We are dead in Christ so that we are no longer in bondage to the law

"Christ was not always kept in a state of humiliation, did not always suffer, and did not frequently die. Rather, all of that state of humiliation and suffering obedience fell on Him for a short time and for the days of His flesh. Psalm 8:6, 'And you made Him a little lower, for a short time,' because He also is called God (Heb. 2:7-8; 5:7; 7:27). And He could not be held by death (Acts 2:24), first because the covenant of works required that everyone subject to it for obedience, especially with labor, toil, and the sufferings of death, bring back the happy reward and glory. . . . Second, because the law does not require obedience for satisfaction and merit beyond death (which would be worthy of His excellence, that He could be received as the price, and ransom, and sacrifice of a good aroma, and means of expiation). For such death justifies from sin. Romans 6:7, . . . . And so in the death of Christ we died to the law and the law to us. Romans 7:1, 4, 6, 'The law rules over man as long as he lives. You have died to the law through the body of Christ. We have been set free from the law,' having died (or dead for a different reading) in Him for whom we are kept. Third, He could not be held by death, because neither the glory of the Son nor the righteousness acquired for us could be blotted out." - Johannes Cocceius, The Doctrine of the Covenant and Testament of God, Pg. 98 - 99

A New Commandment which is from Old

"Those that are indeed commandments from Christ are not new commandments that have been given by Christ that a condition of justification might be established in them. But they are old, restored by Christ, not only through the explication of the law not sufficiently explained and observed by the Pharisees, but also through its fulfillment. Certainly this fulfillment makes not only for the acquisition of Christ the true Mediator, to stir up our prayers, that we may more ardently entreat the Spirit who sanctifies from God, and finally that the understanding of the law may be the means of our sanctification (for the Spirit does not inscribe on our hearts that we may not understand that which He inscribes) and so our holiness may be more true and complete. Therefore, those commandments are old, because they have been restored in the example of Christ and engraved on the hearts of believers by the Holy Spirit (John 13:34). In 1 John 2:8 that is emphatic, 'Again a new commandment I write to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness,' not only of servitude to the shadows but also to hardening, which existed as long as God deserted the Gentiles, 'is passing away, and the true light,' in the word and example of Christ and in the regeneration of the Spirit, 'is already shining.' This pertains to the explanation of the first, second, third, and fifth good of the New Testament. From this it is clear that following Christ (which also comprehends denial of oneself and bearing the cross) is not a new commandment peculiar to Christ, as the Racovian Catechism (on the prophetic office of CHrist, ch. 2) wishes, because the obedience of Christ to be imitated by us is the observance and fulfillment of the Old commandment." - Johannes Cocceius, The Doctrine of the Covenant and Testament of God, Pg. 254

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. - John 13
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but... that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. 15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 19 We love him, because he first loved us. 20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? 21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. - 1 John 4

We love because he first loved us. A new command is really the old command given to the Israelites but now is fulfilled in Christ Jesus. Therefore, those in Christ are said to love the brethren. Further, transcribing the law as new doesn't have to mean this is a different law (though believers are not under the law in covenant form). The difference between the law in its covenant of works verses it being in the covenant of grace is basically that the law is formally different but not materially different. In other words the law (though the same as of the law in the ot) is no longer condemning for those in Christ, neither do believers keep the law for gaining salvation. We love because he has loved us and has given his life for us. He has not done this for everyone (though the Arminian falsely claims); for Gods love is effective and is powerful to achieve that which he wills.

We do not love as we ought therefore our assurance must be on better grounds

"It is surely amazing that our opponents are unmoved by the many passages in the Scriptures that clearly attribute justification to faith and specifically deny it to works. Do they suppose that this is repeated so often for no reason? Do they suppose that these words fell from the Holy Spirit unawares? But they have thought up a piece of sophistry to evade them. They should be interpreted, so they say, as referring to 'faith fashioned by love,' that is, they do not attribute justification to faith except on account of love. Indeed, they do not attribute justification to faith at all, but only to love, because they imagine that faith can exist with mortal sin. Where does this end but with the abolition of the promise and a return to the law? If faith receives the forgiveness of sins on account of love, the forgiveness of sins will always be unsure, for we never love as much as we should. In fact, we do not love at all unless our hearts are sure that the forgivness of sins has been granted to us. If our opponents require us to trust in our own love for the forgiviness of sins and justification, they completely abolish the Gospel of the free forgiveness of sins. For men can neither render nor understand this love unless they believe that the forgiveness of sins is received freely." - The Book of Concords, Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article 4. Justification, Pg. 122-123

Is it evil for God to cause a sinner to rape another sinner?

The Arminian says that Calvinist teach that God is evil because he causes a woman or a child to be raped by a perpetrator. Of course this is nothing but an emotional argument that seeks not the truth of the matter. The question is what is rape compared to other acts of God revealed in the Scripture alone? God destroys the whole earth by the flood, He also destroyed a whole nation by fire and brimstone. Whether God uses another sinner to do that which would be reprehensible to us or some other disaster is no different. The Assyrian king was an ax in the hand of the Lord against his people. God in the Scripture commands his people to destroy whole nations; in other words, genocide (1 Samuel 15:3, Numbers 31). They were to destroy the nations in order to blot out the remembrance of them (Deut. 25:19). Jesus says that likewise you will also perish if you do not repent either.

Arminians deny the Gospel

Neither let any deceive your wisdoms, by affirming that they are differences of an inferior nature that are at this day agitated between the Arminians and the orthodox divines of the reformed church. Be pleased but to cast an eye on the following instances, and you will find them hewing at the very root of Christianity. Consider seriously their denying of that fundamental article of original sin. Is this but a small escape in theology? - why, what need of the gospel, what need of Christ himself, if our nature be nor guilty, depraved, corrupted? Neither are many of the rest of less importance. Surely these are not things, as Austin speaks, - "about which we may differ without loss of peace or charity." One church cannot wrap in her communion Austin and Pelagius, Calvin and Arminius. I have here only given you a taste, whereby you may judge of the rest of their fruit, "mors in olla, mors in olla;" their doctrine of the final apostasy of the elect, of true believers, of a wavering hesitancy concerning our present grace and future glory, with divers others, I have wholly omitted: those I have produced are enough to make their abettors incapable of our church-communion. - John Owen, The Epistle Dedicatory in A Display of Arminianism, pg. 7

On the Law and the Gospel distinction

"All Scripture should be divided into these two chief doctrines, the law and the promises. In some places it presents the law. In others it presents the promise of Christ; this it does either when it promises that the Messiah will come and promises forgiveness of sins, justification, and eternal life for his sake, or when, in the New Testament, the Christ who came promises forgiveness of sins, justification, and eternal life. By 'law' in this discussion we mean the commandments of the Decalogue, wherever they appear in the Scriptures. For the present we are saying nothing about the ceremonial and civil laws of Moses." - The Book of Concords, Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article 4 on Justification, Pg. 108. The version I have is edited by Theodore G. Tappert.

Cannot believe the Gospel without believing that God is sovereign over all things

Grace in its whole progress must appear divine or sovereign; for when we lose sight of Sovereignty, we lose sight of Deity. It is of God that one man comes to the light, while another remains in darkness. It is of God that the love of one professor warms upon the trial and is accordingly crowned with consolation, while that of another waxes cold. - Robert Sandeman, An Epistolary Correspondence, pg. 89-90

Christ death was only for the elect alone

For the original grace that gave Christ to die for the elect, will as certainly have its full effect in bringing the whole redeemed Church to perfect holiness and happiness at last, as the word addressed to the first man and woman, which set in motion the course of nature (be fruitful and multiply) has been effectual to produce all the generations of men that have since inhabited the earth - If we enquire at the most highly favoured and best experienced Disciples, we shall find that their sense of things corresponds with this. - Robert Sandeman, An Epistolary Correspondence, pg. 90

Gospel believers cannot be said to be Antinomians no matter how one spends it.

Since I received your unexpected letter, my thoughts have been led upon various accounts diligently to enquire wherein the radical difference between us lies. As for those charges frequently alleged against the Doctrine I preach, that it is Antinomian, derogatory from the work of the spirit, destroys the comfort of believers, and sets aside the use of exhortations both to believers and unbelievers, &c. These are particulars too BAD to be easily credited by those who know my general character and principles. And when such things as these are objected to me, I feel or am intimately conscious that the sentiments I espouse are not in the least degree chargeable with any such consequences. Every one that rightly understands them will presently perceive, that they cannot be Antinomian, because the truth appears to be of such a nature, that a person who believes can have no enjoyment of himself, but in loving and obeying it from the heart according to the precepts of the gospel. They cannot be said to derogate from the spirit' work, because 'tis all along aver'd that the gospel can take no saving effect but by the necessary, efficacious Almighty and sovereign agency of the divine Spirit. Neither do they destroy the comforts of a believer, because they continually present to him a compleat and free Saviour, for his immediate relief, and assert that the Spirit of God witnesses to the genuine effects of the gospel appearing in his experience and conduct. - Samuel Pike, Free grace indeed! Set forth in a Scriptural view of the principle of grace wrought in the heart by the Spirit, pg. 2

Faith embraces the Gospel alone

Our Apostle speaks of faith. By this you are not to understand that historical faith, by which a man takes all to be true, firm and infallible, which God has revealed in His eternal word. A man can have that by a study of Divine truth which has a certain power of demonstration to the conscience, in convincing him that God alone is the Author of such revelation. The devils themselves believe in this sense and they tremble. Neither are you to understand the faith of miracles; for in the great and universal day shall Christ say unto some, who in His name have cast out devils: 'Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity, I know you not.' Neither understand here temporary faith; for that has no root, neither can it withstand the heat of adversity and persecution.
But understand with me that precious saving faith which is God's priceless gift; whereby the convinced, burdened and heavy-laden sinner goes out of himself and all his own righteousness, unto Jesus, embracing Him and clinging to Him; this is the faith by which the just do live, and receive a share in all the good things of the covenant, whereby we can be saved. Our Apostle says of this saving faith, that without it men cannot please God; this being the doctrine of God's precious word, that all which is not of faith, is sin; and hence, being displeasing to God, it speaks little comfort to those who rest upon their moral and respectable walk, or upon their profession and knowledge, without ever experiencing the heart-renewing grace of God. What do I say? It points out to them that all they do, since it issues not of faith, displeased God, yes angers Him. -Alexander Comrie, The ABC of Faith, in the introduction, pg. XVII-XVIII

By Faith do we do good works

Faith may result in action, and certainly true faith in Jesus always will result in action; but faith itself is not doing but receiving. - J. Gresham Machen

The Augsburg says something similar:
"It is also taught among us that such faith should produce good fruit and good works and that we must do all such good works as God has commanded, but we should do them for God's sake and nor place our trust in them as if thereby to merit favor before God." - Augsburg Confession, Article 6


The basic idea is that Faith causes good works. This is true.

Gill says,

"Doctrine has an influence upon practice, especially evangelical doctrine, spiritually understood, affectionately embraced, and powerfully and feelingly experienced; so true is what the Apostle asserts, that the Grace of God, that is, the Doctrine of the Grace of God, that bringeth Salvation, the good news, the glad tidings of salvation by Christ, which is peculiar to Gospel Doctrine, hath appeared to all men, Gentiles as well as Jews, in the external ministry of the word; teaching us, to whom it comes with power and efficacy in the demonstration of the Spirit, that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, Tit. ii. 11, 12." - John Gill, Introduction to the Body of Divinity, Pg. xxiii


I like what he says here. Doctrine has an influence upon practice. Of course we know that we may believe the truth and yet sometimes what is believed does not right away translate in what we practice. But the order is first doctrine and then practice. Not that we look to doctrine first and then second to our practice but rather it is the case that as we look to doctrine always that it SHOULD turn out to practice.