kceaster
Puritan Board Junior
I have made it a point not to comment on the other thread that deals with this, but I thought it might be helpful for me to explain what I meant in saying the title of this thread.
Part One
1. To say that there is no law in the gospel is a misunderstanding of the law.
A. Christ fulfilled the law which is the foundation of the Gospel message.
His own words say that He has come to do just that. Numerous places in the NT uphold the fact that Christ as our High Priest has satisfied the demands of the law once for all. The reason this is good news for us is because without Him and without the justification He brings us through faith, we would never be able to satisfy the righteous demands of the law.
B. Christ in the Gospel frees us so that we may obey the law by faith.
The 11th Chapter of Hebrews goes to great lengths to show how each of the fathers lived by faith. In verses 4-11, all these mentioned show their faith by obeying what the Lord required of them. This was not to fulfill the covenant of works, nor should we see these patriarchs as being in some kind of restatement of the COW. The key is when the writer tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith, in this case, is the antithesis of work because of its object, that is, the prefigured Christ. If these were all obeying out of a servile fear or out of their own efforts to please God by working in themselves without faith, they would not be mentioned in this chapter. Cain wasn't, and it is not because he committed murder. God tells us why his sacrifice was unacceptable, because it was not done in faith.
Further, the rest of the chapter continues through history. This is telling because some look at the Mosaic economy as a restatement of the COW. The writer of Hebrews disagrees. Faith is all over the rest of the OT. True, God was displeased with most of Israel. But was this because of their poor performance? Not at all. It was because they did not have faith. If faith is the only operative possiblity to please God, then how could God have been pleased by Israel's perfect performance of the laws of Moses without it? In other words,, if God is calling men to a covenant of works in the law of Moses, then there is no way they could ever have pleased Him. This is why the writer repeatedly says, "by faith, by faith, by faith."
Now did Christ free these in the OT to obey the law? The writer of Hebrews sure thinks so. Why else would he say, "By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh´s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward." How could Moses obey God in his life without being freed by Christ?
C. The Gospel message tells us how we will be renewed in life, how we are new creatures in Christ.
Paul says in two separate places that we are renewed in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, which is the basis for WSC question 10. This means that we are returned to a state of knowing God in His attribute and knowing what God's holiness demands. We are renewed in righteousness towards the law, because of Christ's righteousness, and we are once again set apart and sanctified as the priests of our God. None of these things can be done outside of God's righteous law. And this renewing works obedience in us so that we may obey what God commands.
These are three simple ways that law is in the Gospel. There are many more.
In part two I will outline how the Gospel is in the law.
In Christ,
KC
Part One
1. To say that there is no law in the gospel is a misunderstanding of the law.
A. Christ fulfilled the law which is the foundation of the Gospel message.
His own words say that He has come to do just that. Numerous places in the NT uphold the fact that Christ as our High Priest has satisfied the demands of the law once for all. The reason this is good news for us is because without Him and without the justification He brings us through faith, we would never be able to satisfy the righteous demands of the law.
B. Christ in the Gospel frees us so that we may obey the law by faith.
The 11th Chapter of Hebrews goes to great lengths to show how each of the fathers lived by faith. In verses 4-11, all these mentioned show their faith by obeying what the Lord required of them. This was not to fulfill the covenant of works, nor should we see these patriarchs as being in some kind of restatement of the COW. The key is when the writer tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith, in this case, is the antithesis of work because of its object, that is, the prefigured Christ. If these were all obeying out of a servile fear or out of their own efforts to please God by working in themselves without faith, they would not be mentioned in this chapter. Cain wasn't, and it is not because he committed murder. God tells us why his sacrifice was unacceptable, because it was not done in faith.
Further, the rest of the chapter continues through history. This is telling because some look at the Mosaic economy as a restatement of the COW. The writer of Hebrews disagrees. Faith is all over the rest of the OT. True, God was displeased with most of Israel. But was this because of their poor performance? Not at all. It was because they did not have faith. If faith is the only operative possiblity to please God, then how could God have been pleased by Israel's perfect performance of the laws of Moses without it? In other words,, if God is calling men to a covenant of works in the law of Moses, then there is no way they could ever have pleased Him. This is why the writer repeatedly says, "by faith, by faith, by faith."
Now did Christ free these in the OT to obey the law? The writer of Hebrews sure thinks so. Why else would he say, "By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh´s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward." How could Moses obey God in his life without being freed by Christ?
C. The Gospel message tells us how we will be renewed in life, how we are new creatures in Christ.
Paul says in two separate places that we are renewed in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, which is the basis for WSC question 10. This means that we are returned to a state of knowing God in His attribute and knowing what God's holiness demands. We are renewed in righteousness towards the law, because of Christ's righteousness, and we are once again set apart and sanctified as the priests of our God. None of these things can be done outside of God's righteous law. And this renewing works obedience in us so that we may obey what God commands.
These are three simple ways that law is in the Gospel. There are many more.
In part two I will outline how the Gospel is in the law.
In Christ,
KC