§582Going even further, Jesus perfects the dietary law, so important in Jewish daily life, by revealing its pedagogical meaning through a divine interpretation: "Whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him. . . (Thus he declared all foods clean.). . . What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts. . ."346 In …

§708This divine pedagogy appears especially in the gift of the Law.72 God gave the letter of the Law as a "pedagogue" to lead his people towards Christ.73 But the Law's powerlessness to save man deprived of the divine "likeness," along with the growing awareness of sin that it imparts,74 enkindles a desire for the Holy Spirit. the lamentations of the Psalms bear witness to this. In…

§1963According to Christian tradition, the Law is holy, spiritual, and good,14 yet still imperfect. Like a tutor15 it shows what must be done, but does not of itself give the strength, the grace of the Spirit, to fulfill it. Because of sin, which it cannot remove, it remains a law of bondage. According to St. Paul, its special function is to denounce and disclose sin, which constitu…

Proofs from the plain testimony of Moses, and of the other prophets, whose words are the words of Christ, that there is But one God, the founder of the world, whom Our Lord preached, and whom He called His Father. 1. Moses, therefore, making a recapitulation of the whole law, which he had received from the Creator (Demiurge), thus speaks in Deuteronomy: Give ear, O you heavens,…

The words of the law are spoken not to affirm the power of the will, but to enlighten blind reason, so that it may see that its own light is nothing and that the power of the will is nothing. "By the law is the knowledge of sin," says Paul. He does not say "the abolition of sin" or "the power for righteousness." The entire function and power of the law is only to give knowledge…

But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. The whole purpose and use of the law is to make us guilty, to humble us, to slay us, to bring us do…

'Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.' See Gal. iii. 24. The law was given not to justify, but to reveal sin. It was a mirror to show us our filthiness, so that despairing of our own strength we might flee to Christ. The schoolmaster teaches children their letters, keeps them in discipline, and brings them to the m…

Is there an eternal law? Is there a natural law? Is there a human law? Is there a Divine law? Is there one Divine law, or several? Is there a law of sin? Article 1. Whether there is an eternal law? Objection 1. It would seem that there is no eternal law. Because every law is imposed on someone. But there was not someone from eternity on whom a law could be imposed: since God al…

What kind of law is it? i.e. is it a written law or is it instilled in the heart? Its efficacy, i.e. does it justify? Its beginning: should it have been given at the beginning of the world? Its end: i.e. will it last until the end, or will another law take its place? Article 1. Whether the New Law is a written law? Objection 1. It would seem that the New Law is a written law. F…

Is the object of faith the First Truth? Is the object of faith something complex or incomplex, i.e. is it a thing or a proposition? Can anything false come under faith? Can the object of faith be anything seen? Can it be anything known? Should the things to be believed be divided into a certain number of articles? These articles: are they of faith for all times? The number of a…

We believe that the ceremonies and symbols of the law have ended with the coming of Christ, and that all foreshadowings have come to an end, so that the use of them ought to be abolished among Christians. Yet the truth and substance of these things remain for us in Jesus Christ, in whom they have been fulfilled. Nevertheless, we continue to use the witnesses drawn from the law …

That although the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are inseparably connected, making together but one perfect and entire revelation of the Divine will, for the edification and salvation of the Church, and therefore in that respect cannot be separated; yet as to what directly and properly belongs to their immediate object, the New Testament is as perfect a constitution f…

The Formula affirms the proper distinction between Law and Gospel as the key to all Scripture. The Law reveals sin, condemns, and drives to repentance; the Gospel reveals Christ, forgives, and creates faith. It denies that the Gospel is a preaching of repentance or that the Law is a means of justification. It also denies that the regenerate are free from the Law's instruction, …

Just as the Law was a schoolmaster to lead the Jews to Christ, so Greek philosophy was a schoolmaster to lead the Greeks to Christ. Philosophy did not save, but it prepared the Greek mind for the reception of truth. Clement argues that God in His providence scattered seeds of truth among all nations, so that "in Him we live and move and have our being" is not a pagan error but …