There is much confusion in the body of Christ over the teaching of law and grace, and we find various groups vehemently opposing one another. This should not be. The pendulum swings from “anti-Law”, ultra-Grace on the one end, to the “pro-Law” legality and the keeping of the law of Moses with all its sacrifices, feasts and legal practices on the other end. Then there are several other teachings that are affected by and related to these two extremes. In an attempt to bring a balanced view of Scripture, I wish to present the following simple view of the teaching.
Firstly, we should establish that law and grace are not two opposites. The opposite of law is not grace; it is lawlessness. 1John 3:4 states that sin is lawlessness. Law and grace are on the same side of the table, with the same purpose in mind. Their goal is to produce righteousness in mankind – a noble intention, I am sure you will agree.
We also notice from Scripture that law and grace cannot be separated between the Old Testament as being the mainstay of law, and the New Testament as being the mainstay of grace as many people seem to believe. Grace starts within the first few chapters of Genesis and continues throughout the Old Testament; and the law is referred to and used so extensively as the foundation upon which the entire New Testament is built, that if the law were to be removed from the New Testament, the New Testament would disintegrate.
Let us then study these two, and related teachings, carefully. Herewith a link to my book on this subject:
The book is also available in Afrikaans: