Law and Gospel

I have been drawn to the topic of law and gospel lately. Growing up spiritually I was never instructed on the proper relationship between these two. Trying make sense of them with out completely separating them has been quite difficult. So I have been reading on this subject lately. To find out that these two are not opposed to each other but in fact quite complementary to each other has been a joy.

Bryan Gumpy and I have been reading a book together on this very subject. Michael Horton's "The Law of Perfect Freedom" has been a refreshing read thus far. Here is how he defines law and gospel.

“Law” does not equal “Old Testament”, while “grace” or “gospel” equals the New Testament. “Law” refers to any command, from Genesis to Revelation. “Gospel” refers to any place in either testament where the promise of salvation by grace alone through faith alone is found. The law tells us what we ought to do, and this leads us to despair of meeting God’s standard. Then the gospel tells us what God has done for us already in Christ, meeting the standard as our substitute and taking our punishment on Himself so that we could be regarded as righteous.

This is so helpful in understanding the way that the Testaments should be read and understood. Like the belief that God has always had one covenant people called the Elect (not separating Israel and the Church) brings unity between the to testaments so does this understanding of law and gospel. The Bible is a unified unified revelation of God. Any theology that amputates the Old from the New Testament is a deficient theology. I love the unity that is found in God's Word. The more I look the more I see it everywhere.

Acceptable to God Through Keeping the Law?

"When it comes to being accepted by God, observing the law is completely ruled out. Here Paul makes an absolute distinction between salvation by works of the law and salvation by faith in Christ. Law-keeping cannot justify anyone.

Not that there is anything wrong with the law itself, which comes from the righteous character of God. As Paul said to the Romans, "the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good" (Rom. 7:12) The problem with the law is our lawlessness! The reason we cannot be justified by the law is that we cannot keep it. Even if we could keep God's commandments outwardly, we break them inwardly. "No human deeds, however well motivated and sincerely performed, can ever achieve the kind of standing before God that results in the verdict of justification."

...we are acceptable to God - not by keeping the law ourselves, but by trusting in the only man who ever did keep it, Jesus Christ. The doctrine of justification can be stated in these general terms: we get right with God not by observing the law, but only by trusting in his Son...

This principle, that justification cannot come by works, is what distinguishes Christianity from other religions. Other religions try to achieve ultimate bliss by scaling God's throne through human effort, but the Bible says we cannot get to God this way. In fact, Martin Luther explained that if we try to merit grace by our works, we are simply "trying to placate God with sins." Luther meant that even our best works are tainted by evil motives. Paul had learned this universal principle from the Old Testament, for he is virtually quoting one of the psalms of David: "Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you." (Ps. 143:2). Or, as Paul translates it, "By works of the law no one will be justified" (Gal. 2:16). Total depravity extends to all humanity.

Becoming a Christian, therefore, means admitting that you cannot be saved by the good things that you do. The Galations were tempted to gain favor with God by getting circumcised. This is no longer a temptation for most Christians, but many other things are. Going to church, reading the Bible, taking communion, giving to charity - these things will never get us into heaven. Not even becoming a martyr for the cause of Christ will qualify.

There is no way to be made right with God except through faith in Christ. In Luther's words, "Now the true meaning of Christianity is this: that a man first acknowledge, through the Law, that he is a sinner, for whom it is impossible to perform any good work.... If you want to be saved, your salvation does not come by works; but God has sent His only Son into the world that we might live through Him. He was crucified and died for you and bore your sins in His own body."

- Philip Graham Ryken "Galatians: Reformed Expository Commentary (p.63-65)