Part 1: The Law of God.
I have had difficulty in my conversations with other Christians about differences of doctrine and theology. When differences arise there is an uneasiness about it – its uncomfortable. There are many reasons for this and I will be the first to admit I need the Lord’s grace to help me be more patient, kind, and loving in all my interactions. There is however a component in today’s American Christian culture that wants to avoid conflict to the point of sacrificing truth. Peace is thought to be more important than the pursuit of truth. Our spiritual forefathers had no such fear. They were incredibly precise in their theological undertakings, not for the sake of controversy but for the Glory of God and the sanctification of the Church. John Colquhoun’s (pronounced ‘Kuhl-hoon’) treatise on the distinction, agreement, and uses of the Law and the Gospel is one such work.
Colquhoun was a Scottish pastor in the 19th century where he served the same parish for 46 years. He wrote first and foremost with the hearts and sanctification of his people in mind. He says this in his introduction speaking of the topic of the book, “To know it experimentally is to be wise unto salvation, and to live habitually under the influence of it is to be at once holy and happy.” He takes great care to expound on this great topic that fills the Bible from cover to cover.
In this first blog post, Part 1, I will discuss the first half of the book where he undertakes to unpack the Moral Law. The first reality of the Moral Law to consider is that it is manifest in creation – both externally and internally (Rom 1:19; Gen 1:27; Ecc 7:29). He writes, “The same law is also called the law of nature because… to act according to this law is the same as to act naturally and reasonably.” And to defend the reason for its total and perpetual obligation on all of mankind he cites that “Since the authority of that law is divine, the obligation flowing from it is eternal and immutable.” However, as both Christian and non-Christian know by observation and painful experience, we reject God’s divine law in creation and choose what is right in our own eyes, as our first parents did.
What is perhaps most astonishing in this law of creation is that there are terms and conditions attached to the law; it was not simply a law for the sake of God to demonstrate his power over creation (though He would not be in the wrong for such a stipulation). But to display the grace of God, He required obedience of the first humans in order that they might gain a fuller and deeper experience of communion with God. The burden of the law was not intended to be burdensome, but to lead to rich and full satisfaction in God. In the condition God gave Adam in the Garden “in the day that you eat of this you shall surely die” (Gen 2:17), the promise of life (satisfaction, enjoyment, fulfillment, etc) was implied in the abstaining from eating the forbidden fruit.
He notes quite insightfully that all men long to be in this ‘covenant of works’ given to Adam by nature. He says, “All who have embraced either one or another of the false religions that are in the world agree at least in this principle: It is by doing that men are to live.”
Next, Colquhoun moves on to a discussion of the Moral Law as “Promulgated to the Israelites from Mount Sinai”. This chapter was especially helpful for me as I have always been confused on what was happening on Sinai. To clear up the confusion, there are three specific aspects of the exchange between God and Israel on Mount Sinai that Colquhoun zeros in on: first, the Covenant of Grace was repeated and displayed to them. Second, the Covenant of Works was magnified in its obligations and ramifications, however still in submission to the Covenant of Grace for true believers. And third, a national covenant was formed between God and Israel.
The Covenant of Grace is displayed in at least two ways. First, God begins His dispensation of the written Law with the preamble: “I am the LORD thy God who brought you out of the land of Egypt,”(Ex 20:1). In essence he is saying “I am God who has saved you, now go and live accordingly.” Following the pattern of grace and the gospel, he says “Live and so do”. This is the gospel in essence: God has saved us graciously and therefore calls us to live with Him. The law describes how we live with God. Second, after Israel broke the commandments by making an idol of gold and Moses broke the tablets, God gave the Israelites a second set of tablets. The Covenant of Works at Sinai was broken before the terms were given to Israel. And God in his benevolence gave a second set of tablets displaying His intent to forgive transgression and continue in relationship with His people based on a Covenant of Grace. Colquhoun discusses no less than five additional proofs that the covenant at Sinai was a dispensation of the Covenant of Grace, not only of Works.
As far as the Covenant of Works being displayed at Sinai, Colquhoun argues that it was not, could not, have been presented to the people of God in order that they might fulfill it, for it was already broken by Adam. It was rather shown to them to display the impossibly high standard presented by that covenant and make them ever more thankful for the Grace displayed to them by their Sovereign. So the Law as a covenant was given to Moses who then immediately placed them in the Ark of the Covenant which was covered by the mercy seat so that we might know that God intends to shield us from the demands of the Covenant of Works by mercy. Incredible! He ends his discussion of the Law at Sinai with the ceremonial, ecclesiastical, and national components. These, while required of national Israel, were fulfilled in Christ, the true Israelite.
Colquhoun then examines the properties of the Moral Law so as to better understand its nature and how it functions. There are seven observed. First, it is universal (Rom 3:19-20). Second, it is perfect (Ps 19:7). Also meaning it is complete and has no need to be added to or taken away to describe the morals of the Infinite God. Thirdly, it is spiritual (Rom 7:14). God is Spirit and therefore His law necessarily is spiritual. We could perhaps say that the moral law has more bearing on the internal man (mind, will, affections) than the external. Points four, five, and six are based in Romans 7:12 “So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” Fourthly, it is holy. As God is holy or set apart from His creation, so is His law. Fifthly, It is just and equal (also Ps 119:7). This is also seen by God’s hatred for injustice and evil. Sixthly, It is good. The reality that the law brings condemnation and judgment says nothing evil of the law, rather of our evil. The law is good and we are evil, therefore the law condemns us. Otherwise it would not be good and just. Seventh and last, it is of perpetual obligation (Ps 119:89), meaning that all people made in the image of God who are under the Covenant of Works are bound to keep the law forever. Thus having understood the properties of the moral law, we turn to interpreting them correctly.
Here, in chapter four, Colquhoun shows his shrewdness in the law and especially how it should be applied to believers as a rule of life. He gives us rules of interpretation to guide us. Rule 1: Where a duty is required, the opposing sin is forbidden and vice versa (Isa 58:13-14, Eph 4:28). Rule 2: Where a duty is required, similar duties also apply and vice versa for sin. So, as our Lord taught us, swearing, hatred, and lust were violations of the third, sixth, and seventh commandments respectively (Matt 5). Rule 3: That which is forbidden is at no time to be done; but that which is required is to be done only when the Lord affords opportunity. The first is easy to see, the second part is seen particularly in the fourth commandment: it is only one day in seven that we rest. We are not to rest at all times in the same way as we are not to murder at all times and are always to love our brother. Rule 4: We are to strive to keep the law to the full extent possible and compel others to do the same within reason. The moral law has an obligation on every man, therefore we should compel every man to observe it (1 Tim 5:22, 2 Cor 1:24). Rule 5: The breaking of one component of the law is a breach of all of them (Col 3:5). Rule 6: Similar to Rule 3, where a duty is required, every effort must be made to keep it, where it is forbidden, all forms and hints must be resisted and condemned. Rule 7: No breach of the law is to be made in order to forbear a greater breach. We are not to “do evil that good may come” (Rom 3:8). Rule 8: The duties of the second tablet are subservient to the duties and prohibitions of the first tablet. Our love of neighbor flows from our love of God and cannot be contradictory to it. Rule 9: Our obedience should be with a vision of something greater than the keeping of one or even all of the law. God aims at our sanctification and perfection for His glory. In other words, the glory of God is the aim of our obedience. Rule 10: The end of the law is love (Rom 13:10, I Tim 1:5). Colquhoun makes this incredible statement in summary here: “The love of God to man is the sum of the gospel; the love of man to God is the sum of the law”. What an incredible statement! How that should change our view of lawkeeping!
Colquhoun unearths many other valuable nuggets of doctrine regarding the law which we would do well to study and understand. My view of the law was elevated in reading the first half of this book. My understanding of the dishonor that is done by both antinomianism and legalism was increased and replaced with a proper view of obedience and forgiveness with its end, the glory of God. In the second half of the book, he will unpack the Gospel in response to the law; its differences, similarities and most helpfully and beautifully, the complementarity of the Law and the Gospel. That will be discussed in the next blog post. Stay Tuned.
[1] Colquhoun, John. A Treatise on The Law and the Gospel, p6. Reformation Heritage Books, 2022.
[2] Ibid, 8.
[3] Ibid, 41
[4] Ibid., 55
[5] Ibid, 93