Volume 1

Foreword.

With the appearance of this volume, my Christian Dogmatics is now available in full printing. It has been publicly asked why the second and third volumes appeared first. The reason is that the wish was...

Nature and concept of theology.

Given the situation in the Church of the present day, an understanding of the theological standpoint is necessary. The standpoint from which this dogmatics was written is the conviction that the Holy...

2. Religion in general.

The derivation of the Latin word religio from a root word (etymology) is known to be disputed to this day. The linguistically competent Latinists themselves, whether heathens or Christians, represent different...

3. The number of religions in the world.

If we ask about the number of essentially different religions, it is already clear from the above explanation that there are not a thousand,19) nor four,20) but only two essentially different religions in the...

4. The two sources of knowledge of the actually existing religions.

Just as there are, in terms of content, only two essentially different religions, the religion of the Law or of one's own works and the religion of the Gospel or of faith in Christ, so there are also only two...

5. The cause of the divisions within the external Christianity.

Since the non-Christian religions seek reconciliation with God through human works, but their own works cannot bring their consciences to rest, it is not strange but completely natural that the non-Christian...

6. Christianity as an absolute religion.

The Christian religion is, however, the "absolute", that is, absolutely perfect, religion, which neither needs nor is capable of a supplement or improvement and therefore cannot be surpassed. But this...

7. Christian religion and Christian theology.

In church usage, a distinction is made between Christian religion and Christian theology in such a way that religion (taken subjectively) denotes the doctrines of all Christians and theology (taken...

8. Christian theology.

The etymology and thus the word meaning of "theology" is not doubtful, as in the case of the word "religion". Θεολογία is apparently λόγος περί τον θεόν and, taken subjectively, denotes knowledge of God or...

9. The more detailed description of theology, conceived as aptitude.

We have a closer description of theology, conceived as " aptitude" or "personal quality", in the numerous scriptural statements describing the persons who, according to God's will and order, are to be...

10. The more detailed description of theology, conceived as doctrines.

Because theology, taken subjectively or as doctrinal aptitude, is the fitness (ίκανότης) to teach no more and no less than God's Word,200) which the Church of our time possesses in the written Word of the...

11. Divisions of theology, conceived as doctrines.

Under this section we deal with the chapters: 1. Law and Gospel. 2. Fundamental and non-fundamental doctrines. 3. Open questions and theological problems.

1. Law and Gospel.

Frank has pointed out that one doctrine treated very carefully by Luther and the ancient theologians has pretty much disappeared from modern theology and is downright dismissed.278) This is the doctrine of Law...

2. Fundamental and non-fundamental doctrines.

Obviously, the distinction between fundamental and non-fundamental doctrines cannot have the purpose of dispensing with the acceptance of certain doctrines that stand in Scripture. This is allowed for no man...

Primary and Secondary Fundamental Teachings.

This further division of the fundamental doctrines need not frighten anyone either. It is not an invention of orthodox dogmatics, but factually justified and practically important. For example, in the disputes...

Nonfundamental doctrines.

"Non-fundamental" as distinguished from "fundamental" are appropriately called such scriptural doctrines as stand in Scripture but are not foundation or object of faith insofar as faith obtains forgiveness of...

3. Open questions and theological problems.

Open questions are not those on which men cannot agree, nor those on which there is not yet a symbolic decision, but only those questions which Holy Scriptures themselves do not answer and eo ipso leave open....

12. The church and the church dogmas.

If only the doctrina present in the Holy Scriptures is justified in the Christian church, as was explained in the previous section, then the question of what church dogmas are and what value they have is...

13. The purpose of theology, which it seeks to achieve in man.

The theologian has to take great care not to be misled about the purpose of his activity. The purpose of theology, seen from the point of view of men, is first of all not culture and civil righteousness,...

14. The external means of theology by which it reaches its goal in man.

Just as the theologian must not lose sight of the scriptural purpose of theology, which is to produce faith in Christ and to lead to salvation, so he must not allow himself to be blinded to the means by which...

15. Theology and science.

We must not enter into the question of whether theology is a science until there is an understanding of the concept of science, because the word science is used in various senses and even more often without...

16. Theology and certainty.

As is well known, the "epistemological question" is much discussed in our time. This is the question of how a theologian arrives at the subjective or personal assurance of the Christian doctrine. There is no...

17. Theology and doctrinal.

As is well known, especially in our time the further training of Christian doctrines is considered necessary and useful, not only by the variously graded liberal theologians, but also by the "confessionally"...

18. Theology and doctrinal freedom.

As the freedom of all Christians consists in the fact that they have become free from their own will and bound or servants of God δουλωθέντες τώ ϑεφ), 524) so especially the doctrinal freedom of the teachers...

19. Theology and system.

Also the word system is not always used in the same sense.545) Therefore, it must be clarified in which sense, and in which sense not, theology can be called a system. If we understand by system a coherent...

20. Theology and method.

If the question about the "dogmatic method" has the sense of where the theologian has to take the Christian doctrine from or which is the principium cognoscendi peculiar to theology, it is already clear from...

21. The attainment of theological aptitude.

Luther writes in the preface to the first part of his German books in 1539:665) "I will indicate to you a proper way to study theology, which I have practiced; where you hold the same, you shall be taught so...

Holy Scriptures.

However, the Christian Church is older than the Holy Scriptures, that is, older than the written Word of God. Except for Moses, God brought the church into existence and preserved it through His Word taught...

2. The Holy Scriptures, as distinguished from all other writings, are the Word of God.

The main error that modern theology finds in the early church, in Luther and the Lutheran dogmatists, is that they "identified" Scripture and the Word of God. We already heard, "The error [of the old...

3. The Holy Scriptures are the Word of God because they are inspired by God.

The Scriptures not only tell us the fact that it is the Word of God, but also teach very clearly whence this comes, namely, that it was breathed or inspired by God into the men through whom it is written: 2...

4. The relationship of the Holy Spirit to the writers of the Holy Scriptures.

The newer theologians want to leave this relationship undefined. They address this point as a "difficult problem" for whose solution the appropriate formula has not yet been found. Luthardt, for example,...

5. The objections to the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures.

The objections against the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures form an exceedingly sad chapter. In this respect, they stand next to the objections raised against the satisfactio vicaria Christi.799) He who...

6. The history of the doctrine of inspiration.

That Christ and the apostles taught the verbal inspiration of both the Old Testament and New Testament Scriptures had to be stated many times in defining the concept of Christian theology and then demonstrated...

7. Luther and the Inspiration of Holy Scriptures.

It has had to be pointed out repeatedly that modern theology, in denying the inspiration of Scripture, attempts to make Luther particeps criminis. Only the later dogmatists — so it is almost universally...

8. Summary characterization of recent theology insofar as it denies the inspiration of Scripture.

In this section we do not bring anything new, but only summarize the main points of what has already been said repeatedly in other connections. Strahan, in Hastings1002) , correctly defines the difference...

9. The consequences of denying the inspiration of Holy Scriptures.

Although the older modern theologians, such as Kahnis, Luthardt, and others, denied the inspiration and therefore the infallibility of Scripture, they declared that besides this the Protestant principle of the...

10. The characteristics of the Holy Scriptures.

Because the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God by inspiration, they naturally also have divine attributes (affectiones vere divinae), namely divine authority (auctoritas divina), divine power (efficacia...

The Divine Authority of the Holy Scriptures.

The divine authority of Scripture consists in the fact that faith and obedience are due to it, as to God Himself, with respect to everything it says. We have already seen that this is the position that Christ...

The Divine Power of the Holy Scriptures.

Because modern theologians do not want to "identify" Scripture and the Word of God, they not only give Scripture, conceived as God's own and infallible Word, many evil names ("paper pope," "code of laws fallen...

The Perfection of the Holy Scriptures.

Modern theology also denies the perfection or sufficiency of Holy Scriptures. Zöckler, for example, asserts1062) with regard to "the handling of the Bible as a normative and judicial authority in doctrinal...

The clarity of the Holy Scriptures.

According to Roman doctrine, the Scriptures become clear through the light that emanates from the "Church", that is, from the Pope. According to the doctrines of the enthusiasts of all times, the Scripture is...

11. The historical testimony of scripture.

Although the Scriptures testify to themselves as divine authority, as stated under the section "The Divine Authority of Scripture," God has also provided sufficient historical testimony to the same. For the...

12. The integrity of the biblical text.

This subject had already to be treated under the section "Objections to the Inspiration of Scripture" (pp. 286 ff.), because the fact of variae lectiones is asserted as a main ground against the inspiration of...

13. The Scriptures in the original, and the translations, p. 415.

Because the Scriptures are certain for the use of all Christians without distinction of class, generation, age, etc., as they themselves teach very emphatically,1139) it is God's will that they also be...

14. The use of scripture to decide doctrinal disputes.

As is well known, the Roman Church maintains that Holy Scriptures are incapable of deciding doctrinal disputes. Therefore, in order to establish and maintain doctrinal unity, it is necessary for the Church to...

15. The authority of scripture and the symbols.

To its symbols the Lutheran Church does not confess doctrines outside and besides Scripture, but precisely those doctrines revealed in Scripture. Because in the course of time attempts were made to spread...

16. Scripture and exegesis.

The basis of all exegetical activity, whether we understand by it in general the unfolding of the content of Scripture1176) or in particular the explanation or the attempt to explain difficult passages,1177)...

The doctrines of God.

All human knowledge of God is based on God's self-revelation. A so-called absolute knowledge of God independent of God's self-revelation is impossible because God dwells in a light inaccessible to men, 1 Tim....

1. The natural knowledge of God.

As for the content of the natural knowledge of God, it includes not only the knowledge that there is a personal, eternal, and omnipotent God who created, sustains, and governs the world, but also the knowledge...

2. The Christian knowledge of God.

The Christian knowledge of God, which has God's Word, the Holy Scriptures, as its source of knowledge, is Trinitarian, that is, the Christian recognizes that the one true God is Father and Son and Holy Spirit....

3. The struggle of the church for the Christian knowledge of God (Trinity).

We have seen in the previous section that, according to the Christian knowledge of God drawn from the Holy Scriptures, the one true God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and that the salvation of men is based on...

The fight against the deniers of the three persons.

The deniers of the three persons are usually grouped under the overall name Monarchians, Unitarians, Antitrinitarians, and so on. They have appeared in different guises. Some said: there is only one divine...

4. The struggle against the deniers of the one God.

The unity of God (unus Deus) is denied when the three persons in God are also ascribed to themselves three divine beings (tres essentiae divinae) or three divine natures (tres naturae divinae). This is done a)...

5. Objections to homousia or the unity of God.

First objection: If Christ calls the Father "the only true God" (τον μόνον αληϑινόν ϑεόν)), then homousia with the Father cannot belong to him. Answer: But it is precisely homousia that Christ so clearly and...

6. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity in the Old Testament.

Because this is a much disputed point, we will treat it under a special section. Luther's position can be briefly summarized thus: Although the holy Trinity is not so clearly revealed in the Old Testament as...

7. The incomprehensibility of the Trinity for human reason.

We dare not, on the one hand, draw a distinction between the divine person and the divine essence, because Scripture ascribes to each person, not merely the Father, but also the Son and the Holy Spirit, not...

8. The church terminology in the service of the Christian knowledge of God.

We saw that the Christian knowledge of God has this content: The true God is only one, but this one true God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We also saw that this knowledge of God alone, which does not come...

9. More detailed exposition of the scriptural doctrine of God's nature and attributes.

The doctrine of God (De Deo) is usually placed under two sections: "Of God's Being and Attributes" and "Of the Holy Trinity". Whether this order of sections is followed or the reverse is immaterial as long as...

A. The relationship of the divine essence to the divine attributes and of the attributes to each other.

With respect to this, there are two points to be noted on the basis of Scripture: In God, essence and attributes are not parts, but one, because God is infinite, above space (1 Kings 8:27) and time (Ps. 90:2,...

B. Various Classifications of divine attributes.

The divine attributes have been divided docendi causa differently. Among the Lutheran theologians, we find two main divisions: 1. into dormant and active, 2. into negative and positive attributes. Resting are...

Negative attributes of God.

All creatures can exist at least in several copies. Besides God, there can be no other. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament point to the unity of God to describe the majesty of God. Is. 43:10:...

2. The simplicity of God. (Simplicitas Dei.)

By the simplicity of God we understand the characteristic according to which every kind of composition or the assumption of parts in God is to be rejected, because infinity belongs to God and infinity excludes...

3. The immutability of God. (Immutabilitas Dei.)

While all creatures pass away, being changed like a garment (Ps. 102:27-28), it is said in the same place and in sharp contrast with regard to God: "But you remain as you are." And as unchangeableness is...

4. The infinity of God. (Infinitas Dei.)

All creatures are finite, that is, they are subject to the limits or boundaries in relation to their being and their activities. When we say that God is infinite, we take the divine majesty from all limits of...

5. The omnipresence of God. (Omnipraesentia Dei.)

Man and all creatures are locally limited. To express that the attribute "omnipresent" belongs to God in a unique way, the dogmatists remind that the angels are not omnipresent either, neither the good nor the...

6. The Eternity of God. (Aeternitas Dei)

The word eternity is used in Scripture in a double sense. In a weakened sense it stands for a long duration, not foreseeable to man, like the time of the Old Testament. According to Ex. 12:24 the children of...

Positive attributes.

Creatures also have life. Paul says of himself and all men Acts 17:28: ζώμεν, we live. But this is life dependent on God. Paul adds, "In him [God] we live," εν αντω ζώμεν. To God alone independent life...

2. The Knowledge of God. (Scientia Dei.)

The men also know something. The heathen know God's righteousness (το δικαίωμα του -ϑεοϋ, God's law, Rom. 1:32; the work of the law stands written in their hearts, sempiterna imice desidera. ... Transit...

3. The Wisdom of God. (Sapientia Dei.)

Scripture distinguishes knowledge and wisdom in God, Rom. 11:33: ώ βάϑος πλούτου καί σοφίας γνώσεως ϑεον). It is not well to say that here wisdom and knowledge are one and the same. Admittedly, it must also be...

The creation of the world and man.

Because no man was a spectator at the creation, we have to rely only on the account God Himself published in the Scriptures for an authentic account of the creation. The πάσα γραφή ϑεόπνευστος 2 Tim. 3:16, and...

2. Nature and Concept of creation.

In contrast to the pagan pantheism, according to which the world is an outflow from God, that is, God himself (emanatism), and in contrast to the pagan dualism, according to which one assumes an eternal matter...

3. The Period of creation.

The period of the creation covers six days, as Gen. 1:31 and 2:2 are expressly reported (Hexaemeron). This period is neither to be limited for pious reasons (to put God's omnipotence more into the light) to a...

4. The order in the work of creation.

From Gen. 1 it is clearly recognizable that the creation progresses from the simple to the higher organized or from the imperfect to the perfect. God created first heaven and earth in their basic components...

5. The work of creation in detail.

Day One: In relation to "In the Beginning," בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית [HEBREW], it has already been pointed out that there has been a beginning since things apart from God began to be. With the being of things apart from...

Dichotomy and Trichotomy.

The assumption that man consists of three essentially different parts, of the σώμα, as the material part, of the ψυχή, as the lower or animal principle of life, which man has in common with the animals, and of...

The unity of the human race.

There are neither men before Adam (preadamites)1463) nor men beside Adam (coadamites),1464) but all men are Adamites, that is, Adam is the first man and the only progenitor of the whole human race. This is not...

Details on the biblical account of creation.

1. Whether Moses received the account of creation by direct divine revelation or had it from the tradition of the first created, who in their turn were instructed by God, need not be made the decisive point of...

The final purpose of the world.

About the final purpose of the world, the Scriptures teach that God created everything for His own sake (Prov. 16:4: "The Lord makes everything for His own sake") or for His glory (Ps. 104: praise of God from...

Concluding remarks.

That the creation as an opus Dei ad extra is a work of the triune God, was already explained in detail with the doctrine of God. To address three creators or a "distribution" of the work of creation among the...

Divine Providence or the Preservation and Government of the World.

As God created the world, so he sustains it. Col. 1:16-17: έν αντώ έκτίσϑη τα πάντα ... και τα πάντα Ιν αύτ'φ σννέστηκεν. This fact, according to common usage, we call divine providence, providentia Dei. We...

Objections to divine providence.

Against a divine providence, which includes all things, the objection has been raised that God is thereby weighted down and the small is considered too strongly in comparison with the great. It is obvious that...

2. The Relationship of divine providence to the causae secundae.

By causae secundae we understand the means by which divine providence operates. God works, and the means work. Ps. 127:1: The Lord builds the house, and the workers build the house. But the relationship...

3. Divine Providence and sin.

If we ask about the effect of God in the actions of moral beings (men and angels), we must distinguish between evil and good actions. With regard to evil actions, according to Holy Scriptures, three things...

4. The Divine permission of sin.

It has been and is asked whether God's behavior toward the sin of man is to be described as "permission". However, Scripture also describes God's behavior toward the sins of men as permission (permissio), Ps....

The Divine Providence and human freedom.

By having life, movement and existence only in God, men do not become machines, but remain moral beings, free from coercion (libertas a coactione), that is, responsible to God, or — which is the same thing —...

Angels.

The fact that modern theology has moved from the Scriptures into the ego of the theologizing subject is also clearly evident in its position on the Scriptural doctrine of angels. It takes a more or less...

1. The existence of the angels and the time of their creation.

That there are angels, the scripture testifies, as was already noted, from Genesis to the Apocalypse. By these scriptural testimonies and not by reasons of probability, we believe the existence of the angels...

2. The name of the angels.

"Angel" (מַלְאָך [HEBREW], άγγελος) is an official name (nomen officii), not a designation of the nature of angels. We have a designation of the essence or nature of the angels in the word "spirit" (πνεύμα),...

3. Nature and abilities of the angels.

The angels are spirits (πνεύματά), that is, immaterial beings. That we must not ascribe to themselves a subtle (ethereal) corporeality is evident from Luke 24:39. In this passage Christ defines what a spirit...

4. Number of angels and differences among them.

The number of angels is very great; Dan. 7:10: "A thousand times thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him "; Luke 2:13: πλήϑος στρατιάς ουρανίου). That we are not able to give...

5. Good and evil angels.

All angels were originally created by God positively good, not merely indifferent or even with an inclination to evil. Since we must understand the creation of the angels as having taken place within the...

6. The good angels and their accomplishments.

The good angels, as we saw, are confirmed in goodness and stand in the state of salvation. Their salvation consists in seeing God. Also during their service on earth they always look at God's face, Matt....

7. The evil angels, their deeds and their eternal punishment.

With the question why God did not send a Savior to the fallen angels as well as to the fallen men, we enter a mysterious area. Quenstedt gives reasons of probability (probabiles rationes), among which probably...

The doctrines of man.

According to the facts we consider the man A. before the fall (in statu integritatis), B. after the fall (in statu peccati).

A. Man before the fall.

The original state of man is generally described by the predicate "very good" (Gen. 1:31). But this predicate comes also to all other creatures. The more detailed description of the good nature that belongs to...

2. The content of the divine image.

The divine image in man does not only consist in the possession of intellect and will or in the fact that man is a person, but above all in the right condition of intellect and will, namely in the fact that...

3. Image of God in the broader sense and in the proper sense.

According to Col. 3:10 and Eph. 4:24, the divine image, which consists of the knowledge of God and holiness of the will, is only restored in the beginning in the rebirth through faith in Christ. Therefore, man...

4. The relationship of the divine image to human nature.

The divine image, that is, the right knowledge of God and the conformity of the human will with the will of God, was not added to the man in the creation afterwards and externally, as the papists teach, who...

5. Direct consequences of the divine image in man.

1. Immortality, because according to the doctrine of the Scriptures death and its harbingers (sickness, weakness) only came into man through sin, Gen. 2:17: "Whichever day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt...

6. The ultimate purpose of the divine image.

We are not dependent on counsel here either. The final purpose of the divine image is certainly evident from its content. God created the man after his own, the divine. God created man in his own, the divine...

7. Woman and the divine image.

The Gnostic sect of the Encratites in the second century, later called Severians, denied the divine image of woman in connection with their false asceticism.1551) But that also the woman was created in God's...

B . Man after the Fall.

In recent times, according to the Gnostic ophites1558) ("Brothers of the Serpent"), sin has been understood as an exaltation of the human race. This is exactly the conception of sin by which the devil seduced...

a. Sin in general.

According to the Scriptures, sin is the non-conformity of man with the norm of the divine law (νόμος) given to man, whether this non-conformity consists in a state (status, habitus) or in individual internal...

2. Law and sin.

Since sin is ανομία [“lawlessness”], in the doctrine of sin it must be clearly seen what is the νόμος [“law”] by whose transgression ανομία comes about. The definition that the Formula of Concord 1565) gives...

3. The knowledge of the divine law which binds all men.

No thought of the gospel of God has ever entered the natural man's heart, 1 Cor. 2:9. But it stands differently with regard to the Law of God. Even after the Fall of man, his conscience (σννείδησις,...

4. The cause of sin.

In fallen man, there is a strong tendency to blame God and creatures for sin, and thus to shift all or part one question. This is the question that, according to Luther's process, can be formulated like this:...

5. The consequences of sin.

Because God has forbidden sin, that is, deviation from his νόμος [“Law”], sin makes man guilty before God (Rom. 3:19: πόδικος πας δ κόομος τω '&εφ, reatus culpae) and brings him under the punishment that God...

Original Sin.

The original sin, that is, the sin which is not done but is inherent in every man since Adam's fall, comprises two things: a. the hereditary guilt (culpa hereditaria), that is, the guilt of Adam's one sin,...

2. The effect of hereditary corruption on the mind and will of man.

The natural man, that is, man as he is by nature after the Fall, still has some understanding in natural things, that is, in things pertaining to earthly life,1597) but he is utterly incapable of knowing the...

3. The negative and positive side of the Original Corruption.

The Holy Scriptures describe hereditary corruption not only as a defect, that is, as a lack of righteousness, but also as an evil desire (concupiscentia), that is, as the competent inward judgment of evil,...

4. The subject of the hereditary corruption.

That all men who are naturally descended from Adam are subjects of the hereditary perdition has already been stated according to its various relations. Only Christ is excepted among men, because, according to...

5. The consequences of the original sin.

Original sinful death includes being dead in sins (Eph. 2:1, 5) or being estranged from the life that is of God (Eph. 4:16), thus spiritual death. But if the spiritual death is not lifted by faith in Christ,...

Actual sins.

We call actual sin (peccatum actuale) up to ανομία, which is done or worked by man, in contrast to the ανομία, which, because it is innate in man, is not done, but exists before all doing, namely as imputatio...

2. The causes of Actual sins.

Based on the Scriptures, we can speak of causes located within and outside of man.

Causae Peccati Actualis intra Hominem.

Cause is the corrupt nature or hereditary corruption. Rom. 7:17: ή ίνοικονσα ἁμαρτία does (κατεργάζεται) sin. Specifically, the Scripture calls a. the ignorance rooted in the inherited corruption, 1628) This...

Causae Peccati Actualis extra Hominem.

The scripture names a. the devil and thus opens the right insight into the realm of sin for us. The Scripture teaches an activity of the devil not only in unbelievers (Eph. 2:2; 1 Cor. 10:20), but also in the...

3. The scriptural doctrine of offence.

The seduction to sin is also called "giving offence" σκάνδαλον ποιεϊν, Rom. 16:17. We can define: "To give offence is to teach or do something by which we give occasion to other men to unbelief, false faith,...

4. The scriptural doctrine of temptation.

There is a temptation a. to evil, b. to good. The temptation to evil comes from the devil, from other men and from our corrupt nature and has the seduction to sin as its purpose (tentatio seductionis). The...

5. Classifications and various namings of the sins of commission.

The manifold divisions of the peccata actualia, if they have ground in Scripture, are not to be considered useless or "boring." Rather, as Chemnitz points out, they serve to ward off1646) carnal security, in...

a. Distinguishing the actual sins according to the different involvement of the human will.

In every sin, the will of man is involved, even if unconsciously. In this respect, all sins could be called willing sins. However, the will can be involved in the sins in different degrees. The will can come...

b. The peccata actualia in relation to conscience.

The old division of the actual sins into peccata contra conscientiam a. veram, b. erroneam, c. probabilem, d. dubiam looks mechanical at first glance, but corresponds to the practical need. He who acts against...

c. Classification of sins according to the object.

Seen on the object, the scripture mentions sins against God, against the neighbor, against ourselves. Examples: Gen. 39:9: "How then should I do such a great evil and sin against God"; Deut. 19:17: "Thou shalt...

d. Classification of sins by degree.

Seen from the degrees, the Scripture itself distinguishes between serious and less serious sins. On the one hand, the Scriptures teach that every sin, because it is άνομία or rebellion against God, subjects...

e. Peccata mortalia et venalia.

Considered in terms of consequences, sins are divided into "mortal sins" and "venial sins." Mortal sins are those that are actually counted to death for the sinner. All the sins of unbelievers belong here. In...

f. Ruling and non-ruling sin.

This division coincides with the division into mortal and venial sins. With unbelievers, sins always reign, even if individual sins are refrained from according to the outward work. All unbelievers are dead in...

g. Participation in other people's sins.

A species of the peccata actualia is also the sin, whereby foreign sins make partakers. The Scripture explicitly warns against this sin, 1 Tim. 5:22: μη κοινώνει άμαρτίαις άλλοτρίαις [“Neither be partaker of...

h. Heaven-crying sins (peccata clamantia).

Certain sins cry out to God for public vengeance. The Scripture names as such sins the murder (Gen. 4:10), especially the murder of Christians (Rev. 6:9-10), the withholding of the wages due to the workers...

i. The sin against the Holy Spirit.

In the division of sins into those for which repentance is still possible (peccata irremissibilia) and those for which repentance is excluded (peccata irremissibilia), only one sin remains for the latter...