Disabilities, Ableism, and the Hope of the Gospel: Marissa Namirr

Joy and I had the privilege of talking with a friend and returning guest to the Gospel Gal

Podcast, Cassaundra Wolf. Cassaundra has a unique perspective on this topic as a Christian, someone who is other-abled, and a clinical social worker. She was very helpful in defining the words ableism and giving concrete examples of ways that ableism affects those with
disabilities in the church and society. One of the highlights of the episode for me was reaffirming that other-abled individuals within the church are functional members of Christ's body. They are not less important, less significant, or less helpful. They are able to shoulder the burdens of others in the church consistent with their own vocations. A takeaway that I hope all the listeners will gain, is understanding the theology of the cross and how it enlightens our understanding and love for our other-abled neighbors. 

Key verses and thoughts in the episode:

Theology of Glory:

"A theology of glory expects total success, finding all the answers, winning all the battles, and living happily ever after. The theology of glory is all about my strength, my power, and my works. A theologian of glory expects his church to be perfect and always to grow. If a theologian of glory gets sick, he expects God to heal him.

And if he experiences failure and weakness, if his church has problems and if he is not healed, then he is often utterly confused, questioning the sufficiency of his faith and sometimes questioning the very existence of God." ~Gene Veith

In Scripture, Jesus uses individuals with disabilities for specific purposes, and affirms them for their wholeness and His glory:

As he was passing by, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” Jesus answered. “This came about so that God’s works might be displayed in him. ~John 9:1-3

Theology of The Cross: Suffering is part of the curse from which our Suffering Savior is redeeming us. Jesus suffered for us:

"He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of suffering who knew what sickness was.
He was like someone people turned away from;
he was despised, and we didn’t value him.
Yet he himself bore our sicknesses,
and he carried our pains;
but we in turn regarded him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced because of our rebellion,
crushed because of our iniquities;
punishment for our peace was on him,
and we are healed by his wounds." ~Isaiah 53:3-5

Christians with disabilities are functional members of Christ's body: 

"For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink.  Indeed, the body is not one part but many.  If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body.  And if the ear should say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body.  If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?  But as it is, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as he wanted.  And if they were all the same part, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, but one body.  The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”  On the contrary, those parts of the body that are weaker are indispensable.  And those parts of the body that we consider less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unrespectable parts are treated with greater respect,  which our respectable parts do not need. Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable, so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other.  So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

Our Savior is full of compassion: 

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.: ~Hebrews 4:15

Our Savior is strong in our weakness: 

So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. ~II Corinthians 12:10

Our Identity is in Christ, not exlcusively ability or disability: 

For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ~Colossians 3:3

Suffering has a divine purpose, which is never divorced from His kindness: 

Heidelberg Catechism 

Question 26:What believest thou when thou sayest, "I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth"?

Answer. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (who of nothing made heaven and earth, with all that is in them; who likewise upholds and governs the same by his eternal counsel and providence) is for the sake of Christ his Son, my God and my Father; on whom I rely so entirely, that I have no doubt, but he will provide me with all things necessary for soul and body: and further, that he will make whatever evils he sends upon me, in this valley of tears turn out to my advantage; for he is able to do it, being Almighty God, and willing, being a  faithful Father.

Our Savior is coming again to fulfill the final hope of the Gospel and the complete redemption from the effects of the fall: 

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away." ~Revelation 21:4

Listen to the YouTube episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9W9LzpbKhQ&ab_channel=Marissa

Summer, Sanctification, and our Serpent-Crusher

Social media has its benefits. I've been incredibly blessed as a result of forming relationships there. But the propagation and *belief of this ignorance is alarming. The woman who wrote this post influences and teaches thousands of women. She clearly has no idea that that verse is about the promised seed of Eve (Genesis 3:15). Regarding her post, there are a few things I hope my social media friends will take away.

The verse is misinterpreted by the woman posting. Being saved through child-bearing is a reference to Genesis 3:15-16. The promised Seed of Eve, the Serpent Crusher is our salvation, not our own spawn.

The way we're sanctified is not our obedience. Obedience is the result of our sanctification. See Westminster Shorter Catechism 35. Sanctification is the work of God's grace. Being conformed to His image and the outworking of that is the result.

Childbearing is a common-grace gift. It is not the cause of sanctification, nor is it the fruit of

salvation. Pagans have kids too and are blessed to have them. 

Good works are a gift of grace, not meritorious. See Heidelberg Catechism 63.

Bearing children is not good works. Again, children are common-grace blessings.

No woman should feel as though she is a lesser citizen of in Christ's kingdom. See Heidelberg catechism Lord's Day 12. We are prophets, priests and kings, just as our brothers in Christ, not because we've earned that station, but by His anointing of us. If you want to know the primary vocation of *every Christian, read I Peter. We are called to declare the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. He is amazing. And all of our hope and confidence is in Him alone. Not our works, not our babies, not our ability to be perfect in the process.

Eyes on Him. Fixed. Lead others to the Water. Drink freely.

For more on Lord's Day 12, see: https://gospelgalblog.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-apostles-creed-i-believe-in-jesus.html

For more on gender role see: https://gospelgalblog.blogspot.com/2021/08/mamabear-monday-with-gospel-gal-gender.html

The Apostles Creed: "...I believe in Jesus *Christ...": Lord's Day 12 (Heidelberg Catechism)

The Apostles Creed: "...I believe in Jesus *Christ...":

Lord's Day 12 (Heidelberg Catechism)

Marissa Namirr, "Gospel Gal"

This week we will continue our study of the Creed, focussing, again on the second line, "I believe in Jesus Christ." We will look, specifically, at Jesus, as the Christ, the long-awaited Anointed One, from the perspective of the Heidelberg Catechism and Reformation teachers.

This Summer, Joy and I wrote a piece comparing Lordship Salvation to historic Reformed theology. You can read the article here: http://gospelgalblog.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-reformation-answers-lordship.html. The Reformed world has no need of the system known as Lordship Salvation. Reformed theologians have always taught that Christ, the Lord's Anointed, is for His people, Prophet, Priest, and King. "The Reformers picture for us, not merely a Lord Who demands submission, subjection, surrender, obedience and loyalty, but a Shepherd-King who gently and lovingly reveals our redemption, intercedes for us, "governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who defends and preserves us in the redemption obtained for us." This Shepherd-King allures his subjects with a gentle and lowly call, "Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." ~The Reformation Answers Lordship Salvation by Marissa Namirr and Joy Dudley

So, what does it mean to believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Anointed? Let's look at the Catechism.

Lord's Day 12
Q.31. Why is he called Christ, that is, Anointed?
A. Because he has been ordained by God the Father,
and anointed with the Holy Spirit,
to be our chief Prophet and Teacher,
who has fully revealed to us
the secret counsel and will of God
concerning our redemption;
our only High Priest,
who by the one sacrifice of his body
has redeemed us,
and who continually intercedes for us
before the Father;
and our eternal King,
who governs us by his Word and Spirit,
and who defends and preserves us
in the redemption obtained for us.

In relation to what we believe with regard to Jesus as our Anointed One, Caspar Olevianus, co-author of the Heidelberg Catechism, in his An Exposition of the Apostles’ Creed writes:


And Ursinus puts it this way: "Jesus is the proper name of the mediator; ...Christ, the promised Savior and Messiah. Both titles designate his office, yet not with the same clearness; for while the name Jesus denotes the office of the mediator in a general way, that of Christ expresses it more fully and distinctly; for the name Christ expresses the three parts of his office, ...prophetical, priestly, and regal. The name Christ signifies the anointed. Therefore, he is Jesus the Savior, in such a manner that he is Christ, or the anointed, having the office of one that is anointed, which consists of three parts, as has just been remarked. The reason why these three things are comprehended in the name of Christ, is, because prophets, priests and kings were anciently anointed, by which was signified both an ordination to the office, and also a conferring of those gifts which were necessary for the proper discharge of the duties thereby imposed. Therefore, we thus conclude: He who is to be a prophet, priest, and king, and is called the anointed, he is so-called on account of these three offices.

He goes on to specify, "...those who were anointed under the Old Testament were types
of Christ, so that it may be said that their anointing was only a shadow, and so imperfect. But the anointing of Christ was perfect. For “in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” (Col. 2:9) He alone received all the gifts of the Spirit in the highest number and degree. ...none of those who were anointed under the Old Testament received all the gifts—some received more, others less; but no one received all, neither did all receive them in the same degree. Christ, however, had all these gifts in the fullest and highest sense. Therefore, although this anointing was proper to those of the Old Testament, as well as to Christ, yet it was real and perfect in no one excepting Christ."

Jesus' position as the Anointed One, provides for us all the richness of our relationship to Him. The focus here is not on what we have to offer Him, but His benefits to us. Our Royal Priest redeems, intercedes, and governs us in such a way, that we can never be snatched from His hand, and in such a way, that our hearts and desires are molded by tenderness and compassion.

As the Catechism continues the focus shifts to us, by asking (Q.32) "Why are you called a Christian?" In using that name, we pronounce to the world and the church, a particular relationship to Christ. Through faith, we are *Christ-ian. Note that what follows is the *result of faith, the gift of God whereby we acknowledge, assent, and trust in all of Christ's work outside of us and all that He is to us. 

I am called a Christian...

A. Because I am a member of Christ **by faith
and thus share in his anointing,
**so that I may
as prophet confess his name,
as priest present myself
a living sacrifice of thankfulness to him,
and as king fight with a free and good conscience
against sin and the devil in this life,
and hereafter reign with him eternally
over all creatures.

In this regard, Ursinus (Ursinus' Commentary) writes, "The use and importance of this doctrine is great. 1. For consolation, because we are through faith engrafted into Christ as members to the head, that we may be continually sustained, governed and quickened by him; and because he makes us prophets, priests and kings unto God and his Father, by making us partakers of his anointing. This is truly an unspeakable dignity conferred upon Christians. 2. For admonition and exhortation; for since we are all prophets and teachers of God, we ought continually to celebrate and praise him; since we are priests, we ought to offer ourselves wholly to God, as living sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving; and since we are kings it becomes us to fight manfully against sin, the world, and the devil, that we may reign with Christ. "

If you have ever questioned your calling or purpose in this life, this is the chief vocation of everyone called "Christian": "to declare the excellencies of Him who called us from darkness into His marvelous light (I Peter 2:9). With Christ as our Head, our Prophet, Priest, and King, we can live lives of confidence and certainty. Our Sovereign has won, is winning, and will have the final victory. We are forgiven and free citizens of His Kingdom. So now, in light of all He is as our Anointed Christ, we can rejoice and fight the good fight.

Listen to the Meditation Monday episode by this title on YouTube, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0YXoHAYwnw&ab_channel=Marissa

Resources and Sources mentioned: *The Apostles Creed *The Heidelberg Catechism * "The Reformation Answers Lordship Salvation": Gospel Gal: https://gospelgalblog.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-reformation-answers-lordship.html *Exposition of the Apostles Creed: Olevianus *The Commentary of Dr. Zacharias Ursinus on The Heidelberg Catechism

Enjoying The Gospel: Receive & Rest ~Joy Dudley

So please dear Elizabeth, learn to understand God's Word better, so that you do not regard Jesus as another Moses. By this I mean, that you will not treat our Advocate and Savior as an accuser and condemner, which is the greatest dishonor with which people can dishonor Jesus""

-Petrus Dathenus (The Pearl of Christian Comfort)

"Elizabeth: But now dear brother, please tell me, what purpose would this ability to distinguish between Law & Gospel serve?

Dathenus: It will serve to comfort and strengthen you by faith in Jesus Christ, and by the aforementioned gospel promises, quiet and overcome the anxiety of your conscience which is troubled by the killing letter of the law" - Petrus Dathenus (The Pearl of Christian Comfort)

"Dear Christian, the Gospel is for you. The forgiveness of sins is for you. Jesus, and His death and resurrection, His mercy and grace, His undeserved kindness are still for you, today and always. Your life is hidden with God in Christ, and it is His lavish love and kindness, not your obedience and commitment, that make a Christian life" - Bryan Wolfmueller (Has American Christianity Failed?)

"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come buy and eat! Come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food, incline your ear, and come to me. Hear that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David" (Isaiah 55:1-3)

I have spent some considerable time reflecting on my journey into Reformation Theology and specifically understanding more of the distinction between the law and gospel. I am honestly so thankful for it. Without it I would have persisted in believing that the Lord was disappointed in me and that He merely tolerated me. What sad and soul crushing lies to believe! Over the past three years the dark clouds of suspicion and fear that have surrounded the Lord's favor and kindness have dissipated. I have come to believe that the Gospel is meant not only to be believed, but also to be cherished as a gift specifically for my enjoyment. Beloved saints, the Gospel is also meant for you to enjoy as well.

What is the Law & Gospel Distinction?

Before getting into why this distinction is so important, consider Theodore Beza's conclusions on the differences between the two:

"The Law lays bare to us the majesty and justice of God (Heb. 12:18-21). The Gospel sets forth this same justice to us, but there it is pacified and satisfied manifested in Christ (Heb. 12: 22-24)"

"The Law sends us to ourselves in order to accomplish the righteousness which it commands us, that is to say, the perfect obedience to its commandments, which is necessary in order to escape guilt. But the gospel teaches us where we shall find what we do not have and, having found it, how we shall be able to enjoy it. "

- Excerpts from The Law & Gospel

The Law is everything that God has required of us. It is perfect and holy and displays the righteousness that God has and what is expected of us to keep as His image bearers. It is exacting and offers no escape if it is broken. It promises eternal life to those who can conform to it perfectly, personally, and perpetually and eternal condemnation to those who break it.

The Gospel is a promise. The Gospel gives what the Law requires. It is specifically the person and work of Christ. In the Gospel we see that Christ was born of a woman in human flesh. We see that He lived perfectly, perpetually, and personally in conformity to God's will. We see that Christ died on the cross paying the penalty and guilt for our law-breaking by satisfying the Father's wrath. We see that He was buried and raised for our justification. The Gospel declares that Christ ascended to Heaven where He intercedes for us. The Gospel grants us access to the Father by way of our perfect Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has provided us with all things necessary for life and godliness. The Gospel comes to us by way of faith alone in Christ alone, and with faith's empty hands, we receive Christ and all of His benefits, which include justification, sanctification, redemption, and glorification.

The Law & Gospel distinction is the key to enjoying the Gospel

Why does this distinction matter? Simply because if we get it wrong, the gospel in all of its glory and sweetness can never be enjoyed to the fullest extent. It means that we can never love God and enjoy Him forever the way we are commanded. What other way can we possibly do that if not through Christ our Mediator, Savior, and King? How can we continue to fight against sin with a good and free conscience if we are harboring a suspicion that we are secretly under the curse & wrath of God?

When we do not understand the distinction between the law & gospel, we turn to our own ability to keep the law to pacify our afflicted consciences, rather than fleeing to Christ as the only provision for sin's condemnation, and the righteousness needed to withstand judgement. Confusing the two creates a dark cloud of suspicion that obscures the kindness and pardoning favor of God in Christ. When we confuse the law and gospel we are damned either to despair or self-righteousness.

Enjoying the Gospel

What I have come to enjoy in learning of this distinction, is that for the rest of my life despite my failed attempts to obedience, I know that the Lord is in my corner. I have the joy and pleasure of looking freely into the face of Christ and being met with nothing but grace and mercy. I have the confidence and security in knowing that the Lord will never leave me or forsake me in my sin, that He will bring into completion the image of Christ in me that has already been imparted to me by faith. I enjoy the fresh motivation to keep believing and trusting in Christ and to love my neighbors.

With each encounter with the Gospel, my gratitude and love for God increases because I know that I have been forgiven of so much. Through the Gospel, I know that Christ's life has become my obedience and righteousness. His death has become my acquittal. I know that His resurrection and victory over sin has become mine. I know that although I may not fully enjoy the fullness of all these benefits, they are coming soon with Christ's second coming. I know that I can look forward to that day with confidence and not with fear because Christ has already submitted Himself to judgment in my place. In this world there are many circumstances that we can fear. Yet one thing we need not add is the condemnation of the law. One thing we can freely enjoy now is the sure promise that one day we will appear before the throne of God clothed in the righteousness and obedience of our Savior and Redeemer. The appeal for living in obedience to God is in reckoning ourselves dead to sin and alive to God because Christ lived for us, Christ died for us, Christ was raised for our justification and is now interceding for us.

Beloved saints, learn of this distinction. Surround yourselves with people and materials that proclaim the Gospel over you and to you frequently. Receive, rest, and partake of the good things that Christ our Savior has purchased for you. Christ is for you. I guarantee you will not regret it.

Law/Gospel Distinction: Reformation Theology or Hyper-Grace Error?

Law/Gospel Distinction: Reformation Theology or Hyper-Grace Error?

Marissa Namirr, Gospel Gal

Dr. John Street, an adjunct professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Chair of the Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling and Professor of Biblical Counseling at The Master’s University & Seminary in Los Angeles, California (associated with John MacArthur's Grace Community Church in the same area), Fellow and the President of the Board of Trustees of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC), attempts to define the Law/Gospel distinction as Hyper-Lutheran/Hyper-Grace, Antimonian doctrine.

However, we know that the Law/Gospel distinction is not only Lutheran, and not new or newly resurrected, neither is the Law/Gospel distinction Hyper-Grace or Antinomian. Listen to the Reformation theologians, down through the Reformation through today:

Since Luther was brought into the discussion first, I'll highlight his distinction at the outset:

Martin Luther wrote:

"Thus the Gospel is and should be nothing else than a chronicle, a story, a narrative about Christ, telling who He is, what He did, said, and suffered...There you have it. The Gospel is a story about Christ, God and David's Son, who died and was raised and is established as Lord. This is the Gospel in a nutshell...for the preaching of the gospel is nothing else than Christ come to us. or we being brought to Him."

John Calvin wrote:

"The Law, he says, is different from faith. Why? Because to obtain justification by it, works are required; and hence it follows, that to obtain justification by the Gospel they are not required. From this statement, it appears that those who are justified by faith are justified independent of, nay, in the absence of the merit of works, because faith receives that righteousness which the Gospel bestows. But the Gospel differs from the Law in this, that it does not confine justification to works, but places it entirely in the mercy of God (Institutes, 3.11.18).

Calvin's disciple and successor, Theodore Beza wrote:

"...the... difference between the Law and the Gospel is that the Law, by itself, can only show us, and make us see, our evil more exceedingly, and aggravate our condemnation; not through any fault of its own (for it is good and holy), but because our corrupt nature burns for sin the more it is reproved and threatened, as St. Paul has declared through his own example (Rom 7:7-14). But the Gospel not only shows us the remedy against the curse of the law, but it is at the same time accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit who regenerates us and changes us (as we have said above); for He creates in us the instrument and sole means of applying to us this remedy (Acts 26:17,18).

Beza also wrote:
"We divide this Word into two principal parts or kinds: the one is called the “Law,” the other the “Gospel.” For all the rest can be gathered under the one or the other of these two headings…We must pay great attention to these things. For, with good reason, we can say that ignorance of this distinction between Law and Gospel is one of the principal sources of the abuses which corrupted and still corrupt Christianity."

Zacharius Ursinus, Continental Reformer, co-author of the Heidelberg Catechism wrote:

"The law contains a covenant of nature begun by God with men in creation, that is, it is a natural sign to men, and it requires of us perfect obedience toward God. It promises eternal life to those keeping it, and threatens eternal punishment to those not keeping it. In fact, the gospel contains a covenant of grace, that is, one known not at all under nature. This covenant declares to us fulfillment of its righteousness in Christ, which the law requires, and our restoration through Christ’s Spirit. To those who believe in him, it freely promises eternal life for Christ’s sake."

Caspar Olevianus, Continental Reformer, co-author of the Heidelberg Catechism wrote:

The law is a doctrine that God has ****implanted in human nature and has repeated and renewed in His commandments. In it He holds before us, as if in a manuscript, what it is we are and are not to do, namely, obey Him perfectly both inwardly and outwardly. He also promises eternal life on the condition that I keep the law perfectly my whole life long. On the other hand, He threatens eternal damnation if I do not keep every provision of the law my whole life long but violate it in one or more of its parts. As God says in Deuteronomy 27[:26] and Galatians 3[:10], “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” And once the law has been violated, it has no promise that by the help of the law, that is, by works of the law, our sins might be forgiven. Rather, the sentence of condemnation is imposed upon us.

The gospel or good news, however, is a doctrine of which even the wisest knew nothing by nature but which is revealed from heaven. In it God does not demand but rather offers and gives us the righteousness that the law requires. This righteousness is the perfect obedience of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, through which all sin and damnation, made manifest by the law, is pardoned and washed away (Rom. 5; Gal. 3). Furthermore, God does not give us forgiveness of sins in the gospel on the condition that we keep the law. Rather, even though we never have kept it nor will ever be able to keep it perfectly, He still has forgiven our sins and given us eternal life as an unmerited gift through faith in Jesus Christ. John 1[:17] says, “The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth come through Jesus Christ.” And Romans 8[:3, 4]: “What for the law was impossible in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and condemned sin in the flesh through sin, that the righteousness required by the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Finally, Galatians 3:[12–14]: “The law is not of faith but ‘The man who does it shall live by it.’ Christ, however, redeemed us from the curse of the law when He became a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus and we thus might receive the promised Spirit through faith."

Puritan, Thomas Boston wrote:

"n a sinking state of the church, the Law and Gospel are confounded and the Law justles out the Gospel, the dark shades of morality take place of Gospel light; which plague is this day begun in the church, and well far advanced. Men think they see the fitness of legal preaching for sanctification; but how the Gospel should be such a mean, they cannot understand."

Puritan, Richard Sibbes wrote:

"The Law shows us our guilt, the Gospel shows us God's grace."

Anglican Pastor and Author, Octavius Winslow wrote:

"The law of God never spoke a word of comfort to the weary. It was not designed for such. Its very nature forbids it. It can anathematize, alarm, and wound; but not a solitary word of consolation and soothing can it address to a soul weary and heavy-laden with sorrow and with guilt. But it is the glorious gospel of the blessed God that the Lord Jesus speaks to His weary ones."

Reformed Theologian and Author, Herman Bavinck wrote:

"The law demands perfect righteousness, but the gospel grants it; the law leads people to eternal life by works, and the gospel produces good works from the riches of the eternal life granted in faith."

Reformed Theologian and Author, Louis Berkhof wrote:

"The law comprises everything in Scripture which is a revelation of God’s will in the form of command or prohibition, while the gospel embraces everything, whether it be in the Old Testament or in the New, that pertains to the work of reconciliation and that proclaims the seeking and redeeming love o God in Christ Jesus."

Reformed Theologian and Author, Michael Horton wrote:
"...when people preach (or read) the Bible as a handbook of helpful tips or as a practical guide for happier living, they are not really encountering the Bible at all, despite their appeal to it. If one comes to the Bible always looking for the "practical," that usually means that one will come looking for watered-down "Law." Remember, this is already our tendency, as Calvin's successor, Theodore Beza, reminds us: "The Law is natural to man.... But the gospel is a supernatural doctrine which our nature would never have been able to imagine nor able to approve without a special grace of God."

Reformed Theologian and Author, Robert Godfrey wrote:

"Sometimes we're told "Law/Gospel" is just a Lutheran idea. That's not true at all. It was clearly taught by Calvin, and by Ursinus, and by Turretin, and all the great Reformed theologians."

Reformation Pastor/Scholar, John Fonville highlights Law/Gospel distinction:

"Law: He will bring back on them their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the LORD our God will WIPE THEM OUT. Psalm 94:23 

Gospel: “I, even I, am the one who WIPES OUT your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Isaiah 43:25 "

So, it has been clearly demonstrated that Reformed and Reformation theologians have made this Law/Gospel distinction abundantly clear, down through history from the Protestant Reformation, to Purtian Europe, to the United States today and further. This is nothing novel and is not exclusively Lutheran. And as I will show is nothing Antinomian or in agreement with Hyper-Grace Theology.

Street assumes that a Law/Gospel distinction, because it supposes that the sole focus is on our identity in Christ, there is no necessity of obedience and leads to licentiousness.

Those are some significant assumptions and demonstrably false charges.

The Reformers/Reformation Theologians and Pastors have always taught three uses of God's Law. Read my article on The Law and Its Uses here: https://gospelgalblog.blogspot.com/2017/08/gods-law-its-uses.html .

The Reformers/Reformation Theologians and Pastors have always anticipated the rebuttal that the pure teaching of the Gospel and the imputed righteousness of Christ apart from our Law-keeping would tend toward antinomianism.

Heidelberg Catechism:

62. Q.
But why can our good works not be
our righteousness before God,
or at least a part of it?
A.
Because the righteousness
which can stand before God's judgment
must be absolutely perfect
and in complete agreement
with the law of God, 1
whereas even our best works in this life
are all imperfect and defiled with sin. 2

1.Deut 27:26; Gal 3:10.
2.Is 64:6.

63. Q.
But do our good works earn nothing,
even though God promises to reward them
in this life and the next? 1
A.
This reward is not earned;
it is a gift of grace. 2

1.Mt 5:12; Heb 11:6.
2.Lk 17:10; 2 Tim 4:7, 8.

64. Q.
Does this teaching not make people
careless and wicked?
A.
No.
It is impossible
that those grafted into Christ
by true faith
should not bring forth
fruits of thankfulness. 1

1.Mt 7:18; Lk 6:43-45; Jn 15:5.

“If your preaching of the gospel of God's free grace in Jesus Christ does not provoke the charge from some of antinomianism, you're not preaching the gospel of the free grace of God in Jesus Christ.” ~Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Reformation teaching illuminates a robust theology of Law/Gospel,

Justification/Sanctification. Those categories although clearly and intentionally distinguished have always been preached, taught, exhorted and proclaimed. We are in no more danger of veering off into antinomianism than any legalist who fails to distinguish these categories.

There is only one Gospel that is "the power of God unto salvation" for the believing ones. This is never said of the Law, only of the Gospel. May we rejoice and proclaim it to ourselves and others with abundant clarity and conviction until He comes.

YouTube Episode: Gospel Gal Hot-Take #1: Law/Gospel Distinction: Reformation Theology or Hyper-Grace Error? https://youtu.be/9rJ8fbQbuR4

Gospel Gal: Thirsty Thursday: A Short Reading from Luther

Luther: “…if Christ appears in the guise of a wrathful judge or lawgiver who demands an accounting of how we have spent our lives, we should know for certain this is not really Christ but the devil. For Scripture portrays Christ as our Propitiator, Mediator, and Comforter. This 

is what He always is and remains; He cannot be untrue to His very nature. Therefore, when the devil assumes the guise of Christ and argues with us this way: ‘At the urging of My Word you were obliged to do this, and you failed to do so; and you were obliged to avoid that, and you failed to do so. Therefore you should know that I shall exact punishment from you,’ this should not bother us at all; but we should immediately think: ‘Christ does not speak this way to despairing consciences. He does not add affliction to those who are afflicted. ‘A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not quench’ (Isa. 42:3). To those who are rough He speaks roughly, but those who are in terror He invites most sweetly: ‘Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden’ (Matt. 11:28); ‘I came not to call the righteous, but sinners’ (Matt. 9:13); ‘Take heart, My son; your sins are forgiven’ (Matt. 9:2); ‘Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33); ‘The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost’ (Luke 19:10).’ Therefore we should be on our guard, lest the amazing skill and infinite wiles of Satan deceive us into mistaking the accuser and condemner for the Comforter and Savior, and thus losing the true Christ behind the mask of the false Christ, that is, of the devil, and making Him of no advantage to us.”

From Lectures on Galatians (1535)

Listen on my YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/04ugrOE0KUU

Gospel Gal: Sunday Snippet with Mac on Union with Christ

Ephesians 2

" And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 

4 But God, 

being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus"

Listen to this Mac from Paramount Church preach on how our union with Christ benefits us. It'll bless your socks off. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrKXvVnc4JM&ab_channel=Marissa


Full context here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axTsjQPTD9E&ab_channel=ParamountChurch

Lessons From the Cross at Ground Zero: A Sympathetic Savior, Part 2: John Fonville

"The Cross of Christ provides undeniable proof that Jesus suffered and thereby understands
humanity’s suffering. The Cross is the answer to man’s desperate plea for answers to the dilemma of suffering. The Cross tells us that Christ not only possesses power, but that He knows and feels our deepest pain."

Read more here: 

https://gospeldriven.wordpress.com/2008/09/11/lessons-from-the-cross-at-ground-zero-a-sympathetic-savior/?fbclid=IwAR3FOkIH2zKd-wG-Q5DbiMEwxSA9tkcCDHLZkNgO_72FqfG0S_yHBVoy9do

How To Love Your Enemies

How to Love Your Enemies

Marissa Namirr, "Gospel Gal"

Today I'm thinking about a topic that was suggested for Gospel Gal blog and podcast, by my good friend, Vanessa. It is the issue of loving our enemies.

So, as I was thinking this through, I went to the Word to consider our duties.

Listen to these imperatives that I read and let them sink in.

In the Old Testament, Moses commands:

“Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

Jesus reaffirms the same obligation in Matthew 22 and goes further:

34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. 35 And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test him: 36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

And as if these commandments were impossible enough, Jesus goes even further on how to love in the Sermon on the Mount:

“You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:38-48)

I think it is crucial to understand that our neighbor is everyone that God directs across our paths, even our enemies.

Listen to Calvin identifying our neighbor: "To keep up the exercise of brotherly love, God assures us, that all men are our brethren, because they are related to us by a common nature. Whenever I see a man, I must, of necessity, behold myself as in a mirror: for he is my bone and my flesh, (Genesis 29:14.) Now, though the greater part of men break off, in most instances, from this holy society, yet their depravity does not violate the order of nature; for we ought to regard God as the author of the union." (Calvin's Commentary on the Bible :Matthew 5)

But, it is also important and helpful to recognize that God provides clear categories: neighbors, brothers, family, enemies. Some are more easily loved than others, and we are not required to relate to all in the same ways. We relate to our children differently than we relate to our local grocer. We provide differently for close friends than we do for our colleagues. And we are not expected to send birthday cards, invite to football games, hold in a warm embrace someone who has committed a crime against us. It is clear in all of Scripture that there are categories for relationships and actions that are loving or hateful in each category. For the purposes of this article, I can't elaborate on all of them. Read Scripture in its context and you'll see what I mean. 

Still, it is wise and gracious to consider how it is that we are to relate to enemies.

We do not violate Scripture in identifying what category an individual falls into, taking action, or creating and sustaining boundaries with them.

Listen to Calvin on our Lord's words from the Sermon on the Mount: "though judges were entrusted with the defense of the community and were invested with authority to restrain the wicked and repress their violence, yet it is the duty of every man to bear patiently the injuries which he receives. ...Though Christ does not permit his people to repel violence by violence, yet he does not forbid them to endeavor to avoid an unjust attack. The best interpreter of this passage that we can have is Paul, who enjoins us rather to “overcome evil by good” (Romans 12:21) than contend with evil-doers... When wrong has been done them,... he wishes them to be trained by this example to meek submission, that by suffering they may learn to be patient.

He goes on: "...for he who shall bring his mind to love those who hate him, will naturally refrain from all revenge, will patiently endure evils, will be much more prone to assist the wretched. Christ presents to us, in a summary view, the way and manner of fulfilling this precept, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, (Matthew 22:39.) For no man will ever come to obey this precept, till he shall have given up self-love, or rather denied himself, and till

men, all of whom God has declared to be connected with him, shall be held by him in such estimation, that he shall even proceed to love those by whom he is regarded with hatred... Christ assures us, that this will be a mark of our adoption, if we are kind to the unthankful and evil. And yet you are not to understand, that our liberality makes us the children of God: but the same Spirit, who is the witness, (Romans 8:16,) earnest, (Ephesians 1:14,) and seal, (Ephesians 4:30,) of our free adoption, corrects the wicked affections of the flesh, which are opposed to charity. Christ therefore proves from the effect, that none are the children of God, but those who resemble him in gentleness and kindness.

If you're like me, after reflecting on what *is required in God's Law regarding love of enemies, you realize that you've not only failed in the ways described but feel completely inadequate to do so. I fail at loving even those who love me. And if you feel that you're killing it, you're getting it done, and loving so well that you've met the mark, go back and read the commandments again. We. Have. All. Failed. Refer to Heidelberg Catechism #5:

Q. Can you keep all this [The Great Commandment] perfectly?
A. No, 1
I am inclined by nature
to hate God and my neighbour. 2
1.Rom 3:10, 23; 1 Jn 1:8, 10.
2.Gen 6:5; 8:21; Jer 17:9; Rom 7:23; 8:7; Eph 2:3; Tit 3:3.
(Emphasis mine)

"...inclined by nature to hate God and hate neighbor"... So, how in the world is it that we can begin to love our enemies from a pure heart? How do we resemble our Father in showing kindness to both the just and the unjust?

First, We recognize that loving neighbors, including our enemies, is non-negotiable. It is a command. We are required to love God and neighbor, personally, perfectly, and perpetually all of our lives.

Second, we're honest with ourselves and Our Father about failing to love our enemies. And as we would confess all other sins, we can speak the truth concerning this lack of love, looking to Christ, seeking forgiveness. It can look like this prayer we repeat after the reading of the Law, week after week. "Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy." 

Or "Most merciful God, 

we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen." 

(Book of Common Prayer)

Third, we can trust that Christ freely forgives all our trespasses and sins. We can believe the Gospel. We can recall the Comfortable Words: My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous one. He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins... (I John 2:1,2).

And finally, we can move forward, assured of the Father's favor in spite of our failure, for Christ's sake. With renewed hope we can rest assured He will enable us by His Spirit to love even our enemies well (although imperfectly), *because, we have been so lavishly loved by Him. We remember Paul's amazing description of the grace of the Triune God to us, 

"For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation" (Romans 5:6-11).

It is in receiving, resting, and abiding in His love, that we learn to love others well, even our enemies. "We love because he first loved us" (I John 4:19).

Listen to the Gospel Gal YouTube episode by the same title around lunch hour ET, Monday, Sept. 13, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf3CjUyawVU&t=126s&ab_channel=Marissa

Sources: 

1. Calvin's Commentary on the Bible:  

https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/cal/matthew.html

2. The Heidelberg Catechism (#5): 

http://www.heidelberg-catechism.com/en/lords-days/2.html

Gospel Gal: "MamaBear Monday: Surrender, MacArthur, and a Romans 7 Kind of Day"

Gospel Gal: "MamaBear Monday: Surrender, MacArthur,

and a Romans 7 Kind of Day"
~Marissa Namirr

So, the other day, I posted this statement about surrender that multiple friends clamped onto,  understood, and shared. Others pushed back... hard. I said that the concept of surrender is not to be found in the Bible or in Reformed Theology. To clarify the initial statement I made was in the context of another thread in a Facebook group. The thread was about how much surrendering is "enough", and "I surrender all". Those in my circle get it, but those with a background in Lordship Salvation teaching or Higher Life theology may not. And one person rightly corrected me with a statement on surrender by John Calvin. He did assert that surrender is a thing to be desired, as a result of what has been done for and worked in us in Christ. The Calvin quote below is from The Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life, which is actually an excerpt from Book III of The Institutes of the Christian Religion.  

I was wrong to state that the Reformers didn't teach surrender. However, as this article will show, Reformation teaching does not divorce the teaching of self-denial or yieldedness to Christ from the broader context of its Theology. In the Institutes, Calvin also beautifully states, ...Paul... contends that we are pleasing to God through grace and are accounted righteous through his pardon because nowhere is found that observance of the law for which the reward has been promised. Paul therefore justly makes contraries of the righteousness of the law and of that of the gospel  (Institutes, 2.9.4). Righteousness is not obtained by what we do, but by what Christ has done. Sanctification is not obtained by our doing (surrender) but is the work of God's grace in us. 

So, I could have been clearer and the statement would be better said this way: The concept of "surrender" as taught by Lordship Salvation proponents and Wesleyan Higher Life theology is not found in Scripture or in Historically Reformed theology. Hopefully, this article will shed light on the problems with the word as it's used in so much of the evangelical world. It is more than semantics. It is what is behind the word, the assumptions, assertions, and doctrines associated. 

Pastor Matt Richard asks: "Have you heard of the Keswick Movement? No? I bet you have. You can tell that Keswick theology has impacted you and others when you hear a Christian ‘testimony’ like this:

I was saved when I was nine years old, and I yielded to Christ when I was nineteen.

Did you catch it? I was ‘saved’ when I was nine (step 1). I ‘yielded’ to Christ when I was nineteen (step 2). Jesus saved them, but then they surrendered, emptied, let go and let God when they were nineteen. Do you hear the two-tiered progression? Typically these testimonies end with how the person is apparently living in a completely different Christian dimension; higher and more victorious than they were before. Yes, indeed they were ‘saved’ but they also ‘surrendered.’"

The problems with this two-fold view of salvation are 1. The human recipient of salvation is in the driver's seat. 2. Justification and sanctification are separated. This separation is foreign to Reformed theology. Reformed teachers and believers have only ever known a Whole Christ, Who alone drives, performs, and ensures both our justification and our sanctification, and both benefits of the free grace of God. 

Read the Westminster Shorter Catechism on this topic, here: "What is justification? Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone. ...What is sanctification?  Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness."

Also worth noting, Graeme Goldsworthy is on point when he says, "When we approach sanctification as attainable by any means other than the gospel of Christ--the same gospel by which we are converted--we have departed from the teaching of the New Testament. "A justified person is sanctified because he is in Christ, and because God is faithful to complete our salvation. Sanctification does not occur because we surrender, but because God works in us through the Gospel. Read the Epistles. You can't miss this fact if you read them as cohesive letters, which they are. 

On this point, we (Reformed Christians) would agree with John MacArthur. He took a firm stance against the Keswick, Higher Life assertion that we can have justification without sanctification in his book, The Gospel According to Jesus. However, he strays from Reformed theology in suggesting his own version of "surrender". He revises the ordo salutis and his concept of surrender makes yielding or surrendering to Christ's authority a condition for salvation. 

Refer to our article "The Reformation Answers Lordship Salvation". MacArthur's assertion is "'Instead of calling men and women to surrender to Christ, modern evangelism asks them only to accept some basic facts about Him." He adds a fourth element to this definition by saying it also includes a determination of the will to obey. MacArthur writes, “repentance is a critical element of genuine faith” The Gospel According to Jesus). And in the same book, he states: 'Faith obeys. Unbelief rebels. The direction of one's life should reveal whether that person is a believer or an unbeliever. There is no middle ground. Merely knowing and affirming facts apart from obedience to the truth is not believing in the biblical sense.' As my friend and pastor, John Fonville, rightly points out, 'the idea of “surrender” isn’t taught by any of the Reformed confessions but came out of the higher life theology.' Reformed teachers agree that the received Gospel does indeed have as fruit, works of obedience, repentance, good works, but they do not confuse or enmesh faith with that fruit. Implying that obedience is a part of faith contradicts sola fide. Per Michael Horton, Reformed theologian and scholar,"...the classical evangelical definition of saving faith encompasses three elements: knowledge (an intellectual grasp of the facts), assent (the conclusion that these facts are true), and trust (the conviction that these true facts are true in my case and for my salvation)." It is also noteworthy that Horton makes no allusion to surrender, rather to ways of grasping the truth of the Gospel." 

So, back to the original post in question, I do not deny that the concept of yielding to God's Spirit and will are found in Scripture, nor do I claim that that obedience and turning from sin are foreign of Reformed Theology. Further, I affirm with the writers of the Heidelberg Catechism that Jesus, the Son and second person of the Trinity, is the Christ, the Anointed One. He is not only Lord, but Prophet, Priest and King. And when I say I am a Christian, I own that "I am a member of Christ by faith, and thus am partaker of His anointing; ...so I may confess His name, and present myself a living sacrifice of thankfulness to Him; and also that with a free and good conscience I may fight against sin and Satan in this life, and afterwards reign with Him eternally over all creatures." ~Heidelberg Catechism LD 12

At the same time, I would be remiss if I did not add that my "surrender" and willingness to perform all of all that is stated in LD 12 is not perfected in this life. I affirm with the writers of the Heidelberg Catechism: "even the holiest have only a small beginning of this obedience" (LD 44). For the Christian, every day is a Romans 7 kind of day. "The normal Christian life is not onward and upward, but more often one step forward, two steps back. It's a struggle that will not completely end in victory until we are translated at the Consummation. We do not suffer from over-realized eschatology. We affirm that we are utterly dependent, sinful creatures who boast in nothing but Christ and Him crucified."~"The Reformation Answers Lordship Salvation": Marissa Namirr and Joy Dudley. 

We struggle with sin, and again and again face it, acknowledge it, confess it, and look back to Christ Who yielded perfectly to His Father in our place. Back to the original post...  "He came down from Heaven and always did what pleased the Father (John 8:29). We need Him because we do not do this. We can rest in the fact that He did." Our focus shifts from what we've done, what we'll do now, to what has been done for us. Jesus, not our will or ability to surrender all, gives us hope and assurance. 

You can listen to the YouTube episode by the same title as this article here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEZj_q4cCbI&t=227s&ab_channel=Marissa

 

Sources noted: 
1. My Facebook Post: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10227286904982063&set=a.10201327030761432
2. The Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life: John Calvin
3. The Institutes of the Christian Religion: John Calvin

4. "Keswick Theology: The Exhaustion Of Trying To Yield More, Surrender More, And Let Go-Let God": Matt Richard

5. Westminster Shorter Catechism
6. The Gospel in Revelation: Graeme Goldsworthy

7. "The Reformation Answers Lordship Salvation": Gospel Gal: Marissa Namirr and Joy Dudley

8. The Gospel According to Jesus: John MacArthur

9. Christ the Lord: Michael Horton

10. Heidelberg Catechism