On this 15th Sunday after Pentecost we are going to examine another passage that appears to give Christianity such a bad reputation. The first of three assigned readings is Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 (Observe my commandments); Ephesians 6:10-20 (The armor of God) and Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 (Commandments of men vs. those of God). The passage that appears at first reading to be from a religion of the law is Deuteronomy 4:1 which reads, “Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you.”

Who can argue with the apparent commonsensical interpretation of this text that by observing God’s commandments, you will not only live but possess the land? Well, I do and will argue against such a view if it means that by our obedience to God’s commandments we receive life. That commonsensical view not only contradicts the rest of the Bible that we are saved by grace alone and not by works, but also a proper distinction between Law and Gospel.

The solution to this problem came up on a recent broadcast of “Law and Gospel” on AM 850 KFUO (Website: kfuo.org). A listener emailed the question as to whether the word “Law” in the Old Testament always meant works of the Law that merit salvation. The answer is “no” in the sense that the word “Law” has both a narrow and broad meaning. Narrowly it often can be understood as works of the Law that merit salvation. But in the broad sense it refers to the entire Word of God including both Law and Gospel.

The context is clear that the statutes and judgments of God are those which result in a person receiving life. The word “law” or “statute” refers to the Will of God. And what is the Will of God that results in life for the dead? The first verse is found in Genesis 3:15 in which God promises the Messiah through the seed of Eve. Those statutes and judgments which God teaches people to observe to bring life are not the demands of the Law but the promises of the Gospel.

There are no such promises found in any other religion in the entire world. The righteous judgments found in God’s holy law (Word) (verse is nothing less than that God will forgive the iniquities of His people and no longer remember their sins. It is that message which summarizes the Word of God (statutues and judgments) that result in the bringing of life to the dead (unbelievers) through faith in Jesus Christ. Once more, Scripture interprets Scripture.

For further evidence of these distinctions between Law and Gospel, read the Gospel from Mark 7 in which obedience to the commandments saves no one. Instead, what counts to God is the attitude of the heart (verses 21f) which refers to whether or not the individual has faith. Without faith, all good works stench in God’s nostrils; through faith all good works are regarded as fruit of the Holy Spirit.