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).
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