Studying the Law to Understand Grace

It's my observation that in the realm of Christianity in the U.S., grace is discussed all over the place. It's on the radio, in those 'encouraging daily devotionals', and in sermons both heretical and doctrinally sound. It's not that grace is a bad thing. Indeed, without God's grace toward guilty sinners, we'd all be doomed without hope. Still, I frequently have the overwhelming impression that all the talk about grace is out of balance. Why? The idea of grace is meaningless without an understanding of sin and the law.

To expand on my previous point; if we accept the definition that grace is favor given to the undeserving, then our estimation of the value of grace is determined by the difference between what we get and what we think we deserve. What we get – what God gives us, is essentially a fixed quantity (forgiveness, adoption, heaven, etc.). The variable here is our opinion of what we deserve. If you think that your relation to God is positive or neutral, you will appreciate grace less than someone who understands that our relationship to God is very much in the negative (of course, I'm talking pre-salvation right now). There's a beautiful example of this in Luke 7:36-50. The pharisees gave little regard to Jesus' presence, but this sinner (quite possibly a whore or adulteress given their reactions) showed him love and reverence in the most humble way. The reason for the different attitudes is obvious – the Pharisees had fooled themselves into thinking that they were pretty much OK, but this woman knew that she was a terrible sinner.

This principle holds true for each of us. You won't even begin to appreciate God's grace toward you until you understand the depth of your sin. Of course, this is true of the sinner who needs to repent and be saved, but it is also true for Christians. You see, even though we have a wonderful relationship with God, we have to remember how we got here. It was God who saved us and brought us into this right relationship. While we should rejoice in our new life, we should also never forget the pit that God dragged us out of, because if it weren't for Him, that's where we'd still be. Also consider that your pit is even deeper than you thought, because Christ didn't just die for sins present and past, but also future (as a Christian). In other words, Christ died for you when you were a liar, disobedient, drunkard, cheater, adulterer, etc. But he also died for you when you failed to serve him, when you blasphemed His name by acting in a way inconsistent with your calling, when you failed to love Him with all of your heart, etc.

So how do you gain a better understanding of sin? Romans 3:20 declares, “by the law is the knowledge of sin”. Pretty straightforward, we go to the law. As a side note, we focus on the general moral application of the law, not the sacrificial and governmental aspects. Only the former applies to gentiles (non-Jews). In the law we find that God expects us to love Him with all our heart. We are to love others as we love ourselves. We must not lie, steal, disobey our parents, lust, or covet. A single violation of a single law is enough to condemn you as a sinner (James 2:10). Each and every offense is punishable by hell. Recall, it only took one sin from Adam for God to curse not only mankind, but also the beautiful universe he had just created. I'm guessing you've stored up more than one, or even just a few offenses. It's within reason to estimate the number of sins in an average person's life to be in the hundreds of thousands. Man's justice is so incomplete, but we can still see some parallels. Some of the worst criminals are given multiple life sentences. Can you imagine a criminal who has been convicted of a hundred thousand life sentences? You're a little bit closer to understanding your sin.

Again, I'm not saying we should stay in the past, nor should you re-live your past to the point that you're unnecessarily tempted by old sins. Christian life should be lived in victory, love, and service. However, it does some good to think on where we came from every once in a while. Reflect on God's law, think of every sin that you've committed, try to comprehend the magnitude of your sin, then reflect on the fact that Jesus wiped away every blot with His sacrifice. When you develop a better appreciation for the gospel you will find a greater love for the Lord, a desire to further know Him, and greater motivation to serve.

In conclusion, you must understand sin in order to understand grace. When grace is discussed without also explaining why we need it, the result can only be confusion. An understanding of sin can be found by studying God's law. Occasionally reflecting on our old life of sin can be healthy in order to have a greater appreciation for Christ.

What Does it Mean to Love God?

Jesus said that the first and greatest commandment is, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all they soul, and with all thy mind.” It begs the question, what does it mean to love God? In some way, I think we all intuitively know the answer to this question, but there are still a few things to be said.

If you search the Bible for passages related to the love of God, you'll quickly notice a pattern. Our love of God is intimately tied to our obedience and service to Him (Joshua 22:5, Heb. 6:10, 1 John 2:5, 5:2). This is not merely talking about staying away from sin, but also discipling others, helping the needy, preaching the gospel, etc. If you look at Heb. 6:10 it describes ministering to brothers and sisters as a “labor of love toward God”. This is how it should be. Our love for God provokes us to serve Him, to love those that He loves, and to act as his hands and feet wherever He sends us.

But then, how do we grow in love for God? What happens when we just don't feel it? Do we go off and listen to some emotionally manipulative 'worship' songs? Is that how we stir our hearts up for the Lord? I think the answer lies in an examination of the deepest Earthly love – marriage. In Scripture, we see that marriage is intended to be a picture of our love for God and His love for us. It makes sense then that this picture can help us understand something of how we develop our love for God. Let me get practical. Men, what do you do when you wake up and you don't really “feel it” in your marriage anymore? Or what about when you and your wife argue about something and you're frustrated? Sometimes your heart just isn't into it, and in those times more than ever it's important for your head to lead your heart. So, you spend time with your wife, you watch a movie, you play a game, whatever it is that you do. You determine to love her, to be kind to her, and to serve her. Then a funny thing happens, your heart comes around again and you want to do those things. Not only that, you once again love your wife with your whole being.

Our love for God works in a similar way. You can't just manipulate your emotions into a lasting kind of love. Instead, you draw close to God by doing the thing you know that He'd like for you to do. You pray, read Scripture, serve others, etc. Especially when you don't want to. If you determine in your mind to love God and serve Him, it won't take long for your heart to come around.

The real danger that I see is when people let their emotions run them, instead of the other way around. It's as dangerous to your relationship with God as it is to your marriage. In marriage, this can lead to an unhappy home, unfaithfulness, or divorce. Spiritually, it can cause you to be “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine”, or to be firmly rooted in a place that you shouldn't be just because it feels good.

In conclusion, both the head and the heart are necessary for loving God, but the heart must not be the one to lead. Our love for God is not entirely different from other relationships and is especially similar to the love between a husband and wife. Finally, service and obedience are fantastic ways to draw closer to the Lord.