“The Gospel is the message, the salvation-bringing proclamation concerning Christ that he was sent by God the Father…to procure eternal life. The Law is contained in precepts, it threatens, it burdens, it promises no goodwill. The Gospel acts without threats, it does not drive one on by precepts, but rather teaches us about the supreme goodwill of God towards us.” –John Calvin
Reposted from: The Law & the Gospel | The Resurgence
Pastors, preachers, professors… aw heck, everybody: check out this great post by Dr. Michael Horton at the Resurgence site. The topic is the relationship of the Law to the Gospel. One last quote from Spurgeon, from Horton’s article, to whet your appetite:
“There is no point on which men make greater mistakes than on the relation which exists between the law and the gospel. Some men put the law instead of the gospel; others put gospel instead of the law. A certain class maintains that the law and the gospel are mixed…These men understand not the truth and are false teachers.”
On a personal note, I wish I could convey adequately to you the relief, the joy, the “lights-coming-on” I have seen in the faces of burdened believers, guilt-ridden saints, and also unsaved hopefuls as they have heard me preach and teach on the right uses of the Law and of the Gospel… imagine what some of you more gifted men will get to see on the faces of your hearers when you preach these two categories well, with Holy Spirit anointing?
