Perpetuity of the Law: Spurgeon

[Kokavkrystallos]

I. The Perpetuity of the Law​

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle, shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. —Matthew 5:18

It has been said that he who understands the two covenants is a theologian; and this is, no doubt, true. I may also say that the man who knows the relative positions of the Law and of the gospel has the keys of the situation in the matter of doctrine. The relationship of the Law to myself, and how it condemns me: the relationship of the gospel to myself, and how if I be a believer it justifies me—these are two points which every Christian man should clearly understand. He should not “see men as trees, walking” (Mar 8:24) in this department, or else he may cause himself great sorrow and fall into errors which will be grievous to his heart and injurious to his life. To form a mingle-mangle of Law and gospel is to teach that which is neither Law nor gospel, but the opposite of both. May the Spirit of God be our teacher and the Word of God be our lesson book, and then we shall not err.

Very great mistakes have been made about the Law. Not long ago there were those about us who affirmed that the Law is utterly abrogated and abolished, and they openly taught that believers were not bound to make the Moral Law the rule of their lives. What would have been sin in other men they counted to be no sin in themselves. From such antinomianism as that may God deliver us! We are not under the Law as the method of salvation, but we delight to see the Law in the hand of Christ, and desire to obey the Lord in all things. Others have been met with who have taught that Jesus mitigated and softened down the Law; and they have in effect said that the perfect Law of God was too hard for imperfect beings, and therefore God has given us a milder and easier rule. These tread dangerously upon the verge of terrible error, although we believe that they are little aware of it. Alas, we have met with authors who have gone much further than this, and have railed at the Law. Oh, the hard words that I have sometimes read against the holy Law of God! How very unlike to those which the apostle used when he said, “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (Rom 7:12). How different from the reverent spirit which made him say, “I delight in the law of God after the inward man” (Rom 7:22). You know how David loved the Law of God and sang its praises all through the longest of the Psalms. The heart of every real Christian is most reverent towards the Law of the Lord. It is perfect; nay, it is perfection itself. We believe that we shall never have reached perfection till we are perfectly conformed to it. A sanctification which stops short of perfect conformity to the Law cannot truthfully be called perfect sanctification, for every want of exact conformity to the perfect Law is sin. May the Spirit of God help us while, in imitation of our Lord Jesus, we endeavor to magnify the Law.

I gather from our text two things upon which I shall speak at this time. The first is that the Law of God is perpetual: “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law.” The meaning is that even in the least point it must abide till all be fulfilled. Secondly, we perceive that the Law must be fulfilled: Not “one jot or one tittle shall…pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” He Who came to bring in the gospel dispensation here asserts that He has not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it.

1. The Law of God Must Be Perpetual.​

There is no abrogation of it, nor amendment of it. It is not to be toned down or adjusted to our fallen condition; but every one of the Lord’s righteous judgments abideth forever. I would urge three reasons which will establish this teaching.

In the first place our Lord Jesus declares that He did not come to abolish it. His words are most express: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill” (Mat 5:17). And Paul tells us with regard to the gospel, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law” (Rom 3:31). The gospel is the means of the firm establishment and vindication of the Law of God.

Jesus did not come to change the Law, but He came to explain it.....

Chapel Library

www.chapellibrary.org

[That last line is so important; and He also came to magnify the law, making it's true meaning so much deeper that it affects the very thought life. We have so many antinomians today it's not funny, and it's not funny if there were even one, because it's from these folks you get the lines like "We all make mistakes, We're going to sin, we can't help it, etc" Well, the Bible tells me I CAN HELP IT!
1 John 2:1-4,
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.]

 

[Soyeong]

To form a mingle-mangle of Law and gospel is to teach that which is neither Law nor gospel, but the opposite of both. ​

In Matthew 4:15-23, Jesus began his ministry with the Gospel message to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand, which was a light to the Gentiles, and God's law is how his audience knew what sin is (Romans 3:20), so repenting from our disobedience to it a central part of the Gospel of the Kingdom. In Romans 15:18-19, Paul's Gospel involved bringing Gentiles to obedience in word and in deed, so he also taught Gospel of the Kingdom/Grace based on God's law.

Acts 14:21-22 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

Acts 20:24-25 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again.

Acts 28:23 When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.

So God's law can't be separated from the Gospel of the Kingdom/Grace.

 

[fhansen]

I. The Perpetuity of the Law​

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle, shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. —Matthew 5:18

It has been said that he who understands the two covenants is a theologian; and this is, no doubt, true. I may also say that the man who knows the relative positions of the Law and of the gospel has the keys of the situation in the matter of doctrine. The relationship of the Law to myself, and how it condemns me: the relationship of the gospel to myself, and how if I be a believer it justifies me—these are two points which every Christian man should clearly understand. He should not “see men as trees, walking” (Mar 8:24) in this department, or else he may cause himself great sorrow and fall into errors which will be grievous to his heart and injurious to his life. To form a mingle-mangle of Law and gospel is to teach that which is neither Law nor gospel, but the opposite of both. May the Spirit of God be our teacher and the Word of God be our lesson book, and then we shall not err.

Very great mistakes have been made about the Law. Not long ago there were those about us who affirmed that the Law is utterly abrogated and abolished, and they openly taught that believers were not bound to make the Moral Law the rule of their lives. What would have been sin in other men they counted to be no sin in themselves. From such antinomianism as that may God deliver us! We are not under the Law as the method of salvation, but we delight to see the Law in the hand of Christ, and desire to obey the Lord in all things. Others have been met with who have taught that Jesus mitigated and softened down the Law; and they have in effect said that the perfect Law of God was too hard for imperfect beings, and therefore God has given us a milder and easier rule. These tread dangerously upon the verge of terrible error, although we believe that they are little aware of it. Alas, we have met with authors who have gone much further than this, and have railed at the Law. Oh, the hard words that I have sometimes read against the holy Law of God! How very unlike to those which the apostle used when he said, “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (Rom 7:12). How different from the reverent spirit which made him say, “I delight in the law of God after the inward man” (Rom 7:22). You know how David loved the Law of God and sang its praises all through the longest of the Psalms. The heart of every real Christian is most reverent towards the Law of the Lord. It is perfect; nay, it is perfection itself. We believe that we shall never have reached perfection till we are perfectly conformed to it. A sanctification which stops short of perfect conformity to the Law cannot truthfully be called perfect sanctification, for every want of exact conformity to the perfect Law is sin. May the Spirit of God help us while, in imitation of our Lord Jesus, we endeavor to magnify the Law.

I gather from our text two things upon which I shall speak at this time. The first is that the Law of God is perpetual: “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law.” The meaning is that even in the least point it must abide till all be fulfilled. Secondly, we perceive that the Law must be fulfilled: Not “one jot or one tittle shall…pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” He Who came to bring in the gospel dispensation here asserts that He has not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it.

1. The Law of God Must Be Perpetual.​

There is no abrogation of it, nor amendment of it. It is not to be toned down or adjusted to our fallen condition; but every one of the Lord’s righteous judgments abideth forever. I would urge three reasons which will establish this teaching.

In the first place our Lord Jesus declares that He did not come to abolish it. His words are most express: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill” (Mat 5:17). And Paul tells us with regard to the gospel, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law” (Rom 3:31). The gospel is the means of the firm establishment and vindication of the Law of God.

Jesus did not come to change the Law, but He came to explain it.....

Chapel Library

www.chapellibrary.org

[That last line is so important; and He also came to magnify the law, making it's true meaning so much deeper that it affects the very thought life. We have so many antinomians today it's not funny, and it's not funny if there were even one, because it's from these folks you get the lines like "We all make mistakes, We're going to sin, we can't help it, etc" Well, the Bible tells me I CAN HELP IT!
1 John 2:1-4,
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.]

This is nonsense. Here Spurgeon denounces antinomianism with one hand while supporting it with the other for all practical purposes, ignoring all Scripture that blares out: no holiness=no salvation.

 

[Kokavkrystallos]

This is nonsense. Here Spurgeon denounces antinomianism with one hand while supporting it with the other for all practical purposes, ignoring all Scripture that blares out: no holiness=no salvation.

Where does he denounce it? I don't see anything he wrote that is against holiness, unless this line here "We believe that we shall never have reached perfection till we are perfectly conformed to it. "

But right after that he says, "A sanctification which stops short of perfect conformity to the Law cannot truthfully be called perfect sanctification, for every want of exact conformity to the perfect Law is sin. May the Spirit of God help us while, in imitation of our Lord Jesus, we endeavor to magnify the Law."