For if the ministry of condemnation had glory… (2 Corinthians 3:9)1
It’s when we mix law and grace that we get the ministry of condemnation. Today in the church it’s not the pure law that is preached; it’s the mixture of grace and law. I know I have said my whole life as a Christian that I am not under the law because we don’t obey all the Jewish laws of the Old Testament, such as circumcising our babies on the 8th day or celebrating the Jewish feasts and holy days or stoning people to death or sacrificing animals to atone for sins. Most of us don’t obey the Old Covenant dietary laws or observe the Sabbath. However, many Christians think that we’re saved by grace, but we live by the Ten Commandments after we are saved in order to maintain our right standing with God.
I can remember strongly advocating posting the Ten Commandments in the schools in my state, and I supported leaders who were working hard to get the Supreme Court to pass a law mandating the rights of states to post them. My children went to a Christian school where each child was required to memorize the Ten Commandments in the King James Version! I recall being so proud of them. They had practiced for months to perfect their presentation for the parents. My heart swelled as these elementary age students displayed their keen memorization skills as they recited every word in Old English. Have you tried memorize the Ten Commandments? If not, you may be surprised to discover that it’s quite difficult!
However, there aren’t just ten commandments. If the law was preached in its purity, we would have to obey the six hundred thirteen laws of the Old Covenant perfectly to be acceptable to God!2 But honestly, we’d all be better off if the pure law were given to us than this confusing mixture because instead of slaving to make ourselves right, we’d cry for mercy and turn to Jesus. And guess what, my friend – that’s the purpose of the law!
For those who advocate the law: the law demands 100% perfection. There’s no grading curve with the law. If the law is compromised, it is dishonored. For the law to be the law, it cannot be altered in any way.
For those who advocate principles of the law mixed with grace: they are lowering God’s holy standards to a place that man can keep them, and they are cheating God’s grace of it’s glory. They dishonor the cross and the perfection of Christ’s sacrifice and work of redemption.
For those of us who advocate pure grace: we honor the law for the purpose that God gave it. It was to bring people to the God of grace and mercy.
(from pages 191 and 193 of Unveiling Jesus)
Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!
Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.
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1Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
2Tracey R. Rich, “A List of the 613 Mitzvot (Commandments)”, Judaism 101, website: http://www.jewfaq.org/613.htm, accessed on 6-2-14″
