The longer I live in Christ the more I see what I ( and I think most people) misunderstood about God's grace.
I mean, the typical misunderstandings like God is too busy for us, or we've sinned too badly for God to forgive us, or we need to belong to a particular denomination that claims it is the TRUE way... rookie misunderstandings and all set aside...
...I am trying to get at the heart of what grace actually is.
Take the major biblical covenants for example.
2 Corinthians 3:6 (NASB95)
6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Galatians 3:24-25 (NASB95)
24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.
25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
The Law of Moses was the preparatory covenant for the Law of Christ.* That first there had to be the grounds for conviction and the utter futility of man's attempt for self righteousness / ability to redeem one's self / pay restitution for sin. Before the grounds for unmerited favor / undeserved forgiveness / redemption paid for by the Daysman's own self sacrifice. Compelling humanity to plea for mercy rather than justice.
* 1 Corinthians 9:19-21 contrasts the two Laws (yes Laws, read carefully) which Galatians 6:2 actually names the latter
But then we go about trying to impose the Law of Moses again on each other and ourselves. The Judaizers have been dead almost 1900 years and we in the 21st Century have taken up their cause trying to force Old Testament Law into New Testament Grace (despite the books of Galatians and James warning us about this).
James 2:10 (NASB95)
10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
Galatians 3:1-13 (NASB95)
1 You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
5 So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
6 Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.
8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”
9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
10 For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.”
11 Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.”
12 However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them.”
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—
I used to beat myself and others over tenets of the Law of Moses which only apply if one is foolishly trying to keep the Law of Moses. One of my callings was the passage where Peter is called to feed the Lord's sheep. This was in contrast to my own interpretation of that calling to beat the sheep. A major no-no in the age of Grace / the era of Sabbath Rest / entering into the Lord's rest. All the more reason to realize our calling to the priesthood rather than the laity since only the priests are blameless for profaning the Sabbath...
Matthew 12:5 (NASB95)
5 “Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent?
This is the sabbath era. Every day is shabbat!
Yet we are to work to get the Gospel out and to train up the next generation to do the same.
Sin yes it still bogs us down and must be dealt with (the repercussions here etc)... but the eternal destiny is no longer an issue with the Christian.
1 John 2:1 (NASB95)
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin
I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin
I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin
I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin
I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin
I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin
Get it?
God is not winking the eye at sin.If this seems like a license to sin... perhaps you'd better make sure you are truly saved in the first place... or if you are saved and see it this way be prepared for a very active Heavenly Father in your life who will take you to the woodshed (that means to get a beating / whipping for you younger folks who never had a spanking).
I bear the stripes of this foolish mind set myself and testify to you that God is very concerned about how you act and obey him. He loves you too much not to be.
Proverbs 3:12 (NASB95)
12 For whom the Lord loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.
It does hurt and the sin was never worth it. Do not be a hard head like I was.
He is simply providing perpetual forgiveness for the believers in his Son to allow us to set that issue aside to get others saved.
1 John 2:1 (NASB95)
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
1 John 1:9-10 (NASB95)
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
False teachers try to make this out to be the initial dealing with sin and claim this is written to / about unbelievers so that you only have to deal with the confession of sin once... but 1 John 2:1 and 1 John 2:12-14 leaven no room for doubt that this is written to believers.
I mean, the typical misunderstandings like God is too busy for us, or we've sinned too badly for God to forgive us, or we need to belong to a particular denomination that claims it is the TRUE way... rookie misunderstandings and all set aside...
...I am trying to get at the heart of what grace actually is.
Take the major biblical covenants for example.
2 Corinthians 3:6 (NASB95)
6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Galatians 3:24-25 (NASB95)
24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.
25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
The Law of Moses was the preparatory covenant for the Law of Christ.* That first there had to be the grounds for conviction and the utter futility of man's attempt for self righteousness / ability to redeem one's self / pay restitution for sin. Before the grounds for unmerited favor / undeserved forgiveness / redemption paid for by the Daysman's own self sacrifice. Compelling humanity to plea for mercy rather than justice.
* 1 Corinthians 9:19-21 contrasts the two Laws (yes Laws, read carefully) which Galatians 6:2 actually names the latter
But then we go about trying to impose the Law of Moses again on each other and ourselves. The Judaizers have been dead almost 1900 years and we in the 21st Century have taken up their cause trying to force Old Testament Law into New Testament Grace (despite the books of Galatians and James warning us about this).
James 2:10 (NASB95)
10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
Galatians 3:1-13 (NASB95)
1 You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
5 So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
6 Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.
8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”
9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
10 For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.”
11 Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.”
12 However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them.”
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—
I used to beat myself and others over tenets of the Law of Moses which only apply if one is foolishly trying to keep the Law of Moses. One of my callings was the passage where Peter is called to feed the Lord's sheep. This was in contrast to my own interpretation of that calling to beat the sheep. A major no-no in the age of Grace / the era of Sabbath Rest / entering into the Lord's rest. All the more reason to realize our calling to the priesthood rather than the laity since only the priests are blameless for profaning the Sabbath...
Matthew 12:5 (NASB95)
5 “Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent?
This is the sabbath era. Every day is shabbat!
Yet we are to work to get the Gospel out and to train up the next generation to do the same.
Sin yes it still bogs us down and must be dealt with (the repercussions here etc)... but the eternal destiny is no longer an issue with the Christian.
1 John 2:1 (NASB95)
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin
I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin
I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin
I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin
I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin
I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin
Get it?
God is not winking the eye at sin.If this seems like a license to sin... perhaps you'd better make sure you are truly saved in the first place... or if you are saved and see it this way be prepared for a very active Heavenly Father in your life who will take you to the woodshed (that means to get a beating / whipping for you younger folks who never had a spanking).
I bear the stripes of this foolish mind set myself and testify to you that God is very concerned about how you act and obey him. He loves you too much not to be.
Proverbs 3:12 (NASB95)
12 For whom the Lord loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.
It does hurt and the sin was never worth it. Do not be a hard head like I was.
He is simply providing perpetual forgiveness for the believers in his Son to allow us to set that issue aside to get others saved.
1 John 2:1 (NASB95)
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
1 John 1:9-10 (NASB95)
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
False teachers try to make this out to be the initial dealing with sin and claim this is written to / about unbelievers so that you only have to deal with the confession of sin once... but 1 John 2:1 and 1 John 2:12-14 leaven no room for doubt that this is written to believers.
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One of my all time favorite hymns