Law and Grace

INTRODUCTION

The Bible, to many of its critics, is a book of legalistic, unrealistic principles imposed by a demanding God.  To others, it is the ultimate declaration of liberty.  Still others see a book whose pages seem to contradict each other.  Since the time of Christ, the question of how to reconcile the principles in the Old, that is, the law, with the message of grace presented in the New has been debated.  Perhaps the most logical path to take in answering this question is to examine the letters of the apostle Paul, whose writings comprise half the books of the New Testament and whose arguments serve as the foundation for nearly all Christian theology.  Paul was an enigmatic character, first a Pharisee so intent on preserving the law that he engaged in a murderous campaign of annihilation of The Way, then a prolific evangelist/teacher responsible for planting and counseling much of the world-wide church of his era.  The apostle Paul was neither a legalist, nor a libertine.  Rather, his enlightened understanding of the place of the Law and Grace in salvation-history provides a clear picture of what it truly means to be free in Christ.  This paper will seek to analyze several points Paul makes about the law and provide an explanation for some rather cryptic statements, resulting in a clear picture of Paul’s vision of the era of grace in which we live.

WHAT THE LAW COULD NOT DO

            Paul’s dramatic Damascus-road experience represented more than a recognition of the truth-claims of Christ.  It represented a complete paradigm shift.  Here, the Pharisee was confronted with the fact that the law, which he had spent much of his life studying and defending, was completely inadequate either to produce godliness or to secure salvation.  This new awareness, conferred to him by Christ himself, permeated the Apostle’s letters, but is perhaps seen at its fullest development in the epistles to the Romans and Galatians.  In fact, many argue that this relationship between grace and law comprises the central theme in both of these letters.  J. B. Lightfoot wrote, “The matter [of righteousness by faith], which in the one epistle [Galatians] is personal and fragmentary, elicited by the special needs of an individual church, is in the other [Romans] generalized and arranged so as to form a comprehensive and systematic treatise.”[1] It is within this longer letter that Paul uses the phrase “the end of the law” to refer to Christ, and it is to this phrase that we turn for our first look into Pauline soteriology.

Christ, the end of the law

In Romans 10:14, Christ is said to be the “End of the law.” The Greek word used here for “end” is telos, and indicates both the termination and the goal.  This is not to say that it has a dual meaning, but that the Greek word combines the nuances of both English words.[2]  Douglas Moo points out that a race is a good analogy here, because the finish line is both the terminal point and the goal, or purpose of the race.  Similarly, Christ’s coming is both the end of the period of law and the event that the law was set up to prepare for in God’s pre-ordained salvation-history.  This is how Christ could point out the ineffectual nature of the law, declaring it powerless, yet not nullifying its purpose.  This is evidenced in His statement that He did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.[3]  Here, we have a clear indication from Paul that the law was not an end to itself, but that it could only be truly understood in light of the fulfillment it received in Christ.  Thus, Christ’s death and resurrection serves both as a transition of dispensation in the relationship between God and man, and as a lens through which the proper meaning and significance of the law can be understood.  “The age of law,” writes F.F. Bruce, “was never designed to be other than a parenthesis in God’s dealings with mankind.”[4]

In Galatians 3:24-25, the law had served formerly as a tutor not in the sense of a “gradual, educative influence on people, either by inclining them toward good until they receive Christ or by enabling them to realize their own sin . . . and desire the grace of Christ,”[5] but as a slave who acted as overseer of a young boy’s conduct as he went to and from school.  Thus, the law did not serve man at all to his benefit, but only in a supervisory sense.  This structure, Paul asserts has given way, through the maturity of salvation-history, to an era where a tutor is no longer needed “now that faith has come.”[6]  For, as the maturing of brain and muscle enables the growing youth to function without the need of supervision, the coming of faith enables the believer to “establish the law”[7] by fulfilling it willingly and truly.  Luther amplifies this idea further in saying that it is only when we have our will “perfected and made obedient by love” that we establish the law.[8]  It is an understanding of this principle, that the will is changed by the Spirit in that it can do or not do things according to God’s will, that prompted Paul to write “to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.”[9]  So, even though the coming of the Spirit does not necessarily affect impeccable behavior, it brings about a change in attitude toward God’s created order and will that justifies God’s declaring him righteous.

Christian man not under law

            Toward the end of his letter to the churches of Galatia, Paul made a bold statement in summary of much of his previous argument.  “But if you are led by the Spirit,” he wrote, “you are not under the law.”[10]  This assertion, which dove-tails into a discussion of the struggle between Spirit and flesh, shows that, in the new life of a believer, there is now a choice of whether to obey God or be in rebellion.  Prior to the presence of the Spirit in the believer, the flesh was in constant opposition to the law.[11]  Now, however, there exists a means by which the “desires of the flesh”[12] can be suppressed and the way of the Spirit allowed to prevail.  Since it was the law that aroused the desire of the flesh to rebel[13], thereby placing him in bondage, the freedom to obey God removes the believer from being under the law, that is, under the curse of the law.  “To be under grace – the grace of God brought near in Christ – is to be liberated simultaneously from the rule of law and the dominion of sin.”[14]  Paul provides amply clear illustrations to this fact in his analogies of slavery[15] and marriage.[16]  In these analogies, the slave (or wife) is obligated to obey and be faithful to their master (or husband) for a time.  There is an event, however, that severs this bond and allows for freedom.  Whether is it the analogous sale of the slave or death of the husband, the event in the life of man is clearly the death and resurrection of Christ.  Those under Christ, then, have been freed from their prior bond (to the law) and placed under an entirely different rule of life.  Here, as Luther pointed out, is a “profound teaching,” namely, that through the death of the old man by being buried with Christ, the law “can no longer subject us to sin, but has lost its power over us.”[17]  This freedom from being under the law, then, does not mean that the law is abrogated, or that it is irrelevant.  Rather, it means that 1) man no longer has to live in opposition to the law, but has the ability to obey God out of love rather than obligation, and 2) that man’s relationship with God is no longer dictated by his obedience to the law, but only by his acceptance of divine grace.

THE OLD AND THE NEW

            The Bible is sometimes said to tell two stories, and even to present two very different Gods.  Critics are quick to point out the God of the Old Testament – brutal, demanding, legalistic – stands in stark contrast to the loving, forgiving, even permissive God of the New Testament.  This analysis, while representing a stunted view of the message of Scripture, reveals a dichotomy that is difficult to overlook.  When understood through the lens of Pauline thought, this seeming reversal of tone is key to the message of salvation.  Instead of being a contradiction, however, where God “changes” somewhere in the 400 year gap between the testaments, it represents a dispensational transition in a story of salvation that was planned out before the laying of the foundations of the earth.  This transition manifests itself in (a) the message of Scripture, (b) the means of man’s interaction with God, and (c) the mode of life employed by man as he interacts with God’s standard of holiness.  Important to understand is this transition is not a change in theology.  That is, God did not deal with man in one way in the Old Testament and another in the New.  Rather, it is a transition in the sense that, in the New Testament, a new chapter in the story has unfolded which sheds light on earlier chapters. 

Law and gospel

            The first of these contrasts in Scripture is that between law and gospel.  Paul teaches these are created by God for the good of man.  The great Methodist preacher, C.F.W. Walther was quick to point this out, saying, “there are Gospel contents in the Old and law contents in the New . . . both have for their final aim man’s salvation.”[18]  What is important to recognize here is that the law’s role in salvation is not one of justifying man but, rather, it convinces man of his own depravity and drives him to accept the gospel through faith.  The law, which is knowable through man’s inner being, through nature, and through the Scriptures, is discoverable apart from specific revelation.  Paul makes it clear that this law is binding on all men[19] and that in light of its general revelation, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”[20]  Gospel, on the other hand cannot be discovered naturally.  Gospel must be revealed.  This act of divine grace, which God was not obliged to do, was not revealed in the hearts of man, but was “kept secret for long ages past.”[21]  The law, as Walther points out, tells us what to do.  Gospel, on the other hand, tells us nothing of the sort.  It only tells us what God is doing, making no demands whatsoever, but simply inviting us to partake in the life of Christ.  The law promises life on the condition that we obey it perfectly.  The Gospel, however, sets forth an invitation, not a condition.  The gospel does not contain any threats, while the law is replete with them.  This is a sobering revelation for many who have grown up in the modern-day church.  This delineation of threats as belonging to the law and not to the gospel reveals how legalistic the message can become when devoid of a full understanding of grace.  What Paul presents, then, is not a new way of obeying the commands of God.   Nor is it a means of abrogating the law.  His message, which is God’s timeless truth from the dawning of creation, is that God has justified mankind unconditionally, without requiring them to meet the rigorous demands of the law, and said, “Take what I give, and you have it.”[22]  It is no wonder that gospel is the word chosen for this message, for it is exceedingly good news!

Works and faith

            The second contrast that can be perceived is between works and faith.  Right away, one may point to Abraham and say, “But, Paul points out that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.  It was never about works, but only faith.”  This is indeed true – faith has always been the vehicle of salvation in God’s plan.  However, as has been pointed out above, when the law was introduced, it stipulated that man had to obey it entirely, or else find the law ineffectual for his salvation.  In Galatians 3:10, Paul makes it abundantly clear that, under the dispensation inaugurated by the giving of the law, “the law can only bring its own curse [never justification] . . . The impossibility of being justified by legal works is . . . based . . . on the fact that no one keeps the law perfectly.”[23]  In the following verse, he points out that “the law could not justify in any case, since it rests on works, and only faith gives life.”[24]  So, we can see that, while the law required works entirely in keeping with its demand to secure justification, the gospel requires only faith.

Flesh and spirit

            Thirdly, there is a contrast in the mode of operation active in the man who seeks God.  Under the law, the man sought God in the flesh.  That is, the only faculties available to assist man in obeying the law were those very faculties which, due to the fall, were corrupted to an extent that they stood in constant opposition to the law of God.  Paul depicts this deficiency in Romans 8, when he states “what the law could not do, weak as it was in the flesh.”[25]  The very fiber of man was polluted to such an extent that it could not possibly obey God.  Luther, commenting on St. Augustine, reminded his readers that “The law proved itself weak, because it did not accomplish what it commanded.  This was not the fault of the law, but that of the flesh, that is, of men, who, seeking earthly possessions, did not love the righteousness of the law, but preferred temporal advantages to it.”[26]  So, under the law, even when man obeyed the law of God, he was doomed, for he did not obey it because it was right, or because he loved the law, but because he feared the consequences of disobedience.   The man who lives under the gospel has, by the working of the Holy Spirit, the ability to actually love God’s law.  He does not necessarily have the means of fulfilling it perfectly, but he has Christ mediating where he fails.

            Here then, are seen three changes to the method by which God and man relate under the new covenant versus the old.  There is a change in the message, law versus gospel.  The change in message conveys God’s revelation to man in a new way, not new in God’s design, but in man’s understanding of the salvation story.  There is a change in the means by which man becomes pleasing to God, works and faith.  Where man could try in the old covenant, to please God through doing “the works of the law”, now it is by faith that he responds to God’s act of securing righteousness in Christ.  Finally, there is a change in the mode of life employed by man, flesh and Spirit.  In the strength of the flesh, it was impossible to please God because of the flesh’s innate rebellion against Him.  Now, by the Spirit, man is enabled to desire the things of God not for their temporal advantages, but for His glory.

CONCLUSION

            In the pages of the Pauline epistles to the Romans and Galatians, there exists a highly developed treatment of the place of the law, and of gospel, in the Christian era.  Both simple and profound, the message presented is one of freedom – freedom from the requirements of perfect obedience to the law, freedom to obey God willingly and joyfully, and freedom to rely on His strength rather than our own.  This good news acts as the capstone on salvation-history, shining light on both the original intent and fulfillment of the law.  Here Paul, the former legalist and Pharisee boldly declares that man is no longer bound to his tutor, but to Christ.  A new covenant has been instituted, a new era has dawned, and we who are free in Christ are free indeed!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bruce, F.F. Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free. Pbk. ed. Carlisle, Cumbria, UK: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000.

Bruce, F. F. The Book of Acts (new International Commentary On the New Testament). Rev Sub ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988.

Carson, D.A., and Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Mi: Zondervan, 2005.

Fee, Gordon D., and Douglas Stuart. How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, Mi: Zondervan, 2003.

Fung, Ronald Y. K. The Epistle to the Galatians (the New International Commentary On the New Testament). 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988.

Lea, Thomas D., and David Alan Black. The New Testament: Its Background and Message. 2nd ed. Nashville, Tn: B&H Academic, 2003.

Luther, Martin. Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians. Kindle Edition.

Luther, Martin. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1954.

Moo, Douglas J. The Epistle to the Romans. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996.

Walther, Dr. C. F. W. The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1928.

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[1] F.F. Bruce, Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free, Pbk. ed. (Carlisle, Cumbria, UK: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000), 326.

[2] Douglas J. Moo, The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996), 641.

[3] Matthew 5:7-20.

[4] Bruce, Apostle, 190.

[5] Ronald Y. K. Fung, The Epistle to the Galatians (the New International Commentary On the New Testament), 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988), 169.

[6] Galatians 3:25.

[7] Romans 3:31.

[8] Martin Luther, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1954), 64, 103.

[9] Romans 4:5.

[10] Galatians 5:18.

[11] Romans 8:7-8.

[12] Romans 8:16-17.

[13] Romans 7:8-11.

[14] Bruce, Apostle, 193.

[15] Romans 6:12- 23.

[16] Romans 7:1-6.

[17] Luther, Romans, 93.

[18] C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1928), 7.

[19] Romans 3.

[20] Romans 3:23.

[21] Romans 16:25.

[22] Walther, Law and Gospel, 10.

[23] Fung, Galatians, 146.

[24] Ibid.

[25] Romans 8:3.

[26] Luther, Romans, 103.