Grace and Law

JE:

The reason Jesus came to empower us with mercy, GRACE and with His Spirit is because God's good, holy and glorious LAW was, and is and always will be the standard of righteousness, love and life.

Facebook Friend:

You mean the Law wasnt done away with at the cross?

JE:

It depends what we mean by that. If we mean that attempting to keep Moses' Law is no longer the means of obtaining righteousness and maintaining covenant-relationship with God, then yes the Law was done away with by the cross.

But if we mean that the standard of righteousness has now become arbitrary or that we may continue in sin, then no - there is still a usefulness for the Law if used lawfully, said Paul.

God's righteousness and love are eternally unchangeable. The Law revealed it but was unable to empower man to live-up to it. But the grace of God actually puts God's righteousness and love into us so that we now freely live everything that the Law taught.

As a MEANS of obtaining righteousness, the Law has passed away - however, the righteousness which God has given us causes us to fulfill all of the righteousness which the Law could only foreshadow.

Facebook Friend:

Do we need to keep the commandments as given to Moses?

JE:

It depends what you mean by that.

If you mean, should we literally keep Moses' Law exactly as he prescribed it, then no - Paul taught that believers need not and should not think that doing so would have any merit.

But if you mean, do believers in whose lives the fruit of the Spirit is being produced find that they nonetheless comply with the underlying truths, ethics, love-principles, moral duties and righteousness of the Law, then yes - Paul taught that love is the fulfilling of the Law; that there is no law against the fruit of the Spirit; and that the righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us who believe.

Wasn't that a grand scheme by God - He made a way, through the cross, to accomplish for us and in us, what the Law could not do: He forgave our sins; made us a new heart; we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus resulting in good behaviour; He wrote His laws on our heart; He placed His Spirit in us; poured-out His love-nature in our hearts; made us partakers of the divine nature; produces the Spirit's fruit in our behaviour and causes us to walk in His ways - all His own doing!

So, as a means of trying to obtain righteousness, the Law was indeed taken away and nailed to the cross; but then, in its place, God's grace - on our lives, in our lives and expressed through our lives - fulfills for us, in us and by us, everything that the Law sought unsuccessfully to achieve - freely by Jesus Christ!

Facebook Friend:

That all sounds good, but how about some scriptures.