Grace Has Replaced Law
Grace and freedom have replaced the Law! The two don't mix; we cannot hold onto law and at the same time believe we can live under grace. Grace and freedom have taken over. John 1:16-17 says: "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
As Christians, we know that the Law was given through Moses, but truth and grace came through Jesus Christ. This is a revelation that the Church needs not only to understand but to live, so that everyone can walk in total freedom. The Bible says that before the Law came through Moses, God had already given a promise to Abraham and his seed. The Law, therefore, could not annul the promise because it came from God.
I believe, today, the Church is full of law and that in many subtle ways God's people are being manipulated by it. Without Christians even realizing it, law is being imposed on them. Yet the Bible is clear; the Law was given to Moses for a time but now grace has come through Jesus Christ to replace that law.
In Galatians 3:15-16 we read "Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man's covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ." The promise made by God to Abraham and his seed was the promise of salvation. The seed that God spoke of to Abraham was none other than Jesus Christ himself. The promise was made before the Law was given and no one could change it. Even if the Law had come hundreds of years later no one could have changed the promise, it was sealed. God's Law, given to Moses for the people of Israel came 430 years after the promise was made to Abraham and his seed! At that point, they could have put the promise behind them, believing the Law would now reign forever.
The Bible continues, however, "the Law - cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ." (Galatians 3:17) God gave the promise in Christ before the Law came. Should the Law make the promise of no effect? If the inheritance comes by the Law, it is no longer a promise. But God gave it to Abraham through a promise. What did God give to Abraham through a promise? Our inheritance and salvation is for whoever believes. That's why Abraham is the father of faith because anyone who believes in Jesus inherits the promise and is saved. God's prophecy to Abraham and his seed came to pass when Christ died on the Cross. Abraham was justified by faith as he heard God's message to him. Now God's message to us is what He has already done for us in Christ. God in Christ has already made us ONE with Him. We have been fully justified and born again BY CHRIST'S RESURRECTION from the dead and NOT by our OWN EFFORTS!! As we hear this message to us we can believe it because it actually contains the necessary faith for us to fully experience its reality.
The promise, which was given before the Law, came into effect the day Jesus died on the Cross giving grace and freedom that replaced the law. In Galatians verse 19, Apostle Paul says, "What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions" - He says, "It was added". He is saying that the Law 'was added' to the promise. It did not cancel out the promise, because the promise was in God's heart before He gave the Law. The only reason that the Law was given was because of our transgressions. It was a means for God to show the people of Israel that He was their Father, that He was Holy, and that He loved them because He had made a covenant with them. The Law was powerless to change and perfect them, but it reminded them that they could not do as they pleased. We know that when Christ died on the Cross He conquered sin in the flesh - he defeated sin. But, when sin was defeated at the Cross, was there still a purpose for the Law? No! None whatsoever. Sin was defeated and no longer has any power over us so we do not need law. Praise God! Freedom and grace have replaced law. Isn't that exciting?
Continuing with Galatians 3:19: "Law - was added to the promise because of transgression until" What does this word 'until' mean? 'Until' means' up to'. For example, if I tell you I'll stay at your house until you come home, it means the moment you arrive I'm going to leave. As soon as you arrive, I'm out of there! The Bible says the Law was given for our transgressions until the seed came. So, once the seed has come, there's no reason for the Law to remain. This is not something I have made up, it is what the Bible says. It may be the first time you've seen it that way. Thank the Lord, because He is the One who reveals these things to us.
Galatians 3:19-21 says, "till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law." So if righteousness could have been attained by the Law, why did Jesus Christ have to die? There would have been no reason, but God knew before he gave the Law, that the Seed, Jesus, was to come and die on the Cross to redeem us from our sin. God still gave the Law, but only for a time. When the Seed came, grace came.
"The Law came through Moses, but truth and grace came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). Freedom and grace replaced the Law. We no longer need the Law because we live under grace, we are a free people. We don't need anyone putting us under law or pressure or obligation. There are no more regulations, no more 'dos' and 'don'ts', 'you have to', 'you should', or 'you shouldn't' - these should be excluded from a Christian's vocabulary. I'm free to decide if I have to, if I want to, or if I don't want to do something. No one should impose something on me and I should not impose anything on anyone. The moment I put pressure on you to do something I bring you back under the Old Covenant. Who wants to live under the Old Covenant when we are under the New Covenant? If you want to go and live under the Old Covenant, under the Law of "dos and don'ts", then you are backsliding.
Unfortunately, in many subtle ways, the law still creeps in. We don't even have to say anything, but it can be felt. It's in the atmosphere, in the spirit. I'm not talking about demons here, I'm talking about an attitude of heart, a way of thinking and behaving. For example, I don't have to say to you: "you must do such and such", for you to feel that I'm expecting you to do it. I don't have to say it or to write it down, but it's as if it's there and you're hearing or reading it. If the church or the pastor doesn't have any written laws that I must adhere to, it doesn't necessarily mean that there aren't any. It's an attitude that is around and felt clearly by everyone.
The truth under the New Covenant is that there is no longer any obligation, any pressure or regulation. It simply does not exist anymore! Maybe you are thinking, 'Am I really that free?' My answer is - Yes! Absolutely! That's what the Bible says! You cannot compromise or add to the Bible. Even if your mind or logic tells you otherwise, you can't add to it. Even if you refuse to believe something written in the Bible, you can't change it. It's impossible. You may desire to, but you cannot. What the Bible says is the truth, and we must respect, obey and submit to it. If I remove the Law, but at the same time I make people feel that they must obey the Law, then it means that somewhere I'm still under law. The real problem is that I don't trust the power of the Word of God, the power of the Gospel.
If I trust God and the power of the Gospel, then I give you your freedom. I understand that the power of the Gospel sets you free and causes you to obey God without me putting any pressure, law or obligation on you. If I don't understand and trust the power of the Gospel, I would try to stop you from sinning or from doing what your flesh desires to do. But that is not the real issue or point. Trying to do this just does not work. I need to understand that the power of the Gospel that delivers you and sets you totally free without my intervention. If I don't understand this, I will apply the Law, I will put pressure on you, telling you that you are not allowed to do something because that's what it says in the Bible, and if you do it, you will be cursed.
This is why we need to understand that freedom and grace have replaced the Law. 'Replaced' does not mean that they were added to the Law. No, it means the old was removed and something new was put in its place. The New Covenant removed the Law and brought grace. This was God's promise thousands of years ago. God kept His promise; He sent Jesus Christ who came and dealt with sin completely. That's why the Bible says: "what the Law could not do God did by sending his son in the flesh, so as to conquer sin in the flesh."
Sin was therefore totally conquered. You're probably thinking, 'That's not true because I still sin'. Now the reality is that you are no longer under the power of sin. We may sin and fail because we do not really know this truth or are still are trusting in our efforts and abilities to experience the freedom that HE has already given to us. We can put ourselves back under certain laws and as a result we will fail. We need to fully realize that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Grace gives us the ability to obey. That's the power of Christianity. God in Christ has fully dealt with the sin and mankind's fallen condition. If we, Christians, fall we are not condemned, because of what God in Christ has already accomplished for us and in us.
We do not need the Law or to feel under pressure from anyone. As believers, there is nothing that we are obliged to do. There are things we are called to do, but we are not under pressure to do them. If we were obliged, we would be continually condemned. Already we feel condemned and unworthy when we fall, and we are tempted to go and hide. How much worse then, if we have the pastor coming after us, in his big boots, asking: 'What have you done? Have you failed?' as though he's perfect. And while he goes off to discuss your 'great sin' with the elders before coming back to you with their decision, you're shaking like a leaf. You're terrified of what will happen to you, and you're thinking: 'Am I going to be allowed stay in the church? Will they still consider me a true Christian?' Sadly, this happens in many churches today. It's terrible! We need the Lord to give us light, and bring revelation to our hearts as to what happened on the Cross when Jesus Christ died.
In Galatians 3:22 we read: "But the scripture has confined all under sin - "Isn't that amazing? It's saying that sin has taken hold of everything and that our entire being has been subject to the power of sin from the day we were born. As we continue to read we see that there was a reason for this, " - so that the promise (given to Abraham and his seed), by faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those that believe." In other words, when we believe what God has already done on Christ we get to experience the inheritance, and if we fall, sin no longer has power over our lives. We read that in Romans. Why does sin no longer have power over our lives? Because we are no longer under law, but under grace. As long as law exists, sin has power, but when law is removed, sin is powerless. We might sin, you might even break one of the commandments, but the Law is no longer there to condemn you. You are under grace, not under law. That's the New Covenant in a nutshell!
All Christians need to understand this, so that we all come out from under the power of law. Every regulation, law, or obligation must be removed. 'You have to', or 'you don't have to', or 'the Bible says', or 'the Bible does not say'. The New Testament is not a book of law. It's the Old Testament that is the book of the Law. The Apostle James says that the New Covenant is the law of liberty, of freedom. So we must not allow ourselves to be under the Law's power any longer. We must understand that it is an attitude we carry, it's not what we say, it's the state of our heart. We may not say anything, but still communicate much. Our looks speak loudly and they show people what's in our heart. Our face changes, we look down our nose - Everything we're feeling inside is reflected on the outside. We can't hide it. Some poor guy may come to tell me something. I don't need to say anything but he feels condemned anyway because of my attitude. And he leaves not knowing what to put his faith in, he just wants to go and hide. It's my attitude of heart that matters more than anything else. In the Old Covenant, it was 'written', but in the New Covenant everything comes from the heart.
This is why, under the New Covenant, we simply can't try to please God when our heart is not right. The New Covenant is a covenant of the heart. It has nothing to do with our heads. Our heart speaks louder than anything we say. Christ came to remove the Law and bring grace and freedom. If we try to live under the New Covenant without freedom it will be very tough indeed, we will struggle. But Jesus Christ came to set us free! Not only from sin, but so that we can walk in the freedom of Christ, free to love and serve Him according to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit does not need a helper. You don't have to help Him by offering Him a bit of law. He doesn't work like that. You can't add anything to the Holy Spirit or give him some tips or good ideas about how to deal with your fellow Christians. It's useless; it's as if we're wanting to help God out, by trying to add to what only God can do! But God wants to help us. He's an all-powerful God! Yet often we want to add something, or bring law in as a substitute for the Holy Spirit. If you think about it, it's ridiculous! Who are we to do such a thing? The only reason we do this is because we are blind and the light of the gospel has not shone in our hearts; we don't understand. But the moment we see, we say, 'OK, I'm backing out, I surrender.' That's the truth. That's why those who see, do not try to manipulate what God wants to do. Unfortunately many still try, and it's a pity. If only we would understand, and trust Him. We try to help God out because we don't trust Him. I've found, every time I want to give Him a helping hand, it fails. Have you found that too? Every time we try to help God, we mess up. But when we leave Him to do the work, we can just relax. He's more than capable of doing it!
Unfortunately we find many Pharisees in the Church today. 'Pharisee' is not a title under the New Covenant, like it was under the Old Covenant. Let me remind you that for us under the New Covenant, our 'titles' are written on our hearts. I don't have to wear one on a badge, or write it on my business card, it's written on my heart. That's the unfortunate thing; we don't consider ourselves Pharisees, but we are when we put ourselves and others under pressure, and when we want to bring law, principles and techniques to the Christian life.
That's why I preach about grace all the time, because I myself forget. I find myself taking over. It's true for all of us. That's why we need to hear the message of grace and of the Cross every day, all the time! When you've received the revelation of grace and of what God has already accomplished on the cross and walk in it, then you're fine, you're in the way of victory! I love discovering what God in Christ has already done for me and in me. This is the Holy Spirit continuous work to me and in me as He takes the things of God and reveals them to me. The Spirit is active showing me new discoveries every single day. I live in a continuous and never ending stream of God's grace. My desire is to see Christians set free, no longer manipulated by anyone or by any law or obligation. Nothing! I truly believe in the power of the Gospel to set people free! Not only do I believe in it, but I am a witness to it. I've experienced it in my own life and in the lives of many people. I've seen the change, and the miracles that have happened. I've seen Christians being set free from their old way of life, without me interfering. The only thing I have to do is guide them. And, I'm sure the Holy Spirit can guide them better than I can. But we are called to preach the message through which the Holy Spirit will work.
We need the message - the True Gospel. We need the preaching of the Cross that opens the eyes of those who are blind or in the dark concerning the truth of what God in Christ has already accomplished for them and in them. When we bring Christians the true message, the Holy Spirit does the rest, but when we don't understand how the Lord and the Gospel can set people free, we try to invent things. We start to think about what we're going to do to get this person set free and delivered? We start inventing things and new doctrines.
Why does this happen? Because the gospel being preached has NO POWER, so instead many techniques are applied and much law is preached. People are led to believe that if they do such and such, this or that will happen; there are formulas, techniques and all sorts of things to fix every problem. But they don't work! Only when the True Gospel and the message of the Cross is preached can people be set free, and set increasingly free. When their eyes are opened they can joyful and gladly repent from all self efforts. They understand that they need to deny themselves. They understand that the problem was their flesh. As the Holy Spirit reveals to them the accomplished work of God in Christ, they see the vanity of all their past attempts to obey and please God. Then they respond with faith to the GIFT of God seeing that they can add nothing to the FINISHED WORK. Then they experience the freedom that the Lord has FREELY offered them and are now able to walk continuously in victory. When a person experiences Christ's true freedom, they are FREE INDEED! When we understand the Gospel's power, then we have the freedom to give others their freedom. Even if they fail, it's not a problem. You and I may fail too, but we are not condemned if we fail. We know that the Law was powerless to perfect us or anyone else. Under the Old Covenant, sins where only covered by the blood for a year. The root issue was never resolved until God in Christ dwelt with it fully in His death and resurrection from the dead.
Now many people come to a meeting with an attitude thinking, 'What am I going to get from the Lord? I'm going to ask Him for something.' Or like the guy who, after just having had a big fight with his wife, comes to church, proud, as if he's an angel, and proceeds to say: 'Lord, I want this, I want that, I want the other.' At church he hears that God wants to bless him, and bless him above all things, that the Lord will multiply his seed - and all the rest! He then goes back home unchanged. His eyes and his heart were fixed on material things. That's all he's looking for. He arrives at church with that attitude of heart, he doesn't hear the right message; and he returns home in exactly the same state. What's more, he goes home with a bit of law, in fact his problem has doubled. He is depend on his own efforts to somehow change his heart. He comes to church wanting to get wonderful things from God. He's received a promise from the preacher that he's going to receive something wonderful in a few days. When he doesn't receive it in a few days he thinks, 'maybe next week'. And then he becomes disillusioned. Add a bit of law to that and you find he just gets fed up and discouraged.
He then may mess up his entire life because he's so discouraged! His heart is twisted and the door is open for the devil to come and tempt him, and screw up his life. He's in a place where he doesn't know what to do with his life. The end result of it all is that one day he leaves the church and goes into the world; his life is ruined. Can you see how by having a book of law in his pocket, combined with a twisted attempts to obey God from selfish desires, and coming to church looking for material blessings, he ends up ruining his life?
Many preachers tell their people over and over again what they can and cannot do but his hearers remain the completely unchanged. The reason for this is because they are not preaching the True Gospel at all. The fact is what they are telling people has no power to open their eyes to the truth of what God in Christ has already accomplished for them. This preacher has been preaching to the people for years, and nothing has changed or works. He doesn't know what else to do so he starts to apply some law. He tells them, 'the Bible says that you're not allowed to do this. The Bible says you must do that. He may even have an alter call for you to come forward to repent, get right with God or rededicate yourself again to God. Now because he did not preach the True Gospel, they attempt to do these things by their own efforts which only make things even worse. He may tell the men that the bible says, husband you must love your wife'. When the guy says he can't love his wife, the preacher says he must or else God will deal with him! And the guy is left feeling totally condemned because he doesn't know what to do and he doesn't know how to love his wife the way God wants him to. All he knows how to do is give her flowers and chocolates or whatever.
The Gospel of Grace is powerful enough to break and change everything! Either we believe in the power of the Gospel or we're just playing at church, and if we're playing at church then we're putting a set of laws in place: 'You are allowed to do this, you're not allowed to do that'. I've been set free! The Bible declares that when the Lord sets us free we are free indeed! The people of the world believe that Christianity is a just a set of laws and rules. The Lord wants to set us free from all rules and laws and things that do not bear good fruit in our lives. He wants to do it by the Word of God. We need to hear the Word of Truth in order to be changed.
The Holy Spirit is able to show us, direct us and set us free. That's what the Bible says: 'When the Son sets you free you are free indeed'. I am telling you that Christianity is not a set of laws. There's nothing of the Law in it. I cannot understand, how there are so many preachers today imposing things from the Old Covenant on Christians; laws that came from being under the Levitical priesthood. Some people will even tell you that if you don't do something, you're going to be cursed! The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ has set us free from the curse of the Law. We were under a curse. How can we want to be under one again? I don't want to be under any curse, or law, or obligation. The New Covenant lifestyle is a one of the heart and God has given me a new heart that can obey Him..
As Christians, we are all different; we are where we are, but the good news is that there is always room for growth in grace. There is room for us to become men and women of the spirit. Not by law, not because that someone tells me that I need to do something. I hate that! The law was never designed by God to solve the problem with sin. Now Christ has already dwelt with this sin issue once and for all. So we need to the GRACE of the gospel that actually provides the solution to sin and mankind's fallen condition. A brother or sister who falls but who is hearing the True Gospel, might fall again, but one day, they will be free! They will grow. One day they will come to a point where the Lord will set them free of the thing that keeps them captive, and bound. God will do it! In the mean time, we will love and help them by bringing the Word of God, the Gospel, the true message of the Cross to them. And when their eyes are opened then true repentance and freedom follows. Do you see the pattern?
The Law came through Moses, but Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ. That's the Good News! That's why we need to stand fast in the freedom and liberty in which God has set us free and not get tangled again with the yoke of bondage of laws or rules again. We can never allow the Law to come back into our lives because if we do will will experience only defeat and failure. It's much easier to walk by law than by the Spirit. It's much easier to have a set of laws and to try and fit our lives around them, but at the same time we will not be free, we will remain bound. Yet, the Bible says that the Son of God came to set people free; not only free from sin, but free to please God, free to accomplish the Law by the Spirit. If you try to use the Law to accomplish the Law you'll never make it. Never! But, by grace, with the Holy Spirit you will; He is able to deal with our lives and set us free!
Let us now examine some of the things that God in Christ has already accomplished for and in us.
We have been crucified with Christ and have been raised with Him. We have been made holy, perfect, and are now without blame. We have been made one with God and Christ. It was only by God's doing that we are placed in union with Christ. We were fully justified and born again by Christ's resurrection. Christ now is our life, our sanctification and our wisdom. Christ is our only hope of glory. We are a new creation and we are partaker of His divine nature. We have been set free from the power of sin. Sin is now longer our master. We have received a new heart and a new Spirit and we are careful to obey God. We have been totally forgiven and God no longer remembers our sins or iniquities. We can glorify God daily because it is God who is actually dwelling within us both to do and to will of HIS pleasure. We have taken and delivered out from the kingdom of darkness and placed in Christ's Kingdom of Love and light. We have been made to sit in the heavenly places on the right hand side of God. God has circumcised our heart in order that we can love Him correctly and live. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us. God has justified the ungodly and the heathens.
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death. We are dead to the law and set totally free from the law. We have no relationship with the 1st Adam and have been totally set free from the consequences of his disobedience. Now our life is in Christ, the last Adam and as result of His obedience we are forever righteous and free from all condemnation. All guilt has been fully removed. All the works of the Holy Spirit are redemptive and to bring us out from laws and to set us free. The Holy Spirit never brings judgment or punishment to shame us. The Holy Spirit opens the eyes of the blind and sets the captive free. If you have been held captive by sin, He will LOVINGLY open your eyes to the FREEDOM in Christ to lead you and guide you into ALL truth. Every second of every day He is with us as He takes the things of Christ and then reveals them to our mind.
It is extremely essential that you see all this was by God's doing and plan before you were born. This is HIS work for you and in you. This is a fact and an existing present reality. These facts are UNCHANGEABLE. This is a done and FINISHED work of Christ. These facts exist even if someone does not believe them. We are just the beneficiaries and participants in HIS accomplished work.
This is the ONLY True Gospel message to us that has the power contained in it that supplies you with the necessary faith to respond. Look at God's commitment to you and His faithfulness toward you. Christ died for us WHILE we were sinners and when we were without ANY STRENGTH to do anything about it. God in Christ has fully done and accomplished what we or the law could NEVER DO!
As you see this, you can then place your total confidence and trust in HIM with full and complete assurance that God, Himself who begun this good work in you WILL totally finish and complete it.
We are ONLY saved by what God has already done and accomplished in Christ. Any repentance, belief, trust and confidence we have MUST rest in this FACT ALONE. Our repentance, belief, trust and confidence does NOT save us by itself. That is IMPOSSIBLE. Christ alone has saved us and as we see that we can respond and be an active participant in HIS accomplished work.
It Is ONLY as we lay hold of HIS HOLD on us that we can truly enjoy His finished Salvation. Any attempt to work up our faith, belief, and confidence in something that we do will always FAIL because we are only saved by his faithfulness towards us. His salvation is His GIFT to us that has NOTHING to do with our own efforts lest we will boast.
Eph. 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Look at these quotes from Charles Spurgeon.
"Now I will give the poor sinner a means of detecting Satan, so he may know whether his convictions are from the Holy Spirit, or merely the bellowing of hell in his ears. In the first place, you may always be sure that that which comes from the devil will make you look at yourselves and not at Christ. The Holy Spirit's work is to turn our eyes from ourselves to Jesus Christ, but the enemy's work is the very opposite. Nine out of ten of the insinuations of the devil have to do with ourselves… "You do not repent enough"" that is self. "You have got such a wavering hold of Christ" that is self. Thus the devil begins picking holes in us; whereas the Holy Spirit takes self entirely away, and tells us that we are "nothing at all, - but that "Jesus Christ is all in all."
"Nothing is to be trusted to but the finished work of Jesus Christ upon Calvary's bloody tree! No feelings, no emotion, no believing, no conversion, even, must ever be put into the place of that one eternal Rock of refuge—the blood and merit of Jesus Christ! Fly there, poor Soul! Whatever you are, or are not, fly there! Cast your guilty self on Christ and rest there, for there alone can you find salvation! Learn this lesson - not to trust Christ because you repent, but trust Christ to make you repent—not to come to Christ because you have a broken heart, but to come to Him that He may give you a broken heart - not to come to Him because you are fit to come, but to come to Him because you are unfit to come! Your fitness is your unfitness. Your qualification is your lack of qualification. You are to be nothing, in fact, and to come to Christ as nothing - and when you so come, then will repentance come!"
Now look to Christ who is the author and finisher of your faith. Ask Him to open your eyes to this existing reality. See His everlasting love embrace and hold on you and respond to that.
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