Freedom from the Law and the Experimental “Third Use”

Abstract

Abstract: This article addresses the Lutheran discussion of the “third use” of the law. From the doctrine’s origin in Philip Melanchthon’s Annotations on Romans and Corinthians (1522) to the attempted application in the Church Visitations, the attempt was made to apply the law to the baptized as a moral guide without the law’s trademark accusation. The shoehorn for prying a third use into our lives comes from the misguided attempt of preachers to “read their audiences” and aid in a congregation’s moral improvement. The fear of absolution leads to the notion of “dead faith” that must be dealt with beyond the gospel. Though Luther did not imagine such a thing, Melanchthon’s students continued the discussion into the Formula of Concord VI. This article’s thesis opposes attempts to add law to the Gospel: freedom, as Paul astutely argues, is not a passage to something else. It is its own goal and purpose: “For freedom! Christ has set you free” (Galatians 5:1). Freedom frees from the law—not into it. The imaginary third use of law opposes the chief doctrine of justification and is best put to rest.