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- 2 weeks ago28 min
Following the Formula, Article V: Law and Gospel — LW Searching Scripture, May 2026
Luther famously said that students of the Bible need “to retain the distinction between Law and Gospel” (AE 26: 406). This became the official position of Lutherans with Article V of the Formula of Concord: “We believe, teach, and confess that the distinction between the Law and the Gospel is to be kept in the Church with great diligence” (FC Ep V 2). If we want to be distinctively Lutheran today, this distinction between Law and Gospel must retain a prominent place in our interpretation of Scripture, preaching and catechesis. This task is challenging, because the terms “Law” and “Gospel” can be used in different senses. In the Bible, both terms can be used in a wide sense to refer to God’s work and speech, but they also can be used in a narrow (proper) sense, which is what this article focuses on. Properly speaking, the Law is what God tells us to do, think, say and be, and it threatens wrath and punishment on those who break His will; the Gospel is what God by grace has done and is still doing for our salvation through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. This distinction also opens the whole Bible to us, reinforcing the proper understanding that the Old Testament is not just Law and the New Testament is not just Gospel. In fact, the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) contain Law as well as Gospel, and the Law (the Books of Moses) contains Gospel as well as Law! Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the May 2026 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “Article V: Law and Gospel” on Article V in the Formula of Concord. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Following the Formula” and will walk through the Formula of Concord in the Augsburg Confession. Follow along every month! This year, “Searching Scripture” is walking through the Formula of Concord (FC) from our Lutheran Confessions, exploring the biblical foundations for each topic. Before starting this study, it may be helpful to read FC Ep V on The Law and The Gospel (p. 484–485 in Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, CPH 2005). Or follow along with the full Formula of Concord monthly reading plan at witness.lcms.org/reading-plan. Listen to the Coffee Hour episode with Rev. Brady Finnern on Article V at kfuo.org/2025/05/01/coffee-hour-050125-law-gospel-in-the-formula-of-concord, and find correlating Concord Matters episodes at kfuo.org/formulaofconcord. Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.
- Apr 6, 202628 min
Following the Formula, Article IV: Good Works — LW Searching Scripture, April 2026
Article IV of the Formula of Concord elaborates on teachings introduced in the previous article: “Good works always follow justifying faith and are surely found with it — if it is true and living faith. Faith is never alone, but always has love and hope with it” (FC Ep III 11). The authors of the Formula chose to include a separate article on good works in order to resolve a dispute that had occurred among Lutheran theologians: Some argued that good works are necessary for salvation, while others argued that good works are detrimental to salvation. Both claims are unscriptural. The Formula of Concord follows the Bible in confessing that good works are “necessary,” but in the sense that God wants them to be done and that they will always be produced by true faith. The Formula also counters the accusation that Lutherans discourage good works. Far from it! Lutherans maintain the necessity of good works while upholding a distinction between justification by faith and the good works that are produced by the Holy Spirit in one who is justified. Certainty of salvation by grace alone is preserved by this distinction. If the quantity or quality of our good works had any bearing on our salvation, we would be in a constant state of doubt about whether or not we are saved! Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the April 2026 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “Article IV: Good Works” on Article IV in the Formula of Concord. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Following the Formula” and will walk through the Formula of Concord in the Augsburg Confession. Follow along every month! This year, “Searching Scripture” is walking through the Formula of Concord (FC) from our Lutheran Confessions, exploring the biblical foundations for each topic. Before starting this study, it may be helpful to read FC Ep IV on Good Works (p. 482–484 in Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, CPH 2005). Or follow along with the full Formula of Concord monthly reading plan at witness.lcms.org/reading-plan. Listen to the Coffee Hour episode with Rev. Brady Finnern on Article IV at kfuo.org/2025/04/02/coffee-hour-040225-good-works-in-the-formula-of-concord, and find correlating Concord Matters episodes at kfuo.org/formulaofconcord. Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.
- Mar 3, 202628 min
Following the Formula, Article III: The Righteousness of Faith Before God — LW Searching Scripture, March 2026
Article III of the Formula of Concord addresses doctrinal errors spread by two 16th-century teachers, Andreas Osiander (1498–1552) and Francesco Stancaro (1501–1574). Osiander taught that the righteousness of Christ’s divine nature dwelling in Christians is their righteousness before God, while Stancaro insisted that the righteousness of Christ’s human nature is the Christian’s righteousness. The article quickly dispenses with the controversy by demonstrating from Scripture (for example, 1 Corinthians 1:30 and Jeremiah 23:6) that the righteousness of the whole, indivisible Christ is what Christians receive by faith, for which God the Father justifies them (that is, declares them righteous before His judgment throne). This article also demonstrates the falsehood of the Roman Catholic teaching that Christians are justified by becoming righteous in themselves rather than trusting solely in the righteousness of Christ. Lest we think this issue is merely part of an arcane debate hundreds of years ago, note what the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church continues to teach: “Justification is not only the remission of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior man. … Justification … conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy” (CCC 1989, 1992). The Formula of Concord confesses the comforting truth that our righteousness is a gift from God, which means that it depends completely on Christ, not on us. Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the March 2026 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “Article III: The Righteousness of Faith Before God” on Article III in the Formula of Concord. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Following the Formula” and will walk through the Formula of Concord in the Augsburg Confession. Follow along every month! This year, “Searching Scripture” is walking through the Formula of Concord (FC) from our Lutheran Confessions, exploring the biblical foundations for each topic. Before starting this study, it may be helpful to read FC Ep III on The Righteousness of Faith Before God (p. 479–482 in Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, CPH 2005). Or follow along with the full Formula of Concord monthly reading plan at witness.lcms.org/reading-plan. Listen to the Coffee Hour episode with Rev. Brady Finnern on Article III at kfuo.org/2025/03/04/coffee-hour-030425-the-righteousness-of-faith-before-god-in-the-formula-of-concord, and find correlating Concord Matters episodes at kfuo.org/formulaofconcord. Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.
- Feb 5, 202627 min
Following the Formula, Article II: Free Will — LW Searching Scripture, February 2026
“Free will” is not a phrase found in the Bible. The concept seems to have been brought into Christian theology by the church father Tertullian (160–240), who likely borrowed it from Stoic philosophy. Augustine (354–430) wrote a treatise called "On Free Choice of the Will" early in his career but altered some of his views later, which led to much debate and confusion on the issue throughout the Middle Ages. The Roman Catholic Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536) wrote a treatise on free will against Martin Luther, to which Luther replied with his "Bondage of the Will" in 1525. The second article of the Formula of Concord upholds Luther’s biblical teachings on free will but also clarifies misunderstandings about Luther’s teachings that had persisted in the decades after 1525. The central question of this article is: After the fall, what are unregenerate human beings able to do, from their own will and intellect, toward their conversion and regeneration? (See FC SD II 2.) The answer logically follows from the preceding article on original sin, which exposes us as guilty, condemned sinners under God’s wrath. Until the Holy Spirit converts us to Christ, we are powerless to enter a saving relationship with God or even prepare ourselves to receive God’s grace. This teaching also safeguards the truth of the Gospel: God does everything necessary to save us and we, by faith, receive His salvation totally as a gift. Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the February 2026 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “Article II: Free Will” on Article II in the Formula of Concord. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Following the Formula” and will walk through the Formula of Concord in the Augsburg Confession. Follow along every month! Before starting this study, it may be helpful to read FC Ep II on Free Will (p. 477–479 in Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, CPH 2005). Or follow along with the full Formula of Concord monthly reading plan at witness.lcms.org/reading-plan. Listen to the Coffee Hour episode with Rev. Brady Finnern on Article II at kfuo.org/2025/02/03/coffee-hour-020425-free-will-in-the-formula-of-concord, and find correlating Concord Matters episodes at kfuo.org/formulaofconcord. Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.
- Jan 8, 202625 min
Following the Formula, Article I: Original Sin — LW Searching Scripture, January 2026
Readers of The Lutheran Witness are likely familiar with the Formula of Concord (FC) — not only from its inclusion in the Lutheran Book of Concord, but also from the monthly reading plan published in these pages last year. This year’s “Searching Scripture” will walk through the 12 topics explored by the Formula — original sin, free will, election, Law and Gospel, and so on — in order to examine the biblical basis for what Lutherans confess in this edifying and timeless statement of faith. Almost 450 years after its publication, the Formula remains relevant. Its topics continue to be points of contention among various Christian denominations. As the Formula confesses, Lutherans unite in concord around teachings drawn from “the true, firm ground of the holy, divine Scriptures” (FC SD Summary 17). Along with the other documents in the Book of Concord, the Formula is not “unnecessary and useless wrangling,” but addresses “articles of faith or the chief points of Christian doctrine” and demonstrates what we “should regard and receive as right and true according to God’s Word of the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures.” It also tells what we “should reject, shun, and avoid as false and wrong” — lest we seek the wrong salvation. “The truth must be preserved distinctly and clearly and distinguished from all errors” (FC SD Summary 15–16). This truth can only be established from God’s Word, which Jesus says “is truth” (John 17:17). We respond, “The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous rules endures forever” (Psalm 119:160). Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the January 2026 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “Article I: Original Sin” on Article I in the Formula of Concord. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Following the Formula” and will walk through the Formula of Concord in the Augsburg Confession. Follow along every month! Before starting, it may be helpful to read FC Ep I on Original Sin (p. 474–477 in Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, CPH 2005). Follow along with the full Formula of Concord monthly reading plan at witness.lcms.org/reading-plan. Listen to the Coffee Hour episode with Rev. Brady Finnern on Article I at kfuo.org/2025/01/07/coffee-hour-010725-studying-original-sin-in-the-book-of-concord, and find correlating Concord Matters episodes at kfuo.org/formulaofconcord. Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.
- Dec 3, 202528 min
"Son of David, Son of God" LW Searching Scripture, December 2025: Isaiah 9 & 11
As our year of focusing on the Old Testament comes to a close, it is fitting that we conclude with texts from the Messiah’s first “biographer,” the prophet Isaiah, whose career spanned 740–680 B.C. Thanks to the Lutheran composer Handel, whose “Messiah” is especially popular around Christmas and Easter, many of Isaiah’s prophecies are quite familiar (in fact, about one-third of the movements in “Messiah” are from Isaiah!). As we open these Old Testament texts, we discover the incarnate Lord and the gifts of forgiveness of sins, life and salvation that He came to bring. Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the December 2025 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled "Son of David, Son of God" on Isaiah 9:2–7 and Isaiah 11:1–10. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Opening the Old Testament” and will walk through ways that the Old Testament witnesses to Jesus Christ and His grace, mercy and peace, delivered through the holy Christian church. Follow along every month and search Scripture with us! Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.
- Nov 5, 202528 min
“The New Heavens and New Earth” LW Searching Scripture, November 2025: Isaiah 65-66
November brings us to the end of another church year, which focuses our attention on the last things, on death and resurrection, on heaven and hell. We confess in the creeds, “I believe in … the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting”; “I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” It is remarkable that these creedal truths were already as good as accomplished thousands of years ago, with prophecies inspired by the Holy Spirit and written down by men such as Job (19:25–27), Daniel (12:2–3) and Isaiah . Some Christians take Revelation, Daniel, Ezekiel and other prophetic books of the Bible to be “guidebooks to the end times.” However, careful study of both the Old and New Testaments shows that their focus is on comforting the church on earth with knowledge of the victory of Jesus Christ over sin, death and the devil and His promise to take us to Himself for eternity. As we open the Old Testament and see our present and future revealed there, we will need to keep in mind the “prophetic perspective” that could be observed in Jeremiah 31:31–34 and Joel 2:28–32, in which some predictions have been fulfilled in the messianic age but others must wait until the end of time. Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the November 2025 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “The New Heavens and New Earth” on Isaiah 65-66. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Opening the Old Testament” and will walk through ways that the Old Testament witnesses to Jesus Christ and His grace, mercy and peace, delivered through the holy Christian church. Follow along every month and search Scripture with us! Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.
- Oct 6, 202527 min
“Do Lutherans Do Allegory?” LW Searching Scripture, October 2025: Genesis and Galatians
In 2013, a popular national TV host provoked a sharp reaction from Christian viewers when he asserted that much of the Bible is allegorical, meaning that the narratives of Adam and Eve, Noah, and Jonah are non-literal and symbolic. This is not how Christians have historically understood allegory. Even in the Middle Ages, when ingenious allegorical interpretation sometimes resulted in nonsense, Christians still approached the Bible with the conviction that it was literal and historical — they just thought they were finding additional symbolic or spiritual meanings. While the Lutheran Reformation reined in allegorical interpretation of the Bible, there is one divinely inspired allegory given in Scripture that stands alongside messianic prophecy and typology as an interpretive technique for opening the Old Testament. Whether or not St. Paul’s example gives license to Lutherans to do allegory — that’s debatable! Rev. Carl Roth, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins Sarah to talk about the “Searching Scripture” feature in the October 2025 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “Do Lutherans Do Allegory?” on selected passages from Genesis and Galatians. This year, “Searching Scripture” is themed “Opening the Old Testament” and will walk through ways that the Old Testament witnesses to Jesus Christ and His grace, mercy and peace, delivered through the holy Christian church. Follow along every month and search Scripture with us! Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.
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About The Lutheran Witness Podcast
The Lutheran Witness provides readings of all the articles posted on LW website, witness.lcms.org. The Lutheran Witness is an official periodical of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (Visit lcms.org to learn more). Subscribe to the print edition of LW at cph.org/witness. For additional stories and articles that help you interpret the world from a Lutheran perspective, visit the LW website.
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