Understanding Grace For Salvation
“That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2:7 AV)
Salvation is just the beginning, for God’s plan for man is that we might live forever with Him. The favor of God that He has extended toward us seems to have no bounds. But for us to really understand what this grace is we must first understand where we are without it. To understand this we have to go back all the way to the beginning when sin first entered. We are the offspring of sinners and all of us have inherited a sin nature. History has shown time and again, that left to ourselves we will self-destruct. But God has throughout history sought to find men who would respond to the grace of God and preserve a remnant of people that would seek righteousness. He has not left us alone.
“14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 15 ¶ John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. 16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given by Moses, [but] grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” (Joh 1:14-17 AV)
We cannot understand the exceeding riches of His grace without an understanding of the Law. Jesus said that He did not come to condemn the World, for the World was already condemned. Jesus said that all of the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments, that we love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. Paul in addressing this issue in Romans, says that all have sinned and come short. The purpose of the Law was not to save us, but to reveal the exceeding sinfulness of sin and reveal our transgression against Heaven.
The purpose of the Law was to be our schoolmaster. To teach us righteousness and reveal our sinfulness in the eyes of Heaven. The Law taught a continual need for atonement for a people in bondage to sin and sinful desires. The Law illuminated that which men would prefer to keep hidden. The Law revealed righteousness and the consequences of unrighteousness. It revealed the judgment and justice of a holy God. The purpose of the Law was not to condemn, but to reveal the condemnation under which mankind lived. The purpose of the Law was to bring man to a place of repentance.
The Law did not come to Israel unaccompanied. It was accompanied with promise, hope for the future, and security for those who would put their trust in the God of Heaven. That hope for the grace that was to come was illustrated in a very real and physical way through the sacrifice and shedding of blood of innocent animals. The Law was also accompanied by the gracious Word of the Lord that came through his faithful servants, the prophets. That Word set the focus on the grace that was to come through the Messiah. Salvation was and always will be a matter of faith. It is the plan of God to accomplish that which we cannot. It is a plan to take an unrighteous people and make them righteous and acceptable in the sight of a holy and righteous God.
“But we know that the law [is] good, if a man use it lawfully;” (1Ti 1:8 AV)
“Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, … ” (1Ti 1:9 AV)
We know the Law is good, if it is used correctly. Some people love the Law, but others despise it. What makes the difference between these two opposite attitudes? God would have the Law bring us to the foot of the cross. The cross is where mercy and grace intersect with law and justice. But if the Law is used incorrectly, or unlawfully, contrary to God’s intended purpose, then it often has the opposite effect and becomes despised and rejected.
History has shown how men can manipulate the law and use it as a tool. Sometimes it is used as a tool to control other people. Sometimes it is used as a tool to elevate themselves, making themselves to look good and others bad. But an understanding of the Law can take that tool out of the hands of others and lay the responsibility squarely on each of our individual shoulders. When the Law is used correctly it clearly reveals our choice. We will either seek righteousness or we will rebel against righteousness.
Without the Law we cannot fully understand Grace. The Law exposed our desperate need for grace. The Law revealed the holiness of God. Grace made it possible to embrace the Law, to love it, to fully appreciate the righteousness it represents.
“1 ¶ Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” (Ps 1:1-3 AV)