Law and Grace – Week 30 / July 21st

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“For the Law was given through Moses, but grace
And truth came through Jesus Christ.”
John 1:17

No subject has confused Christians more than this one. That is, the relationship between Law and Grace in the Bible has never been adequately dealt with by the Church. If anything Christians tend to write off the Law as being irrelevant but, by contrast, Jesus said that anyone who diminishes the importance and significance of the Law will be called “least in the Kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19) Paul reminds us that Jesus died on the cross in order that the requirement of the Law may be fulfilled in us! (Romans 8:3-4)

What then does all this mean?

1. Definition and nature of the Law
The Law or Torah of God can be divided into three parts. That is, the Civil Law, the Ceremonial or Liturgical Law and the Moral or Majestic Law. The Civil Law deals with the regulation of social or national life and so concentrates on disease control, behavior, the dispensing of justice and taxation etc. The Ceremonial Law is embodied in the sacrificial system and Temple ritual and the Majestic or Moral Law constitutes the demands of God’s character. It is a written description of His glory and is thus chiefly contained in what we call the Ten Commandments. We sin when we break this code of conduct. (Romans 3:23) It is to be noted that the Civil Law and the Ceremonial Law have both been abolished. (Hebrews 8:13)

2. The Moral Law
When Paul writes about the Law in the New Testament he is in fact writing about the Moral Law or Ten Commandments. This Law is good, spiritual and if perfectly kept will impart eternal life! (Romans 7:10; 12) Jesus Himself expounded this Law in Matthew five, six and seven and warned that heaven and earth would pass away before its significance and importance would. (Matthew 5:17-18) We would do well to take note of this. Of course no one can or ever has, except for Jesus, kept this Law. We have all failed in this regard and so this Law also becomes our teacher. That is, when preached it confirms that we are law breakers or sinners; thus guilty before God and subject to the penalty of eternal death. (Romans 3:23; Romans 3:19-20; Galatians 3:24; Romans 6:23) In short the Law becomes our enemy, though it is good and spiritual, and it condemns and places us under the wrath of God. (Romans 8:21-24) It is because of this negative function of the Law that Christians tend to write it off! It should be noted that Gospel preaching that excludes it is false because such preaching will not convict of sin and lead people to repentance. Only by the Law does the knowledge of sin come to our hearts and we are to repent of our sins in order to be saved! In fact God commands us to repent. (John 16:8; Acts 17:30; Luke 24:46-47) This was at the very heart of the preaching of John and Charles Wesley and it was precisely why they were called “people of the method.”

3. The New Covenant
The goal of the New Covenant is to get this Majestic Law, in the person of Jesus, into our hearts. Please read Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Hebrews 8:7-13. Also Paul teaches us that the purpose of Jesus’ death was to bring us to a place where this Law is fulfilled in us spontaneously and with joy as we walk in the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4) The gift of eternal life is the Moral Law embodied in the person of Jesus living in our hearts! (Romans 6:22-23) It is only His finished work on the cross that makes all of this possible. For this reason He teaches us, by expounding the Moral Law, as recorded in Matthew five, what “born again living” looks like. We would do well to note this. Jesus’ death on the cross frees us forever from the condemnation of the Law; it meets all the Law’s requirements on our behalf and is all sufficient in that in encompasses the behavior of our entire lives. This is what we mean by grace, but not cheap grace as it has come to us at a huge price. God died for us! (1Corinthians 6:20) We who receive such grace hate sin and do not “play” with it but when we sin we have an Advocate Who will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (Jude 20-23) (1John 1:8-9) It is worth noting that in the Hebrew the words “New Covenant” really mean “a Restored or Renewed Covenant.” That is, the New Covenant, ratified by Jesus’ spilt blood, is the power or ability of the Law. What was good and spiritual but weakened by our flesh has now been given ability through Christ. This is precisely why John’s Gospel opens with the statement, “The Law was given through Moses but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Jesus didn’t abandon the Law, He fulfilled it perfectly, in His life, and then in ours by His presence, but this made possible only by His death!!

4. The Construction of the Bible
An alternative way to understand our Bibles would be to see its composition thus:
The Five Books of Moses-The giving of the Law
Joshua, Judges, Kings, Chronicles etc-The history of the Law
Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes etc-The rejoicing over the Law
The Major and Minor Prophets- A commentary on Israel’s obedience and disobedience to the Law
The Four Gospels-The ability of the Law
The Acts of the Apostles-The spreading of the Law
The Epistles-The inward nature and presence of the Law
The Revelation- The triumph of the Law
It is interesting to note that when Jesus comes again and sets up His earthly Kingdom the Moral Law will be the foundation of His global kingdom. (Isaiah 2:1-4) It is also worth noting that the longest “chapter” Psalm in the Bible is Psalm 119. This amazing Psalm is all about the importance of God’s Majestic Law and constitutes a call to live one’s life by it. We thank God for Jesus Who has, by His cross, made this possible. Blessed be His name!

Malcolm Hedding.

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries

2013Devotional