The purpose of the Law.

Law and Grace

1. The purpose of the Law.

A. The Law is for the lost
Romans 3:19-20
“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.”

1Timothy 1:8-10
“We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine”

B. The law shows man his need for salvation.
Galatians 3:19-24
“Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one. Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. Before the coming of this faith,[a] we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.”


2. What the law is powerless to do.

A. The law cannot make us righteous.
Galatians 2:21
“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

B. The law cannot justify us
Galatians 2:16
“know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in[a] Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.”

Galatians 3:11
“Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”

C. The Law cannot give life.
Romans 7:10
“I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.”

Galatians 3:21
“Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.”

3. The hopelessness of life under the law

A. The law's standard is perfection.
James 2:10
“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”

Matthew 5:48
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

B. Christ took the law from external to internal.
Matthew 5:27-29
““You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[a] 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”
Matthew 5:21-22
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’[d] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

C. The law stirs up sin.
1 corinthians 15:56
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

Romans 7:5
For when we were in the realm of the flesh,[a] the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death.

Romans 7:8
But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.

Colossians 2:20-23
Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.


D. The law is based on man's self-effort.
Exodus 24:7
Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.”

Romans 9:30-32
What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.

E. The law is a ministry of condemnation and death.
Galatians 3:10
For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”

2 Corinthians 3:7-9
Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!


4. Christ is the end of the law.
John 1:17
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

A. Christ fulfilled the law.
Matthew 5:17-18
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

Romans 10:4
Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

B. Christ redeemed us from the law
Galatians 3:13-14
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”[a] 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Galatians 4:4-5
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.

C. The law has been fulfilled in us.
Romans 8:3-4
For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

D. We are no longer under the law.

Galatians 3:24-25
“So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.”

Romans 6:14
“For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”

Romans 7:1-6
Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him. 3 So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man. 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. 5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh,[a] the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.”


5. We cannot and should not mix law and grace.

Matthew 9:17
“Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Romans 11:6
“And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”


Galatians 3:1-3
“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?”

Galatians 1:6-8
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!”

Galatians 5:2-4
“Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”

GRACE

A. God's grace is sufficient.

Titus 2:11-14
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

2 Corinthians 12:9
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

B. We stand by faith in the grace of God.
Romans 5:1-2
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”

C. We are led by the spirit of God
Romans 8:14
“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”

Galatians 5:18
“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

Practical Application.

1. Galatians 2:19 - we should be willing to die to the law, so that we could come alive to the grace of God that is ours in Christ Jesus.
2. Galatians 5:1 - We should be willing to stand firm in our freedom as Children of God.

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Interesting how we say ‘Jesus, Jesus” and we all claim to believe in Jesus Christ but because of religious laws we live our lives in total contrast to what Jesus Christ came and did for us.
The bible teaches that it is for freedom that Christ set us free, and warns us not to let ourselves be put under the yoke of slavery (the law) any more. Religion, in any form, puts you under the yoke of slavery.
Religious law is always man trying to reach up to God with self effort to be accepted by Him. True Christianity was God's grace reaching down to man through Jesus Christ with unconditional love and unconditional acceptance. That is why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:23-24 “but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

Law is always dealing with what you are doing or not doing. And there is always consequences to when we break the law.
Anytime you are sitting around thinking, ‘what should I be doing for God you are still under the law, instead of resting in His grace.
The Grace of God is dealing with what Christ did, and when you come to understand by faith what Christ did, you will never ask ‘what should I do’ it will be a natural response.

Under the law man always says look what I am doing for you lord.
Under grace Christ is saying look what I did for you man.
Under the law man says look how I went to Church.
Under grace Christ says look how I went to Calvary.
Under the law man says look how I was raised in my denomination.
Under grace Christ says look how I was raised from the dead.
Under the law man says look Lord how I gave my tithes and my money.
Under grace Christ says look man how I gave my life.
Under the law man says look Lord how I confessed my sins for forgiveness.
Under grace Christ says look man how I took away all your sins.
Under the law man says look Lord how I stood up against sins.
Under grace Christ says look man how I died for all your sins.
Under the law man says look Lord how I judged the lost world.
Under grace Christ says look man how I saved the lost world.
Under the law man says look Lord how I bow down to you.
Under grace Christ says look man how I became one of you.
Under the law man says look Lord how I healed the sick.
Under grace Christ says look man how I raised the dead.
Under the law man says look Lord how I spoke in tongues.
Under grace Christ says look man how I spoke in love.
Under the law man says look Lord how successful my life is
Under grace Christ says look man how successful my dead was. (author Bob George)

Check yourself in the faith, are you under grace or under the law?