Law or Grace?
Ponder: Are we under law? grace? both? neither? How does it all fit?
Scripture: “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14 NKJV).
Some say that faith is exclusive of works, and grace is exclusive of law. However, the Bible does not teach such ideas.
Paul wrote: “For you are not under law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14b). That’s it! Christians are not responsible to any law in any form or fashion, right? WRONG! Context shows that Paul is *not* denying that God has a law He requires Christians to obey. Look at the whole verse quoted above. Paul had been talking about our deliverance from the guilt and penalty of sin by the grace of God. If not for the blood of Christ that washes us from sin (both at baptism and on an ongoing basis), sin would have dominion over us.
The late R. L. Whiteside correctly observed that “if we were under no law, we would be guilty of no sin, and there would be no need of grace to forgive our sin” (Commentary on Romans, page 137). Paul put it this way: “sin is not imputed (charged against you) where there is no law” (Romans 5:13). Even before the Law of Moses was given on Mt. Sinai, people had law from God and sinned by violating it. If we had no law today, we could not sin. The fact that we need grace to forgive us proves that we are under divine law. Paul himself said that he was not “without law toward God, but under law toward Christ” (1 Corinthians 9:21).
Why, then, does he say we are not under law, but under grace. Paul is using a literary device to emphasize something greater (grace) by denying something lesser (law). Jesus did the same thing in John 12:44. “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me, but in Him who sent Me.” His point was that we not only believe in Him, but also in the Father. Likewise Paul is saying we are not just under law, but in a greater sense under grace. God’s grace provides for our forgiveness, thus keeping sin from having dominion over us. Remember, without law there can be no sin, and thus no need for grace.
Song: “Grace Greater Than Our Sin”
Prayer: God of all grace, we thank You for the forgiveness You extend to us by Your grace. Help us, we pray, to understand the truth about difficult subjects like grace, law, faith, and works. We pray in the name of Him who died for us, Amen.
Joe Slater (Justin, TX)