Does What We Do Matter?

Jesus makes very clear in Matthew 5:19 we are to obey the Law and teach others to do the same. Anyone who believes they can place faith in Jesus for their salvation and live a life of disobedience to God has misunderstood grace. Salvation from sin and eternal separation from God comes to us by God's grace through our faith in Jesus alone. Our salvation is in no way related to our good works or obedience to God's moral Law but obedience to God's Law is central to the life of a believer.

The Apostle Paul was often accused of being an antinomian. A what??? An antinomian is someone who teaches Christians are free from the moral Law of God by virtue of the grace God gives us through Jesus. Paul addressed such misunderstandings about his theology in Romans 6 when he wrote, "What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" In fact the entire chapter can be read as a defense against those who believed Paul's theology was antinomian in nature. As followers of Christ we have died to sin and its power over us! We have been resurrected to a new life of obedience in Christ! If anyone teaches otherwise their faith and relationship with Jesus should be questioned.

Grace is God's unmerited favor given to believers; we do absolutely nothing to earn grace! God gives grace simply because He loves us and has chosen to have mercy on us. When we believe and trust Jesus died on the Cross for our sins and give Him our life we enter into a relationship with God; we are saved from the eternal consequences of our sin (separation from God and a destiny which ends in hell). Many Christians understand this part of salvation and have faith in God for forgiveness of their sins and its consequences. But many believers have misunderstood the place of grace in their life for those years between salvation and the end of their life here on earth. Many believers have accepted the forgiveness and promises of Christ for their eternal future but failed to fully realize the promises of Christ for their present life. The result of this failure is many Christians receive salvation by faith in Christ and live the rest of their life in a vain attempt to garner God's favor through obedience to the Law. These poor souls have forgotten the definition of grace! Grace is unmerited favor! We can do nothing to earn God's grace and acceptance for both are given through our faith in Christ alone!

I once heard an old pastor say believers in Christ are not under the Law of God but rather walk in the Law of God. The preacher meant by this statement that we are not under the authority of the Law because our acceptance before God is never based on how well we keep the Law of God. God accepts and saves us on the basis of His grace and our faith in Christ alone! However, as believers we obey God's Law because of the relationship we have with Christ. Jesus said in John 14:23, "If anyone loves me he will obey my teaching." Our love for Christ compels us to obey the Law of God. We do not obey the Law to earn points with God or to be saved. We obey God's Law because of our relationship with Christ and love for Him. This may seem like splitting hairs to some but the difference is HUGE! We do NOT obey God's moral Law in order to be accepted by God but rather BECAUSE we are accepted by God.

Stay tuned for more on Law and grace tomorrow!

James