On the Law Law (3 of 3)
The Law is Good!
1 Timothy 1:8 (ESV)
8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully,
One great debate in the pages of the New Testament is this: what does it mean to use the law “lawfully?”
To be clear, Paul, in writing to Timothy, is not concerned about his keeping of ceremonial laws or civil laws in the Old Testament. Rather, Paul seems to be concerned that Timothy commands obedience to the moral law. The moral law can be summarized by appealing to the 10 commandments. Timothy is free to eat bacon, it seems. He is not free, however, to steal pigs.
The problem some Christians run into is that they begin to think about the Christian life in terms of law-keeping. That is, they measure their own righteousness by how well they have kept or have tried to keep the 10 Commandments.
I distinctly remember being in youth group and hearing a conversation between two adult volunteers. They were teaching a group of teenagers a simple lesson about basic morality. Essentially, no one should lie, steal, murder, or commit adultery. That’s a fine thing for a youth group to talk about.
What I’ll never forget is that there was a murderer among us.
One leader stated, “Now I know none of you in this room have committed murder, but you get the idea. We are to be kind to our neighbors.”
At that point in time, one of the other leaders chimed in. She said, “I’ve committed murder.”
This was a statement that would make anyone’s jaw drop. She continued by appealing to the words of Jesus in Matthew 6.
Matthew 5:21–22 (ESV)
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
As soon as I recognized the fact that my safety was no longer in danger, I sat puzzled. Who was right? Is murder actually different than anger? Sure Jesus doesn’t want us to be mad, but isn’t murder a much bigger deal than anger?
You can see the distinction. If we measure our Christian life based on the inclinations of our wicked hearts, we will never be assured of our salvation before God. Our works are wicked and our best works are stained with sin.
And yet, if we consider the “letter” of the law and not the “spirit,” it is true that many who are reading likely have never actually murdered someone, something that couldn’t be said about men like Moses, David, or Paul.
One side of the equation tends towards self-righteousness: “I am no murderer.” The other tends towards despair: “I murder people every day.”
How can one use the law lawfully?
Objection
Some might object that we are no longer under the law but under grace. In fact, Paul suggests just that (Romans 6:14-15). Therefore, the law has no relationship to the Christian life. However, this does not appear to be the way Paul understands the law. Rather, he demonstrates that the law has no power to justify the sinner, for by works of the law no one will be saved (Gal. 2:16). And yet, we do not overthrow the law, we uphold it (Rom. 3:31).
How can a Christian be expected to not keep the law for salvation, and yet keep the law after salvation? Does this make sense at all for the Christian life? I fear if we don’t think clearly about this issue, we are headed towards a road of self-righteous legalism or self-condemning introspection.
Was Abraham Justified by Works?
One way Christians have sought to explain this situation was by stating that Christians receive grace from God but they must cooperate with that grace by doing good works and so be assured of their final justification. In fact, the Roman Catholic Church condemns the idea of justification by “Faith Alone” in the Council of Trent. Canon 9 of Session 6 states:
Canon 9
If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone, meaning that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to obtain the grace of justification, and that it is not in any way necessary that he be prepared and disposed by the action of his own will, let him be anathema.
The Roman Catholic doctrine of justification is very different from the one articulated by the Reformers. The important word here is “cooperate.” This view of justification does not deny grace, it simply advocates for a grace that cooperates with man’s works. Therefore, it is believing on Christ + law keeping that causes a sinner to be justified. Nevertheless, for the Romanist, this justification can be lost and subsequently renewed, depending upon the type of sin one commits.
This might all sound confusing, but this is one way to deal with the tension the law presents. The Catholic church has given an answer to how one can not be under the law and yet still be required to uphold the law. The Catholic Church simply blends together the righteousness of Christ and the righteousness of the Christian. The catholic church has actually answered the question quite succinctly.
The problem is that they have answered the question incorrectly.
Sadly, it is not just the Roman Catholic Church that posited such an explanation. One well-known Puritan, Richard Baxter, sounds remarkably similar to the Roman Catholic Church in his teaching on Justification. One finds in his work, Aphorisms on Justification, the following remark:
Thesis 60. The bare Act of beleeving is not the onely Condition of the New Covenant: but severall other duties also are parts of that Condition.
- Richar Baxter, Aphorisms on Justification
(Cited in “Reforming the Reformed Pastor,” by James Renihan).
The principal place in Scripture these kinds of teachers might journey to prove this doctrine is James 2, where Abraham is stated to be “justified by works.”
James 2:21 (ESV)
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
Many Christians have stumbled over James’ words here. And yet, this passage is not a defeat of justification by faith alone, but of justification by faith and works cooperating together.
We must recall that what the Scripture quotes in v 23 occurs prior to what is quoted in v 21. God had declared Abraham righteous in Genesis 15. Abraham offered up Isaac in Genesis 22. Genesis 22 was Abraham’s “justification by works.” But who was Abraham justified before? Was Abraham justified before God on the basis of his works?
Romans 4:2 (ESV)
2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
If you read back to v 18, you see the following:
James 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
The point of Abraham as an example is this: those who have been justified by faith will show their faith before others by acts of righteous obedience. Abraham was not justified before God by offering his son Isaac. No, in fact, James himself says that Abraham is “showing” his faith to others by this radical act of obedience.
To boil it all down, keeping the moral law plays no part in our justification before God. If that sounds too radical, continue to read Romans and Galatians. Keeping the moral law as a Christian demonstrates our justification before other people. God sees the heart - he knows who has true faith. The only way human beings can discern whether or not someone has true faith is by seeing their works.
Abraham was justified before he ever offered Isaac as a sacrifice. The offering of a sacrifice was not the grounds of his justification. It was the fruit of it. Keeping that distinction is essential for the Christian life.
Law Keeping
So, what is a Christian to do?
The Second London Confession is helpful here:
Although true believers are not under the law as a covenant of works, to be thereby justified or condemned, yet it is of great use to them as well as to others, in that as a rule of life, informing them of the will of God and their duty, it directs and binds them to walk accordingly;
- Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689) 19.6
We are not to keep the ceremonial or civil laws of the Old Testament. Rather, we are to keep the laws of the 10 commandments as a way of demonstrating our fidelity to Christ. Therefore, the moral law functions for a Christian as a “Rule of Life.” It is a way of walking with the Lord, in accordance with his wisdom, that causes us to be more like Christ day by day.
I find it helpful to think of the 10 commandments as a compass. You are lost in the woods. You know your home is in heaven, but you don’t know which way to walk in order to get there. The Commandments point us in the direction of true north, and we ought to walk in the direction that they point. The hope is not that by walking down the right path we might earn a home in heaven. No, we already have a home there. We’re trying to get home. The 10 commandments point us in the direction of our home. The Christian life is a long walk home toward heaven. The 10 commandments, the moral law, keep us walking down the right road.
So who was right? The youth leader who was a murderer or the youth leader who wasn’t? In a sense, both were. The one demonstrated that the Law of God restrains us from committing every evil we could possibly imagine. The other demonstrated how desperately sinful our hearts are before the Lord. The Christian ought to think, from time to time, in both ways.
On the one hand, we ought to be thankful for the way God’s grace has sanctified us so that we are not actually murderers. On the other hand, we ought to mourn the way our sinful hearts hate our fellow man and desire to be more conformed to the image of Christ. All the while, we ought to be grateful for Jesus, our Surety and law-keeper, who perfectly obeyed the law of God to credit us with his perfect righteousness.
Now, when we obey, we are simply working out our salvation, not in hopes that we might merit heaven by our obedience, but in confidence that Christ has won a home for us, and we are journeying through this life to live with him there.