A properly formulated distinction
between law and gospel is essential to theology. At issue is the use of the
distinction.
"UTTERLY
INCONSISTENT"
Romans 4:6
Even as David also
describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness
without works,
They take this precious truth and
draw many unsound conclusions from it.
—Burgess
Indicative ONLY?
Just as the law
may be understood "largely", and "strictly," so too can the
word "gospel."
If THE GOSPEL IS
ROUGHLY SYNONYMOUS WITH JUSTIFICATION, IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT WHAT
HAPPENS "IN" BELIEVERS, BUT ONLY WHAT HAPPENS "FOR"
BELIEVERS.
Possible
typo on page 46 wherein mention is made of "Luke 2.10'
Luke
2:10
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be
afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all
the people;
Main Entry:impetrate
Function:transitive
verb
Etymology:Latin
impetratus, past participle of impetrare, from in- 2in- + -petrare (from
patrare to accomplish) * more at PERPETRATE
1 : to obtain by
request or entreaty : PROCURE
2 : to ask for :
ENTREAT
GOSPEL
THREATENINGS
Galatians 3:10-14
10 For as many as are of the works of the law
are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed
is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the
book of the law to do them.
11 But
that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
12 And
the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
13 Christ
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it
is written, Cursed is every one that
hangeth on a tree:
14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on
the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the
Spirit through faith.
Leviticus 18:5
5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my
judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.
Deuteronomy
4:1
1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the
statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess
the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.
Ezekiel 20:21
21Notwithstanding the children rebelled against
me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they
polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to
accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.
Romans
10:5
5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which
is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
The Holy Spirit works through
the gospel when He both prods us with commands, draws us with promises,
AND TERRIFIES US WITH THREATS.
—MARK
JONES
John
3:36
36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal
life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God
abides on him.”
Romans
2:8-9
8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and
do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.
9 There will be tribulation and distress for
every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek,
2
Thessalonians 1:6-10
6 For after all it is only just for God to
repay with affliction those who afflict you,
7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted
and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His
mighty angels in flaming fire,
8 dealing out retribution to those who do not
know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
9 These will pay the penalty of eternal
destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His
power,
10 when He comes to be glorified in His saints
on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our
testimony to you was believed.
1
Peter 4:17-18
17 For it is time for judgment to begin with
the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome
for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
18 And if it is with difficulty that the
righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?
Hebrews
12:15-17
15 See
to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness
springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;
16
that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own
birthright for a single meal.
17 For
you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was
rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with
tears.
Revelation
2
1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among
the seven golden lampstands, says this:
2 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and
perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test
those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be
false;
3 and you have perseverance and have endured
for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.
4 ‘But I have this against you, that you have
left your first love.
5 ‘Therefore remember from where you have
fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at
first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of
its place—unless you repent.
6 ‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the
deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the
tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’
8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna
write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:
9 ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty
(but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are
not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
10
‘Do not fear what you are about to suffer.
Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be
tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death,
and I will give you the crown of life.
11 ‘He who has an
ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’
12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum
write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:
13 ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s
throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the
days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where
Satan dwells.
14 ‘But I have a few things against you,
because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching
Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things
sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality.
15 ‘So you also have some who in the same way
hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
16 ‘Therefore repent; or else I am coming to
you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.
17 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of
the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on
the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’
18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira
write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like
burnished bronze, says this:
19 ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith
and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at
first.
20 ‘But I have this against you, that you
tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and
leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.
21 ‘I gave her time to repent, and she does not
want to repent of her immorality.
22 ‘Behold, I will throw her on a bed of
sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless
they repent of her deeds.
23 ‘And I will
kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He
who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you
according to your deeds.
24 ‘But I say to you, the rest who are in
Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of
Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you.
25
‘Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.
26 ‘He
who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give
authority over the nations;
27 and
he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken
to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father;
28 and I
will give him the morning star.
29 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches.’
Revelation
3
3:1 “To the angel
of the church in Sardis write:
He who has the seven Spirits of God and the
seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are
alive, but you are dead.
2 ‘Wake
up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have
not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.
3 ‘So
remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come
like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.
4 ‘But you have a
few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk
with Me in white, for they are worthy.
5 ‘He who
overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name
from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before
His angels.
6 ‘He who has an
ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
7 “And to the
angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
He who is holy, who
is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who
shuts and no one opens, says this:
8 ‘I know your
deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut,
because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My
name.
9 ‘Behold, I will
cause those of the synagogue of Satan,
who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow
down at your feet, and make them know
that I have loved you.
10 ‘Because you
have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the
hour of testing, that hour which is
about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
11 ‘I
am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your
crown.
12 ‘He who
overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go
out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name
of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from
My God, and My new name.
13 ‘He who has an
ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
14 “To the angel
of the church in Laodicea write:
The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the
Beginning of the creation of God, says this:
15 ‘I know your
deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish
that you were cold or hot.
16 ‘So because you
are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.
17 ‘Because you
say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor
and blind and naked,
18 I
advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and
white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will
not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
19 ‘Those
whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.
20 ‘Behold, I
stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I
will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.
21 ‘He who
overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also
overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
22 ‘He who has an
ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ”
GOSPEL
THREATENING :Romans 8:13
13 for
if you are living according to the flesh, YOU MUST DIE; but if by the SPIRIT
you are PUTTING TO DEATH THE DEEDS of the body, you will live.
WCF CHAP. XIV.II - Of Saving Faith
2. By
this faith, a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the
Word, for the authority of God Himself speaking therein; (John 4:42, 1 Thess.
2:13, 1 John 5:10, Acts 24:14) and acteth differently upon that which each
particular passage thereof containeth; yielding obedience to the commands, (Rom. 16:26) trembling at the threatenings, (Isa.
66:2) and embracing the promises of God for this life, and that which is to
come. (Heb. 11:13, 1 Tim. 4:8) But the principal acts of saving faith are
accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification,
sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace. (John
1:12, Acts 16:31, Gal. 2:20, Acts 15:11)
John 4:42
42 and they were saying to the woman, “It is no
longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for
ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”
1
Thessalonians 2:13
13 For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the
word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men,
but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you
who believe.
1
John 5:10
10 The one who believes in the Son of God has
the testimony in himself; the
one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed
in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.
Acts
24:14
14 “But this I admit to you, that according to
the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing
everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the
Prophets;
Romans
16:26
26 but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures
of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made
known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith;
Isaiah 66:2
2 “For My hand made all these things, Thus all
these things came into being,” declares the Lord. “But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.
Hebrews
11:13
13 All these died in faith, without receiving
the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance,
and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
1
Timothy 4:8
8 for
bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all
things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to
come.
John 1:12
12 But as many as
received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to
those who believe in His name,
Acts
16:31
31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and
you will be saved, you and your household.”
Galatians
2:20
20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it
is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live
in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself
up for me.
Let us remember,
that we are delivered from the yoke of the law, only by becoming one with
Christ, as the twig draws its sap from the root, only by growing into one
nature.
It is a remarkable
sentiment, that believers live out of themselves, that is, they live in Christ;
which can only be accomplished by holding real and actual communication with
him. Christ lives in us in two ways. The one life consists in governing us by his
Spirit, and directing all our actions; the other, in making us partakers of his
righteousness; so that, while we can do nothing of ourselves, we are accepted
in the sight of God.
-Calvin
To
outward appearance he lives as other people do, his natural life is supported
as others are; yet he has a higher and nobler principle that supports and actuates
him, that of faith in Christ, and
especially as eyeing the wonders of his love in giving himself for him. Hence
it is that, though he lives in the flesh, yet he does not live after the flesh.
-Henry, M.
Acts
15:11
11 “But we believe that we are saved through
the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”
---
Hebrew
10:26-31
26 For if we go on
sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer
remains a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a
terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume
the adversaries.
28 Anyone who has
set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the
testimony of two or three witnesses.
29 How much
severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the
Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he
was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
30 For
we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I
will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
31 It is a
terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Gospel threatenings are for the
good of believers, in order that they may persevere to the end in renewed
obedience to the one who is both lawgiver and rewarder.
—Owen
A prescriptive and
gracious gospel
Titus
2:11-12
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing
salvation to all men,
12 instructing us
to deny
ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in
the present age,
Ephesians
1 Paul, an apostle
of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who
are faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and
peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 just as He chose
us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and
blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us
to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind
intention of His will,
6 to the praise of
the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have
redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to
the riches of His grace
8 which He lavished
on us. In all wisdom and insight
9 He made known to
us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed
in Him
10 with a view to an
administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up
of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him
11 also we have
obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who
works all things after the counsel of His will,
12 to the end that
we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him, you also,
after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having
also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is given as a
pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own
possession, to the praise of His glory.
15 For this reason I
too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and
your love for all the saints,
16 do not cease
giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;
17 that the God of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom
and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
18 I pray that the
eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope
of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the
saints,
19 and what is the
surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in
accordance with the working of the strength of His might
20 which He brought
about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right
hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all
rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not
only in this age but also in the one to come.
22 And He put all
things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to
the church,
23 which is His
body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
1 And you were dead
in your trespasses and sins,
2 in which you
formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of
disobedience.
3 Among them we too
all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the
flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
4 But God, being
rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were
dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you
have been saved),
6 and raised us up
with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the
ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you
have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of
God;
9 not as a result of
works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand so that we would walk in them.
11 Therefore
remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called
“Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the
flesh by human hands—
12 remember that you
were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of
Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without
God in the world.
13 But now in Christ
Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of
Christ.
14 For He Himself is
our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the
dividing wall,
15 by abolishing in
His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances,
so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing
peace,
16 and might
reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to
death the enmity.
17 And He came and
preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near;
18 for through Him
we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.
19 So then you are
no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints,
and are of God’s household,
20 having been built
on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the
corner stone,
21 in whom the whole
building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 in whom you also
are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
1 For this reason I,
Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—
2 if indeed you have
heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you;
3 that by revelation
there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief.
4 By referring to
this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
5 which in other
generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed
to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;
6 to be specific,
that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow
partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,
7 of which I was
made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me
according to the working of His power.
8 To me, the very
least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the
unfathomable riches of Christ,
9 and to bring to
light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden
in God who created all things;
10 so that the
manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers
and the authorities in the heavenly places.
11 This was in
accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our
Lord,
12 in whom we have
boldness and confident access through faith in Him.
13 Therefore I ask
you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your
glory.
14 For this reason I
bow my knees before the Father,
15 from whom every
family in heaven and on earth derives its name,
16 that He would
grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power
through His Spirit in the inner man,
17 so that Christ
may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded
in love,
18 may be able to
comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and
depth,
19 and to know the
love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the
fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is
able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to
the power that works within us,
21 to Him be the
glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.
Amen.
1
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the
calling with which you have been called,
2 with
all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another
in love,
3
being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one
Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one
baptism,
6 one God and Father of all who is
over all and through all and in all.
7 But to each one of
us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
8 Therefore it says,
“When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts
to men.”
9 (Now this
expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended
into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He who descended
is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might
fill all things.)
11 And He gave some
as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors
and teachers,
12 for
the equipping of the saints
for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
13 until we all
attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a
mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of
Christ.
14 As
a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves
and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by
craftiness in deceitful scheming;
15 but
speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who
is the head, even Christ,
16 from whom the
whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies,
according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of
the body for the building up of itself in love.
17 So
this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no
longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,
18 being darkened in
their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance
that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;
19 and they, having
become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of
every kind of impurity with greediness.
20 But you did not
learn Christ in this way,
21 if indeed you
have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,
22
that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside
the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
23 and
that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and put on the
new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and
holiness of the truth.
25
Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.
26 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
27 and
do
not give the devil an opportunity.
28 He
who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor,
performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to
share with one who has need.
29 Let
no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good
for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace
to those who hear.
30 Do
not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of
redemption.
31 Let
all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you,
along with all malice.
32 Be
kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in
Christ also has forgiven you.
1 Therefore be
imitators of God, as beloved children;
2 and walk in
love, just as Christ also loved you
and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant
aroma.
3 But immorality or
any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among
saints;
4 and
there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not
fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
5 For this you know
with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an
idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes
upon the sons of disobedience.
7 Therefore do not
be partakers with them;
8 for you were
formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light
9 (for the fruit of the Light
consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),
10
trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
11 Do
not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose
them;
12 for it is
disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.
13 But all things
become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes
visible is light.
14 For
this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And
arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”
15
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,
16
making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
17 So
then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
18 And
do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the
Spirit,
19 speaking to one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with
your heart to the Lord;
20
always giving thanks for all things in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
21 and
be
subject to one another in the fear of
Christ.
22 Wives, be subject
to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
23 For the husband
is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself
being the Savior of the body.
24 But as the church
is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in
everything.
25 Husbands, love
your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
26 so that He might sanctify her,
having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
27 that He might present to
Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such
thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
28 So husbands ought
also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife
loves himself;
29 for no one ever
hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does
the church,
30 because we are
members of His body.
31 For this reason a
man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the
two shall become one flesh.
32 This mystery is
great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
33 Nevertheless,
each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the
wife must see to it that she respects her husband.
1
Children, obey your parents in
the Lord, for this is right.
2
Honor your father and mother (which is
the first commandment with a promise),
3 so that it may be
well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.
4
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and
instruction of the Lord.
5
Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling,
in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ;
6 not by way of
eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God
from the heart.
7 With
good will render service, as to
the Lord, and not to men,
8 knowing that
whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord,
whether slave or free.
9 And masters, do
the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their
Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
11
Put on the full armor of God, so that
you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
12 For our struggle
is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers,
against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of
wickedness in the heavenly places.
13
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done
everything, to stand
firm.
14
Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on
the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and
having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 in
addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 And
take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God.
18 With all prayer
and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the
alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
19 and
pray
on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to
make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
20 for which I am an
ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to
speak.
21 But that you also
may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother
and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you.
22 I have sent him
to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may
comfort your hearts.
23 Peace be to the
brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Grace be with all
those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.
WCFCHAP. XI.I - Of
Justification
1. Those
whom God effectually calleth, He also freely justifieth: (Rom. 8:30, Rom. 3:24)
not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by
accounting and accepting their persons as righteous; not for any thing wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ’s
sake alone; nor by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any
other evangelical obedience to them, as their righteousness; but by imputing the obedience and satisfaction of
Christ unto them, (Rom. 4:5–8, 2 Cor. 5:19,21, Rom. 3:22,24–25,27–28,
Tit. 3:5,7, Eph. 1:7, Jer. 23:6, 1 Cor. 1:30–31, Rom. 5:17–19) they receiving and resting on Him and His righteousness
by faith; which faith they have not of
themselves, it is the gift of God. (Acts 10:44, Gal. 2:16, Phil. 3:9,
Acts 13:38–39, Eph. 2:7–8)
Romans 8:30
30 and these whom He predestined, He also
called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He
justified, He also glorified.
Romans 3:24
24 being justified as a gift by His grace
through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
Romans 4:5-8
5 But to the one who does not work, but
believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as
righteousness,
6 just as David also speaks of the blessing on
the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have
been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered.
8 “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will
not take into account.”
2 Corinthians 5:19
19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling
the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has
committed to us the word of reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:21
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our
behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Romans 3:22
22 even the righteousness of God through faith
in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
Romans 3:25
25 whom God displayed publicly as a
propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His
righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins
previously committed;
Romans 3:27-28
27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By
what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.
28 For we maintain that a man is justified by
faith apart from works of the Law.
Titus 3:5
5 He saved us, not
on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His
mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
Titus 3:7
7 so that being justified by His grace we would
be made heirs according to the hope of eternal
life.
Ephesians 1:7
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
Jeremiah 23:6
6 “In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel
will dwell securely; And this is His name by
which He will be called, ‘The Lord our righteousness.’
1 Corinthians 1:30-31
30 But by His doing
you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness
and sanctification, and redemption,
31 so that, just as
it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Romans 5:17-19
17 For if by the transgression of the one,
death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of
grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One,
Jesus Christ.
18 So then as through one transgression there
resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness
there resulted justification of life to all men.
19 For as through the one man’s disobedience
the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many
will be made righteous.
Acts 10:44
44 While Peter was
still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were
listening to the message.
Galatians 2:16
16 nevertheless knowing that a man is not
justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we
have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ
and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be
justified.
Philippians 3:9
9 and may be found in Him, not having a
righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith
in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
Acts 13:38-39
38 “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren,
that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,
39 and through Him everyone who believes is
freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of
Moses.
Ephesians
2:7-8
7 so that in the ages to come He might show the
surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
WCFCHAP. XVI.VI - Of
Good Works
6. Notwithstanding,
the persons of believers being accepted through Christ, their good
works also are accepted in Him; (Eph. 1:6, 1 Pet. 2:5, Exod. 28:38, Gen.
4:4, Heb. 11:4) not as though they were in this life wholly unblameable and
unreproveable in God’s sight; (Job 9:20, Ps. 143:2) but that He, looking upon
them in His Son, is pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere,
although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections. (Heb.
13:20–21, 2 Cor. 8:12, Heb. 6:10. Matt. 25:21,23)
Ephesians 1:6
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace,
which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
1 Peter 2:5
5 you also, as living stones, are being built
up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ.
Exodus 28:38
38 “It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron
shall take away the iniquity of the holy things which the sons of Israel
consecrate, with regard to all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his
forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.
Genesis 4:4
4 Abel, on his part
also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering;
Hebrews
11:4
4 By faith Abel
offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the
testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through
faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.
Job
9:20
20 “Though I am
righteous, my mouth will condemn me; Though I am guiltless, He will declare me
guilty.
Psalm 143:2
2 And do not enter
into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no man living is righteous.
Hebrews
13:20-21
20 Now the God of
peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the
blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord,
21 equip
you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in
His sight, through
Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
2
Corinthians 8:12
12
For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person
has, not according to what he does not
have.
2
Corinthians 8:23
23 As for Titus, he
is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brethren, they are
messengers of the churches, a glory to Christ.
Because we are accepted in Christ,
our worship and obedience is acceptable to God.
Genesis
6:25
Because Abraham
obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.”
Genesis
12:13
13 “Please say
that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that
I may live on account of you.”
Genesis
20:2
2 Abraham said of
Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took
Sarah.
1
Kings 14:8
8 and tore the
kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you—yet you have not been
like My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all
his heart, to do only that which was right in My sight;
Genesis
6:9
These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah
was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.
Job 1:1, 8 There
was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless,
upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.
The Lord said
to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on
the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from
evil.”
Luke
1:6
6 They were both
righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and
requirements of the Lord.
Because of the gospel, God
accepted their sincere obedience, though it was imperfect, whereas the law
would have condemned those imperfections in spite of their sincerity.
Psalm
119:34
34 Give me
understanding, that I may observe Your law
And keep it with all
my heart.
God accepts of our obedience, if
it be in earnest desires and endeavors.
-Ezekiel Hopkins
"Sweetly
comply"
WCF CHAP. XIX.VII - Of the Law
of God
Neither are the
forementioned uses of the law contrary to the grace of the Gospel, but do
sweetly comply with it; (Gal. 3:21) the Spirit of Christ subduing and enabling
the will of man to do that freely, and cheerfully, which the will of God,
revealed in the law, requireth to be done. (Ezek. 36:27, Heb. 8:10, Jer.
31:33)"
Galatians
3:21
21 Is
the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had
been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have
been based on law.
Ezekiel
36:27
27 “I
will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you
will be careful to observe My ordinances.
Hebrews
8:10
10 “For
this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
After
those days, says the Lord:
I
will put My laws into their minds,
And
I will write them bon their hearts.
And
I will be their God,
And
they shall be My people.
Jeremiah
31:33
33 “But
this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those
days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I
will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
He that shall deny either that God
commands us to be holy in a way of duty, or promises to work holiness in us in
a way of grace, may with as much modesty reject the whole Bible.
—Owen
1
Timothy 1:9-11
9 realizing the fact that law is not made for a
righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly
and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or
mothers, for murderers
10 and immoral men
and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is
contrary to sound teaching,
11 according to
the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.
1
Thessalonians 1:8
8
For the word of the Lord
has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every
place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say
anything.
Romans
10:16
16 However,
they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed
our report?”
The law in its moral core, as
reflective of His character and of concerns eternally inherent in His own
person and so what pleases Him, is now my friendly guide for life in fellowship
with God.
—Richard Gaffin
1 John
2:17
The world is passing away, and
also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
2 Peter
1:11-12
for in this way the entrance into
the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly
supplied to you.
Therefore, I will always be ready
to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been
established in the truth which is present with you.
Romans
7:22
For I joyfully
concur with the law of God in the inner man,
Ephesians
2:10
10 For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Matthew 11:30
30 “For My yoke is
easy and My burden is light.”
Foedus gratie
covenant of grace
Romans
7
1 Or do you not
know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has
jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives?
2 For the married
woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband
dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband.
3 So then, if
while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called
an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she
is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.
4 Therefore, my
brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so
that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in
order that we might bear fruit for God.
5 For while we
were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to
bear fruit for death.
6 But now we have
been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that
we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in
oldness of the letter.
7 What shall we
say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have
come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about
coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
8 But sin, taking
opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for
apart from the Law sin is dead.
9 I was once alive
apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died;
10 and this
commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me;
11 for sin, taking
an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.
12 So
then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
13 Therefore did
that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it
was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death
through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become
utterly sinful.
14 For we know
that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.
15 For what I am
doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do,
but I am doing the very thing I hate.
16 But if I do the
very thing I do not want to do, I agree
with the Law, confessing that the Law is
good.
17 So now, no
longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
18 For I know that
nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in
me, but the doing of the good is not.
19 For the good
that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
20 But if I am
doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin
which dwells in me.
21 I find then the
principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.
22 For I joyfully
concur with the law of God in the inner man,
23 but I see a
different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind
and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
24 Wretched man
that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
25 Thanks be to
God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my
mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
Romans
8
8:1 Therefore
there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2 For
the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of
death.
The law
becomes a liberating power because of the spirit.
3 For what the Law
could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in
the flesh,
4 so
that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 For those who
are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but
those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 For the mind set
on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
7 because the mind
set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the
law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
8 and those who
are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 However, you are
not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.
But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,
he does not belong to Him.
10 If Christ is in
you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of
righteousness.
11 But if the
Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised
Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through
His Spirit who dwells in you.
12 So then,
brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the
flesh—
13 for
if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit
you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For all who are
being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you have
not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a
spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit
Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if
children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we
suffer with Him so that we may also be
glorified with Him.
18 For I consider
that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory that is to be revealed to us.
19 For the anxious
longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
20 For the
creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope
21 that the
creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the
freedom of the glory of the children of God.
22 For we know
that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together
until now.
23 And not only
this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we
ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
24 For in hope we
have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope;
for who hopes for what he already
sees?
25 But
if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
26 In the same way
the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we
should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us
with groanings too deep for words;
27 and He who
searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes
for the saints according to the will of God.
28 And we know
that God causes all things to work together for
good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
29 For those whom
He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed
to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
30 and these whom
He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified;
and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
31 What then shall
we say to these things? If God is for
us, who is against us?
32 He who did not
spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with
Him freely give us all things?
33 Who will bring
a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;
34 who is the one
who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is
at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
35 Who will
separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 Just as it is
written,
“For Your sake we
are being put to death all day long;
We were considered
as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 But
in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
38 For I am
convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor
depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love
of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans
8:12-13
12 So then,
brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the
flesh—
13 for if you are
living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are
putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
You must
leave your sins, or you must leave God
—John Owen
1 Corinthians 7:19
19 Circumcision
is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of
the commandments of God.
Romans
3:27
27 Where
then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of
faith.
The law
actually becomes a quickening Spirit that sets us free from sin and death.
Romans
8:1-4
8:1 Therefore
there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2 For the law of
the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of
death.
3 For what the Law
could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in
the flesh,
4 so that the
requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to
the flesh but according to the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:6
6 who also made us
adequate as servants of a new covenant,
not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives
life.
The law,
when it is joined with the gospel, which is the spirit, commences to become the spirit, which is effectual in
the godly, inasmuch as those who are regenerated commence willingly and
cheerfully to yield obedience to the law.
—Zacharias
Ursinus
The gospel IS
The Spirit.; that is, it is the ministration and means through which the Holy
Ghost, which works spiritual obedience in us, is given. The law is an instrument in progressive sanctification.
REDEMPTION
ACCOMPLISHED AND APPLIED
1
Corinthians 15:1-4
1 Now I make known
to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received,
in which also you stand,
2 by which also you
are saved, if you hold fast the word which I
preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to
you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was
buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
Romans
1:1-4
1 Paul, a
bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of
God,
2 which He promised
beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,
3 concerning His
Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,
4 who was declared
the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the
Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,
Romans
3:24-25
24 being justified
as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
25 whom God
displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to
demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over
the sins previously committed;
Romans
5:9
9 Much more then,
having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God
through Him.
1
Peter 3:18
18 For Christ also
died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us
to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
Hebrews
10:5-7
5 Therefore, when He
comes into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You have not desired,
But a body You have prepared for Me;
6 In whole burnt
offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure.
7
“Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (In the scroll of the book it is written of
Me) To do Your will, O God.’ ”
1
Timothy 3:16
16 By common
confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the
flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the
nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.
Psalm
2:7
7 “I will surely
tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have
begotten You.
Romans
1:4
4 who was declared
the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,
Romans
6:10
10 For the death
that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives
to God.
John
10:36
36 do you say of
Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’
because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
John
17:5
5 “Now, Father,
glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory
which I had with You before the world was.
Hebrews
5:9
9 And having been
made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal
salvation,
John
19:30
30 Therefore when
Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His
head and gave up His spirit.
Justification does not cause
sanctification. Christ causes both.
Philippians
2:12-13
12 So then, my
beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now
much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;
13 for it is God who
is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
conclusion
CHAP. VII.V - Of
God’s Covenant with Man
This covenant was
differently administered in the time of the law, and in the time of the gospel:
(2 Cor. 3:6–9) under the law it was administered by promises, prophecies,
sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb, and other types and ordinances
delivered to the people of the Jews, all fore signifying Christ to come; (Heb.
8–10, Rom. 4:11. Col. 2:11–12, 1 Cor. 5:7) which were, for that time,
sufficient and efficacious, through the operation
of the Spirit, to instruct and build up the elect in faith in the
promised Messiah, (1 Cor. 10:1–4, Heb. 11:13, John 8:56) by whom they had full
remission of sins, and eternal salvation; and is called the old Testament. (Ga.
3:7–9,14)
2
Corinthians 3:6-9
who also made us
adequate as servants of a new covenant,
not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter
kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7 But if the
ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the
sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the
glory of his face, fading as it was,
8 how will the
ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory?
9 For if the
ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of
righteousness abound in glory.
Hebrews
8-10
8:1 Now the main
point in what has been said is this: we
have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne
of the Majesty in the heavens,
2 a minister in
the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.
3 For every high
priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that
this high priest also have something to
offer.
4 Now if He were
on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the
gifts according to the Law;
5 who serve a copy
and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the
tabernacle; for, “See,” He says, “that you make all things according to the
pattern which was shown you on the mountain.”
6 But now He has
obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a
better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.
7 For if that
first covenant had been faultless, there
would have been no occasion sought for a second.
8 For finding
fault with them, He says,
“Behold, days are
coming, says the Lord,
When I will effect a
new covenant
With the house of
Israel and with the house of Judah;
9 Not like the
covenant which I made with their fathers
On the day when I
took them by the hand
To lead them out of
the land of Egypt;
For they did not
continue in My covenant,
And I did not care
for them, says the Lord.
10 “For this is
the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
After those days,
says the Lord:
I will
put My laws into their minds,
And I will write
them on their hearts.
And I will be their
God,
And they shall be My
people.
11 “And they shall
not teach everyone his fellow citizen,
And everyone his
brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
For all will know
Me,
From the least to
the greatest of them.
12 “For I will be
merciful to their iniquities,
And I will remember
their sins no more.”
13 When He said,
“A new covenant,” He has made the first
obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to
disappear.
9:1 Now even the
first covenant had regulations of divine
worship and the earthly sanctuary.
2 For there was a
tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were
the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the
holy place.
3 Behind the
second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies,
4 having a golden
altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in
which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the
tables of the covenant;
5 and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the
mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
6 Now when these
things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer
tabernacle performing the divine worship,
7 but into the
second, only the high priest enters once
a year, not without taking blood, which
he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance.
8 The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy
place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,
9 which is a symbol for
the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered
which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience,
10 since they relate only to food and drink and various
washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.
11 But when Christ
appeared as a high priest of the good
things to come, He entered through the
greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not
of this creation;
12 and not through
the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy
place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
13 For if the
blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have
been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh,
14 how much more
will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself
without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God?
15 For this reason
He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place
for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called
may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
16 For where a
covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it.
17 For a covenant
is valid only when men are dead, for it
is never in force while the one who made it lives.
18 Therefore even
the first covenant was not inaugurated
without blood.
19 For when every
commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he
took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and
hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
20 saying, “This
is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you.”
21 And in the same
way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with
the blood.
22 And according
to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
23 Therefore it
was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with
these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ did
not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy
of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God
for us;
25 nor
was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the
holy place year by year with blood that is not his own.
26 Otherwise, He
would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now
once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by
the sacrifice of Himself.
27 And inasmuch as
it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
28 so Christ also,
having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time
for salvation without reference to sin,
to those who eagerly await Him.
10:1 For the Law,
since it has only a shadow of the good
things to come and not the very form of
things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by
year, make perfect those who draw near.
2 Otherwise, would
they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been
cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?
3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by
year.
4 For it is
impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Therefore, when
He comes into the world, He says,
“Sacrifice and
offering You have not desired,
But a body You have
prepared for Me;
6 In whole burnt
offerings and sacrifices for sin You
have taken no pleasure.
7 “Then I said,
‘Behold, I have come
(In the scroll of
the book it is written of Me)
To do Your will, O
God.’ ”
8 After saying
above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have not desired, nor
have You taken pleasure in them” (which
are offered according to the Law),
9 then He said,
“Behold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to
establish the second.
10 By this will we
have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for
all.
11 Every priest
stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins;
12 but He, having
offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting from
that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.
14 For by one
offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
15 And the Holy
Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,
16 “This is the
covenant that I will make with them
After those days,
says the Lord:
I will put My laws
upon their heart,
And on their mind I
will write them,”
He then says,
17 “And their sins
and their lawless deeds
I will remember no
more.”
18 Now where there
is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.
19 Therefore,
brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of
Jesus,
20 by a new and
living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,
21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw
near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled clean from an evil conscience
and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold
fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is
faithful;
24 and
let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,
25 not
forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing
near.
26 For if we go on
sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer
remains a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a
terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume
the adversaries.
28 Anyone who has
set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the
testimony of two or three witnesses.
29 How much
severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the
Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he
was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
30 For
we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord
will judge His people.”
31 It is a
terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 But remember
the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of
sufferings,
33 partly by being
made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by
becoming sharers with those who were so treated.
34 For you showed
sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property,
knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.
35 Therefore, do
not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have
done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
37 For yet in a
very little while,
He who is coming
will come, and will not delay.
38 But
My righteous one shall live by faith;
And if he shrinks back, My soul
has no pleasure in him.
39 But we are not
of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the
preserving of the soul.
Romans 4:11
11 and he received
the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he
had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe
without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them,
Colossians 2:11-12
11 and in Him you
were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of
the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;
12 having been
buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through
faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
1
Corinthians 5:7
7 Clean
out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For
Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.
1
Corinthians 10:1-4
10:1 For I do not
want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea;
2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 and all ate the
same spiritual food;
4 and all drank
the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking
from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.
Heb
11:13
13 All these died
in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having
welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers
and exiles on the earth.
John
8:56
56 “Your father
Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and
was glad.”
Galatians
3:7-14
Therefore, be sure
that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.
8 The Scripture,
foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel
beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the
nations will be blessed in you.”
9 So then those
who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
10 For as many as
are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is
everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to
perform them.”
11 Now that no one
is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall
live by faith.”
12 However, the
Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by
them.”
13 Christ redeemed
us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written,
“Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—
14 in order that
in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we
would receive the promise of the Spirit
17 things which
are a mere shadow of what is to come;
but the substance belongs to Christ.
---
Our
best obedience may be corrupted, but it is nevertheless acceptable tot God
because of the mediatorial work of His son. The gospel commands with the same
strength as the law—If not with greater intensity.
Ephesians
2:10
10 For
we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Romans
8:29
29 For
those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many
brethren
2
Corinthians 3:18
18 But
we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are
being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the
Lord, the Spirit.
