Law and Grace: Not under Law but under Grace

This is a series of messages on the subject of Law and Grace entitled Not under Law but under Grace. This series of messages clearly unfolds the wonderful truth presented in the Gospel that through the new covenant which God has established with His people all who believe in Christ relate with God not under the Law, as was the case through the old covenant, but under grace. What does it really mean to relate with God under grace and not under law? This series of messages carefully addresses the question.

To be relating to God under grace and not under law does not mean having license to live as one wants even in disobedience to God, as some wrongly believe. God’s will for man is that man live righteously and please Him in every way. However, because of the Fall of man and the fallen nature inherited by every man born into this world man is born with a nature incapable of fulfilling God’s righteousness or pleasing God.

The Law, known as the Law of Moses, reveals the righteousness of God to sinful man. But it lamentably leaves man with a sense of guilt and condemnation because it is unable to enable sinful man to fulfill God’s righteousness. The fact of man’s inherent sinful nature makes it necessary for man to have a complete change of nature which is capable of fulfilling God’s righteousness. Only God can change the nature of man. But how can sinful man, guilty and condemned by the law, obtain that change from God? This is where grace comes in - God must must set aside the law’s righteous demands, which includes man’s guilt and condemnation, in order to bring man forgiveness of the sins committed under the law and to change man’s nature into one capable of fulfilling His righteousness. God can only do that by grace, which means ministering to man unconditionally, despite man’s transgression and unworthiness. 

In order to address this problem, God established an entirely new arrangement with man. Instead of dealing with man according to the old covenant of the law, God introduced a new covenant of grace to deal with man and bring about forgiveness and transformation to man. God accomplished this through an amazing demonstration of His infinite love, mercy and grace. God came to this world in Christ Jesus and became a sacrificial Lamb to propitiate or compensate for man’s sins by His crucifixion on behalf of mankind to meet the law’s sentence of death upon fallen humanity. Having died for mankind on the Cross, Christ arose to share with man, all who will believe in Him, His resurrection life by which man is made a new creature, born again into God’s offspring, and possessing a new nature which is made God’s righteousness in Christ.

Therefore, the Gospel of grace does not bring man the news that he has license to continue in unrighteousness. It brings the good news of hope to fallen man that through Christ he can now be free from the dominion of a sinful nature and be born again into a newness of life in Christ to live righteously before God. This is the Gospel of the Kingdom. This is good news for fallen man.

And so, rather than debating this wonderful arrangement God made with us under grace, like some do, let us embrace it, drink fully of the cup of this great salvation and give praise and thanks to God for His amazing grace.

There are some who still want to turn to the law and its old arrangement for righteousness. There seems to be a persistent deceitful tendency in fallen man to think that in spite of his fallen nature he still has some remaining moral strength which if he exercises will be able to attain God’s righteousness. The old covenant arrangement, which puts the burden on fallen man to make himself righteous by keeping the law, has been declared obsolete by God. Beware of the deceit and folly of holding on to it. Jesus Christ plainly teaches us that the righteousness He brings to man by grace exceeds the righteousness man attempts to attain by the deeds of the law.

The law and commandments may encourage man to practice a form of moral behaviour which is external and pretentious with absolutely no change in heart. For example, the law commands not to commit adultery, and externally one may not be seen to commit adultery while in his heart he continues to lust after a woman. In other words, the law and the commandments do not bring the change that is required to be genuinely righteous. Grace brings about that change by allowing God to give an entirely new life, the life of Christ, to man.

All the law and commandments have their true righteous fulfillment in Christ. And so Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one who believes. When we receive Christ, the Spirit of Christ makes us God’s righteousness in Christ. The righteousness of God in Christ flows out of us through the life of Christ within us. This is genuine righteousness.

The fact is genuine righteousness can only be produced by a righteous life, which can only be found in the life of Christ. The law cannot produce or give such a life. Paul points out if there was a law which could have given life then righteousness would be of the law. There would be no need for God to introduce a new covenant of grace and for Christ to die to propitiate for man’s sins and to rise again to raise man into a newness of life in Him capable of producing God’s true righteousness.

Therefore, the truth that God through Christ brought an end to the Law and introduced the Life of His Son to man for righteousness by His grace is the highlight of the good news of hope the Gospel brings to fallen man. Now by God’s grace sinful man can be forgiven and transformed to fulfill God’s righteousness by depending completely on the life of Christ in whom every aspect of the Law is fulfilled.

We will explore this amazing truth in this series of messages - not under law but under grace. Every message in the series is inspiring and properly grounded in the Scriptures.

Study and copy the messages and share them with others.

• Not under Law but under Grace 1    
• Not under Law but under Grace 2    
• Not under Law but under Grace 3    
• Not under Law but under Grace 4    
• Not under Law but under Grace 5    
• Not under Law but under Grace 6    
• Not under Law but under Grace 7    
• Not under Law but under Grace 8    
• Not under Law but under Grace 9    
• Not under Law but under Grace 10  

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