According to Paul one of the purposes of the law is to reveal the guilt of man. This is the negative meaning of the law, but the negative meaning cannot be separated from the positive meaning as the consciousness of guilt is an essential part of justification and sanctification. Geest - het positieve, het levenschenkende. At this point we can refer back to some ideas that we developed in the previous chapter. Revelation creates history and thus history receives the character of particularity and election.
History is to be understood in terms of the example of Israel.
The entire history of Israel can be understood, inter alia , as an unveiling of guilt. In the christianized culture, as in Israel, guilt is brought to revelation. This revealing of sin is an essential moment in the christianization of the world. By this man comes to the knowledge of the deepest separation that exists between God and man, namely guilt. This discovery of sin is also a discovery of the possibility of being redeemed.