True Grace (Part 3)

Introduction

We have considered the definition of grace.

We have talked about how that plays out in God’s grace toward us and in our gracious response to Him.

Tonight we are going to thing about some of the ways we talk about grace and law that can help or hinder us in coming to a better understanding and participation in the grace of God.

The Demands of Grace

What do law and grace say about a command?

The typical view goes something like this, “When a command is given, law says you have to do it, grace says you should want to, but you don’t HAVE to.

Grace can demand obedience (Jn. 14:15; 15:14).

These sound like extremely unhealthy relationship statements.

And they are in the context of peers.

But in the context of authority they are not.

I heard coaches, teachers, and other authority figures say similar things.

But even in peer relationships, you don’t have to do “all that I command you” but if you disregard my will in the relationship, we are not friends. Doesn’t mean I won’t be kind to you and strive to love you. But we aren’t friends.

People think that grace cannot make demands. Like that it is definitionally impossible.

We must come to the law with grace in order to understand it and in order to truly comply (Matt. 5:21-25; 1 Tim. 1:8-10; cf. Deut. 6:5-9; Lk. 13:10-17).

When Paul says that the law is for the lawless, I believe he means like the command not to murder is for the person who have to have that rule. He is pulling at the chains and is a rebel and law is barely keeping him in line.

But grace wants more than base compliance. Grace wants you to learn from the command and grow so that you would never need someone to say do not murder.

Grace means you have to do more than process the surface.

You have to contemplate the command. Think about what all it means and the implications of it and put it together with other commands and build an understanding of what the lawgiver wants.

It means you want to understand what the lawgiver wants.

Yet, it demands it in the context of grace (Matt. 11:30).

God’s grace demands of us for our own benefit (Deut. 10:13).

Grace does not demand for selfish reasons.

It makes demands that make the relationship better.

So we find that in taking up the burden of grace, we are carrying a burden that seems light though we may be carrying far more than the law burden in some ways.

It is not lighter in terms of time and energy spent, but in the perception of that time and energy spent.

Cultivating Grace

The problem of Balaam (Num. 22-24).

The whole story of Balaam is trying to figure out a way to legally get his way.

He is ONLY constrained by bare commandment and nothing else.

But his quotes, taken in isolation, sound so good. (Num. 22:38)

“Do I have to” (Heb. 10:24-25).

When I teenager is asked to do a chore and gives this response, what is the proper answer?

Well, yes, you have to.

No you don’t have to. Neither do you have to eat or have a nice warm place to sleep at night.

The reason mom or dad gets exasperated with that question is that it means there is a failure at a fundamental level.

When a Christian asks to I have to attend services it is exasperating.

How am I supposed to answer that?

There is no real good answer except to say that the question means we got a problem.

If you come because you are convinced that it is a command and so you will be here and that’s that. Then you are here on the basis of law and not grace.

Now some would say, if you really understand grace you won’t feel guilty for just staying home sometimes.

But grace doesn’t say, I don’t have to go. Rather grace thinks far beyond just being there. It thinks in terms of what I am trying to accomplish at worship today.

The one who says I don’t have to go is a violator of both the law and and even more egregious violator of grace. He participates in neither.

Don’t take the easy way out (Lk. 10:29).

People want simple rules to follow and don’t like exceptions or the need for discernment and judgment.

Sometimes we have to start by seeing that the wrong questions are being asked in the first place.

But that takes thought and time and involvement.

Take everyone’s best interest into account (2 Cor. 8:4; Phil. 4:17).

When your children come and ask, “can I help” and you know that in the real sense of the word, the answer is certainly no.

There is no value they can actually bring to the table.

You don’t need their help and in fact they are more useful NOT helping.

But one day I’ll be wishing for them to ask. And instead of having established a pattern of receiving that gracious offer from them by graciously receiving, I have rejected and rejected it until it was profitable for me. And now it is no longer offered but must be demanded by law. Go. Do it. I command it.

I want to cultivate that kind of understanding of grace so they can understand what it is like to live in grace with God.

I don’t want them to grow past grace and into law?

Conclusion

So tonight, the invitation is not to simply accept the grace of God.

The invitation is to graciously respond to it. To love it and live it out in your life.