34 Bible Doctrine – The Believer’s Rule Of Conduct

A transcript of the video teaching

I would like to welcome you back to another study in Bible Doctrine. In our previous two studies, I have been looking at the three controversial issues which separate 17^th century Hyper-Calvinism from 18^th century Hyper-Calvinism—the doctrines of duty faith, the free offer and the ten commandments as the believer’s rule of conduct. For this study, we are looking at the ten commandments as the rule of conduct which governs the believer’s life. Those who subscribe to this doctrine assert, that while the unregenerate sinner cannot be justified with God by keeping the ten commandments, yet the regenerate sinner is sanctified by God through his/her obedience to the ten commandments. They believe God has given a law, which they identify as the moral law, which transcends all covenantal boundaries—they view the so-called moral law as the foundation for every covenant; the denominator which is common to all covenants. The ten commandments, they say, are binding on the entire human race, including believers in Christ. This is what they mean when they speak about the moral law serving as the believer’s rule of conduct. Now, this view is set forth in the three major confessional statements of 17^th century Hyper-Calvinism, all of which share the same language—“The moral law does forever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof; and that, not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God the Creator, who gave it. Neither does Christ, in the Gospel, any way dissolve, but much strengthen this obligation. Although true believers be not under the law, as a covenant of works, to be thereby justified, or condemned; yet is it of great use to them, as well as to others; in that, as a rule of life informing them of the will of God, and their duty, it directs and binds them to walk accordingly.” 

Now, anyone who rejects this view, namely, that the ten commandments are not the believer’s rule of conduct, is nominated an Antinomian—“Anti” (against) and “nomos” (law), meaning “against the law”. By implication, those who reject this view of the so-called moral law, and therefore identified as Antinomians, are accused of believing regenerate sinners can live anyway they please, using the grace of God as a license to sin. It is said of them, “Those Antinomians live any way they please, being subject to no law; and because they reject the moral law, they are therefore immoral in their professed walk with God!” 

Alright, well, is this really the belief of 18^th century Hyper-Calvinism? Is it accurate to call those who reject the ten commandments as the believer’s rule of conduct, Antinomians? Is it true they abuse the grace of God by using it as a justification to continue in sin? I will first give my answer to these questions, and then I will introduce you to a few historic 18^th century Hyper-Calvinists. 

My answer to this issue. I do not believe the ten commandments are the rule for the believer’s conduct for the following three reasons: 

First, the covenant God made with Moses on behalf of the Jewish people as a nation is an entirely separate covenant from that which He made with Adam in the garden of Eden (Works), and that which He made with Himself from eternity (Grace). 

The covenant of works was made by God with Adam in the garden of Eden; the Mosaic covenant was made by God with Moses on Mount Sinai; the covenant of grace was made by the TriUne Jehovah from eternity. The covenant of works is designed for the entire human race, with Adam serving as the covenant head; the covenant of grace is designed for God’s elect people, with Christ serving as the covenant head; the Mosaic covenant was designed for the Jewish people as a nation. These are three separate covenants, made with different persons, under different circumstances and for different reasons. 

The covenant of works is renewed with every member of the human race when he/she is brought into existence, and this covenant is binding upon him/her so long as he/she remains under its authority and jurisdiction—this has been true for Jews and Gentiles throughout the course of history. For the first 2,000 years, there were only Gentiles on the earth, for the Jewish race had not yet been created by God—and all of the Gentiles during that time were in relationship TO God under the authority of this covenant; for the last 4,000 years, beginning with the birth of Abraham, there have been both Jews and Gentiles on the earth, all of whom have been and are under the authority and jurisdiction of the covenant of works. It is under the terms and promises of this covenant the entire human race is in relationship TO God. 

The covenant of grace is made known to God’s elect people when they are regenerated by the Spirit of God, thereby being experientially delivered from the authority and jurisdiction of the covenant of works, and brought under the authority and jurisdiction of the covenant of grace. All of God’s elect people throughout the course of history have been experientially brought under the blessings of this covenant in one and the same way—through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. This was true for Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, and for all sinners saved by the grace of God throughout the course of history, including Jews and Gentiles. Henceforth, it is under the terms and promises and blessings of this covenant that regenerate sinners are in relationship WITH God. 

The Mosaic covenant was given to the children of Israel as a nation and therefore only the Jewish people who belonged to that nation were under its authority and jurisdiction. The children of Israel were constituted a nation around the year 1450 BC and ceased to exist as a nation in the year AD 70. With the end of the nation came also the end of this covenant. Henceforth, the Mosaic covenant was only active for around 1,500 years and it was only binding upon the Jewish people who lived during that time. Gentile nations of the world were never brought under the authority and jurisdiction of the Mosaic covenant. And, although all Jewish people who belonged to the nation of Israel during that time were under the authority of the Mosaic Covenant in a racial and national context, yet those who had been born again were in relationship WITH God in a spiritual context under the authority of the covenant of grace, and those who had not been born again were in relationship TO God in a spiritual context under the authority of the covenant of works. Henceforth, the Mosaic covenant was an earthly and temporary covenant, whereas the covenants of works and grace are spiritual and perpetual covenants. 

You will often hear people discuss whether the Mosaic covenant was a republication of the covenant of works God made with Adam, or whether it is an administration of the covenant of Grace God made with Christ, or whether it is a mixture of these two spiritual and perpetual covenants. My dear friends, the Mosaic covenant is an entirely separate covenant from that of works and grace. It did not grant to anyone a spiritual relationship TO or WITH God—•that privilege is given only by the covenants of works and grace.

Second, every covenant is governed by its own law. 

The covenant of works is governed by the heart-law; the Mosaic covenant is governed by the Mosaic law; the covenant of grace is governed by the gospel law. These are three separate covenants, made with different persons, under different circumstances, for different reasons and with different laws. 

The heart-law, under the covenant of works, is a twofold law inscribed upon the heart—(1) to love God supremely; (2) to love one’s neighbor as one’s self. When Adam disobeyed God in the garden of Eden by eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, his transgression was actually the violation of these two laws inscribed upon his heart. By eating that fruit, he stole that which God had set apart for Himself, and, failed to protect his wife from the assault and temptation of Satan. These failures were a transgression of the heart-law.

The Mosaic law branches out into three heads. Since God created the nation of Israel to be—(1) a holy nation, He gave to them a moral law; (2) a righteous nation, He gave to them a civil law; (3) a religious nation, He gave to them a ceremonial law. Under these three heads are more than six hundred commandments, including the ten commandments. Although the scriptures never separate the ten commandments from the other laws, yet that it is precisely what the 17^th century Hyper-Calvinists have done—while acknowledging the civil and ceremonial laws are no longer active today, they insist the so-called moral law (ten commandments) remains active. Again, while the scriptures never transpose the ten commandments into the covenant of grace, yet that is precisely what the 17^th century Hyper-Calvinists have done—they assert the believer in Christ is progressively sanctified by walking with God in obedience to the ten commandments. However, what I am arguing is that the ten commandments belong to the Mosaic law as a whole, which was a unique law designed only for the Jewish people as a nation. The ten commandments are actually an expansion and special application of the heart-law—the first four commandments based on loving God supremely; the last six commandments based on loving one’s neighbor as one’s self. This expansion and special application of the heart-law was intended to direct the Jewish people as a nation to maintain a holy standard, compared with the other nations of the earth that lived in wickedness. 

The gospel law, unlike the previous two laws which are mere precept and prohibition, is a living law. The heart-law and the Mosaic law were of the letter, the substance of which is ‘dead’ precept and prohibition. The gospel law, on the other hand, is of the spirit (new nature), the substance of which is ‘living’, by virtue of the soul’s union with Christ. The letter of the heart-law was inscribed on the heart; the letter of the ten commandments was etched in stone; but the vitality of the gospel law flows into the soul as a result of the soul’s union with Christ. 

In John 3, Jesus used the analogy of a new birth to describe the soul’s union with Himself. He said, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (Jn 3:5,6) To be born of water is reference to the first birth, when a person comes into the world conceived in sin, shaped in iniquity and under the authority and jurisdiction of the covenant of works. To be born of the Spirit is reference to the second birth, when the Spirit of God unites the soul with the Lord Jesus Christ, by virtue of which the life and graces of Christ flow into the soul. The flesh is a reference to the sinful nature received at the first birth, whereas the spirit is reference to the righteous nature received at the second birth. The soul’s union with Christ is the new nature, which is created in righteousness and true holiness.

In John 15, Jesus used the analogy of a branch and vine to describe the soul’s union with Himself. He said, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5) A branch detached from the vine is without life and fruit. But when that branch is engrafted to the vine, the life and virtue of that vine flow into the sinews of the branch, making it alive and fruitful. So also is it with the unregenerate sinner. So long as he/she is detached from Christ, he/she is without life and fruit. But when the Spirit of God unites the soul with Christ, then the life and graces of Christ flow into the soul, making him/her alive unto God and fruitful by virtue of the graces of Christ that flow into the soul. This, my dear friends, is the gospel law. It is the soul’s union with Christ, whereby the life and graces of Christ animate and fructify the regenerate sinner. A living and fruitful law; not a dead and lettered law. 

The Apostle Paul referred to the gospel law in the fifth and sixth chapters of his letter to the Galatians—Galatians 5:16-6:2:

Verse 16: “This I say then, Walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

The word spirit should be lower cased throughout this chapter, as it is speaking about the soul’s union with Christ (the new nature), rather than the Spirit of God. The believer’s rule of conduct is to “walk in the spirit”, that is, to walk with Christ by virtue of his/her union with Him; to live in, with, by and through Christ; to bear fruit rising up from those graces of Christ which flow into his/her soul. To fulfill the lust of the flesh is reference to the old nature, which resides simultaneously in the soul of the regenerate sinner. Those whose rule of conduct is to walk in the blessedness and freedom of the soul’s union with Christ will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. This is how the believer lives godly in Christ Jesus!

Verse 17: “For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”

The old sinful nature strives against the new righteous nature, and the new righteous nature fights against the old sinful nature, for these natures are contrary to each other. This conflict rages within the soul of every believer in Christ, insomuch as that he/she cannot walk with the Lord without this continual struggle and conflict with sin. 

Verse 18: “But if ye be led of the spirit, ye are not under the law.”

That is, if your rule of conduct in walking with God is to be led according to your spiritual union with Christ, then you are not under any other law than that! You are no longer under the heart-law, for Christ has perfectly obeyed it on your behalf and you stand complete now in His righteousness. You have also been experientially delivered from the authority and jurisdiction of the covenant of works, having been regenerated and brought under the authority and jurisdiction of the covenant you grace. You therefore have nothing more to do with the covenant of works or the heart-law. You are not under the Mosaic law, whether it be the moral, civil or ceremonial commandments. Of course, when Paul wrote this letter, any reference to the Mosaic law was applicable only to the Jewish people who were then living, for at that time the nation of Israel was still in existence. And as I said earlier, no Gentile has ever been under the Mosaic law, nor are the Jewish people today are under that law. You may sometimes hear well-meaning 18th century Hyper-Calvinist preachers explain a text like this, telling the congregation they are no longer under the Mosaic law. But my dear friend, although I understand what they mean by making that statement, it is a poor way of explaining the issue. The fact is, no one living today is under or ever has been under the Mosaic covenant or subject to its laws. It is therefore vain for a preacher to beat up his congregation telling them they are no longer under it. They never were under it. That should be the preacher’s point to the people of God. You have absolutely nothing to do with the Mosaic covenant and its laws. Nothing! And so, the point is, the rule of conduct for the believer’s life is to be led of the spirit (according to his/her union with Christ); that, and that alone, is what governs the believer’s life!

Verses 22,23: “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

As I said earlier, by virtue of the soul’s union with Christ, His graces flow into the soul, among which are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. And make no mistake, my dear friends, these are Christ’s graces, or virtues, not our own! It is the love of Christ which flows into our souls; it is the joy of Christ which flows into our souls; it is peace of Christ which flows into our souls; it is the longsuffering of Christ which flows into our souls; it is gentleness of Christ which flows into our souls; it is the goodness of Christ which flows into our souls; it is the faith of Christ which flows into our souls; it is the meekness of Christ which flows into our souls; it is the temperance of Christ which flows into our souls. These are His graces which flow in us and through us, insomuch that when these graces find expression in how we think, or what we say or what we do, it is all of Christ; Christ in us, the hope of glory! Henceforth, against this mighty and magnificent gospel law, there is no other law! The gospel law, the soul’s union with Christ, is the believer’s rule of conduct!

Verse 24: “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”

That is, although the old sinful nature resides still in the soul of the regenerate sinner, yet he/she is no longer controlled or mastered by it. Those who have been united with Christ recon themselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. They no longer yield the members of their bodies as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but rather, they yield themselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and the members of their bodies as instruments of righteousness unto God. They do this, because having been born again, sin no longer has dominion over them. They are no longer under the authority and dominion of the covenant of works and its heart-law; they have been delivered from that covenant and its law, having been brought experientially under the authority and dominion of the covenant of grace! Henceforth, 

Verse 25: “If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit.”

That is, if our souls truly have been united with Christ (living in the new nature), then let us make that spiritual union the rule of conduct for our lives, by walking in it. 

Verse 26: “Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” 

As recipients of Christ’s love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, we should denounce the works of unrighteousness, among which are pride (desirous of vain glory), contention (provoking one another) and covetousness (envying one another). These are the works of the old sinful nature, and we as regenerate sinners denounce them!

Verse 1: “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”

That is, because there are two opposing natures residing in the soul of the regenerate sinner, it is certain each and every one of the Lord’s people will suffer spiritual declension and be exposed to backsliding. You and I both will be overtaken in many faults throughout our earthly pilgrimage. It may be that you have encountered a stumbling block of sin today, but my dear friend, I do not sit in fierce judgment, because tomorrow I too will stumble. Henceforth, those of us who enjoy a steady walk with God now, at this moment, let us be a help to those who are stumbling. Let us restore them to a steady walk with Christ, knowing that tomorrow we will need them to exercise gentleness, and love and support in restoring us to a steady walk with Christ. Ah, my dear brethren, who among us, if we be truly born again, do not experience the ebb and flow of these experiences on a daily basis? Who among us in a single day doesn’t experience a steady walk with the Lord some of the time, but then stumbles and backslides at other times in the same day? Don’t you see? None of us are beyond reproach! We are in constant need of each other’s help, to encourage one another to press on toward the mark of our high calling in Christ Jesus when things are smooth sailing, but then to also be a guide to help each other find our way back to the harbor when our boats drift away in spiritual declension and backslidings. Henceforth, 

Verse 2: “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”

That is, as brothers and sisters in Christ, let us bear each other’s burdens, encouraging and strengthening each other in our walk with the Lord. It is in this way that we fulfill the law of Christ—the gospel law! Not the heart-law, under the covenant of works; not the ten commandments under the Mosaic covenant; but the law of Christ—that is the believer’s rule of conduct, my dear friends!

The Apostle Paul also spoke about the believer’s rule of conduct in the seventh and eighth chapters of his letter to the church at Rome—Romans 7:21-8:4: 

Verse 21: “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.”

That is, I find this principle, or this law, in my soul, that when I would do good according to my new nature in Christ, yet sin remains with me in the capacity of my old sinful nature. As Paul wrote in Galatians 5—these natures are contrary to each other, so that the regenerate sinner cannot do the things that he would. 

Verse 22: “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:”

That is, I delight or rejoice in the gospel law, for the inward man is a reference to the soul’s union with Christ—sometimes it is called spirit, other times it is called a new man (or nature) and here it is called the inward man. The regenerate sinner delights in the law of Christ (the soul’s union with Him)!

Verse 23: “but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”

That is, Paul says this old sinful nature is a law, or a principle, that remains in the members of his body, and it is warring or fighting against his new righteous nature (the law of his mind). This continual conflict between the two natures brings the regenerate sinner into captivity to the law of sin. 

Verse 24: “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

Because of this inner conflict between the two natures, and because of the sin which remains in the members of my body, I am such a wretched man, though I have been regenerated by the Spirit of God! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

Verse 25: “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

That is, there is victory through the Lord Jesus Christ, for we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us! So, in conclusion to this inner conflict, I may say that with my new nature in Christ (the mind) I serve the gospel law (law of God); but with the old sinful nature (the flesh) I serve the heart-law (law of sin, for no man can keep that law, but is a transgressor of it). 

Verse 1: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.”

That is, though I am at my wit’s end because of the insidiousness of the old sinful nature working its baneful influence in the members of my body, yet I have this encouragement—I am not condemned by God! He has graciously united my soul to Christ; I am “in Christ Jesus”; I am able to walk in this spiritual union with Him (the spirit), no longer mastered entirely by the old sinful nature (the flesh). 

Verse 2: “For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

Here is another name for the gospel law. It is called the spirit in John 3, the law of Christ in Galatians 6, the law of my mind in Romans 7 and now the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. The spirit (the new nature, the soul’s union with Christ) of life in Christ Jesus—His life flowing into the soul! And it is this union with Him that has made me free from the law of sin and death—the heart-law, under the covenant of works, of which I am a transgressor and subject to death. 

Verse 3: “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:”

That is, I could not make myself right with God by perfectly obeying the heart-law under the covenant of works, for I came into this world conceived in sin and shaped in iniquity, a lover of sin and a rebel of God. However, God accomplished for me what I could not do myself—He sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh! Why?

Verse 4: “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.”

That the righteousness of Christ, Who perfectly obeyed the heart-law under the covenant of works, might be imputed to us in the work of justification, and imparted to us in the work of regeneration—a righteousness that covers as like a robe in justifying grace, and a righteousness that fills us like a hand in a glove by regenerating power. What more does the regenerate sinner have to do with the heart-law under the covenant of works, when Christ has perfectly obeyed every jot and title of it on our behalf? 

Henceforth, what is the rule of the believer’s life? To walk according to the spirit (the soul’s union with Christ), and not after the flesh (the old sinful nature, in attempts to obey the heart-law which Christ has already kept, or the ten commandments which have never been binding on anyone other than the Jewish people as a nation). 

Well, my dear friends, that is the rule of conduct which I believe governs the believer’s life! Every covenant is governed by its own law—do not impose upon the covenant of grace what was designed for and given to the covenant of works or the Mosaic covenant. 

Third, every law under each covenant is moral. 

When we speak of morality, we are talking about the principles of right and wrong behavior. It should go without saying, every covenant established by God is governed by a moral law. This is true for the covenant of works, governed by the heart-law—this is a moral law. This is true for the Mosaic covenant, governed by the Mosaic law (including the ten commandments)—this is a moral law. This is true for the covenant of grace, governed by the gospel law—this is a moral law. 

Do you know, the scriptures never identify any of these laws as moral? No, not even the ten commandments. Yet it has been so ingrained in the mindset of church goers that the labels moral law and ten commandments are one and the same, that no one questions the legitimacy restricting the moral law to the ten commandments. The fact is, every law given by God under every covenant is by necessity a moral law, because God gave it. 

Henceforth,

It is wrong for 17^th century Hyper-Calvinists to accuse 18^th century Hyper-Calvinists of being Antinomians (against the law). While they certainly rejected the ten commandments as the believer’s rule of conduct, yet they maintained the believer is governed by a higher law, a living law, a spiritual law—the law of Christ. And, my dear friends, this law of Christ was not something that was introduced after Christ came into the world. No, rather, it is the self-same law that has governed every regenerate sinner, from Adam and Eve to ourselves. This living and vital union of the soul with God, in the Person of the Son, and in prospect of His redemptive work, is that law which governed the lives of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua and so forth. The real problem lies at the doorstep of the 17^th century Hyper-Calvinists, who have replaced the law of Christ with the ten commandments.

It is wrong for 17^th century Hyper-Calvinists to accuse 18^th century Hyper-Calvinists of turning the grace of God into a license for sin. 18^th century Hyper-Calvinists understand the law of Christ to be no less moral than the ten commandments given to the nation of Israel. Both laws are based on principles of righteousness, one designed for the Jewish people as a nation, the other designed for God’s elect people in a regenerate state. Again, the real problem lies at the doorstep of the 17^th century Hyper-Calvinists, who have so much to say about the ten commandments as a moral law, but nothing to say about the law of Christ as a moral law. If you wish to live godly in Christ Jesus, then you must be subject to the law of Christ; but if you wish to live religiously according to the Jewish people as a nation, then by all means, make the ten commandments your rule of conduct. The law of Christ is a living rule that enables you to walk with Him, whereas the ten commandments are a legal rule that hinders your walk with Him!

Alright, well, these are the reasons I reject the ten commandments as believer’s rule of conduct. Let me now turn to a few historic 18^th century Hyper-Calvinists. 

Tobias Crisp (1600-1643) was a sovereign grace preacher and theologian. In 1627, he was presented to the rectory of Brinkworth, Wiltshire. In time, he came to develop more consistent views of the gospel, leading to a number of disagreements between himself and the established Puritanism of the 16th century. Among these disagreements was the idea that the ten commandments form any part of a believer’s walk with God. Although he died in 1642, his sermons remained in circulation throughout the century and retained a popularity among the Independent churches. In the year 1689, his son Samuel republished his father’s sermons, introducing the teachings to a new generation of Christians. By the turn of the century, Crisp’s views were being widely embraced by the Congregational, Independent and Particular Baptist denominations. 

William Huntington (1745-1813) was an English Calvinist preacher and prolific writer. His influence spread across the country and crossed denominational lines. He is well known for his “The Child of Liberty in Legal Bondage or, The Son and Heir in the Servant’s Yoke.” He took the view, along with Tobias Crisp, that the believer is under the liberty of Christ’s living law, not under the bondage of Moses’ dead law, or ten commandments. 

William Gadsby (1773-1844) was a Strict and Particular Baptist preacher, writer and philanthropist. He preached sermons and published books on the believer’s freedom from the ten commandments. Before the year 1809, he wrote a catechism for children underscoring the main issues connected with the believer’s walk in Christ—that it is not according to one’s obedience to the ten commandments, but rather, according to one’s growth in grace as the Spirit of God is pleased to nurture the fruit of one’s new nature in Christ. 

Question: What blessings are connected with faith in Christ Jesus? The blessings connected with faith in Christ Jesus are, a freedom from the bondage of sin, Satan, the world, death, and the law; with free access to the Father, and a hearty welcome to all the glory of the gospel, and the blessings of God’s house.

Question: Since a believer is made free from the law, is it any part of his freedom to be at liberty to sin? No; for he is called to holiness; and though he is dead to, and free from, the law of works, he is not now, nor does he wish to be, without law to God, but is under the law of Christ.

Question: What is the law of Christ? The law of Christ is the gospel of his grace, which is the law from Zion, called the law of faith, the law of liberty, and the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.

Question: Is the gospel, in all its branches, a sufficient rule of life to a believer in Christ? Yes; for through the life-giving power of the Spirit, faith lives upon Christ, the Living Head, and its precepts are the believer’s rule in the world, in the family, in the church, and in case of personal offences.

Question: Does the gospel require anything of believers towards God? Believers are not their own, but are bought with a price. God in the gospel, requires them to glorify him in their body and their spirit, which are his, and to worship him in spirit and in truth; and his grace enables them so to do.

Well, my friends, these are my thoughts on the rule which should govern the believer’s life. You may not be convinced by the points I have put across in this study, but at the very least, I hope you will be more cautious in the future before condemning 18^th century Hyper-Calvinists as being Antinomians or those who use the grace of God as a justification for living in sin. These things have never been true of 18^th century Hyper-Calvinism. We believe, my dear brethren, that the grace of God which brings salvation teaches us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

As always, I wish upon you the blessings of the Lord for the week ahead, looking forward to meeting with you again next week, for another study in Bible Doctrine.