Chapter 31: Containing various Consequences from the Rest Believers have from the Burden of the Law,
anything in this world were to meet you on your way to Christ and quiet your heart—if anything other than Christ were to soothe your soul.
And for you who are believers, take this to heart. There is something special here to learn: how you should make use of this truth, what it means for your daily walk, and how this rest in Christ can help you.
There is also something to be said for the encouragement of those who doubt whether they are truly believers. But we cannot cover everything at once, so for now, let this suffice—the simple presentation of the rest that is found in Christ, from the heavy burden of the Law, from the load that weighs so many souls down.
CHAPTER 31
Containing various Consequences from the Rest Believers have from the Burden of the Law, and Lessons they are taught from it.
To proceed now, there are several things that follow from the rest we have in Christ, having been delivered from the burden and load of the Law.
I will speak briefly of these, and then move on to discuss the next burden and the rest that comes with it.
The rest believers have from the burden of the Law brings tremendous help against many temptations that can deeply trouble the peace and rest of their souls. If they are truly delivered from the
Law in the various ways that have been explained at length, several important benefits follow:
1. First, meditating on this deliverance can give rest and ease from the temptation that arises when believers feel that, because of certain imperfections, weaknesses, heart struggles, and sins they are guilty of, they have no interest in Christ, and therefore no right to believe in Him. The strength of this temptation cannot stand with a proper understanding of Christ as the One who delivers from the Law. If Christ delivers us from the Law, then our interest in Him can remain, even though we are not able to perfectly keep the Law.
Moreover, it is common for believers, when they break the Law in some way, to question their entire standing before God. They may doubt their salvation and wonder if they are still in Christ. But if we truly understand that we deal with God not through the covenant of works but through the covenant of grace, and that the Law does not have the power to condemn us, we would not be so quick to question everything when we are guilty of breaking the Law.
2. Furthermore, this understanding would help greatly against another temptation. Many believers, when they look at their own performance of duties and see how many imperfections there are, feel as though they cannot present their efforts to God. They consider
God to be infinitely holy and just, and they are ashamed of their incomplete works. They may feel as though God would never accept what they offer. However, a right understanding of our deliverance from the Law will help against this temptation. Remember, O believer, that you are dealing with God in a covenant of grace. You come to Him through Christ, under a better covenant than the covenant of the Law.
3. This understanding also helps against another common temptation in the hearts of the saints: they hear of others who seemed to have greater gifts and abilities, who were able to do more for God, yet fell away and perished. A poor Christian may say, "If such eminent people, with so much ability and grace, could fall away, what will become of someone like me?"
But by understanding our deliverance from the Law by Christ, we can find help against this fear. A person may have great abilities and be able to do much work, but such a person can still fall away. Yet, one who is far weaker in ability, possessing only a small measure of true faith—faith that brings them into the covenant of grace—will stand. This weak believer will endure while the other may fall. If your standing depended on your own strength, then you would have cause to fear. Seeing that others who seemed strong have fallen, you might wonder what hope there is for you. But your standing does not depend on your own strength; it depends on Christ, who has undertaken to uphold all who are His members. You are dealing with God through the covenant of grace, and once you are brought into that covenant, it will uphold you—even if you are weak—while many others with greater natural ability and common gifts of God's Spirit may fall.
Yes, even if they had the strength of an angel, they would fall if they were not brought under the covenant of grace made with believers in Christ. However, the weakest believer, dealing with God through Christ and not through the Law, will stand and not fall. Being delivered from the Law through Christ brings great help to believers against these temptations and many others. There is nothing that helps believers more than this understanding of their deliverance from the Law, as explained earlier.
The First Lesson.
First, from this deliverance we are taught how to hear the threats of the Law. I speak to believers, though others may misuse the message of deliverance from the Law, yet they must not lose their portion in it. Believers are taught how to receive the threats of the Law. When you hear these dreadful warnings from God's Word against sin, how should you respond? The way is this: when you hear such threats, know that God is using them to help you understand the mercy He has shown in delivering you from what you deserved. God wants you to grasp the evil of sin in itself and to consider what Christ has done for you. By these threats, God intends to drive you to Christ, to see your need for Him, to bless His name for Christ, and to value Christ who has delivered you from these threats.
A believer, when hearing the threats of the Law, is like a person standing safely on shore during a violent storm. He sees the waves rise high, hears the winds blow and the waves roar, but he stands safe in the harbour. He may have been in the storm once, but God has brought him to the safety of the shore, and he blesses God. He may also see other ships far off, ready to be shattered on the rocks or swallowed by the sea, but he is safe. This is how it should be for believers when they hear the threats of the Law. They should receive them with thanksgiving, remembering that there was a time when their soul was under those same threats, but now the Lord has delivered them and brought them under a new covenant. They have come to Christ, and Christ has satisfied the demands of the Law on their behalf. So, like the man standing on the shore, the believer praises God.
This leads believers to love Christ all the more, to value Christ all the more, and to bless God for the Gospel they have heard. Therefore, it is not tedious or grievous for them to hear the threats of the Law.
They know how to make a holy use of these warnings, and their hearts are drawn closer to God by them, just as much as they are drawn by the promises of the Gospel.
It is a bad sign when men and women cannot endure to hear the threats of the Law—it is a dangerous sign that they are still under those threats. If they were not under them, it would not trouble them to hear them. Those who have been delivered from the threats of the Law know how to use them for their good. Many will say, when they hear the terrors of the Law, "What good does this do? It only hardens us." But if you were truly acquainted with the Gospel, hearing the terrors of the Law would soften your heart, because it would make you value Christ more.
Therefore, believers should not consider the threats of the Law as things that no longer concern them. Even though they are not under the Law's power to condemn them, the threats still have value for believers. God wants these things revealed even to believers, because of the many good and gracious uses they can make of them.
The Second Lesson.
Secondly, from what we have learned about both the burden of the Law and the rest that comes from being delivered from it, this lesson can be drawn: believers are to mix humility with confidence in their lives. They are to learn how to be humble, yet confident; how to rejoice, yet also to tremble.
There is no better way to learn the proper mixture of humility with faith and confidence, or of joy with trembling, than to know the burden of the Law and the rest that is to be had in Christ. This will teach you to be aware of your own wretchedness, your natural condition, and yet to be confident in the grace of God in Christ. It will show you how to fear in light of what you are in yourself, and yet to
rejoice in what you are in Christ, in the rest that your soul has found in Him.
Many people do not know how to balance these two. If they are humbled by their sins, they become dejected and cannot bring themselves to exercise both humility for their sins and faith in God's grace at the same time. They think that focusing on their sin will hinder their faith in God's grace, so they resist anything that might humble them. They say they must only believe in God's grace, fearing that any talk of their sin will lead them into despair.
Certainly, if you cannot see how humility and faith in God's grace can coexist, you do not understand the mystery of godliness. To be deeply humbled for your sins and yet, at the same moment, to be raised by the mercy of God in Christ—this is the mystery of godliness.
It is true that vices are opposed to one another, but graces never are.
Those who understand the mystery of godliness know how to blend these two together at the same time. Scripture says that "godliness is a mystery"—"Great is the mystery of godliness." Indeed, godliness consists in a Christian's ability to know how to be humbled and yet confident, to believe in the promises of God while still being deeply aware of their own sin. On one side, they know how to rejoice, and on the other, they know how to fear.
Many cannot rejoice without becoming loose and careless, and others cannot fear without their hearts becoming heavy and lifeless.
But the heart that understands what it means to be naturally under the Law and what it means to find rest in Christ can rejoice with trembling and believe with humility. There is no better way to create this balance than by understanding both the burden of the Law and the rest we have in Christ.
I confess that these things may not be as impactful for those who do not, in some measure, remember what has already been said about both the burden of the Law and the rest that we have in Christ. Those who are new to these concepts may not fully grasp the value of what I am saying. I wish these things could have been addressed all at once, but we cannot do everything at once.
The Third Lesson.
Thirdly, another thing we learn from the deliverance we have in Christ from the Law is this: it shows plainly that the way of life and salvation is above nature—it is supernatural. What I have explained about the rest we find in Christ from the Law teaches us that believers are not judged for their eternal state based on any work of the Law. If they perform works of the Law, these do not bring them eternal life. If they break the Law, this does not condemn them to death. Therefore, the way of salvation is supernatural. Nature can only teach a person this: that they must serve God, and if they do,
God will bless them and love them. But if they sin against God, nature teaches that God will afflict and punish them. Nature knows no other way for a person to be saved except by serving God and keeping the Law. If they fail, nature tells them to expect God's wrath.
But the truth revealed in the Gospel goes far beyond this. It teaches that a soul's eternal state does not depend on whether it keeps or breaks the Law. This is a high mystery, far beyond what nature can teach. I am not saying that disobedience to God's will does not deserve eternal punishment—even in believers. But now, under the covenant of grace in Christ, believers have rest in Christ. Their souls are not cast one way or the other based on what they do or fail to do.
Although if they neglect God's will, the Lord may chastise them in this life, their eternal state is secure.
If anyone should say, "Then why should we care what we do?" we need only answer them: "You have no part or portion in this deliverance from the Law by Christ." Shall we sin because grace abounds? God forbid! The Lord forbid that any such thought should enter our hearts. Those who are truly godly have the Spirit of God within them and will not reason this way. However, this remains certain: in Christ, we do not depend for life or death on our works of the Law. The way of the Gospel is a higher, supernatural way—a way beyond what most people imagine. Most people on earth look no further than the works of the Law for their salvation, and they will certainly go astray. From what we have heard, it is clear that the way of salvation is far higher than nature.
The Fourth Lesson.
Fourthly, we may learn from this: if Christ has given believers rest by delivering them from the rigor and severity of the Law—such that they are no longer judged by it for their eternal state—then they have all the more reason to be faithful to God, doing all they can to serve
Him in an evangelical way. You were once under a Law that condemned you if you failed in even one point. If you failed, you were cast off forever. But now you are under a new Law, in which God accepts you in Christ. Shouldn't you be even more faithful and diligent in your efforts, given that you have received so much mercy in being brought under such a covenant?
The truth is, under the old covenant, you might have been discouraged, thinking, "No matter what I do, my soul may still be lost forever." But now, having been brought under the covenant of grace, where Christ has made you know that your rest is in Him, how careful should you be to walk in ways that are pleasing to Him? How should you devote the strength of your soul to walk in His ways?
Let me appeal to you: suppose you were still in that condition where the Lord looked upon you with a strict eye, requiring absolute obedience, and if you failed in anything, none of your previous good works would count. What if the Lord said to you, "What if I were to deliver you from this Law and bring you under the Law of Christ, where your eternal state would not depend on your obedience to the Law, and where whatever you do—though it may be imperfect—will be accepted?" How much would you prize this? Wouldn't you immediately enter into a covenant with God, saying, "Oh Lord, bring my soul under this covenant, and I will forever strive to walk in all that pleases You!" Such mercy would not make you sluggish, but would instead strengthen your heart.
Consider this: suppose someone were in slavery under a harsh master who beat them no matter how hard they worked, and a prince came to ransom them, taking them into his own house and adopting them as his child. The prince would expect no more than a childlike obedience from them. Wouldn't it be unnatural and vile for the ransomed person to be careless about pleasing this prince, who had delivered them from such slavery and bondage?
So it is with believers. You were once under the dreadful bondage of the Law, but now you have been brought to Christ. He has made you a child of God, and He ensures that your obedience—though it be imperfect—is accepted as filial and childlike. Shouldn't you be more diligent now than before? You now serve God on better terms than ever before, so how could you possibly be more sluggish?
The Fifth Lesson.
Fifthly, from our deliverance from the Law, we learn this: we should not judge our coming to Christ, nor our faith, by the standards of the Law. Since by coming to Christ we are delivered from the Law, we
must not measure our faith or our relationship with Christ by the Law's requirements. This concept might seem a little unclear at first, but it is of great importance and use, especially in helping believers in their walk with God.
Some believers, particularly those who are weak in faith, often judge their faith or their coming to Christ by the standards of the Law.
They make the Law a rule for their faith, which is a mistake. If by faith we are delivered from the Law, then the Law cannot be the standard by which we judge our faith.
You might ask, "What does it mean to make the Law a rule for our faith?" It means this: believers think that because their faith is weak, full of doubts and imperfections, they must not have faith at all.
What they are doing is treating faith like a legal requirement. If faith were legal, it could not be accepted if there was any mixture of imperfection or doubt. But evangelical faith can be accepted even when there is imperfection.
This idea will come up again, but for now, it directly follows from our deliverance from the Law. I want to suggest it as a great help to believers: do not make your faith legal. Here's how this happens: many believers who are full of doubts and fears will say, "Yes, I know there is rest to be found in Christ, but that rest is only for believers, and I am afraid I am not a believer." When asked why they doubt, they answer, "Because of my sins, because I cannot do as I would like." This is making faith a legal matter.
Of all graces, faith that delivers us from the Law must be evangelical.
Our mourning for sin should also be seen as evangelical. Yet, some believers view their mourning for sin as legal. They think God will not accept their mourning because they cannot mourn as deeply as they desire. If you were under the Law, no amount of mourning
would be accepted. But now, under the covenant of grace, you must see your mourning as evangelical, just as your obedience must be viewed as evangelical.
It is a serious mistake for believers to view their mourning, obedience, or even their faith through the lens of the Law. When believers look at their faith and think it is insufficient because it doesn't meet the perfection they desire—or the perfection that the Law requires—they are making their faith legal.
The Sixth Lesson.
Sixthly, another lesson that believers should learn from the rest they have in Christ from the burden of the Law is this: if they find deliverance from the terrors of the Law, they need not be troubled by any terror that can come from men or any creature. If your faith can deliver you from the terror of the Law, and give rest to your soul despite all the terrible things the Law threatens because of your sin, then surely that same faith can deliver you from the terror of men.
Consider this: all the rage and power of every person in the world, and every devil in hell, is not as terrifying as the threats of the Law. If God has given you such grace in your heart that you have found a way to be delivered from the terror of the Law and have found rest for your soul, then you need not be afraid of any earthly threats. Set your faith to work, and exercise it upon the promises that have given you rest from the Law, and that same faith will free you from the terrors of wicked men.
Believers, if you truly understand this, nothing in the world would be able to terrify you. You would have rest in your soul even in the midst of the world's worst terrors. You could reason within yourself:
"Through the grace of faith that God has given me, my soul has found rest even when I have heard the dreadful terrors of the Law. I
have that within me which gives me rest from them. And I know that all the terrors of men, and even the devils of hell, cannot be more terrible than the threats of the Law." Therefore, just as you have used your faith to believe in Christ and find rest from those terrors, use that same faith when you hear the threats of wicked men, and let it deliver your soul from fear. No matter how many rumours or threats fill the world, you can say, "My soul, return unto thy rest."
The Seventh Lesson.
Seventhly, another lesson that believers are to learn from their deliverance from the Law—which is of great benefit to them in their life and conduct—is this: it is utterly unbecoming for a believer to be harsh or rigorous towards their brethren. Christ has delivered you from the rigour of the Law, so will you now be rigorous with others?
Christ has given you rest; will you not do what you can to give your brother rest as well?
If Christ has freed you from great troubles, burdens, and bondage, why would you not strive with all your might to free your brother from any burden or trouble that might grieve him? Oh, what an unworthy thing it is for a Christian—who has received so much rest from Christ—to be a source of trouble or burden to their brother or sister! Christ has given you rest so that you might have a gentle and peaceful disposition towards others, that you might show pity and compassion towards them.
To see someone who professes to have been delivered from the Law and found rest in Christ, yet behaves harshly towards those under their authority, whether servants or children, is truly pitiful.
Remember the rigour that Christ delivered you from, and strive to be gentle and peaceable towards your brother.