The Collision of Law and Grace

The first recorded gas powered automobile collision happened in 1891 in Ohio City, Ohio. James William Lambert was driving his single-cylinder vehicle with a friend James Swoveland. They hit a tree root, causing Lambert to lose control and smash into a hitching post. The injuries were minor.

Physics explains a collision as an event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other for a relatively short time. Now this can get extremely technical and involved, while the most common use of the word collision refers to incidents in which two or more objects collide such as a car crash, the scientific use of the word "collision" implies nothing about the magnitude of force. To illustrate here are some examples of physical interactions that scientists would consider collisions:

An insect touches its antenna to the leaf - the antenna is said to collide with the leaf

A cat walks delicately through the grass. Each contact that its paws make with the ground is a collision. Each brush of its fur against a blade of grass is a collision.

I've had personal experience I suppose with both types of collisions we don't often think of the technical scientific form of collision, but I really recall sitting in my little black Dodge Neon the first car I ever owned, my wife and I were headed home and getting ready to turn on the street we lived, while waiting on oncoming traffic to pass by, a large pick-up truck behind us obviously didn't see my brake lights and slammed into our stopped car going about 30 mph, that was quite a feeling, and then the accident we had here a couple of years ago at Taft and Julia.

There is another collision I want us to focus on this morning, the collision of Law and Grace.

I want to make clear, that the Law was never done away with, it's demands are the same they have not changed nor will they, don't ever use Grace as a cop out for obedience to God's command, the Law has, however, been fulfilled. Jesus never came to destroy or do away with it, that was his statement, I came not to destroy the law but to fulfill" Matthew 15:17-20 here he promises that neither he nor anyone can destroy the law or make it pass away till it is all fulfilled.

What is the law? Law is defined as "the body of divine commandments as expressed in the Bible or other religious texts." Primarily the Old Testament Law concerned with what could or could not be done in order to appease God. It's main purpose was not salvific but rather instructive to teach people who God was, what he was like, how he was "absolutely Holy" What sin was and how to avoid it. The Law also clearly demonstrated that no human being could purify himself enough to please God—i.e., the Law revealed our need for a Savior.

What is Grace? Some have simply defined grace as the unmerited favor of God that is a good way to think of grace but it is so much more than that. I like how Dr. Alan Brown defines grace, "Grace - “the unmerited love and mercy of God that He pours out on undeserving people (Ephesians 2:4-5), which is designed to produce in them both the desire and the power to do God’s will (1 Corinthians 15:10)”. Another way of defining grace is simply to quote Philippians 2:13, “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

We find in the Life of Christ several collisions between the Law and Grace

There were several incidents of him healing on the Sabbath day, now this does not give us permission to just go out and do whatever we want on the Lord's day, but it did reset the principle for a day of rest.

There was the woman caught in adultery - Moses said to stone, when Jesus finished he simply told her to go and sin no more.

The Law brought death and destruction Grace provides life and life more abundantly

The law placed us under bondage, Grace provides freedom and He whom the Son sets free is Free Indeed

The law demanded strict adherence and obedience Grace empowers obedience and righteousness

God has always been full of grace (Psalm 116:5; Joel 2:13), and people have always been saved by faith in God (Genesis 15:6). God did not change between the Old and New Testaments (Numbers 23:19; Psalm 55:19). The same God who gave the Law also gave Jesus (John 3:16). His grace was demonstrated through the Law by providing the sacrificial system to cover sin. Jesus was born “under the law” (Galatians 4:4) and became the final sacrifice to bring the Law to fulfillment and establish the New Covenant (Luke 22:20). Now, everyone who comes to God through Christ is declared righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18; Hebrews 9:15).

While technically law and grace are not enemies, nor are they opposites we have complicated God's plan and provision, but there have been times when law and grace hit head on in a collision of sorts

Miriam when struck with Leprosy

Abraham commanded to sacrifice Isaac

Abraham nearly plunged his knife into Isaac when God called stop and provided a ram caught in the thicket.

God as it were was ready to plunge his knife of judgement and wrath into the heart of humanity, but a provision was made not by a ram caught in a thicket but by The Precious and Holy Lamb of God who gave himself. We were on a collision course with the terrible wrath of God, as the songwriter put it "Under Jehovah's dread frown." a collision course with the end of the Law but Law and Grace met that day on a hill far away as they raised the Old Rugged cross and God's wrath and punishment were poured out on Him Hallelujah what a Savior.

You can have that personal collision of law and grace in your own life, if you haven't' I want you to know that Jesus' blood and righteousness is enough, the price has been paid, don't cling to any of your righteousness or try to pay your way, let law and grace collide in your life and heart today.