A Critique of John Colquhoun’s The Law and The Gospel

Section 1 (Pt.2): The Law as inscribed on the Heart of Man in His Creation?

Zeroing in on the statement, “The truth is, there is no place for penal sanction where there cannot be a possibility of sinning,” is where I would like to begin my critique of this presupposition of the Law of God inscribed on the heart of man by natural creation.

As we tried to establish in our hearts in the last objection to this presupposition, it should have been established that the image of God according to the likeness of God’s Spirit is not by natural creation according to the material dimension of this world but according to the spiritual dimension of fellowship with God.

John 3:6 (NKJV)

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Therefore, sin was in the world before sin was in man, but it was not “written” or “imputed” to the world except through the law that God gave to the man WHO would “discern” or “judge” between the law of sin and death and the law of the Spirit of life in God according to the economic liberty of life given to the man through God’s law of boundaries.

Genesis 2:7-9, 15–17; Rom.5:12-14; 8:2-4; Jn.10:34-36; Acts 17:24-27

The penal sanction, then, is based on a law written outside of the image of God’s character of the man that represented the likeness of God’s character in the creation. This law is the knowledge of good and evil, which created or “wrote” the law of sin and death as the “work” of that law of discernment between God and men, which is why the Gentiles are said to be a law unto themselves according to the likeness of natural law, which is sin and death.

Romans 2:14–15 (NKJV)

14 for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)

This is the law that is written upon every man, but the image of God, by which God called “them” gods, was based upon the special revelation of the promise in Jesus Christ (the Word of God) (Jn.1:1-2, 14; 10:34-36).

Genesis 3:14–15 (NKJV)

14 So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly, you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

Therefore, the proponents of Colquhoun are correct to say ‘the penal sanction is inseparable from the law of creation,’ but the law of creation is natural law, not special revelation that is the image of God. This is why believers of the promise (the Word of God) are NOT justified and condemned at once but are justified according to their progress in the life of the Spirit and condemned according to the purpose of their death in the flesh (Rom.8:7-10; 1Tim.3:14-16).

God did it this way because it was all of grace from the beginning and never according to a covenant of works. Works are always based on natural law, but the character of grace is based on God’s image, and the two do not mix. God’s good works are out of His character and never the other way around. His works are not what shape His character. But living under natural law, which is the law of sin and death, in this, our works define our character (image) (Mk.7:14-23; 1Cor.15:21-22). Therefore, our character (image) must be derived from the Lord from heaven, whose works are the Father’s.

1 Corinthians 15:45–49 (NKJV)

45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

John 5:17–18 (NKJV)

17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” 18 Therefore, the Jews sought all the more to kill Him because He not only broke the Sabbath but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

John 10:37–38 (NKJV)

37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”

May this be sufficient to guide your discernment today as we prepare to return to this critique again another day. So, Lord willing, we return again tomorrow in deeper thought and understanding of why I believe Covenant Theology should be rejected as an interpretative rule to reading Scripture as it blurs the image of sin with the image of God through natural law.

Jeremiah 17:1–2 (NKJV)

1 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; With the point of a diamond it is engraved On the tablet of their heart, And on the horns of your altars, 2 While their children remember Their altars and their wooden images By the green trees on the high hills.

Romans 2:17–24 (NKJV)

17 Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, 18 and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, 19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. 21 You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? 22 You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? 24 For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.

Romans 3:9 (NKJV)

9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.

Romans 3:19–20 (NKJV)

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.