System of Sacred Theology · §4.10.3 · Ludwig Crocius

Differences between Law and Gospel

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Law and Gospel differ: 1. in matter—the law commands works; the Gospel announces Christ to be apprehended by faith (Rom. 3:27; Gal. 3:2);

2. in form—law-promises under condition of one's own merit (Lev. 18:5); Gospel-promises free (Rom. 4:16; Eph. 2:8);

3. in effects—the law terrifies and condemns (Rom. 3:20); the Gospel consoles and absolves (Isa. 61:1-2; Luke 4:18);

4. in object—the law toward the ungodly; the Gospel toward crushed hearts (Matt. 11:28);

5. in mode of revelation—the law somehow known by nature (Rom. 2:15); the Gospel a mystery revealed through the Son (John 1:18; Rom. 16:26).

Latin

Differunt Lex & Euangelium 1. materia: lex praecipit opera; Euangelium annunciat Christum fide apprehendendum, unde dicitur lex fidei (Rom. 3:27) & auditus fidei (Gal. 3:2). 2. Forma: promissiones legis fiunt sub conditione proprii meriti (Lev. 18:5); Euangelii sunt gratuita (Rom. 4:16; Eph. 2:8)—verbum gratiae (Acts 20:24). 3. Effectis: lex terret & damnat (Rom. 3:20; 4:15); Euangelium consolatur & absolvit (Isa. 61:1-2; Luke 4:18)—Euangelium pacis (Eph. 6:15), verbum salutis. 4. Objecto: lex ad impios; Euangelium ad contrita corda (Matt. 11:28). 5. Modo patefactionis: lex natura nota (Rom. 2:15); Euangelium mysterium revelatum per Filium (John 1:18; Rom. 16:26; Col. 1:26).

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About this text

Ludwig Crocius's System of Sacred Theology (Bremen, 1636), all four books: theology and its rule in Scripture; man's last end, death and the resurrection; God, the Trinity, creation, providence and sin; and the grace of Christ, the Word and sacraments, faith, the Christian life and prayer.

Ludwig Crocius (1586–1655) taught theology and philosophy at Bremen and sat as a delegate at the Synod of Dort (1618–1619). A Calvinist of the irenic school, he spent his career seeking common ground between the Reformed and Lutheran churches.

His System of Sacred Theology (Bremen, 1636) is a full Reformed dogmatics in the high-orthodox style: precise definitions, ordered questions, objections raised and answered.

Date1636 AD (Bremen; Reformed professor)

EditionSyntagma sacrae theologiae (Bremen: Berthold Villerian, 1636)

English follows the 1636 Bremen Latin (Berthold Villerian), read chapter by chapter from the SLUB Dresden page images, with a machine reading of the same pages as a check. No modern English was copied. The author index at the end of the volume is not translated.

Reference

VD17 14:684303C. SLUB id335860389.

We have not yet re-checked this work against its source. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Latin on any section, or the Latin source link, to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.

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