John 1:17 states, “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” This does not mean there was no grace under the law of Moses, as some conclude. Could one say there was no truth in the law of Moses? Obviously not, but this would be a similar mistreatment of this verse. Note the words “was given” and “came” which show this statement is a contrast between the origin of two systems: the Old Testament and the New. Moses was the representative through whom the old covenant, the law, came (Ex. 24:12; Lev. 26:46; Deut. 5:1,2). Jesus is full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14). He is the author of salvation (Heb. 5:9), who came to bring in a better covenant based upon better promises (Heb. 7:22; 8:6; 12:24). God’s grace is seen under the law of Moses in that He took a stiff-necked people for His inheritance (Ex. 34:9; Deut. 32:9), went in their midst to give them the promised land (Neh. 9:13-15), and forgave their sins (Lev. 4) by ultimately paying for them later in the sacrifice of Jesus (Heb. 9:15).

Just as we should not conclude there was no grace in the Old Testament, we also must not conclude there is no law in the sense of required obedience in this new covenant of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 5:9 teaches that Christ is the author of salvation, “to all who obey Him.” Grace and truth are inseparably tied together in Jesus Christ. To know Jesus is to obey Him and walk in truth:

Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. (1 John 2:3-6.)

Jesus plainly stated that to call Him Lord, but to refuse to obey His will, results in being lost in the final day (Mt. 7:21-27; Lk. 6:46-49).

The New Testament refers to “the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2), “under law to Christ” (1 Cor. 9:21), and the “law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1, 2). The New Testament is filled with commands, rules of action, and codes of conduct for the Christian.

Why then does Romans 6:14 say, “you are not under law but under grace”? The point is that law-keeping is not the ultimate basis of one’s justified status before God. At its root, salvation results from God’s grace in Jesus Christ (cf. Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:3-7). Yet, the context of Romans 6 is that grace is far from being a license to sin. When properly understood, it motivates one to live to please the Lord, the provider of grace. Christians, as recipients of the grace of Jesus Christ, have had a radical paradigm shift regarding sin. We are dead to sin (Rom. 6:2-11). How could we live any longer in it?

If people like Noah could find grace in the eyes of the Lord (Gen. 6:8) and be saved— before the law of Moses and the gospel came—by following all God commanded (Gen. 6:22; 7:5), then certainly we should want to be saved by obeying the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24) today. We have a tremendous advantage over those in former dispensations in the full revelation of God’s grace in Jesus Christ, which should compel us even more to obey. We can come to Him in faith to be washed in water for the remission of sins and be saved by the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (Acts 22:16; 1 Pet. 3:20, 21).

God is the author of marriage and the home. He created man and woman to be joined together as long as they live (Gen. 2:24; Mt. 19:4-6; Rom. 7:1-3). He desires for humans to be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over all things on the earth (Gen. 1:27, 28). The devil has been relentless in his attacks on the home. If marriages fail and homes are ruptured, then souls become more vulnerable to the devil’s devices. Marriage is intended to prevent fornication (1 Cor. 7:2), but divorced people can be in a place where they are more tempted to commit sexual sin (Mt. 5:32). Children of divorced parents are often deprived of the blessing of the united wisdom of both father and mother in their home (Prov. 4:3; 6:20; 23:22; 30:17).

This is not to say there is no hope outside of marriage. Single people can focus solely on serving the Lord (1 Cor. 7:32). A divorced person can be a very dedicated disciple (1 Cor. 7:15). Some have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake (Mt. 19:12). The other parent of your children may not share the faith and convictions you have in Christ, but you can still influence your children for good (1 Cor. 7:12-14; Acts 16:1; 2 Tim. 1:5). Children whose parents are not married can rise above their circumstances and honor the Lord with their lives (Ezek. 18:14).

Yet, a marriage which remains intact is the Lord’s intention. Instead of a consumer approach to marriage—where each party is primarily focused on if they are happy with what they are getting out of the marriage—we must go back to the way the Bible teaches we should view marriage. Marriage is a covenant. In Malachi 2:14-16 the Lord says through the prophet:

[T]he LORD has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant: But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. “For the LORD God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with violence,” says the LORD of hosts. “Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”

In a covenant, the relationship is more important than the individual’s personal benefits derived at any given juncture. Because marriage is a covenant made to one’s spouse and to God, Christians are to behave a certain way toward their spouses based on God’s commands regardless of whether they believe their spouses deserve good treatment. Husbands love their wives as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25-29. This means they are giving (Eph. 5:25). They show consideration (Col. 3:19). They dwell with them with understanding (1 Pet. 3:7). Wives respect their husbands (Eph. 5:33; 1 Pet. 3:1). They do not run them down to others nor constantly criticize. They learn from older women, who have been married longer, to show love to their husbands by respecting them (Titus 2:4; 1 Pet. 3:1, 5, 6).

May the Lord help us in our efforts to have good marriages which honor God. May we have godly homes as a result where children can benefit from the love and harmony God intended rather than the dysfunction and isolation, which so often plague homes today.

In the beginning, God placed man in a beautiful garden to dress it and keep it (Gen. 2:15). However, after man chose to sin, he had to be kept from the garden (Gen. 3:22-24). The same Hebrew word—shamar–used in Genesis 2:15 to describe man’s duty to keep, watch, and preserve the garden is used in Genesis 3:24 to describe the cherubim and “flaming sword” guarding the way of the tree of life.

This is how it goes when sin enters our lives. Realms God has intended for peace and good relationships are lost in exchange for selfishness resulting in isolation. Because men fail to be on guard and keep that with which God has blessed them, a separation occurs between God and people (Isa. 59:1-2). Man is then barred from the blessings which were once his. Some men are so sinful that they must be guarded continually lest they reach out in selfishness, harm others, and take something that is not lawfully theirs. A man is to protect his wife and children, but sometimes in the case of a sinful man, his wife and children must be protected from him. Proverbs 20:1 says, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.” How many homes have had their peace shattered by an alcoholic, abusive husband and father? This is the twisted, devastating effect of sin.

Sin, however, affects all of us (Rom. 3:23). One does not have to be a drunkard, nor a danger to one’s own family to be guilty before God. All the world stands guilty before the Holy One (Rom. 3:19). We are all separated from the tree of life. But the story is not over. God extends the hope of eternal life to us (Titus 3:7). God offers eternal life in a qualitative sense. Every soul will live somewhere forever; the question is whether that eternal existence will be one of blessing or punishment (Matt. 25:46). Eternal life, then, is eternal prosperity.

How do we get back to the tree of life? How do we retrieve that which has been lost? How can we be among the number of those blessed with healing who are among the tree of life in Revelation 22:1-4? We cannot on our own merits get back to that tree. In sin we are dead spiritually (Eph. 2:1, 5). We have no strength to save ourselves (Eph. 2:8; Rom. 5:6).

Throughout the Bible, the sword represents the justice of God (Psa. 7:12; Jer. 25:29; Ezek. 29:8; Rom. 13:4). The sword represents the death penalty for those guilty of sin. God’s justice demands penalty for sin—that penalty is death. Romans 6:23, says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus took the curse for us by his crucifixion (Gal. 3:13). In this way, God is just in punishing sin but can also justify us in the blood of His son (Rom. 3:26). In a sense, Jesus took the sword for us so that we might have access to the tree of life again. In Revelation 22, the throne of God and the Lamb is there with the tree of life (Rev. 22:1, 3).  Jesus is this lamb, who earlier in the book appears to take the scroll from Him who sat on the throne; the lyrics of a new song contain these words: “For you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood” (Rev. 5:6-9).

Jesus is the only way back to the presence of God and the tree of life (John 14:6). Are your sins washed away in the blood of the Lamb (Acts 22:16)?