So in church today, my pastor was teaching the second part of a series on "Church." I've noticed that this theme has been a hot topic lately. What makes a "church?" What does it look like? How is it defined? I think these questions have consumed us so, that we are forgetting the bigger question. Is it important to understand what church means and what it looks like? Yes, definitely. However, I've noticed another topic that is no longer wrapped in as much thought or concern. That topic is the Gospel.
What is the Gospel? What is the 'Good News?'
In 2-3 sentences, just about every "Christian" in America would agree on the definition. But, any more than that and you will soon see conflict and disagreement. The issue is that we don't think about the Gospel enough. We don't consider how to apply this good news or consider our responsibility to the Gospel. So, in a world of political correctness, we place this topic on the back burner and spend (waste) our time on self-help and christian living (two sub-genres of Christian literature that I think are fairly useless to believers).
The main conflict lies in the question of Grace vs Law. Now every Christian will quote "we are not under law, but under grace." Then some will be quick to point our Paul's words regarding his "obligation to the grace" he was given. No one likes to think of themselves in either camp, but if we were to stand back and watch, we'd see subtle clues that let us know where we stand.
The law camp loves to memorize scriptures that regard conduct. They unconsciously label everything black and white, sin or okay. They can quickly tell you whether an action is okay or requires repentance. No cursing, no drinking, avoid bad company, no bad movies, etc. They make comments like, "that movie was so good, it only had 3 bad words in it" or "I only had one drink so that they wouldn't think I was judging them." The law camp feels the need to defend or justify actions that may be culturally or socially or religiously taboo or against the grain. They often compare themselves with others and determine a sort of 'level of spirituality' among themselves and their peers. You don't have to admit it, but we (those in the law camp) all know we've considered ourselves 'behind' or 'ahead' of our Christian brother or sister at some point. The law camp is focused on conduct and consequences, all the while proclaiming that we are not saved by works. Word and deed, in this case, do not agree.
The grace camp, on the other hand, loves to talk about the fact that we are no longer under the law. Love is the main topic here. We need to love our neighbor and serve them. We teach 'relationship' instead of 'religion.' We, in the grace camp, love to quote the "self-made religion" verse in Col. 2. The grace camp is generally opposed to organized religion and the 'institutional church.' They aren't keen on church leadership or hierarchy. Many attend home churches or simply hold "family Bible studies" here and there. The grace camp does not like to be told what to do or what not to do. And last, in a strange twist of fate, the grace camp labels and judges their neighbor just as much as the law camp does, yet instead of judging the level of spirituality they judge the level of freedom they walk in.
Describing these two camps was painful, considering that I've been a camper in both, and no one likes to feel rebuked. It isn't fun and usually hurts. So, to communicate my heart, let me say that I am not saying that these are concise descriptions and that every single believer is in one or the other. I'm simply trying to point out a conflict I see among believers and to communicate my thoughts on it.
First of all, you don't have to pick a camp. Second of all, neither camp is more 'saved' than the other. My thoughts are this, why can we not be both. There is truth in both, as much as we'd love to argue the point. You can search the Bible for the word religion and find many scriptures about the religion of God and what Christianity should look like. You can search for grace and law, and see the numerous scriptures about our freedom in Christ. So, the question is: how do we work the two together when they seem to so contradict one another? The answer, in part, is a mystery. The other part lies with how we view our faith.
"We are saved by grace and not by works, lest anyone should boast." "Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness...For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that it may rest on grace..." "But some will say, 'you have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith apart from your works and I'll show you my faith by my works...Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the alter? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works...for as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead."
Paul and James both give us an instruction regarding our faith and our works. The reason I bring this up is that usually, the grace camp preaching faith and the law camp, though also preaching faith, focuses on works. I think the key here is the phrase, "where there is no law there is no transgression." The problem with teaching only grace is that there is no understanding of grace apart from the law. The grace camp focuses on love (the most important aspect of the Christian life), yet we cannot love much, until we have been forgiven much (Luke 7:47). We cannot experience the gratitude of grace until we realize how much we do not deserve grace. The problem with teaching only law, is that there is no life or strength given to the body. There is no life in the law, only wrath.
Richard Owen Roberts said, "Preaching grace to those who have never felt the sting of the law is a major infraction of God's ways."
Let us remember that Jesus called for repentance before He called for faith. We must teach and live both law and grace to the glory of God. The reason is that the law points out our faults. Grace covers them and effectually changes our hearts to place faith in Christ. It is only then that we are acceptable to God. Both law and grace are necessary for us to understand what Christ did on the cross. There is only one way this can be applied in our lives, and that is through the light of Christ.
"In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him not anything was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it...to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor the will of the flesh nor the will man, but of God. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth...For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
"Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place trough angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith."
I have quoted these two passages (from John 1 and Galatians 3) because I believe they work together. The first passage teaches us how to apply both law and grace in our lives. The second passage explains why.
"The word became flesh...In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." Jesus was the embodiment of the word. For us to "let our light shine" or to "be a light in the darkness" we must abide in Christ. Jesus said, "those who love me abide in my word" and "if you abide in me, I abide in you." For us to be a light like Christ, we must abide in God's word. This is more than just reading it. It involves living it. It requires works. Not works that earn salvation, but obedient works that glorify God, performed with a joyful heart that loves and adores the Father. "Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves, do what it says." By living, speaking, DOING the word, we are shining a light into the darkness (sinful man). This light exposes sin.
This light looks like LAW to the unbeliever because they recognize their sin and stand condemned. This is GRACE working in their heart to reveal to them their sin, to produce change in their lives. The law stands for them to recognize their need to repent. "...repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations..." To teach the grace of forgiveness without the law that produces repentance, we are going against the message of Christ. We teach law to the world because it stands in judgment, and grace to the children of God for strength, mercy, and everlasting joy to fulfill the will of God. The way you teach law to the world is by living a life unapologetically set apart for the Holiness of Christ. Not in an attempt to earn your salvation, but to earn the souls of men for the kingdom. We labor not for our salvation but for those who will come to Christ because of our testimony and the blood of the Lamb.
This does not mean we persecute the lost, but love them. This does not mean that we point out their sins, but serve them. This does not give us permission to live as we please, or we are of no use to the kingdom. It is not about earning our salvation, which would be selfish ambition. If you labor for self, you labor in vain. Yet those who have received GRACE are obliged to the grace they have received to labor for the lost of this world. Love and live.
**This topic is not exhausted here in this blog. There is so very much that can be discussed and considered, but hopefully I've laid out a framework that might better help you understand how both law and grace have their place in the ministry of every believer. Grace and Peace!
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