"The Scripture is what it is, and it contains both promises and imperatives. For the one who reads the Scriptures in evangelical faith, he sees all the imperatives in the context of a larger grace. For the one who reads the Scripture in unbelief, he can sound out the promises, but they are always trumped by what he thinks is the larger demand of ‘do this and live.' The former contextualizes everything as a subset of God’s grace. The latter contextualizes everything as a subset of law. For the believer, even the Ten Commandments can be understood as gracious. The preamble reminds the Jews that these words were coming from the one who brought them out of the house of bondage. For the unbeliever, even the message of the cross is foolishness, an intolerable demand. So that, in a nutshell, is what I think is going on with law and gospel.” — Douglas Wilson, The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 529
Titus 1:15
Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
Faith thanks God for His good commands, but unbelief blames grace for being too hard.
Romans 3:27
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
Faith receives everything from God as good; unbelief rejects everything of God as evil — even the sacrifice of Christ.
Romans 3:28
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Faith is justified empty-handedness; unbelief is condemned fists full of conceit.
Romans 3:31
Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
The law is light for the faith-filled who are faithful to it; but faith is a burden too heavy for unbelief to bear up.
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