Why Did God Give the Law After the Promise? | Promise and the Mosaic Law

Marrowcast Episode 9

If Abraham was justified by faith and God had already established his promise, why did the law come afterward?

Paul raises that exact question in Galatians 3: “Why then the law?”

In this episode, Jeff and John continue tracing the relationship between promise, law, faith, and Christ. The law given through Moses did not overturn the promise made to Abraham, nor did it introduce a second way of obtaining life. Instead, Paul places the law within the unfolding history of redemption and points us toward its purpose in relation to sin and the coming of Christ.

We discuss what it means that the law was “added because of transgressions,” why the law cannot give life, and how confusing the law with the promise inevitably obscures the freeness of the gospel.

Along the way, we consider the continuing importance of distinguishing law and gospel without treating the law as unnecessary or opposed to God’s gracious purposes.

Marrow Theology, Practically Applied.

Listen and learn more at marrowcast.com

Marrowcast is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Who was Melchizedek?

That is usually the first question people ask when they come to Genesis 14. Was he simply a historical priest-king? A pre-incarnate appearance of Christ? Something else entirely?

But maybe that is not the most important question.

Melchizedek appears at a crucial moment in Abraham’s life. God had already given Abraham the promise, yet Abraham was living in circumstances that did not always look like the promise was coming true.

Then Melchizedek arrives.

He blesses Abraham and brings bread and wine. He does not give Abraham a new promise. He confirms the one God had already spoken.

And that may be the point we are most tempted to miss: faith is not always strengthened by receiving something new. Often, it is strengthened by being brought back to what God has already said.

Melchizedek ultimately points beyond himself to Christ, the true Priest-King, in whom the promises of God are certain.

Marrowcast — Episode 8Was Abraham Saved by Faith or Works?Abraham & Justification

Was Abraham saved differently than Christians are today?

In this episode of Marrowcast, Jeffrey and John continue through The Marrow of Modern Divinity, moving into Chapter 2, Section II.2: “The Promise renewed to Abraham.”

Long before Moses received the Ten Commandments at Sinai, Scripture says the gospel was preached to Abraham. The promise first given after the fall becomes clearer: the promised seed is Christ, and through him the blessing extends to the nations.

Abraham was not justified by keeping the law. He received God’s promise by faith before the law was ever given. His obedience followed that promise; it was not the ground of it.

Along the way, Jeffrey and John look at Melchizedek, the promised seed, the land of Canaan, and why these Old Testament types point beyond themselves to Christ and the inheritance found in him.

The promise comes before the performance. Faith receives what God promises. And Abraham’s story reminds us that grace was never God’s Plan B.

If you’ve ever wondered whether your standing with God rises and falls with your performance, this episode is for you. Listen, share it with someone who needs the reminder, and subscribe at Marrowcast.com for new episodes, articles, resources, and listener Q&A.

#Marrowcast #JustificationByFaith #Abraham #FaithNotWorks #Gospel #ReformedTheology #CovenantTheology #TheMarrowOfModernDivinity #LawAndGospel #JesusChrist #GraceAlone #FaithAlone #ChristianPodcast #BibleTheology #Genesis

Faith does not replace Adam’s obedience or become a softer version of the covenant of works. Faith receives Christ as he is promised in the gospel. It believes the finished work of Christ and rests upon it.

That is why assurance cannot finally rest on the question, “Is my faith sufficient?” Because our faith will always appear weak when we turn it into the object of our confidence.

The better question is: Is Christ sufficient?

And the answer is yes.

Faith receives. Christ saves.

Marrow Theology, Practically Applied.

🎙️ Listen to Marrowcast at marrowcast.com

Marrowcast — Episode 7

Where Does the Gospel First Appear in the Bible?

Genesis 3:15 and the First Promise of Christ

What did God do after Adam fell?

In this episode of Marrowcast, Jeffrey and John continue through The Marrow of Modern Divinity, moving into Chapter 2, Section II.1: “The Promise made to Adam.”Fisher argues that the promise of Genesis 3:15 was not a vague hint of eventual help. It was Christ's first preaching to fallen mankind. Adam had sinned, become subject to the curse, and hidden from God's presence.

Yet God came with a promise: the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head, though his heel would be bruised. That promise was the gospel.

Your sin did not surprise God, and Jesus Christ is not the emergency plan God devised after everything went wrong.

In this episode of Marrowcast, John and Jeffrey begin Chapter 2 of The Marrow of Modern Divinity and explore what Fisher calls “the eternal purpose of grace.”

Before the foundation of the world, God purposed to save fallen sinners through Jesus Christ. What He purposed before time, He promised in time and performed in the fullness of time through the incarnation, obedience, death, and resurrection of His Son.

This does not mean that God simply ignored His law or relaxed the demands of His justice. The debt still had to be paid, the curse still had to be borne, and the corruption of fallen humanity still had to be repaired.

The good news is that God laid the whole burden upon Christ.

Jesus entered the covenant as the sinner’s Surety, taking responsibility for a debt that was not His own. He satisfied divine justice, fulfilled the law, bore its curse, and secured the salvation of His people.

Grace does not sneak sinners around the law. Grace gives sinners the whole Christ.

In This Episode

John and Jeffrey discuss:

* Why the covenant of grace was not God’s backup plan

* What The Marrow means by the “law of faith”

* The gospel as “good, merry, glad, and joyful tidings”

* How God purposed grace before time, promised grace in time, and performed grace in Christ

* Why divine mercy never comes at the expense of divine justice

* What it means for Christ to become the sinner’s Surety

* Why God looked to Christ for the payment of His people’s debt

* The difference between Christ satisfying our guilt and the Spirit repairing our fallen nature

* Why election should comfort sinners rather than prevent them from coming to Christ

* How the law condemns, while the gospel freely gives us Christ

Key Takeaway

Grace is older than your guilt.

The debt was ours.The bond was Christ’s.The payment was full.

God looked for the debt from Christ, and Christ paid it all.

Scripture Discussed

Ephesians 1:3–52 Timothy 1:9Titus 1:2Psalm 85:10John 6:37Galatians 4:4–5Hebrews 7:22Romans 5:12–19

Reading

The Marrow of Modern DivinityChapter 2: “Of the Law of Faith, or Covenant of Grace”Section I: “Of the Eternal Purpose of Grace”

Subscribe at Marrowcast.com to receive new episodes and articles exploring law and gospel, assurance, Christian obedience, and the free offer of Jesus Christ to sinners.

Marrow Theology, Practically Applied.

The way back to God still requires everything the law demanded: perfect obedience and complete satisfaction for sin.

The gospel is not that God lowered the standard or ignored His justice. The gospel is that Christ accomplished what we could never provide.

He fulfilled every precept of the law. He bore its curse for our sin. He walked the entire road home on behalf of His people.

Thomas Boston captures it beautifully: sinners united to Christ are carried back into the presence of God, but their own feet never touch the ground.

We do not return by our obedience, our improvement, or our performance. We are carried back to God in Christ.

🎧 Hear more in Episode 5 of Marrowcast

If Adam broke the Covenant of Works, does that mean the law no longer matters? Or does “do this and live” still stand over fallen man?In Episode 5 of Marrowcast, John and Jeff continue walking through Chapter 1 of The Marrow of Modern Divinity and discuss the Covenant of Works after the fall. Adam broke the covenant, but fallen sinners are still confronted by the righteous demand of God’s law.This matters because the gospel only becomes clear when we understand why we cannot be saved by doing. The law still commands, still exposes, still condemns, and still shuts every mouth before God. But Christ comes as the last Adam, fulfilling what Adam failed to do and bearing the curse Adam brought upon us.In this episode, we talk about:What happened when Adam broke the Covenant of WorksWhy fallen man is still under the law’s demandWhy “do this and live” cannot save sinnersHow the law exposes our need for ChristWhy Christ’s obedience is good news for guilty peopleThe law says, “Do this and live.”The gospel says, “Christ has done it; come and live.”Listen, subscribe, and learn more at:www.marrowcast.com#Marrowcast #CovenantOfWorks #LawAndGospel #ReformedTheology #TheMarrowOfModernDivinity

In this Marrow Minute, we look at why Romans 5 will not let us reduce Adam to a bad example or Christ to a good example. Adam and Christ are covenant heads. In Adam comes sin, condemnation, and death. In Christ comes righteousness, justification, and life.

The gospel is not advice for becoming better. It is the announcement of what Christ has accomplished for his people.

Marrow Theology, Practically Applied.