DG#1 Key Distinctions regarding Grace

Intro:

Why study this topic of Grace? One of the most important aspects of the Christian life is assurance of salvation, one that God has promised and that every Christian should possess, seems to be missing in the lives of many.

People in general, including many Christians, assume that we will go to heaven if we are good enough. If we live a good life, do all of the right things, and avoid sinning, we have a good chance of being allowed into heaven. The problem is that one can never be sure that he or she is “good enough” to make the cut.

63 percent of the U.S. population thinks that if a person is good enough, he can earn his way to heaven. Even a third of those identifying themselves as born-again Christians said the same thing!

It seems clear that these folks are measuring their chances of going to heaven in terms of how good they perceive themselves to be. You can almost see them picturing God holding up a balance scale, with their sins on one side and their good deeds on the other.

This is evidence that many people including Christians have no clue how they are saved.

Hence, today we begin a series on the Biblical Doctrine of Grace. It is essentially a systematic theology of grace.

Generally, systematic theology is about looking at a certain teaching or topic from the perspective of the whole Bible.

Here in this course, we’re going to see theology as basically the art of making distinctions.

And we want to see 10 Important Distinctions for Understanding Grace.

Today’s lesson is a brief introduction to the most important distinctions necessary for a proper understanding of grace.

I. Creator vs Redeemer

A. God as Creator is the Lawgiver.

We can relate to God in 2 ways: Creator and Redeemer.

@@ As Creator, God functions as our lawgiver.

Since God’s human creatures, made in His image, are supposed to imitate His holiness, He as our Creator has given us laws to live by.

@@ The commandments of the law are God’s own holy character and will verbalized. God’s law is more than commandments, however. It also includes penalties, especially the penalty of eternal death in the lake of fire. Because God is holy and hates sin, He not only forbids it in the law’s commandments but also shows how much He hates it in the law’s penalties.

Isaiah 33:22 KJV 1900

22 For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, The Lord is our king; he will save us.

According to , the Lord is our lawgiver and judge.

B. God as Redeemer is the Healer

@@ As Redeemer, God seeks to save and heal us.

After man broke God’s laws, he is doomed to face the penalties of God’s commandments. If we only relate to God as Creator, we’re all doomed for hell.

So man also need to relate to God as Redeemer in order to escape the penalty of hell. And God as Redeemer is essentially God acting in grace.

Hence for man to correctly relate to God, he must relate to God both as Creator and Redeemer.

Without God as Redeemer, man can’t be healed of all of sin’s consequences.

II. Law Codes vs Law System

There is a big difference between Law Codes and Law System.

@@ A Law Code is simply the list of commands given by the Creator which we must obey.

The Law System is the way in which a person may get into heaven by obedience to God’s Law Code.

Understanding this distinction will help us to interpret Romans and Galatians because the word “law” is used frequently in these 2 books. For e.g ;

Understanding this distinction will help us to interpret Romans and Galatians between as the word “law” is used frequently in these 2 books. For e.g ;

Romans 3:20 KJV 1900

20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Romans 2:13 KJV 1900

13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

Romans 2:13 KJV 1900

13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

There 2 verses, merely one chapter apart, seem to contradict each other unless you know what Paul means by the word “law.”

In , the word “law” means law codes. But in , the word “law” refers to the law system. In the latter, Paul is saying under the law system, one is justified by doing the law codes. He is not saying that one can be justified by doing the law codes.

III. Law System vs Grace System

This distinction concerns the way we can be saved. This is perhaps the most important distinction in understanding Grace. It helps us to understand .

Romans 6:14–15 KJV 1900

14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

I said that the law refers to the OT and grace refers to the NT. This is also true as says.

John 1:17 KJV 1900

17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

In our study of Deut., we saw that God has always dealt with fallen men through grace. And this is true too as Deut. emphasizes God’s grace towards Israel by His election of Israel as a nation and the provision of the Promised Land.

Therefore, is more accurately defined by the Law System vs Grace System rather than OT vs NT.

Romans 6:14–15 KJV 1900

14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

@@ The law system means how you can get into heaven in relation to God as your Creator and your lawgiver. The grace system is how you get into heaven in relation to God as your redeemer.

IV. Law Commands vs Grace Commands

Based on the Law vs Grace system above, the law commands are the instructions God gives us as our Creator. These will be like the law codes given in the Law of Moses.

The Grace commands are then the instructions God gives as our Redeemer. It is very different from the Law commands.

A good illustration would be commands given by the government (law commands) vs commands given by the doctor (grace commands). The government takes care of the country and the doctor takes care of your body.

V. Obedience to Law Commands and to Grace Commands

Obedience to God’s commands includes obedience to both the law commands and the grace commands.

Obeying Law commands will be like obeying the law codes of Moses’ Law. Obeying Grace commands will be like obeying the Gospel (not the Gospel books, but the message of the Gospel.)

We’ll elaborate more on this latter on.

VI. Generic Works vs Works of the Law

VI. Generic Works vs Works of the Law

VI. Generic Works vs Works of the Law

VI. Generic Works vs Works of the Law

VI. Generic Works vs Works of the Law

This distinction has to do with how the NT speaks of the concept of works.

Generic things we do just refers to anything that we do, including obedience to the Law and Grace commands.

But Paul uses the term “works” in a more specific sense. He calls them “works of law.”

So there’s a general use of the term “works” and a specific use of the term “works.”

Again we’ll elaborate more later on when we see the big contrast between Law system and Grace system (not today).

VII. Law Commandments vs Law Penalties

VII. Law Commandments vs Law Penalties

We distinguish between the law’s commandments as such and the law’s penalties.

Any law in the sense of the law code contains both commandments and penalties.

@@ The Creator is both the lawgiver—He gives the commands—and He is the judge who hands out the penalties. For God to be true to Himself, He must see that both of these—His commands and His penalties—are strictly honored and followed.

VIII. Personal Righteousness vs God’s Righteousness

Here we want to see what kind of righteousness saves us. We really can’t be saved without righteousness. But there are these two kinds.

Personal righteousness is your own satisfaction of the requirements of God’s law.

God’s righteousness is what God does to ensure the perfection of His law is upheld.

We know personal righteousness cannot save us because the Bible pronounced all men unrighteous.

Romans 3:10 KJV 1900

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

If your unbelieving friend disagrees with you, you can show him . That is, you can’t find one person who is good all the time. And this is God’s standard.

Ecclesiastes 7:20 KJV 1900

20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

What sinners need is God’s righteousness which is what God did to uphold His righteousness in Christ Jesus. God’s righteousness is the heart of the Gospel. “it” in v16 and “therein” in v17 refers to the Gospel.

Romans 1:16–17 KJV 1900

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

IX. God’s Perfect Character vs God’s Gift to Sinners

Here we distinguish between God’s perfect moral character and His gift to sinners.

@@ In the Bible, sometimes the term “righteousness of God” refers simply to an attribute of His own inner character, His perfect moral character. But sometimes, “the righteousness of God” refers to something that He gives or transmits to us in His grace.

Both of these 2 kinds of God’s righteousness are required for our salvation and we’ll see this as we proceed through this topic of Grace.

X. Satisfaction of the Commands vs Penalties

Here we’re concerned about God’s righteousness as His gift to sinners.

We’ve to distinguish between the satisfaction of the law’s commands and the satisfaction of the law’s penalty.

God’s righteousness can be satisfied by obeying His law commands and if His law commands are disobeyed, His righteousness can be satisfied by meting out the law’s penalties.

For Christ to save us, He has to both obey God’s cmdts and bearing the penalties for cmdts broken.

Conclusion:

Today is just an introduction. As we proceed in this topic, we’ll have a clearer picture of what grace is.

Now is the time for discussion, you should ask questions regarding any doubts that you have firstly from this lesson and then anything under the sky.

Don’t forget to pray during the last 5 minutes.