SOME THOUGHTS ON

LAW AND GOSPEL

A STUDY BY GARY RAY BRANSCOME

 It is written, "To the Law and to the testimony, If they speak not according to this Word it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20).

    The explicitly stated truths of Scripture are the standard to which all teaching must conform, and by which every doctrine is to be judged (Acts 17:11, Isaiah 8:20). Nevertheless, if we are to understand the truths of scripture correctly we need to understand the relationship of Law and Gospel. Moreover, the Bible tells us what that relationship is when it tells us that the Law will not make us righteous because it was given to reveal our sin and thus our need for forgiveness in Christ (Romans 3:20-28, Galatians 2:16 and 3:24).

    Because the Law was not given to exalt men (by making them righteous) but to exalt Christ (by pointing them to Him as the source of all true righteousness), the Law is God’s warning to the unrepentant (1Timothy 1:9, Matthew 9:13). For that reason, the works of the Law should never be presented as a way of pleasing God, or gaining His favor. Instead, the Law should be proclaimed in a way that indites every one of us, while holding up Christ as the source of forgiveness, mercy, and salvation (John 5:39). In fact, those who are constantly urging people to seek God’s favor or blessing through the works of the Law, have turned the Law into a false gospel, for “by the works of the Law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight” (Romans 3:20).

    In contrast to the Law, the Gospel is God's message to those who repent, that is, to those who are sorry for their sins and look to Christ for mercy (Acts 3:19). Furthermore, although the Law cannot save anyone, the Gospel is the “power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16). While the Law only condemns, the Gospel is a message of comfort, peace, love, mercy, and forgiveness. Under the Law we are all sinners, we are all guilty, and we all deserve to go to hell. However, the good news is that Christ took our sins upon Himself, and died so that we could be freed from the Law and all condemnation through His death (Romans 7:4). In short, we are saved by what He did, not by what we do, and that is what the world finds so hard to understand (Acts 4:12).
    Those who pervert the Gospel, by using it as an excuse to sin, are turning the Gospel into a false law (a law that condones sin) while showing contempt for God’s grace (Hebrews 10:26-31). Furthermore, by giving the unrepentant a false assurance of salvation they are teaching a false Gospel, thus placing themselves under God’s curse (Galatians 1:6-9). In order to rightly divide Law from Gospel, the unrepentant must be warned of God's wrath while those who repent are assured of God's mercy in Christ.

RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH

    Because the Law and Gospel are two different messages, and are directed at two different groups of people (the repentant and unrepentant), they may seem contradictory to those do not understand their purpose.

    For example: Someone who fails to understand the paradoxical relationship of Law to Gospel may assume that when the Bible says, “The gift of God is eternal life” it is contradicting the phrase, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Do sinners receive death or life? However, once we understand the relationship of Law to Gospel, we can see that one statement warns the unrepentant of God’s wrath, while the other assures those that repent of forgiveness in Christ. Therefore, one statement is Law while the other is Gospel. Moreover, because Christ has freed us from the law, the warning of spiritual death does not apply to those who trust in him.

    Another example can be seen when we compare the words, “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified,” with, “A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Romans 2:13 and 3:28). Here again, the two statements seem contradictory until we realize that one is Law while the other is Gospel. In the first statement Paul is warning the self-righteous that they will be condemned by the Law unless they do all that it requires, in the second statement, he is assuring those who repent that they are “justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” Furthermore, just as with the previous example, because Christ has freed us from the law, the warning does not apply to those who trust in him.
[Note: Romans 2:13 is directed at those who think God will somehow overlook their sins as long as they are sincere. Paul rebukes such nonsense by reminding them that only those who do all that the Law requires can escape its condemnation (Matthew 5:48, Romans 3:10-20, Galatians 3:10, James 2:10).]

    A third example can be seen by comparing the words, “A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law,” with, “By works a man is justified, and not by faith only” (Romans 3:28, James 2:24). As with the previous examples, the two statements seem contradictory until we realize that one is Law while the other is Gospel. James 2:24 is a warning to those whose faith consists of nothing more than believing that “there is one God,” while Romans 3:28 is God’s word of comfort to those who trust in Christ.

    By comparing the words, “These have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away” with the words, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation,” we encounter a fourth example (Luke 8:13, 1Peter 1:5). Here again, these two statements seem contradictory until we realize that one is Law while the other is Gospel. Luke 8:13 is a warning of God's Law that reminds us of our need for His sustaining grace, while 1Peter 1:5 is God’s promise of sustaining grace.

    As we compare the words, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,” with, “a man is not justified by the works of the Law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,” we find a fifth example (Acts 2:23, Galatians 2:16). Those who regard baptism as an “act of obedience” generally assume that those two statements contradict each other. However, the contradiction disappears as soon as we realize that baptism is not a warning of God’s wrath, but a promise of forgiveness in Christ. And, that even though God uses the ceremony of baptism to give us that promise, it is only through personal faith in Jesus Christ that we receive what is promised (Galatians 3:22).

    Our final example can be seen when we compare the words, “The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation,” with, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us” (John 5:28-29, Titus 3:5). Here again, the two statements seem contradictory to those who fail to understand the proper relationship of Law to Gospel. However, the contradiction disappears, as soon as realize that the first statement is Law while the second is Gospel. John 5:28-29 is a warning of God’s Law that is aimed at striking fear into the heart of the unrepentant, while Titus 3:5 is God’s word of comfort to those who repent. Moreover, because Christ has freed us from the law, the warning of spiritual death does not apply to those who trust in him (Romans 7:4 and 8:1).

CHURCH AND STATE

    Understanding the relationship of Law and Gospel also helps us to understand the complex relationship of church to state. Simply put, the state is an instrument of God's Law, while the church is an instrument of God's grace. God ordained the state to condemn the unrepentant, and the church to assure those who repent of forgiveness in Christ. In fact, that relationship can even be seen in the Old Testament. As the head of state Moses punished lawbreakers, while Aaron (as God’s priest) offered forgiveness. Furthermore, the Ten Commandments formed the basis of the political law, not the religious law. God never intended for the church to use the Ten Commandments to make people righteous. On the contrary, the purpose of both the state and the Ten Commandments is to condemn the unrepentant, while true righteousness comes only through faith in Jesus Christ (1Peter 2:14, Romans 10:4).
    That being the case, the state should punish such crimes as abortion, for punishing murder is the job of the state. In fact, those who try to reverse the roles, claiming that abortion is a religious issue, are the ones who are confusing church and state. What they are really trying to do is to make atheism the de facto state religion.  

CONCLUSION

    Because the purpose of the Law is to convict the unrepentant of their sin and need for forgiveness, those who have hardened their heart to the Law by convincing themselves that they are righteous have only contempt for the Gospel. At the same time, those who may admit that they are not perfect while still thinking of themselves as good people, usually assume that freedom from the Law is the freedom to sin. It is only as we come to see ourselves as God sees us, and know that all of our own righteousness is as filthy rags, that we can understand that freedom from the Law is not the freedom to sin, but the freedom to be righteous (Isaiah 64:6). However, without the Law we would never come to that point. Therefore, God uses the Law to show us our spiritual poverty and wretchedness, so that we will see our need for His mercy and appreciate Christ's sacrifice.