Steve Stohlman is an Old Testament professor at Concordia University, St. Paul. He is one of the best preachers I know for bringing the Law and the Gospel out of a text. I shared with him my interest in the sayings tradition and asked him to meet with me and talk about the Book of Proverbs, assuming there would be some overlap.

Say to yourself, today I will preach the Word. Do not say I will preach the Law and the Gospel, for the Law and the Gospel are each sides of the same Word. The Word of God is one Word.

It is said of Rev. Bob Kolb that he identifies uses of the one Word: creating, incarnate, Scriptural, proclaimed (living voice), conversation with other Christians, and the Sacramental Word.

There is only one Word. The Son is the true Word, the fullest Word, and the perfect Word.

There are three functions of the Word and each has both Law and Gospel: saving, protecting, and motivating. First, the saving Law accuses us to death. Whatever the Law does positively, it will always condemn us to death. The saving Gospel enlivens us and brings us to life. We are delivered, rescued, and saved. The blessing of the saving Word is identity: I am both a sinner and a saint. I am part of the priesthood. I am an heir to the kingdom.

Second, the protecting Word brings the blessing of security and safety. The protecting Word of Law protects by outlining external compliance. Still it accuses because I am incapable of internal compliance. The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of earth are both under God's sovereignty, but the kingdom of earth does not reflect this reality. The protecting Word of Gospel protects us from Satan and convinces us that this Gospel can be for me. Security and safety in the temporal and spiritual come from grace alone.

Third, the motivating Word brings meaning, purpose, and vocation. The Law guides me by instructing me, but it cannot ultimately motivate me, because it still accuses me of falling short. It never just instructs. It also accuses. The motivating Gospel empowers me. Because of God's saving act in Jesus Christ therefore I walk in the Spirit and rise a new every day in my baptism.

The Word of God must be presented in its unity. It is both/and. It is both a Word of condemnation and assurance of grace. It pictures a life that I should lead, recognizes my inability to do so, yet encourages and empowers me in the Spirit to walk on. This is the dynamic, powerful Word of God.

It is hard to say. The Early Church Fathers saw sin as a falling away from God that revealed a need to crawl back to him. There is no sense of complete brokenness. The Fathers left the cities to recover a pure Church. In the face of hypocrisy and lack of commitment, they engaged in spiritual warfare. The real question is, "Did they lay the burden on me or on Christ?"

They must be translated for the 21^st Century. Sanctification walks a fine line with pride. Who gets the glory for growth? Sanctification is telling me how I can live, but I cannot do it on my own. Again justification and sanctification are a both/and. They are grace with different emphases. Gospel empowerment means salvation affects discipleship.