Mucky Declarations

The law of God and its role in salvation. So in order to try and elaborate on some of the frustrations from my previous post, I'm going to try and expound on this topic. There are really three views of God's law within Christianity, and only one of which I believe is appropriate. Here they are, in order of most to least messed up. Legalism Legalism is the belief that that adherance to Mosaic law somehow attains or maintains justification for the believer. In a nutshell, this is a belief in a works-based salvation. Biblical warrant for this position is fabricated from passages such as John 14:15, which often relate a positive relationship with God to keeping his commandments. Other passages make it seem like christian perfection is something that is really obtainable in this life (Matt. 5:48, 1 John 3:9). However, we should not fail to remember the human condition, which is completely depraved before God. Our righteousness is nothing but filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), we have all sinned and deserve death (Rom. 3:23 & 6:23), and if at any point we are guilty of breaking one command of the law, we are guilty for trespassing against all of it (James 2:10). Even as believers, granted a new nature by which we are able to do anything positive in the eyes of God, are sure to slip into sin (Rom. 7:14ff). The 1 John passage above is clarified by an earlier statement in that book, which shows that even believers should not claim sinlessness (1 John 1:8). Finally, we must remember the creature/creator distinction by which we know that no man may merit or obligate God to grant him anything. The only reason by which we are saved in this covenant of grace is God's faithfulness to his promise through the sacrifice of Christ. A perfect creature, even a sinless Adam, could not have demanded reward for his behavior apart from God's adherance to the system that he installed. God is under no obligation to give a "righteous" man anything, for even a "righteous" man is subordinate to a truly perfect God. The most a "righteous" man could ever do in the eyes of God is simply his duty. He has no right to any sonship apart from God's promise, grace, and faithfulness. Antinomianism Antinomianism is quite the opposite of legalism, and states that the law has absolutely no part in God's salvific plan, and that a believer has no obligation whatsoever to obey it. Now, we must be careful here, because this is a half truth that has been stretched beyond the biblical bounds. We are certainly saved by grace through faith, and not in our works (Eph. 2:8-9), and are described as "dead to the law" in Gal. 2:19. Other verses seem to give a hefty portion of liberty to believers (1 Cor. 10:23). This emphasis on grace over the law in scriptures is to be seen within the context of the Judaism of the day, which had been skewed to look like simple pelagianism. The entire book of Galatians was written to combat this works-salvation, and in that book it is clear that the law was intended as a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ (3:24). This schoolmaster, as we will soon see, is intended to lead us onto (after salvation) instruction in righteousness and good works (2 Tim. 3:14-17). This, however, does not give us warrant to completely ignore God's law in our lives. Such "free-gracers" that advocate this position state that one may be truly saved, and then continue perpetually in a state of unrepentant sin with no sign of remorse or guilt. This is in direct contravention of biblical texts that state that we are a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17) and that the believer will not continue in the path that he formerly walked (Eph. 4:22, 1 Pet. 1:14), thanks to the sanctifying grace of God (1 Thes. 5:23-24). Much of the "easy believism" that has pervaded the modern evangelical church is responsible for the perpetuation of this error. An overemphasis on evangelism to the detriment of discipleship will enevitably lead to a doctrine that treats a single moment of conversion with greater importance than the rest of the christian experience. Pronomianism A correct view of the law is that adherance to it is instrumental to our final salvation. God is the initatior of salvation, and the "worker" in us that leads to our sanctification, which produces in us works that will be required of us upon glorification. These works are certainly imperfect through us, but just as the Holy Spirit "translates" our imperfect prayers, so Christ transfers his perfect work to us, and transforms our works into something pleasing to God. Faith without works is dead faith (James 2:17). There are dozens of admonitions to first century christians to proceed in good works (Heb. 10:24, Tit. 2:14, Eph. 2:10. We are called to know brothers by their fruits (Matt. 7:16), and to discipline one who calls himself a brother who is unrepentant in sin (1 Cor. 5:11-13) Romans provides the most complete elaboration about the role of the law in the life of the believer: 1. The law supplies a knowledge of sin, and is not intended to save. (3:20) 2. The believer's status of "dead to the law" is not a license to sin. (6:15) 3. The law is holy and useful, and the believer will delight in it. (7:12, 22) 4. The law was fulfilled by Christ, and is the end of the law for all that believer. We were redeemed from sin to walk in the works of the Spirit. (8:3-5, 10:4)