Wayne's World (4Sep08)

Sanctification and righteousness by the law.

Fact or fallacy?

 

Wayne Duncan

 

There has been some debate of late regarding the process of sanctification. Some maintain that once saved by grace, you now "work out your salvation" and sanctification by using the law and the commandments of the new testament, as the new standard. This study looks specifically at the law component. The next study will deal with the commandments of the New Testament as the standard/new law.

 

In his book "Living Under Grace", Michael Eaton addresses this issue (chapter 30 page 131-133). He shows where it came from in theological history, actually who it came from, and suggests the relevancy of this doctrine.

 

Michaels book is a series of preaches he did through Romans 6 and 7:1-25

ISBN 0-85009-703-7

 

This section is from Romans 7:4

 

"Before we continue to unpack the principles in this radical statement (you died to the law Romans 7:4), it would be helpful to look at a difficulty that has sometimes been caused by this "dying to the law". It has sometimes cause difficulty, because in the story of the church there has been a tendency to drift into moralism. When Paul spoke about "the law", he was talking about everything that came to us through Moses. He said that we have died to the entire Mosaic system. It is not a way of justification or sanctification.

 

This doctrine of freedom from the Mosaic Law and life under the grace of God was soon forgotten. One does not have to go very far into the story of the church before you find little grasp of the grace of God in Jesus. Within a century the church became full of moralism, more than full of grace. The great Augustine had a grasp of the grace of God but even he never quite went back to the apostle Paul with regard to the teaching about "the law".

 

In the thirteenth century a theologian named Thomas Aquinas was powerfully influential and wrote Summa Theologiae (a summery of theology), which included many pages on "the old law", the law of God given on Sinai. Thomas Aquinas formulated a doctrine of law using as the framework the thought of the Greek Aristotle, plus Paul and Augustine.

 

He divided the law into three. The moral laws are the principles of right and wrong. For Aquinas they are the same as the "natural law", the basic law on everyone's conscience which can be deduced by unaided reason without the need of God word.. The ceremonial  laws are the Old Testament legislation about sacrifices and holy days and so on. Aquinas thinks this part of the law is abolished, and is "not only dead, but deadly". Then there are the judicial laws which are regulations concerning justice which were special to the nation of Israel. He taught that judicial laws are "dead since they have no binding force but are not deadly", and that if a ruler imposed them he was not guilty of sin. 

 

Thomas Aquinas, like all theologians between Paul and Luther, taught that all were "justified" before God by the good works of the new nature God's grace works in us. The law helps to guide our good works (said Aquinas) the "old law" of Moses has permanent value to guide us in righteousness even though parts of it have been abolished. Thomas Aquinas had no idea of Paul's teaching that Christ's righteousness is "reckoned" ours when we believe in Jesus. His teaching became the basis of Roman Catholic doctrine.

 

At the time of the reformation in the sixteenth century the gospel-preachers discovered the gospel of the Bible and especially of Paul. They discovered that justification was not at all by our own godliness but was by the righteousness of Jesus being reckoned ours. They saw clearly what Paul meant when he said we are not "justified by the works of the law". So they rejected the teaching of Aquinas and others that justification comes by a mixture of faith and love and other aspects of godliness including law keeping. They said salvation comes by Jesus' righteousness being given to us, and that is grasped by faith only. However they accepted the divisions into three.

 

The teaching of the gospel-preachers that we are justified only by faith scandalized the Catholics. "You are saying that we do not have to obey the law of God" they said. "Your so called gospel encourages sin". Sound familiar?

 

The sixteenth century gospel-preachers replied, "Well, we are free from the law as a way of justification, but we still have the law (that is Aquinas' moral law) as a way of sanctification." This idea became dominant and Paul's teaching that we have died to the law in order to bear fruit to God (that is in order to be sanctified!) was missed. It became the habit among Christians to talk about "the law" but mean only certain bits of the law of Moses (actually less than 1% of it!) and to say that this was a "rule of life" for the Christian.

 

We now need to ask the question, "How much of the traditional teachings of the churches grasped hold of Paul's teachings?" And the answer is: Not much! Most of it is Aquinas more than Paul!

 

The time is ripe for us to take a step nearer to the Bible than ever before. We can stand on the shoulders of great men who have preceded us, and we shall learn things they did not see and yet they have helped us. "The law" is a case in point.

 

Paul quite clearly teaches that we have died to the law in order to be fruitful towards God. Is "being fruitful" justification or sanctification? It is sanctification. We died to the law "in order to live unto God" (Gal 2:19). Is "living unto God justification or sanctification?  Clearly these verses say we have died to the law, not just in the matter of justification but with regard to our total relationship to God. Paul makes precisely this point to the Galatians. Having begun with the Spirit he asks, are you now going back to Mosaic law-keeping? The Galatians were already saved! They were wanting to turn back to the Mosaic Law as a means of being holy. It is this as Paul denounces as turning back to the flesh.

 

The truth is: we have to die to the law altogether! We have to relate differently to God if we are to be fruitful, if we are to "live to God". At our point in the history of the church we must be ready to go beyond Calvin, behind Thomas Aquinas, behind Augustine, and back to Paul back to Jesus, back to walking in the Spirit. We shall fulfill the law, but we shall do so by walking in the Spirit" Michael Eaton 

 

This is amazing teaching and groundbreaking research by Michael Eaton. He has read over 4000 books on reformed theology, and is an authority on Greek and Hebrew. Which does not mean he has the truth, it just means he is a gift to the body.  It's amazing to me that it can be pinpointed through history where this moral law theology came into our belief system. I would ask Aquinas where he got the authority to dissect Gods holy law, and decide what parts are relevant and what parts are not. He/we have no authority to do that. Not that it matters, were dead to the law! For justification and sanctification.

 

On a personal note I don't subscribe to the "now prove your salvation/work it our/keep laws/commands for sanctification and holiness, and if you don't your not right with God and fall under a curse "type" of Christianity. I think what's important here is that there is a choice of theology available for Christians. I think we should have the freedom to make that choice without being branded heretics. It's ok to discuss theology and thrash it around, it strengthens our beliefs, and deepens our knowledge and hunger for the word. It seems many reputable theologians around the world believe we are free from the law (all of it), that we are saved, justified and sanctified apart from the law. Surely we are free to believe this too?  It may even be what the scriptures say!

 

"Paul's teaching is that if you walk in the spirit deliberately, we shall fulfill the law accidently"

Michael Eaton…

 

Rom 3:20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law 21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe

 

Righteousness apart from the law, and apart from observing the law.

 

Rom 5:19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

 

Made righteous by His obedience on our behalf.

 

Rom 8:3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

 

Righteous requirements of the law are fully met in us.

 

II Corinthians 5:21:God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

 

He bore our sin so we can be righteous. Sinning does not remove our righteousness, our sin fell on Him, and our sins are no longer counted against us, they were counted against Him.

 

Rom 4:5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. 6David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7"Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."

 

The gospel is clear. Jesus lived the perfect life on my behalf. He fulfilled the law on my behalf. He was obedient on my behalf. I'm made righteous by believing through faith in what Jesus did for me.  We are not sanctified or made righteous by observing the law, it's by faith and faith alone.

 

Sanctification is a co-operation with the holy-spirits working in us…it's the progressive work of Him in us and us yielding to Him. It has nothing to do with the Mosaic Law.

 

Gal 2:19 For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"