Sabbath: Law and Grace
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Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Ezekiel 28.15-16; Deuteronomy 4:44; Romans 3:20; Deuteronomy 10:1-15; Deuteronomy 5:6-22; Deuteronomy 9:1-6.
Memory Text: “I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain” (Galatians 2:21).
Christians of most denominations talk about law and grace and understand the relationship between the two. The law is God’s standard of holiness and righteousness, and violation of that law is sin. “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). And because we all have violated that law — “But the Scripture has confined all under sin” (Galatians 3:22) — it’s only God’s grace that can save us. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
(Of course, there is the “slight detail” of the seventh-day Sabbath as part of the law. Yet, for various reasons, many Christians are determined, at least for now, to reject the seventh-day Sabbath, coming up with all sorts of weak excuses to justify their rejection. But that’s all another topic.)
Even if expressed in different ways and in various scenarios, the theme of law and grace certainly is found all through the Bible, including the book of Deuteronomy. Yes, Deuteronomy, too, presents the relationship between law and grace but in a unique context.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 13.
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Phew! Have we had some arguments over this topic! I think that in our discussions of this topic the real argument is that my explanation/wording is better than yours. Or, more to the point the cassette tape/DVD/Youtube video/preacher that I follow is better than the source that you follow. Even the early Christian Church got caught up with that one. Some thought that Apollos was better, while other described themselves as followers of Paul.
The real test of our understanding of the relationship between Law and Grace is not our ability to explain it but the difference in makes in the way we live our lives. Hopefully, we will think of that as we discuss this topic this coming week.
If I am up a ladder cleaning my gutters, I need to be very aware of the law of gravity. Do I mean I need to know the precise mathematical equation? No, because the equation is not what will bring me to the ground if I lean too far in the wrong direction. It is the reality represented by the equation that will bring me crashing down and harm me.
Unfortunately we use the word law to refer to both the reality itself and the verbal description of that reality. While we use the verbal description to think about and communicate the reality, at the end of the day it is the reality behind the verbal description that actually makes a difference. Thus, the real question that matters is am I in harmony with that reality or out of harmony with that reality?
This weeks study will unpack further detail of what that reality is.
I choose not to argue. Just the facts sir, just the facts What are the facts?
God does not take you where grace does not abound. Being interpreted, God only takes you into trust and obeying Him. If we have wisdom and understanding of His precepts, (there grace abounds). Deuteronomy 4:6. If we fail,(even #4) well you read it. Deutremony 30:17-18.
Now remember, if we fall, and then turn to Him for repentence, and forgiveness, He is faithful and just to forgive us. What about repentence? The next phrase is the next step. "And He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness". 1 John 1:9.
Than we hold on to the good He has done in us. Mind you, the Holy Spirit helps us hold on to the good(repentence). 2Timothy 1:13-14.
I see God's law being fundamental to everything in existence. Without God's creative law, nothing could exist. Regarding man's existence, God relates to us specific information to demarcate the path for man to take which will keep him alive according to His law; His Motive is Love inspired by Grace.
Law's purpose:
Rom.3:20 NIrV - "So it can't be said that anyone will be made right with God by obeying the law. Not at all! The law makes us more aware of our sin."
Grace through faith's purpose:
Eph.2:8-9 Amplified Bible - "For it is by grace [God's remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgement and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own efforts], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God."
God's Word:
John 1:14 Amplified Bible - "And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth absolutely free of deception."
God's Word - Christ Jesus the Savior, Son of God and man:
Matt.5:17 Amplified Bible: "Do not think that I came to do away with or undo the Law [of Moses] or the [writings of the] Prophets; I did not come to destroy but to fulfill."
Law and grace …. John 1:17 “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
So I’m pondering this text. Was there no grace with the law until Jesus came? No. Moses placed the law in the Ark of the Covenant under God’s Mercy Seat. Moses himself showed grace in offering to give up his own place in eternity for the sake of his people. So Moses, as a Messiah-type for the Israelites, revealed God’s grace through his actions.
Throughout the first five books of the Bible, Moses’ writings also show us that God’s unmerited blessing has ALWAYS entwined with God’s need for law and order. See Adam and Eve bowed with fear and sadness receiving God’s grace in a promise. Picture imperfect Noah and his small family, with the animals, bobbing around dry and safe on the endless surging ocean of God’s judgment. Read about the Cities of Refuge set up for murderers. God has ALWAYS provided us refuge from sin and it’s consequences. God’s system for living revealed through Moses shows us this.
So how does John 1:17 help us to better understand the connection between law and grace? Is Jesus’ system of living better than the one Moses imparted? Because I’m studying John 2 right now in a women’s Friday study group, I'm thinking of comparing Moses’ and Jesus’ first miraculous signs to help find an answer. They seem similar. Both involve blood and water.
Moses turned the Nile River into blood. We see God’s judgment let loose in response to Pharaoh’s disobedience. Eventually Pharaoh sees his streets running with the blood of his own firstborn. Moses is the voice of God’s warning, over and over, to the Israelites and to the Egyptians and Canaanites, warning what disobedience does. It pollutes and kills. It costs life.
Jesus, in His first coming, has a different mission than Moses (John 3:17, Luke 4:18-21). Jesus’ first supernatural act was turning the ceremonial washing-up water at a Jewish wedding feast into wine. Symbolically, Jesus, the Vine, offering His own blood “To make glad the hearts of men” (Psalm 104:15). Backing up a verse from our focus text to John 1:16, I read that from God’s fullness comes grace, overflowing generosity. In this miracle, Jesus transformed 90-180 gallons of water intended for symbolic purification into a celebration with the Bridegroom Himself. Jesus burst open the old stuffy Jewish-ritual wine skins with His new wine, His blood. Yes, Jesus’ system is better.
Grace and truth were there in OT times too, but they had been lost under a burdensome crusty weight of human tradition. Jesus took jars filled with human effort to be used outside the body for symbolic cleansing and turned this upside down, filling the jars with something pure and new to change and clean the inside of the body, the heart. If our rituals don’t bring us closer to Jesus and his ministry of grace, then they are meaningless.
Ellen White says, “ The traditions of men, like floating germs, attach themselves to the truth of God, and men regard them as a part of the truth. Through false doctrines Satan gains a foothold, and captivates the minds of men, causing them to hold theories that have no foundation in truth. Men boldly teach for doctrines the commandments of men, and as traditions pass on from age to age, they acquire a power over the human mind. But age does not make error truth, neither does it’s burdensome weight cause the plant of truth to become a parasite. The tree of truth bears its own genuine fruit, showing it’s true origin and nature.” Letter 43,1895.
Like most people who studied some theology, I have my opinion on this topic. It is very important to clarify the question. Most conversations imply or assume a certain relationship, but it is vital to get the right questions on the table.
So I'll come back in, later in the week, to see how it all goes.
Let's clarify by stating the commonalities between the law and gospel, and then the differences. Without that groundwork, we cannot possibly make sense of Paul's or any other writings on the topic.