The Law of God has three functions: curb, mirror, and guide. While the Law has no place in the Christian life as far as justification is concerned, the Law continues to condemn our sin and guide our understanding of what pleases God. The third function of the Law begins at the time God's people have been regenerated. It orders life according to God's will, giving instruction to the believer without burdening his conscience. The "saint-part" of a believer doesn't need the Law, but the "sinner-part" of a believer needs the Law. Christians are not perfect in this life, and as God's children need frequent warning and guidance.

God's Word is vital in spiritual warfare. Satan attempts to cut us off from the Word because it is our spiritual life-line. God's Word is sanity. Through the Word, we achieve sanity and gain sound-mindedness. Our first spiritual discipline is The Ten Commandments, used to disclose the state of our conscience. This process is diagnostic and shows us our sins. In spiritual warfare, "you can't stop the bird from flying over your head but you can stop the bird from building a nest on your head." The concept of fasting as a second spiritual discipline concluded this session. A book titled 'Summary of Christian Doctrine' by Edward Koehler was referenced.

The Holy Spirit works faith in our hearts when we hear the Cross preached, Then we understand that the Cross, God's wrath, was intended for us. The Law of God rebukes us and shows us the many ways we fall short of God's will for us in this world. The Gospel teaches saving faith in Christ alone. But faith is more than head knowledge. It is the power of God to work salvation in us, through the faith given us. When our sins are understood, our corrupt nature is listed first. If we diminish our sin, our Savior, Jesus, is diminished also. A proper way to talk about Law and Gospel is to talk about death and God's answer to it, forgiveness and the resurrection of our bodies. This concludes Article 5.

Satan's efforts to cause a Christian to sin are reviewed from last week's lesson. Satan's front-door method attacks a Christian's conscience and can result in either self-righteousness or despair. This week's lesson, pages 234 to 241 of the book, describe Satan's "back-door" approach to lure us into sin and attacks our ability to love a fellow Christian (pastor, spouse, church leader, etc.). In all of Satan's attacks, our weapon is always the Word of God.

The primary purpose of the Law is to make our sins known to us. We cannot purify our own hearts. This happens by the power of God and is a gift to us. Through this process we receive faith. Merely preaching the Law without Christ leads people to despair. Preaching the Gospel must be added to the Law always.

In this lesson of the book, pages 230 to 234, we examine how Satan attacks the disciples of the Church. His primary way is tempting Christians to sin by attacking their conscience, causing either self-righteousness or despair. Satan's goal is to wrench us away from Christ. We must be aware of how Satan tempts us and be ready to confront it.

This lesson begins Article 5 of the Formula of Concord (FOC) and is titled Law and Gospel. In His Word, God speaks judgment (His Law) and grace (the Gospel). We often confuse these and fail to distinguish between what God demands of us and what He has done for us in Christ. Forgiven in Jesus, the Holy Spirit gives us comfort and the hope of the Gospel of eternal life and salvation, while continuing to convict us of our sin. As Christians, we must understand how both Law and Gospel terms are used in Scripture and confess with diligence their distinction.