The Law No Peace Can Ever Give

The law reveals the guilt of sin
and makes men conscious-stricken.
The gospel then doth enter in,
the sinful soul to quicken.
Come to the cross, trust Christ, and live.
The law no peace can ever give,
no comfort and no blessing.

I've been told that pastors must "use" the law to teach us how to live. I've also been told frequently in the past year that the liturgy is "law."

Pastors certainly ought to use the law to smash our self-righteousness and to show us that we are sinners. When they do that, the law will additionally function to inform the Christian as to how he should live. But the point of Christianity is primarily about forgiving sinners, not about teaching people to be "good." (All other religions teach that.) So things begin to get off-base when the focus is on how the law can guide us into good works.

I know people who find peace in obeying man-made ideals of being environmentally friendly. I know people who find peace by obeying the laws of the fundamentalist Christians (homeschooling your kids, tithing, women banned from jeans and haircuts). I know people who find peace in their adherence to the liturgy and the rubrics. I know people in each of those categories who enjoin their activities upon others so that others can be assured that they too are making God happy by their behavior.

Now, certainly, there's nothing wrong with buying consumer goods that come with less plastic packaging. And there's nothing wrong with homeschooling or wearing long hair and dresses. And there's definitely nothing wrong with tithing or the liturgy; on the contrary, these last two in particular are good things. The problem comes when we find comfort in our obedience to these things we see as rules, when we see ourselves as better Christians for following these rules.

Christians love God's law. So do Pharisees. But for very different reasons. Although the outward behavior of the two may be quite similar, the motivation is different. Because of original sin, Christians still have pharisaical motivations at one and the same time as they have a holy and pure love of the law.

If we see the liturgy as "law," and we are happy that we know the law so that we can obey it and do it, then the law is being used unlawfully. That would be an example of the law being used to show that we're so good, rather than the law accusing us and showing us our need for a Savior who actually did measure up. Or maybe, conversely, the law being used to instruct us as to our failings so that we can then make the necessary changes to measure up ourselves.

Instead, we cling to the liturgy because it is Gospel: the aural Word of God which bestows on us Jesus' forgiveness.

Thy grace alone, dear Lord, I plead,
Thy death is now my life indeed
for Thou hast paid my ransom. ...
The law no peace can ever give,
no comfort and no blessing.
Faith clings to Jesus' cross alone
and rests in Him unceasing.