UNDER THE LAW OR UNDER GRACE.
By G. T. Wilson
God has not left us in ignorance of the real truth concerning the dispensation of grace. And He has shown what He meant by the expressions under the law [hupo nomon] and under grace. Both the Old and New Testament teach that God has saved men only by His grace from the fall of man to the present time. We read in Ps. 84:11, “The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplications.” This is shown also in the benediction that the Lord commanded the priests to make when dismissing the people: “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee; the Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put My name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.” Num. 6:24–27. The psalmist says, “In His favor is life.” Ps. 30:4, 5, 7. Says the apostle Paul: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness; that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law.” Rom. 3:23–26, 31. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have5access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” “For sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.” “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” “Now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” Rom. 5:1, 2; 6:14, 15, 18, 22. The expressions “under the law” and “under sin” are identical, and are used to show the condition of those who are living under the condemnation or curse of the law of God, who have not yet found deliverance through the grace of God from the thraldom of sin. That this may appear evident, I will quote a few passages where these terms are found:— “For we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.” “But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.” “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse.” “God hath concluded them all in unbelief [margin, “shut them all up together”], that He might have mercy upon all.” Rom. 3:9; Gal. 3:22, 23, 10; Rom. 11:32. The holy law of God shuts up every sinner under its curse, subject to its penalty, death; it stops every mouth, and holds every person under sin who has not believed in Christ. The sinner is held in the prison-house of condemnation until he as a prisoner of hope turns to the Saviour for deliverance. And when he is freed from sin by the Lord’s grace, then the sinner is no longer under sin, but under grace. He is then “the Lord’s freeman.” The law held him a prisoner until he came to Christ and accepted what He had done to free him, then he was at liberty from the service of sin, Satan, to serve God. Christ was treated as tho under the law, that He might “redeem them that were under the law.” “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.” “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” It can then be truly said of the follower of Christ: “For sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” Rom. 6:14; Gal. 5:18. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Christ became our sacrifice and substitute, “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Rom. 8:1, 4. To such our Lord says, “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” Every such person can say with the psalmist: “I will walk at liberty; for I seek Thy precepts.” “I will delight myself in Thy commandments, which I have loved.” Ps. 119:45, 47. “Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all Thy commandments.” Verse 6. “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15. Avondale, Cooranbong, N. S. W.