Introduction
Why Is It Important to Understand Law and Grace?
Why does it matter whether we understand law and grace? It would not matter if we were simply talking about knowing right doctrines. But we are not. We are talking about knowing God Himself. God wants us to know Him. He wants us to be set free by the Truth – the Truth about Himself. THAT is why knowing these things is important. They reveal to us God Himself.
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24)
We have to know God if we are to walk with Him. And we have to know Him in Truth – or we will be walking in deception. We will be walking one way, and God will be trying to lead us in another.
Happily, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would lead us into all Truth. He would be taking the initiative to show us the things of God.
Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. (I Cor. 2:9-10)
Grace is a fundamental Christian reality. Understand it, and walk in it, and so many other things line up. The Truth of grace is the Truth of the gospel. But be wrong about it and you cannot possibly grasp much other Truth in a profound way.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (II Cor. 4:3-4)
The Truth
When Jesus said, "You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free," He was not talking about just any truth. He was talking about knowing God. Later, He said, "I am the Truth." And Jesus is God.
God wants us to KNOW HIM. Knowing God sets us free from all of the lies about Him – including blindness TO Him – which governs our lives. The Truth sets us free because the Truth is GOOD. It makes us to know God loves us and has done everything possible for our salvation.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (II Cor. 4:6)
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: (I Peter 2:9)
The fact is, man’s blindness to the true nature and character of God is in large part what is wrong with Him. Behind it is all deception, ignorance, and bondage. Once a person sees the Truth about God, there comes a tremendous freedom to belong to Him.
The issue of law and grace has to do with how we live our Christian lives. It strikes at the heart and core of our everyday relationship with God. You cannot talk about this subject unless you talk about the nature and character of God, and what He requires of us, as well as what He has given to us. You must talk about God’s attitude towards man, as well as our attitude towards Him. Thus, it is a most important subject.
Perhaps most importantly, this subject of law and grace speaks to how God saved us through Jesus Christ. It speaks to what that means to us once we have received Christ. And how we are to live and walk with Christ.
Essential Truth
Essential Truths define Christianity. Take them away, or distort them, and you don’t have the Christianity of the Bible anymore. But as we have noted, this isn’t just a matter of believing the wrong doctrines. It is a matter of being deceived about God Himself and His plan and purpose in Jesus Christ.
The words of the apostles about the important of walking in grace cannot be misunderstood:
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. (Gal. 1:6-9)
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. (II Cor. 11:3-4)
Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. (Gal. 5:4)
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into license, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 1:3-4)
But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. (Gal. 5:18)
It is clear that to distort the Truth of grace is to distort the gospel of grace. It is, in effect, to preach "another gospel." John tells us that God reveals Himself to us through the gospel. Thus, to preach "another gospel" is to preach "another Jesus," and "another God."
None of us will ever know ALL the Truth. Each of us have areas where we simply do not see clearly. But the gospel is the foundation of the Christian faith. John tells us that God demonstrates His love for us, not only by the fact that He sent Jesus, but in the way He sent Jesus:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 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. (Romans 5:8-10)Thus, we seeing the Truth about law and grace is not merely a matter of theology. It is a matter of seeing and knowing God Himself – in a way that brings light into darkness – and will grow to set us free to live with Him forever.