2011.01.07
About grace NOT law
By
James Robertson
In response to the email about judgment on the church i received the following email which i post for your consideration.
It does not address the subject of judgment for the sins of the modern church but it does highlight a widely held view of grace which gives us an excuse to not even attempt to live righteously and look for and deal with sin in our lives.
This view holds that grace permits us to call our Almighty Father Yah and his son Yahooshua any name we like (God, the LORD, Jesus etc) because of our traditions, that it does not matter if we lie about Yahooshua's birthday and commemorate it on a day that could not possibly be his birthday (Christmas), that we can condone murder by abolishing the death penalty, that we can condone adultery by denying the sanctity of virginity, etc, etc.
The people who advocate this argument for grace would DENY that this is what they are doing but when we get down to the harsh reality this is what they are saying.
The short answer to this argument is that Yah hates these things and nothing Yahooshua did has changed that -- the grace referred to in the verses cited in the email says nothing about the willful sin of breaking the Ten Commandments or even the unconscious sin of breaking them and Revelation 21:8 which is directed to believers as well as to unbelievers, clearly indicates that there IS a part in the lake of fire and brimstone for BELIEVERS.
Yah says that it is grievous sin to suggest that grace allows us to break the commandments without judgment and that this is a gross insult to Yahooshua in terms of what he accomplished on the stake {cross}.
I will try and share some further thoughts on aspects of this in subsequent emails.
>>> EMAIL BEGINS <<<
Dear James
I am by no means the scholar you are, but I have a deep loving walk with the Lord, and I would like to share with you my views.
I dont wish to spark a debate with you, as I realise you have your own views. But I would appreciate if you would read my response.
As believers in Christ, we have presumably accepted Him as Lord and Saviour. In so doing, the Word says that there is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah, His work has been done. It is FINISHED! The Lord’s blessings are not based on our own efforts. We cannot earn God’s blessings... Everything we have is based on His love and Grace which has NOTHING TO DO WITH US!
It has everything to do with the fact that His work was completed at the cross.
We are now under the covenant of GRACE not the covenant of LAW. The Law was fulfilled completely on the Cross. He completed it! When He hung on the cross He cried out ”It is Finished!”.
“But this Man, after He offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God... For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified”. Hebrews 10:12-14 His work on the cross was offered as one sacrifice FOREVER, and when you received Jesus Christ into your life, you were perfected forever! Forever is forever.
We cannot qualify ourselves by our own works. Otherwise we will live in continual condemnation.
“For the law was given by Moses, but Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” John 1:17
I believe that the purpose of the law is so that the world would have knowledge of sin and recognise their need for a saviour. Without the law there would be no sin. No recognition of sin equals no need for a Saviour. The law was given to bring man to the end of himself so that in his despair he would see the need for Jesus. Because of the law no man can say that he is not a sinner and no man can say that he doesn’t need Jesus. That is the purpose of the law. It was not designed to make you godly but to expose your ungodliness. Through Him, you are no longer under the condemnation of the law.
In Romans 6:14 it says “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace”.
The more grace you receive, the more power you have to overcome sin! In other words, sin shall not have dominion over you when you receive the abundance of Grace!
Hebrews 8:8-12
8For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
9Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
See how the focus is on Him! He will....NOT US! It is His covenant and He will do the work! I find an awesome freedom in His grace!
Acts 13:38-39
there let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man (Jesus) is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
I have personally found that by accepting that that in my own strength and in the face of the law, all I do is sin. But in the face of His love and Grace, that I draw closer to Him and Love Him more and more every day... and have no desire to sin! Hangups and areas of sin in my life are dissolving in the Light! Just by realising that HE has made me righteous by His blood! By His shedding of blood and forgiveness, I am His child.
How awesome is that.
Grace is not being withdrawn!! It was given wholeheartedly at the Cross!
My walk with Him has truly deepened since I have truly understood this! It is our relationship with Him and understanding that he is Daddy!