DINING WITH SINNERS
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Law and Gospel
Today I am working on some final edits of my sermon for Sunday – part 4 of The Gospel Centered Life Series: “Law and Gospel.” We are considering the Gospel’s relationship to the law asking questions like: What is the law? Does God expect me to obey it? What is the purpose of the law? How does the law help me to believe the Gospel? How does the Gospel help me obey the law? These are the Guestions before us tonight.
Our text is Romans 10:1-4
Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes (ESV).
This passage speaks of Christ being the end of the law (v. 4). The questions I am wrestling with are: What does this mean? Does it mean God’s law does not matter anymore?
I like the tension that is created in the relationship between the Law and the Gospel, so we are not going to try and solve the text, but we do want to think about this issue. So if these questions only lead to more questions, that is good.
Romans 10:4 says that Christ is “the end of the law.” But Jesus also said we are not to dismiss the law: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:17-19).
Which is it?
What are we supposed to do with the law?
Even a casual reader can see that the Bible is full of commands, prohibitions, and expectations. It tells us in many ways what to do and not to do. These rules or laws often present an obstacle to faith. Non-Christians object because it seems like “just a bunch of rule and regulations.” And even the most faithful struggle to understand how the law of God and the gospel of God relate to each other. after all, if we are reconciled to God by grace and not by works – our keeping the law—does it really matter if we obey or not?
Michael Carpenter
Michael is an urban church planter in the Argenta Arts District of North Little Rock. He and his wife Amanda have been married since 2003 and have two children – Austin and Max. Michael is an entrepreneur, missiologist, and chef.
Good post and good discussion- love to be a part of that one, Michael. It is one of the tough issues facing the church and oft misunderstood to equal extremes. You find those within the church zealous for the law to keep it’s every nuance on the one extreme, while those on the other take “freedom in Christ” to mean they can pretty well do whatever they want without recourse. It’s funny, though, if the law that Jesus dealt with in the Sermon on the Mount is any indication, we are actually called to somehow live above the Law (i.e. turn the other cheek, murder and adultery are both heart issues, go the extra mile, etc…). Jesus takes the Law and calls those who follow Him to surpass it because of their love for Him and others. But God tells Peter in a dream that things that were once unclean are no longer. Paul tells the early church that food sacrificed to idols is okay to eat, unless, of course it will cause someone else to stumble. The early church leaders decided that circumcision was no longer a necessary procedure to follow God. All of these were changes in the law. The thread through all of it seems to be a heart condition. We love people enough to go beyond what is expected, even in the Law. We understand that, as Jesus said, it is not what goes into a man, but what comes out that makes him unclean. We understand that it is not our flesh but our hearts that need circumcision. Everything changed under the New Covenant where now the Law is written not on tablets of stone, but in our hearts. Man, that is good conversation. Hope you guys are enjoying it. Do you ever record audio from your gatherings to post anywhere? I’d love to hear it.
Thanks for adding to the conversation Rodney. I do not record myself because I cannot stand the sound of my own voice, but I do often post a manuscript from my sermon on Mondays.
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It was the contrast between Law and Gospel that Luther deemed fundamental to understanding Scripture. A passage may contain elements of both Law and Gospel. Both are pertinent to the believer!