Notes:

Grace

‘…those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ’ (Rom.5:17).

Grace is the way God relates to us under the new covenant. Satan uses religion as an attempt to replace grace with legalism.

• Legalism is the belief that my works are the basis for God’s acceptance and blessing. The focus is upon self.
• Grace is the belief that I am always accepted and qualified for every blessing because of the finished work of Jesus. The focus is upon Jesus.

Legalism

• Legalism pulls in the opposite direction to the Cross. It tries to get us to pay for that which God has already paid. It uses the law for this purpose.
• The Bible uses the term ‘the law’ in reference to the law of Moses. But when it uses the term ‘law’ it designates any legalistic system we may use in order to gain merit with God, or by which we may attempt to change.
• Romans 7:1-4. The New Testament is not opposed to the law, but to our marriage to it. Through our union with Christ we have died to the law that we may be married to Christ. He is now the source of our holiness. In Christ we do not have a law, but a life.

Misconceptions about the Law and Grace

1) ‘The Law will help me to live a better life’

• Paul was deceived into believing this, ‘For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killedme’ (Rom.7:11).
• The law incites us to sin, not holiness, ‘For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death’ (Rom.7:5); ‘But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me allmanner of evil For apart from the law sin was dead’ (Rom.7:8)
• The law is weak because its power-base is the flesh, ‘what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, Goddid by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh’ (Rom.8:3).
• Legalists have the will to do the right thing, but not the ability. ‘I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but howto perform what is good I do not find’ (Rom. 7:18).

2) ‘I believe in grace; but it must be balanced with law’

• What we call ‘balance’ God calls ‘mixture’. ‘And if by grace, thenit is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work’ (Rom.11:6).
• For grace to be effective it must remain radical. The gospel of grace as taught by Paul is ‘the power of God unto salvation…’ (Rom.1:16). If we return to the law as a means of living, Christ ceases to have any effect on us, (see Gal.5:4).

3) ‘Grace is just a license to sin’

• Grace never encourages people to sin, ‘For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works’ (Titus 2:11-14).
• Grace is the only thing that can get us out of sin, ‘For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace’ (Rom. 6:14).

4) ‘I believe in grace, but we still have to do our part’

• Our part is to believe that He has done it all, ‘Jesus answered and said to them,“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent”’ (John 6:29).
• The just live by faith, ‘I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and thelife which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me’ (Gal.2:20).

5) ‘If you want God’s blessing, there’s a price to pay’

• We have already been blessed with all things, ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ’ (Eph. 1:3). When we receive the gift of righteousness we are qualified for every good thing, ‘…seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you’ (Matt.6:33).
• The price has already been paid in full. All things are given to us freely, because of Jesus, ‘He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?’ (Rom.8:32).

6) ‘With grace there is no motive to give, serve and obey’

• Grace exposes any mercenary motive in the Christian life.
• But it doesn’t make us lazy; in fact it empowers us to do much more than we could do in our own ability. ‘But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of Godwhich was with me’ (1 Cor.15:10).