Various Views on Law and Gospel…
Terry Dashner……………..Faith Fellowship Church PO Box 1586 Broken Arrow, OK 74013
How does a believer reconcile the ostensible antithesis of Grace and the Law of Moses? The Church has struggled with this marriage (or divorce, depending on what camp you’re in) since the Church was birthed on the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two. What does the Bible say? I will share with you some of the relevant scriptures and let you sort out the continuity or discontinuity between the twolaw and grace.
Wayne G. Strickland, professor of theology and co-chair of the Bible and theology department, Multnomah School of the Bible and ardent dispensationalist states, “The resolution of the Law/Gospel debate is no simple exercise, but neither is it a trivial issue. Among the theological issues raised by Paul, this one has perpetually been regarded as one of great significance.” I certainly agree. And why?
Strickland continues, “There are compelling reasons to understand a basic discontinuity between Old and New Testaments. The justification stems from the entrance into the new covenant and various New Testament passages where the discontinuity is clearly presented.” He then sites a number of scriptures, underscoring the discontinuity. For example, Hebrews 7:12, says he, “states plainly that a drastic change has occurred because a different priesthood has been placed into operation.”
He continues, “The clearest evidence for the discontinuity position derives from many passages in the New Testament that suggest the cessation of the Mosaic law as binding for the church-age saint: Romans 3:21-31; 4:5, 13-25; 5:13; 6:14-15; 7:6; 10:4; I Corinthians 9:19-23; 2 Corinthians 3:3, 6-18; Galatians 2:19; 3:1-5, 10-29;…”
Nevertheless just when you think the Bible frees you from the Law of Moses based upon proof texts like these mentioned above, you read other scriptures that swing to the other end. These scriptures are Matthew 5:17-19; Mark 7:1-23; Romans 7:12, 14, 22; and I Timothy 1:8 which are marshaled in evidence of the continuity of Law and the Gospel. What is a believer to do (or believe)?
There are five views regarding the Law and the Gospel.
Zondervan Publishing House of Grand Rapids, Michigan, has put together a book entitled, Five Views on Law and Gospel. Five scholars present their views regarding Law and Grace and then each one in turn critiques the writer’s stated view. It’s a slow read because of the material presented, but I have persevered and waded through the book for you. I’d like to make just a few comments regarding Willem A. VanGemeren’s Reformed perspective and Wayne G. Stricland’s Dispensational view. These two views make the most sense to me.
First allow me to state the five views as listed in the subtitles. One view isthe Law which takes on perfection of righteousness in Jesus Christ: A Reformed perspective. The second view isthe Theonomic Reformed approach to Law and Gospel. The third isthe Law as God’s gracious guidance for the promotion of holiness. The fourth isthe inauguration of the Law of Christ with the Gospel of Christ: A Dispensational view. And finally, the Law of Christ as the fulfillment of the Law of Moses: A modified Lutheran view. For the sake of brevity, I will attempt to state what each view has in common and refrain from the dissents. (The dissent goes on and on and on for pages on end).
What each view has in common.
Each of the five views holds this in common. The Mosaic Law was not the means of salvation in the Old Testament. Salvation has always been by faith in God and not in observing an external law. For example, scholar Greg L. Bahnsen, regarding his critique of VanGemeren states, “For VanGemeren, the Mosaic covenant was ‘not antithetical to’ nor a ’substitute’ for the Abrahamic promise, but it looked ahead to the unique Redeemer and Mediator of the covenant, Jesus Christ. Even ‘the Mosaic covenant is a sovereign administration of grace.’ He insists that ‘the law was never intended to be the means of salvation’ (even at Lev. 18:5). To all of this we reply with a hearty ‘amen.’”
VanGemeren’s Reformed view wraps up with these words, “Moreover, knowing the deceptions of our hearts, we must constantly check ourselves by the moral law to see whether we truly love our neighbor as ourselves. Love for neighbor is the thermometer by which we check the extent of our love for God, obedience to his law, and our dependence on the Lord for life.
“Let me end on a personal note. I cannot keep God’s law unless I live by the grace of God, in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and by the power of his Spirit. I need his grace every day to help me in the discipline of my heart and in imaging the perfections of the Lord Jesus. It is my prayer that by God’s grace I may enhance order where there is harmony and promote order where there is discord. Come, Lord Jesus, come!”
Therefore, salvation in God has always beeneven for Abraham who came before the Mosaic Lawby faith in God. Faith is the connection, and God is the object of our faith. The Mosaic Law had its “special place” in educating the Nation Israel regarding the coming of Messiah. The Law was to ready them for the atoning work of Jesus Christ. The “blood of bulls and goats,” as stated in the book of Hebrews, was only a temporary covering (Atonement) which was repeated every year. Faith in Christ is permanent and everlasting as Atonement for the sinner. Thank God!
Final remarks from each author
Noting the Reformed view, VanGemeren concludes his essay by saying, “Ethical integrity is a wholeness of life. As we keep the moral law, pursue the perfection of righteousness in union with Jesus Christ, and walk by the power of the Spirit, we develop wholeness, a wholeness that involves the integration of our heart, speech, acts, and manners with the mind of Christ.” The Reformed view seems to favor a balance between the moral law and the Gospel. It is by grace alone that we are justified, but sanctification (growing up in Christ) requires obedience to the moral law of God. This makes sense to me; however, it is not without criticism.
Moreover, noting the Theonomic Reformed View, Greg L. Bahnsen concludes his essay by stating, “Beyond this, Christians should use the lawful means that are available in any particular society to work toward reconstruction of the legal, judicial, and political framework of that society. Christian legislators, judges, magistrates, and aides ought to work for progressive amendment of the statutes and legal proceedings of the state, bringing them more and more into harmony with the principles of God’s law for political authorities.”
Bahnsen’s view is radical but noble; however, it’s unlikely to happen in our lifetime. Bahnsen’s view suggests that Christian should live by the Old Testament Lawmoral and civilin home, society, and country. Again, it seems unlikely that the church would be willing to stone to death a man or woman caught in the act of adultery. America doesn’t prosecute fornication or adultery because in a promiscuous society, such as ours, too many would take the fall.
Strickland’s Dispensational view concludes on this note. “Nonetheless, as has been discovered, there is an aspect of the law that has ceased in its validity and applicability. The regulatory purpose recognizes that the Mosaic law was given specifically to the nation Israel in order to provide guidelines for their relationship to God. This regulatory purpose provided the requirement and means of fellowship, including the provision for the worship of God. The Mosaic law also served to govern Israel as a theocracy with a unique relationship to God. However, when Israel failed in its stewardship responsibilities under the Mosaic dispensation, the law in its regulatory function ceased in validity. Paul is equally clear that the law functioned in a temporary fashion as a tutor until the advent of Christ (Gal. 3:24), whereupon it ceased as a means of righteousness (Rom. 10:4). The Mosaic law, described as a ministry of death (2Cor. 3:7), faded and no longer remains (v. 11), leaving the hope that is found in the person of Jesus Christ. Instead, the New Testament believer is governed by the law of Christ, a law that is fulfilled by loving one’s neighbor (Gal. 5:14; 6:2).”
The point Strickland seems to make is this. The moral law or the Ten Commandments is no longer an external thing to which a Christian tries to align his or her conduct before God. The moral law or the law of Christ is now written on the heart of the believer. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the believer is helped to overcome lust, greed, licentiousness, and other works of the flesh that lead to overt acts of breaking God’s commandments. In doing so, the believer now lives by the power of the spirit, not by the works of the flesh.
And then there is scholar Walter C. Kaiser Jr. who asserts the following. It is the moral law of God found in the Decalogue and the Holiness Code of Leviticus 18-19 that must act as the absolute norms against which all other commands in God’s law are judged, interpreted, and applied to today. The hunger for someone to give the believing community instruction in the proper use of law is so great that one popular seminar since 1986, focusing on Proverbs (a veritable republication of the law of God in proverbial form, as can be seen from the marginal references to Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), has literally had tens of thousands of people swarming to its sessions in every major city in North America and now all over the world. This is an indictment on the church and its reticence to preach the moral law of God and to apply it to all aspects of life as indicated in Scripture.”
Here again, the emphasis is upon the moral law’s use in the sanctification of the believer. John Calvin spoke in this regard during the Reformation period of Church history. (It sounds logical to me, but not without some concerns.)
And last, Douglas J. Moo states this, “…I have stressed, to say that the Mosaic law in itself is no longer binding on the Christian is not to say that individual commandments within that law may not be. In fact, as we have seen, New Testament authors explicitly ‘reapply’ several Mosaic commandments to the Christian…The content of all but one of the Ten Commandments is taken up into ‘the law of Christ,’ for which we are responsible. I am not, then, suggesting that the essential ‘moral’ content of the Mosaic law is not applicable to believers. On the ‘bottom line’ question of what Christians are actually to do, I could well find myself in complete agreement with, say, a colleague who takes a traditional Reformed approach to the Mosaic law. The difference would lie not in what Christians are to do but in how it is to be discovered. While my Reformed colleague might argue that we are bound to whatever in Mosaic law has not been clearly overturned by New Testament teaching, I argue that we are bound only to that which is clearly repeated within New Testament teaching.”
Bringing it all together, hopefully.
The views have been briefly stated in conclusion. Overall what seems to ring true in every view is this. Justification for all believers, past and present, has been by faith in God through Jesus Christ. The Mosaic Law was uniquely given to a covenant people (already justified) who heralded God as their King. The law was for the sanctifying purpose of the covenant people, while maintaining civil order through God’s civil and moral laws. The ceremonial laws were to tutor the nation of Israel to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ.
The new covenant with its focus on grace does not abolish all elements of the Mosaic law because the Church must progress along, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit to overcome the sin of the world. Grace for the church age does not mean freedom FROM law, but it means freedom from sin’s breach of God’s moral law. Sin no longer has a dominate hold on the believer once she is born again and living in the power of the Holy Spirit. I believe it all comes down to this. There has always been, and will always be, a need to live a balanced Christian life. The balance is grace on the one hand and God’s law on the other, a picture of the perfect scales of justice.
Keep the faith. Stay the course. Jesus is coming again.
Pastor T.
About the Author
Pastors a small church in Broken Arrow, OK. U.S. Navy veteran, retired police officer, and proud father of three grown children and one grandchild.