The Reformed confessions of faith all affirm that God made a “covenant of works” with Adam in the Garden of Eden. For example, The Second London Baptist Confession 20.1 explicitly refers to this covenant: “The covenant of works being broken by sin, and made unprofitable unto life….” But some aren’t sure the doctrine is found in the Bible. This post will set out some of the main arguments for the covenant of works found in Holy Scripture.
Consider the creation of the first man in Genesis 2:7-8, which says, “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.” Here God created the man before He planted the garden. Then Genesis 2:15, says God “put” the man in the garden. So, God made Adam outside of the Garden in a state of nature. But then God put Adam in the Garden and we will see that God made a covenant with him. In Genesis 2:16-17, we find a threat of death. These verses say, “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” This threat of death is a curse. The fact that Adam could die implies something about Adam’s natural state. Prior to eating from the tree, Adam was mutable. He could have sinned or not sinned. He was able to die or not. The Genesis account not only reveals the threat of death in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but it also reveals the promise of eternal life in the tree of life. Genesis 3:22-24 says: “Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.” This promise of “forever” or “eternal” life shows that Adam might have obeyed God to obtain a blessing. The promise of eternal life in Genesis 3 implies that the death threatened in Genesis 2:16-17 was “eternal” death. The promise of “eternal” life further shows us that something about Adam’s nature would have changed had he obeyed God. We’ve already seen that prior to obtaining the promise of eternal life, Adam had a mutable nature that could have sinned or not sinned. But if Adam obtained eternal life, the text tells us that he would love forever. That necessarily means that would be unable to fall or die. He would reach an immortal state of glory. All of these passages of Scripture contain the elements of a covenant. But what is a covenant? We could define a covenant as sworn oath or promise between at least two people. Covenants set the terms of inter-personal relationships. We might also call a covenant a “guaranteed commitment.” Sometimes covenants have commands attached to promises. Other times they are bare promises. Divine covenants are sovereignly imposed promises and they often have commands attached. So what elements in the Genesis narrative reveal the presence of a covenant? There were two parties: God and Adam, who was the federal head of all creation. There was a command: don’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This was a test in which Adam was required to obey God. There was a threat: you will surely die. And it had a promise: eternal life. Those are all elements of a covenant: parties, command, threat and promise. Now some say there is no covenant in Genesis 2 because the word “covenant” (berith) does not appear. But that assertion contains some assumptions. It assumes that a word has to be present for a doctrine to be present. This is called the word-thing fallacy. A word does not have to be present for a thing to be present. Consider these reductio-ad-absurdum arguments applied to the idea that a word has to be present in a text for the doctrine to be present. The word “Trinity” doesn’t appear in Genesis 1, but does that mean that the Trinity didn’t create the world? Of course not, we know from later revelation that the Trinity created the world. The word “marriage” doesn’t appear in Genesis 2, but clearly there is a marriage covenant between Adam and Eve. We know that marriage is a covenant from later revelation. The words “sin” and “fall” don’t occur in Genesis 3, but we know that Adam sinned in Genesis 3 because later revelation defines sin as a transgression of the law of God. Consistency would demand that people deny the existence of the Trinity in Genesis 1, the existence of marriage in Genesis 2, and the existence of sin in Genesis 3 if the absence of a word means that the doctrine isn’t present. Further Scriptural Proof of the Covenant of Works The the use of God’s covenant name “Yahweh” (tetragrammaton: yhvh) appears in Genesis 2:4-25, while the general name God, or “Elohim” appears earlier in Genesis 1:1-2:3. But God’s personal name, Yahweh, is associated with covenants throughout the Bible; so, this use of God’s covenantal name in Genesis 2 is one strong indication that there is a covenant in Genesis 2. Hosea 6:6-7 expressly speaks of a covenant with Adam. This is a case of later revelation explaining earlier revelation. It says, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me.” Some interpreters translate this to say that “like men,” they transgressed the covenant, since the Hebrew word Adam can be translated man. But it makes no sense that men could sin in a way other than “like men” sin. Could men sin like animals, or like angels? Israel could only have sinned “like men,” since they were men. Other interpreters say “Adam” was a city where Israel sinned. But there is no biblical record of Israel sinning at a town named “Adam.” Therefore, it’s best to take Hosea 6:6-7 as saying that the Israelites transgressed their covenant, just like Adam transgressed his covenant. Job 31:33 does not mention a covenant but refers to Adam in a similar way, showing that Hosea 6 isn’t unique. Resources for Law and Gospel study I pray you find these resources helpful in your Christian life and ministry. Law and Grace. Sermon by Charles Spurgeon The Spurgeon Library | Law and Grace Christ the End of the Law. Sermon by Charles Spurgeon The Spurgeon Library | Christ the End of the Law The Spurgeon Library | Jehovah Tsidkenu-The Lord Our Righteousness https://heidelblog.net/2024/03/letter-and-spirit/. A chapter from an excellent book. This chapter provides a history of law/gospel and specifically helps with preaching. Mike Abendroth Law and Gospel on American Gospel t.v. A short video series. Martin Luther sermon on law/gospel distinction LutherSermon.pdf (ccle.org) Lee Irons on the 3rd use of the law. The Law in the Hand of Christ (upper-register.com). The Modern Marrow Man podcast with Tom Hicks and John Divito. Modern Marrow Men on Apple Podcasts Books The Doctrine of Law and Grace Unfolded – John Bunyan. The Doctrine of Law and Grace Unfolded · Great Christian Books · Online Store Powered by Storenvy True Bounds of Christian Freedom - Samuel Bolton. The True Bounds of Christian Freedom - Puritan Paperbacks (Bolton) - Reformation Heritage Books The Whole Christ - Sinclair Ferguson. The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, and Gospel Assurance?Why the Marrow Controversy Still Matters (Ferguson) - Reformation Heritage Books The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification – Walter Marshal. The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification (Marshall) - Reformation Heritage Books A Treatise on Law and gospel by John Colquhoun free from Reformation heritage currently A Treatise on the Law and the Gospel (Colquhoun) - Free Edition (heritagebooks.org). Also some helps to go with it - the-law-and-the-gospel-lecture-notes-template-jan13-v1.pdf (thelawandthegospel.com) Perhaps, these last two are more for pastor types. The Marrow of Modern Divinity by E.F. with Thomas Boston’s notes. The Marrow of Modern Divinity (Fisher- Christian Focus Hardcover) - Reformation Heritage Books The Christian Ministry - Charles Bridges. The Christian Ministry (Bridges) - Reformation Heritage Books Law/Gospel Catechism[1] This is the first lesson, to know the right way to the kingdom of heaven and this entails knowing the difference between the law and the gospel. How many ways does the Word of God teach that there are to come into the kingdom of heaven? Two. What are the two ways? The law and the gospel. What does the law have to say? Do this and live. Rom 2:13; 10:5 What does the gospel have to say? Believe in Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Rom 10:9 Can we come into the Kingdom of God by way of God’s Law? No. Why not? Because we cannot do it. Rom 3:10 Why can we not do it? Because we are all sinners and born in sin. Rom 3:9, 23 What does it mean to be born in sin? To be naturally bent toward evil. How did it occur that we are all born in sin? Because our first father Adam sinned. Rom 5:12, 18 Does the law help us achieve what it requires? No, it only reveals sin, condemns and kills Rom 3:20; 7:5, 9-11 Which way then do you hope to come to the Kingdom of Heaven? By the Gospel What is the Gospel? The glad words of salvation by Jesus Christ. To whom are the glad words brought: To the righteous? No. Why not? For two reasons. What is the first reason? Because there are none that are righteous and do not sin. What is the second reason? Because if we were righteous without sin we should have no need of Christ Jesus. To whom then is this glad word brought? To sinners. Rom 4:5; 5:6 Are the glad words brought to all sinners? The good news is to be offered to all sinners, but not all will receive Christ’s gift. Rom 10:16, 17 Who then receives the good gift? Only those are saved who through faith alone are grafted into Christ and accept all His benefits. Rom 3:28; 11:16-21 What does the law require? That we should be without sin in perfect obedience What does the gospel require? Nothing, it is a promise to be received by faith alone offering the forgiveness of sin and the righteousness we need. Rom 4:3, 7 The second lesson is knowing how the law and the gospel sweetly comply in the Christian life. Does the law change? No, it is always holy, righteous and good reflecting God’s unchanging character. Rom 7:12 How then can the law and the gospel sweetly comply? Our relationship to the law changes. What do you mean? In the first lesson we are under the law in what is called the “do this and live” sense. What does it mean to be under the law in the “do this and live” sense? We have to obey all the law personally, perfectly and perpetually in order to have eternal life. Once we are justified we are no longer under the law in that sense. The law can no longer condemn us. Rom 7:6; 8:1 In what sense are we under the law as believers then? As a rule of life. What does it mean to be under the law as a rule of life? Two things: First, It means God has revealed to us how He wants us to live. Rom 2:18; 13:9-10 What is the second? That we obey because we have life, not in order to get life. We want to please our Father. Rom 6 For an unbeliever the law teaches us of our sin and misery? Right. As believers keeping God’s law is the holy and happy way of living? Right. Can you summarize these lessons? Yes. For an unbeliever the law teaches us of our sin and misery. The law is opposed to the gospel. As believers the law and the gospel work together. As believers, how is the law useful? It is a light to our path to guide us how to live in a way that pleases our Lord. Rom 12:1-16:27 As believers how is the gospel useful? It motivates us out of gratitude to live in a way pleasing to our Lord. Because of the salvation we have been given we serve God. Rom 12:1-2 God speaks in two words: the law and the gospel. There is a danger in either confusing or separating them. The law commands and the gospel gives. The law says, “Do” and the gospel says, “Done!” Both are good, but God does different things through them. The law is everything in Scripture that God commands. The gospel is everything in Scripture that makes promises based solely on God’s grace to us in Christ. When it comes to how we receive the promises, law and gospel are opposed, for we are saved apart from the law. The law condemns us, while the gospel is the good news that announces our justification that we are free for the first time to embrace God as our Father rather than our Judge. Lutheran and Reformed traditions distinguish three uses of the law: to expose our guilt and drive us to Christ, a civil use to restrain evil, and to guide Christian obedience. – Horton, Core Christianity, 128. The basic principle in application is to know whether the passage is a statement of the law or of the gospel. For when the Word is preached, the law and the gospel operate differently. The law exposes the disease of sin, and as a side-effect, stimulates and stirs it up. But it provides no remedy for it. However the gospel not only teaches us what is to be done, it also has the power of the Holy Spirit joined to it…A statement of the law indicates the need for a perfect inherent righteousness, of eternal life given through the works of the law, of the sins which are contrary to the law and of the curse that is due them… By contrast, a statement of the gospel speaks of Christ and his benefits, and of faith being fruitful in good works (The Art of prophesying, 1592, repr. Banner of Truth Trust, 1996, 54-55). – William Perkins Distinguishing between the law and the gospel is the highest art in Christendom, one who every person who values the name Christian ought to recognize, know, and possess. Where this is lacking, it is not possible to tell who is a Christian and who is a pagan or Jew. That much is at stake in this distinction. - Martin Luther, The Distinction between the Law and Gospel,” January 1, 1532, Willard Burce, translator, Concordia Journal 18 (April 1992), 153. [1]Catechism Inspired by William Twisse (1578–1646). This one is based on Romans. There seems to be a fair amount of confusion today about what it means to be “under the law.” And there’s confusion about what it doesn’t mean. Some suggest that all of the members of the Old Covenant were “under the law.” Others say that for a believer to accept any commands or directives from God is to be “under the law.” Some believe that to accept the moral law, revealed in the Old Testament, as normative for the believer is to be under the law. But the phrase “under the law” is technical terminology in the Pauline epistles for something very specific.
1. Consider the meaning of the phrase “under the law” in Pauline literature. Perhaps the best way to understand the phrase is to study the Galatian heresy. Paul used the phrase “under the law” five times in his letter to the Galatians (3:23; 4:4; 4:5; 4:21; 5:18), more than any of his other letters. But how were the false teachers in Galatia attempting to bring God’s people back “under the law?” First, to be “under the law” is to attempt to secure God’s verdict of justification by the law. Paul says in Galatians 2:21, “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if justification were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” The false teachers were teaching Christians that they had to keep the whole law of God for their justification, not only the Ten Commandments, but circumcision and the Jewish food laws and festivals. This was a false gospel (Gal 1:6-7). Second, to be “under the law” is to attempt to obtain the Spirit through obedience to the law. In my last post I discussed the relationship of the Law of God to the believer. While the Law is the standard for how believers are to live, it is no longer in the form of a covenant of works where they must do it in order to obtain, secure, or keep eternal life. The Lord Jesus came as the Last Adam and was born under the Law in order to fulfill its righteous requirements. As we saw last time, the Law as a covenant of works has both a promise of blessing and a threat of a
curse based on one’s performance to it. If at any point the person under the Law fails to perfectly and perpetually keep it, then he is cursed with eternal death (Gal. 3:10). However, if one personally, perfectly, and perpetually keeps the Law, then that person is rewarded with eternal life. In Luke 10, when the lawyer asked Jesus what he needs to do to inherit eternal life, Jesus said that he needed to do the Law (keep it perfectly at all times and in all ways) in order to live (gain eternal life). This covenant of works is encapsulated in the phrase “do this and live” (Luke 10:28; cf. Lev. 18:5). Thankfully, our glorious Lord Jesus was born under this Law as a covenant of works and fulfilled it by personally, perfectly, and perpetually obeying it as an Adam - that is, as a representative for his people. Because of his perfect obedience to the Law, he earned eternal life for himself and those whom he represented. Believers simply trust in Jesus’ perfect obedience to the Law and his earning the reward of eternal life and receive it as a free gift. Now, while the Law no longer remains a covenant of works for believers, it still remains as a rule of life for them - that is, it tells them how they are to live their life. It is the expression of God’s very will (Rom. 2:18) and is commanded to New Testament Christians (Rom. 13:9-10; Gal. 5:13-14). Understanding this distinction of the Law - the Law as a covenant of works versus the Law as a rule of life - helps us to make sense of Scripture and accurately interpret and apply it to our lives. When Paul says that we are not under the Law but under grace (Rom. 6:14), he does not mean that we are not under the content of the Law (i.e. the Ten Commandments). Rather, what Paul means is that we are not under the Law as a covenant of works (“do this in order to obtain, secure, or keep eternal life/heaven). Those who do not hold to this distinction tend to think that what Paul means by not being under the Law is that we are no longer under the Ten Commandments, but a new “Law of Christ.” Now, what this ends up functionally being is all of the Ten Commandments except for the 4th Commandment (keeping the Sabbath). Nevertheless, stripping away one of God’s Commandments is quite substantial. Just as we would call a person who disregards the 7th Commandment (do not commit adultery) or the 8th Commandment (do not steal) immoral, so someone who breaks the 4th Commandment is likewise immoral. We must understand this distinction between a covenant of works and a rule of life. We are not under the Law as a covenant of works where we must do it in order to live. Rather, the Law is a rule of life for believers (how they are to live) where they first live because of their union with Christ and therefore do it. Believers are still to “do,” however, they do from life and not for life. This is how the reformers understood the distinction between the Law of God and the Law of Christ (1 Cor. 9:21). The content of the moral Law (the Ten Commandments) do not change. Rather, the relationship to the Law changes. Rather than doing for life (under the Law of God), the believer now does the Law from life. This is what it means to be under the Law of Christ: because Christ has fulfilled the Law as a covenant of works for us, we now keep it, not as a covenant of works, but as a rule of life. Series originally posted April-June 2021 Brian Onstead is pastor of Trinity Bible Church in Powell, WY (https://tbcwyoming.com/). He was born and raised in Omaha, NE where he was saved and met his wife Jackie. He then spent three years in San Diego, CA where he attended Westminster Seminary California and the Institute for Reformed Baptist Studies. After graduating in 2015, he moved to Montana where he pastored a church for 4 years. In 2019, he moved to Powell, WY where he currently resides. He and his wife have been married for 10 years and have two young children. You can find his sermons on sermon audio and follow him on Twitter (@brianonstead). I believe much of the confusion over the law stems from not understanding how it is a covenant of works. The late Meredith Kline once said that those who reject or do not understand the covenant of works are the ones who end up putting others under it. This is because if we do not recognize the covenant of works in Scripture - such as in Genesis 1-2 and Romans 2:6-13 - then we will interpret those sections as normative for believers. For example, a Roman Catholic I was recently interacting with quoted Romans 2:6-13 as proof that believers will be judged by their works. Because he did not understand that Paul was talking about the covenant of works in that section, which believers are no longer under since Christ has fulfilled it, he interpreted it as incentive for obedience so that we can hopefully have enough works to pass final judgment. Not only does a rejection of the covenant of works result in the legalism of putting believers back under a covenant of works, it also leads to a form antinomianism. If the covenant of works is rejected, then Paul’s statement “you are not under the law” (Rom. 6:14) cannot be interpreted as no longer being under the law as a covenant of works, but rather only as to the content of the
law. In this post, I want to simply begin by very briefly introducing the covenant of works before addressing in subsequent posts how it is necessary for having a theology where the Law and the Gospel are clearly distinguished. The covenant of works is a conditional covenant made with Adam where the reward of eternal life was promised to him upon personal, perpetual, and perfect obedience (works) of the law. Paul says in Galatians 3:10: “Cursed be everyone [personal] who does not abide [perpetual] by all things [perfect] written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” This explains the kind of obedience that is required to the law. Not only does the law pronounce a curse on all who do not perform personal, perpetual, and perfect obedience, it also promises a blessing for those who keep it. A couple of verses later, Paul, quoting the Old Testament, says, “The one who does them [the Ten Commandments] shall live by them” (Gal. 3:12; cf. Lev. 18:5). Paul is not using “live” in the sense that the commandments are rules to live by (which they are). Rather, a more accurate translation to the Greek would be, “the one having done them will live by them.” That is, after one has done them (personally, perpetually, perfectly), then - and only then - will he live by them (gain life from having done them). This life is obviously not referring to physical life or unto one’s heart beating. You have to already be physically alive in order to do them. Rather, this is referring to eternal life - everlasting life - a glorified life with God in eternity. This is what Jesus was referring to in Luke 10:25-28 when the lawyer asked Jesus what one must do to inherit eternal life (Luke 10:25). Jesus’ answer was “do this (the law) and live” (Luke 10:28). This is the same thing that Paul is saying. So, the Law not only pronounces a curse on those who fail to keep it, it also promises a blessing (eternal life) to the one who keeps it (see also Romans 2:6-10 where there is both an eternal curse and eternal reward - eternal life - based on works). This law was given to Adam in the Garden. We see this by logical deduction and inference in Romans 1 & 2. Paul says that all men intuitively know the law and the penalty for breaking it (Rom. 1:32) and that all men by nature know what the law requires whether Jew or Gentile (Rom. 2:14-15). If this is true naturally, then that means it is part of the make-up of man created in the image of God. The first man, therefore, who received a curse for failed obedience, would have known the law intuitively, especially when he was without sin. Having fallen, however, he was thrust out of the land of Eden and all men have been in exile in Adam ever since. Thankfully, God sent his Son to be another Adam - the Last Adam - who represented his own by his obedience, even under testing like the first Adam. Christ did what the first Adam failed to do and fulfilled the covenant of works by offering up personal, perpetual, and perfect obedience to the entire law including receiving its curse for our failed obedience. Because of this all those who are in Christ are justified (the declaration that the law has been personally, perpetually, and perfectly obeyed) and therefore receive the blessing of eternal life: “so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men” (Rom. 5:18). All we have to do is simply place our trust in Christ’s obedience and it becomes ours for free and we freely receive the reward of that obedience: eternal life. Series originally posted April-June 2021 Brian Onstead is pastor of Trinity Bible Church in Powell, WY (https://tbcwyoming.com/). He was born and raised in Omaha, NE where he was saved and met his wife Jackie. He then spent three years in San Diego, CA where he attended Westminster Seminary California and the Institute for Reformed Baptist Studies. After graduating in 2015, he moved to Montana where he pastored a church for 4 years. In 2019, he moved to Powell, WY where he currently resides. He and his wife have been married for 10 years and have two young children. You can find his sermons on sermon audio and follow him on Twitter (@brianonstead). There has been much confusion over the relationship of the Law of God (the Ten Commandments) to the believer throughout church history and especially in our day. There are antinomians who, in one way or another, deny the Law of God, whether it is by crossing out the 4th Commandment, or by saying that the Law was only for the Jews and has no place in the Christian’s life, or by declaring that God broke his Law in order to love (as one famous heretic recently said). On the other side, there are legalists who put believers back under the Law as a covenant of works. They use the threat of judgment in order to effect change. They suspend believers’ justification and keep the threat of condemnation possible until believers strive to produce an undetermined amount of holiness (which they are always left guessing and which only the pastor or preacher can determine) in order to keep people incentivized to pursue holiness. In all of this, there is great confusion over the relationship of the Law to the believer. A helpful pedagogical tool that the Reformers used is called the three uses of the Law. They get this from the Apostle Paul’s statement in 1Timothy 1:8 where he says, “Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully.” Obviously, the Law is good no matter what, but what Paul is talking about here is good versus bad uses of the Law. The Law is good in relationship to a sinner only if it is used lawfully (that is, correctly). Thus, the issue is the right or correct use of the Law. So, then, how does one use the Law lawfully or correctly? Well, based on taking into consideration the whole counsel of God (that is, all the Scriptures and drawing non-contradictory, accurate conclusions from it) the Reformers give three correct uses of the Law. The first (sometimes enumerated differently) is that the Law is referred to as the pedagogical use - that is, the Law teaches us the greatness of our sin and misery in order to lead us to Christ. This comes from what Paul goes on to immediately say in 1 Timothy 1:9 “understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane…” The Greek word for “laid down” means “laid or placed upon.” The sense of word comes across in our saying, “I’m going to lay down the law!” When we say this, we are referring to someone who has already done something wrong and needs to be confronted with their wrong-doing. This is what Paul is referring to here. The Law is laid down or laid upon sinners. That is, it shows them the greatness of their sin and misery and therefore their need for Christ. It is meant to lead them to be justified only through faith in Christ (cf.Gal.3:19-24). The second use of the Law is what is referred to as the civil use - that is, it restrains evil in the civil realm. There are laws against murder and stealing in every society that come with penal consequences in order to deter evil. This does not actually produce a true righteousness from the heart; rather, it merely restrains certain expressions of the evil heart through consequences. Disciplining our children is another example of this use. Our discipline does not actually regenerate their heart and make them truly obedience with a heart of faith and repentance; only the gospel can do that. Rather, it merely restrains or deters their disobedience by teaching them that there are consequences for their actions. The third use of the Law is that it is the rule of life - that is, it is the rule for how we or to live our life; it guides us in how we are to live out of gratitude to God for saving us. The Apostle Paul tells us that the Law of God (the Ten Commandments) expresses God’s will for our life (Rom. 2:18). After spending eleven chapters declaring to us God’s glorious gospel and how he has saved us, he then goes on to tell us to keep the Commandments because this is how we love our neighbor as ourselves (Rom. 13:8-10). He does the same in Galatians 5:13-14. So, Paul’s conclusion to us being saved is not that we set aside the Law or have no use of it any longer, but rather the exact opposite: that we keep the Law because we have been saved by Christ’s death and resurrection from both the penalty and power of sin. While we are not saved by keeping the Law, yet one of the purposes for us being saved is in order to keep the Law. So, the issue is not the Law itself, as if it must now be set aside, but rather in the use of the Law. We must use it lawfully. Series originally posted April-June 2021 Brian Onstead is pastor of Trinity Bible Church in Powell, WY (https://tbcwyoming.com/). He was born and raised in Omaha, NE where he was saved and met his wife Jackie. He then spent three years in San Diego, CA where he attended Westminster Seminary California and the Institute for Reformed Baptist Studies. After graduating in 2015, he moved to Montana where he pastored a church for 4 years. In 2019, he moved to Powell, WY where he currently resides. He and his wife have been married for 10 years and have two young children. You can find his sermons on sermon audio and follow him on Twitter (@brianonstead). Welcome to law/gospel week! We will have a series of posts every day for a week on the law and the gospel! We will also post a podcast every day for a week. Understanding the law and the gospel is something that will help you understand your salvation better, read your Bible better, guard against legalism and license, help you comfort and instruct others and your own heart, help you with assurance and give God glory. This first post will be some quotes to help us see how others who have gone before us from different eras have seen how important this distinction is and that it includes different traditions. Law/Gospel quotes “The law and the gospel are the principal parts of divine revelation; or rather they are the centre, sum, and substance of all the other parts of it.” (Colquhoun p. 4). “To know it experimentally is to be wise unto salvation, and to live habitually under the influence of it is to be at once holy and happy. To have spiritual distinct views of it is the way to be kept from verging towards self-righteousness on the one hand and licentiousness on the other; it is to be enabled to assert the absolute freeness of sovereign grace, and, at the same time, the sacred interests of true holiness.” Colqhoun p. 5, 6. The basic principle in application is to know whether the passage is a statement of the law or of the gospel. For when the Word is preached, the law and the gospel operate differently. The law exposes the disease of sin, and as a side-effect, stimulates and stirs it up. But it provides no remedy for it. However the gospel not only teaches us what is to be done, it also has the power of the Holy Spirit joined to it…A statement of the law indicates the need for a perfect inherent righteousness, of eternal life given through the works of the law, of the sins which are contrary to the law and of the curse that is due them… By contrast, a statement of the gospel speaks of Christ and his benefits, and of faith being fruitful in good works (The Art of prophesying, 1592, repr. Banner of Truth Trust, 1996, 54-55). Perkins God speaks in two words: the law and the gospel. There is a danger in either confusing or separating them. The law commands and the gospel gives. The law says, “Do” and the gospel says, “Done!” Both are good, but God does different things through them. The law is everything in Scripture that God commands. The gospel is everything in Scripture that makes promises based solely on God’s grace to us in Christ. When it comes to how we receive the promises, law and gospel are opposed, for we are saved apart from the law. The law condemns us, while the gospel is the good news that announces our justification that we are free for the first time to embrace God as our Father rather than our Judge. Lutheran and Reformed traditions distinguish three uses of the law: to expose our guilt and drive us to Christ, a civil use to restrain evil, and to guide Christian obedience. More generally, the New Testament frequently employs the terms law and gospel to refer to the old covenant distinguished from the new. Core Christianity p. 128, Horton. The Doctrine of the Divine Covenant lies at the root of all true theology. It has been said that he who well understands the distinction between the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace is a master of divinity. I am persuaded that most of the mistakes which men make concerning the Doctrines of Scripture are based upon fundamental errors with regard to the Covenants of Law and of Grace. Charles Spurgeon There is no point upon which men make greater mistakes than upon the relation which exists between the law and the gospel. Some men put the law instead of the gospel: others put the gospel instead of the law; some modify the law and the gospel, and preach neither law nor gospel: and others entirely abrogate the law, by bringing in the gospel. Many there are who think that the law is the gospel, and who teach that men by good works of benevolence, honesty, righteousness, and sobriety, may be saved. Such men do err. On the other hand, many teach that the gospel is a law; that it has certain commands in it, by obedience to which, men are meritoriously saved; such men err from the truth, and understand it not. A certain class maintain that the law and the gospel are mixed, and that partly by observance of the law, and partly by God's grace, men are saved. These men understand not the truth, and are false teachers. This morning I shall attempt—God helping me to show you what is the design of the law, and then what is the end of the gospel. The coming of the law is explained in regard to its objects: "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound." Then comes the mission of the gospel: "But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." - Charles Spurgeon from sermon Law and Grace “Clearly to understand the distinction, connexion, and harmony between the law and the gospel and their mutual subserviency to illustrate and establish each other, is a singular privilege, and a happy means of preserving the soul from being entangled by errors” - Newton The Churches of the Reformation from the very beginning distinguished between the law and the gospel as the two parts of the Word of God as a means of grace. This distinction was not understood to be identical with that between the Old and the New Testament, but was regarded as a distinction that applies to both Testaments. There is law and gospel in the Old Testament, and there is law and gospel in the New. The law comprises everything in Scripture which is a revelation of God’s will in the form of command or prohibition, while the gospel embraces everything, whether it be in the Old Testament or in the New, that pertains to the work of reconciliation and that proclaims the seeking and redeeming love of God in Christ Jesus (Berkhof combined ed Systematic Theology, 612). Beza - We divide this Word into two principal parts or kinds: the one is called the ‘Law,’ the other the ‘Gospel.’ For all the rest can be gathered under the one or other of these two headings…Ignorance of this distinction between Law and Gospel is one of the principal sources of the abuses which corrupted and still corrupt Christianity. THEODORE BEZA | The Christian Faith, trans. James Clark (East Sussex, UK: Focus Christian Ministries Trust), 40. Luther - "Hence, whoever knows well this art of distinguishing between Law and Gospel, him place at the head and call him a doctor of Holy Scripture." James Buchanan The Doctrine of Justification – “The doctrine of salvation, which is taught by the gospel, presupposes the doctrine of sin, which is taught by the law; and the two together constitute the sum and substance of God’s revealed truth.” Ralph Erskine on the law in the hand of Christ or the 3rd use. - (1.) The commands of the law, in the hand of Christ, have lost their old covenant-form, and are full of love. The command of the law of works is, Do, and Live; but in the hand of Christ, it is, Live, and Do: the command of the law of works, is, Do, or else be damned: but the law in the hand of Christ, is, I have delivered thee from hell, therefore do: the command of the law of works is, Do in thy own strength; but the law in the hand of Christ is, “I am thy strength; My strength shall be perfected in thy weakness,” therefore Do. The command is materially the same, but the form is different: the command of the law of works is, Do perfectly, that you may have eternal life; but now, in the hand of Christ, the form is, I have given thee eternal life in me, and by my doing; and therefore do as perfectly as you can, through my grace, till you come to a state of perfection. The command, I say, is the same materially …. And sure I am, that the authority of the commanding God is not lessened, or lost, that the command is now in the hand of Christ: Christ is God, co-equal and co-essential with the Father; and as God’s authority to judge is not lost, or lessened, in that all judgment is committed to the Son; so his authority to command, is not lost or lessened, in that the law is in the hand of Christ: nay, it is not lessened, but it is sweetened, and made amiable, lovely, and desirable to the believer, constraining him to obedience, in that the law is in the hand of his Head, his Lord, and his God. 17 The Law in the Hand of Christ (upper-register.com) Read the historic catechisms and confessions of the church. The Heidelberg Catechism and London Baptist Confession of 1689 in particular. We are going to do something we have not done before. We are going to have a law/gospel week! There is a law day in our country on May 1 for understanding how the law and the legal process protects our liberty. The law/gospel distinction does help protect our liberty. We need more than just a civil use. There is a gospel day in July sometime on some islands somewhere where Roman Catholics and Protestants celebrate together. That’s no good. So it seems we need a law/gospel week! We are going to have an episode release every day for one week on the law/gospel distinction as well as a blog post every day for one week. Some of the material will be a rewind, some of it will be new. We will do this the week of April 28-May 4.
Why should we spend a week looking at the law/gospel distinction? Why is it worth a whole week? 1) It helps us read our Bibles better. 2) This category helps keep us from legalism and license. 3) It gets the doctrine of justification right as well as help with sanctification. 4) It helps in evangelism. 5) It helps with pastoral ministry. Your counseling and preaching ministries just might be affected. 6) It is assurance giving. Lastly, Christ gets the glory He deserves. Christ is the one who fulfilled the law so that we are no longer under it in the “do this and live” sense. We are free in the Christian life to obey. It’s good news for believers to. So come join Renewalcast in celebrating law/gospel week! Listen to the podcasts, read the blogs, thanks for joining us. Hope you’re encouraged. In 2016, there was an eruption in conservative Evangelical and Reformed theologians surrounding the doctrine of the Eternal Functional Subordination of the Son (EFS). There’s no need to rehash what has already been said, as that has been summarized helpfully elsewhere. Needless to say, it was the hot topic for podcasts, blogposts, books, and academic articles for more than a year. Seemingly everyone had an opinion on the Trinity debates, and sides were taken, uniforms passed out, and strategic advances made.
Nourishing the Flock: Insights from the Longevity of Pastoral MinistryIn the ever-evolving landscape of religious service and pastoral ministry, longevity and persistence present a wealth of wisdom. Eldon Busenitz, a seasoned veteran in pastoral duties, shares profound insights from his extensive tenure, shedding light on what has anchored and driven his commitment to preaching and nurturing souls. His conversation with Coalt Robinson and Jay Wipf reveals the intricacies of persistent service, the transformation of personal convictions, and the critical stance on present-day church dynamics and doctrinal integrity.
Key Takeaways Pastoral Passion: A lifetime of pastoral ministry ignites a passion for teaching and solidifying one's conviction in the inerrant Word of God. Teachable Ministry: Perseverance in ministry demands continuous learning, growth, and the flexibility to adapt one’s practices without compromising core doctrinal beliefs. Church Challenges and Triumphs: There are concerns about churches straying from their core mission, yet there is encouragement in the ongoing proclamation of the Gospel and faithful teaching. The Makings of a Passionate PastorThe journey to understanding what truly drives a pastor to dedicate a lifetime to ministry is intricate and deeply personal. Eldon Busenitz traces his roots to a Christian home in south central Kansas, where the seeds of pastoral ministry were planted during his formative years on a farm. The dedication to hard work and self-discipline learned in his youth became indispensable in his ministerial calling. "Those early years, God gave me a… Love, a passion for pastoral ministry and more specifically teaching and preaching God's word… I consider it a high, awesome calling and a privilege to be involved in pastoral ministry." - Eldon Busenitz His reverence for farming transformed into a deeper devotion to cultivating the spiritual landscape of his flock. It's this evolution, from tilling the soil to feeding the soul, that solidified his path in life. Transformative Teachings and Practices Throughout his 57 years of ministry, Busenitz's theologies and ministerial practices have undergone refinement rather than radical change. Valuing the practical application of his beliefs, he emphasizes the need for continuous growth and a dedication to teaching the full counsel of God through expository preaching. He underlines the significance of prioritizing feeding the sheep over chasing ephemeral accolades. "I did not have any formal seminary training… But I also realized there's great benefit in seminary training… I just highly recommend getting training for ministry…" - Eldon Busenitz In his narrative, it's clear that regardless of how one acquires knowledge, the commitment to learning and improvement stands paramount in ministerial success. Challenges and Encouragements in Today's Church The prevalent challenges the church faces are at the forefront of Busenitz's musings as he reflects on societal pressures leading churches astray from their core message of transformation through the Gospel. He warns against the inclination to prioritize social programs over the heart-changing proclamation of the Gospel, cautioning that the true mission must not be diluted for the sake of societal trends. "The thing that makes a church unique… we have been commissioned by Christ himself… And I'm encouraged with those opportunities, those open doors, that the message that Christ died on the cross and he rose again…" - Eldon Busenitz However, Busenitz denotes encouragement in the unwavering sovereignty of God and the bright spots of young ministers eager to carry on the mantle of biblical preaching. Retrospective Wisdom and Forward Gazing As the conversation winds down, the harmonious blend of Eldon Busenitz’s past experiences and his future aspirations for ministry paint a picture of a steward faithful to his calling. What resonates is a man deeply rooted in the truth of Scripture, exuding a wisdom only decades of devotion can endow. He stresses the adherence to biblical literacy, the nurturing of personal growth, and the urgency to train future leaders within the church culture. Busenitz's narrative stands as a timeless reminder of the importance of doctrine in unifying the church, propelling it forward with a clear, biblically sound mission. His commitment to principles over popularity sets an uncompromising standard for ministry, and his observations serve as both a caution and an inspiration for contemporary and future church leaders. Eldon Busenitz's perspective is both an echo from the past and a clarion call for the present, inviting leaders to reflect deeply, prioritize wisely, and act courageously. His discourse invites all who serve, regardless of capacity or tenure, to maintain the humility of a disciple and the vigilance of a shepherd. *This article may have been AI generated -- if you have a problem with it, just voice your complaint to "Alice" in the hearing of any internet-connected device -- she will hear you. #JackCarr |
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