# Do some deny that the Law does indeed demand perfect obedience?



## JTB.SDG (Jul 15, 2017)

Some say the Mosaic Covenant was a covenant of works. But it seems to be that among those of us who hold it to be part of the Covenant of Grace, there is another camp that seems to completely deny the fact that the Law does indeed demand perfect, perpetual, personal obedience as the cause of life. Almost like a denial of the first use of the Law.

One of my favorite seminary professors wrote this about Leviticus 18:5, which disturbs me: "The Bible regularly connects obeying the Lord's commands with living in the sphere of his favor. This is because his commands are like the borders of his kingdom, and those who stay within those borders proclaim their allegiance to him as King and remain within the sphere of his blessing. It is crucial to understand that this verse does not mean the Israelites were to earn relationship with the Lord through their obedience. The larger context makes clear that the Lord gives the Israelites the law AFTER he redeemed them (cf. Exod 1-19 with Exod. 20-23). . ."

Not disagreeing with the overall principle. Some parts of the Law we take in this way: IE, our obediences PROVES that our faith is genuine. BUT my qualm is: how can we say this about Leviticus 18:5? No, the verse isn't trying to tell the Israelites to earn heaven by their obedience. But this IS what the Law in fact demands. It's just that God's INTENTION in demanding this was to break sinners, show them their sin, and thus drive them to Christ, right? (1st use of the Law)

He goes on to say of Galatians 3: "a) by NT times, some Jews had begun to cit Lev.18:5 as proof that obedience to the law could earn eternal life; b) also by this time, one way to critique others was to cite their proof verse and then to put beside it other verses which made clear why their interpretation of the proof verse was incorrect; c) Paul takes this approach with Lev.18:5, placing beside it other OT verses to show why it was incorrect to hold that Lev.18:5 taught that obedience to the law could earn eternal life (cf. Rom.10:5 with 10:6-8; Gal.3:12 with 3:10-11)."

Is this disturbing to anyone else? Am I reading this right? Where does this thinking come from? 

As a side note, the OPC Committee Report on the Mosaic Covenant seemed to allude to this view, and sort of mildly denounce it, or at least to say this is not a helpful biblical view. But isn't THIS view actually also contrary to the WCF??


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