On LAW and GRACE - Issue no.1

Have you wondered, as have I, about the confusion of these two crucial words, "law" and "grace" in Scripture? Are you concerned about the conflicting messages in the body of Christ pertaining to what God expects of us as His children? Is the concept of a holy lifestyle still applicable for today, and if so, what exactly does it mean to be holy? I am of the firm belief that it is crucial to have a sound Biblical understanding of Law and Grace in order to know the heart of God in our relationship to Him, our relationship to others, and the relationship that we have with ourselves. 

In order to arrive at some answers for the above concerns, the first concept to be clarified is Covenant. What exactly is Covenant and how should we correctly understand it for the New Testament church, both in Doctrine and in practical application?

Covenant is a legal term similar to contract, but with at least five major differences. Firstly, the covenant is perpetual and can not be undone once given, except by death. Secondly, the covenant agreement has to be sealed with blood as it literally signifies the giving of one life for another. Thus it is that we see the sacrifice of an animal, the building of an altar or the eating together of meat, after a covenant agreement in the Old Testament. Thirdly, the keeping of the covenant is not dependent on the faithfulness of the other party - even if one party becomes unfaithful, the covenant cannot be annulled as it is not dependent on equality. Only death can annul a covenant. Fourthly, the covenant was usually completed by giving a "token", a "sign" or a "gift." Fifthly, a curse was invoked against covenant breakers, the purpose which was to bring the covenant breaker to repentance and thus restore the covenant relationship and its benefits to the covenant breaker.  With this understanding of covenant, one can now move through the readings of Scripture and see its outworking, example God's Covenant with creation, God's Covenant with Noah, God's Covenant with Abraham, David's covenant with Jonathan, God's Covenant with the Jewish nation, etc.

Let's look in more detail now at God's covenant with Abraham.The first thing to know is that the Abrahamic covenant was given more than 450 years prior to the Mosaic Law. The second thing to understand then is that God's Covenant with Abraham and His promise to bless all the nations of the earth had NOTHING to do with the subsequent keeping of the laws and regulations of Judaism, such as the ceremonial laws (ex. how and when to wash the hands, how far to walk on a Sabbath, etc), dietary laws (ex. not eating pork, not eating animals from the sea bed, etc.), sacrificial laws (ex. only offering animals considered as clean, ex. those who chew the cud and eat grass) and religious laws (such as the various tithes of the harvest, the redemption of the land, etc.) which was given by the hand of Moses to the Jewish nation.

God's covenant with Abraham was a covenant of faith by which God had sworn unto Himself, and Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:6) Abraham also gave tithes to Melchizedek, King of Righteousness, and it is this Melchizedek of which the Scriptures foretold in Psalms 110:4 that Jesus' High Priestly Ministry would be perfected after. (See Acts 3:17 - 26; Hebrews 6:20 - Hebrews 7: 28). The third important understanding is that the priesthood of the believers has nothing to do with the Levitical priesthood and the Levitical covenant which came hundreds of years after the Abrahamic Covenant and was only given to the male descendants of Levi for the purpose of ministry in  the earthly tabernacle/ sanctuary. When Jesus came, He broke the mold so to say as He was not from the tribe of Levi, but from the tribe of Judah. This is one of the reasons why spiritual ministry is not a matter of gender as it is not based on the patriarchal order and the choosing of the Levites.

How then shall we as New Testament Christians understand Covenant and apply it?

New Testament Christians of non-Jewish culture (also referred to as the Gentile church or the wild olive shoot, Romans  11:16) become partakers of the promises to Abraham by faith in Jesus Christ, the One True Prophet sent by God (Acts 3: 18-26) who has once for all offered His life as a sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 7:27) [Also read the whole of Romans Chapter 9 -10 for further understanding].

Differences between the Old and the New Testament signs of the Covenant: Old Testament: Circumcision and the slaughter of a lamb in the feast of Passover. [These signs were the outward evidence of belonging to the Covenant community]. New Testament: Baptism and the Lord's Supper (also called the Eucharist, or Communion).

By application, we can immediately see some of the misunderstandings in the Christian Community if the above concepts are not clearly understood. Some misunderstandings would be: i) that our salvation is based on how well we keep rules and regulations or do penance; ii) that our relationship with God is based on repentance; iii) that ministry is gender exclusive; iv) that blessing in our lives is dependent on the practice of the laying on of hands; that v) we can lose our salvation if we do not live properly (externally) as Christians; vi) that a certain way of eating, such as being vegetarian, or the keeping of a certain day, such as a Saturday or a Sunday somehow gives us a holier lifestyle. Others assume that keeping part of the Jewish culture, including festivals, doing circumcision, etc. is a requirement for us as Christians.

So what then? Can we do what we want because we are not Jews and because we live in the New Testament? (Some claim that the Old Testament in its entirety is not to be used by Christians as it is not applicable for us today). Others even claim that the validity of the entire Bible is questionable as the various sources of translation can not be trusted. Can we appoint ourselves as Ministers of the Gospel because we are all part of the priesthood of believers? (Others say it is not even important to go to church as this, too, was a man made invention, and after all, if we all have the mind of Christ we do not need that anyone should teach us). Others feel so hurt and wounded by the various conflicts that plague the church that they are choosing not to be part of a worshiping community.

These are interesting and crucial questions that need to be looked at in much more detail as the Christian Church is indeed a struggling church characterized by much confusion. I believe that confusion, division and personal wounding will increase all the more as we see the day of Christ's return approaching. It is of utmost importance that we reclaim a proper understanding of law and grace, of covenant and of the authority and inspiration of Scripture. Furthermore, it is crucial that we repent of rejecting others who do not believe and externally do like us; and it is crucial that we repent of self willed authoritarian hierarchy in church leadership that govern with an attitude of "my way or the high way" and is excused in the name of Christian discipline. The body of Christ is consuming itself in such an alarming way, that our light has grown very dim, our influence diminished and our reputation tarnished. Is this not exactly the purpose of an enemy who comes to kill, steal and destroy?
 
Squabbling over how to live the christian life has become much more than mere christian immaturity - it has become a tool in the hands of Satan to wound and reject as each party has to protect its views with pride. Having said the above, it is important for us to stop laying the basic foundations of our faith over and over again as the aim is for us to go on to spiritual maturity. Hebrews 6: 1-3 - "Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits." (NKJV)

The above questions (and many others that you may have) will be answered in subsequent issues on this topic of on LAW and GRACE; also it would be much appreciated if you want to comment or participate in discussion. What I ask, is that we come with  an attitude to learn in humility from God's Word. It is not our own truth that saves, but only that which is written in the Word of God, has been confirmed in the revelation of Jesus Christ in the flesh, has been accepted by the corporate church over centuries and have thus proven itself in having stood the test of time in the History of the Christian Church, not necessarily the history / tradition of any particular denomination. What do you think?

Hebrews 10: 26 -29 - " For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the  testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?