Grace versus law

Grace versus law

Apr 17, '08 10:47 AM

Grace versus law

To approach God's throne boldly, to pray with faith and boldness, and to know that our Father loves us and hears our prayers, we need to be firmly established in His grace and righteousness.

Hebrews 4:15,16
15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Isaiah 54:14 
14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.

If we are sin conscious (always focusing on our sins) and always think that God is far away, angry with us or just waiting to punish us the moment we stumble (and we usually do), we will find it very difficult to "come boldy" and receive mercy and help from God in time of need. In fact, we will soon give up trying to live a godly life, stop praying and stay away from church.

But what does it mean to live under God's grace? Why is it important to be established in His grace and righteousness, and how do we get there?

 

Life under the law

VCD Still: The Ten Commandments

One way to understand what it means to live under God's grace is to look at a Christian who lives under the law.

The "law" in the biblical context refers to the 613 laws of the Old Testament. It is not just the 10 Commandments. The law is at the heart of the Old Covenant, which is conditional -- if you obey God's laws, He will bless you, but if you disobey His laws, you will be cursed (Deuteronomy 28). The focus is thus on man -- his performance or lack of it.

The law activates the flesh and stirs carnal desires

Putting yourself under the law activates your flesh -- carnal desires. Imagine this: You walk over to your boss' desk one evening and see a file lying on his table. Printed in red letters on its cover are the words, "DO NOT OPEN".

Curiosity is aroused in you. You look around and there is no one left in the office. The temptation increases. You tell yourself, "Maybe it contains private information about my colleagues, such as their salaries!"

The more you think about it, the more you want to open the file. What makes it so stimulating is the "DO NOT OPEN" rule, which creates a kind of forbidden fruit situation. You finally give in to the fleshly desire -- you grab the file, open it and read it.

Had the file not contained the "law", "DO NOT OPEN", it would not have caused you to do what you did, which is a sin. This is what Paul meant when he said:

Romans 7:8,9
8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 
9 Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.

The law activates works and self-efforts

Being under the law also activates works in terms of self-efforts to obey God's laws to be "righteous" and "holy". The Christian who walks under the law has little assurance of salvation because he will find himself falling short most of the time, assuming that he knows fully well that the law demands nothing less than perfection. He soon becomes a miserable, defeated Christian.

On the other hand, if he thinks that he is doing a good job at obeying God's laws, he usually becomes proud, religious and hard on others who are not as "law-abiding", "holy" or "righteous" as him -- just like the Pharisees in Jesus' time.

Outward form of holiness and not true holiness

In either case, it is a focus on self instead of Christ to project and maintain an appearance of holiness. This false holiness is outward for all to see, but not inward from the heart.

For example, a married pastor may speak out harshly against adultery -- projecting to others an image of holiness and obedience to God's laws. However, in his heart, he may be lusting after another woman.

This is because the more he puts himself under the law, "Thou shalt not commit adultery", and the more he preaches it, the more his (and his congregation's) flesh is stirred up. Think of our flesh as gunpowder and the law as fire.

And it may only be a matter of time before the pastor commits adultery outwardly as well.

Paul sums up this paradox in Romans 7:15-23.

Romans 7:15
15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 
16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 
17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 
18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 
19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. 
20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 
21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 
22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 
23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

On the other hand, another pastor does not commit adultery inwardly or outwardly because he loves God and his wife deeply, not because he has a law to keep and a congregation to impress. But in loving God and his wife, the law is fulfilled. This is true holiness.

Romans 13:8,10
8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Galatians 5:14
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

If there is a law for the New Covenant Christian, it is the "royal law of love".

Your own righteousness or self-righteousness

So, living under the law or the Old Covenant is about you fulfilling a list of dos and don'ts through your own human strength and efforts to please God, so that you can, hopefully, score enough brownie points to make it to heaven. Your righteousness depends on your obedience and performance, not Jesus'. If you think about it, this is simply self-righteousness.

No power over sin when under the law

Living under the law is a life of struggling in vain to suppress or overcome sin. You have no power over sin -- and the law cannot give you that power.

Romans 6:14
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. [In other words, sin will have dominion over you if you are under the law.]

Romans 8:3 
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

Purpose of the law to increase sin and reveal man's sinfulness

That said, it should be noted that there is nothing wrong with God's laws. They are perfect and demand perfection, something we cannot, in ourselves, achieve.

Romans 7:12
12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

The law is holy yet strict, just yet inflexible, good yet harsh. Its yoke, we cannot bear, especially when we remember Jesus saying that a man who lusts after a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28). And James adds that if we break one law, we are guilty of breaking all the other laws (James 2:10).

In fact, the purpose of the law is to increase sin and reveal man's utter sinfulness and hopelessness, driving him to his knees to ask for God's mercy and grace, and making him see his need for the Saviour.

Romans 5:20 
20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

1 Corinthians 15:56 
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

Galatians 3:24,25
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Begin in grace yet continue in the flesh

I love the song Amazing Grace, especially the part which says, "'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home".

Many Christians begin in grace, faith and the Spirit, but soon come under the law, works and the flesh.

They say that yes, we are saved by grace through faith, but from now on, we must obey this and that law, and do this and that work, to remain righteous and stay saved.

In short, they got saved by the Spirit of grace through faith, but then try to maintain a godly life via laws and works, instead of continuing to depend fully on God's grace. Paul calls this being bewitched, not obeying the truth and foolishness!

Galatians 3:1-5
1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Preach the law only for the reason it was given

Today, if we want to preach the law, we should preach it for the reason it was given -- to show man's utter sinfulness and hopelessness, and his need for the Saviour. But the focus should be on the latter, which is actually the gospel of peace (Romans 10:15, Ephesians 6:15).

The law should not be preached as a means for Christians to please God and stay right with Him. In other words, we do not tell the Christian, "If you want God to love, heal or bless you, if you want to please Him, if you want to be a good Christian, if you don't want to lose your salvation or righteousness, then make sure you obey as many of God's laws as often as possible!"

As mentioned, there is only one law for the believer today -- the law of love. The logic is simple: If you love God and your fellow man, you will not want to steal, cheat, lie, kill or commit adultery.

Romans 13:8,10
8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Galatians 5:14
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

But more importantly, how do we get the strength to love God and our neighbours? By experiencing God's love and grace first! Before we can love others well, we must first know that we are loved unconditionally by God!

1 John 4:10 
10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

The grace of God

VCD still: Jesus A True Story

Grace is higher than mercy. Mercy is not getting the punishment we deserve. Grace is not only not getting the punishment we deserve (mercy), but getting the blessings we do not deserve!

Grace is unconditional. It is undeserved, unmerited favour from God. Grace is God doing for us (sacrifice of his Son) and through us (gift of the Holy Spirit) what we cannot do for ourselves.

Notice that in Romans 8:3, it all changes -- from struggling with sin to overcoming sin -- when "God did"!

Romans 8:3 (NIV)
3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature [in us], God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering...

Grace is at the heart of the New Covenant, which allows us to receive good things from our Father despite the quality of our Christian walk or performance.

Grace is unfairly good

It is often said: "The Gospel of Jesus Christ is about what's right with you, in spite of what's wrong with you!" How can this be?

This is how it works: Before we were saved, our occasional good deeds could not make us righteous, simply because we could not change what the first Adam did -- his disobedience made us sinners by birth or default.

Likewise, after we are saved, our occasional bad deeds cannot make us unrighteous, simply because we cannot change what the last Adam, Jesus Christ, did -- His obedience to the cross makes us righteous!

Romans 5:19
19 For as by one man's [Adam's] disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one [Jesus] shall many be made righteous.

But isn't this unfair? Why are we blamed for Adam's sin? Well, how is it fair that Jesus was made sin and punished for our sins when He did not commit any sins?

2 Corinthians 5:21
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Grace is much more

The work of the last Adam, Jesus, is also a "much more" compared to the work of the first Adam. One brings death, the other, abundant and everlasting life!

Romans 5:9,10,15,17
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 
17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Sadly, many Christians have more faith in what the first Adam did. They have more confidence in their ability to sin than in the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus. They focus on their sins and on doing penance for their sins, rather than celebrate their righteousness and boldy claim their blessings in Christ Jesus.

Righteousness is a gift

"Righteous" in the biblical sense means right standing with God or justified by God. It is not holy or sinless living. In other words, a drug addict who has just been saved is as righteous as a pastor who has been serving God faithfully for 50 years.

Righteousness is a gift from God that is received by faith.

Romans 5:17
17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Ephesians 2:8,9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Righteousness cannot be earned ("not of works"), or it ceases to be by grace and a gift. Think about it: Do you have to pay or work for your birthday gift? No, righteousness is imputed to us by grace through faith without us having to work for it.

Romans 3:6,7
6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

But righteousness, albeit a gift, must be received by faith by the sinner. A criminal on death row may be pardoned by the President, but if he refuses to accept the pardon, he will still hang. Likewise, man -- a sinner by default (Romans 3:23) -- will still go to hell if he rejects God's propitiation for sin, Jesus Christ.

Grace and works cannot mix

Grace and works are mutually exclusive. They cannot be mixed. One cancels out the other. It is either by grace or by works.

Romans 11:6
6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

The trouble with the church today is not that it preaches pure law. Indeed, you will not find a church that preaches only the law. What you will find most of the time is a mixture of the law and the grace of God.

It goes something like this: "Yes, salvation is received by grace through faith as a gift of God, but thereafter, we need to obey this law and that law, do this work and that work, lest we lose fellowship with God, tick Him off, or worse, lose our salvation altogether."

This is sewing a new piece of cloth onto an old garment, putting new wine into old wine skins and being lukewarm (Matthew 9:16,17, Luke 5:36,37, Revelation 3:16).

Life under grace

The Christian who is established in God's grace knows without a doubt that he is perfect and righteous in his Father's eyes -- despite his sins and failures.

He understands that he is no longer under the Old Covenant of law, but under New Covenant of grace. He understands that the righteousness he has is a gift from God received by faith, not works. He also understands that this righteousness is of God (Isaiah 54:17), not of himself (Romans 10:3).

So, when he sins, he knows that it is foolish, even self-righteous, to work at fulfilling the law to regain or re-establish right standing with God. He also knows that it is pointless to condemn himself, wallow in guilt or do penance for his sin.

He will, instead, quickly admit his sin (instead of ignoring it or blaming someone else for it), repent (change his mind or attitude regarding the sin), confess his righteousness in Christ Jesus (instead of confessing his sinfulness) and carry on walking with God (instead of stalling or backsliding).

Romans 8:1 (NASB)
1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

His focus is not on his failures, but on confessing his Father's grace and unconditional love, which he does not try to rationalise, but simply accepts gladly; on confessing his belief in the finished work of Jesus, so that he will not add to it with any form of penance; on confessing his belief in the blood of Jesus, that has taken away his sins -- past, present and future; and on confessing Jesus as his Advocate and High Priest, who is the propitiation of his sins -- and even the world's!

1 John 2:1,2
1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 
2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Whether he falls into sin or not, he knows that the truths do not change -- He is still righteous and perfect before his Father because Jesus is his righteousness and holiness. He is still a king and priest. In fact, as Jesus is, so is he in this world.

1 Corinthians 1:30
30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

Revelation 1:6
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

1 John 4:17 
17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

David looked forward to such a blessed generation. His dream is our reality.

Psalm 32:2
2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

Romans 3:6,7 
6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

Romans 4:8 
8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

Hebrews 8:12
12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

Hebrews 10:17 
17 Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."

Do we still sin? Yes, otherwise, it makes no sense to have the words "iniquity", "sin" or "sins" in the above verses. But does God count our sins against us? No. Does God remember our sins? No.

Forgiven of all sins and true confession of sins

See 1 John 1:9 and true confession of sins.

Falling into grace and falling from grace

When a man of God stumbles big time, the world calls it "fallen from grace". Actually, the opposite is true -- He has fallen into grace. When we sin, we fall into grace.

Romans 5:20 
20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

This means that the harder we fall, the deeper we fall into grace. We do not fall from or out of grace. The latter happens when we go back under a system of laws and works to earn God's favour, instead of leaning wholly on His grace.

Galatians 5:4
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Not that we loved God, but that He first loved us

If we know that our Father loves us no less whenever we fall short, we will find it harder and harder to keep on sinning.

Romans 12:20,21 
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

We will also begin to realise that our Father always loves us first, not the other way round. It is not so much our love for God, but His love for us.

Romans 5:8 
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 4:10
10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

But the more we study and receive His unconditional love, the more we are able to love God and love others. The more we realise that it is all by the grace of God, the more we are able to extend grace to others.

And as our love for God and our fellow man grows in this way, our desire to sin decreases. The more will place ourselves under God's grace, the less power sin has over us.

Romans 6:14
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

God delights in mercy, not judgment nor sacrifices

God is a holy and just God. When it comes to justice, He doesn't bend or break the rules for anyone, or He ceases to be holy and just. To Him, sin is sin, and the sinner must be punished with the full extent of the law.

Our sins were indeed judged by God, but in the body of Christ. Jesus bore God's wrath and punishment for our sins in His own body (Isaiah 53). At the cross, justice and mercy kissed. Thank God for Jesus!

But although God does execute justice with His hands, it is more important to know that His heart desires mercy. His heart delights in mercy. The heart of God is love, grace and mercy, always.

Hosea 6:6
6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Micah 7:18 
18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.

Matthew 9:13 
13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Matthew 12:7 
7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

"I will have mercy, and not sacrifice". What does God mean?

In the Old Covenant system of animal sacrifices and laws (613 of them), the Israelites had to obey God's laws before God could bless them (Deuteronomy 28). And if they disobeyed His laws, they would be cursed. That was the system. That was the agreement. But the Israelites, more often than not, broke God's laws and hence incurred His wrath often.

Obeying God's laws is not just a matter of outward obedience. It must be from the heart, too. Jesus said that if a man lusts after a woman, he has committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28). The "heart" standard got Paul as well (Romans 7:7). James adds that if we break one law, we are guilty of breaking all the other laws (James 2:10). It is no wonder that no man, except Jesus, can keep all of God's laws, all of the time.

That is why animal sacrifices for sins (breaking God's laws) had to be included in the Old Covenant. Without a system in place for the atonement of sins, the Israelites would only receive the curses of God.

God found fault with such a covenant (Hebrews 8:7,8) because there was a weak link -- man. And God could not bless man as much as He wanted to because man just could not keep God's laws. Afterall, the law was designed to increase sin and reveal man's sinfulness, making him see his need for grace and the Saviour (Romans 5:20, 1 Corinthians 15:56, Galatians 3:24,25).

So, God sought to establish a better covenant (Hebrews 8:7,8), one based on grace, where the focus is on Jesus' performance, not man's. This covenant would allow God to bless man despite his poor performance because man is not in the picture anymore. The covenant is now cut between God and Jesus, the perfect Man. God cannot fail, neither can Jesus. Both parties are more than able to fulfil the terms of the contract, so to speak. The beneficiaries? Us!

Indeed, God has replaced the Old Covenant of law with the New Covenant of grace. And He did it legally and justly through the sacrifice of His Son. Our sins were punished, in Christ. The law was fulfilled, in Christ.

The first covenant -- now old and decayed -- has been removed. It has been replaced with the New Covenant. Unfortunately, many Christians are still unaware of this. They mix both the old and new systems. There is no replacement but a mixture.

Hebrews 8:7-8,13
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

Hebrews 10:9 
9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

When Jesus said, "I will have mercy and not sacrifice", He is telling us that God prefers to deal with us on the basis of grace, on the merit of Christ alone, not our law-keeping, not our personal sacrifices. He doesn't want us to work for His blessings. And He doesn't want us to bless others only when we think they've worked for it. No, God wants us to receive blessings from Him by grace through faith. And God wants us to extend that same grace to others.

Grace qualifies you for divine healing

VCD still: Jesus A True Story

A Christian who is living under the law cannot receive healing because he thinks that it is by his law-keeping or good works that earns him the right to be healed.

Healing evangelists will tell you that new converts tend to receive divine healing more easily then long-time Christians.

For example, a drug addict who just got saved gets healed of diabetes, whereas the church pianist in the same service, who has been serving God faithfully for the past 10 years, and who has the same sickness, does not get healed. How come?

The pianist believes that she deserves healing because of her many years of service. She thus short-circuits the grace of God by trusting in her works. On the other hand, the drug addict has nothing to offer God, sees himself as totally unworthy and undeserving, and so depends totally on the grace of God.

Healing, as with salvation or any blessing of God, is received by grace through faith. And since it is by grace, it cannot be by works, or grace ceases to be grace.

Romans 11:6
6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

Another scenario is this: A Christian who puts himself under the law but knows that he is doing a poor job at obeying God's laws will be sin-conscious, guilt-ridden and miserable. He will also think that God is disappointed with him, far away and not willing to heal his sickness. In fact, he will probably conclude (and wrongly so) that God, in His anger, put the sickness on him to chastise him. It will thus be very hard for him to believe that God actually wants to heal him, so he remains sick.

But the Christian who is under grace is confident of his constant righteousness before his Father, even if he falls into sin occasionally. He is not conscious of his failures but is Jesus- and righteousness-conscious. He knows that it is not his good deeds but Jesus' perfect work at the cross that qualifies him for healing. Knowing that his Father loves him unconditionally and will heal him of his sickness because Jesus has paid the price for his healing (Isaiah 53:4), he asks boldy and in faith (Hebrews 4:16, Mark 11:24), and receives his healing.

So, come under God's grace and receive your healing. Be like Stephen, who, being full of grace, did great wonders and miracles among the people -- that must have included healing all kinds of diseases.

Acts 6:8 (NIV)
8 Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.

 

Tags: abundance of grace