Sunday, September 23, 2007

Redeemed From Curse of the Law

I have finally finished the first chapter of Morris' book on the study of Redemption. So I thought I'd share a couple of quotes. Quite often I hear Roman Catholics speak of the "legal fiction" of the Protestant's view of Justification. In speaking about the passage in Galatians 3:13:

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE"--

Morris had this to say on page 58:

When, therefore, Paul speaks of Christ as having borne the curse of the law, he speaks of our removal from the legal plight into which we have fallen through our failure to keep the law of God.

and again on page 59:

It is wrong to separate the legal status, gained by the complete discharge of the claims the law had upon us, from the resultant life. The only redemption Paul knew was one in which the redeemed had received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and in which they lived as those who had been adopted into the family of God.

Morris is in agreement with Piper's argument against the New Perspective on Paul. It is precisely because we have been legally freed by the justification of God in the imputation of Christ's righteousness to His people that gives the believer true peace with God and the freedom to serve Him.

Jesus "acts in this place as only He can, in our cause and interest, that we cannot add to anything that He does there [in the substitutionary atoning work] because the place where we might do so is occupied by Him, that anything further which might happen can result only from what is done by Him in our place and in our cause."

Praise be to God. Jesus is the Perfect Redeemer of His people.

No comments: