Grace and Law

In the Christian arena there are continual arguments being made about the ideas of "Grace vs. Law" as if your only option is to choose one or the other. Recently, I have been having more discussions about this, and it only seemed right for me to create a blog, and write about it so that other's can hear what I have to say, and add and formulate their own opinions based upon scriptural evidence.

If you were to ask me a year and a half ago which side I was on, I was a no-brainer grace kid. I loved the idea that there was nothing that I could do to ever earn my salvation. I loved the idea that no matter what I did, no matter how bad I got, that God looked upon me with grace, and that He would accept me no matter what. In the present if you were to ask me which side I was on, I would say both. Listen, Scripture clearly tells us that we are saved by grace. That's undoubtedly true, and if there are any "grace movement" people out there listening, I hope you understand that those who still fight for Law typically aren't against the idea that grace is what saves us. Ephesians 2:8 is pretty clear on the matter. However, just because grace is in play doesn't take Law out of the equation.

Here's an interesting perspective on the matter. Ask yourself, "who was the law given to?" Was it given to outsiders? Was it given to the Amalekites? How about the Jebusites? Was it given to the Philistines? No! It was given to the Israelites. Now ask this, "what was the relationship between God and the Israelites?" Think about all of the men in Scripture that God used to bring about the Law. Abraham, Moses, David, etc. All were worshippers of God. All were men who followed God, even to places that other men would've called them idiots to go. Why would Abram leave everything he knows for a voice in his head? Why would Moses go into Egypt to free people who didn't like him? Why would David, a teenager, think he could take on a giant? Because they knew God. And God gave men he KNEW, and clearly loved, His Law. When I look at that, and I hear people say that God gave us the Law simply so that we know what sin is and to show us we can't live up to the expectations He has for us, it ticks me off. Really, a perfect God gives a Law simply to say we can't live up to it? Simply to say, here's what sin is and you can't avoid it? I don't know about you, but I don't want to serve that God.

Good news though! That's not what it was! God gave these men the Law because He loved them. It was given to them because God considered them His children and loved them enough to set ground rules to protect them. Did it expose sin? Yes, but why? So that these men could see it and avoid it. It wasn't some sick joke to say, "You sinners!" Maybe you've seen the "Jesus Videos" put out by Vintage21 Church, and you see Jesus stand before the people and say, "look at all these sinners! Alright listen up, listen to me I'm Jesus, listen to what I have to say! I have done many wonderful things. I have healed many people O diseases. I have performed many miracles, so that I can tell you this. You are all evil, there is no hope. That's it. Thank you." That's the reputation God's Law has gotten, and it couldn't be farther from the truth. Before we go throwing the baby out with the bathwater, let's really look at why it was given.

If you're a parent, you know that you have to have ground rules set for your children. Why do you set them? To yell at your child for fun? To show them how worthless they are? No! You do it for protection. Now if you believe Genesis when it says we were made in God's image, you should understand that your desire to protect your children from harm through rules, only stems from the image of God inside of you. That was His desire. Look at 1 Corinthians 11:32. Paul says, "when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will NOT be condemned along with the world" (caps added). Or Hebrews 12:5-11. Or Revelation 3:19. All speak of God disciplining us, and all say that it is for our benefit and out of His love for us.

We as a Christian people have become spiritually too immature to see this. We look at God's Law as a burden, as we did our parents rules when we lived in their house. Remember calling your curfew "stupid?" Remember telling mom or dad how they "don't know what it's like to be me, and to have to deal with all these dumb rules that ruin all my fun?" Remember those days? When we call God's Law simply the guideline to sin, we are essentially saying the same thing. And when we take the word Law out of our vocabulary, we are doing the EXACT same thing. We are saying, "God, you don't know what's best for me. I don't need your Law." We need to mature. I LOVE God's Law, because now that I've grown out of being a teenager, I see it for what it really is, protection. Why should I not serve any other God's? Because no other God can give me what YHWH gives me! Why shouldn't I commit adultery or fornication? Because God made me to be with one woman for the rest of my life, and not only do I damage myself and risk things like anxiety, depression, and thoughts of suicide (teen boys who get involved in premarital sex are 8x more likely to commit suicide, while teen girls are 4x more likely), but I hurt other people, my wife, past lovers, children, even parents who have prayed and taught me to do otherwise. I mean if you went through every Law in scripture it's meant for protection of the people of God. Sometimes protection from others, sometimes protection from self, but always protection.

Grace is beautiful and it is what saves us. But once we are saved and become Children (John 1:12) we now are subject to the consequences of our Father in heaven. We are still subject to the Law, however we are not condemned by it. Will we suffer consequences for not following it? Yes. Why? In order that we can share in God's holiness (Hebrews 12). Let us not forsake either, but believe in both Grace and Law!