The ABCs of the Protestant False Gospel: Law; Romans 3:21, Life; Galatians 3:21, and Curse; Galatians 3:10
The American church isn’t impressive? Maybe a false gospel is the problem.
A challenge to all pastors; this Sunday, pass out a slip of paper to all your congregants with this question: “Christ obeyed the law perfectly so that we could be saved, true? Or false?” I am willing to bet all slips will be returned with, “true.” If we don’t even know the gospel, how can we communicate it to those who don’t?
A. According to the Reformation gospel, salvation/justification is predicated on a perfect keeping of the law. Hence, Christ’s death and perfect obedience both are needed to secure salvation. This means justification must progress through the Christian life to glorification via the same way we originally obtained it: by faith alone.* This contradicts a justification that is APART from the law.
Romans 3:21, 28
The Calvin Institutes: 3.14.1-21
B. The Protestant gospel therefore propagates a law that can give life; who keeps it is not relevant. A fulfilled law paves the way for salvation. This completely contradicts Pauline apostolic doctrine (see Galatians, particularly 3:21).
C. This means we are all under a curse because we are still under law. Again, who keeps the law is not relevant—we are still UNDER it as justification’s standard for righteousness (Galatians 3:10-14). In the book of Romans, the very definitions of the lost versus the saved are, “under grace” and “under law” (Romans 6:14,15). If the perfect keeping of the law by Christ brings life, life is not imparted separate from the law, and we are still under the law, and therefore under a curse.
Christ became that curse for us and eradicated the law as a standard for our justification (Romans 10:4). Christ is the end of the law “FOR righteousness” (ie., justification) to everyone who believes. Those still under the law will be judged by the law at the great white throne judgment, but the law has NOTHING to say about a righteous standing to those who are under grace (Romans 3:19). Christ didn’t fulfill the law for our justification, he paid the price for its penalty. By that one act we are saved, not that plus multiple acts of obedience (Hebrews 10:12, 14).†
*Like the Catholicism that it came from, perpetual forgiveness of sins to remain saved is efficacious and can only be found in the institutional church, and administered by elders (or priests) and the sacraments.
The Calvin Institutes: 4.1.20-22
Timothy J. Wengert: A Contemporary Translation of Luther’s Small Catechism; Augsburg Fortress PUB 1994, pp.35,49
† This gargantuan problem hasn’t been lost on many Reformed thinkers. New Covenant Theology was created in an attempt to reconcile this problem. It posits the idea that Christ FULFILLD the law by His perfect obedience and replaced it with the “law of Christ.” Depending on the type of camp in this theology, certain parts of the Old Testament law were abrogated, and replaced with new laws that Christ ushered in. Others teach that the law was replaced with the single “law of love.”
However, the results are exactly the same: some law is still the standard for our justification, and the role of the law (or some form of it) remains the same in pre-salvation and post-salvation resulting in antinomianism. The Reformed definition of antinomianism follows:
The law is NOT the standard for justification (the Reformed disagree, but believe Christ keeps it/kept it/fulfilled it/ for us).
The Biblical definition of antinomianism follows:
The role of the law does not change in regard to justification and sanctification.
paul
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
If Christ did not fullfill the law by his perfect obedience then why does he say “I did not come to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them? (playing devils advocate here)
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Anon,
The key is in the verses prior to, and following that verse. Christ states that He came to fulfill the law, so… 13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that[b] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
And…18 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. 19 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. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,[they were antinomians] you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Now jump to Romans 8:3.4
3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,[c] he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
ANSWER: CHRIST CAME TO FULFILL THE LAW IN BORN AGAIN BELIEVERS WHO ARE NOT UNDER IT FOR JUSTIFICATION, BUT ENSLAVED TO IT FOR GOD’S GLORY (Romans 7:25, Romans 8:7,8).
Christ also came to put the works of the devil to death in us as well:
1John3:8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
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And by the way, in the same way that the law is broken at every point by one act of disobedience, it is fulfilled by the believer by ONE act of love.
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Paul, would you agree that Christ “fulfilled the law” by his death on the cross. The law demands death and he offered himself as the ONLY propitious (or satisfactory) sacrifice for sin, thus opening the door for mercy and grace for all who believe. The fact that he lived a perfect life on earth – more perfect than any law could demand – is what qualified him to be that sacrifice, and to glorify God.. His death was vicarious, but not his law-keeping. (a righteousness apart from the law).
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Randy,
I reject with prejudice on any wise that Christ had to show himself as adequate in regard to being a sacrifice that God would accept. He was that by virtue of His name alone. He was that by virtue of who He is. There was nothing that could have “qualified” Christ. By what standard? By what standard is God shown as adequate? Did Christ fulfill the law on the cross? Sure, any one act of love fulfills the law. But He also “fulfill[ed]” all righteousness when He was baptized by John the baptist. I agree wholeheartedly with your statement…” His death was vicarious, but not his law-keeping. (a righteousness apart from the law).”
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Right on Paul!
Christ did not need “perfect obedience” to justify- He is perfect obedience Himself; He is God. Love already accomplished the task. That is why Christ stated that He did not come into this world to judge, but to save it.
Christ’s perfect LOVE is what saved mankind. It is our responsibility to accept and believe it.
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I get your point, and I agree with it. Poorly worded on my part.
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Well, I have a long way to go on wording myself as we are dealing with an ideology that has been drilled into the American church for 200 years.
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“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:17,18)
This teaches not that the law will always be in force until the heavens and earth pass, it teaches that the law would not pass until Christ fulfilled it. Which he did, on the cross.
“Jesus answered … The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13,14).
These few words vividly describe the life under grace. They can best be understood when considered in contrast to the conditions of the life under law. The law is an external force that would restrain and suppress the natural desires of the flesh. The law says, Thou shalt and thou shalt not. The life under law is bondage. But the life of the one who drinks of the water of life is not one subject to outward restraint but a life that is like a well that springs up from within. It is the normal outliving of the new divine nature which is the possession of everyone that is born of God. Just as the life of an apple tree, when properly cared for, issues in fruit, so the unhindered natural operation of the divine life within the believer issues in the fruit of the Spirit. When this is seen and fully understood there will be no desire to hold on to the law as a means to Christian conduct.”
This is where you and I are going to disagree, Paul. If I understand what you are getting at. We are not enslaved to the law for God’s glory, we are enslaved to righteousness for God’s glory. There is a difference.
The Mosaic law is done. Finished. Done away with by Christ on the Cross. The way I see it the word should never be used among Christians except to teach the futility of living by it. Why would we want to even refer to it?
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Anon,
Your right–we do disagree. All your statements above are plausible theory, and not the definitive biblical paradigm. The lost are enslaved to sin, free to do good, have the works of the law written on their hearts with their consciences either accusing or excusing, and will be judged by the law. The saved are enslaved to the law, informed by it on how to control the body, free to sin, and will not be judged by the law for justification. The saved are free from the law for justification, and enslaved to the law for sanctification. The Bible is very specific on this.
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The righteousness we are enslaved to is way more than “law righteousness”. The Pharisees were perfect law keepers yet were antinomians because they lived by the letter and not by the spirit.
The works of the law are written on the losts’ hearts because the law is their schoolmaster to bring them to Christ. After faith has come, there is no more law. Galatians.
The law was put into effect to bring us to Christ, and then to follow the “new and living way”. This is the life controlled by the Holy Spirit, not controlled by any law. I died to the law (Romans 7) with Christ.
4 Likewise, my brethren, you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 While we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.
Galatians 2:20
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
I do not live a new life (sanctification) by the law, I live it by faith in Christ. This is not passive, sitting here waiting for Christ to “manifest” Himself through me, but the concept of living our sanctified Christian life through faith is still biblical. I must believe (faith) that with Christ I died to sin, believe it to be true, or I cannot do anything through the Holy Spirit. Everything I do if it is not done in faith is my flesh trying to live by the law.
Do you teach that a believer does not have two natures?
The Bible clearly says the just (those who are justified) shall live by faith, not by any law. If I am living in faith that I am dead to sin but alive in Christ, I don’t need any law to tell me not to covet, or to steal, etc. I live in the “new and living way” of the Spirit.
I dunno, am I missing something here? What do I have wrong?
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Anon,
You have everything wrong. Let me unravel your typical Reformed take on Justification and sanctification. First of all, if you are going to be a good New Calvinist, you have to get the terminology correct. What you have redefined as antinomianism by misrepresenting the Pharisees as really, really good at keeping the law is “neonomianism” among the New Calvinist. For the most part, they deny that their is any such thing as antinomianism. The Pharisees where not law keepers; Christ said they made the law void by replacing it with their traditions. He said they were full of “lawlessness” on the inside. The word for lawlessness is “anomia” which is “antinomianism” in the English. They didn’t “live by the letter” that’s a bunch of baloney.
Secondly, “the works of the law” written on the hearts of unbelievers is not the same as the written law. Those who have not the law will be judged WITHOUT the law accordingly. They will be judged according to their consciences. It’s not the same schoolmaster as Galatians is talking about. The “works of the law” doesn’t contain the gospel. “Faith comes by HEARING THE WORD.”
Thirdly, a “schoolmaster” didn’t lead anybody anywhere. It refers to the law being a guardian until the testator of the will died, and we received our full inheritance. Until then, sin was imputed to the law (“bound up in the Scriptures”). Besides, Reformed theology teaches that the law continues to be the schoolmaster to lead believers to Christ, so don’t give me that Reformed schoolmaster crap.
Fourthly, the word for “serve” in Romans 7:25 is a form of doulos, which refers to slavery. So how can you say it is not a law righteousness? What’s the deal here, you get to make up your own grammar rules?
Fifthly, we died to the law in regard to being UNDER IT for justification. UNDER GRACE is not sanctification by faith alone. Faith alone in sanctification is dead faith–being alone. The law informs our sanctification and teaches us how to control our bodies. Your take fuses justification and sanctification together.
Sixth, Galatians 2:20 is NOT talking about sanctification; look at the verses prior and after, the subject is clearly justification. We are sustained by Christ even though we died. In regard to the old man who was under law, it is not us who live. That is what Paul is talking about. But again, look at the clear context. it is justification, NOT sanctification.
Seventh, no, the Christian does not have two natures. One is dead, and the new creature is the only one who lives.
Eighth, the just are “made alive by faith.” Even the ESV has a footnote rendering it that way. The two verses, one in the NT and one in the OT are not saying that we live by faith alone in sanctification. That is a dead faith, being alone without works.
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The 10 commandments are not done away with. We must know, teach & live by them. It is not futile to live by the law of the country one is in (as long as it doesn’t contradict God’s law). One will find themselves in jail quickly & rightly if a just law is broken, Christian or not. May just laws be in place until Jesus comes again!
Whether one wants to follow Christ or not, well that’s their choice.
BTW, the law is a good indicator, a good place to start, in determining whether or not conduct is Christ-like.
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I agree that this one has been so drilled into heads that it almost needs an intervention!
I start somewhere different because while I may not understand like Paul does, I do get his point. But, I think focusing on the Law of Moses really gets us off track.
But, lets turn it around. How many people sitting in churches all over America believe that those who are saved keep on sinning, sinning, sinning?
Most do, btw
If that is so, then why do they believe that?
They have been told that they are born in sin, totally depraved but that Jesus hung on the cross for their forgiveness and knows they cannot be “perfect”. So because they cannot be perfect, they are “sinners”. So we have a problem with the definition to begin with. Then we have a problem they really do not believe that Jesus Christ vanquished the power evil has over us. We are saved but still evil!
This is totally the wrong focus and is why we find Christendom not a safe place as it is filled with charlatans, pedophiles, thieves, greed, arrogance, etc, etc. who are “saved”.
I will ask what is the point of the Holy Spirit when we think of the “law”? (I am sincerely asking…not a rhetorical question) because the Gentiles had no real dealings with the “Law of Moses”.
Has anyone noticed also the focus is on mostly the cross which is an imbalance to the resurrection? They go hand in hand when it comes to meaning for us.
Has anyone noticed that the idea of repentance is that it is not really about “changing” from inside out yet that is how it was understood in the 1st Century. Literally a total change of life. That has been lost.
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Lydia,
They believe it because the law remains the standard for justification to those who believe. That’s the Achilles’ heel of Calvinism.
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“They believe it because the law remains the standard for justification to those who believe. That’s the Achilles’ heel of Calvinism.”
I really do not get that part since they believe believers were chosen before Adam even sinned. It all seems like one big puppet show to me.
But what I hear you saying is that Gentiles will be judged by their conscious since they were not given the law and believing Gentiles are law keepers but only in sanctification?
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Lydia, I would agree with everything you said in your post.
Paul, no need to get testy with me. I have been and always will be a supporter of you and this site. I am simply trying to understand what you believe and to test it through the lens of Scripture, not any mere “theology” I could give a rats butt about “theology”. I want to search what the Scriptures say and test all things. I don’t understand everything you are saying, and I am not reading theology or doctrine off a cue card.
I will digest all these things and study and I may or may not agree with you in the end. But it will not be because of any system of mere doctrine or theology.
I will ask one question. If the Christian does not have two natures, what is Paul taking about in Romans 7
“21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”
So what is “the flesh”? And does this passage (entire chapter) not describe a born again believer trying to live by the law? Please tell me how you see it.
This is the way I see it. I will be the first to admit I may be wrong:
If I,as a born again Christian, go back to the law and put myself under it, even for sanctification, the law still brings out the sin that is still in me (the renmant of sin in my mortal body) because this was the purpose of the law to begin with. It occupies me with myself and makes me miserable because I constantly break it. It all ends with “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of Death?”
If I died to sin in Christ I must have died to law as well, since by the law sin becomes sin.
Please don’t jump all over me. This discussion is good and I am learning. Again I am not repeating some Institute or confession or creed. I was raised with none of that crap and never even knew a confession or creed until a short time ago.
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