The Light of The Gospel

"I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believes on me should not abide in darkness." (John 12:46)
    Because Christ is the light of the world, faith in Him is essential to a right understanding of God's Word. Through faith, we understand that the law cannot make us righteous, and was never intended to make us righteous (Romans 3:19-20). Through faith, we understand that the Law was given to show us our need of forgiveness in Christ (Galatians 3:24). And, through faith, we understand that true righteousness comes only through the forgiveness Christ won for us (Romans 10:4). Therefore, it is only through faith that we are able to understand the proper relationship of Law and Gospel.

    That being the case, the understanding that comes with faith in Christ is of key importance in grasping much of what the Bible says. For example: When the Bible says, “Let us therefore, as many as be PERFECT, be thus minded,” those who lack understanding assume that the works of the law are what makes some people “perfect” (Philippians 3:15). However, once we understand that works cannot make us righteous, we can see that only those who trust in Christ are counted as “perfect.” As it is written, “by one offering He has perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14).

    The same holds true for Proverbs 3:1-2, “Keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.” Those who lack understanding assume that we can only “keep” the commandments by not doing anything sinful. However, that is a delusion! The Bible plainly tells us that “there is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). Furthermore, because the law commands us to repent, we are not keeping the law if we deny our sin (Leviticus 26:40, 2 Chronicles 7:14). Therefore, only those who admit their sin and look to Christ for forgiveness are keeping God’s commandments (1John 1:8, Romans 9:30-33). As it is written, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:9).

    As we read the words of Proverbs 3:13,16, “Happy is the man that finds wisdom, and the man that gets understanding… Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honor,” by faith we understand that the wisdom being spoken of is the wisdom that comes with faith in Christ (1Corinthians 1:30, John 3:16).

    As we read the words of Proverbs 8:13, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil,” those who lack understanding assume that the fear of God should motivate us to keep the Law. However, that sort of fear can never save anyone because the Bible says, “by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight” (Romans 3:20). On the contrary, because the only fear that plays a part in our salvation is the fear that moves us to look to Christ for forgiveness, only those who trust in Christ truly fear God. In short, those who truly fear God are those who hate sin so much that they want to be delivered from it, and so look to Christ for forgiveness (1Corinthians 11:31, Romans 7:18, 1 John 1:8-9).

    Likewise, when the Bible tells us that the “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,” you need to understand that the only fear that brings wisdom is the fear that leads us to confess our sins and look to Christ for forgiveness (Proverbs 9:10). No one who winds up in hell is truly wise, no matter how highly they are acclaimed by the world (Psalm 25:14, 1Corinthians 1:24).

    As we read the words of Ephesians 4:24, “Put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness,” those who lack understanding assume that “righteousness and true holiness” are to be obtained through our own efforts. However, because the works of the law cannot make anyone righteous, the righteousness spoken of in this passage comes only through the forgiveness that is ours in Christ (Romans 3:19-20 and 9:30-33). As it is written, “For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:10,14). In short, we “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” by faith, not works. It is the “blood of Jesus Christ,” not our puny efforts at righteousness, that “cleanses us from all sin” (1John 1:7). Therefore, only those who admit their sin and look to Christ for mercy are truly obedient (Romans 4:1-8, Romans 9:30-31, Romans 10:1-4).

Finally, as we read the words of Hebrews 12:6, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth,” those who lack understanding assume that God punishes His children in order to make them try harder to keep the law. However, because trying to keep the law will not make them one bit more righteous, that is a delusion (Romans 3:19-20). More often than not, the purpose of God’s chastening is aimed at getting people to acknowledge their sin, so that they will see their need for forgiveness in Christ.

CONCLUSION

Because the delusion of works righteousness has such a strong hold on the human mind, it does not come natural for us to think of righteousness as something that is imputed to us apart from the works of the law. In fact, the world at large thinks of righteousness in terms of works. Nevertheless, it is the world that has it backwards, for “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4). Moreover, because the Bible was written to testify of Christ, the true meaning of Scripture can only be seen when each passage is interpreted in the light of the Gospel as I have just done (John 5:39, 1John 5:13, 2Corinthians 3:15 and 4:4). Try applying this principle the next time you read the Bible.