Posted on 02/10/2011 5:04:07 PM PST by Gamecock
The Law is good. The Law is perfect and holy. There is no defect in the Law of God. The problem is not the Law itself but that man is a sinner by nature and cannot keep the Law. Through the law comes the knowledge of sin. Rather than curb sin, the law brings sin out into the open, revealing to us the depths of our human, sinful depravity.
Imagine a large plane glass window. You can break it by driving a tank through it, or you can simply fire the smallest pellet from a gun through the glass, but in both cases, the glass is broken and needs to be replaced. In the same way, to break even one of God’s commandments makes a person guilty of breaking it all. As James 2:10 reminds us, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.”
Man as a sinner cannot keep the Law and to fail to keep it in one part makes us guilty of breaking it all. That’s because the law is a complete set of requirements and we have broken it. We have all commited high treason deliberately.
The Law was given not to make people righteous but in fact to forever shut men’s mouths regarding any attempt at self justification before God. The Law reveals sin, and knowing the holiness and righteousness of God, it shows us our desperate condition before Him. When the Law does it work, it reveals sin to the point that we understand the justice we deserve and cry out for intervention from a Savior. That is why even in the Old Covenant Law system, there were sacrifices of atonement for sin, pointing us to One who would come and remove sin by His perfect sacrifice as the Lamb of God.
The Law reveals the holiness of God, the exceeding sinfulness of our sin, and its remedy in the sin bearing substitute lamb.
Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
The good news of the Gospel is that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He took the punishment we deserved as He was punished in our place as our sin bearing Substitute, and the righteous life He lived, is then credited to the account of anyone who believes in Him.
In anticipating the work of the Savior to come, Isaiah wrote, “Surely he has borne our griefs (lit. sicknesses) and carried our sorrows (lit. pains); yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” – Isaiah 53:4-6
The cross was no accident, but the center point of a plan devised by God before time began. The plan culminated in a divinely ordained exchange which would take place at Calvary. All the wrath and punishment due to us for our sinfulness was to come upon Jesus; and the good due to Jesus due to His sinless obedience was to come upon us. The innocent would bear the just punishment of the guilty, and the guilty would receive all the benefits due to the just.
I remember more than two decades ago, hearing a sermon regarding this divine exchange. What I heard still affects me greatly today. For His glory, and out of His love for us, God met all of our needs at the cross: spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, material, financial, temporal and eternal. As we think about these eight declarations concerning what Christ achieved for His people in His death, burial and resurrection, let us celebrate the perfect and finished work of the perfect Savior:
1. Jesus was punished so that we might be forgiven (Is. 53:4, 5)
2. Jesus was wounded so that we might be healed (Is. 53:4, 5; 1 Pet. 2:24)
3. Jesus was made sin with our sinfulness that we might be made righteous with His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21)
4. Jesus died our death so that we might share His life (John 10:10; Rom. 6:6, 7; Gal. 2:20)
5. Jesus was made a curse so that we might receive the blessing (Gal. 3:13, 14)
6. Jesus endured our poverty that we might share His abundance (2 Cor. 8:9)
7. Jesus endured our shame that we might share His glory (Ps. 69:7; Is. 53:3; Heb 12:2; Heb. 2:10)
8. Jesus endured our rejection that we might share His acceptance (Matt 27:45-47; Eph. 1:3, 4)
Here’s a poem by Ralph Erskine showing the different roles of the Law and the Gospel.
The law supposing I have all,
Does ever for perfection call;
The gospel suits my total want,
And all the law can seek does grant.
The law could promise life to me,
If my obedience perfect be;
But grace does promise life upon
My Lord’s obedience alone.
The law says, Do, and life you’ll win;
But grace says, Live, for all is done;
The former cannot ease my grief,
The latter yields me full relief.
The law will not abate a mite,
The gospel all the sum will quit;
There God in thret’nings is array’d
But here in promises display’d.
The law excludes not boasting vain,
But rather feeds it to my bane;
But gospel grace allows no boasts,
Save in the King, the Lord of Hosts.
Lo! in the law Jehovah dwells,
But Jesus is conceal’d;
Whereas the gospel’s nothing else
But Jesus Christ reveal’d.
Life Is a Gift from God
We hold from God the gift which includes all others. This gift is life — physical, intellectual, and moral life.
But life cannot maintain itself alone. The Creator of life has entrusted us with the responsibility of preserving, developing, and perfecting it. In order that we may accomplish this, He has provided us with a collection of marvelous faculties. And He has put us in the midst of a variety of natural resources. By the application of our faculties to these natural resources we convert them into products, and use them. This process is necessary in order that life may run its appointed course.
Life, faculties, production — in other words, individuality, liberty, property — this is man. And in spite of the cunning of artful political leaders, these three gifts from God precede all human legislation, and are superior to it. Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.
Frederic Bastiat 1801-1850 “The Law”
Isn't there a law that says one has to believe in Jesus? Since one 'cannot keep the Law', doesn't that lead to the conclusion that anyone saved is predestined to be so?
And the same logic would follow that that would make belief a work.
Fortunately Scripture teaches us how this all works!
Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
You can do that. If not, ask Him to help you. He will. There's nothing legalistic about that.
The Law was given not to make people righteous but in fact to forever shut men’s mouths regarding any attempt at self justification before God. The Law reveals sin, and knowing the holiness and righteousness of God, it shows us our desperate condition before Him. When the Law does it work, it reveals sin to the point that we understand the justice we deserve and cry out for intervention from a Savior.
AMEN!
Sure seems like a law to me!
Galatians 3:19-29
19Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. 20Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.
21Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. 22But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
23Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
AMEN! INDEED.
It’s more like throwing yourself on the mercy of the court.
Yes, in that sense it’s doing something, but not the same as trying to work off the debt or pay the penalty for having broken the law (or Law).
It’s an acknowledgment of guilt and asking for forgiveness to cancel the debt or pay the penalty that we can’t do ourselves.
This is why I've always considered the Sermon on the Mount the ultimate expression of the Law. One cannot hear it without instantly realizing two things:
1. This is undoubtedly the perfect expression of true righteousness, justice and divine goodness. This is truth - the universal normative - what God expects of me; and
2. I have never gone even a single day in my life where I came close to living up to this.
1. This is undoubtedly the perfect expression of true righteousness, justice and divine goodness. This is truth - the universal normative - what God expects of me; and
2. I have never gone even a single day in my life where I came close to living up to this.
AMEN!
One of our sons had to read Matthew for an English class in high school (no doubt to impress upon young minds it was all literary fiction.) Later he told me that it was after he had read the Sermon on the Mount that he finally understood Christianity and the fact that he could never be a perfect Christian. Thus the need for a perfect Savior. Just like you said so well.
If it is, then it is not the law of sin and death, but the law of the Spirit of life. (Romans 8:2.) It’s a different animal. The former stands afar off with arms folded demanding performance. The latter basically says, “I love you, come and receive My love. Ask of Me and let Me love you and help you, for I want to help you. Whole different ball game.
Thanks for the article GC. Reading it was a great way to start the day. :)
The part in bold is just not true:
Genesis24: 4"(A)I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and (B)by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws."
Josh22: 1(A)Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2and said to them, "You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, (B)and have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you. 3"You have not forsaken your brothers these many days to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God.
David said: 2 Sam22 22"For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not acted wickedly against my God. 23"For all His ordinances were before me, And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them.
1 King 14:...(C)yet you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, (D)to do only that which was right in My sight;
Genesis6: 8But (A)Noah (B)found favor in the eyes of the LORD. 9These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a (C)righteous man, (D)blameless in his time; Noah (E)walked with God.
Psalm 15: 1O LORD, who may abide (A)in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your (B)holy hill? 2He who (C)walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And (D)speaks truth in his heart. 3He (E)does not slander with his tongue, Nor (F)does evil to his neighbor, Nor (G)takes up a reproach against his friend;
Solomon: Proverbs 11: 3The (A)integrity of the upright will guide them, But the (B)crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them. 4(C)Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But (D)righteousness delivers from death. 5The (E)righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way, But (F)the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.
2 King 18 5(G)He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; (H)so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. 6For he (I)clung to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses.
i kings 3Then Solomon said, "You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
Caleb:Josh14: 9"So Moses swore on that day, saying, 'Surely (J)the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God fully.'
Deut 3011For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. 12It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 13Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 14But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that you may do it. 16In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply:
So people have kept the commandments, not perfectly but G-d knew that we would be imperfect. Abraham kept the law, David, Hezekiah, etc...They are mentioned as righteous too. David mentions people being righteous a lot. We have always been justified by G-ds grace even before the law and after the law was given by the means of atonement G-d provided. Prayer, repentance, charity, fasting and for unintentional sins, sacrifices. G-d gave us the commandments (Deut 30 above) that "you may do it". He isnt going to give us something we cant do! There is not one scripture in the Tanakh (OT) that says the law will be replaced with a new law. New covenant does NOT mean new law and the new covenant has not arrived yet. This sermon is all wrong.
***So people have kept the commandments, not perfectly but G-d knew that we would be imperfect.***
Oh, so a little sin is OK?
Romans 3: 9What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
12All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
13“Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
14“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
15“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16ruin and misery mark their ways,
17and the way of peace they do not know.”
18“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Now, how did all of these OT sinner find righteousness in God’s eyes?
Hebrews 11 teaches it is all by faith:
4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because hea considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”c 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.
23By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.e
32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,
Did I say it was ok? No. It is not okay...but G-d knows wew are flawed and that is why He gives us means of atonement!
Romans 3: 9What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;
Paul is wrong. He is totally taking out of context the meaning of the verses in the Psalms. When David wrote these Psalms he wasnt applying them to all men for all time. It was the wicked generation at that time. Paul doesnt bother to quote Psalm 14 a few verses later or the very next Psalm.
5There they are in great dread, For God is with the righteous generation.
Psalm15 1O LORD, who may abide (A)in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your (B)holy hill? 2He who (C)walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And (D)speaks truth in his heart.
Do a word study on "righteous" in the Tanakh(OT), the Psalms are loaded with references to righteous people. Paul is wrong and frankly decietful.
Hebrews 11 teaches it is all by faith:
Yes, obviously faith was an important element but really it is a given. Abraham, before he believed the promise of G-d and was considered righteous, had already performed great works on G-ds behalf. He had left his fathers home, built an altar (offered sacrifces) traveled to Egypt, came back and built another altar (offered sacrifices) engaged in warfare and THEN G-d offers Abram the promise of decendants and Abram believed. There is no saved by faith in this story.
G-d said about Abraham that all the nations would be blessed through him....why? Because of his faith? No.
4And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 5Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
And we see this same theme over and over, David, Hezekiah, Caleb etc....the word "faith" rarely even occurs in the OT. So Pauls doctrine is in error.
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