This is a fundamental distinction in Scripture, but one that I fear is completely passed over in many churches and not understood even by many life long church members and attenders.
Generally, the distinction is this: Law is what is found in Scripture when God requires something of us. Gospel is what we find when God makes promises with no condition other than that we take him at his word.
To get more specific, as many readers have no doubt heard, the word gospel means simply "good news." The good news in question is the announcement, as we find in I Corinthians 15, that Christ has died for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day, all in accordance with the promises of scripture.
Notice the character of the gospel as an announcement. It is news that we receive, not something that we do. I often hear people say that they want to "live the gospel," but this confuses categories. Certainly, a Christian will want to live his life in the light of gospel promises, understanding life as an expression of gratitude for what we have received by grace. However, we do not live the gospel. The gospel is not something we do. It is the announcement of what God has done for us in Christ.
In drawing these distinctions, I am not suggesting that the church should proclaim the gospel instead of the law. Rather, the church must proclaim both. The law points us to our need for Christ. To preach the gospel without the law results in people seeing no need for Christ. To preach law without gospel leaves people with a knowledge of their guilt and without hope. The church must proclaim them together.
When these are properly distinguished and declared together, those who hear can realize the grand truth that the terrifying chasm between a holy God and sinful men has been addressed in the Gospel, through which sinners have been reconciled to God in the death of Christ.
A Table of Contents for this "Reformation Project" can be found here.
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