Chapter Seven
The Relationship Between Law and Grace
As
man is convicted of sin he begins to see the necessity to place his personal
faith and trust in Christ's finished work.
As he reads the infallible Word of God he is immediately captured by two
distinct but harmonious principles: Law
and Grace. He has heard and responded to the Gospel of grace, not a
Gospel of works. His focus is not
what he has accomplished, but what God has accomplished in the perfect work of
grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. It
seems inconceivable that anyone would take their focus off the cross and place
the center of salvation around the mere laws and ordinances of man! God has
given us the truth that will set us free from, not only condemnation, but also from the work of the flesh after
salvation. The Scripture is clear
that the law was given for a designed purpose.
God's purpose in giving the law was manifold. Psalm 119 gives important
reasons for the giving of the law:
1.
The law was given to demonstrate God's holy character to sinful man and declares
God as righteous and faithful (119:137-138,142).
2.
The law gives purpose and direction to our lives (119:105,130)
3.
The law shows God's desire for man to exemplify His character
4.
The law was given to show man his sinful character (119:21,136)
5.
The law shows God's love for man (119:89-90)
6.
The law shows man's inability to be like God with divine intervention (119:1)
7.
The law teaches that man must come to God on God's terms (119:144)
8.
The law gives peace to dying and sinful men (119:165)
Many
believers don't understand the full import of the law, and therefore don’t
live by its precepts and principles. They
walk in the shadow of the law’s greatness but never possess the willing spirit
demanded by God to live in the light of His power.
They see the law as legalistic, and view the ordinances as placing them
under too many restrictions. These
Christians may not understand that the law produces liberty (Psalm 119:44-45).
What
is this law that so many misunderstand, don't teach correctly, and even pervert?
The law is commonly seen as the Mosaic legislation, or Ten Commandments,
as found in the first five books of the Old Testament. The Bible clearly teaches
that the "law" is more than just the Ten Commandments.
The importance of the law is seen in the teachings of Jesus.
Jesus taught that the principles and precepts of the law were as binding
as the "LAW" itself! Jesus
was the perfect fulfillment of the Law and taught that principles issuing from
the law were binding. Some examples
would be: “Thou shalt not commit
adultery” (Jesus taught that when a man looks on a women to lust after her, he has committed
adultery already in his heart); “Thou
shalt not murder” (Jesus said that if a man hates his brother he has
committed murder already); “Thou shalt
not covet” (Jesus told the rich to give his goods to
the poor and follow Him. The
rich man went away sorrowful because he had much property).
These examples show the higher principles of the law.
These higher principles were not done away with in the age of grace
(Church Age). However, we are not
to live under the restrictions of the "LAW" because we are to
understand the "LAW" through the eyes of God's grace. By coming to Christ as Savior we have experienced the grace
of God faith. Therefore, we are not
under the dictates of the law, but we are to follow the principle of the Law.
There are some who pervert
the teaching of the law and attempt to place believers under the bondage of the
law. Dr. DeHaan states that those
who "teach that the Christian is
still under the law are perverters of the grace of God."1 This
is certainly evident in the New Testament.
The Pharisees were a sect that misused the law for advantage.
Jesus rebuked them for their negligence and lack of knowledge (Matthew
23:1-39; Mark 7:6-8). If only they
would have listened to the Writer of the Law.
They would have been saved from everlasting punishment!
The Scriptures they had studied and memorized were open unto them, but
they were not honest with God's Word. They
missed the real blessings of the truth and passed on human laws and traditions
without verification through God's Word.
The epistles of Romans and Galatians provide ample proof that man is
saved by grace and not by the law.
"Wherefore,
my brethren, ye also are become dead t the law by the body of Christ..."
Romans
7:4
"And if by grace, then it
is no more of works. But if it be
of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work." Romans
11:6
"And the commandment,
which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death."
Romans 7:10
"Knowing that a man is not
justified by the works of the law, by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have
believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and
not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be
justified." Galatians
2:16
The
law of the Spirit of life abolished the law of sin and death. Oh, thank the Lord
for His intervention on our behalf. He
has accomplished all that we could not accomplish.
To the believer who comes to Christ and renounces all hope of saving
himself, Christ shows Himself as the fulfillment and end of the law.
The Lord Jesus redeemed us from the penalty and curse of the law!
The law is unfortunate news to the sinner, but the Gospel is excellent
news to the believer. Dr. DeHaan shows an excellent comparison between the law and
the grace of God:
“1.
The law prohibits us from coming to God - Grace invites us to come as we
are.
2.
The law condemns the sinner - Grace redeems him.
3.
The says "try" - Grace says "It is done."
4.
The law says "do this and live" - Grace says "It is
finished"
5.
The law curses the sinner - Grace blesses him.
6.
The law slays the sinner - Grace saves him.
7.
The law shuts every mouth before God - Grace opens the mouth in praise
before God.
8.
The law condemns the best man - Grace saves the worse.
9.
The law says "Pay up what you owe" - Grace says "it is
paid."
10.
The law says "The wages of sin is death" - Grace says "the
gift of God is eternal life."
11.
The law says "The soul that sinneth, it will die" - Grace says
"believe and live."
12.
The law reveals man's sin - Grace atones for his sin."2
The
law is perfect and would have provided salvation for any lost person if they
were able to keep the law perfectly. The
fact is that all men are sinners and separated from God.
They obviously fall short of God's holy standard.
No man can be saved unless he believes in that the Lord Jesus Christ paid
the penalty for man's sin, taking the judgment of God upon Himself.
"For be
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of your-selves: it is the gift of
God: not of works lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
"Not
by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he
saved us, by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy
Ghost." Titus 3:5
The
law shows God's perfect nature, and man's perfect nature ideally!
We are to strive to be like Christ, but we will not attain to this
perfection while living this earthly life. However, there will be a day when “we
shall be like him for we shall see him as he is” (I John 3:2).
God's grace is sufficient for the lowest sinner to be saved and then
honor God. We do not deserve this
grace nor the righteousness which the Lord
gives to those that love Him, but that is the essence of God's dealing with
mankind in grace! The Lord Jesus
gives sinners a remedy for sin and shows them that salvation is not some thing,
but Christ! According to the
Apostle Paul we have all necessary grace extended to us by God.
"In whom we have
redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of his grace." Ephesians
1:7
Paul
taught that salvation, witnessing, family relationships, church, our own
personal life, our victory over principalities, the life of faith, and our
service for the Lord are predicated on this grace.
It is all of His grace! We do not have to fulfill all righteousness, or
be perfect, or keep the law, or atone for our own sin.
Jesus Christ accomplished all this and more for His children! He fulfilled all righteousness! Christ did not leave the
"battlements above...to become a teacher, or a model for obedience, or as a
martyr willing to die for truths and principles He believed, according to His
own declaration, he came to seek and to save the lost."3 Although
God's grace is all encompassing and invades every area of our lives, I believe
that there are two main areas of God's dealing with mankind in grace. First, He
showed His great love and grace for the purpose of saving sinners.
Secondly, His grace is freely given to His children for the purpose of
showing His holy character through those that He has graciously saved (Hebrews
13:20-21).
After studying the grace of
God it is hard to understand how some can be so easily deceived and
misunderstand these truths regarding God's grace.
God's grace leads us to see the result of His grace: the perfect
atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. It
is through the perfect sacrifice of Christ that the grace of God is clearly
seen, “for the grace of God hath appeared to all men”.
Would the God of this universe send His Son to die knowing that man
could be saved some other way? Can
you imagine the scene at the White Throne Judgment: Man bowed to the knee in his
rotten rags before the Lord of Glory,
saying I did it myself! The Savior
had suffered immeasurably at the hands of sinners who mocked and scourged Him,
and nailed Him to the Cross. He
suffered and bore upon His body the sin of the world.
He cried out, "My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me?" Imagine
some mere man, standing in the presence of the One who suffered for him, saying
these puny words, "I have earned my own salvation."
No one could stand before the Judge of all the earth, under those
conditions, and expect clemency. He
has the right to cast unrepentant sinners from His presence into outer darkness.
You must come to grip with this truth in your own life.
Footnotes
- Chapter Seven
1.
M.R. DeHaan, Law and Grace (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1965),
Introduction.
2.
Ibid., page 79.
3.
H. Lockyear, op. Cit., page 159
