Distinction between Law and Gospel: Fact or Fiction? Matters Much or Little? (Part 5)

In part four, we were describing the distinction as to how we relate to the law of God as it is administered in the unconditional covenant framework. In this section, we want to continue this part of the law and gospel conversation. Here are a few more things that are important to consider as we distinguish the law of God in the covenant of grace framework.

The keeping of the law of God matters and is important but is secondary to the primacy, emphasis, and importance of the fully kept law conditions that Christ met for us (not just as the cause of law-keeping and source but as being actually of greater importance)

Due to regular and prominent presence of law commands in all of scripture, many think that the assumption is that our law-keeping is either of more importance and or equal importance to Christ's law-fulfilling. The logic goes like this: Ephesians has the equal amount of commands and indicative promises, therefore our law-keeping is just as prominent as Christ's law-fulfilling in the Christian life. While it is true that in some letters and books there is an equal amount of law discourse and that in some books law commands are stated more than gospel indicatives; this in itself does not necessarily mean that our law-keeping has either an equal or elevated priority over Christ's law completing that we trust. Primacy does not come from percentages but from specific biblical arguments. Remember that we are distinguishing law as it is administered in the unconditional grace covenant world. Here are my reasons:

• Paul never summarizes the scope and focus of His ministry to be the enforcing of the law of God to Christians (even though he regular preaches it). Paul regularly states that the emphasis and summary of His initial and final ministry is the declaration of the works of Christ for us (1 Corinthians 2:1-2; Ephesians 3:1-7; Colossians 1:28; Acts 20:24). The summation and substance of ministry is explicitly and regularly stated to be the proclamation of gospel indicatives.
• Paul never states that His Christian life revolves around the primary emphasis of the keeping of the law of God even though he regularly expresses a need to abide by the will of God (1 Corinthians 9:21). Paul does however state that his Christian life is essentially and primarily about the focal point of Christ's saving law-keeping (Galatians 2:19-21; Philippians 3:10). Even though in the covenant of grace our law-keeping matters and matters much, it explicitly takes the backseat to the law-keeping and fulfillment of Christ. Paul states that it is repulsive to even consider and entertain the idea of boasting about anything except the cross of the Lord Jesus (Galatians 6:14). And that includes our zeal for our law-keeping! Meaning that in the covenant of grace our law-keeping is needed and matters but it never overshadows and or stands parallel in prominence or emphasis to the law-fulfilling of Christ for us. The idea that the numerical or regular existence of law commands in the covenant of grace means equal or more importance than Christ vicarious (for us) law-works is a humanistic logical fallacy. There are works for us to do does not mean Christ works are equally or of more importance in prominence and emphasis.
• The keeping of God's law is distinguished in the covenant of grace by being more about being made a part of the new creation than being principally adamant of the necessity for law-keeping. Obedience to the law is an issue of being adamant about new creation realities. Said another way, the law of God in the Christian life is more about partaking in the new end time final life in the present than passion for ethical mandates. Why would I say something like this? Consider a text like Romans 7:15ff (to the end of the chapter). The keeping of God's law is distinguished in the covenant of grace by being more about being made a part of the new creation than being principally adamant of the necessity for law-keeping. Paul, as a mature believer, is addressing his dilemma with being new in Christ and longing to be fully devoted to God’s law as he struggles with his inconsistent law-keeping (Romans 7:22-23). Romans 8 has this massive momentum and dramatic shift in this conversation, but note what Paul says the reason is for the momentum shift. Paul says that it is because the same Spirit that raised Christ as the new man in the new Eden has raised us and made us partakers of the new and final Eden resurrection life in the last Adam (Romans 8:11; 2 Corinthians 5:17). We have freedom and space from this Romans 7 dilemma of law-keeping (or law-breaking) because we have been brought into the new and final world reality and the corresponding principles and powers of the Spirit (Romans 8:5-6). Our Romans 7 law-keeping complex as believers is reconciled by new creation realities provided through the gospel in the Spirit! This is why Paul says in Galatians 6:15 that seeking to be self-justifying law-keepers is of no consequence, rather it is the present power of the end time, new creation, gospel-grounded life that matters. When Paul addresses the accusation that free grace is the cause of sinfulness, he does not say, “well, I preach the law as well.” Paul answers the “lawless because of grace dilemma” by saying that we have entered (in the present) into the resurrection world and reality in and through Christ’s resurrection (Romans 6:4-5). Paul says that throwing the law off is impossible because we now partake in the glory of the end time new world in and through the resurrection of Christ which has ended the old man and the old world in the present (Romans 6:8-11). Then after Paul explains that our law-keeping is about how our position in the new end time world is definitive, he then calls us to law-keeping due to those new creation realities in Christ (Romans 6:12-13). Law-keeping is an issue of how the covenant of grace has brought us into the new creation in Christ our federal head (and brought us out of the old creation and old headship of the first Adam) and knowing about those realities that we are already existing in. We will conclude this section of distinguishing how we are under law in two distinct covenantal worlds by discussing how in the covenantal world of grace law-keeping is about proximity and presence more than it is about being driven and fueled by passion for imperatives. Our law-keeping is more about knowing and appropriating the power of the new creation we have been brought into by grace (in the Spirit) than being compelled by our necessity or ability to keep the law. We are in the domain of the new creation in the final Adam through the Spirit of glory seems to be the essential concern of the New Testament writers. It seems that in our day the law-emphatic preachers want to preach the law in the old conditional framework where it starts and begins with our law-keeping and ends in the new creation someday and/or newer levels of spirituality based on our increasing willingness to be law-keepers, rather than the unconditional framework which begins with our definitive place in the new creation and then consequentially results in our law-keeping. We are under law in the glory of partaking of the power of the new creation in the covenant of grace. We are in a new kind of domain that operates on different Christocentric realities, and that becomes the focal point of Christian ethics. So, we need to distinguish the law as it is administered in the old Adamic creation (law-keeping brings us into the end-time creation) and as it is administered in the new and final Adamic creation (law-keeping comes from Christ bringing us into the new creation through His works). Our law-keeping is more about our definitive place in the in-Christ sphere of the new creation than our new ability to abide by law. Where we are now is why who we are now is law friendly and abiding (Colossians 3:1-3, 4-19).
• We will conclude this section of distinguishing how we are under law in two distinct covenantal worlds by discussing how in the covenantal world of grace law-keeping is about proximity and presence more than it is about being driven and fueled by passion for imperatives. One of the issues of the law covenant arrangement is that there was no access to God (that only came through the administration of the covenant of grace in the ceremonial) due to our inability to merit proximity in the sanctifying presence of God. In Hebrews we read,

He 7:18-19 “So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable 19 (for the law perfected nothing), but a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.”

• This means that when we our relating to God through the works arrangement there is a proximity relational gap until Christ Himself meets the terms of holiness and merits our relational proximity into the presence of God by faith. Holiness according to Hebrews is about being close to the One who is holiness itself by virtue of God bringing us into the unconditional covenant through meeting all the demands of the conditional one. Let us look at one more place in Hebrews. says,

He 10:19-25 “Therefore, brothers, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way He has opened for us through the curtain (that is, His flesh), 21 and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. 23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, 25 not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

• Lets consider a few things here:
  1. Verse 25 concludes with our holiness as it pertains to the discipline of attending corporate worship and encouraging our brothers and promoting love and good deeds.
  2. Verse 25 is at the tail end of a series of therefore statements, meaning that this call to keep the law of God as it pertains to corporate gathering and brotherly encouragement is caused by something else.
  3. What drives this law-keeping in verse 24 and 25 about corporate worship, encouragement, and love and good works is in verse 19 which speaks about our grace covenantal arrangement privilege of entering into God’s presence through the works of Christ. The proximity that we have due to the works of Christ in the covenant of grace are the driving force and cause to personal law-keeping holiness. The works of Christ give us relational proximity and nearness which in turn is the cause of our holiness and law-keeping.

Here is how it breaks down very simply. Holiness is about relational proximity to the One who is holy just as getting a sun tan is about being in the relational proximity of the sun’s rays. The only way that we obtain the relational proximity which transforms is by the access we have in the grace covenant by virtue of Christ’s works being proclaimed to us in word and sacrament. Therefore, our law-keeping is more about our relational proximity to the law-keeper through His law-keeping ‘for us’ works (this is why the building and orienting life around the temple was at the heart of Israel’s piety). Therefore, our law-keeping is more about the works that bring us near to God than being about being regularly inundated by law commands. When the preacher drowns the audience with commands to bring about holiness, he inevitably creates distance between us and God which robs us from that needed relational proximity which radiates and transforms (Galatians 5:4). The law in the covenant of works creates distance which in turn robs us from the relational vitality to be changed; the law preached in the covenant of grace through the mediation of Christ works brings us into that relational nearness which produces law conformity by the power of proximity rather than the power of the prominence of precepts. The grace of God in the covenant of grace is the ongoing doorway into the glory encounter of our Father’s living room in the bible.