Grace and Law VII: Help from John Calvin

Law and Gospel as the Christian Life’s Framework

Welcome to the Whole Council podcast. I'm Jon Snyder and with me again is Steve Crampton and we are looking at the relationship between law and gospel and how that affects the Christian life which is so important and especially in a day where there's some confusion even among genuine believers and so I think that makes it even more critical that we you know borrow from the older writers go back to the scripture and make sure that we have the right balance.

We've been using this book and you can find it in the link of the show notes The Law and the Gospel by Ernie Reisinger. Now Reisinger is a more of a modern writer he's passed away now but he was I think the first Baptist to be on the board of the Banner of Truth Trust and he was a Baptist minister and really was key in the Founders Movement which is a movement among Southern Baptists toward we believe you know a healthier more biblical theology.

So we've been looking at some of the quotes by John Calvin not because we call Calvin our master theologically but because Reisinger pulls out a number of quotes from Calvin representing really the magisterial the earliest reformers in their view of law and the gospel and so these are really very helpful quotes.

The Law Summons the Conscience to God’s Judgment

So Steve you want to start us off? Sure. Picking up a little bit where we left off. The peculiar office of the law is to summon consciences to the judgment seat of God. So earlier he had used the image of an invitation but here it's quite a different picture summoning us to the judgment seat of God and yet it seems to me as we've touched on before it is a necessary stopping point or a way station on the way to salvation.

If we don't get to the judgment seat and open the blind eyes that we have deluded ourselves with thinking that we're all fine we don't recognize that need the desperate need for the Savior and his fulfillment of the law.

I have a question for you. A couple of podcasts back we talked about the existence of the law which Romans 2 and 5 speak of the existence of the law prior to the written law on Mount Sinai so we have an unwritten law yet it is the same in substance and authority as the written law and we we talked about how we see evidences of that but that was written on the conscience of humanity.

So if every person by being created in the image of God even though sin has warped and bent that image it has not erased it if every person has some residue of right and wrong in our conscience some residue of the law some you know you can still see the writing a little bit so to speak why does the written law why does the moral law have to bring our conscience the the innate imprinted law to the judgment seat of God why isn't the conscience enough.

Well it seems to me you sort of gave away the answer in the wording of your question we have eroded defaced the law written on our conscience in our heart to such an extent that but for God's gracious giving of that written law written by the finger of God himself at Sinai we would be hopelessly lost again we couldn't find our way.

It's almost as if we have taken in a figurative sense our own hands and ripped our eyes out in a desperate attempt not to see the law. It hurts to be confronted with our own sinfulness doesn't it. It's a hideous view.

Yeah so we have a conscience but conscience is only as good as the information it's being fed morally. And since the fall like you said we we really would prefer self-delusion. So our conscience tells us some things are right some things are wrong.

But the conscience is and is an inadequate witness now as sin has impacted it and as we can kind of deaden it. But the law what's written on these pages as we see these things we realize I'm not what I thought.

The Law and the Gospel as Shadow and Living Color

I was so very helpful. Yeah next one he he mentions Calvin's comments on Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 1. And he Calvin says this under the law was shadowed forth only in rude and imperfect lines. What is under the gospel set forth in living colors and graphically distinct to both the same Christ is exhibited the same righteousness sanctification and salvation.

And the difference only is in the manner of painting or setting them forth. So that's quite a big statement. I mean it's a beautiful picture. Yes you know under the Old Covenant and the law and especially if we think of the law you know not just the moral law but the the ceremonial law which showed how how can men and women who fail the moral law have any hope of drawing near to a holy God.

Well we have the sacrificial law so we have the perfection of God the expectations of our God set forth in the moral law and we have the hope coming through the sacrifice of God's Lamb in the ceremonial law.

But the Old Testament's it's it's like a pencil sketch and the New Testament is like HD television you know. Yeah that's actually the image in my mind this shows I guess exposes me of the television generation.

You remember in the old days when you just had black and white and you had to really work with your antenna to get anything other than just snow. And now you've got this like you say the HD incredible resolution these huge screens and such a vivid focus in sharp detail of what you're looking at.

So in the Old Testament and in those images you had just that shadow and that's a really beautiful description that he gives us here and yet as dim as it may be as we look back and read those Old Testament descriptions and read the the details of the ceremonial law in particular I'm thinking of you can see with much more clarity now those pictures of Christ that are there and you wonder at least I do what was it like for the Jew in those early days of the sacrificial system how obviously you are dependent on the revelation of the Holy Spirit to enlighten your soul.

And I'm the eye of your heart. But how much could they see and understand which we again looking back can see with much more clarity of Christ in those pictures. Yeah I think that you know we've used the illustration before of silhouettes little paintings of our children.

So a silhouette of course is just kind of a blacked-out image of your child's face. And you can usually it's you know the profile and you see their face. And so if you had never met the children and you just saw so you just saw a string of children like you know on the hearth above the fireplace you see these silhouettes you think I know a little bit about them.

I know the nose shape maybe the hairstyle and the chin the lips the eyes. I don't know what color you know their eyes were the skin the hair. I don't know anything else. I just know a little. But if you know the children personally and then you look at the silhouettes your mind recognizes and you say oh I know them and I know that I know all the detail.

That's not there. So the gospel has brought us to God through Christ. And there is clarity there that the Old Covenant does not yet afford the progressive revelation. It's always getting more clear more bright.

But when we look back like you said we recognize our Savior in so many of these images. And I think the point you made is critical that I want us to repeat it. It takes the work of the Holy Spirit to open the eyes.

We think of the book of Acts and Lydia God opened her eyes to receive the gospel. The gospel is such a clear full explanation of how we have peace with God. And yet without the work of the Spirit Lydia would not have grabbed it.

The Old Covenant with its pencil sketches foreshadowings. It's you know it's it's it's lessons by you know these object lessons are teaching you where to set your hope by the Holy Spirit those led to the faith that embraced the coming Messiah and salvation.

And without the Holy Spirit nobody's seeing a sacrifice was ever saved. Yeah so wonderful reminder of how needy we are. Another one when Christ or the Apostles are treating of a perfect life when they speak of a life of obedience they always refer believers to the law.

Christ and the Apostles Refer Believers to the Law

Yeah. Again there's only one real objective reality and standard for righteousness. And whether we have made the connection in our own minds or not that is what the standard is. And so as Calvin puts it here when anyone wants to describe that perfect life he's bringing it into line with the the holy just righteous standard of God alone.

There's only that one standard. And so it's one of the things that has been kind of swirling in my own mind as we've undertaken this study. John is for those that want to say the law is really of no consequence for us as believers.

Now where do you get the walking near to the Savior. He is the Holy One of God. You can't get close to holiness without walking in a holy path yourself. Right. It doesn't work. So if you want to throw the law out you have to throw God Himself and his righteous Son out.

There's there's no two ways about it. Is there. Yeah I think that you know with the New Testament epistles explaining to to Jews but also to Gentiles. Well what does a right life look like you know. And so as they constantly are bringing them back to the principles of the Ten Commandments sometimes a direct quote from the Old Testament.

I think one thing you know that the things that you said are obvious. But another way is to kind of flip it and ask this. Can you imagine Paul saying well now that the cross is complete the sacrifice has been given the old covenants foreshadowings are are you know completed now fulfilled in this new life of the new covenant.

Adultery is actually a pleasing thing to God. And so is theft and so is murder and so is deceit and so is idolatry. You know we we would be appalled if someone said that recoil in horror because what we talked about in earlier episodes it is the unalterable the immutable moral perfection of God that forms the content of this law.

And it is the fact that he is our Creator as well as our Redeemer that that brings that to bear upon us. So we see that unchanging moral law guiding the advice and the counsel and the commands of the Apostles dealing with baby Christians and likewise scriptures clear we're being conformed into the image of Christ.

Well what's the image of Christ. It is holiness. Right. You can't get there apart from holiness. Yeah. So another one he who is the foundation of the covenant of grace held also the highest rank in the giving of the law.

Christ Gives Life to the Law

So what's what's he talking about. Well I take it as he's looking at the he who is the foundation of the covenant of grace is of course God himself held also the highest rank in the giving of the law.

That is God the Son and the Holy Spirit as we talked about previously both gave the law and in the person of Christ fulfilled the law. So the grace coming through Christ the law also came through Christ.

They are one as they would say in the East and this is just another sort of perspective a facet that Calvin is looking at that truth through another prism side. Yeah so we talked about that before. That's a great quote.

He gives another one the law was the grammar of theology and I think in this quote he's not talking about the grammar like in a sentence but a grammar school. Okay let me so let's we'll see. The law was the grammar.

I'm gonna say the grammar school of theology which after carrying its scholars a short way handed them over to faith. I I think he's saying like like grammar school teacher. Okay so the law taught you in the earliest stages and it led you you know to middle school to high school to college whatever it it leads you on to the advanced stages of learning.

So as the grammar school which you know in this period I guess would be like all your childhood not just not you know just for a second third grade the law taught you what you needed to know to go on to the advanced education.

And the advanced education is that it led you to believe in Christ it led you to what we've been talking about a sense of your need for a Savior. So law leads to faith and we shared work in a homeschool co-op that taught by the classical method and what I took from this it's along those lines.

But in that classical view of the trivium you have grammar as the early stages as you say and sort of the nuts and bolts of the lesson whatever the topic might be which then leads on to logic as the middle stage and then finally to rhetoric as the most advanced stage.

So perhaps this is forcing a little too much on it but it does seem to me we could argue that the law is the the grammar stage here kind of as what you were just saying and then the logic stage might be I don't know maybe at Calvary itself and then the rhetoric stages as we come through that process progressively we get to the full bloom of that process in the rhetoric stage where we are walking then with the Holy Spirit in harmony with that law.

Yeah so the law dealing with us in the earliest stages to lead us to faith. Yeah he says if the law be separated from Christ it is a dead letter. And we talked about this this this is dealt with a lot especially in the writings of Paul if the law is separated from Christ a Christless law so you still have the same perfect law.

No Christ not leading to Christ not fulfilled by Christ not coming to you from the hand of Christ then it's a dead letter. Christ alone gives it life. So Steve how does Christ give this whole issue of moral law life.

Well I'd say again we touched on this before it's sort of back to that false tension between Moses and Jesus. Moses I think knew in a way that few Old Testament characters did that the law only could its fulfillment its perfection in Christ himself.

And so like you would use the image previously of the trunk the roots and the trunk the law set the stage if you will for Christ to fulfill and bring to fruition the giving of grace and life through it.

So the law as again the Judaizers and the Pharisees would want to sever it from Christ it is dead. And that's what Paul talks about often in his epistles right in Romans in particular that it is a dead letter apart from the spirit.

So you got the the letter of the law we talk about in law and the spirit as Paul alludes to without the spirit that Holy Spirit that comes through Christ the law is dead. Take. Yeah if we just say if we take the word death and apply it two ways there which you just mentioned one is the law itself is that that is it has no ability no vitality in itself to really fix us to bring life.

Right. It's just you we come to it and it just doesn't get up off the page and do what we hope it'll do. Rule-keeping apart from Christ is just it's a dead thing. It cannot help you. Also it produces death.

As we talked about in Romans 7 the law is a letter that hands death to you every time that you try to use it in order to scrub yourself up and make yourself a better person. You know it just you know it's a scrub brush that the more you scrub it just reveals how deep the dirt has gone.

And so you are more and more condemned the more contact you have with God's law. So it is a dead letter. It has no life to to you and it condemns you. But in Christ the law leads to the life of Christ to life in him.

And in Christ the law Christ giving us life. The law then becomes a wonderful path of life that Christ's strength within us the new birth showing itself in a desire to walk a path of the obedience. And that path is is really a path of life.

Yes it lights the way where we walk alongside Christ in loving harmony. Next in all the ceremonies of the law faith beholds the salvation which has been manifested in Christ which we sort of touched on earlier right where again when you have been enlightened and the Spirit opens the eyes of your heart you see in those ceremonies and it's such a beautiful picture.

And yet again I confess many is the time I've read through the law and not seen those pictures of Christ. So I find every time I go back I see more and more and it's a beautiful thing. It's almost limitless in the images the types the shadows the angles and perspectives it gives us of Christ in his wonderful work.

The Ceremonies of the Law as Pictures of Christ

Yeah the next one I think is really wonderful noting that it comes from Calvin who often gets accused of being a bit of a hyper Calvinist. He says this Moses had no other intention than to invite all men to go straight to Christ.

And that really is what the law does think about it. Without the law there are so many places my heart would go to find relief. So you know all these all these pit stops along the road you know. So that the cross is here in front of me.

And I think oh you know I can't bear what that says about me. I can't bear it to be naked before the eyes of God. And you know and to end the unconditional surrender it will call for. So here's morality.

And if if I don't read what God says in his book then my morality will be kind of fashioned my by my culture adjusted a little by me to fit me. And I will keep what I like of it disregard what I don't like and tell myself I'm fixed.

Religion is a great stopping place. You know it's a great detour on the way to Christ. I'll join the church I'll get my baptism. I'll take the Lord's Supper. I'll read the books they read dress the way they dress talk the way they talk receive affirmation.

Yeah. And and in the midst of all that like you said you know the entire church turns and says it's just so encouraging to see what a wonderful Christian you are. And you didn't have to go through that horrible chasm of conviction.

You didn't have to be emptied before Christ. You got to keep. You know you didn't have to be murdered by the law. You got to keep all your good in good views of yourself. But it was by embracing a religion that did not tell you the truth about the law.

And so you never were forced to run to Christ. Yeah it costs less with to go through those detours. And by the way as you're describing all of those what I keep seeing in my mind is the pictures of Christian and pilgrims progress.

Right. And by the way just a footnote. I don't know that Calvin himself could be a hyper Calvinist. Just a just a thing. Coffee coffee. All. Right. Steve hit us with the last all. Right the last one we ought to imitate the prophets who conveyed the doctrine of the law in such a manner as to draw from it advices reproofs threatenings and consolations which they applied to the present condition of the people.

Prophetic Uses of the Law for Reproof, Consolation, and Guidance

What's he talking about. We ought to imitate the prophets who conveyed the doctrine of the law in such a measure as to draw from it advices reproofs threatenings and consolations implying it. Yeah. So if we want to be faithful representatives of God then like the prophets.

And we could say the Apostles as well. He's commenting here on on the book of Isaiah from comments from Calvin from Isaiah so he's limiting himself to the Old Testament prophets. But I think we could add the Apostles.

The law is a perfect you know treasure chest for us to be able to bring out what is necessary. So if if we find a friend that's drifting carelessly and saying hey I'm a Christian so really does it matter we bring him back to you know this is your God and this is what this pleases your God.

And this is what pleases your God. And if you're a Christian that matters in a way that it never mattered before. Also you know if a person is confused you know I I don't know how to help my children in the situation.

I don't I don't know how to act at work in this situation. What do I do in in a church situation. There's conflict and I wish I knew I want to do what honors the Lord. You're not left to your imagination.

We go back to the law. How does this path inform us on the right way to follow Christ. We say we'll follow Christ. Well but Christ obeyed the law. So can the law help me with the specifics. And you know and even the consolations we I think you know we look at the law and we see our failures.

And that's not false humility. We see them and sometimes they're horrific and sometimes they just you know you wonder how could God still love me. Can I still be in his family. And you look at the law and you think I don't see any consolation there.

And you do if you see the law in the light of Christ Christ obeyed every aspect of the law perfectly and I turned from me again. I am a lawbreaker by nature. And though I've been brought into God's family I have I still see so many expressions of that.

But my Redeemer who represents me never broke the law. And so there is perfect righteousness described in the law and fulfilled in him. And I would just add he unpacks it here. There is that element of law.

We're just talking primarily about the Ten Commandments but they are summaries. They're the compacted sometimes called the ten words. And when you look at all of Scripture some have said and I think Reisinger uses this quote all of law all of Scripture in one sense is a commentary on the biblical law the moral law.

So you have to unpack it to get those advices and reproofs and threatenings and so forth. But it's there when we view it appropriately from the right perspective. Yeah certainly. And that's going to be our next podcast.

What are the principles for approaching the Ten Commandments in a way that is most biblical. Does the Bible itself in the way that its authors deal with the law. Does it give us implied in there are there these implied principles for approaching the law.

And we believe there is and I have to say that for probably you know the better part of 40 some years going to church going to seminary being a pastor I really did not understand the fullness of the Ten Commandments as being a summary of the complete moral law and how they were intended to be seen as portable you know carriable explanation of law.

And then what follows. Of course in the Old Testament but throughout the entire Bible is really just an unfolding of that in every possible way that we need. So we'll talk about that at our next podcast and we hope you'll be able to join us.