Mark Mattes' hope is not only to secure believers' consciences in Christ but also to reclaim theological and social turf which mainline Protestants have too quickly ceded to various secular agendas.

The collected essays in Law & Gospel In Action: Foundations, Ethics, Church engage the reality of believers' death and resurrection in Christ, and how that bears upon the life of faith while also attending to a wide range of relevant theological topics such as scriptural authority, apologetics, a critique of contemporary mainline Protestant and Evangelical Catholic ethics, a critique of Lutheran-Reformed ecumenism, and the church's mission and outreach.

The collection concludes with several sermons based on Old Testament lessons seeking to show how the theology embedded in the essays can be used for proclamation.