Everlasting Life
Through Faith in Jesus
I was blessed in being able to read about contrasts between law and grace today and just had to share treasure with you all. I'm always put at peace anew when reading about the complete sufficiency of Jesus Christ for our salvation. So, I’ve typed out a section that you might appreciate (hopefully I've caught all the mistakes).
This is an excerpt by Lewis Sperry Chafer from his Systematic Theology (if you can get a hold of this or any books of his you'll have a real treasure in your hands). It's from volume IV and pg. 229-233. To the best of my ability, I’ve copied accurately. I have used a different bible version in the Gal. 4:21-31 section and italicized bible passages for easier reading. The inserts are Chafer's with the exception of a few of mine to explain or define a word a bit more or clarify something that might be confusing, you’ll see EL in it. This is in his section called Contrasts Between Law and Grace:
…..Since the covenant of grace which is based on human faith was established in the promises made to Abraham, the covenant of the law, made four hundred years later, and added only for a temporary purpose, cannot disannul it. The reign of law, with it’s covenant of works, ceased with the death of Christ. It’s purpose had been accomplished, and it’s appointed time had expired. Thus the by-faith principle which was announced in the Abrahamic covenant is brought again into force, through the death of Christ. The divine blessing is now unto him that “worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly.” “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” “now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him [ E.L.’s insert here: a one time event when in repentance, believing faith is placed in Jesus] that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification” (Rom. 4:3, 5, 23-25). By this Scripture it is announced that the by-faith principle of the Abrahamic covenant is continued and now offered through the sacrificial death of Christ. This fact is restated thus: “So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. . . The law is not of faith” (Gal. 3:9-12). The law was a covenant of works; but the works always failed through the weakness of the flesh, and the law then became, of necessity, a condemnation and curse. According to this same Scripture, the holy word of God is not ignored in grace: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (3:13). This, it must be observed, was wrought under the one great purpose: “That the blessing of Abraham [acceptance in the imputed righteousness of God] might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ”(3:14).
After declaring that the law has passed, either as the ground of the justification of the sinner (Gal 3:24), or as the rule of life for the believer (Gal 3:25), the Apostle challenges the law-ridden Christians of Galatia to consider the fact and force of two great covenants which can in no wise coexist. He, therefore points out that one gave way to the other:
“Tell me, you who want to live under the law [and he is writing to Christians only, concerning the law as a rule of their lives], do you know what the law actually says? The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.
These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants [the by-works covenant which would depend on the flesh and the by-faith covenant which would depend only on God]. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai [where the Mosaic Law was given] where people received the law that enslaved them. And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law [Israel]. But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem [typified by Sarah, who illustrates the by-faith principle which depends on God alone]. She is the free woman, and she is our mother. As Isaiah said,
“Rejoice, O childless woman,
you who have never given birth [suggesting the utter helplessness of the flesh before God]!
Break into a joyful shout,
you who have never been in labor!
For the desolate woman now has more children
than the woman who lives with her husband! [or the arm of flesh on which one might depend]”
And you, dear brothers and sisters [Christians], are children of the promise [we have been saved by faith], just like Isaac. But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit.
But what do the Scriptures say about that? “Get rid of the slave [not merely her offspring, but the whole by-works principle which she represents] and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman.” (Gal. 4:21-31)
It was concerning the promise of the supernatural birth of Isaac that Abraham believed God, and that belief was counted unto him for righteousness. Afterwards, Abraham turned to the flesh in the birth of Ishmael (Gen. 16:1-4). This twofold fact illustrates, with all the perfection of the Word of God, the two covenants—the one of faith, and the other of works. The lapse in Abraham’s faith typified the intrusion of an age of law. So, also, the relationship with Hagar represents what man can do in his effort to be accepted of God. The supernatural relationship with Sarah represents what God can do for one who will believe. The marvels of grace are indicated by the multitudinous offspring of Sarah: not that her physical seed, Israel, are the children of faith; but they, being more exalted than the children of Hagar, typify the surpassing victory of God through grace. There can be no commingling [E.L. here - mixing], or compromising of these two great covenants, “What saith the Scripture?” should be the end of discussion. The testimony is, “Cast out the bond-woman [E.L. here: female slave or one who’s in bondage] and her son; for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” The by-works principle of the law, and the by-faith principle of grace cannot cooperate, or coexist, either in the salvation of the sinner, or in the rule of life for the believer.
The by-works principle of the law is not limited to the fleshly effort to do the particular things found in the Law of Moses, or the law of the kingdom. It is the fleshly effort to do anything by which one seeks to become acceptable to God. Therefore, when the teachings of grace are attempted with a view to being accepted of God, they become purely legal in their character. In like manner when the elements which are contained in the law and restated under grace are attempted in the power of the Spirit and on the basis that acceptance with God is already gained through Christ, these precepts become purely gracious in their character. This principle may be extended to the larger sphere of any and all self-imposed law, regardless of Bible injunctions [EL here: biblical instructions to do or not do something]. In which case it will be seen that the doing of any good works with a view to being accepted of God, is purely legal in character; contrariwise [EL here, or on the contrary], the doing of any good works because one believes himself to be accepted through Christ, is purely gracious in character. The legalist may thus enter the field of the teaching of grace and suppose himself to be subject to the whole Bible, when, in reality, he has no conception of the blessing and relationships in grace. A person either chooses to accept Christ in the confidence that Christ is all he will ever need to make himself acceptable to God, or he chooses to depend on the best that he can do for himself by good works. The latter is the normal bent of the natural mind. The proposition of becoming acceptable to God by being good, appeals to the fallen heart as the only reasonable thing to do and apart from that which has pleased God to reveal concerning grace, it is the only reasonable thing to do. It therefore becomes a question of believing the record God has given concerning His Son (1 John 5:10).
Since there is so much delusion in a counterfeit, the person most difficult to reach with the gospel of divine grace is the person who is trying to do all that a Christian ought to do, but is doing is as a means of becoming accepted before God. His willing acknowledgment of the value of the Christian life, his unquestioned recognition [EL here: by other believers] into the fellowship of believers, and his real sincerity in all Christian activities constitute his greatest hindrance. Such a one is more deluded than the person who acknowledges no relationship to God. Both fall short and are lost through their failure to believe on Christ as the all sufficient Savior; but, naturally, the person who has no false hope is more apt to become conscious of the fact that he is lost than is the person who belies he is a Christian. The law cannot save, and the one who transforms the teachings of grace into a legal system by attempting to do them in order that he may be right with God, and has not believed on Christ, is still unsaved. Turning to meritorious works as a basis of salvation, be those works a precise counterfeit of a true Christian life, is to be under a by-works relation to God, and therefore to be under condemnation; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in His sight. Turning to meritorious works as the basis of keeping after one is saved, or as a rule of life for the saved, is to return to a by-works relation to God, from which one has already been saved. It is to fall from grace, and to lose the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free. The by-works principle can no more avail for our keeping, than it can avail for our salvation. As God could provide Abraham with a seed under an unconditional covenant, so, under the same unconditional covenant, He could guarantee the future of that seed even to the time when their number should exceed the stars of the heavens. Likewise, under the present unconditional covenant of grace made in the blood of Christ, God can guarantee the future security of every child of His under grace. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace, to the end the promise might be sure (Rom 4:16).
Lastly, the covenant of works is ‘cast out’ because it is fulfilled and superseded by the fuller and more perfect covenant of faith. All that the covenant of works contemplated as a result of a lifetime of human struggle, is instantly accomplished in the power of God through the covenant of faith. By faith in Christ, the believer is made the righteousness of God in Him, and made accepted in the Beloved. This is a perfection of relationship with God to which no human works could ever attain, and to which human works can add nothing. Being related to God through the by-faith principle, the whole object of law-works is more than fulfilled. Thus the law is ended in the death of Christ. The bondwoman is cast out. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.
Amazing, indeed, is the blindness of heart that is not instructed by the tragic experience of failure on the part of the countless millions who have been lost under the by-works covenant! Yet men are still turning to their own works, both moral and religious, in the vain hope that through them they may be accepted of God. To such He must ever be as unapproachable as the mountain of awful fire, thunder, lightning, and earthquake; but to the one who turns to the sufficiency which is in Christ, God becomes the Father of all mercies, and His power and grace are exercised in the behalf of that one for all time and eternity. The awful throne of God’s holy judgments becomes a throne of infinite grace. To one thus saved, and whose security is guaranteed, the by-works covenant of the law is in no wise adapted as a rule of life; for that covenant looks beyond to a time of acceptance still future, when the flesh shall have completed it’s task. Only the teachings of grace are consistent for one who is saved by grace. Those teachings alone counsel him about that manner of life which is in accord with his present position in grace.
The second major distinction between the rule of law and the rule of grace is, then, that these two systems are opposites in reference to the order between the divine blessing and the human obligation, and this holds true for any life or service whatsoever which may be undertaken….
This is an excerpt by Lewis Sperry Chafer from his Systematic Theology (if you can get a hold of this or any books of his you'll have a real treasure in your hands). It's from volume IV and pg. 229-233. To the best of my ability, I’ve copied accurately. I have used a different bible version in the Gal. 4:21-31 section and italicized bible passages for easier reading. The inserts are Chafer's with the exception of a few of mine to explain or define a word a bit more or clarify something that might be confusing, you’ll see EL in it. This is in his section called Contrasts Between Law and Grace:
…..Since the covenant of grace which is based on human faith was established in the promises made to Abraham, the covenant of the law, made four hundred years later, and added only for a temporary purpose, cannot disannul it. The reign of law, with it’s covenant of works, ceased with the death of Christ. It’s purpose had been accomplished, and it’s appointed time had expired. Thus the by-faith principle which was announced in the Abrahamic covenant is brought again into force, through the death of Christ. The divine blessing is now unto him that “worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly.” “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” “now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him [ E.L.’s insert here: a one time event when in repentance, believing faith is placed in Jesus] that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification” (Rom. 4:3, 5, 23-25). By this Scripture it is announced that the by-faith principle of the Abrahamic covenant is continued and now offered through the sacrificial death of Christ. This fact is restated thus: “So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. . . The law is not of faith” (Gal. 3:9-12). The law was a covenant of works; but the works always failed through the weakness of the flesh, and the law then became, of necessity, a condemnation and curse. According to this same Scripture, the holy word of God is not ignored in grace: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (3:13). This, it must be observed, was wrought under the one great purpose: “That the blessing of Abraham [acceptance in the imputed righteousness of God] might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ”(3:14).
After declaring that the law has passed, either as the ground of the justification of the sinner (Gal 3:24), or as the rule of life for the believer (Gal 3:25), the Apostle challenges the law-ridden Christians of Galatia to consider the fact and force of two great covenants which can in no wise coexist. He, therefore points out that one gave way to the other:
“Tell me, you who want to live under the law [and he is writing to Christians only, concerning the law as a rule of their lives], do you know what the law actually says? The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.
These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants [the by-works covenant which would depend on the flesh and the by-faith covenant which would depend only on God]. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai [where the Mosaic Law was given] where people received the law that enslaved them. And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law [Israel]. But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem [typified by Sarah, who illustrates the by-faith principle which depends on God alone]. She is the free woman, and she is our mother. As Isaiah said,
“Rejoice, O childless woman,
you who have never given birth [suggesting the utter helplessness of the flesh before God]!
Break into a joyful shout,
you who have never been in labor!
For the desolate woman now has more children
than the woman who lives with her husband! [or the arm of flesh on which one might depend]”
And you, dear brothers and sisters [Christians], are children of the promise [we have been saved by faith], just like Isaac. But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit.
But what do the Scriptures say about that? “Get rid of the slave [not merely her offspring, but the whole by-works principle which she represents] and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman.” (Gal. 4:21-31)
It was concerning the promise of the supernatural birth of Isaac that Abraham believed God, and that belief was counted unto him for righteousness. Afterwards, Abraham turned to the flesh in the birth of Ishmael (Gen. 16:1-4). This twofold fact illustrates, with all the perfection of the Word of God, the two covenants—the one of faith, and the other of works. The lapse in Abraham’s faith typified the intrusion of an age of law. So, also, the relationship with Hagar represents what man can do in his effort to be accepted of God. The supernatural relationship with Sarah represents what God can do for one who will believe. The marvels of grace are indicated by the multitudinous offspring of Sarah: not that her physical seed, Israel, are the children of faith; but they, being more exalted than the children of Hagar, typify the surpassing victory of God through grace. There can be no commingling [E.L. here - mixing], or compromising of these two great covenants, “What saith the Scripture?” should be the end of discussion. The testimony is, “Cast out the bond-woman [E.L. here: female slave or one who’s in bondage] and her son; for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” The by-works principle of the law, and the by-faith principle of grace cannot cooperate, or coexist, either in the salvation of the sinner, or in the rule of life for the believer.
The by-works principle of the law is not limited to the fleshly effort to do the particular things found in the Law of Moses, or the law of the kingdom. It is the fleshly effort to do anything by which one seeks to become acceptable to God. Therefore, when the teachings of grace are attempted with a view to being accepted of God, they become purely legal in their character. In like manner when the elements which are contained in the law and restated under grace are attempted in the power of the Spirit and on the basis that acceptance with God is already gained through Christ, these precepts become purely gracious in their character. This principle may be extended to the larger sphere of any and all self-imposed law, regardless of Bible injunctions [EL here: biblical instructions to do or not do something]. In which case it will be seen that the doing of any good works with a view to being accepted of God, is purely legal in character; contrariwise [EL here, or on the contrary], the doing of any good works because one believes himself to be accepted through Christ, is purely gracious in character. The legalist may thus enter the field of the teaching of grace and suppose himself to be subject to the whole Bible, when, in reality, he has no conception of the blessing and relationships in grace. A person either chooses to accept Christ in the confidence that Christ is all he will ever need to make himself acceptable to God, or he chooses to depend on the best that he can do for himself by good works. The latter is the normal bent of the natural mind. The proposition of becoming acceptable to God by being good, appeals to the fallen heart as the only reasonable thing to do and apart from that which has pleased God to reveal concerning grace, it is the only reasonable thing to do. It therefore becomes a question of believing the record God has given concerning His Son (1 John 5:10).
Since there is so much delusion in a counterfeit, the person most difficult to reach with the gospel of divine grace is the person who is trying to do all that a Christian ought to do, but is doing is as a means of becoming accepted before God. His willing acknowledgment of the value of the Christian life, his unquestioned recognition [EL here: by other believers] into the fellowship of believers, and his real sincerity in all Christian activities constitute his greatest hindrance. Such a one is more deluded than the person who acknowledges no relationship to God. Both fall short and are lost through their failure to believe on Christ as the all sufficient Savior; but, naturally, the person who has no false hope is more apt to become conscious of the fact that he is lost than is the person who belies he is a Christian. The law cannot save, and the one who transforms the teachings of grace into a legal system by attempting to do them in order that he may be right with God, and has not believed on Christ, is still unsaved. Turning to meritorious works as a basis of salvation, be those works a precise counterfeit of a true Christian life, is to be under a by-works relation to God, and therefore to be under condemnation; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in His sight. Turning to meritorious works as the basis of keeping after one is saved, or as a rule of life for the saved, is to return to a by-works relation to God, from which one has already been saved. It is to fall from grace, and to lose the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free. The by-works principle can no more avail for our keeping, than it can avail for our salvation. As God could provide Abraham with a seed under an unconditional covenant, so, under the same unconditional covenant, He could guarantee the future of that seed even to the time when their number should exceed the stars of the heavens. Likewise, under the present unconditional covenant of grace made in the blood of Christ, God can guarantee the future security of every child of His under grace. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace, to the end the promise might be sure (Rom 4:16).
Lastly, the covenant of works is ‘cast out’ because it is fulfilled and superseded by the fuller and more perfect covenant of faith. All that the covenant of works contemplated as a result of a lifetime of human struggle, is instantly accomplished in the power of God through the covenant of faith. By faith in Christ, the believer is made the righteousness of God in Him, and made accepted in the Beloved. This is a perfection of relationship with God to which no human works could ever attain, and to which human works can add nothing. Being related to God through the by-faith principle, the whole object of law-works is more than fulfilled. Thus the law is ended in the death of Christ. The bondwoman is cast out. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.
Amazing, indeed, is the blindness of heart that is not instructed by the tragic experience of failure on the part of the countless millions who have been lost under the by-works covenant! Yet men are still turning to their own works, both moral and religious, in the vain hope that through them they may be accepted of God. To such He must ever be as unapproachable as the mountain of awful fire, thunder, lightning, and earthquake; but to the one who turns to the sufficiency which is in Christ, God becomes the Father of all mercies, and His power and grace are exercised in the behalf of that one for all time and eternity. The awful throne of God’s holy judgments becomes a throne of infinite grace. To one thus saved, and whose security is guaranteed, the by-works covenant of the law is in no wise adapted as a rule of life; for that covenant looks beyond to a time of acceptance still future, when the flesh shall have completed it’s task. Only the teachings of grace are consistent for one who is saved by grace. Those teachings alone counsel him about that manner of life which is in accord with his present position in grace.
The second major distinction between the rule of law and the rule of grace is, then, that these two systems are opposites in reference to the order between the divine blessing and the human obligation, and this holds true for any life or service whatsoever which may be undertaken….
