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The Agreement of the Law and the Gospel | John Calvin · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we're looking closely at,
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well, a really foundational concept in Christian thinking.
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We are. It's about faith and actions,
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right? How they relate.
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Exactly. And specifically, we're digging
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into John Calvin's take on it using his Institutes.
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Yeah, his big work. Our mission today is to sift
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through what he says about how we're supposed to understand
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those Bible passages that seem while seem to disagree on what
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makes us right with God. Passages from Paul and James
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primarily. They often get pitted against
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each other. Right.
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So we want to pull out the key ideas from Calvin that can help
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you, our listener, make sense of this because it comes up a lot.
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It really does. You're joining us for a deep
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dive on reformed thinking. Indeed, and the goal here is
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clarity. Calvin offers a really precise
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way to see these texts. Paul, James actually working
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together. Showing a consistent message
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from God. That's the idea, a consistent
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way God sets us right. And understanding that is, well,
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it's pretty fundamental for knowing where you stand with
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God. OK, let's dive in then.
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Let's unpack this. The usual starting point is,
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like you said, this apparent puzzle in the Bible.
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You've got the apostle Paul. He seems to paint one picture of
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how we become righteous. Very clear picture usually.
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And then there's James, who seems to present quite another.
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It can feel like a contradiction.
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Absolutely. Let's look at Paul first.
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If you go to Romans chapter 4 or Galatians 3, Paul talks about
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Abraham. The Father of faith.
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Right. And Paul says Abraham became
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righteous or was accounted righteous because he believed
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God, not because of what he did. Not based on his actions.
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Correct. Paul hammers this point home
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again and again. Believers are declared righteous
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apart from doing the works of the law.
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So when Paul uses that word justified, what does he actually
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mean by it? For Paul being justified, it
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means, in Calvin's words, that the memory of our
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unrighteousness has been wiped out and we are accounted
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righteous. Wow, wiped out.
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Yeah, it points directly to this idea of imputation.
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That's the theological term, meaning Christ's own
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righteousness is credited to our account.
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It's put on our Ledger, so to speak, simply through belief.
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So it's like a legal declaration from God based not on us, but on
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Christ. Precisely.
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God looks at the believer, and because of their faith in
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Christ, he sees Christ's perfect record instead of their flawed
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one. It's a foundational piece of
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Paul's gospel. OK, that seems clear enough.
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God declares us righteous because of Christ received by
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faith, yes. Our standing isn't earned.
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It's a gift given by grace, received by faith, before we do
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any good works that might seem to deserve it.
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But then, then we read James Ah. Yes, James, this is where the
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tension really seems to surface for people.
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What does James say that sounds so different?
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Well, James, in his letter chapter 2, he says pretty
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directly Abraham was justified by works when he offered Isaac
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his son on the altar. OK, that sounds quite different
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from Justified by Faith not works.
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It does on the surface, and James doesn't stop there.
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He says later in that same chapter, verse 24, you see that
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a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
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Not by faith alone. That's the care, isn't it?
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It certainly seems to contradict Pauls emphasis.
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James even suggests that for Abraham and for us, belief
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actually consists in works, not only in faith.
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So it really does look like we have two apostles saying
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opposite things. How are we supposed to handle
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that? That is the question, isn't it?
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And it's not just an academic one.
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It hits right at the heart of, you know, how can I be sure I'm
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right with God? Is it what I believe or what I
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do? So how did Calvin approach this?
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What was his starting point for sorting this out?
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Did he just pick a side? No, not at all.
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What's really helpful here is understanding Calvin's
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fundamental conviction. He starts from the belief that
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the Holy Spirit, who inspired all of Scripture, cannot
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contradict himself. OK, so God's word must be
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consistent, even if it doesn't immediately look that way to us.
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Exactly. The Spirit of God isn't
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confused. So despite these surface level
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differences between Paul and James, Calvin insists there must
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be a way to understand them in harmony.
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There has to be an underlying agreement.
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That's a crucial starting point. It means the problem isn't with
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the Bible, but maybe with our understanding.
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That's precisely Calvin's view. He argued that his opponents,
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the ones who insisted Paul and James were in conflict, actually
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ended up undermining any real basis for Christian assurance.
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How so? Well, if you say Scripture
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contradicts itself on how we're made right with God, where does
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that leave your conscience? How can you have any peace or
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certainty? They might criticize
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justification by faith alone, but Calvin says they offer no
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solid ground in return, just confusion.
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So insisting on a conflict leaves people unsure without a
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reliable standard. Right.
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Calvin believes God's truth is firm, so simply pointing out
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apparent conflicts doesn't achieve anything constructive.
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It just muddies the waters and frankly takes away the comfort
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the gospel offers. He saw resolving this as vital
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for a believers peace. OK, so the Spirit doesn't
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contradict himself. There must be harmony.
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How did Calvin find that harmony?
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He mentioned something about a double fallacy.
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Yes, exactly. Calvin argues the whole
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perceived conflict stems from misunderstanding 2 keywords
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James uses. He says the critics fall into a
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double fallacy because they misunderstand both faith and
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justify as James employs them. So it's a vocabulary problem,
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like we're reading James but imposing Paul's definitions onto
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his words. Sort of, yes.
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Or rather misunderstanding the specific kind of faith and the
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specific sense of justification James is addressing.
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Let's break down the first one, the misunderstanding of faith in
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James. OK, what did Calvin say James
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means by faith? Calvin clarifies that when James
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talks about a faith that doesn't justify or a faith without
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works, he's not talking about true, saving Christian faith.
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He's not, So what kind of faith is he talking about?
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James is dealing with what Calvin calls an empty opinion or
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a false name of faith. It's the counterfeit faith.
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In fact, James himself explicitly calls this kind of
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faith dead. That's James chapter 2, verse
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20. Dead faith?
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Yes, and he describes it as nothing more than a bare
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intellectual belief that there is a God.
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James then says something quite sharp about this.
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What's that? He says Even the devil's believe
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there is one God in Shudder. So this kind of mere mental
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agreement, which James says is worse than devil's knowledge,
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obviously doesn't make anyone righteous and has no power, no
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life. Wow, worse than devil's
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knowledge? That's strong stuff.
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So James is targeting people who just say they believe, but their
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lives show no evidence of it. Precisely.
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Calvin insists James's real goal is not to weaken in any respect
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the force of true faith. He's not attacking genuine
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belief. He's attacking the counterfeit.
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Right. He's challenging those who boast
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about having faith, this empty image while they live completely
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undisciplined, unchanged lives, Calvin says.
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James is basically mocking their stupid assurance.
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Their claim to be safe just because they mentally agree God
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exists while ignoring his commands.
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Exactly. They neglect the works that
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should naturally flow from real belief.
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James is calling that out. OK, so that's the first fallacy,
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misunderstanding the kind of faith James is criticizing.
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It's not true faith. It's a dead, empty profession,
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Correct? So what does true Christian
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faith involve then, according to Calvin, in contrast to this?
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Well, true faith is entirely different.
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It's not just knowing about God. True faith, Calvin says, binds
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us to Christ. Binds us to Christ like a
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connection. Yes, a living union, and through
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that union it leads to a participation in His
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righteousness. We share in what Christ is and
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has done. And where does this true faith
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come from? What's its basis?
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It finds its basis not just in knowing facts about God's
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essence, but crucially, in the assurance of his mercy.
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Trust in God's goodness towards us in Christ.
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Assurance of mercy? That sounds much more
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relational, more personal than just knowing God exists.
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It is. It's a reliance upon God's
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promise of grace. That distinction between dead
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intellectual ascent and living relational trust is absolutely
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vital for getting the picture straight.
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OK, that clarifies the faith of the fallacy.
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What about the second part, the word justify?
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Right, the second fallacy. Calvin asserts that Jennings
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uses the word justify in a different sense from Paul's.
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OK, how so? We establish Paul means to
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declare righteous the imputation part.
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Exactly. For Paul, Justify is about how
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we become righteous in God's sight.
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It's the divine declaration we talked about.
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The memory of our unrighteousness has been wiped
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out. That's the imputation of
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righteousness. And Calvin says James can't mean
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that. He says it would be absurd if
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James meant that. Why?
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Because of Abraham. What about Abraham?
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Well, think about the timeline. Paul says Abraham was justified
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by faith way back when he first believed God's promise, long
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before Isaac was even born. Right, Genesis 15.
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Yes, but James points to Abraham being justified by works when he
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offered Isaac on the altar. That event happened decades
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later. So if James meant justify as to
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become righteous, Abraham would have become righteous decades
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after God already declared him righteous by faith.
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Precisely. It makes no sense
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chronologically. The effect being justified by
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works would happen long after the initial justification.
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By faith. It turns things upside down.
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OK, that timing issue is a really strong argument.
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So if James doesn't mean imputation when he says justify,
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what does he mean? Kelvin argues that for James,
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justify means the declaration, not the imputation of
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righteousness. Declaration meaning like
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demonstrating or proving something.
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Exactly. James isn't defining the way
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someone becomes righteous before God.
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He's not talking about the root of justification.
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He's talking about he's. Showing how true righteousness
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already received by faith proves itself or demonstrates itself to
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be real. His purpose is to show that
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those who by true faith are righteous prove their
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righteousness by obedience and good works.
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Not by a bear and imaginary mask of faith, I see.
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So James is focused on the evidence of justification, not
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the act of justification itself. That's it precisely.
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He wants to see a righteousness, fruitful and good works flowing
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from genuine believers. So he's saying, look, if your
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faith is real like Abraham's was, it will inevitably show up
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in your actions, like Abraham offering Isaac that action
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declared, or prove the reality of the faith Abraham already
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possessed. You've got it.
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James is clarifying that an empty show of faith, that dead
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faith we talked about, it doesn't justify, it does
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nothing. But a true believer declares his
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righteousness by good works. This makes so much sense.
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Paul and James aren't contradicting each other at.
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All not in the slightest once you understand their terms and
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names. Paul is explaining the
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foundation how we are made righteous by God through faith
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in Christ alone, the imputation. Yes, the root.
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And James is explaining the necessary result, how that true
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righteousness inevitably shows itself in a changed life, in
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good works, the demonstration. The fruit?
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Exactly. Paul explains how the tree gets
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planted and made alive by grace. James insists that a living tree
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will naturally and necessarily bear fruit.
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No fruit. Maybe the tree isn't alive after
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all. So 1 looks at the cause, the
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other at the effect, or maybe the evidence of that 'cause.
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That's a very good way to put it.
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Complimentary perspectives not contradictory 1.
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OK, so if works aren't the basis, not the cause of our
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standing with God, but rather the proof or declaration, what
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part do they actually play? What's their real significance?
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Well, their significance is precisely that they serve as the
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declaration, the proof, the evidence of a righteousness
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already possessed by faith. They don't earn salvation, but
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they demonstrate salvation. So going back to James and
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Abraham, Abraham offering Isaac didn't make him righteous.
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No, it powerfully demonstrated the reality and strength of the
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faith God had already credited to him as righteous as years
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before. It was the outward manifestation
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of an inward reality. And this helps us distinguish
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true belief from that empty opinion or dead faith James was
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concerned about. Absolutely.
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That dead faith just knows facts.
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There is a God, but it's doesn't connect you to Christ, doesn't
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rest on his mercy, and so it produces nothing.
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True Christian faith, because it binds us to Christ and relies on
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His mercy, inevitably springs forth an action works of the
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vital signs of a living faith. OK, that clarifies the purpose
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of works as evidence. But this brings up another maybe
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tricky question. What about those times in the
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Bible, particularly in the Psalms, where someone like King
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David seems to appeal to his own righteousness before God?
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Ah yes, like Psalm 7. Judge me, O Lord, according to
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my righteousness. Exactly how does that fit in if
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our righteousness is only found in Christ and our own works
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don't justify us? It sounds like David is
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appealing to his own record. That's a great question, and
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Calvin addresses this too. He explains that when believers
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in Scripture appeal to their own righteousness, it needs to be
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understood in a specific 2 fold context.
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It's definitely not a claim to absolute sinless perfection or a
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basis for earning salvation. OK, so what's the first context?
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The first is when they're dealing with a specific case of
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injustice. They might plead their innocence
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regarding a particular charge or situation where they're being
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wrongly treated. So situational.
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Yes, they're trusting God to be the avenger in that specific
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'cause they aren't saying God. Look how person I am overall
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they're saying God. In this instance I'm innocent
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and my accusers are wrong. Vindicate me.
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Like David when he was being pursued by Saul, maybe he wasn't
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claiming sinlessness but innocence regarding Saul's
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accusations. Exactly like that.
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It's an appeal for justice in a particular matter, not a claim
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about their overall standing before God based on merit.
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OK, that makes sense. Yeah.
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What's the second context? The second context is when they
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make comparisons between themselves and wicked people.
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They're adversaries. So it's a relative claim.
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Right. Their appeal to their
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righteousness is made in comparison with their
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adversaries, malice, dishonesty, craft and wickedness.
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They're confident that their general sincerity, their desire
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for righteousness, their simplicity compared to their
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opponents is known and pleasing to God.
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So they're saying, God, you know, my heart is generally
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aimed at you, unlike these people who are deliberately
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doing evil. Basically, yes.
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Calvin points to Paul. For instance, Paul defended his
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own faithfulness and probity, his integrity, against the
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slander of ungodly men. He knew His conduct, while
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imperfect, was generally aimed at pleasing God and was
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acceptable through God's mercy. But Paul himself said he wasn't
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justified, even if his conscience was clear.
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Right. Precisely.
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Paul knew that even being unaware of anything specifically
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wrong in his conduct didn't make him righteous before God's
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ultimate perfect judgement. So these appeals are relative,
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situational, comparative, never acclaimed to absolute self
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achieved righteousness that could stand before God's perfect
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holiness. OK, so context is key.
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Specific injustice or comparison with the openly wicked.
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But what about when they're not comparing themselves to others?
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When they're just, you know, standing before God alone.
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That's the crucial distinction. Calvin points out that when
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believers are dealing with God alone, stripped bare so to
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speak, they never appeal to their own works for their
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standing. What do they do then?
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Then they cry out with one voice, as Calvin puts it,
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quoting Psalm 1:30 If thou, O Lord, should mark iniquity,
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Lord, who shall stand? Recognizing that if God counts
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sins, no one can stand. Exactly, and they echo Psalm 143
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and turn not into judgement with Thy servants, for no man living
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is righteous before Thee. So before God alone, the
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attitude is one of complete dependence on mercy,
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acknowledging their own lack of righteousness.
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Yes, it shows them distrusting their own works entirely as a
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basis for acceptance and relying wholly on God's goodness and
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pardon. That deep humility before God is
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the true mark. That paints a very consistent
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picture. Works or evidence appeals to
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righteousness or contextual, but ultimately before God, it's all
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about His mercy. Now, what about the quality of
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these works, these actions that flow from faith?
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Are they perfect? Are they pure gold in God's
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eyes? Another fundamental question.
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Calvin is very clear on this. While believers uprightness and
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good actions are described as a step toward immortality, they're
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part of our walk towards God. They are always in this life
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partial and imperfect. Partial and imperfect.
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Even the best things we do. Even the best things.
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Their real value, Calvin insists, doesn't come from their
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own merits or inherent perfection.
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We can't present them to God as if they deserve a reward on
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their own. So where does their value come
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from then? Why does God seem pleased with
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them sometimes in Scripture? Their value comes because God,
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in His grace, embraces them with fatherly affection through the
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covenant He's made with us in Christ.
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He looks at them through the lens of His love for us as His
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children. So God accepts our flawed
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efforts out of fatherly love, not because the efforts
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themselves are flawless. Exactly, Calvin says.
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Even our very best actions are defiled as well.
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With other transgressions, as with their own spots, they're
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tainted by a remaining sinfulness.
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They only have value because the Lord extends pardon to both,
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pardon for the sins mixed in the good works and pardon for our
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general sinfulness. He freely bestows righteousness
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on US, covering even the flaws in our obedience.
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So even our good deeds need forgiveness to be acceptable to
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God. In a manner speaking, yes, they
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need to be viewed through the lens of Christ's perfection and
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God's pardoning grace. There's simply no room for
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boasting in anything we do. When do we reach that state of
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spotless perfection then? According to Calvin, that full
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perfection is something we aspire to, but it's achieved
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only when, having put off this sinful flesh, we cleave holy to
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the Lord. So only in the afterlife, when
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we're free from this fallen nature.
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That's the view. Until then, our life is a
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journey, a progression towards that goal.
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We're growing, moving closer, but we don't fully arrive in
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this life. What about when the Bible
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sometimes calls Saints perfect? Calvin, following Augustine,
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says if we use the word perfect for believers in this life, we
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have to understand it carefully. True perfection in this life
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actually includes the recognition of imperfection,
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both in truth and in humility. So part of being perfect now is
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knowing you're not perfect yet. Exactly.
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It's acknowledging our flaws and our constant need for God's
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mercy. This understanding pushes back
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against any idea like that of Colestus and his followers back
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in the day who claim people could actually achieve sinless
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perfection here and now. Calvin saw that is undermining
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the gospel of grace. It keeps us humble and reliant
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on God always. OK, this is building a very
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coherent picture. If our actions don't justify us,
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and even our best actions are imperfect and need grace, what
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then is the point of the law? God's commands?
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Why have it if we can't perfectly keep it and it doesn't
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save us? That's a logical next question.
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The law's purpose, especially when we're talking about
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righteousness, isn't primarily to be the way we achieve
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righteousness through our own effort.
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Instead, it's tied to its demand for perfect obedience and its
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role in showing us we can't achieve that perfection.
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So its purpose is partly to show us our failure.
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In large part, yes. Calvin stresses that if
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righteousness were to come from the law, it would demand
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complete observance of it, not merely knowledge.
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You can't just know the law, you'd have to do it.
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Perfectly, and the standard is perfection.
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Yes, the righteousness of the law consists in perfection of
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works. To be made righteous by the law
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requires flawless obedience and thought, word and deed, every
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part of it, all the time. Which is impossible for us.
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Exactly. And since, as Paul says, no one
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can boast that he has fulfilled the law through works, the
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necessary conclusion is that there is no righteousness
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arising from the law through human effort.
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So the law holds up this perfect standard.
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And shows us that we all fall short.
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We are all lacking in these works and because of that we are
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bereft of boasting about the law.
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The law silences our claims to self righteousness.
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It acts like a mirror, showing us the dirt, but it can't clean
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us up. That's an excellent analogy.
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It diagnosis the problem, our sin and inability, but it
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doesn't provide the cure. The cure is found elsewhere.
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This helps make sense of that verse in Romans 2 verse 13.
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That can sound confusing. Paul says the doers of the law,
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not the hearers, are justified. On the surface that sounds like
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he is saying doing the law justifies.
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How does Calvin read that in light of everything else?
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Calvin explains that Paul's specific aim there isn't to
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suddenly offer justification by works as a real possibility for
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fallen humans. His purpose is actually quite
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different. What is it then?
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He's aiming to cast down the foolish confidence of the Jews
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of his day. They were proud of possessing
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God's law. They heard it read.
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They knew it intellectually. But they weren't actually doing
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it right. Calvin says they were often its
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greatest despisers in practice. So Paul says OK, you boast in
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the law, fine, but merely hearing it does nothing God
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requires doing. It's the doers who would be
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justified if anyone could actually do it perfectly.
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So Paul is setting the bar, and possibly high to show them they
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don't meet it and therefore can't rely on the law for
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righteousness. Exactly.
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He's using the law's own perfect standard to demonstrate their
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inability and everyone's inability to meet it.
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He's driving them and us away from self-reliance or reliance
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on mere knowledge of the Law and putting them towards the need
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for God's grace in Christ. So that verse isn't Paul
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contradicting himself, but rather using the law's demand
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for perfect works to show that justification through the law is
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impossible for sinners. Precisely, it confirms that
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there is no righteousness arising from the law for us,
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because no one actually is a perfect doer of the law.
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It pushes us towards faith. So the law condemns our sin,
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shows our need, and sort of points us towards Christ as the
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only solution. You could say it functions like
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a strict teacher or a guide that leads us to recognize our need
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for the grace found only in the gospel.
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OK, so if perfect obedience is impossible, and even our best
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efforts are flawed, and justification is by faith, let's
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revisit this idea of Christian perfection.
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It's clearly an aspiration, a goal, but not something we fully
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reach now. That's the consistent picture
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from Calvin drawing on Scripture.
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Christian perfection is definitely presented as the goal
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we should be striving for throughout our lives.
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Paul prays for believers that they may one day appear spotless
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and blameless before God's face. That's the aim.
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We're meant to be heading in that direction.
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Absolutely all godly people ought to aspire to this goal.
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It's the direction of travel. But but we don't fully arrive in
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this life. Correct, Calvin.
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It's clear that the goal is fully achieved only when, having
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put off this sinful flesh, we cleave holy to the Lord.
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That complete, spotless perfection is reserved for the
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future glory when we're free from our sinful nature.
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So our current state, even for the most mature believer, is
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what? It's described as only a
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progression, even the best and most excellent plan for living
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the Christian life right now. It's about moving forward,
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growing, advancing, but not arriving at the final
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destination of sinless perfection.
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We're always under construction, so to speak.
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That's a good way to put it, and that's why Agustin's definition,
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which Calvin and docs, is so helpful.
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If you want to call the virtue of Saints in this life perfect,
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OK, but understand what that means.
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It means that to this very perfection also belongs the
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recognition of imperfection, both in truth and in humility.
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A truly perfect Christian in this life is one who knows they
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aren't yet perfect and relies constantly on God's grace.
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Humility and truth require acknowledging the gap that still
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exists. Exactly.
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And this counters those views. Like the followers of Colestius
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who tried to use verses about perfection to argue for sinless
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righteousness being attainable now, Calvin saw that as
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dangerously misleading, taking focus off our need for Christ's
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imputed righteousness and ongoing grace.
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This really ties everything together.
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It respects the call to holiness and growth, but keeps grace
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absolutely central. That's the balance Calvin sought
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to articulate based on the whole Council to Scripture.
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So let's try to wrap this up after this deep dive into
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Calvin's view on righteousness, faith, and works.
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What's the big picture? Well, I think we've seen a
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really careful, harmonious way of understanding Scripture, not
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pitting Paul against James, but seeing them as complimentary.
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Right. We saw how true belief, genuine
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faith is what connects us to Christ.
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It's not just knowing about Him. And because of that connection
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through faith, God counts us as righteous.
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He imputes Christ's righteousness to us.
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And this happens completely apart from anything we do.
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It's Grace. But then our actions, our works,
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they aren't irrelevant. They come into play as the the
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necessary fruit, the declaration.
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Exactly. They are the undeniable evidence
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that the faith is real. That is living faith, not the
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dead opinion James warned about. They show the reality of our
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justification. They don't earn it.
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So it's a picture that keeps God's grace right at the center,
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front and center, but it also gives real purpose and meaning
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to our lives of obedience. Our actions matter as evidence.
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They absolutely do, and this understanding helps us see that
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God's grace isn't, you know, a license to just sit back and do
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nothing. It's not apathy.
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Nor are our actions some kind of ladder we climb to try and earn
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God's favor. Precisely.
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Instead, our efforts towards uprightness, even though they're
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imperfect, stained as they are, they received by God with
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fatherly affection. He accepts them because of
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Christ. Their value comes not from us,
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but from God's pardon and His free gift of righteousness.
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That covers everything, yes. And understanding this, really
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grasping it, yeah, offers solid ground for assurance.
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Our hope isn't shaky, depending on how well we did today.
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It's fixed firmly in God's goodness and His unchanging
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grace in Christ alone. So here's something for you, our
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listener, to think about. How does really understanding
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these distinct roles, belief as the root works as the fruit,
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give you a clearer picture, a clearer sense of both God's
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amazing free grace and the purposeful, meaningful path of
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your life as a believer? Does seeing Paul and James in
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harmony change how you view your own standing with God and your
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daily actions? It's worth mulling over how does
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grace motivate rather than paralyze?
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We invite you to keep considering these truths.
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Thank you for joining us for this deep dive on reformed
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thinking.