Two Mountains, Four Views: The Contrast of Law and Grace
Orientation
Many approach God's word as a mirror that only shows their own failures, leading to forgetfulness and self-condemnation.
- The law exposes our sin and inability, leaving us with a reflection of our fallen self.
- This approach results in legalism, self-focus, and no true transformation.
- It keeps us veiled, unable to see or be changed by Christ's glory.
For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. (James 1:23-24)
— James 1:23-24
Clarification
The law's purpose is not to make us better but to reveal our sin and drive us to Christ, where the veil is removed.
- The law's ministry is one of condemnation and death, revealing our need.
- Its goal is to end self-effort and bring us to grace.
- Mixing law and grace forfeits the Spirit's transforming work.
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. (2 Corinthians 3:6)
— 2 Corinthians 3:6
Structure
In Christ, we behold a different mirror—the glory of the Lord—and are transformed by the Spirit from glory to glory.
- With an unveiled face, we behold Christ's glory, not our own failure.
- Transformation is the Spirit's work as we look to Christ, not our effort to improve.
- This is the new covenant reality: righteousness written on the heart, not stone.
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
— 2 Corinthians 3:18
Weight-Bearing Prose
The theological contrast is between two principles: law (Sinai) and grace (Zion). The law, as seen in James’s mirror, functions to expose human sin and inability, leading to condemnation (Romans 3:19-20). It is a ministry of death engraved on stone, a temporary and earthly covenant that veils hearts from seeing Christ (2 Corinthians 3:7, 14). Its purpose is pedagogical: to shut us up under sin and drive us to Christ (Galatians 3:22-24). The legalistic stance—clinging to self-effort under the law—results in insensitivity, forgetfulness, and remaining under its curse (Galatians 3:10; James 1:24).
Pauline revelation unveils the new covenant ministry of the Spirit. Through union with the risen Christ, the veil is removed. The believer, with an unveiled face, beholds the glory of the Lord in the mirror of the word. This is not self-examination but Christ-contemplation. The Spirit transforms the believer progressively, not by the letter that kills, but by writing living righteousness on the heart (2 Corinthians 3:3, 6). This is the freedom of Zion, the inheritance received by promise through grace, replacing the bondage of Sinai. The core assertion is that transformation occurs only through beholding Christ’s finished work, not through moral improvement under law.
Integration
Your standing is not in the mirror of the law, which only shows your face. Your standing is in Christ, and in Him you behold the glory of the Lord. The transformation that follows is the Spirit’s work, not your achievement. There is no pressure to advance or improve yourself; the pressure was fully borne by Christ. Your assurance is anchored in His finished work, not your fluctuating performance. Rest here. The veil has been removed by Christ, once and for all. Look to Him. Beholding is believing. In this place, there is no condemnation, only the steady, stabilizing work of the Spirit changing you from glory to glory as you rest in the Son.