Lutheran Theology

The Revd. Dr Steven Paulson is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN, USA.

• Introduction: Theology that Preaches.; 1. Life without a preacher: Divine Wrath, Election, and this World's Final Hour; 2. The preacher's first word: Law and Sin [Self-justification] Romans; 3. The preacher's second word: Gospel and Freedom as the end of the Law [Justification by faith alone] Romans 3-5. a. Christ's cross: Crux Sola Nostra Theologia; b. Christ's resurrection: Mirabile Duellum; 4. Work of the Preacher: distribution of the benefits of Christ [hermeneutics, Scripture, proclamation in word and sacraments] Romans 6; a. Baptism: Death and New Life; b. Lord's Supper: Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sin; c. Confession and Absolution; 5. Living By Faith; a. Wretched Man that I am: Sin remains in the godly Romans 7 simil iustus et peccator; b. Holy Spirit, prayer and suffering: Romans 8 oratio, meditatio, tentatio; c. God's electing promise 9-11 The pain and comfort of election; d. Relationship of faith and Love: eschatological life under law and freed by Gospel; e. Romans 12: Faith active in Love [No ethics]. Present your bodies as a living sacrifice; f. Romans 13: Subject to governing authorities and political theology; g. Romans 14-16 Church and dissension in the Christian community; 6. Conclusion: The art and science of theology is learning to distinguish law and gospel in Scripture and in life.

Unwilling to neutralize the core Lutheran teaching that God is in the business of killing off sinners just so that new beings might rise in faith, Paulson holds the wider Lutheran tradition accountable to Luther's own unique distinction of the law as accusation and the gospel as promise. Here we learn much of the Lutheran tradition-Paulson himself writes in the grand style of theological loci, approaching doctrine as outlined from Paul's argument in Romans. Paulson's approach to faith has an inerasable edge-if theology is to avoid being pointless, it must be for proclamation. Here is a theology beholden to God's word that does what it says and says what it does-finally remaking humanity out of the nothingness of sin and death.