Law-Gospel Distinction or Law in Grace?

Regrettably, much of recent Reformed theology has openly denied the importance of the law-gospel distinction, substituting in its place the Barthian notion of “law in grace.”… Others within the Reformed tradition have been less open in their rejection of the law-gospel contrast, but nevertheless are sympathetic to Barth’s viewpoint. Repudiation of the law-gospel antithesis, however, immediately registers itself in other critical and related areas of Reformed exposition, particularly that of justification by faith and the atonement of Christ. The result is a radical reinterpretation of Reformation theology.
The central issue in this present debate in Reformed theology, both within and without confessional orthodoxy, as it turns out, is the interpretation of the Mosaic Covenant. It is our contention that within the historic Reformed tradition the hermeneutical key to this issue is the proper biblical assessment of the symbolic-typical aspect of OT revelation, and the recognition of the dual principles of law and grace operative in the Mosaic covenant administration. The Mosaic Covenant is to be viewed in some sense as a covenant of works. This has been the conviction of the vast majority of Reformed theologians in the early history of federalism (up to 1648).
- Mark W. Karlberg, Covenant Theology in Reformed Perspective (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock), 18.