We are said to walk according to either of these states [flesh/spirit, law/gospel], or to the principles and means that belong to either of them, when we are moved and guided by virtue of them to such actings as are agreeable to them. Thus kings act according to their state in commanding authoritatively, and in magnificent bounty; poor men, in a way of service and obedience, and children, indiscriminately…So the manner of practice here directed to consists in moving and guiding ourselves in the performance of the works of the law by gospel principles and means. This is the rare and excellent art of godliness, in which every Christian should strive to be skillful and expert.
-Walter Marshall, The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification, Loc. 2705-10 (Get a free copy for Kindle HERE).
I love the phrase “the rare and excellent art of godliness.” This art, Marshall says, is “the performance of the works of the law by gospel principles and means.” He adds that Christians should exert themselves to become skillful experts in the practice of this art.
William Perkins called theology “the science of living blessedly forever.” This is the Puritan notion of biblical application: We study the Scriptures in order to understand and apply (though you cannot separate understanding and application) the Law and the Gospel. And the one who understands/applies the Law and the Gospel properly will be driven to the gospel by the law and then empowered by the gospel unto obedience; that is, to “perform the works of the law by gospel principles and means.”
There are three quotes that I always go to in order to illustrate this principle:
First, Samuel Bolton, in The True Bounds of Christian Freedom, put it this way: “The law sends us to the gospel for our justification; the gospel sends us to the law to frame our way of life.” Second, Isaac Watts put it this way:
The Law commands and makes us know
What duties to our God we owe
But ’tis the Gospel must reveal
Where lies our strength to do His will
Third, Ralph Erskine wrote,
The law says, Do, and life you’ll win;
But grace says, Live, for all is done.
Each author is making the same point; and it is a point that we need to heed if we want to be “skilled and expert” in the “rare and excellent art of godliness.”
Three excellent quotes to help us understand law and gospel. The thought occurred to me while reading, we have to look to Christ to live according to the law. We cannot look to the law for the ability, but to Christ alone. That does not mean we ignore the law, but there is no power or ability given from the law. In Christ alone…
Absolutely!