Consider...
"The cross alone, however, does not justify us . . . We are justified not only by the death of Christ, but also by the life of Christ. Christ's mission of redemption was not limited to the cross. To save us He had to live a life of perfect righteousness. His perfect, active obedience was necessary for His and our salvation . . . We are constituted as righteous by the obedience of Christ which is imputed to us by faith" [R. C. Sproul, Faith Alone, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1997), p. 103].
Commentator Leon Morris wrote,
"Redemption is substitutionary, for it means that Christ paid the price that we could not pay, paid it in our stead, and we go free. Justification interprets our salvation judicially, and as the New Testament sees it Christ took our legal liability, took it in our stead. Reconciliation means the making of people to be at one by the taking away of the cause of hostility. In this case the cause is sin, and Christ removed that cause for us. We could not deal with sin. He could and did, and did it in such a way that it is reckoned to us. Propitiation points us to the removal of the divine wrath, and Christ has done this by bearing the wrath for us. It was our sin which drew it down; it was He who bore it. . . . Was there a price to be paid? He paid it. Was there a victory to be won? He won it. Was there a penalty to be borne? He bore it. Was there a judgment to be faced? He faced it"
(The Cross in the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965], p. 405). Redemption, justification, reconciliation, removal of sin, and propitiation are all corollaries of the substitutionary work of Christ on the cross.
The ceremonial laws of the OT were typical, and the NT is actual, as the writer of Hebrews shows us. The cross does away with the Levitical sacrifices.
But the moral law...
Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.
Jesus' death on the cross establishes the Law, because if there were no Law, He would not have needed to die for us on the cross, in our place. The unsaved will still be judged by the Law.
Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."
So our relationship to the Law that judges the unsaved changes for us who are born again only on a personal level. We, as Christians, are no longer "under the Law" for righteousness (justification) or bound by the Law, but under grace when we put our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
The Law still drives the unsaved towards Christ. That's it's main purpose. For Christians, it is now become the instruction given by a loving Father. Something we yearn for and delight in. And the Law will still judge the unsaved.
Dave
"The cross alone, however, does not justify us . . . We are justified not only by the death of Christ, but also by the life of Christ. Christ's mission of redemption was not limited to the cross. To save us He had to live a life of perfect righteousness. His perfect, active obedience was necessary for His and our salvation . . . We are constituted as righteous by the obedience of Christ which is imputed to us by faith" [R. C. Sproul, Faith Alone, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1997), p. 103].
Commentator Leon Morris wrote,
"Redemption is substitutionary, for it means that Christ paid the price that we could not pay, paid it in our stead, and we go free. Justification interprets our salvation judicially, and as the New Testament sees it Christ took our legal liability, took it in our stead. Reconciliation means the making of people to be at one by the taking away of the cause of hostility. In this case the cause is sin, and Christ removed that cause for us. We could not deal with sin. He could and did, and did it in such a way that it is reckoned to us. Propitiation points us to the removal of the divine wrath, and Christ has done this by bearing the wrath for us. It was our sin which drew it down; it was He who bore it. . . . Was there a price to be paid? He paid it. Was there a victory to be won? He won it. Was there a penalty to be borne? He bore it. Was there a judgment to be faced? He faced it"
(The Cross in the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965], p. 405). Redemption, justification, reconciliation, removal of sin, and propitiation are all corollaries of the substitutionary work of Christ on the cross.
The ceremonial laws of the OT were typical, and the NT is actual, as the writer of Hebrews shows us. The cross does away with the Levitical sacrifices.
But the moral law...
Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.
Jesus' death on the cross establishes the Law, because if there were no Law, He would not have needed to die for us on the cross, in our place. The unsaved will still be judged by the Law.
Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."
So our relationship to the Law that judges the unsaved changes for us who are born again only on a personal level. We, as Christians, are no longer "under the Law" for righteousness (justification) or bound by the Law, but under grace when we put our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
The Law still drives the unsaved towards Christ. That's it's main purpose. For Christians, it is now become the instruction given by a loving Father. Something we yearn for and delight in. And the Law will still judge the unsaved.
Dave
