etc.

6. Heretofore he had been speaking, under the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, in language unusual and unintelligible to the world. To the
gentiles it was a strange and incomprehensible thing he said about
dying with Christ unto sin, being buried and planted into his death,
and so on. But now, since his former words are obscure to the natural
understanding, he will, he says, speak according to human
reason--"after the manner of men."

7. Even reason and the laws of all the gentiles, he goes on to say,
teach we are not to do evil; rather to avoid it and do good. All
sovereigns establish laws to restrain evil and preserve order.

How could we introduce through the Gospel a doctrine countenancing
evil? Though the wisdom of the Gospel is a higher gift than human
reason, it does not alter or nullify the God-implanted intelligence
of the latter. Hence it is a perversion of our doctrine to say it
does not teach us to love good works and practice them. "Now, if you
cannot understand this truth from my explanation," Paul would
say--"that through faith you have, by baptism, died to the sinful
life, even been buried--then learn it through your accustomed
exercise of reason. You know for yourselves that pardon for former
transgression and release from lawful punishment gives no one license
to do evil--to commit theft or murder."

8. It is a commonly recognized fact among men that pardon does not
mean license. God's Word confirms the same. Yet the disadvantage is
that although reason teaches, through the Law, good works and forbids
evil, it is unable to comprehend why its teachings are not fulfilled.
It perceives from the results which follow dishonoring of the Law,
that to honor is best, that it is right and praiseworthy not to steal
and commit crime. But it fails to understand why, given the teachings
at first, they are not naturally fulfilled. Nor, again, does it know
how existing conditions may be removed or bettered. It resorts to
this expedient and that to restrain evil, but it cannot attain the
art of uprooting and destroying it. With the sword, rack and gallows
the judge may restrain public crime, but he cannot punish more than
what is known and witnessed to before the court. Whatever is done
secretly and never comes before him, he cannot punish or restrain.
The Word of God, however, takes hold of the difficulty in a different
manner. It teaches how to crush the head of the serpent and to slay
the evil. Then the j