Christians - Are less understanding the difference between Law & Gospel?

Question

NON-BELIEVERS, NO NEED TO RESPOND!!! REALLY!!

I just saw a question where someone asked why everything isn't called the gospel (because the Bible is the word of God) and was a bit astonished that no one else sought to identify Law and Gospel.

In part, it seems like people sort of understand what the Gospel is, but don't really understand its significance paired with the Law.

Is this not being preached or focused on by the majority of churches (denominations). I'm curious. And state you denomination if you have an opinion. Thanks.

Answer 1

The whole Bible is made up of two teachings or doctrines which are fundamentally different from each other. These two teachings are the Law and the Gospel.

A person who is teaching the true Christian religion is not only the person who is teaching all the Christian doctrines in harmony with the Bible, but also understands and applies the differences between the Law and the Gospel as he teaches them.

Understanding and applying the differences between the Law and the Gospel is the most difficult thing there is to do and yet it is absolutely essential for Christians, both the lay person and, especially, the Christian teacher. The Holy Spirit is the only one who can teach this understanding and he does so through experience.

Understanding the differences between the Law and the Gospel not only gives a special and wonderful insight into the Scriptures, but it is absolutely essential to understanding the Scriptures. If you don't understand the difference between Law and Gospel, you can't understand the Scriptures.

One way in which people misunderstand Scripture is when they see Christ as a "new law giver" and the good news of Christ becomes a way of earning salvation by your own efforts. Seeing Christ this way is a rejection of salvation by grace alone and is characteristic of Roman Catholicism, Unitarianism and every religion based on reason. It is the simplest error to recognize and the most destructive to Christianity.

Answer 2

Let's start with the Christian bible as God's word as spoken by the prophets. The law (or Torah--enlightenment) is the first books. The Gospels (good news) are four accounts (witnesses) regarding Jesus' birth, death and Resurrection (God raising Jesus from the dead).

Jesus is a Jewish rabbi who is ministering to the Jews. You will find that everything Jesus is teaching is directly from the Old Testament. You can clearly see this if you read Luke 24:25 which will clearly explain the signification.

Any study bible should cross reference the Gospels with the Old Testament. For example, Jesus last prayer on the cross was Psalm 22.

So far, every Christian church teaches the gospels, especially Luke 24:25.

I am an ordained minister (Protestant) and every denomination (Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox) that I have studied and/or worked with acknowledges this. I am amazed that you have really had to ask this question.

I hope that answers you need.

Answer 3

What a Christian need is to know the path of Christ. Path of Christ is clear enough through 4 gospels. The purpose of whole Bible must be to tell us what lead to Christ and from Christ to the end. Law is significant only because it is what lead to Christ. The books of New Testament after 4 gospels are meant to just show us how the growth of early church was. Revelation is a totally different prophesy concerning the last days and there is no believable interpretation by any one yet. Don't believe all those idiotic manipulations so far available in the market.

As a Christian, I feel, what you can do is to read 4 gospels and follow Christ.

Answer 4

I'm not sure exactly what you are trying to get at here.

If we take the Bible as both Law and Gospel -- in otherwords an Orthodox treatment -- then for starters women have no say and should be removed from here. Let your husbands and fathers speak for you. 1 Corthintians. That is LAW, that is GOSPEL.

You're friends with anyone of a misreputable sexual nature, you are a sinner yourself. 1 Corthinthians That is LAW that is GOSPEL.

Anyone who whores is to be taken to the gates of the city and stoned. That is LAW and that is GOSPEL. Moses said that was one of the thousands of laws given to him by God on the Mountain. IF it is true, it is from GOD, it is LAW and it is GOSPEL.

Jesus said, if asked for your coat, give you cloak as well. That is LAW and THAT IS GOSPEL.

Jesus said if asked to carry things 5 miles carry them 10 miles. That is LAW and that is GOSPEL.

You break the law you don't go to heaven. I don't care how much you believe in Jesus or Praise God you are breaking the GOSPEL of the BIBLE, which is LAW. Irevocable law!

Let's start here with women being silent. Relgion and the church is MAN's DOMAIN. MALE domain, because WOMAN is the origin of Sin and that is LAW and That is GOSPEL. Adam didn't not eat the apple first, it was EVE who ate it and enticed him. As such, women is not longer to be heard, certainly not in church.

Now, do we want to start red pencilling all these LAWS or let them stand as they were written 2003 years ago for the New Testiment and 5,700 years ago for the Old Testiment.

It either ALL IS LAW AND GOSPEL or we pick and choose. We INTERPRET. WE MAKE JUDGEMENTS, which, by the way, Jesus said not to do. We are NOT to JUDGE. God Judges. Man obeys.

Let's start with the women. OBEY the bible. Women are NOT TO SPEAK in the CHURCH!

It is GOSPEL. IT is LAW.

That is ultra conservative or Orthodox thinking, which means we MAKE NO CHANGES OR INTERPRETATIONS OF THE WRITTEN WORK OF GOD.

I am non-demoninational follower of God and Jesus. I don't believe in organized religions that are out there. I was Baptized Romainian Orthodox and spent the first 4 years of my life in a Lutheran Church school.

I celebrated a friends Bar Mitzvah.

I celebrated another friends Catholic church wedding.

I've known Momons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslims, Bah'Hais, have friends living in Born Again communes and most recently attended a Apostolic Pentacostal End of Times conference.

Answer 5

the gospel of Christ is where also the Law can be found for the the Christian dispensation. The Bible has laws specifically for specific period of time, for the Time of Moses, the law of God was implemented to the Israelites and that was called as the Law of Moses. In the Christian dispensation, the law of God be implemented to Christians through the gospel of Jesus Christ. The law of Moses is different from the law(gospel) of Christ.

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Answer 6

Gospel is an Old English word for "good news", and is a translation of the Greek euangelion. Traditionally, it's used for the 4 versions of the story of the life of Jesus that appear in the Canon of Scripture, what we call the Bible.

And, yes...many Christians are very legalistic, seeing the law as an end in and of itself, rather than simply a means to point out the fact that something's wrong and showing the way to the cross of Christ for salvation and rescue from sin, or law-breaking. It makes me sad, because Jesus died to save us from the guilt and shame of sin, and so many of the problems with our society is symptoms of us trying to deal with sin.

I attend Calvary Chapel, and am a former Catholic.

Answer 7

You're right. I think most of them know that it means "good news" but I don't think they all know why it is the good news. What would we be without this good news. I think that a lot of parents struggle to teach their kids the basics, especially now that we live in a culture where society does not reinforce the teaching. If anything it contradicts the teaching. This means that a lot of only scratch the surface and never learn what should be considered basic.

Answer 8

The law comprises everything in Scripture which is a revelation of God’s will in the form of command or prohibition, while the gospel embraces everything, whether it be in the Old Testament or in the New, that pertains to the work of reconciliation and that proclaims the seeking and redeeming love of God in Christ Jesus.

Law and Gospel

"...for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:20).


In the Old Testament God gave the Law through Moses. It is the commands and precepts that govern human conduct. In the New Testament God gave the Gospel through Jesus. It is the message of salvation by grace through the sacrificial death and physical resurrection of Jesus, for our sins.
The Law is the do's and don't's of moral behavior. It consists of the 10 commandments (Exodus 20), rules for social life (Exodus 21:1-23:33), and rules for the worship of God (Exodus 25:1-31:18). It was a covenant of works between God and man and was (and is) unable to deliver us into eternal fellowship with the Lord. The Law is a difficult taskmaster because it requires that we maintain a perfect standard of moral behavior. And then when we fail, the Law condemns us to death. Works do not earn us salvation or play any part of it. The Bible says that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the Law (Rom. 3:28).
The Gospel, on the other hand, is the good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for our sins (1 Cor. 15:1-4). It is the message of what God has done for us, our deliverance from sin and the punishment of the Law.
"Law and Gospel" are also part of our foundation and a good understanding of their relationship will greatly help your witnessing. How? If you understand that the Law of God is a standard of perfection, that it reveals sin, that we are unable to keep from breaking it, and that the Gospel frees us from the need to keep the law perfectly, then in order to obtain forgiveness of sins you will be better able to communicate the message of salvation to the unsaved.

The Law is different from the Gospel

Most Christians already have a basic understanding of the difference between Law and Gospel; they just don't know they do. For example, "You are a sinner (Law). You need Jesus as your Savior (Gospel)." The Old Testament (Law) came before the New Testament (Gospel). The Law shows us what we are guilty of and the Gospel delivers us by grace. First we must know we are guilty (Law) before we recognize our need to ask for forgiveness (Gospel).
The Law kills. The Gospel makes alive. When Moses came down from the mount after receiving the Law and saw that the Israelites had fallen into idolatry, he threw the tablets of the Law down to them and 3000 people died (Exodus 32:28). Later, when Peter preached the Gospel, 3000 people were saved (Acts 2:41).
With a better understanding of the Law, it will be easier for you to explain sin. Without the Law, sin cannot be known; Romans 3:20 says, "...through the Law comes the knowledge of sin." (See also Rom. 7:7.) If sin is not known, then the need for Jesus is not felt. This is why you mention the Law to those with whom you witness. How? By asking them if they have ever sinned. Tell them that lying, cheating, stealing, lusting, not honoring God, etc. is sin. Everyone is guilty somewhere (Rom. 3:23), so everyone needs to be delivered. Everyone needs the Gospel.
The Law is peculiar. It says "be holy," but shows us we are not. It says "do not lie," but shows where we do. It says "honor the Lord your God," yet shows us where we fail. Since none of us can keep the whole Law, we are all under condemnation. There is no way out. What can we do? Nothing! That is why "the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith" (Gal. 3:24). The Law guides us to Him. How does it do that? By showing us that the attempt to keep the Law (our works) is insufficient to give eternal life and that the Gospel of grace is the only way to God.
In other words, you must help the person realize that they are not good enough to merit God's favor. People tend to think that because they are sincere or "not that bad," they are going to be with God when they die. But the Bible reveals that "sincerity" and being "not that bad" are not good enough. God requires perfection.

Salvation is of God.

That is why salvation belongs to the Lord (Psalm 3:8), by faith and not by works (Rom. 4:5). That is why it is a free gift of God (Rom. 6:23), through grace (Eph. 2:8-9). That is why God became man (John 1:1,14) and fulfilled the Law: "For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did; sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh" (Rom. 8:3). And also, "For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on Law" (Gal. 3:21); "For by grace though faith you have been saved, not by works..." (Eph. 2:8). And, "...but to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness" (Rom. 4:5).
In presenting the Gospel, you show how the requirements of keeping the Law perfectly is removed. Say something like, The Bible says that if you break just one command of God, you are condemned, (James 2:10-11). I often add, "Sin can be forgiven but the effects continue. The effect of your sin is death. Your sin is an offense to the Law-giver, God. But Jesus, who is God in flesh, bore our sins on the cross and died with them. If you want your sins forgiven, then you need to come to Christ and ask Him to forgive you. He will."

Answer 9

Well the question you are referring to was from a non-beleiver so why should it make any sense.

but here' sthe etymology of gospel
Gospel old english godspel (good tidings)

translated from greek evangelion (good news)

Answer 10

let go let go let god
try not to trouble your self with why's
there is only one gospel one law that is Love Love.........