We Are Not Good – The Law And The Gospel

We Are not Good

The Law and the Gospel

Romans 1.16, 17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

We do not measure up to the righteous Law of God.

People today might have difficulty relating to the concept of sin. That’s not their fault; it’s ours. We’re the ones who, fearful of offending some “seeker”, have steered clear of any potentially offensive concepts, like sin, and have emphasized all the joy and peace and fellowship and good stuff that comes from hanging around with Jesus. But anyone who will be saved must first be persuaded that salvation is something he or she needs. And salvation is, in the first instance, rescue from sin and its consequences. Here’s where we need the Law in our proclamation of the Gospel. Left to themselves to define the terms of sin, people will always be able to discover some reason why they aren’t sinners, or at least, not as bad sinners as “those other guys.” But the Law of God doesn’t play favorites. It is the great leveler. It cuts down the mighty, the famous, the squalid, the average, and even the “decent” of this world by showing specific ways they have fallen short of the glory of God. If, in your presentation of the Gospel, anyone resists the idea that he’s a sinner, just walk him through the Ten Commandments. Sooner or later he’ll see that, on God’s terms, he simply doesn’t measure up, and therefore is in danger of the judgment promised for all those who violate the commandments and offend the holiness of God.

Have you ever used the Law of God in sharing the Good News of Jesus with a friend? Why not try asking some unsaved friends how they would define the word, “sin”? Then read the commandments to them, and see if they agree this is a workable standard.

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“In the Gates” is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.