by Rev. M. MacInnes, Toronto
Many preachers seem to think that there is an antithesis between the Law and the Gospel, as if they were in direct conflict. Yet the lack of real results from “modern evangelism” cries out for some explanation, because its products are often sad examples of Christianity. In the words of W. J. Chantry “much of modern preaching is anaemic, with the life-blood of God’s nature absent from the message”. What are we to understand by that? Modern evangelism majors on the theme “God is love”, and while that may sound an all-embracing truth, that love must be seen in a context that makes the message of love meaningful. If there is no such thing as sin against God, men do not need God’s provision of a Saviour. If there is sin, it suggests a standard by which actions are weighed and found wanting. The Gospel message presents a Saviour for sinners, so that we may conclude that God, who has provided that Saviour, regards men as sinners. That being so, we may conclude that God has a standard by which He sees that men are sinners, are guilty, and in need of salvation. We ask ourselves, therefore, “What is that standard, not as set by men, but as seen by God?” Our concept of the Gospel, as it is presented to us by God, sees man in the state of ‘sinnership’ in God’s sight, before His criterion of judging. Our natural attitude is to think of ourselves relative to fellow-creatures. That is why it is often said, “I have not done anyone any harm. I have been a good-living person. I have tried to bring up my children well”. This reflects the attitude that the Gospel is thought of in terms of social relationships. While the message of Evangelism does call men to love their neighbour, it points to a higher order of things — it calls us, first and foremost to love God. Evangelism proper is not merely a message about ‘good neighbourliness’, nor is it a panacea for all the upsets of a troubled life. It presents the claims of a Creator who requires first allegiance, and who has provided in Christ a Saviour for those who find themselves confronted with their own inability, their guilt, and a curse because of their disobedience. Only when one is confronted with guilt, in some measure, will the mercy of God become meaningful. Evangelism must declare the whole counsel of God. Then the Gospel becomes meaningful against the background of the Law (Galatians 3:13). When we see our relationship to the Law, we will appreciate the message of the Gospel. That message calls for ‘repentance’. It calls for a change of heart and mind in the sinner. There is a compelling reason in this call to repentance, because only he who has felt the oppression of sin will feel his need of a Saviour. Conviction of sin is an indispensable requisite to appreciation of Christ at Calvary. The repentance through which a person comes to Christ, to value Him, is not a mere sorrow because of trouble in the world, or because of failure in some scheme or human relationship. Failure to maintain some standard, set by ourselves or our fellowmen, can leave us with a sense of need, and we can regret some action we have taken, but that alone is not repentance.
You may feel that you would appreciate someone to help you in your trouble, and to hear of Jesus as a Friend who loves you, may make a tremendous appeal to your troubled situation. That, however, is not the great and primary purpose of Christ in the Gospel. Possibly many of the ‘Decisions for Christ’ which prove abortive are made against the background of personal or family trouble, with no real understanding of what sin and guilt are against a Holy God. That would account for the many who ‘fall away’ after Evangelistic Campaigns. Repentance unto life includes a true sense of sin. Sin relates to a law, and that is what Paul meant when he wrote, “By the Law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans Ch. 3). Evangelism must communicate to people that they are sinners before a holy God, if the Gospel is to become relevant to the souls of the hearers.
We may now ask ourselves what is meant by the Law. There is the Ceremonial, the Civil, and the Moral Law. The Ceremonial Law refers to the regulations given to the Israelites for the offering of sacrifices and typical worship. It informed and reminded the Jews that they needed a sacrifice for sin, and, if understood aright by them, it would direct them to Christ, the perfect and all-sufficient sacrifice. By faith the Old Testament believers saw beyond the sacrifices to the promised Messiah. Now that Christ has offered up the perfect sacrifice, there is no room for imposing the Ceremonial Law in the life of the Christian. The present usefulness of the Ceremonial Law in the Bible is that the believer may learn from its detailed obligations, to appreciate the great beauty and efficacy of the sacrifice of Christ. The Civil Law gave specific rules with respect to life in social relationships. Many of these were of a local nature, and we may learn from them how to put into practice the commandment — to love our neighbour. The Moral Law, by its nature, is enduring. It finds expression in the Ten Commandments, and, in the teaching of Jesus, it is summed-up in these two commandments, namely, love to God and love to our neighbour.
Man is a responsible Moral agent, accountable to God, and to function properly he needs the Moral Law. The authority of God, of His Law, is behind the Scripture, and whether man wishes to obey it or not is beside the point. The soldier is expected to obey his commanding officer, whether or not he dislikes the order given. The relationship between commanding officer and soldier requires that he obey. Likewise, man, as a moral agent, is related to God, and that relationship, to function properly, requires obedience on man’s part. This follows from the doctrine of a created universe. If we lose sight of the doctrine of Creation, we lose sight of man as part of that created order, and we abandon the concept of man’s responsibility to God. Darwin’s Theory of Evolution tried to free man from that immediate responsibility of allegiance to God. It tried to show that man had no distinct human responsibilities before God, and was like the rest of the creation. The Moral Law reminds us of our God-given responsibilities, not to live for ourselves and the dictates of our own hearts, but in submission to God. This is the standard by which we are to judge of our hearts and lives. It is not ‘tradition’, nor is it ‘the particular teaching of our church or denomination’. We must go beyond these, because these also must be tried by a standard which is God-given. Where are we to go? We are to go to the word of God — the Bible. Jesus spoke of a day in which men would be judged, not by the practices of men, but by the word which He was speaking to them — the word of God. Much is said about LOVE in modern evangelism, but unless LOVE is seen in the context of LAW it cannot be appreciated. It is when we see what Christ did to meet the demands of the Law that we come to understand what Paul meant when he said about Jesus, “Who loved me, and gave Himself for me”. The Law requires from us perfect, perpetual, and personal obedience. This we cannot give to it. We cannot meet the requirements of the justice of God for our ‘original sin’ with its guilt and inherited corrupt nature. What can we do? In the face of the demands of the Law we can do nothing. We are guilty and deserving of hell. The application of the Law to our consciences will bring us to this Scriptural view of ourselves. We are in great need. What does faithful Evangelism then do? It tells us of Jesus Christ who met the demands of the Law according to the divine plan that He should be the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. The teaching of Jesus constantly presented this message — He came to call sinners to repentance.
The well-known story of the Highland Kitchen-maid illustrates the point. Many years ago, when it was much more difficult to travel long distances than it is now, a Gospel-preacher could be seen on his small horse winding his way south to attend the annual church business meetings. The journey could not be made easily in one day on horse-back, so the preacher was obliged to find a resting place in some home on the way. It was his custom on these occasions to gather the members of the household together for ‘Family worship’. He would pray, read some passage from the Bible, give some application of it to the hearers, and then close in prayer again. On a particular occasion he called together the household and was about to begin his short ‘family service’, when he inquired of the householder whether every person in the household was present. Apparently there was one young servant girl who had been left in the kitchen. The preacher would not begin until she was brought in. This was done and the ‘service’ commenced. At the conclusion of it the preacher spoke to the young girl, inquiring about her soul and her knowledge of God. He found her to be very ignorant of God’s truth. He knew, however, what was the real need of this young sinner. He taught her a short prayer, and had her promise that she would use it each day until his return visit. The prayer was — “Lord, shew me myself”. The next day he left for his destination, but did not forget his youthful pupil. Accordingly, on his return journey he stopped at the same place and enquired after her. The householder told him that the girl did little more than cry each day, so the preacher quickly went to visit her in her room. She told him that she had used the prayer he had taught her, “Lord, shew me myself”, that the Lord had answered it, and added “He has shown me myself, and, oh, what a sight that is! Oh, what shall I do?” The preacher was joyed to see that the Spirit of God had worked in the youthful heart, and he proceeded to explain to her the message of the Gospel, the way of salvation through Jesus Christ. He closed his talk to her by teaching her another prayer. It was — “Lord, shew me Thyself”. Next day he departed and left the matter in the hands of His Heavenly Master. In the first prayer he had directed the girl to seek ‘knowledge of herself’ and in the second, to seek ‘knowledge of the Lord as Saviour’. He knew that a discovery of the first would bring her to appreciate the second. The outcome of this can best be told in the words of the young girl herself, as recorded from a visit which she made later to her ‘preacher friend’. The words are these, “You taught me two short but most expressive prayers. By the first I was brought to feel my need of a Saviour; by the second I was led to behold that Saviour Himself and to view Jehovah in the character of a reconciled God and Father in Christ”.
By the Law we obtain knowledge of ourselves as sinners, and by the Gospel, in which we see that Christ has fulfilled the requirements of the Law for us, we obtain pardon and peace with God.