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Uses of the Law: To Clarify the Gospel (1)
T. M. Moore
“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.” John 15.22
We have seen that the Law of God is to be used lawfully, and not unlawfully. We use the Law of God lawfully when we look to it to define sin and when we listen as it speaks to us of the character of God. These are the first two uses to which the Law must be put in our walk with the Lord.
Far from being antithetical to the Gospel, as some insist, the Law and the Gospel stand together as one coherent message of redemption from the Lord. I think all would agree that Jesus Christ is the very embodiment of the Good News of God’s love for hapless sinners. But part of Jesus’ mission amongst us was to expose the sins of men. Since, as we have seen, the Law of God defines sin, we must assume that, in bringing the Gospel – in bringing Jesus – to our lost neighbors, we must turn to the Law to expose their sins as well.
This is necessary because receiving the Gospel involves not only faith toward God and the Lord Jesus Christ, but repentance from all sin (Acts 2.37-40). Without repentance from sin there is no true and saving faith; we cannot believe in Jesus for redemption and forgiveness until we have first acknowledged our guilt and resolved to live no longer in it. In the Gospel we insist that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3.23), and that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6.23).
But those to whom we bear witness must agree with this assessment, which they can only do as their sins are presented to them and they see them for what they are in the light of the holy and righteous and good character of the living God.
So we use the Law of God lawfully when, in conjunction with the proclamation of the Good News, we set forth the Law, which is able to define sin, as the very means by which we hope to expose the sins of those we long to see come to the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.
For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the life of faith, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.