The Law, grace and love: Prt 2

Our need for a savior

Last week we looked at the truth of God’s Word regarding the law and grace. We established that all fail to meet the standard of the law. Yet, some folks will fail to see the depths of their sinfulness. How do you convince anyone of their sinfulness?

Are you strong, physically? How can we know without a real test? **

Test bring us up against a definitive standard. Test show us our limits. Test confront us with reality. They prove us and correct false ideas we have about ourselves.

Test show us where we fall short. This is also what the law does. No one will be saved by the law. This is not the point of the law. “ ** “

There is an important lesson the law teaches us.

Romans 3:20 “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

The law reveals your sin! It makes it plain as day to you. HOW?

By giving you a test that you flunk.

Remember, we all had our definition of strong until we put it to the test. The weight told us that we are not strong enough! Now we are clear.

The law is the same way. It is always telling you to do something!

but no matter how hard you try, you fail! “ ** “

Just like the weights, the law reveals our weakness. The law shows us how deep our sin goes. It lives within each of us.

Romans 7:23 “but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.”

Remember Jesus had an opportunity to speak about the law.

Matthew 22:36–40 ““Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.””

Jesus taught us to love God with all our heart, mind, souls and strength....and...love your neighbor as yourself.

Think about this. Jesus is saying. If you expect to be saved by your works then you better know how to love!

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Can you lift that kind of weight? Are you really a loving person?

Have you ever been impatient? Have you ever been unkind? envious? boastful?...

None of these are love.

This is what the law does. It puts our inner thoughts under a microscope and a giant spotlight on our sins in order to reveal our true situation before God.

The law is designed to help the sinner realize, if they are going to be saved, it will be by something outside of the law and their good works. What could that be?

Well, hello gospel!!

Galatians 3:21–26 “Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.”

Just as we established last week. The law had a determined beginning and a determined end. During its time it has a specific role. The law was there until Jesus came so that we could be justified before God. Not based on our works, but by faith.

The law was meant to lead people to the gospel.

Romans 5:6–8 “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”