Truth: "Works of the Law"

Truth: Bible Truth

"Works of the Law" - Page 17

The "letters engraved on stones" refers to none other than the Ten Commandments that God wrote with his own finger on the stone tablets that Moses presented to the people of Israel (Exodus 19-20). But notice that Paul calls that entire engraving a "ministry of death" and a "ministry of condemnation." Why? Because as we have already seen, the Law's main purpose was to convict men in sin so that they would turn to God's grace. Does Paul make any distinction between the moral and ceremonial laws? No, because it is the whole Law he has in view, since the whole Old Covenant was a "ministry of death and condemnation."

The New Covenant

Now, let's go back to what Jesus has done for us in the New Covenant. As I said above, not only has He improved upon the moral laws of the Old Covenant, but he has also improved upon the ceremonial laws. In the Old Covenant the ceremonial laws were merely signs and seals of God's promises. But in the New Covenant the ceremonies, that is, the seven sacraments, are not only signs but they do the very thing that the sign signifies!

For example, the sign of Baptism replaced the sign of Circumcision. Circumcision was a sign of the Old Covenant but it had no power to save. But Baptism is a sign of the New Covenant that actually saves us in the act of being baptized! Not only that, but baptism can be given to Jew and Gentile, male and female, child and adult. It is universal and salvific. A much improved situation than what was possible in the Old Covenant.

But lest anyone think that the New Covenant is a mechanical religion (akin to what the Jews often made of the ceremonial law of the Old Covenant), the sacraments of the New Covenant require faith, first and foremost, in order to make them efficacious. If faith is absent, then Baptism only gets you wet; it doesn't save. And in this way, we see the essence of the New Covenant, which is faith. It is not a religion in which we go to the baptismal font to pay our dues to God and then expect Him to repay us for our efforts with salvation. That is the very legal system Paul condemned, both for Jew and Gentile. Salvation is not of works by which we can buy our way into heaven.

But you may ask, if that is the case with works, then how is it that Catholics say we are justified by our works, as St. James says in James 2:24: "You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone."

Paul says more or less the same thing in Romans 2:6-13:

"God, 6 who will render to each person according to his deeds: 7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation...13 for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified."

The reason these works can be rewarded with justification and eternal life is simply that they are NOT rewarded on the basis of debt or law, but on the basis of grace. The only kind of works Paul disallows for justification are works performed in the system of Law, which is a legal system totally devoid of grace. Works performed in the system of grace are always meritorious, because God, by His very nature, seeks to reward those who do good. So notice that its not the KIND of works that is at issue, but the SYSTEM in which one performs those works - a system of Law (the Old Covenant) or a system of Grace (the New Covenant).

One gets into the system of grace by accepting God in faith. Once one believes, then he can work for God, and as he works God will reward him graciously for his efforts. The more one believes and works, the closer he comes to God until, one day, his life is over and God takes him home. There, in heaven, he will receive the ultimate reward of grace.

While on earth, however, he must live up to the standards of the New Covenant. As stated previously, Jesus is the sole Lawgiver and Judge of the New Covenant. It is to Him we answer for both our good deeds and bad deeds (cf., 2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10-12; Matthew 16:27; Revelation 22:11-12; John 5:28-29). As such, the book of Hebrews gives us a remarkable comparison regarding the judgment for sin in the New Covenant as compared with judgment for sin in the Old Covenant. Hebrews 10:26-31 states:

26 "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge his people." 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

"Works of the Law" - Page 17

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