The Grace of the Law
T
he relationship between Grace and Law, as they relate to the life of a believer, has been a frequent issue of tension in theological history and practice. This has a bearing on how we view the proper of relation between Justification and Sanctification, the place of good works in the life of a believer and the polar dangers of Legalism on the one hand and Antinomianism on the other. In the medieval period the Roman Catholic Church adopted a view where the believer’s obedience to the Law of God was meritorious and thus a component part of his Justification before God. At the Reformation, the Protestant Church rejected this and recovered the Biblical doctrine of Justification by faith alone, but there were different views between the Lutheran and Reformed Churches in the relationship between the Law and the Gospel.