How is it the basis for our disagreement?
Grace Always existed. In the OT and in the NT.
God IS LOVE.
God IS GRACE.
Of course God give's us grace to follow His commandments.
But more than that, I'd say that in the New Covenant He gives us POWER to follow the commandments Jesus left us with.
The problem with the Old Covenant is that it had no power. As it states in Hebrews 8, if the OC had been perfect there would have been no need for the new one.
Men could not follow the OC. The Law was written in stone and not on their hearts.
The Law has not been abolished. It is still in force. God does not change His mind. Some here make it sound as though we only have to follow the Law if we WANT to. That's not correct. We MUST follow the Law. We cannot say "I'll steal and still be saved".
So what IS different is that God has created a new way to adhere to the NC.
He will be merciful to our iniquities and He will remember our sins no more.
Hebrews 8:12
Why?
Because God Father has offered His son to us. If we accept His Son, we are covered by His blood. Precious blood.
Knowing how much of a debt we owe to Jesus makes us WANT to follow Him, to be His disciples, and to adhere to His commandments.
In the OC, we had only ourselves to count on.
In the NC, we can count on the Holy Spirit to help us by allowing us to feel Love for Jesus for the great sacrifice He made.
And I don't man only the Cross. How about that He became a human for us? Could we understand what that must be like?
GOD becoming a MAN, just to help us know how to belong to Him.
If you want to call it grace, OK. But I see it as being much more than God's grace.
It's also OUR love.