Romans 8:- 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death.
Gal 2:19:-When I tried to obey the law's standards, those laws killed me. As a result, I live in a relationship with God. I have been crucified with Christ.
Here Paul talks about, living under the law versus living under God's grace.
He says we who have accepted Christ are no longer under the worldly law but under the law of the Spirit which is Grace. Therefore we live in a relationship with God.
But again in the following verses he stresses the importance of no longer living in sin but bearing the fruit of God in our lives.
Romans 6:2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Romans 6:11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 7:4 So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.
Through His death and resurrection Jesus won victory over sin, Satan and eternal death and because of His immense love for us, the Father covered us with His Grace, so that whoever calls on the name of Jesus and confesses Him as their Lord and Saviour, they are saved from eternal damnation.
When someone accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour, first, he is convinced of his own unworthiness and tells Jesus that he is sorry for his sins and only after that he confesses his belief in Christ.Thus that person is forgiven. He then is expected to put on the Righteousness of Christ and live a life pleasing to Him. Why does one have to put on the Righteousness of Christ? Because 'That' Is the covering for our sins. It is doubled up with Grace.
Grace is not given to us so that we can get away with purposeful wrong doing. No, it is given freely to us so that we will have a window period to realise our faults and tell the Father we are sorry whenever we fall into sin. Not for us to treat it cheaply and trample upon it. The Holy Spirit, who is given to all the believers who ask the Father, will convict them of their sins during this grace period.
As humans it is natural for us to slip and fall into sin when we are not aware or careful. Grace gives us time to repent and the Righteousness of Christ covers our multitude of sins. Again we must remember that Jesus said to the prostitute, "I forgive you, go and sin no more."
Now let us look at the following verse.
Romans 4:14 For if what God promises is to be given to those who obey the Law, then faith means nothing and God's promise is worthless.
Many when reading this verse argue that if you rely on obeying the law then grace means nothing and that Christ's death is in vain. My dear friends, I beg to differ. Now look closely at that verse again. To whom is God's promises given? To believers right? Ok! Paul here says that if God's promises are given to those who obey the law...here he is referring to all the righteous unbelievers. When I say righteous, I mean that these people do not believe in Christ but they are living according to the law. They live morally upright lives and they are charitable to the widows, orphans and the poor and lonely and they love unconditionally. They do not steal or kill. They are righteous according to the worldly standards. But the bible says that according to God's standard our righteousness is filth in God's eyes. The bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. No one is worthy of entering heaven. Jesus says, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life! No one goes to the Father except through Me!"
Paul's argument is that if God's promises are given to these people who do not believe in Christ, then what is the use of having faith.
Thus in essence, Grace is given to those who accept Christ. Christ is the only Way to heaven. Therefore those who follow the Law and do not accept Christ do not receive Grace and are not covered with the Righteousness of Christ. This does not exempt Christians from living in right standing before God. Grace does not allow Christians to go on living in sin, when they know that it is sin.
Yes, we are human beings and we easily fall into sin, but we must be able to overcome our human tendency to sin while we are still under God's Grace. That is the main purpose of His Grace which is given freely to us. If someone knows what he/she is doing is against the Word of God and continues to do it saying,"I am under Grace, therefore I will be forgiven," then what that person is doing is like a child of an all forgiving parent who goes on disgracing his mother in public, hurting her physically and emotionally and saying, I am loved immensely by her therefore she will forgive me every time I do it. Won't the mother lose her patience eventually and discipline her child? In such an instance, I would question that child's love for his mother. If he really loves her, would he want to hurt her? Likewise, if a Christian really loves God, he would not sin consciously but would try his best even to avoid sinning unconsciously.
Therefore Grace does not in any way contradict Law but it in fact complements it.
Now, the grace period given to us Christians is coming to an end according to God's Word. After that it will be God's final judgement. So it would be good if those of us who profess to be Christians really examine ourselves and change our lives to be pleasing to God, or else be prepared to face His wrath on the day of the final judgement.
Who say's Christians are not in hell? Jesus Himself said in Matthew 7:21-23...."Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven......And then will I declare to them, " I never knew you; depart from Me you workers of lawlessness."
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