lawvsgrace

The Law Versus Grace

Matthew 5:17-20
Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

I had a person accuse me of walking under the law because of my stand on the wickedness and perversion in this country.   I was seeking the Lord about it this morning because I am not above deception and there is no way I want to grieve my Lord.

Jesus came to fulfill the law.   The law confronts and exposes our sin.  We are totally incapable to uphold the law (Romans 3:20).   If we walk under the law, we are doomed to fail.

So, does walking in grace mean that the rest of the scriptures just vanish and no longer apply?   Do we just run wild in the streets and confess, “I’m under grace!  Jesus is love.  He doesn’t point out sin!”

Romans 6:14-15
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.   What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

Clearly, just because we are under grace we don’t have a license to willingly sin.

Jesus warned us in Matthew 7, verses 17 through 20 that we would know a person (or false prophet) by his fruit.   A good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit (Matthew 7:17).   By a persons fruit you will recognize them.    Some would say we are judging fruit, right?    Jesus said that we would recognize a person by their fruit.   A person’s actions and reactions are part of their fruit.

Next, Jesus describes TRUE versus FALSE Disciples:

Matthew 7:21
Not everyone who say to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Though we are under grace, Jesus still calls us to do the Will of the Father in our lives.

Continue with verse 24

Matthew 7:24-27
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.   The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

Just because we are under grace does not mean that we ignore the rest of the scriptures and don’t glean wisdom and truth from them.   We are to hear God’s Words and put them into practice.   Yes, there is forgiveness and grace when we fail and repent, but we are still instructed to put God’s Word into practice.

keysI am glad I opened the book of Matthew this morning because I have been angry and I don’t need to sin in my anger.   I have been disgusted with the leadership of this country and I do need to pray for them (and I honestly had given up on expecting them to repent).

Jesus instructed the disciples to PROCLAIM FROM THE ROOFS what He speaks to them.  He warned them to be fearful of God, but not man.   God can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28).

Matthew 12:30
Jesus declared, “Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

Okay, so I am going to stop going through Matthew and share an excerpt from an article I just read about the law versus grace by David A. DePra:

  Now we can better see what the terms “under the law,” and
“under grace” really mean. Being “under the law” means that
my works — as directed and judged by the law —
determine my justification and standing before God. Being
“under grace,” however, means that I am justified before God
completely apart from my works. In effect, to be “under the
law” means that my works determine EVERYTHING. But to be
“under grace” means that my works determine NOTHING. By
faith I stand “under” the finished work of my Saviour.
     “Now wait a minute. If the law doesn’t speak to those
under grace, then they can sin all they want. There will be no
restraint; no holy standards to follow.”
     Once we grasp the Truth of God’s grace, we will know that
it does not do away with obedience to God. Indeed, rather
than do away with obedience, the grace of God is the only real
means of obedience there is. Why? Because through God’s
grace I don’t merely DO righteous deeds, I BECOME a
righteous person — through the Living Christ in me. In
Christ, obedience to God becomes natural and voluntary —
simply because I love Him.

When we love God, we desire to obey the Word and we desire to please Him in all that we do.   Will we be perfect on this side of heaven?  NO.  But should we look different than the world that is in enmity with God?   Yes.

James 4:4
Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?  Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

 

John 14:23-24
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves Me will obey my teaching.  My Father will love them, and We will come to them and make our home with them.  Anyone who does not love Me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not My own; they belong to the Father who sent Me.”

Jesus is so loving and kind.  He gave His own life and suffered a cruel and torturous death so that each of us could have access to Father God.   What a priceless gift!   Trying to earn that gift would be under the law.  We can’t earn it.  The Bible says our deeds are like filthy rags.  We needed a spotless Lamb to shed His blood for us, and He did.  Grace is walking under that revelation that no matter what we do, we are never good enough to earn this gift.

Grace doesn’t mean the rest of the Bible is to be ignored.  The scriptures are God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) and are used to instruct us how to live our lives.   In the Old Testament, we read that God’s people perished for lack of knowledge …  If we lack knowledge today, it is our own fault.  We have the Bible at our fingertips and have a God who desires fellowship with us.

I have been told,  “Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors.”   Some don’t see it as loving to talk about sin.  It makes people uncomfortable and we aren’t supposed to hurt feelings.

Some see telling someone that their lifestyle isn’t God’s best for them as hate.

Is it being hateful or loving to say that perversion is wrong?   Is that being under the law?   I honestly don’t think it is.

True love rescues and points to the truth.   Not with a heart of condemnation, but a heart of compassion to help and point to deliverance and life.

 

 

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