When I visited the Seminary last year as a junior, more than one sem student mentioned the following statement: “The Seminary is better because MLC is law motivation and the Seminary is gospel motivation.” It is easy to see the reasoning behind such a statement. At the Seminary (or, for the sake of argument, in a teacher or staff minister’s first call) illness is no longer determined by a nurse’s inspection, the foreign language attendance policy is no longer in effect, and grades are non-existent, or at least are of much less importance. You can have beer in your fridge and drink it in your dorm room. You don’t have to wedge a shoe in your door when your girlfriend visits on a Wednesday, Thursday, or whatever day you happen to choose. In this editorial I would like to evaluate this statement by raising three objections to it.

First, even with rules and regulations, it is easy to see gospel at work at MLC. Take our chapel devotions for example, where we come to learn from God’s Word together. In four years, I have never heard a devotion which ended as, “Now go and be a good student and keep that shoe in your door or else you’ll be expelled from this college and will suffer God’s wrath forever in hell.” No! The motivation is always, “Now go and serve God in thankfulness for all he has done for you.” Chapel attendance itself is a good example of something left to each student to do willingly, without any rule or regulation. This stands in stark contrast to a college like Crown (one of our opponents in athletics) where, if students do not attend at least 40 out of the 60 chapel services each semester, they are put on probation or expelled (http://www.crown.edu/692.0.html).

Secondly, there is plenty of compulsion from the law even at the Seminary or in the ministry. At the Seminary you can still be asked to leave because of conduct, and if you fail to meet the course requirements, you will not graduate. In addition, consider the following thoughts: “If I don’t (fill in the blank—finish this assignment / sit down and write this sermon / finish preparing this lesson / etc.) I’ll lose the respect of the people around me, I’ll feel rotten because I could do better, and I won’t be faithful as God demands that I be.” Or, “I’m afraid if I do (fill in the blank—drink too much / act inappropriately / lose my temper / etc.) there will likewise be unpleasant consequences.” Such thoughts are law, law, and only law working through fears, punishments, and consequences. We have all thought such law thoughts at MLC, because compulsion from the law is present at MLC, the Seminary, the ministry, and everywhere else on earth. And that can be a good thing because . . .

Thirdly, both the law and the gospel are necessary for us until the day we die, because we live in constant division and conflict between the Old Adam and the New Man. The New Man hears and believes the gospel and is motivated to serve God out of love. On the other hand, the Old Adam hates God and refuses to be motivated by the gospel. The Old Adam needs to be dragged along by the law, which it understands and fears. The New Man does not need to be dragged because it goes along willingly. The New Man rejoices in God’s law, understands that it is a blessing, not a curse, and uses the law as a guide in doing good works. The Old Adam is compelled by the law; the New Man is motivated by the gospel. Trying to motivate the Old Adam with the gospel is just as futile as trying to motivate the New Man with the law. The Formula of Concord says the following:

“But since believers are not completely renewed in this world, but the old Adam clings to them even to the grave, there also remains in them the struggle between the spirit and the flesh. Therefore they delight indeed in God’s Law according to the inner man, but the law in their members struggles against the law in their minds; hence they are never without the Law, and nevertheless are not under, but in the Law, and live and walk in the Law of the Lord and yet do nothing from constraint of the Law.

“But as far as the old Adam is concerned, which still clings to them, he must be driven not only with the Law, but also with punishments; nevertheless he does everything against his will and under coercion, no less than the godless are driven and held in obedience by the threats of the Law, 1 Cor. 9,27; Rom. 7,18-19.” (FC VI, 18-19)

How, then, should we view MLC’s rules and regulations? As the administration’s attempt to compel us into becoming good, pious Christians? Such a view is mistaken and results in bitterness toward the authorities. The rules and regulations do not exist to motivate the New Man, but rather to help fight against the Old Adam and its temptations. Why do you get out of bed in the morning? The New Man wants to get up and serve God with the brand new day. But the Old Adam is lazy and wants nothing more than to turn off the alarm, to stay in bed under the warm covers, and to skip class. That is where the law of the attendance policy comes in—to drag the Old Adam out of bed. Why do you learn those Greek vocs (or complete any other assignment), which is not always the most fun thing to do? The New Man works gladly and willingly, knowing that studying is a service to God and a preparation for, God-willing, future public ministry. But what about the Old Adam? For it, voc cards are repulsive. That’s where the grading policy comes in. The fear of scoring poorly on a quiz drags the Old Adam through the voc cards. Is the Old Adam, while it is being dragged by the law, performing a good work? Certainly not. The Old Adam can do nothing good. But the New Man, which at that very time is serving out of love for its Savior, is pleasing to God.

How, therefore, should we view a statement like, “The Seminary is better because MLC is law motivation and the Seminary is gospel motivation”? I don’t think it can be defended as true. Both the law and the gospel are present and necessary at MLC, the Seminary, and wherever else we may be the rest of our earthly lives. Perhaps the difference between MLC and the Seminary (or a fi rst call) is a difference in levels of maturity. As we mature and grow in our sanctifi cation here at MLC, we are under obvious laws aimed at our Old Adam which longs for sins such as laziness and sexual immorality. As we grow in our sanctifi cation, places such as the Seminary treat us as more mature Christians. The list of obvious rules and regulations becomes much shorter, although our Old Adam (and therefore our need for the law) will remain with us until the day we die. Whether at MLC, the Seminary, or wherever we fi nd ourselves, let us keep striving to serve our God who gave us everything in Christ—forgiveness of sins, salvation, and eternal life.

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