Epiphany Camden - The Gospel-Centered Life - Lesson 4

The Gospel-Centered Life By Bob Thune & Will Walker : 

The Gospel-Centered Life By Bob Thune & Will Walker Community Group Study Lesson 4 - Law and Gospel Epiphany Fellowship of Camden John Matthew Leone 2011-2012

Purpose: 

Purpose Many Christians have a weak and anemic understanding of the gospel, so asking them to talk about how the gospel is transforming them is like asking a teenage boy band to talk about the finer elements of Mozart’s work. (Bob Thune & Will Walker, The Gospel-Centered Life, Leader’s Guide [Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2011] 2).

Purpose: 

Purpose We wrote The Gospel-Centered Life in order to shape “gospel DNA” in our church in a way that was accessible to both Christians and non-Christians. The Gospel-Centered Life is intended to help Christians understand how the gospel shapes every aspect of life and conduct (p. 2).

Purpose: 

Purpose Colossians 1:6 says that the gospel is “continually bearing fruit and increasing” in and among us, even after we first believe it. How does this happen? Through a continual rediscovery and application of the gospel in our daily lives (p. 2).

Lesson 4: Law and Gospel: 

Lesson 4: Law and Gospel Big Idea: We are still thinking about how the gospel interacts with our lives, but now we are doing it by considering the gospel’s relationship to the law . What is the law? Does God expect me to obey it? What is the purpose of the law? How does the law help me to believe the gospel? How does the gospel help me to obey the law? These are the questions before us in this lesson.

PowerPoint Presentation: 

Rom. 10:1 (ESV) Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Lesson 4: Law and Gospel

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What is the law ? There are three categories of Old Testament law: (1) Ceremonial law : regards Israel’s worship. (2) Civil law : regards Israel’s governance as a nation. (3) Moral law : regards Israel’s moral standards and reflects the nature of God. All three point to the Person of Christ and find their terminus in Him. Lesson 4: Law and Gospel

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The ceremonial laws are not applicable to believers today, for they were but types that found fulfillment in the death and resurrection of Christ. The civil laws are not applicable to believers today, for they were given for the governance and daily living of ancient Israel. The moral law alone abides, having been placed into the very heart of new covenant believers at the time of their new birth. Lesson 4: Law and Gospel

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The moral law abides: Jer. 31:33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts . And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Lesson 4: Law and Gospel

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The moral law abides: 2 Cor. 3:3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts . What was the only part of the OT law “written on tablets of stone”? The moral law, the 10 Commandments (Ex. 31:18; 32:15-16). Lesson 4: Law and Gospel

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The moral law is implanted at the new birth: Ezek. 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh [ the circumcision of the heart , which ritual circumcision pointed toward]. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules . Cf. Rom. 2:28-29; Dt. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 4:4; 9:25-26. Lesson 4: Law and Gospel

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Rom. 10:1-4 Christ is the end of the law . What does this mean? “End” is telos in the Greek text. In this context, it means “completion” or “end goal.” The word stands in the emphatic first position in the Greek sentence, indicating its importance. Christ is purpose-goal of the law, the Person to which it was intended to point and find fulfillment in. Lesson 4: Law and Gospel

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What are the two types of righteousness contrasted in Rom. 10:1-4? Man’s righteousness and God’s righteousness. John Calvin: “For though the law promises reward to those who observe its [God’s] righteousness, it yet substitutes, after having proved all guilty [because man utterly fails to establish his own righteousness], another righteousness in Christ, which is not attained by works, but is received by faith as a free gift.” Lesson 4: Law and Gospel

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Romans 10:4 says, “ Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes .” In other words, the end, the goal, the point of the law is to drive us to Jesus. When we really “get” what this verse is saying, we begin to see that every command in Scripture points us in some way to Jesus, who fulfills that command for us and in us. He is our righteousness. We no longer need to construct our own (p. 44). Lesson 4: Law and Gospel

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Read the article together on pp. 42-44. Lesson 4: Law and Gospel

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Exercise 4: The Gospel Grid and the Law (pp. 45-46) Every Scripture passage asserts a moral imperative, either explicitly or implicitly. For instance, a verse may tell you not to lie. You can respond to this imperative in three different ways . Lesson 4: Law and Gospel

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Exercise 4: The Gospel Grid and the Law (1) LEGALISM : You can try your very best not to lie. This is what it means to live under the law. You will inevitably discover that you cannot not lie, even when you lower your standards about what that means. Lesson 4: Law and Gospel

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Exercise 4: The Gospel Grid and the Law (2) LICENSE : You can admit from the start that you cannot obey this command and simply dismiss it as a biblical ideal you are not actually expected to obey. This is what it means to abuse God’s grace and give in to sin. Lesson 4: Law and Gospel

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Exercise 4: The Gospel Grid and the Law (3) GOSPEL (A) God says, “Do not lie” (holiness of God). (B) I cannot obey b/c I am a sinner (depravity of man). (C) Jesus obeyed this perfectly. He did what I should do (but can’t) as my substitute so that God can accept me. (D) Because He obeyed perfectly and I am united with Him as a result of my new birth, I am free to obey this command by His grace and power at work in me. Lesson 4: Law and Gospel

PowerPoint Presentation: 

Exercise 4: The Gospel Grid and the Law Apply the Gospel Grid to Phil. 4:4-7; Jam. 2:1-7; 1 Pet. 3:9. What is the command? Why can’t you do it? (Be specific about your particular struggles to obey this command.) How did Jesus do this perfectly? (Note specific examples in the Gospels.) How can God’s Spirit in you empower you to obey this command (in specific situations)? Lesson 4: Law and Gospel