2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse
6. Who also hath made us able ministers
of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit? For the letter killeth, but the
Spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death,
written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children
of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for
the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away,
how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation
be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness
exceed in glory. For even that which was made
glorious had no glory in this respect by reason of the glory
that excelleth. For if that which is done away
was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness
of speech. And not as Moses which put a
veil over his face, and that the children of Israel could
not steadfastly look to the end, of that which is abolished, but
their minds were blinded. For until this day remaineth
the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament,
which veil is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when
Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless, when
it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Amen. May the Lord bless to us
these few verses from this passage. Understanding the difference
between the law of God, which was revealed to Moses, and the
Gospel of God, which is revealed by the Lord Jesus Christ, is
at the heart of true faith. And I'm not saying that we need
to know a lot of theology to be saved. But as believers grow
and begin to think about their personal salvation, their relationship
with God, their walk with the Lord Jesus Christ, and as they
begin to work out some of the implications of faith in their
life, They will invariably find many people who tell them what
they should be doing and what they shouldn't be doing, and
how they should live and how they shouldn't live. And this
is to do with the relationship between the law and the gospel. And failing to distinguish between
law and gospel has caused trouble in church history and lots of
grief in the lives of individual believers. It confuses evangelism
and it often sends out wrong messages. In fact, I think one
of the devil's biggest lies is that he has led us to believe
that the gospel is for unbelievers and that the law is for believers. And he will have some people
say, preach a freewill gospel to unbelievers, get them saved,
and then teach them how to become holy by obeying the law. But when, and that's not right
of course, but when Paul explained to the church at Corinth the
role of a gospel preacher, he called himself a minister of
the New Testament, or a minister of the New Covenant. Nor of the
letter, he says, but of the spirit. For the letter killeth, but the
spirit giveth life. That's in verse six, the first
verse that we read together. So the letter that he is speaking
about there is the law and it's called the letter. He calls it
the letter because it was written in letters and it was written
in words and it was graven on stone tables. at the time of
Moses and the children of Israel as they wandered in the desert
of Sinai. And the Gospel, in contrast,
is the Spirit because it speaks of spiritual things and because
it is energised and applied by God the Holy Spirit. So Paul
distinguishes in this little passage here between the law
and the gospel, or the letter and the spirit. And he calls
the law the ministration of condemnation and death, and he calls the gospel
the ministration of righteousness and the spirit. Now, ministration,
it's not a word that we use very often nowadays, although it's
the word that minister comes from, but ministration means
bringing or conveying. So God's law brings judgment
and death, while God's gospel conveys righteousness and spiritual
life. So Paul is telling us here that
law and gospel need to be distinguished because they're separate things.
They're not the same and they cannot, they should not be mixed
together. Each has its own role, each has
its own purpose. God's law to bring judgement
and death brings no forgiveness. There's no peace in God's law,
there's no life in God's law. It shows us our guilt, it shows
us our weakness and it grants us no help and no assistance. God's gospel, on the other hand,
quickens and enlivens and enables and announces a perfect righteousness
that is found in Jesus Christ and announces a forgiveness of
sin by the blood of the Lamb of God. So the law's role and
purpose is to condemn while God's gospel gift is mercy and forgiveness. The law brings all men and women
under sentence of death for their own sin and for Adam's sin, while
the gospel gives a knowledge of the everlasting life with
an experience of grace and truth to all to whom it comes with
power. And our Lord Jesus himself calls
his gospel the gospel of life. And Paul in this little passage
shows us as well that there's a superior glory in the gospel
as opposed to the law. There is a glory in the law insofar
as it reflects God's holiness and God's glory. And it was seen
in Moses' face when Moses had dealings with the Lord on the
mountain and his face glowed when he returned amongst the
people so that he had to put a veil over his face because
of the glow that came from his skin. But that glory, even that
glory that made Moses' face to glow, was temporary and passing. And it was brought to an end
as a way of acceptance and righteousness with God, if indeed that had
even ever been possible. Because Paul says, Christ is
the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. for
by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. So that the glory that endures
everlastingly in the gospel vastly supersedes that which was abolished
and passes away in the law. And Paul has been speaking here
about the true preachers and the message of true preachers
and the content of true preaching. And he goes on then to suggest,
or he leads us to consider, that as believers, and particularly
as ministers, Christian ministers have a role and responsibility
to speak clearly. That's what the Apostle Paul
says. He says, seeing then that we
have such hope, we use great plainness of speech. We need
to speak clearly about the gospel of life and liberty. which brings
a righteousness all of its own, a righteousness that comes from
God by imputation, not one that is gained out of obedience or
service or obligation or duty to a legal standard, but a righteousness
that comes by imputation, the very righteousness of God. Justification as a free gift
from God. and all peace and comfort for
believers comes by faith and it is to be drawn from a knowledge
of what the Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished for his people,
those people for whom he died, those people for whom he gave
his life, by his substitutionary atonement and as a mediator of
the covenant of grace. So it is by preaching what Christ
has accomplished that believers exercising faith draw forth peace
and comfort in their Christian life and in their Christian walk.
If we look for sanctification from our personal obedience to
the law, or seek spiritual comfort and peace by fulfilling the law,
or even if we try to employ the law as our guide in our Christian
life and walk and conduct, we will be sorely disappointed. The just shall live by faith,
That is the testimony of both the Old Testament and the New
Testament. And Paul says to the Colossians,
as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. We are to walk after the pattern
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul's final lesson in this
little passage here today is that the taking away of the veil
that is upon the heart teaches us that where Moses is read wrongly,
or where the law is used incorrectly, inappropriately, even today in
Christian churches and denominations, there continues a blindness of
mind and heart that remains upon the hearers so that they cannot
enjoy the liberty, the joy, the comfort of gospel promises and
gospel privileges that rightly belong to them. So Christian
ministers have an obligation to be preaching the gospel, preaching
up the Lord Jesus Christ and all that he has accomplished.
For therein, in the exercise of faith, the Lord's people find
the privileges and blessings of grace flowing to them. And
when by grace we are converted to see the Lord Jesus Christ
as all our righteousness, all our holiness, all our sanctification
and wisdom, we shall be blessed with that divine glory which
comes from Christ alone. So may the Lord enable us to
see where true righteousness lies and may he give us that
faith to receive its promises and its privileges as the sons
and daughters of God and as heirs and joint heirs with the Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen.