Don't pound the Law down on someone in despair!

[Lamb]

In another thread I brought up the proper distinction between Law and Gospel. One thing that preachers should keep in mind is that if someone is in despair over their salvation, you don't pound them over the head with more Law. They're in need of the Gospel, more specifically Jesus Christ and Him crucified for the forgiveness of sins.

Let's talk Law and Gospel in this thread and the proper distinction.

 

[Forgiven1]

When someone is in despair, they are feeling the full weight of the law. They know what they have done wrong. What they need to hear is that they are forgiven. That Jesus loves them. That Jesus died for those sins. The Gospel.

 

[Lamb]

When someone is in despair, they are feeling the full weight of the law. They know what they have done wrong. What they need to hear is that they are forgiven. That Jesus loves them. That Jesus died for those sins. The Gospel.

I totally agree! I've been to churches where they insist on pounding the law some more and I don't know why. At some point you have to turn away from us and toward Jesus.

 

[MoreCoffee]

In another thread I brought up the proper distinction between Law and Gospel. One thing that preachers should keep in mind is that if someone is in despair over their salvation, you don't pound them over the head with more Law. They're in need of the Gospel, more specifically Jesus Christ and Him crucified for the forgiveness of sins.

Let's talk Law and Gospel in this thread and the proper distinction.

How does a law/gospel distinction relate to The Joint Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation on the Doctrine of Justification?

 

[Lamb]

How does a law/gospel distinction relate to The Joint Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation on the Doctrine of Justification?

What about it?

 

[ApologeticCat]

Yes, it seems to me that instead of condemning someone with the law, it would be so much better to share the Gospel and perhaps gently offer the person one of God’s faithful promises such as:

For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

- Psalm 103:11-12

 

[MoreCoffee]

What about it?

I agree with you that tub thumping laws and rules is a bad idea when helping someone who is depressed.

The concept of Law and grace can be perplexing. Some evangelicals draw a stark contrast between the Old Covenant and the New, leading to the impression that the Law was negative and that the Old Testament should be disregarded because, as they put it, we are now under grace.

 

[Lamb]

I agree with you that tub thumping laws and rules is a bad idea when helping someone who is depressed.

The concept of Law and grace can be perplexing. Some evangelicals draw a stark contrast between the Old Covenant and the New, leading to the impression that the Law was negative and that the Old Testament should be disregarded because, as they put it, we are now under grace.

The Old Testament doesn't necessarily equal Law when speaking about Law/Gospel distinctions. There is a lot of Gospel within the Old Testament.

When I speak of Law, I speak of that which convicts us, it always accuses and is a curb, guide and mirror. When I speak of the Gospel, I speak of that which God uses for our salvation, and it points to Jesus and Him crucified for the forgiveness of our sins.

 

[Forgiven1]

The Law is to show us our sins, where we have done wrong. The gospel shows us our Savior, how we are made fight with God through forgiveness of those sins, putting us right. It is through our Savior, taking out sins with him in his death that we are made right upon our confessions of those sins

 

[Iconoclast]

In another thread I brought up the proper distinction between Law and Gospel. One thing that preachers should keep in mind is that if someone is in despair over their salvation, you don't pound them over the head with more Law. They're in need of the Gospel, more specifically Jesus Christ and Him crucified for the forgiveness of sins.

Let's talk Law and Gospel in this thread and the proper distinction.

The law leads sinners to Jesus. You cannot assume they understand their guilt before God.
The historic facts of the gospel do not save. Jesus saves sinners who are drawn to him, as the end of the law, for righteousness.Rom10:4

 

[Josiah]

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The LAW:

What is the Law? The Law is the will of God - flowing from His absolute perfection, holiness and justice. It is, in essence, that we be as He is - not in terms of essence but character.


Psalm 51:5 "I was sinful at birth"

Genesis 8:21, "Every inclination of man's heart is evil from childhood."

Romans 5:12, "Sin entered the world through one man's sin, and death through sin, and therefore death came to all men for all have sinned."

First John 3:4, "Sin is lawlessness"

Matthew 5:48, "You must be perfect even as God is perfect."

Romans 3:12, "There is no one who does good, not even one."

Mark 10:18, "There is none who is good but God exclusively."

First John 1:10, "If we claim we have no sin, we make God a liar."

There are at least 613 laws specifically written just in the Old Testament. Lots more in the New. We think often of the Ten Commandments but actually there are many, many more just in the OT - and still more in the NT.



What does the Law mandate? Essentially, that our character be identical to His.

Matthew 5:48, "You must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

1 Peter 1:16, "You must be holy even as God in heaven is holy."

John 15:12, "Love all people just as I (Jesus) first loved you."

Ephesians 4:32, "forgiving one another, just as God in Christ first forgave you."

First John 2:6, "Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did."

Philippians 2:5, "You must have the same attitude that Christ did."


The word "sin" literally means "to miss the mark." In ancient Greece, if an archer missed the target, the therefore "sinned" because he missed the mark, missed the target. The Bible says "ALL fall short." IF you have absolutely, perfectly, divinely, 24/7 "hit" all the targets above, then you are obedient and free of sin. Otherwise...... Well, the Bible would be correct and not lying when it says that "NO ONE is righteous, no, not even one." "For ALL fall short." "NO ONE is good." "If you claim to have no sin (you hit the mark), then you lie and call God a liar."


The LAW has two functions:

Civil - Our relationships in this fallen world. This was not given until around 1400 BC when the first Law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai, with a purpose of GUIDING peoples' relationships. This is very much like our own national laws - they govern relationships. Civil law does not get us into heaven, it helps us get along with others, it helps our society work better.... if everyone kept the law, this would be a nicer place in which to live and die (and eventually go to hell). This applies just as much to non-Christians as to Christians - it applies to all.

The Law cannot save - and in this first use, it's not remotely its intention. Now.... true..... IF we kept all the law, we'd go to heaven (because we would not NEED God or Christ or mercy or forgiveness or salvation or justification or the Cross or the Blood - we'd not need the Gospel - because we'd essentially be God: divinely perfect, divinely holy, divinely loving..... totally, absolutely..... 100%....... 24/7...... but then in that case, we'd not need the civil law because we'd be perfect - in nature, in being, in attitude, in thought, in word, in deed.

We can NEVER achieve the Law (and we don't). Like Paul, we must confess that we are "CHIEF OF SINNERS" and that we are not - not - perfect as God demands.... but we CAN press on toward that. Why? Because Jesus was a joke and Christianity is wrong - we gotta save ourselves? WE save SELF via the Law - by being absolutely 100% perfect just as God is perfect? Nope. We press on toward that because our life and our world would be a whole lot better off. And because it pleases God whom we love.

Theological - Our relationship to God. This is to drive us to our knees, to drive us to despair, to accuse us, to drive us to God's MERCY, God's HEART, God's FORGIVENESS..... to reveal the need for a Savior, a Cross. We CANNOT and ARE NOT what God intends and commands. That NO ONE is righteous..... NO ONE is good..... every other religion on the planet is fundamentally wrong because we cannot clean up our act and become what God mandates: absolutely perfect, absolutely holy, absolutely loving.... if anyone CLAIMS to be without sin (to always hit the mark), well.... to be blunt..... they LIE and DECEIVE themselves (but no one else - least of all God!). We are SINNERS! We MISS THE MARK! We are FALLEN! We need SALVATION, MERCY, JUSTIFICATION... IF we look to the LAW as the tool of salvation, ALL that happens is that we get slapped down - completely, totally, every time. (Note: THIS is why people want to water down the law SO MUCH as to make it unrecognizable, insulting God and the Law - all to make it so that we can boast "but I keep the Law - I don't need no God, no Christ, no Cross, no Blood, no mercy - I got ME!!!" All as an enemy of Christ, a destroyer of the Gospel, all in an attempt to substitute the theology of Judaism, Islam and Bhakti Hinduism in place of Christianity - to promote THEIR soteriology which is "Self saves self although because of the TIME and HELP which God provides")

The theological use is to ask ourselves, "Am I all that God commands?" The only reasonable answer is: "NO!" And thus to flee to the mercy seat of God, the heart of God..... He who says "Yes" the Bible specifically says is a "fool" and is a "liar"

BOTH of these functions continue after justification..... we are STILL called to be absolutely, divinely PERFECT, we are still called to live civilly in society; indeed Christians have unique commands: to love EXACTLY as Christ did, to LIVE exactly as Christ did, to make disciples of all 7.3 billion people, etc. The Law doesn't disappear or get watered down to nothing (as some Christians insist) when we are justified... but it also has nothing to do with our justification just because we are justified.


Continues in next post....



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[Josiah]

Continuing from above....


The GOSPEL


What is the Gospel? It is the heart of God, the mercy of God, the grace of God, the blessings and gifts of God, what God has done FOR us, the gifts from God, the promises of God - all in view of CHRIST alone: the Cross, the Blood, the Empty Tomb.


Galatians 2:21, "If justification were through the Law then Christ died for no purpose."

Philippians 3:9, "Not because of our works, lest anyone can boast."

Romans 3:20, "No human being will be justified in God's sight by works of the Law."

First John 4:10, "Not that we love God but rather that He loves us."

First John 4:8, "God is love."

John 3:16, "For God so (unconditionally) love the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but has everlasting life."

Romans 5:8, "God shows His love for us in that while we were enemies of God, Christ died for us."

First John 2:2, "Christ is the atoning sacrifice for our sins."

Titus 3:5, "God saves us not because of our deeds of righteousness but rather in view of His own mercy."

Romans 6:23, "The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus."

Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing but rather it is the free gift of God."

John 3:36, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life."



This Gospel also applies to our lives as Christians....

Hebrews 13:5, "I will never leave you or forsake you."

First John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, God is faithful to His promise and will forgive our sins."

.... and so VERY much more.... all entirely because of the heart of God, the unconditional love of God, the mercy of God.... in view of the Lamb, the Blood, the Cross, the Christ, the Savior.




The Law does not negate or cancel or diminish the Gospel.... nor does the Gospel negate, cancel or diminish the Law... both are real, both are true, both stand in ALL their force and truth... and they can only accomplish their task if we allow them to stand FULLY - not watering them down, not confusing them, not entangling them, not misapplying them. A Christian (one who is justified, narrow - by Christ ALONE, by the SAVIOR, via the Cross, because of the Gospel!) is still called to absolute, total, divine perfection, holiness, obedience, love... still called to always, perfectly HIT THE MARK, right on, every time, 24/7, as much as God does, in our nature, our being, our attitude, our thoughts, our words, our deeds: both for civil reasons AND so that we realize we fail and need Gods' mercy. We strive forward because we love God and because this is the will of God..... but we never fully attain it, we miss the mark, we fall short more often and more greatly than we realize. And so, thanks be to God, the Gospel remains (FULLY, completely, in all its' power and force and beauty): God is merciful, God forgives, because of the Lamb, because of the Cross, because of the Blood, because of His unconditional love, because of His Son, because there is the SAVIOR - Jesus Christ.






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