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GRACE AND LAW Howard Taylor.
81. Q. What is grace? Is it a spiritual substance that God puts in us? A. It would be better to say that grace is the free self-giving love of God to us in Jesus Christ given to our lives by the Holy Spirit. Salvation by grace alone means that God in his Son has not met us halfway, but has come right to us. He did not come part way to us and then ask us to do our part, by co-operating with him. He came right into our sin and death. We cannot in our own strength even respond to the love of God in Christ. Christ himself offered himself as man, to God, on our behalf. God has done everything for us in Christ and freely gives us Christ by the Holy Spirit. This is salvation by grace alone. It is salvation by Christ alone. In Christ God has sealed forever his covenant of grace with us. 82. Q. Does the word 'covenant' mean that God has made something like an agreement or contract with us? A It is better not to use these words because they are rather impersonal and could imply something like a business deal we might make with someone. Business deals are sealed by legal written documents setting forth the conditions of the contract. A better analogy would be a marriage where a man and a woman make an unconditional promise to love one another faithfully as long as they both shall live. Like marriage God's covenant with us is based on his unconditional personal love. While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. We respond by giving ourselves unconditionally to him in Christ. This is why our relationship with God is not based on impersonal written law but on grace and faith. We cannot earn God's favour as a worker earns wages (that would be like a contract). The New Testament therefore says we are saved, not by works of the law, but by grace through faith. 83. Q. Does this mean that the written law of God such as the Ten Commandments has no place in the Christian life? A. While we live in this sinful world our love and knowledge are far from perfect. We dare not simply trust our own consciences, wisdom or feelings of love. We need the written law of God to guide and inform our love for God and one another. Thus the written law is still essential for our Christian lives even though it is not the basis of our relationship with God. 84. Q. Does the fact that we live by God's grace mean that the Christian life is easy with no struggle or battle? A. No! The Christian life is compared with a warfare. We must daily allow the Holy Spirit to do his work in us which means a continual walking with Christ. This is what Jesus daily and following him. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the strength for the struggle, but it is nevertheless still a struggle.
REFERENCES 81. Eph. 2:8-10; Acts 15:11; Rom. 3:23-24. 82.-83. Is. 62:5; Jer. 31:32; Hos. 3:1; Eph. 5:22-33; Rev. 21:1-3; Exod. 20:1-17; Gal. 3:10-11, 15-25; Rom. 3:21 - 5:2. 84. Heb. 10:32-39; 1 Pet. 1:6-9; Mark 8:34-38; Heb. 12:1-13.
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