The Law’s Place in the Covenant
In the last issue we showed from Galatians 3:17-21 that the law was given as part of the covenant of God and that it still remains part of the covenant. Law and grace are not opposed to one another. The law is not even against the promises of the covenant (21).
We also showed that, within the covenant, the law serves first to reveal sin (19, 24). Few would disagree with this.
Yet this is not the law’s only function as “the book of the covenant” (Ex. 24:7). Within the covenant the law also serves as a guide for the life of thankful obedience that God’s covenant people are called to live.
According to this function, the believer calls the law “a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Ps. 119:105; cf. Prov. 6:23). It is a sure and safe guide along life’s pathway.
For this reason Scripture calls it “the royal law of liberty” (cf. James 1:25; 2:8, 12). Notice also that this royal law of liberty is identified with the law of the ten commandments (James 2:8, 11). It is not a different law, as some claim. As the royal law of liberty, given by the King of kings, it defines and sets the boundaries of Christian liberty and thus guards believers in Christ from licentiousness (Gal. 5:13-14).
This principle is always true. Even in a free nation, liberty is preserved by law. Law establishes the boundaries of liberty, so that freedom is not destroyed by every man doing that which is right in his own eyes. When law is cast aside, as increasingly happens today, and every man lives according to his own desires, liberty itself is eventually destroyed. A person may finally lose even the freedom to walk safely in the streets without fear.
The law, therefore, gives structure and order to the life of God’s covenant people. It defines their relationship to God so that He is glorified in their lives. The law is able to do this because it reveals the nature and attributes of God and therefore shows what a God-glorifying life truly is.
The law does not bring men into covenant fellowship with God, nor does it provide the grace necessary to live a God-glorifying life. Rather, it still brings sinners to Christ (Gal. 3:24). Nevertheless, it remains “the book of the covenant,” revealing how God’s covenant people may please Him and show thankfulness to Him, not only in word, but also in deed.
This is not to deny that the believer’s relationship to the law has changed through the coming of Christ. The believer is no longer “under the law,” but under grace. Yet that is another subject for another discussion. Rev. Ron Hanko
Names Blotted Out (1)
“He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels” (Rev. 3:5).
Before entering into a discussion of this passage, a brief word of apology is necessary.
Several issues ago we began a series discussing various texts submitted by readers, all relating in one way or another to the doctrine of the preservation of the saints. The purpose was to examine passages that appear, at least at first sight, to contradict this important and comforting doctrine of the Reformed faith.
Two or three such texts were already considered. One was II Peter 2:1 (Vol. IV, No. 15) and another was Hebrews 6:4-6 (Vol. IV, No. 20). Several other passages had also been marked for discussion, but the series was interrupted by articles on other subjects. We now wish to return to that discussion.
Two readers have drawn attention to Revelation 3:5 and have asked whether this passage teaches that saints may truly fall away from the faith. One reader stated the difficulty very sharply: “If believers’ names are written in the book of life from the foundation of the world (Rev. 17:8), and if God preserves His people to the end, how can Revelation 3:5 speak of names being ‘blotted out’ of the book of life?”
The argument is plain enough. When Scripture speaks of “the book of life,” it refers to God’s eternal decree of election. Revelation 17:8 itself speaks of “the book of life from the foundation of the world.”
Those who are elect of God and whose names are written in that book of life shall certainly inherit the life of which the book speaks, namely, eternal life with God and Christ in heavenly glory.
Yet the promise given to the faithful in the church of Sardis is that Christ “will not blot out” their names from the book of life. Such language appears to imply that names could indeed be blotted out.
Most of the references to the book of life are found in Revelation. Besides Revelation 3:5 and 17:8, there are also references in Revelation 13:8 and 20:12, 15. Outside Revelation the expression appears in Philippians 4:3. But Revelation 3:5 remains the difficult passage.
It is worth noticing, however, that Revelation 3:5 never actually says that Christ has blotted out anyone’s name from the book of life. Rather, in His letter to Sardis, He promises that He will not do so to those who overcome.
Scripture contains many promises that do not imply the possibility of their opposite, but are given to strengthen and encourage believers. The letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor repeatedly close with such promises addressed to those who overcome. For example: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne” (Rev. 3:21).
There are also negative promises similar in form to Revelation 3:5. Hebrews 13:5 says: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Yet this does not imply that God may actually forsake His people. Rather, the promise is given to encourage believers in their struggle against covetousness and unbelief.
So also in Revelation 3:5 the promise that believers’ names will not be blotted out of the book of life serves as an encouragement to persevere in the good fight of faith.
Yet this alone does not fully answer the question. There is more that must be considered. Although the passage is indeed a promise to those who overcome, it also contains an implied warning to the unfaithful—and there were many unfaithful in Sardis.
The gospel comes not only with promises, but also with threats. The promises are addressed to believers walking in faithfulness, while the threats stand over against the unfaithful.
Why does God speak in the gospel by means of threats as well as promises? That is an important question, but one which must be reserved for another time. Prof. Herman Hanko
How Can a “Dead” Heart Be “Hardened”? (1)
We recently received the following thoughtful question from a reader: “If the heart of the unbeliever is already dead, how can God harden a heart of stone?”
This question touches directly upon the doctrine of total depravity, a doctrine which the questioner plainly accepts. Scripture teaches that the unbeliever is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1) and possesses a heart of stone (Eze. 11:19). He can therefore do nothing good (Ps. 14:1-3) and cannot please God (Heb. 11:6). He is wholly wicked.
Yet this raises an important question. If the unbeliever is already totally depraved, how can he become even more wicked through the hardening of his heart? God’s giving men over to a reprobate mind (cf. Rom. 1:28), which is essentially the same thing as judicial hardening, appears to imply that man can indeed become worse than he already is.
Some attempt to answer this difficulty by weakening the doctrine of total depravity itself. They argue that the ungodly are not as wicked as they could possibly be. Though depraved in every part of their nature, they are not, it is said, completely wicked in every respect. The illustration is sometimes used of a basket of apples: every apple is rotten in part, but none are entirely rotten.
But such reasoning effectively denies total depravity. By total depravity we mean that every man, in every part of his being, and in every aspect of his life, is corrupted by sin. Heart, mind, soul, will, affections and body are all wholly defiled. Man is completely estranged from God. “Total” means total, and it only obscures the doctrine to redefine the term.
At the same time, an important distinction must be made. Is the unbeliever, by nature, as wicked as he can possibly be? Yes. He is wholly given over to sin and possesses no spiritual good whatsoever. Psalm 14:1-3 makes this unmistakably clear.
Yet it is also true that not every wicked person commits every possible sin. This, however, does not indicate the presence of goodness within him. Rather, in God’s providence, he may lack the opportunity, means or circumstances necessary to commit every form of evil. Nevertheless, his heart contains every kind of sin, and he is both willing and able to commit it (Matt. 15:19).
God, by His providence, restrains the outward expression of wickedness. This cannot be denied. Scripture itself illustrates this in such examples as Balaam (Num. 22:20-35; 23:7-12) and the tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9).
Yet this restraint is not grace, nor does it lessen the inward corruption of the ungodly. God restrains wickedness through providential means such as fear of punishment, fear of men, lack of opportunity or lack of resources. Such restraint may prevent the outward commission of certain sins, but it does not alter the sinful nature itself. It is like placing a muzzle upon a rabid dog: the restraint may prevent biting, but it does not remove the dog’s viciousness.
This providential restraint extends not only to wicked men, but even to Satan himself (Rev. 20:1-3). Through it God sovereignly governs history and directs all things to His own appointed end.
Still, the original question remains only partly answered. If man is already totally depraved, how can he yet be hardened further in sin? In what sense can he become worse than he already is? That question will be taken up next time. Rev. Ron Hanko
