Ignorance of the difference between the law and the gospel promotes also, in a great degree, the strength and influence of a self-righteous temper. When a man is driven to acts of obedience by the dread of God’s wrath revealed in the law and not drawn to them by the belief of His love revealed in the gospel; when he fears God because of His power and justice and not because of His goodness; when he regards God more as an avenging judge than as a compassionate friend and father; and when he contemplates God rather as terrible in majesty than as infinite in grace and mercy, he shows that he is under the dominion, or at least under the prevalence, of a legal spirit. If he builds his faith of the pardon of sin, of the favor of God, and of eternal life on any graces that he supposes are implanted in him or on any duties that are performed by him, he is evidently under the power of a self-righteous temper. He shows that he is under the influence of this hateful temper by grounding his hope and his comfort on conditions performed by himself and not on the gracious and absolute promises of the gospel. In a word, when his hope of divine mercy is raised by the liveliness of his frame in duties and not by discoveries of the freeness and riches of redeeming grace offered to him in the gospel; or when he expects eternal life not as the gift of God through Jesus Christ but as a recompense from God for his own obedience and suffering, he plainly shows that he is under the power of a legal spirit. Now, if he is ignorant of the leading distinctions between the law and the gospel, this ignorance will strengthen his legal propensity and confirm him in his resolution to seek justification partly, if not wholly, by the works of the law.
John Colquhoun | A Treatise on the Law and Gospel (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books), 129–30.
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Tony Phelps
Tony grew up in Rhode Island. He was educated at BA (University of Rhode Island) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He worked in the insurance industry for ten years. He planted a PCA church in Wakefield, RI where he served for eleven years. In 2015–18 he pastored Covenant Reformed Church (URCNA) in Colorado Springs. He is currently pastor of Living Hope (OPC). Tony is married to Donna and together they have three children.
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This one made me say, “Wow!” (in a good way!) after I got done reading it. Colquhoun got it.
We desperately need to recover this vital and oft-neglected distinction even in the tiny NAPARC world many readers inhabit, including me (I’m looking at you, OPC 🙂). A brother told me the other day that he’s worried that emphasizing God’s grace too much in the Sermon on the Mount will cloud its intention to guide believers in sanctification. He’s a godly and learned man, trained at one of the best seminaries, whom the congregation and I both love and respect.
His desire, I think, is right to see the Lord use the Sermon on the Mount to also bring about sanctification in His church, but it’s not going to be done by deemphasizing the grace given us in the gospel of Christ—quite the contrary.
Lord, help us and the teachers and preachers of your Word to recover this law/gospel distinction so that we might see Christ more clearly and love him more dearly in grateful response to such grace given to us in Him.
Wonderful thoughts to remind ourselves daily of the abundant justifying grace of the gospel. I really appreciate the quotes you post. Blessings!😊