Law and Gospel
by R.C. Sproul Jr.

"Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary we establish the law" (Romans 3:31). Now there is a straightforward answer. Here is Paul rightly dividing. Paul writes to the Romans a powerful epistle that lays before them the narrow way. The mire of legalism lies to the right, the playground of antinomianism to the left. Many are they that fall off the path to one side or the other. And for good reason. It is Paul's inspired habit to steer folks through this minefield not by quietly whispering, "Steady, steady, easy now." Rather he tends to shout, "Hey, watch out! Death and destruction to the right. Stay away! I barely kept Peter himself from falling in there." And then with equal vigor, "Beware! Mayhem and misery to the left. Don't go anywhere near there." He does this, I believe, because both temptations are strong, and the way is indeed narrow.

In the above passage he has just finished a long exposition on what the law cannot do. Therefore by the deeds of the flesh will no man be justified' (verse 20). On the face it would seem that legalism holds little appeal. If my wrong choices are constant self-denial, or constant self-gratification, it hardly seems like a choice. That just goes to prove what a powerful thing pride is. We seek justification through obedience to the law not because it's so much fun to obey, but because we want to be able to pat ourselves on the back. We will scratch and claw our way into heaven not because we enjoy the climb, but, in the words of Edmund Hillary, because it is there. It is a great thing to be able to do a difficult thing. But Paul tells us that this is not a difficult thing, but an impossible thing. Verse 20 isn't some warning at the bottom of Everest saying, "You know, very few people that try this ever make it" but tells us instead that no one will be justified.

But we know that, don't we? Ours is an antinomian age. It's just those foolish Roman and Eastern folks that try to work their way in. I get troubled when folks sound the warning against legalism. We need more law these days, not less. But pride is a subtle thing. True most evangelical church goers know that when the elders ask why God should let them into heaven, that they're supposed to praise Jesus. But I fear that a careful examination of our hearts may reveal that the monster legalism isn't quite dead yet. Many of us, when we perform our spiritual exercises, in that darkest part of our deceptive hearts think, "Well, God must be pleased with me now. See how nice I was to that rude person. See how well I did in my quiet time. Mercy me, I just spent ten minutes in prayer without getting distracted, I must be sitting in the front row." Or we do the same in a sort of broad way, thinking what nice clean middle class lives we're leading, and being as good as the other folks down at the women's circle, we'll get in. It's in there, because pride is in there.

Having decimated legalism Paul here bars the way to antinomianism. We do not make void the law through faith, we establish it. The law isn't going anywhere. Jesus told us that in the Sermon on the Mount. Not a jot or tittle of it. That it will not save us, that we must not look to it for redemption says nothing about not needing it. If I thought I could live on water alone, learning that's not enough doesn't mean I need never drink. In fact, eating will serve to make the water quench my thirst. I must keep the law, for it is the law of God. Being reborn, having a heart of flesh, now sin no longer has a hold on me, so I must obey. I'm free from sin, not from the law. Do not, Paul is saying, forget to obey. In fact, when we forget to obey we show ourselves to still be under the law. We show ourselves to have forgotten the gospel itself.

That's how these twin enemies join forces against us. First antinomianism serves to lower the bar, to make the requirements of God seem to be attainable. Then how easy it is for us to stand up and announce that we have reached the summit. Without the antinomianism the law is too hard. Without the legalism, we'll have nothing to boast of.

This then is the narrow way. We are justified by the law, by the keeping of the law that Christ did on our behalf. That is how I stand in the presence of God, crying out, "Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling." It's not me keeping the law. That earns me only hell, for I cannot do it. By His work I am judged. And by His life and death I am set free that I can obey His law. To the legalist the law is the stench of death, to the redeemed in Christ the savor of life. The legalist bids us drink deep in the cistern of death. The antinomian leaves us athirst.

Faith means believing God. We believe first in His gospel, that His Son has kept the law on our behalf, and taken His wrath on our behalf. But faith established the law because being reborn we believe that His law is ours, the way of the life that Christ has already won for us. Love His law, as our only rule for practice, but never, never forget that we are justified by faith. And that, a gift from God. Love His gospel as gospel, not as license. And love His law as law, and never as gospel.