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Law
and Grace. When God talks to us about being justified, He
talks about the Law and His grace. It is important to understand
these terms. The term Law refers to the set of commands given
by God
through Moses. The Law outlines how the sacrifices were to be
conducted, the duties of the priests, and the Ten Commandments,
for example.
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For
the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized
through Jesus Christ. (NASB) John 1:17 |
Anyone
who tries to get to heaven by keeping any set of rules or those commandments
given in the Law will be disappointed because he or she will fail
and fall short. The law was given to us by God not for the purpose
of earning our way to heaven, but to show us that we are not perfect
and cannot keep any set or rules (Gal. 3:22-24). This reminds me
of promises I have made to myself about things I desire to do or
not do. Most of them I keep, but I have not kept all of them. If
I cannot even keep my own commitments, how can I do the things that
God wants me to do? The law was designed to show us that we need
another way to gain God's favor and get to heaven. The law was designed
to lead us to Jesus or to show us that we need Jesus.
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Therefore
the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we
may be justified by faith. (NASB) Gal. 3:24 |
So God justifies or declares us to to be holy, when we give up trying
to keep a list of rules and simply believe the truth about Jesus
and turn our life over to Him. When God does this He is showing us
His love for us.
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But
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (NASB) Rom. 5:8 |
Grace refers to the favor that God shows us because Jesus died for
us. Grace is God's favor we do not deserve. We gain God's favor when
we believe the truth about Jesus and turn our lives over to Him.
We should praise Him and rejoice in our spirit because we do not
have to work to earn His favor or our salvation. All of it is a gift
from God. Because of His grace we are justified - declared to be
holy forever, even though we are not!
Conclusion: We
have been talking about what God's grace does for us at the moment
we believe. Here is a true story that reveals how God's grace works
on some of us before we believe.
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The
Rueben Donnely Company of Chicago is the nation's largest
printer of magazines. They have a huge machine that sends
out notices to people whose subscriptions have expired. One
day a small spring in the machine broke, and a rancher in
Power Bluff, Colorado, received 9,734 notices that his magazine
subscription to National Geographic had expired. As
a result, the rancher rode ten miles to the post office,
sent his money, and wrote the following note: "Send
me the magazine. I give up!" |
That
is the only way God can bring many of us to Jesus. It is a wonderful
reminder of God's blessings and love toward us. He just keeps loving
us until we surrender to Him. |
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