Re: There is a difference
Submitted by GraceComesFirst on November 30 2000 16:39:48
In reply to There is a difference submitted by Triple Q on November 30 2000 12:36:10
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Let me make an effort to explain how I understand the relationship between the Law and Grace. This is the way that Martin Luther explained it (as best as I can remember off the top of my head): 1. The Israelites were going astray from God's way in the old days (ie, after the exodus), and so God needed to give them some guidance to keep them from becoming completely chaotic, rebellious, and idolatrous. 2. God gave the law as a guide and a disciplinarian. The law is perfect, and it teaches us what is required to please God and live in holiness. The law has two functions: it serves as a complete guide to holiness and morality, and it accuses and convicts people of wrongdoing when they sin. People who break the law are punished, if there are witnesses to be found. 3. No one is really good enough or capable enough to keep all the law perfectly. The law itself is perfect, but the people are not, so they can't live up to it. So God appointed sacrifices as a substitute for the people's imperfections. That way they could be forgiven of their sins, without having to be completely perfect all the time. 4. God sent Jesus Christ to be the one final, perfect sacrifice that would take away the sin of the world once and for all. Jesus' sacrifice was better than the sacrifices of the past, and it brought about God's grace. In grace, God is forgiving people of their sins, and no longer holding their sins against them, because God loves us so much that he won't hold a grudge forever. 5. God's grace must not be abused. Grace does not erase one bit from the law. The law still exists, and it still serves as a guide, and an accuser when people sin. After the covenant of grace in Christ, there are now two types of sin: unintentional sins, which can always be forgiven instantly because of what Jesus did, and intentional, willful sins, which are even more grievous and wrong under the new covenant than the old, because they are a slap in the face of God's grace. But God is merciful, and will forgive even the intentional sins as often as needed, if the person is TRULY and honestly repentant. 6. Anyone who thinks they can get away with sinning intentionally, and PRETEND to ask for forgiveness, but secretly they intend to keep on sinning, is asking for it. 7. God is the only one who can truly judge the sins of any person. Christians are not supposed to pass judgment on one another. If you see someone doing something that you do not approve of personally, even if it may be a sin for you to do that thing, it may or may not be a sin for them--so do not judge, because for all you know, God may not agree with your judgments of others. This is how I understand traditional evangelical protestant theology. This is a fairly conservative, almost fundamentalist approach. But it is one way of looking at things that makes sense to me. Although this may seem a bit oversimplified to a liberal theologian, this is where I am coming from in my personal attitude. (The main difference I have with the fundamentalist view, is that personally I think God's love and mercy are stronger than his anger). |
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