The Law & Gospel

Grace Beyond the Law: Unveiling the Freedom of the Gospel

Summary: This outline addresses the critical distinction between the law and the gospel, highlighting the purpose of the law in revealing sin and the gospel as the transformative power of grace.

Application: Understanding the difference between law and gospel can liberate believers from legalism & antinomianism and lead them to genuine faith in Christ. It reassures them that their worth is not based on their adherence to the law but on what Christ has accomplished.

Teaching: This sermon teaches that while the law reveals God's holiness and our sinfulness, the gospel offers hope and redemption, leading us to a relationship with God based on grace rather than works.

How this passage could point to Christ: Christ fulfills the law's requirements and offers grace to all who believe, showcasing His role as the embodiment of both the law's intent and the gospel's promise of salvation.

Big Idea: True freedom in Christ comes from understanding that the law shows us our need for a Savior, and the gospel is the good news that meets that need through faith.

Quotes on the law & Gospel:

Virtually the whole of scripture and the understanding of theology depends upon a true understanding of the law and the gospel. “ – Martin Luther

“The usefulness of the law lies in convicting man of his infirmity and moving him to call upon the remedy of grace which is in Christ.” – Augustine of Hippo, early church father

“Ignorance of the distinction between law and gospel is one of the principle sources of the abuses which corrupted and still corrupt Christianity.”

– Theodore Beza, french protestant theologian

774There is no point on which men make greater mistakes than on the relation which exists between the law and the gospel. Some men put the law instead of the gospel; others put the gospel instead of the law. A certain class maintains that the law and the gospel are mixed, and that partly by observance of the law, and partly by God’s grace men are saved. These men understand not the truth and are false teachers.—1.285

Charles Spurgeon

1. Purpose of the Law

A: First use of the Law: The Pedagogical Use - or The “Mirror” Use:

Romans 3:19–20 “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

Galatians 3:10 “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.””

These verses illustrate the primary function of the law: to make us aware of our sinfulness and need for salvation. This understanding sets the foundation for appreciating the gospel's offering. The law is not the end, but a means to an end—leading us toward Christ.

B: The Civil or “Restraining” Use:

Romans 2:14–15 “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them”

This use of the Law applies to believers and non-believers. This use highlights that God has written the ‘work’ of the Law on everyone’s heart. It sets the standard for morality (as we are speaking of the moral law). It goes to show that whether you’re an aborigine in New Zealand in the 1300s or a pastor in Texas in 2025, we have all been exposed to the work of the Law. What is the work of the Law? We need to look no further than Exodus 20. We see God giving the Law to Moses in the 10 Commandments. These commands God gave Moses shows not only the sinfulness of man, but also the perfect holiness of God.

Luke 10:25–28 “And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.””

Deuteronomy 6:4–6 ESV

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

Leviticus 19:17–18 ““You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

This is what Christ said about the Law. It restrains evil and gives credence to our legal systems today. It limits our morals so much so that we cannot understand the nature of morality itself without the revelation of the work of the Law on our hearts.

C: The Normative Use:

This use of the Law applies specifically to believers. After being justified by faith, Christians are not under the Law as a means of salvation, but they are still bound to it as a rule of a life of holiness. The Law serves as a guide, showing us how to live in a way that pleases God. It teaches us what it means to love God and love our neighbor. It is a tool of sanctification, helping us to grow in holiness and conformity to Christ. Even though we cannot perfectly obey the Law, it remains a standard of righteousness that we should strive to uphold. Psalm 119, with its constant references to God's law, is a beautiful example of this use.

Psalm 119:33–40 “Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. Confirm to your servant your promise, that you may be feared. Turn away the reproach that I dread, for your rules are good. Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life!”

2. Guarded by the Law

Galatians 3:23–25 “Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,”

The Law acted as our guardian until Christ came, as discussed in these verses. There is a transition from living under the law to being justified by faith in Christ. We are to embrace the freedom found in the gospel, as it liberates us from the law's constraints.

3. Gospel's Freedom Proclaimed

Romans 8:1–8 ESV

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

There is a complete fulfillment and overcoming of the law’s condemnation through Christ, as depicted in these powerful verses. Because of the liberating message that there is condemnation for those in Christ, we see both the sufficiency and supremacy of the gospel over the law.

4. Freedom in Christ's Grace

Galatians 5:1–6 “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”

There is a call, a command, to stand firm in the freedom that Christ provides. Resist returning to a yoke of slavery under the law. True freedom comes from understanding the gospel's grace rather than through self-imposed legalistic obligations.

5. The Gospel

Rom 3:21-25, 28

Romans 3:21–25 ESV

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

Romans 3:28 ESV

For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Salvation is not merely a ‘get out of hell’ free card. It was bought by blood that we might be reconciled back to God in spite of our inability to keep the Law.