What is the relationship between the Law and the Gospel? I like the way it's put in The Gospel-Centered Life:
"The law drives us to the gospel and the gospel frees us to obey the law. Realizing all that God expects of us should drive us in despair to Christ. And once we are united with Christ, the indwelling Holy Spirit causes us to delight in God's law and gives us power to obey it."
Does the writer mean the Mosaic Law? Or is he referring to the fact that we delight in obeying the sum of the law and the prophets, that is, to love the Lord with all of your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself?
ReplyDeleteJason
He doesn't really specify, but I have to assume he's talking about the sum of the Law. He obviously isn't talking about performing animal sacrifices.
ReplyDeleteBut the Mosaic Law really is summed up in those two great commands, isn't it? I think he's saying that seeing God's demands drives us to the Cross, but then the Spirit empowers us, by His grace, to obey His commands.
Jason,
ReplyDeleteMaybe a little more context will be clarifying to see what he's getting at in the quote. In the preceding paragraph, the writer contrasts two different ways that Christians regard the law (however that's defined): legalism and license.
Legalism, of course, believing that God's approval is dependent on their obedience to God's commands. Licentious people (or we might say antinomians) believe that since we are under grace, obeying God's commands is irrelevant.
After saying that both of these ways are destructive to the gospel, the writer makes the statement that I quoted in the post.
Does that help?