Starting at the Right Place

It usually occurs to me every time I talk to someone about theological matters that I operate under a different set of presuppositions than are the modern day Reformed understanding. Even Federal Vision proponents (FV) fall victim to trying to explain their position in terms that presuppose what their opposition grants. They have to re explain terms that are common to the views of all thereby muddying the waters with terms that are not pure. The result is that FV think one thing but communicate something altogether different. The operative presupposition for everyone that I have come across is that the Covenant of Works is valid. Adam had to obey God perfectly and perpetually in order to enjoy eschatological life. As such the understanding of the “curse of the Law” is that no one can obey God sinlessly. Or in the words of the catechism, “Can you keep (the law of God) perfectly?” (Q/A 5 of the Heidelberg Catechism). The answer is no. Under this premise we need a substitute who can and will obey God sinlessly in order to experience eschatological life with God. This substitute, then, imputes His righteousness to His faithful believers. These hear the message that God has redeemed a people for Himself by sending His Son to die on the cross for them. He rises from the dead thus guaranteeing the forgiveness of their sins. They believe God’s good news and as many as are ordained to life eternal are saved.

The Heidelberg Catechism starts off beautifully with all the affirmations of truth in the answer to the first question. But the answer to the second question grossly devalues the previous affirmations by taking attention off of the grace and mercy of God and narcissistically placing the attention on “my sins and misery”. The other two things necessary to know in order to live and die happily are fine. The first thing to know in order to live and die happily is that God is a great God and is my God. I am not the one on center stage. Modern Wittenberg Castle Posting number 27 states that atoning substitution on our behalf is front and center. I do not talk all the time about my sins and misery and how unworthy I am because I do not merit any of God’s good will toward me. This ignores the reason that God saved me. Ephesians 2:7 says, “That in the ages to come he (that is Jesus) might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” Our sinfulness is a given. This is an acknowledged fact to the “seed of the woman”. The Bible does not use the language of imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us. The obedience that Christ rendered was to the will of the Father to die for the sin of the world. What could we expect the Son of God to do but live a sinless life? This in no way depreciates Christ being able to sympathize with our weaknesses. Try to imagine being God and willingly laying aside your divine prerogatives. The Bible does speak of our faith in God as being imputed to us as righteousness (see Romans 4:21-24 and James 2:23, see also Psalm 106: 30, 31). The way that Christ’s righteousness is connected with us is that we are united to Him in baptism. We cannot speak of anything as being imputed to us unless it belongs to us separately. In baptism we receive exceeding great and precious promises whereby the addition to our faith of virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love enables us to make our calling and election sure. Perseverance in time and history is of great importance. We can say positively that we know who has received the promise of God but we cannot say who will persevere in that promise. Hence throughout the Bible, you see exhortations to obedience or to behave in a certain way. It is not that by doing so you merit anything. No, you heed exhortation or obey because the promise is yours.

The “curse of the law” as understood by Moses, Nehemiah, Daniel, and virtually every prophet was that “If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations” (see Deut. 29:27-28, 2Kings 17:22-23, Neh. 1:7-9, Jer. 16:12-13, Dan. 9:9-13, Zech. 7:12-14).