Joseph Prince is cursed by John Calvin for preaching Antinomianism and against the Ten Commandments – By Rev George Ong (Dated 5 July 2023)
Don’t miss the Concluding Paragraphs,
which are the Most Important Parts of this Article.
Surprisingly, Joseph Prince appeared in person to preach again
3 days ago on 2 July 2023, as he had done the previous Sunday
at the worship services of New Creation Church,
even though he had announced only very recently
that he is on sabbatical.
Perhaps, Prince really thinks he is indispensable.
Is he sending the message to his congregation
that he could not leave the running of the church,
including the preaching responsibilities to his staff?
Again, there is doctrinal ‘rubbish’
which Joseph Prince spoke about last Sunday,
which I intend to contend.
But this really depends on my time availability.
Even if I were to write articles
against what Prince preached last Sunday,
they will have to wait until 2 more articles are featured
which I promised last week.
Last week, I featured an article, titled,
“Joseph Prince’s Antinomian heresy about Ten Commandments is against the teachings of Martin Luther.”
If you have missed reading it,
please click on the link below to read:
Alternatively, you could also view the video
which gives a summary of the article
by clicking on the link below:
(This article was also sent to Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian, General Secretary, National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) office, and for the attention of the Executive Committee Members.)
In this article, my focus is on John Calvin,
and the next, on John Wesley.
To add credibility to what I am writing,
I have gone to study and research the primary sources
about what Martin Luther and John Calvin said and wrote
regarding the Antinomian teachings of Joseph Prince.
In other words, you are getting from the horse’s (Luther & Calvin) mouth.
Please click here to view the 4-minute video,
which gives a summary to the article.
One of Joseph Prince’s key teachings
is his Antinomian doctrine
– that the Ten Commandments have been abrogated
and are not binding on New Covenant believers.
The Antinomian teachings of Joseph Prince
are not only against what Martin Luther teaches,
but they also went against that of John Calvin.
Please note that the following were written by John Calvin
during the Reformation days.
And so, from our present-day perspective,
the English expression could be a little quaint.
But with some effort and careful reading,
they should still be understandable to many.
In ‘Selected Works of John Calvin Vol. 3 Tracts Part 3, by John Calvin,’ he wrote:
“XVIII. Whosoever shall say
that the commandments of God
are impossible of observance
even to a justified man,
and to one constituted under grace,
let him be anathema (cursed).
XIX. Whosoever shall say
that nothing is commanded in the gospel except faith;
that other things are indifferent,
being neither commanded nor prohibited, but free;
or that the ten commandments do not apply to Christians,
let him be anathema (cursed).
XX. Whosoever shall say
that a justified man, however perfect,
is not bound to the observance
of the commandments of God and the Church,
but only to believe as if the gospel
were a naked and absolute promise of eternal life,
without the condition of observing the commandments,
let him be anathema (cursed).
XXI. Whosoever shall say
that Jesus Christ was given by God to man
as a Redeemer in whom they may trust,
but not as a lawgiver whom they are to obey,
let him be anathema (cursed).”
George Ong’s comments:
Do you know the seriousness
in all the points that John Calvin had made?
Every single point that Calvin had written
about God’s laws in the Ten Commandments
is what Joseph Prince has contravened
in his writings and sermons,
and a curse was pronounced by Calvin
on the person (including Joseph Prince),
who is guilty of each of those doctrinal aberrations.
Just in case you think that John Calvin
is too severe in his pronouncements,
you are mistaken.
John Calvin was only following the example of the Apostle Paul,
who pronounced a curse on anyone
who distorts the gospel of the grace of God into a heresy (Gal 1:8-9).
The Greek word, ‘Anathema’ is the English word for ‘curse’.
It is the same Greek word
that both John Calvin
and the Apostle Paul used in Galatians 1:8-9.
In ‘Selected Works of John Calvin Vol. 3 Tracts Part 3, by John Calvin,’ he wrote:
“OF THE OBSERVANCE OF THE COMMANDMENTS
– ITS NECESSITY AND POSSIBILITY.
XII. No man, however justified,
should think himself free from the observance of the Commandments;
no man should use that presumptuous expression
prohibited under anathema by the Fathers,
that to a justified man
the precepts of God are impossible of observance;
for God does not order what is impossible,
but by ordering admonishes you
both to do what you can,
and ask what you cannot,
and assists, that you may be able to do.
His commandments are not grievous;
his yoke is easy, and his burden is light.
For those who are of God love Christ,
and those who love him, as he himself testifies,
keep his commandments,
as indeed they can do, with the Divine assistance.
George Ong’s comments:
When one tries to do it by his own strength,
obeying God’s laws
is an extremely heavy and burdensome chore
and an impossibility.
But as John Calvin declared
that under divine help and enablement,
it becomes relatively easy and a joy.
More so, when obeying God’s commands
springs from our love for Christ.
In ‘The Law of God by John Calvin,’ he wrote:
“EVEN THE BELIEVERS HAVE NEED OF THE LAW
The third and principal use,
which pertains more closely to the proper purpose of the law,
finds its place among believers
in whose hearts the Spirit of God already lives and reigns.
For even though they have the law written
and engraved upon their hearts
by the finger of God [Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 10:16],
that is, have been so moved and quickened
through the directing of the Spirit
that they long to obey God…”
George Ong’s comments:
John Calvin clearly taught
that the law is still positively relevant
to New Covenant believers,
as opposed to Joseph Prince’s teaching
that the law, which is under the Old Covenant is obsolete
and no longer binding on New Covenant believers.
For the Christian, obeying the law
isn’t a burdensome task but a holy longing
that is quickened by the Spirit,
as the law is now written in the hearts of believers.
In ‘The Law of God by John Calvin,’ he wrote:
“WHOEVER WANTS TO DO AWAY WITH THE LAW ENTIRELY FOR THE FAITHFUL,
UNDERSTANDS IT FALSELY
Certain ignorant persons,
not understanding this distinction,
rashly cast out the whole of Moses,
and bid farewell to the two Tables of the Law.
For they think it obviously alien to Christians
to hold to a doctrine
that contains the “dispensation of death”
[cf. 2 Corinthians 3:7].
Banish this wicked thought from our minds!
For Moses has admirably taught that the law,
which among sinners
can engender nothing but death,
ought among the saints
to have a better and more excellent use.”
George Ong’s comments:
On many occasions,
I have heard Joseph Prince used 2 Corinthians 3
teach in his sermons
that the moral law in the Ten Commandments
bring death and condemnation to us,
and hence, New Covenant believers
have nothing to do with them.
This is sharply denounced by John Calvin.
This is because the Ten Commandments
can no longer bring death and condemn us
as all New Covenant people are people of the Spirit,
who, not only lives in us,
but He can empower us to obey the laws of God.
In ‘The Law of God by John Calvin,’ he wrote:
“For this reason, we are not to refer solely to one age
David’s statement that the life of a righteous man
is a continual meditation upon the law [Psalm 1:2],
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night,
for it is just as applicable to every age,
even to the end of the world.
We ought not to be frightened away from the law
or to shun its instruction
merely because it requires a much stricter moral purity
than we shall reach
while we bear about with us the prison house of our body.
For the law is not now acting toward us
as a rigorous enforcement officer
who is not satisfied unless the requirements are met.
But in this perfection to which it exhorts us,
the law points out the goal
toward which throughout life we are to strive.”
“TO WHAT EXTENT HAS THE LAW BEEN ABROGATED FOR BELIEVERS?
Now, the law has power to exhort believers.
This is not a power to bind their consciences with a curse,
but one to shake off their sluggishness,
by repeatedly urging them,
and to pinch them awake to their imperfection.
Therefore, many persons,
wishing to express such liberation from that curse,
say that for believers the law
– has been abrogated.
Not that the law no longer enjoins believers to do what is right,
but only that it is not for them what it formerly was:
it may no longer condemn and destroy their consciences
by frightening and confounding them.
Paul teaches clearly enough such an abrogation of the law [cf. Romans 7:6].
That the Lord also preached it appears from this:
he would not have refuted the notion
that he would abolish the law [ Matthew 5:17]
if this opinion had not been prevalent among the Jews.
But since without some pretext
the idea could not have arisen by chance,
it may be supposed to have arisen
from a false interpretation of his teaching,
just as almost all errors
have commonly taken their occasion from truth.
But to avoid stumbling on the same stone,
let us accurately distinguish
what in the law has been abrogated
from what still remains in force.
When the Lord testifies that he
“came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it” and that “until heaven and earth pass away… not a jot will pass away from the law until all is accomplished” [ Matthew 5:17-18],
he sufficiently confirms that by his coming
nothing is going to be taken away
from the observance of the law.
And justly – inasmuch as he came rather
to remedy transgressions of it.
Therefore, through Christ
the teaching of the law remains inviolable;
by teaching, admonishing, reproving, and correcting,
it forms us and prepares us
for every good work.” [cf. 2 Timothy 3:16-17]
The law is abrogated
to the extent that it no longer condemns us.”
George Ong’s comments:
John Calvin taught that the law has been abrogated
from its power to curse, condemn and put fear into us.
But the law is not abrogated because
Christ Himself has not come to abolish the law,
and that nothing about obedience to the law
is taken from it.
In fact, John Calvin said that the law
“is just as applicable to every age,
even to the end of the world.”
Through Christ, and those who are in Christ,
the law now plays the positive role
of teaching, admonishing and reproving us
for every good work.
In ‘Christian Classics Ethereal Library, Commentary of Romans by John Calvin,’ he wrote:
(Commenting on Romans 7:1-6, John Calvin wrote)
“But further, the word law is not mentioned here
in every part in the same sense:
for in one place, it means the bond of marriage;
in another, the authority of a husband over his wife;
and in another, the law of Moses:
but we must remember,
that Paul refers here
only to that office of the law
which was peculiar to the dispensation of Moses;
for as far as God has in the ten commandments
taught what is just and right,
and given directions for guiding our life,
no abrogation of the law is to be dreamt of;
for the will of God must stand the same forever.
We ought carefully to remember
that this is not a release from the righteousness
which is taught in the law,
but from its rigid requirements,
and from the curse which thence follows.
The law, then, as a rule of life, is not abrogated…”
George Ong’s comments:
On several occasions in his sermons,
I have heard Joseph Prince teach
that the moral law in the Ten Commandments
have been abrogated
based on Romans 7:1-6.
This is refuted by John Calvin.
They are abrogated from the viewpoint of justification.
But from the perspective of sanctification,
they aren’t.
Though obeying the law cannot earn righteousness
(If it did, then we will be guilty of legalism,
which is the opposite of,
and as heretical and damning as Antinomianism,
preached by Joseph Prince),
we still need to obey the law as a rule of life,
Christian discipleship,
and as part of the sanctifying process
after we become Christians.
But Joseph Prince does not believe in sanctification.
This is because from the testimonies
of many Ex New Creation Church members
in their many years (some 20 years, 19 years, etc) in the church,
they have never heard of Joseph Prince
preach a single sermon on sanctification.
In summary, what John Calvin taught,
could be summarised
by this wholesome and balanced statement of His:
“To be Christians under the law of grace
does not mean to wander unbridled outside the law,
but to be engrafted in Christ,
by whose grace we are free from the curse of the law,
and by whose Spirit we have the law engraved upon our hearts.”
In conclusion, let me repeat what John Calvin wrote in
‘Selected Works of John Calvin Vol. 3 Tracts Part 3, by John Calvin’:
“XVIII. Whosoever shall say that the commandments of God are impossible of observance even to a justified man,
and to one constituted under grace,
let him be anathema (cursed).
XIX. Whosoever shall say that nothing is commanded in the gospel except faith; that other things are indifferent, being neither commanded nor prohibited, but free; or that the ten commandments do not apply to Christians,
let him be anathema (cursed).
XX. Whosoever shall say that a justified man, however perfect, is not bound to the observance of the commandments of God and the Church, but only to believe as if the gospel were a naked and absolute promise of eternal life, without the condition of observing the commandments,
let him be anathema (cursed).
XXI. Whosoever shall say that Jesus Christ was given by God to man as a Redeemer in whom they may trust, but not as a lawgiver whom they are to obey,
let him be anathema (cursed).”
John Calvin had cursed anyone
who is guilty of each of the 4 doctrinal aberrations.
This includes Joseph Prince,
as Prince is guilty of every of the 4 doctrinal deviations.
Why should John Calvin curse Joseph Prince?
You don’t curse a fellow believer in Christ, do you?
You only do that to an unrepentant heretic,
who is responsible for promoting a heresy
that can destroy the Church.
as the Apostle Paul did in Galatians 1:8-9.
In my last article, I highlighted that
Martin Luther had stated
that those who preach the Antinomian doctrine
in the removal of the Ten Commandments from the Church,
in his day,
(which is Joseph Prince’s core teaching)
originated from Satan.
This simply means that
Joseph Prince’s grace doctrine is satanic.
If John Calvin had placed curses on Joseph Prince
and Martin Luther had concluded
that Joseph Prince’s Antinomian teaching is satanic,
how can Prince not be a heretic?
If 2 of the foremost leaders and theologians
in the Protestant Reformation, namely,
Martin Luther and John Calvin
had passed such damning judgement on Joseph Prince,
how can a Singapore Methodist Bishop
and a Singapore Presbyterian Pastor
say that Joseph Prince is not a heretic?
If John Calvin, being the foremost of all Presbyterian leaders,
had cursed Joseph Prince at least 4 times,
for his Antinomian teachings
against the Ten Commandments,
why is this Singapore Presbyterian Pastor,
who supposedly, is a follower of John Calvin,
protecting Joseph Prince by declaring that he isn’t a heretic?
May every Pastor in the Singapore Church,
not remain silent and not give in to cowardice anymore
at the intrusion of Joseph Prince’s Antinomian heresy.
I have written before:
“The equivalent of inaction to the evil and intrusion of heresy is not indifference but cowardice.”
I am not the first one who wrote
that we shouldn’t be cowards
at the intrusion of heresy.
John Calvin also wrote:
“A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God’s truth is attacked and yet would remain silent.”
In ‘Selected Works of John Calvin Vol. 4, Letters 1528-1545 by John Calvin,’ he said:
“A dog barks and stands at bay
if he sees anyone assault his master.
I should be indeed remiss (negligent or slipshod),
if, seeing the truth of God thus attacked,
I should remain dumb,
without giving one note of warning…”
Last but not least,
I have also unveiled the lie of Joseph Prince,
when he said that he is preaching the Reformation doctrine.
By his Antinomian doctrine
that the Ten Commandments are obsolete,
and no more binding on New Covenant believers,
Joseph Prince is preaching against
what Martin Luther and John Calvin hold dear to
– that though the law or the Ten Commandments
have no place for believers in justification,
they have every place in our sanctification.
And the need to obey the Ten Commandments,
that have been handed down by God Himself,
has never been abrogated.
Hence, Joseph Prince isn’t preaching the Reformation doctrine
that he constantly argues for;
he is preaching against the Reformation doctrine
of both Martin Luther and John Calvin.
And one who preaches against the Reformation doctrine
is guaranteed to be a heretic!
Rev George Ong
Appendix
You may wish to read the views of 2 Bible scholars,
who wrote about John Calvin
and his doctrine about the law and the Ten Commandments:
In ‘John Calvin, Reformer for the 21st Century’ by William Stacy Johnson,’ William wrote:
(William Stacy Johnson is an American minister, educator and writer. He works as a Princeton Theological Seminary’s Arthur M. Adams Professor of Systematic Theology. An ordained Presbyterian minister and a lawyer, he earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University.)
“For Calvin the freedom that conscience provides
is not a freedom to do just anything.
Our consciences are meant to be captive to the Word of God.
This freedom that is ours in Christ has three features.
First, we have the freedom that is ours in salvation by grace alone.
As such, being in Christ frees us from the rigors of legalism.
Because we are justified not by obedience to the law
but by grace through faith,
we are not bound by a restrictive understanding of the law.
As we shall see in chapter 8,
this does not mean that we can ignore the law.
But we must understand that the law
is a form of the gospel.
The law does not merely levy prohibitions
but gives positive direction to life.”
Chapter 8
What Does God Require of Us?
Law and Gospel
“To be a Christian, for Calvin, had a strongly ethical edge:
it was to live out the purposes of God.
It stands to reason that if we seek to serve God,
then we should be eager to conform to the will of God.
But how do we know the will of God?
One answer is through the law.
The law is not just an arbitrary set of rules
but an expression of God’s very own character.
So then we need to be immersed in the divine law,
while always recognizing
that the law is a form of the gospel.
The law was central to Calvin’s vision of the Christian life.
In fact, Calvin opened his first edition of the Institutes
with a chapter on law.
But how do we square
Calvin’s emphasis on the importance of the law
with his corresponding belief
in justification by grace through faith?
If we are saved by grace, then what is the role of the law?
Calvin’s answer was precise.
Works of the law are not the cause of salvation,
but they are the fruit or hallmarks of salvation.
For Calvin the law is a vehicle through which
we can experience God’s goodness toward us.
Calvin rejected every form of antinomianism,
the false belief that in Christ,
God has completely done away with the law.
(George Ong’s interjection:
This is exactly what Joseph Prince teaches,
and this is what John Calvin is strongly against.)
Instead, Calvin asserted that
there were three functions, or uses, of the law.
First, there is the theological use.
The theological use of the law, said Calvin,
is to help us realize our status as sinners
and our resulting need for salvation.”
“Third, there is the didactic use of the law.
This is the use that is most important for believers.
The law not only convicts people of sin (first use)
and restrains people from unrighteousness (second use),
but, by grace, it gives believers positive guidance
concerning the will of God for their lives.
Calvin calls this third use the principal use of the law.
Here a contrast between Luther and Calvin is worth noting.
For Luther the theological use was most prominent
– the law convicts us of sin.
This is why in traditional Lutheran services
the Ten Commandments were sometimes read
prior to the confession of sin.
We hear the law,
and our proper response is to confess our sin.
In Reformed worship, however, the Ten Commandments
were read after the confession of sin
and the assurance of pardon.
Having received assurance of forgiveness,
the believer is strengthened by God’s grace
to follow God’s commandments.
The Ten Commandments
have always enjoyed a place of honor
in Reformed theology.
Calvin and later Reformed theologians
divided the commandments into “two tables,”
a reference to the two tablets
Moses carried down the mountain (Exod. 24:12).
The first table (commandments one through four)
have to do with one’s duty to God,
while the second table (commandments five through ten)
focus on one’s duty to neighbors.
In this way the two tables were thought
to reflect the commandment of Jesus
to love God and neighbor (Matt. 22:35–40).
Calvin offered three rules
for interpreting the Ten Commandments.
First, the focus of the commandments
is not just conformity to an external set of rules
but inward, heartfelt obedience to God,
the giver of the commandments.
This meant, second, that the commandments
are more than mere words on a page.
In interpreting them,
we must look not simply to the words of each commandment
but also at the reason that lies behind the words.
Behind each negative prohibition in the law
there is a positive principle or a reason.
For example, we are not to murder.
The prohibition is clear.
But the reason that we are forbidden to murder
is because life is a precious gift from God.
Beyond our obligation not to murder our fellow human beings,
we have the obligation to promote human welfare and flourishing
– to enhance the life of others.
Third, Calvin reminded his audience
that there are two different types of commandments,
those pertaining to love of God
and those concerned with love of neighbor,
and the two are entwined.
We cannot love God while hating our neighbor,
and vice versa (1 John 4:20).
Even though love of God should not be reduced
to love of neighbor,
our lives best conform to God’s will
when they bear fruit for our neighbor.”
“A Reformed approach to law
will never be content with the world as it is,
but will always be working toward the world as it ought to be.
Given the insights derived from the Ten Commandments,
this will be a world in which justice is pursued for all,
and in which there is equality for all citizens (commandment eight).
It will be a world in which the well-being of everyone
is given protection and support (commandment six).
It will be a world in which the integrity of relationships
is respected (commandments five and seven),
in which denigration of others is rejected (commandment nine).
In short, it will be a world in which persons
are given priority over material things (commandment ten).
Calvin considered the promotion of human welfare to be a divine priority.
When God’s people are hurting,
it is ultimately God who most feels the pain.
Consequently, when we act to alleviate human suffering,
we give glory to the God who is with us in our suffering.
Obedience to the Ten Commandments
is not about obeying rules;
it is supremely about furthering
God’s gracious and redemptive purposes for the world.”
“Christian Education and Confirmation
Given Calvin’s emphasis on knowing and understanding the Word of God,
it is not surprising that he promoted
what we today call Christian education.
One of the first things Calvin did
during his first tenure in Geneva
was to write a catechism (1537).
When he was called back to Geneva in 1541
he wrote an improved catechism
that appeared in French (1542) and in Latin (1545).
The goal of Calvin’s catechism
was to make sure the young Christian knew the basics
of the Apostles’ Creed,
the Ten Commandments,
and the Lord’s Prayer.”
“They should adhere to the basics:
obeying the Ten Commandments,
believing the Apostles’ Creed,
and saying the Lord’s Prayer.”
In ‘The Cambridge Companion to John Calvin, Edited by Donald K. McKim,’ Donald wrote:
(Donald K. McKim has served as Academic Dean and Professor of Theology at Memphis Theological Seminary and Professor of Theology at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, in addition to being a pastor in Presbyterian Church (USA) churches. He is the author and editor of over twenty-five books and currently works as Academic and Reference editor for Westminster John Knox Press.)
“He (Calvin) rejoices in the law of God,
which now for Christians no longer threatens and curses
but which in faith is the means
by which they express their gratitude.
For the redeemed,
the law, no less than the gospel,
is a gift;
the God who delivered his people Israel
from the bondage of Egypt
also gave them a law as a means
by which they might know his will
and live out their calling.
It was not intended as a new form of bondage
but rather as the means to true freedom
– the freedom that is possible
when one is subject to his rightful Lord.
The law is the law of the covenant
and the covenant is a covenant of grace.
It is therefore not a burden,
but a joy; not a restriction but an aid;
not a means for attaining righteousness,
but rather a guide for people already redeemed.
This is the so-called third use of the law
which for Calvin was the “principal” and “proper” use.”
“Calvin gives the concept of law a major role in his ethics.
This is evident in the prominence he gives to the Decalogue
and its exposition in a number of his writings.
His catechism for the church in Geneva (1545)
contains a major section of questions and answers
in which the requirements and prohibitions
enjoined in the commandments are explained.
He devotes two chapters in the Institutes to the law,
one of which contains a lengthy exposition
of the Ten Commandments.
His sermons on Deuteronomy
contain sixteen sermons on the Decalogue,
as well as on the introductory and concluding texts.
His commentary on the last four books of Moses
organizes most of the material
from Exodus to Deuteronomy,
except for the historical accounts,
according to the topics
covered in the Ten Commandments.
The law has this importance
because it is the “perfect rule of righteousness”
that God has given to his people.
Because the law reveals the eternal will of God,
it is, for Calvin, the ultimate moral norm.
God alone has the authority to establish the rules and laws
which govern people’s lives.
They cannot depart from the law
without abandoning God himself.
It presents his character
and reveals his perfect righteousness to them.
If they would be holy as God is holy,
then they must submit to the law
as the perfect rule for a godly life.
The origin and foundation of the law
is the will of God.
His will is neither arbitrary nor capricious.”
“The law is the authority
because God wills it to be so,
but he wills it to be so
because it expresses his righteous and holy character.
The law is as firm and constant as God’s own character.
It “has been established to be permanent,
to endure from age to age.”
It contains the truth of God that never perishes,
and is his permanent moral guide for humanity.
For this reason,
the law must be preached and taught
until the end of the world.
God clearly reveals his will for human life
in the Scriptures,
and summarizes it in the Ten Commandments.
As noted above, even after the Fall
God continues to reveal his moral law
to all through the law written on their hearts,
to which their consciences bear witness (Rom. 2:14–15).
This is the same law that God reveals in the Bible.
Because sin has so clouded human understanding of the law in their hearts,
people have little understanding of the first table of the law,
and a defective understanding,
subject to vanity and error, of the second table.
This is why all people, even believers,
need the written law in Scripture
as a clear witness of the will of God.
Those committed to lives of obedience to God
must submit to biblical law.
They must not forge any new laws for themselves,
nor have different laws for different times.
In fact, God forbids adding to his law
or taking anything away from it.
He has spoken once for all in the law,
and his will is that all embrace his law
as setting forth
“one everlasting and unchangeable rule to live by,”
as a “perfect pattern of righteousness.”
“For Calvin the law is misunderstood
if one attempts to comprehend it
apart from the covenant of grace,
and from Christ, the heart of this covenant.
The law was revealed through Moses,
not to lead the chosen people away from Christ,
but to prepare them for Christ’s coming.
The fact that the Mosaic law
was given after the covenant promise to Abraham
means that the former must be understood
in the context of the latter.
The law is a gift of the covenant
because it prepares people to seek after Christ.
It does this, first,
in the ceremonies and sacrificial system of the Old Testament.
The priesthood, the physical rituals of cleanness and uncleanness,
the sacrifices, and all the other ceremonies
were shadows and types
that found their fulfillment in Christ.
Second, the moral law,
summarized in the Decalogue, also points to Christ.
Appealing to Romans 10:4,
Calvin describes Christ as the fulfillment or end of the law,
for he is the one who fulfills the righteous demands of the law.
When the law is separated from the promises fulfilled in Christ,
it becomes “bare law” or “law as letter,”
whereby people attempt to merit righteousness
through works of obedience.
Such a misuse of the law must be condemned as “vanity.”
The law requires perfect righteousness before God,
although this is impossible for sinful humans to accomplish.
When they realize their failure to achieve this,
it should cause them
to abandon their own attempts at righteousness,
and to embrace the grace and righteousness of God in Christ.”
“Although Calvin understands the law of God as a unity,
he distinguishes between three types of law in the Mosaic legislation:
moral law, ceremonial law, and judicial law.
The moral law, as summarized in the Decalogue,
is foundational, and provides the basis for the other two.
It is the “true and eternal rule of righteousness”
which God has prescribed
for all people of all nations and times
who are committed to obeying his will.
The ceremonial law refers to the various rituals of purity, worship,
and sacrifice in the Old Testament era.
It prescribed for the Jews the manner
in which they fulfilled their obligations to God
according to the first table of the Decalogue.
These various laws are all shadows and types
that find fulfillment in the Redeemer.
When the fulfillment has come,
the shadows and types are abrogated.”
“Calvin describes the third use of the law as the “principal use,”
because this is the proper purpose
for which the law was originally intended.
It has application only to Christians.
Here, the law functions as a positive instrument
to enable believers to understand and embody
the will of God in their lives.
Only in this use does the law cease to be “bare law” or “letter.”
Rather, it functions as covenant law,
“law graced with the covenant of free adoption.”
Calvin claims that the law
guides believers in holy living in two ways.
First, the law is the best instrument to provide thorough instruction
for believers in the nature of the Lord’s will,
and to confirm their understanding of it.
If people embody what it enjoins,
they will express the image of God in their lives.
Second, because believers still struggle with sin,
the law has the power to exhort them to holiness,
especially when they become weary, complacent, or apathetic.
“The law is to the flesh like a whip
to an idle and balky ass,
to arouse it to work.”
It remains “a constant sting”
that arouses believers to obedience,
strengthens them to press on, and draws them back from sin.
Calvin embraces three principles of interpretation
that shape his exposition of the Ten Commandments.
He presents these in his introductory comments
to the Decalogue in the Institutes.
The first principle is that the law is concerned,
not merely with outward behaviour,
but with “inward and spiritual righteousness.”
God desires obedience in the whole person
– with the affections of the heart as well
as with compliance in the body.
Appealing to Romans 7:14
Calvin contends that the perfection of the law
“requires a heavenly and angelic righteousness,
in which no spot appears.”
This is supported by the teaching of Christ,
who is the “best interpreter” of the law.
In the Sermon on the Mount
Christ reveals that the law is fulfilled,
not simply by outward works,
but by spiritual purity.
This adds nothing to the Mosaic law,
but merely restores it to its original integrity.”