John 1:17 'For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth
were realized through Jesus Christ.'
What a wonderful Scripture! Unfortunately, the above passage is
being perverted by many to mean something that God never intended.
One writer said, 'So it is all by grace! If one is to be saved,
it must be totally by grace' (Free In Christ, Cecil Hook p.
24). Of course, such is false. If salvation is totally
by grace, then one wouldn't have to believe in Jesus to be
saved. While no man or woman can be saved apart from the grace
of God, grace isn't the only condition or quality associated with
salvation (John 3:16; Mark 16:16; Romans 10:17; Acts 17:30;
Romans 10:9-10).
John 1:17 isn't teaching that there was no grace in the Law of
Moses or before. Some erroneously think that the Law of Moses
was all law and no grace and that the Gospel of Christ is all
grace and no law.
Points To Note: 1. The Old Testament is filled with
examples of God's grace. Noah's deliverance was due to the grace
of God (Genesis 6:8). In fact, God showed grace to Noah's
contemporaries in giving them 120 years to repent (6:3)
and by giving them a chance to avoid destruction (2 Peter 2:5
'a preacher of righteousness'; 1 Peter 3:19-20 'when the patience
of God kept waiting in the days of Noah…'). 2. Some people
bristle when they read about God commanding the Israelites to
completely destroy the various nations occupying the land of Canaan.
But people forget that God had given these nations 400 plus years
to change their ways (Genesis 15:16). When the Israelites
encountered these people, they had been living on borrowed time
(Leviticus 18:20-28). 3. God gave Pharaoh 10 definite opportunities
to humble himself and allow the people of God to leave Egypt (Exodus
9:16). 4. It was the grace of God that literally took Lot
by the hand and pulled him out of a city which had merited the
wrath of God and they were also living on borrowed time (Genesis
19:16).
Somehow people have arrived at the conclusion that God was continually
striking people dead in the Old Testament, but that He was mellowed
and changed His ways. One little girl expressed this sentiment
when she said, 'What was God doing before He became a Christian?'
1. Let us be impressed that like in the New Testament, direct
manifestations of God's displeasure (Acts 5:1f; 12:23; 13:11)
were the exception and not the rule. 2. In fact Paul argues that
in the vast majority of instances the person who sinned and even
sinned constantly, was given time (Acts 17:30 'having overlooked
the times of ignorance'; 14:16 'And in the generations gone by
He permitted all the nations to go their own ways.') 3. And
the Old Testament is filled with one example after another. [a]
Aaron wasn't struck dead for making the golden calf. [b] God gave
Nineveh time to repent, and when they did, He accepted their repentance
(Jonah 3:4,9-10). [c] God was willing to bless any nation
or culture which would make the honest attempt to abide by His
laws (Jeremiah 18:7-10). [d] God stood willing to forgive
any man that would repent (Ezekiel 18:21-23). [e] Even
such evil men as Manasseh and Ahab, God gave them time to repent
(1 Kings 21:29; 2 Chron. 33:12-13). 4. What this should tell
us is that when God directly intervened and manifested His wrath,
God was making an emphatic point, 'Never forget this example,
this is how strongly I feel about this subject or practice. My
view on this point will never change! This is wrong, it has always
been wrong and it will always be wrong.' (1 Corinthians 10:1-11)
This is the only conclusion that we can draw from such passages
as John 1:1, 1:18 and 14:9. Jesus didn't come to change
God's attitude. Rather He came to explain and reveal what God
is all about. Therefore, Jesus didn't resent the Old Testament
Law, for He had a definite part in giving it! Every law given
in the Old Testament, every manifestation of the wrath of God---came
from God, and Jesus is as much God as the Father or the Holy Spirit.
Jesus had the highest and utmost respect for the Law given to
Israel (Matthew 5:17-18). Never forget that the person
who died for your sins, is the same person who sternly rebuked
Israel through the preaching and writing of the prophets (1
Peter 1:10-12). The same person who brought the flood, the
same person who brought the plagues upon Egypt, the same person
who drowned the Egyptians, the same person who inflicted punishment
upon the Israelites when they rebelled, the same person who gave
the command to annihilate the Canaanites.
An abundance of Old Testament passages, written then the Law was
in force, described God as a God of grace: 'showing lovingkindness
of thousands' (Ex. 20:6); 'The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate
and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and
truth' (Ex. 34:6). Take time to reading the following passages
(Psalm 51:17; 32:1; 103:10-14, 17-18; 2 Chron. 30:9; 36:15;
Ezra 9:13; Nehemiah 9:17, 27-28,31; Jeremiah 3:12; 9:24; Daniel
9:4,9; Micah 7:18; Malachi 3:6).
I know that the death penalty was attached to certain crimes back
then, which our society wouldn't go along with. But on the other
hand I find God manifesting a great deal of leniency. God tolerated
polygamy then, but He doesn't now (1 Cor. 7:1). In the
Old Testament a person who wasn't a Jew, could still end up saved
(Romans 2:14-15). But in the New Testament, if one isn't
a Christian, then they can't be saved (Mark 16:15-16).
Obviously the Old Testament contained a tremendous amount of truth.
In fact every command of God revealed truth (Psalm 119:151,
160). John 1:17 isn't saying that the Law of Moses was lacking
grace and truth. But just as the Law had not revealed all the
truth to be revealed (John 16:13), in like manner, the
Law of Moses had not delivered all the grace and other spiritual
blessings which would be given. The person making an honest attempt
to live according to the Law of Moses, would end up saved and
would have access to the grace of God-just as much grace as any
Christian has access to. But for them it was something in the
future, God could forgive in view of what would happen on the
cross (Hebrews 9:15, Romans 3:25). In contrast, we have
immediate and full access. When we repent of and confess our sins,
we know that such sins have been forgiven (1 John 1:8-10).
Notice that John says, 'grace and truth were realized through
Jesus Christ.' The text doesn't say that grace came into existence
with Jesus. Rather, through Jesus Christ we learn the answer to
that great perplexing question, 'How is God doing to punish sin
(remain a just God) and at the same time forgive the sinner (manifest
His mercy).' Through Jesus we learn how God is going to save people
who from time to time fall short of what His will demands.
Contrary to the claims of some, the New Testament is a law (Hebrews
8:10 'I will put My laws into their minds'). Hook and others
erroneously assume that James 2:10 'For whoever keeps the whole
law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all',
is a principle that only applied to the Law of Moses. But
James is talking to Christians! James is making the point that
showing partially (2:9) is sin. And regardless of whether you
are doing well in the other areas of your relationship with God,
such obedience doesn't make up for this sin of which they were
guilty. James 2:10 equally applies to the New Testament. In
fact, it has always applied. Jesus used the same principle
when He examined various congregations in Asia Minor. His words
to those congregations make it clear that obedience in one area
doesn't make up for sinning in another (Revelation 2:2-5; 2:13-14).
When Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters
5-7), it is clear that He wasn't presenting a 'relaxed' standard
by which to live (Matthew 5:20, 22, 28; 7:13-14, 21-23). The
same is truth is found in the writings of the apostles (Romans
1:28-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21; Revelation 21:8).
When people try to argue that Christians can stray from God's
truth in many areas, and yet still be saved while they persist
in such a condition. Or, when they say, 'I know that you love
the Lord, God is concerned about the condition of your heart and
not whether you are exactly keeping what He said. The important
thing is your attitude and not whether or not you are adhering
to His rules or His revelation.' While such expressions sound
appealing, the following passages in the gospel message prick
my heart: 'For this reason we must pay much closer attention
to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For if the
word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression
and disobedience received a just recompense, how shall we escape
if we neglect so great a salvation?' (Hebrews 2:1-3) 'For if we
go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth,
there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins…Anyone who has
set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony
of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you
think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God…and
has insulted the Spirit of grace?' (Hebrews 10:26-29)
For all practical purposes Hook and others are teaching that grace unconditionally cleanses the Christian of their sins, regardless if they admit such sins, repent of them, confess them or quit them. But all their human reasoning cannot eliminate passages such as 1 John 1:8-10 and Acts 8:20-23. Neither Peter or John believed in continuous cleansing. Another word for continuous cleansing is once-saved, always-saved. Grace says that you never have the right to give up. Grace says that second chances for the humble and repent will abound. Grace does say that human imperfections will not prevent us from being right with God. Grace says that we don't have to perfect, we simply must be honest, and admit when we sin. Grace says that there is always hope, that any habitual sin can be stopped and forgiven. Grace says that genetics, environment and upbringing do not have to determine what type of person we become. Grace says that God wants you saved. Grace says that you can be saved. Grace says that the Christian life can be lived by anyone. But grace never says that sin which is persisted in will be forgiven without repentance. Grace never says that doctrine can be compromised. Grace never says that the will of God is secondary. Grace never says that we can't understand the Bible alike. Grace never says that doctrine isn't essential for unity (Eph. 4:4-6). Grace never says that the way is broad that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14). Grace never says that heaven will be full of all sorts of people who espoused doctrinal error on all sorts of subjects (Matthew 7:21-23). And grace is never insulted when a preacher preaches a sermon which deals with the subject of modesty, homosexuality, drunkenness, adultery or premarital sexual relations (Titus 2:11-12). Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church Of Christ/644-9017