Abstract

STRAUSS, Piet. The law is gospel: The Heidelberg Cathecism still relevant after 450 years. In Skriflig (Online) [online]. 2013, vol.47, n.2, pp.1-5. ISSN 2305-0853.

In the thought of Martin Luther tension exists between the law of God and the gospel. Luther regards love as the own work of God and the law as something strange to the Lord. John Calvin, however, integrates Gods law and the gospel to the extent that the opening words of the ten commandments are regarded as words of love and redemption and therefore evangelical. To Calvin the law becomes the way in which a converted Christian lives and shows his gratitude to God for his salvation. Calvin's view on the relationship between law and gospel had a significant influence on the way in which the Heidelberg Cathecism formulates these two concepts. For the Cathecism the law is gospel or the form in which the gospel takes shape in human life.

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