I want to take a brief point I made in the comments section over at Greenbaggins and amplify it.
The FV treatment of law and gospel creates the question of how “the law” relates to us as Christians in the course of our Christian lives. And so of course we hold that the law convicts us when we sin. It is not our point to deny this at all. If the law says not to lie, and I lie, then I am cut to the heart by the law. Of course. The point we are making is that to be convicted like this is part of my life as a Christian — God’s rebukes are always oil on my head.
Conviction is not an end in itself. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but rather painful. Of course, and the law is God’s paddle for spanking His children. But He does not spank us as an end in itself. It is part of a story, and that story is the peaceful fruit of an upright life. That story’s ending makes the painful chapters part of a comedy — it is good news.
This means that I don’t know how to detach the law’s “rough” handling of me from the story, from the plotline. Law and gospel are not static spiritual realities. They are descriptions of how the story is going. In the story of the reprobate, the law indicates the tragic end. But it is not possible for the law to represent a tragic end to one of God’s children. His spankings are efficacious, and I know that fellowship will always be restored.
It is the difference between discipline and punishment. Punishment is not concerned with improving the character of the one being punished. It might have that effect, but it is not necessary. When a murderer is put to death, it is not done in order that he will get right with God before he dies. He might get right with God before he dies, but the value of the punishment remains whether he does so or not.
Discipline is different — it has correction and restoration in view the entire time. Secure children know this. They do not isolate the “law periods” of their childhood and then think of them in isolation — they always see it as part of the happy story. When God has secure children, they are like this too. They know that God intends good for them in everything He does. In discipline when I sin, in hard providences when I was getting too complacent, in blessings straight up, in grace through affliction, I am always in the same story. And it is the story of my salvation.
Afterwards, when we are enjoying the peaceful fruit of an upright life, which is promised us in Hebrews 12, do we thank God for the hard discipline which seemed painful and even overwhelming at the time? Are those “law” episodes part of the gospel story? Of course they are.
Failure to understand that our lives are stories is a large part of the confusion on this issue. And our lives, in their entirety, will either be part of the divine comedy, or they will end at the inferno. For the former, it is all ultimately gospel, every last bit of it. All law was really discipline. For the latter, it is all law, every last bit of it. All law is really punishment, and it is all law.
We all understand “law” and “gospel” as abstract concepts, just as we understand “self-revelation,” or “danger,” or “obstacles,” in a creative writing workshop. But we have to put these things into the story in order to determine what they ultimately are. Is “danger” an opportunity for Robert? Is it destruction for William? That depends on how the story goes.