What's Wrong With The Law?
This is a question I'll be answering in the next few posts. In short, there's nothing 'wrong' with the Law. The Law is good and right. But the Law is inferior to Grace, Gospel, Promise, and Christ. Apart from these, there is no lawfulness in us.
They liberate me from the Law, but they are not opposed to the Law. They work together with the Law for our good and God's ultimate glory.
Old Doxoblogy
Monday, July 10, 2006
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5 comments:
Coming from a New Covenant perspective, the law of Christ, as I see the New Testament as being, becomes a list of promises. Each element of that law is a glimer, a nugget, of the Person and likeness of Christ. As I behold Him in the scriptures The Holy Spirit begins a tranformation process in my life, a transformation into His image. See 2 Cor. 3:18. And since God said that in this New Covenant era He was going to write His laws on our hearts and put them in our minds, and also put His Spirit within and thereby cause us to walk in His ways - See Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekial 36:25-27 - every day becomes a growing into His image.
Don't get me wrong...
..The Law of Christ can and should be mined from the OT as well, Proverbs and the Psalms come to mind, as well as the types of Christ in persons like Joseph Daniel Etc. Etc.
..Christians do go through valleys.
Christianity is not a legal experience. The laws are promises, promises of future glory. See Gal. 4:19; Ephesians 4:11-16; Romans 8:29; 1 John 3:2. God does the work. Amen
Coming from a Reformed perspective I hope that you'll show that the Law of Christ and the Decalogue are one and the same.
After God hath made all other creatures, He created man, male and female,] with reasonable and immortal souls, rendering them fit unto that life to God for which they were created; being made after the image of God, in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness; having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfil it, and yet under a possibility of transgressing, being left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject to change.
The same law that was first written in the heart of man continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness after the fall,and was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai, in ten commandments, and written in two tables, the four first containing our duty towards God, and the other six, our duty to man
The moral law doth for ever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof, and that not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God the Creator, who gave it; neither doth Christ in the Gospel any way dissolve, but much strengthen this obligation.
London Baptist Confession Chapters $:2; 19:2; 19:5
Interesting thought from Peter. This is a HUGE issue.
The law of Christ is that which comes through the mouth of Christ and the apostles and their deputies. Each of the laws of the Decalogue are repeated in the new testament, except one, the Sabbath, because Christ is our Sabbath.
I do acknowledge that Romans 2 mentions the law of God written on man's conscience, and that those people mentioned therein shall be judged thereby.
So, it can be said that God's law has 3 expressions: 1)The Decalogue, though we should note that what Jesus considered the most important laws from the OT were Deut.6:5 and Lev.19:18, wholly outside the Decalogue, 2)that written on man's conscience (Romans 2), and, 3) that which is handed down through the Savior Himself(also through the apostles-and the other writers of the New Testament).
Hebrews 7:12 mentions that, as the priesthood changed, there must also be a change of the law. There was. Now there is the Law of Christ.
There is now a New Covenant (Heb.8-10). This NC is based on the more excellent ministry of Christ Who is the Mediator of a better covenant which was established on better promises - Heb. 8:6.
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