Speaker Sermon/Lesson Title Audio   Video  Text     MS Word David Hersey The Unity Of Grace, Law, Works & Faith In God's Word Chapter 1

The Unity Of Grace, Law, Works & Faith
In God's Word

Chapter 1: Introduction

GRACE, LAW, WORKS AND FAITH are all constituent components of Christianity.  Each one of these plays a vital role in the restoration of fellowship between God and mankind. None of these may be excluded from the Christian walk and result in a believer’s eternal home in heaven with God.  Without faith, it’s impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6), by grace we are saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8), the doers of the law will be justified, (Romans 2:13) and God accepts workers of righteousness (Acts 10:35).  Each one of these four statements is true when understood in context.   On the other hand, God’s gift of grace is not of works, (Ephesian 2:8), no flesh can be saved by the deeds of the law, (Romans 3:20), and those who work not but believe in Jesus will be counted righteous (Romans 4:5).  Like earlier statements, the last three are also true when properly understood in context.   Everything said in God’s word is true.  It is up to us to understand His word correctly, make the right conclusions and apply them to our lives accurately. 

There are things faith will do and there are things faith cannot do.  There are things God’s grace will do and things it cannot do.  There are different laws represented in God’s word.  And there are things law keeping can do and things it cannot.  And Lastly, there are different kinds of works mentioned in scripture and there are things each accomplishes and things they cannot.   Everything must work together in harmony with no conflicts. 

God’s word contains teachings on Grace, Law, Works, and Faith.  These are not opposing truths within the Word of God.  Each has a unified purpose within God’s will for mankind.    None of these can operate exclusively independent of another.  Faith without grace, law and works is belief without God’s actions, His instructions or following His instructions and is incomplete.   Greek mythology is a good example of this belief in things that do not exist. 

If God’s Grace operated alone, we would not need to believe anything.  God’s moral laws would be irrelevant and no one would have to do anything at all for salvation, not even believe.   

Law without grace, faith and works is nothing but a set of unfollowed instructions.  Law is How God trains us.  We need His Law to teach us what causes us to be lost and provide instructions for how to be saved.   

Works without faith, grace and law is just labor without purpose.  It takes all four, unified and working together to reconcile us to God and restore our fellowship with Him.   There is only one road to heaven (Ephesians 4:4-6).  God’s Grace provided that one Road, His Law gave us the instructions we need to navigate that road.   Our works are following the instructions God’s grace provided, and God’s instructions are followed by Faith.    

There is a growing trend within the body of Christ to advance the belief that belief in Jesus alone is all that is required (faith only) and obedience to God is something that is optional.   This belief is nothing new, having its origins in the first century church.  Since the beginning people have been trying to get to heaven the easy way.  Jesus warned of this in His Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew 7:13-23.  He concluded by saying only those who do the will of God will enter the kingdom of Heaven.  Therein lies the issue.  People have always been uneasy with expectations, restrictions, and accountability.   Everyone likes to do what they want to do and feel good about their relationship with God.  To this end they strive to remove those things from God’s plan that makes them uncomfortable.  God’s Law implies restrictions and accountability, so they try and do away with that.   Works implies expectations and obedience to God.  If they can do away with Law and Works, they are left with a much more appealing religion where they can look forward to a home in heaven free from personal restrictions on behavior with no obligations to fulfill and no fear of accountability.    Such a position, while certainly appealing to the vast majority of people, sets God’s Grace at odds with His Law and our Obedience/Works. 

There existed in the first century the view that Paul taught that Christians are exempt from the demands of God’s moral law by reason of their reliance upon divine grace alone for salvation.   This belief has since then come to be labeled as “Antinomianism” (Anti = against & Nomos = Law) , which means “Anti-Law”.    This expression is not found in Scripture; however, it is evident that Paul was libelously accused by his detractors of holding such a false doctrine.  Paul’s detractors went so far as to claim that the more they sinned, the greater God’s grace was.  Paul was aware of this and in Romans 3:8 he denied the accusation that he taught that bad moral conduct was a good thing in Christianity.   We see a direct repudiation of this in Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”  Paul then went on in to teach in Romans 6:15-23 that freedom from the Old Law makes believers slaves to God under the Gospel age. 

From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God

Romans 6:15-23, “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.  20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (NKJV)

The idea of bond service to God is just one of the many aspects of the believers relationship with God.  Certainly we all understand being the “children of God”, (Galatians 3:26), the “House of God” (1 Peter 4:17), and His “church of God” (Acts 20:28).  Each one of these, and others, illustrate an aspect of the believer’s relationship with God.  The term “children” carries the meaning of a family relationship with God as our heavenly Father and the head of the family.  “House” illustrates the shelter and home aspect of the believer’s relationship.  “Church”, from Ekklesia illustrates the aspect of a called assembly, or body/collection of believers for a common purpose (Colossians 1:24, 1 Timothy 3:15).  Christians are all these things at the same time.  We are the children of God, in His House and in His Body.  While Christians are all these things, we are also bondservants/slaves of Christ. 

A bondservant is one who owes a debt they cannot pay and offers their life as a slave to pay that debt.  This was a very common arrangement in the first century where people owed large debts they were unable to pay.    Bondservants are sometimes referred to as “indentured servants”.  When Jesus offered His life at calvary, He paid our sin debt for us thereby purchasing us from death. The Word of God referred to Christians as the “purchased possession” (Acts 20:28, Ephesians 1:14), which is another aspect of the believer’s relationship with God.  Christians are owned.  Christians belong to Jesus Christ according to Paul’s words in. 

1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.” (NKJV)

So when we read Paul’s words in Romans 6:22, “but now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God”, we should understand Christians, the Sons of God, in the house of God, in the family of God, in the church of God are in this relationship because they were purchased by the blood of Christ and as such are bound to a life of indentured servitude to Christ.  Jesus Christ paid a debt He did not owe to purchase the lives of those who could never pay it back.  We have nothing of value to offer that is more precious than what it cost to purchase us. 

The intent of the message here is a very simple one.  Jesus died for us; we must live for Him.  Paul is not the only inspired writer of scripture who taught this bond servant aspect of the believer’s relationship with God:

1 Peter 2:15-17, “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men —  16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants [slaves], of God.” (NKJV).   See also Ephesians 6:6, Galatians 1:10, Colossians 4:12, Titus 1:1, James 1:1, 2 Peter 1:1, Jude 1.  The Word bondservant is translated from the Greek word “doulos” which literally means a slave, bondman or bondservant. 

There were those among the early church who abused Paul’s teachings to the extent they were using them to not only justify bad moral conduct, but to go so far as to encourage it.  This was so prevalent in the early church that James, the half-brother of Jesus devoted an entire epistle to counter this insidious, heretical belief.  Peter directly addressed this perversion of Paul’s teachings with a warning recorded in 2 Peter 3:14-18,

“Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation — as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.  17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”  (NKJV)

Since the first century, people have tried to get around God’s Moral Laws.   Paul’s teachings concerning Grace, Law, Works, and Faith were used in such a way as to eliminate personal accountability for bad moral behavior.  To accomplish that, they had to get rid of the concept of Law, Works, and accountability. 

The purpose of this effort is to make an exhaustive study of Grace, Law, Works, and Faith and to harmonize these with the entire body of New Testament teaching and to demonstrate that they are all nonconflicting essential elements of Christianity.   

During this study, there will be an extensive use of scripture directly quoted from God’s Word.  The translations used will be literal English translations only; KJV, NKJV, ASV, ESV, NASB and will be referenced.   Translations such as NIV, NLT and others are commonly referred to as “Thought Translations” or “commentaries”.  While these are sometimes useful in illustrating or illuminating the meaning of the original text, our goal here is the pursuit of objective truth and I am not going to present what men “think” the original writers meant.   We are going to examine what God actually says and draw the conclusions warranted from the totality of literal word for word translations. 

Throughout this effort, quotes from God’s Word are used to illustrate God’s will.  Proof texting is an effective way of showing what “thus sayeth the Lord”.   Proof texting is likewise an effective way of distorting God’s will when statements within God’s Word are taken out of context.  You, the reader, are encouraged to study the greater context of every quote used in this effort.   You will one day stand in front of the judge of all mankind and give an account of yourself.  Don’t be misled.  Search God’s Word for yourselves and draw the conclusions warranted by the entirety of God’s Word; nothing more, nothing less and nothing else. 

Prepared by Bobby Stafford

The church of Christ at Granby, MO

Located at
516 East Pine St.
P.O. Box 664
Granby, Mo. 64844
(417) 472-7109

For more lessons and Sermons please visit

https://granbychurchofchrist.org/

https://granbychurchofchrist.com/