Law and Grace
I read recently, “The law is an all-or-nothing proposition.” The writer continued to assert that people educated in the new covenant understand that law and grace are diametrically opposed. Galatians is the clear source to prove the point. Case closed.
But are the topics of law and grace actually this clearly delineated?
If so, fine.
But if not, then declaring that law is opposed to grace, irrelevant, of no importance to Believers, or otherwise marginalizing it, means that we are making a theological error regarding a biblically significant concept that occupies a lot of inspired ink.
So, what does the Bible mean when it uses (or implies) the term, law?
Well, there’s the moral law, e.g., the Ten Commandments; the civil or ceremonial law, e.g., standards for priests, holidays, meals, conduct on the Sabbath, etc.; and there’s the judicial law, e.g., what to do when your ox gores my goat.
The term law can mean the entirety of the Old Testament.
Law can express God’s unchanging character, righteousness, and moral will.
It can express a standard of behavior, e.g., the law of love.
The term can represent the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law.
It can be a defining principle or governing force. It can be used to describe human nature as well as identifying the law of sin and death, the law of the Spirit, the law of faith, and the law of Christ.
Law can be used to describe a system of behaviors, practices, standards, expectations, or routines. Law can refer to spiritual desire, longings, and aspirations.
Law can refer to a collection of habits, assumptions, and patterns by which a person attempts to achieve acceptance with God, others, and in their own eyes. This amalgamation of law can be unique to groups; it is always unique to individuals. This definition of law can be both standardized or arbitrary and be composed of select ceremonial, moral, and judicial standards that usually include groups, family, and personal beliefs.
Returning to our question: Are all aspects of how the Bible uses “law” opposed to grace?
If you answer, “Yes,” you embrace antinomianism (meaning: against or without law). This is a misguided belief the church has recognized as contrary to the faith since its earliest days. That the church keeps revisiting this issue points to the topic’s complexity and importance.
If you back away from an absolute dismissal of law, the question becomes: Which aspects of law are relevant to Believers and which are not?
When scripture notes that Jesus fulfilled the law, what’s it telling us? Did He end the law, endorse the law, or empower it in a way heretofore unknown?
Since Jesus is the Word of God, to justify setting aside some portion of His words because they are “fulfilled” is serious business (cf. Jn. 1). Whatever “fulfilled” means, it must include Jesus saying, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
In order to manage law and grace, some demarcate theological concepts prior to the cross and those after the cross with the Gospels being like an interim period.
The obvious question is: Which of the words written in red are relevant to Christianity and which are not?
Further, sound biblical scholarship believes Jesus is active throughout the entire Bible, not just the pages following the Book of Acts.
The point here is, not all of Jesus’ words are written in red letters.
So, in your embrace of grace, are you prepared—as some do—to say vast swaths of the Bible, in particular the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the New Testament imperatives are irrelevant to Christianity since they are aspects of law as defined earlier?
As you consider this, recall that the New Testament writers quoted the Old Testament hundreds of times and referenced it over a thousand. Disregard the New Testament imperatives and you excise about 1500 passages. Now, in an effort to manage your belief about the law, your Old Testament is irrelevant and your New Testament is filled with hundreds of holes.
We must make certain we know what we are dismissing when we marginalize an aspect of the Bible. Just because the topic of law and grace is complex, and just because the Galatians misused the law and fouled up their understanding of the Gospel, doesn’t mean law is categorically wrong. It indicates the Galatian churches were wrong.
Thus, when considering law, we can know some, we cannot know all.
And wouldn’t you know? Grace is not a simple concept either. How could it be?
Grace is the character, mind, being, essence, and behavior of God who is infinite and divine. Yet, grace is something to apprehend, relate to, and deploy.
It is a greeting, a salutation, an assumption, a given, and a wildly improbable speculation. It is pleasant, joyful, peaceful, innocent, and comforting. It is also calculating, shrewd, divisive, and integrally woven into immense suffering, hardship, trial, injustice, and death. It is juxtaposed to divine deliverance.
Grace is good in every sense of its definition. But because grace is God, grace is incomprehensible, inconceivable, indefinable; it is incorrigible, ingenious, impervious, and without shadow of compromise.
We are exhorted and instructed to be people of grace. We are told to explore grace, know grace, and understand it. But to comprehend the divine and properly convey grace within the confines of our finite humanity is an impossibility.
Grace is unearned, undeserved favor that is unobtainable through performance or status. It is given freely, based solely on the goodness of God.
Grace is a static state of being accepted. It is also an active, empowering force enabling a person to act, change, or endure and to more accurately apprehend and reflect God’s redemption and character.
Grace is a tangible manifestation of God’s presence, the active expression of His kindness, beauty, and generosity in the world; it is the Spirit’s giftedness and moments where God’s favor is visibly experienced, not the least of which is the Kingdom of God come to us, i.e., the life and person of Jesus Christ (John 1:14).
In the Old Testament, grace is introduced as a covenantal concept, e.g., Abraham and his son, Isaac.
The Old Testament speaks of “steadfast love” and “lovingkindness.” These aspects of grace are grounded in the covenant established within the Trinity and benefitting humanity.
In the New Testament, this covenantal grace is expressed as divine mercy.
In both testaments, grace and mercy refer to a persistent, loyal commitment by God to faithfully honor His promises to the people with whom He has entered into a relationship. In this use grace, mercy, and peace are intertwined.
Theologians speak of prevenient grace, justifying grace, and sanctifying grace. The Bible speaks of grace in historical, legal, and relational settings.
“Grace is the deliverance from the dominion of sin (which is the transgression of the law),” writes Reisinger. “Grace never changes what is right; it gives us the power to do right.”
Grace emanates from the heart of God. Grace came down in Jesus’ incarnation. It is the Gospel embodied. It is the goodness of God made manifest to us while we were sinners. Grace is the story of God leaving heaven, and taking on humanity, in order to explain Himself to us.
Simply, grace is often expressed as the dynamic, relational connection between God’s character and human experience rather than a static definition, concept, or use.
Whew. That’s a lot to digest—even to the extent that’s humanly possible.
When it comes to grace, we can know a small measure of grace, just not all.
So, when we speak of law and grace, in law we have a complex, multi-use concept covering well-over half the pages in our Bible. In grace, we have the infinite and divine doing all that’s necessary to engage and enjoy an active, vibrant relationship with the finite and fallen.
Given this scope and complexity, how much room is there for error when speaking of law and grace?
Clearly, the wise position on this topic is one of humility.
Can you send me a dozen verses proving your view? Sure. Can another person send me a dozen verses proving their view? Sure.
Biblical tension exists for a reason.
Both law and grace are multi-faceted in biblical usage. Each conveys some aspect of how God interacts with humanity, and vice versa.
Looking askance at the law, diminishing it, or categorizing it as the same use of law Galatians confronts, is simplistic. Claiming sufficient clarity about grace to speak categorically is shortsighted.
Is there a problem between law and grace that Galatians addresses? Yes.
Is there a problem between legalism and grace? Yes.
Is there a problem between license (Gnosticism) and grace? Yes.
Is there a problem with disregarding, dismissing, or dissolving the law (antinomianism) to advance or take advantage of grace? Yes.
Can you be certain enough about how the grace of justification transpires to enter into salvation? Yes.
Can you know all that justification achieves? No—not unless you can comprehend the expanse of God’s nature and character, i.e., aspects of which both law and grace convey.
Can you abuse law? Yes. Most commonly, this is called legalism.
Can you abuse grace? Yes. Most commonly, this is called license.
Thus, the importance of care when it comes to Scripture.
As a beneficiary of God’s grace, can you appreciate the transformation of being crucified with Christ and raised a new person? Sure. Can you appreciate this fully? Not a chance.
As long as you are on this planet, when you look into the mirror and attempt to understand spiritual transformation, it’s like looking into a dark, occluded glass. As glorious as your experience of salvation is today, the practice of it is akin to shaving in the dark.
Galatians seems clear enough: “Who has bewitched you? Who do you think you are, contriving a gospel that is different from the Gospel you learned?”
But while Galatians contrasts law and grace negatively, Romans and James highlight the moral guidance Believers gain via the law.
Reisinger again: “There is an antithesis between law and grace in respect to justification—we are justified by grace, not by law. But there is also a vital relationship between law and grace. ‘Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law’ (Rm. 3:31). The law makes grace necessary by showing us that we are sinners: ‘By the law is the knowledge of sin’ (Rm. 3:20). Where there is no law, there is no transgression. It is by the power of grace that the law is established.”
The Heidelberg Catechism asks how we know guilt? By the law. Then it asks how grace is known? By the revelation of Christ. It then asks how we show gratitude for saving grace? By loving obedience: “’If you love me, you will keep my commandments,’ Jesus said” (Jn. 14:15). “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I tell you,” He asks (Lk. 6:46)?
The law of Christ seems clear: “Love God and love others as you love yourself. If you do this, you will fulfill all the law and the Prophets,” Jesus said (cf. Mt. 22:37-40).
But even a cursory reading of Christ’s instruction reveals something asymmetrical: If Jesus fulfilled the law, which scripture states He did (cf. Mt. 5:17-19), why does He task you with fulfilling the law as well (Mt. 22:37-40)?
Our persistent disagreements suggest that divine grace—the means by which it came, that we enjoy it, and that it enlightens our future—exceeds what finite beings can manage.
We are new creations in Christ, endowed with the mind of Christ, and partakers of the divine nature, but we are still finite folks who lose our car keys, eat too much, and are late for work.
There is a significant probability of getting the tension of law and grace wrong. The negative consequences of this are significant. Thus, this article.
There is also a great deal given to us about the tension between law and grace that we can comprehend and that God believes is important to our spiritual lives.
Am I advocating that we supplement grace with legalism? Absolutely not!
Am I saying you are saved by grace and sanctified by keeping the law? Absolutely not!
Am I saying you can improve your standing, or enhance the degree of your acceptance with God, via your performance? Absolutely not!
Am I saying justification can be supplemented with law? Absolutely not!
Am I saying that a justified person, a beneficiary of grace, a new covenant Believer can be guided on how the life of Christ is demonstrated by understanding what the law tells them about the character of God and His vision for new life? Yes.
How else would you come to know right and wrong? How else would you experience—discern, comprehend—the divine coaching and empowerment of the Spirit? How else would you know and understand what defines God’s values? How else would you understand the desires of your new heart?
So, pray. Speak with God about your heart and the inscriptions within. Of all the qualities God baked into your new heart, the fact He inscribed His laws there is noteworthy. God never does anything meaningless, neither does He do anything incongruent with Himself. This is an aspect of His goodness.
I personally pray, “Holy Spirit, please help me understand. Father God has written on the walls of my heart. He wouldn’t have inscribed His laws within me if He didn’t have something important to say to me about His desires. Amen.”
A hard line of demarcation between law and grace may sound grace-like, but this cannot be accurate because it is not biblically sound. Getting this wrong is dangerous theology.
There are aspects of law and grace that are clear and definitive. There are aspects of this relationship that are well beyond our humanity.
Thus, we speak to what we know while humbly and carefully handling the aspects of divine life that we don’t know.