The Power of Grace.
"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." John 1:17
"The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14
"But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!" Ephesians 2:4 & 5
"For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life." Ephesians 2:8-10
We have seen that the Law has no power to save anyone. In fact, it is the ministry that brought death. (2 Corinthians 3:7). Some here seem to be under the delusion that God would impose the ministry of death on those that He had made alive in Christ. This is obviously absurd.
So what is the truth as applies to believers? The reality is that the Old Covenant of Law proved simply that no one could keep the law to God's satisfaction. God intention was never to put mankind under the Law. Adam was given tremendous freedom. Only one restriction was placed on him. That restriction was in fact not to submit himself to the principle of right and wrong. That is the principle of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
What God wanted from Adam was that he should eat of the tree of Life. God warned Adam that the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would kill him. And so it did, not physically or in his soul. Adam died spiritually.
The Law demands, without mercy, complete and unquestioning obedience. Even collecting firewood on the Sabbath was a death sentence. God placed the principle of blessing and cursing over Israel. They agreed to it. The curses were terrible, the blessings amazing. Even so, Israel failed time and time again. All the Law could do was expose the condition of man's heart. It could do nothing to change it.
Grace does what law cannot do. Grace is God's unmerited favour. Grace is God doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Grace is God's remedy for the sinful nature that cannot please God. In a very real way, it takes us back to the place that Adam had in the Garden of Eden.
Jesus did not say that He came to help us obey the Law of Moses. He came that we might have life. The life that He gives us is eternal, the life that Adam should have chosen in Eden. Ephesians tells us that we are saved by grace. Romans has another aspect of salvation.
"For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by His life!" Romans 5:10
Some might say. "Are we saved by grace or by the Life of Christ? The answer is "yes". God's grace is the Life of Christ that dwells in all who are born again.
The Law is the principle of good and evil, blessing and cursing. Grace is the principle of God doing for us that we cannot do for ourselves. law depends on what we do for God. Grace is what God has done for us in Christ. The law brought only condemnation and death. Believers can avail themselves of a new principle, the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,
Now the modern day Pharisees will be frothing at the mouth if they've read this far. Let me say it for them. Grace is not a licence to sin. It is the power in Christ to be delivered from sin. I will post something about this sometime soon.
"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." John 1:17
"The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14
"But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!" Ephesians 2:4 & 5
"For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life." Ephesians 2:8-10
We have seen that the Law has no power to save anyone. In fact, it is the ministry that brought death. (2 Corinthians 3:7). Some here seem to be under the delusion that God would impose the ministry of death on those that He had made alive in Christ. This is obviously absurd.
So what is the truth as applies to believers? The reality is that the Old Covenant of Law proved simply that no one could keep the law to God's satisfaction. God intention was never to put mankind under the Law. Adam was given tremendous freedom. Only one restriction was placed on him. That restriction was in fact not to submit himself to the principle of right and wrong. That is the principle of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
What God wanted from Adam was that he should eat of the tree of Life. God warned Adam that the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would kill him. And so it did, not physically or in his soul. Adam died spiritually.
The Law demands, without mercy, complete and unquestioning obedience. Even collecting firewood on the Sabbath was a death sentence. God placed the principle of blessing and cursing over Israel. They agreed to it. The curses were terrible, the blessings amazing. Even so, Israel failed time and time again. All the Law could do was expose the condition of man's heart. It could do nothing to change it.
Grace does what law cannot do. Grace is God's unmerited favour. Grace is God doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Grace is God's remedy for the sinful nature that cannot please God. In a very real way, it takes us back to the place that Adam had in the Garden of Eden.
Jesus did not say that He came to help us obey the Law of Moses. He came that we might have life. The life that He gives us is eternal, the life that Adam should have chosen in Eden. Ephesians tells us that we are saved by grace. Romans has another aspect of salvation.
"For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by His life!" Romans 5:10
Some might say. "Are we saved by grace or by the Life of Christ? The answer is "yes". God's grace is the Life of Christ that dwells in all who are born again.
The Law is the principle of good and evil, blessing and cursing. Grace is the principle of God doing for us that we cannot do for ourselves. law depends on what we do for God. Grace is what God has done for us in Christ. The law brought only condemnation and death. Believers can avail themselves of a new principle, the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,
Now the modern day Pharisees will be frothing at the mouth if they've read this far. Let me say it for them. Grace is not a licence to sin. It is the power in Christ to be delivered from sin. I will post something about this sometime soon.
