Objection:
The Bible repeatedly and emphatically declares that no one can be justified by keeping the law. Hence, to preach the keeping of the law is to preach another gospel. “Whosoever of you are justified by the law; you are fallen from grace.” Gal. 5:4.
Answer:
In harmony with the Bible, we repeatedly and emphatically declare that no one can be justified by keeping the law. (See objection: YOU PREACH THE LAW AS THE SUM AND SUBSTANCE OF TRUE RELIGION) The confused reasoning in the objection before us resides in the mistaken idea of what the word “justified” means Scripturally. The evidence presented under objection: “YOU PREACH THE LAW AS THE SUM AND SUBSTANCE OF TRUE RELIGION” revealed that the divine act of justifying a sinner takes place at the moment he comes to God, repentant and in faith, to claim the offered pardon for sins that are past through the sacrifice of Christ. To teach that man can wipe out past guilt, that is, past disobedience to the law of God, by faithful keeping of that law in the future, is to flout God’s grace and preach another gospel.
The very word “gospel” means good news. Good news that a divine plan has been devised whereby sinful humanity may be purged of its guilt; that the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world has been delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification. (John 1:29; Rom. 4:25).
That is revealed in the words of the angels who spoke to Joseph and the shepherds. Said the angel to Joseph regarding Mary’s son that was to be born: “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shall call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21.
To the shepherds, the angel declared: ‘Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10, 11.
When we preach the keeping of God’s commandments, we are not preaching a different gospel from the one just described. We are simply echoing the words of the apostle John: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” 1 John 5:3. We are simply calling on the now justified child of God to live in obedience to God.
Paul, apparently, feared that some who read what he had written about men not being justified by the law might wrongly conclude that God’s grace frees us from any obligation to keep the law. He states the matter thus: “What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law [that is, not under the condemnation of the law], but under grace? God forbid.” Paul, who knew, of course, that “sin is the transgression of the law,” is really asking this: Shall we transgress the law because we are under grace? He answers, “God forbid.” We echo his answer and call on men who are saved by grace to refrain from transgressing God’s law in the future.
