Law AND grace, Old AND New…

Last Friday I threw out some thoughts concerning some questions that had arisen on Old Testament law and New Testament grace.  You can read those thoughts here if you missed it.  Here is part 2 of the discussion…

This post’s title is “Law AND grace, Old AND New” – a serious misunderstanding can arise from incorrectly thinking that the Old Testament was only full of law, and the New Testament is only full of grace.  Throughout the stories and history of the OT, God is continually showing His grace and mercy to His people.  His giving of the law was a declaration of the devotion and commitment He was calling for, and though it was unattainable, it served it’s purpose to point to Christ as the only true means of redemption.  Similarly, if we equate “law” with “obedience”, the NT is full of references that call for the Christ-follower to be in full obedience.  James implores us to be people that don’t just read the Word, but to be people that obey it (James 1:22-25).  Paul admonishes his readers to be in full obedience to the law of the Spirit (Romans 8:1-5).  There is law and grace at work in both Old and New Testaments, and both are for the glory of God.

A good example of the “difference” between the 2, can be found in a story I read in a book by Erwin McManus who founded Mosaic church in Los Angeles.  He tells the story of early days in the church, and how one man came to him during a leadership seminar at his home and asked if Mosaic was a “grace” church, or a “law” church.  These are questions that are no win situations, for if you answer either way you can be in trouble.  Nonetheless, McManus answered that it was a “grace” church.  The man responded that he was grateful, for he was afraid that if it was a “law” church, he would have had been required to tithe.  McManus responded this way:

I said, “Oh, no.  We’re definitely a grace church.  The law says ‘do not murder’; grace says that we are not even to hate our enemies but to love our enemies.  The law says ‘do not commit adultery’; grace frees us even from having lust in our hearts for another man’s wife.  The law says to give 10 percent to tithe; grace says be generous.  We would never stop you at 10 percent.  You can give 20,30,40 percent of your income if you’d like.”

You see, grace always goes beyond what the law commanded.  Don’t believe me?  Read Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:21-30 as an example.  Grace in the NT doesn’t give us freedom to live less than perfect – it gives us the power through the Holy Spirit to live beyond perfect.  Where mere words do not restrain our sinful desires, the quickening power of an internal Holy Spirit of God does.  Grace and law weave themselves throughout the entirety of the Bible, and they both function to point to the holiness of God, and the glory of God through the obedient lives of His people.