Small Catechism, AD. 1529

 

Speaking of this catechism in connection with the Heidelberg and the Shorter Westminster

Catechisms, Schaff says: ... These are the three most popular and useful catechisms that Protestantism
has produced." - Volume 1, p. 543. Part 1 is entitled "The Ten Commandments," consisting chiefly of a series of questions on each of the Ten Commandments in order. Then follow immediately the two
questions and answers given below.
"What does God say about all these commandments?
"He says this:
“I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children
unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me, and showing mercy unto thousands of them
hat love Me and keep My commandments.'
"What does this mean?
"Answer:
"God threatens to punish all who transgress these commandments: we should, therefore, fear
His anger, and do nothing against such commandments. But He promises grace and every blessing to
all who keep them: we should, therefore, love and trust in Him, and gladly obey His commandments." -
Volume 3, p. 77.

The Form (or Formula) of Concord, AD. 1577

 

"The last of the Lutheran Confessions The Formula of Concord is, next to the Augsburg

Confession, the most important theological standard of the Lutheran Church, but differs from it as the
sectarian symbol of Lutheranism, while the other is its catholic symbol." - Volume 1, pp. 258, 338. The object of this Formula was to bring harmony into Lutheranism after some thirty years of theological disputation. Among the many questions raised by various theologians was that of the proper relation of the law to the gospel. Schaff well observes in this connection: -Protestantism in its joyful enthusiasm for the freedom and all-sufficiency of the gospel, was strongly tempted to antinomianism [no-law-ism], but restrained by its moral force and the holy character of the gospel itself." - lbid., p. 277. The following quotation from the Formula of Concord shows how clearly and how vigorously the no-law doctrine was repudiated:  

The New Hampshire Baptist Confession, AD. 1833

 

"Widely accepted by the Baptists, especially in the Northern and Western States. . . . The text

is taken from the 'Baptist Church Manual,' published by the American Baptist Publication Society,

Philadelphia.' - Ibid., p. 742.

246

 

XIL - OF THE HARMONY OF THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL

 

"We believe that the law of God is the eternal and unchangeable rule of His moral

  

government. [1] That it is holy, just, and good. [2] And that the inability which the Scriptures ascribe to

fallen men to fulfill its precepts arises entirely from their love of sin. [3] To deliver them from which,

 
 

and to restore them through a Mediator to unfeigned obedience to the holy law, is one great end of the

 

gospel, and of the means of grace connected with the establishment of the visible church. [4] "-Ibid., p.

 
 

746.