This is such a difference from virtue that there's a great essay by John Owen 17th century Puritan writer. He was the chancellor at Oxford. The whole thing is basically contrasting virtue with grace. And he says, we all want virtue. But regeneration produces faith. Only the regenerate have faith. So we need to have the preaching of the gospel, not the preaching of these principles for morality. We are all sinners in Adam; united together in Christ through his work and his headship.
Proponents of the law-gospel distinction have often emphasized the need for them to appear in the right order. But how important is that order? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland discuss what’s at stake if the law and gospel are out of order or confused.