Law VS Grace: Could You Be Any More Wrong?
Raise your hand if you’ve heard this “Law VS Grace” thing before: God gave the Law to show us the difference between right and wrong. If anyone was able to perfectly obey it, they would never die or be punished by God. The bad news is that none of us can even come close to keeping the Law, and that means we’re all going to Hell. But the good news is that Jesus DID perfectly keep every part of the Law. And because He was perfect and we aren’t, He died for us so we don’t have to. Now, we don’t have to keep the Law anymore because we couldn’t really do it in the first place. And that’s called “grace.” The problem with all of this is that Jesus said the exact opposite, and I’ll prove it to you in less than 10 minutes.
Let’s start with Jesus’ actual words. He took this topic straight on in the Sermon on the Mount:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will pass from the law until everything takes place. So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-19 NET)
What is “The Law?”
Most of the confusion about Law VS Grace begins and ends with misunderstanding what the Law is. Christians have been taught that the Law was a set of religious, social, and political regulations that the Jewish people were required to obey perfectly in order to earn salvation and eternal life. This is wrong.
The Hebrew word translated into “law” is “Torah.” It means “instructions for right living.” These commandments and instructions were for Israel’s good. And Israel received these commandments AFTER they were redeemed from slavery in Egypt. God never said, “If you do these good things and never do these bad things, you get to live forever with me in Heaven.”
And Jesus never said that the Torah was bad. He said that everyone who teaches others how to keep even the smallest of the commandments would be great in His Kingdom. So, why do Christians think that the Law is something they should ignore? It has everything to do with the word, “fulfill.”
How Did Jesus Fulfill the Law?
Traditional Christianity teaches that Jesus fulfilled the Law so that we don’t have to. We’re forgiven and will go to Heaven when we die because Jesus came to earth, perfectly obeyed God’s commands that we violated, took our penalty on the cross and died in our place.
This is the problem: humanity has needed a Savior since the Garden of Eden. That was thousands over years before the Law was given to Israel. The Law never saved anyone. But, it does reveal how messed up we are. Our problem isn’t a Law problem; it’s a heart problem. We’re never going to earn our way out of the evil inside of us. That’s why we need Jesus.
We need a Savior. Someone has to take the death penalty for our rebellion against the Almighty God and Creator of Heaven and Earth, and Jesus is that Savior. A sacrifice is required and Jesus is that sacrifice. And this sacrifice must be spotless and without any corruption. Jesus had to live a sinless life, and He did.
But this still doesn’t answer the question: how did Jesus fulfill the Law? Fulfill means “fill to the fullest.” Imagine pouring water into a glass until it overflows. Jesus came and completely kept Torah in every way so we can have an example of the life God created us to live. Obedience to God isn’t a burden we bear. It’s a joy to fulfill.
Law VS Grace Doesn’t Make Sense
Here’s the problem: Christianity teaches a battle between Law and Grace that doesn’t exist. These two aren’t against each other. The opposite of law isn’t grace; it’s anarchy. And the opposite of grace isn’t law; it’s punishment.
Law and Grace are on the same side. The Torah is a guide to what God expects of His people. Yes, there are consequences for disobeying God’s commandments. Those consequences vary from the natural results of our sinful decisions all the way to God’s discipline for rebellion.
But Grace is the beautiful expression of God’s love for us. We rebelled against Him and deserve the death and punishment that comes with that. God’s grace offers us the forgiveness and life we don’t deserve.
What Do We Do Now?
God loves us so much that He became human to take the penalty for our rebellion. And He wants us to live good lives. His Torah can point us toward that good life. And our natural response to the grace He gives us in spite of our rebellion isn’t supposed to cause us to reject His instructions for living this good life. In fact, Jesus told us that our loving responses should be this:
“If you love me, you will obey my commandments.” (John 14:15 NET)
