by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: John 1:14-17<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. False ideas don’t always die. They end up getting recycled at a later time when the present\ngeneration has forgotten the teachings of the past which showed the ideas to be false.\n
A. I remember from childhood a big debate over the role of grace<\/p>\n 1. The core was keeping the law wasn’t that important in view of God’s\ngrace. \n 2. People are different, so we can’t ever agree on doctrine; therefore, we\nshould have unity with a variety of beliefs because God’s grace covers\neverything.\n
3. It also claimed that we can be in fellowship without agreeing on doctrine.<\/p>\n 4. Only a bare minimum of things were essential and everything else wasn’t\nimportant.\n B. In other words, it is the idea of unity in diversity – the ideas expressed to the\nextreme in groups like the Episcopals and United Churches of Christ.\n
C. It makes “law” the enemy – the opposite of grace.<\/p>\n
II. God talks about grace and law together<\/p>\n A. It was by God’s grace that Adam and Eve were given a garden with food, but they\nwere also given a law – Genesis 2:16-17\n B. Notice the interleaving of orders to follow God’s laws with the gracious gifts God\nhad and would bestow upon Israel – Deuteronomy 11\n
C. The Law is from God. It serves a purpose: <\/p>\n
1. To teach us what is wrong – Romans 3:20; 7:7<\/p>\n
2. To teach us the consequences of our choices – Romans 2:5-11<\/p>\n
3. To be the standard by which we are judged – John 12:48-50<\/p>\n
D. Grace is from God as well. It serves a purpose:<\/p>\n
1. God cares for us even when we do wrong – Genesis 3:21-24<\/p>\n
2. God gave Israel a way to atone for their sins – Leviticus 17:11<\/p>\n
3. God gave a solution for sin – Romans 5:9-11<\/p>\n
4. A permanent solution – Hebrews 10:17-18<\/p>\n 5. These were given, not because anyone deserved them, but because God\nloved us – I John 4:19\n E. How can two concepts which both originate with God be thought to be\nconflicting?\n
1. Justice<\/p>\n
a. The weightier matters of the law includes justice – Matthew 23:23<\/p>\n
b. God’s law is His justice – Isaiah 51:4-5<\/p>\n
c. Without law there is no justice – Habakkuk 1:4<\/p>\n d. But our justification is also by God’s grace – Titus 3:7; Romans\n3:24-26\n 2. Law and grace then are interdependent. Jesus brought grace and<\/i> truth –\nJohn 1:14\n
III. We would not know of God’s grace without God’s law<\/p>\n
A. Without law, there is no sin – Romans 4:15; I John 3:4<\/p>\n
B. The law teaches us how to obtain God’s grace – Romans 1:16-17<\/p>\n C. Unless we are aware of our sin, we cannot appreciate the gift of salvation from\nthose sins – Romans 3:23\n
1. Grace does not mean continuing to sin – Romans 6:1-2, 15<\/p>\n
2. God wants us not to sin, but offers us a way out of sin – I John 1:8-2:2<\/p>\n
IV. Misapplication of “law”<\/p>\n
A. Paul said we are not under law but grace – Galatians 5:4<\/p>\n
1. It this all law, or a specific law? <\/p>\n
2. Later Paul says we are to fulfill the law of Christ – Galatians 6:2<\/p>\n 3. The law Paul was talking about in Galatians 5:4 was the Law that\ncommanded circumcision – Galatians 5:1-3\n
4. This a passage addressing the problem discussed in Acts 15:1-5<\/p>\n B. You cannot be justified by the Law of Moses because it was no longer in effect –\nRomans 7:4; Ephesians 2:14-16; Colossians 2:13-14\n
C. Animals sacrifices could not really pay the price of sin – Hebrews 10:1-10<\/p>\n
1. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice – John 1:29<\/p>\n
D. People did not keep the Law of Moses – Hebrews 8:6-9<\/p>\n
V. The reason we have a new law is because of God’s grace!<\/p>\n
A. God send His Son to save the world – John 3:16-19<\/p>\n
1. But the world can still be condemned because a lack of faith in Jesus<\/p>\n
2. But faith’s origin is found in God’s law – Romans 10:17<\/p>\n
B. God’s law guides us – Proverbs 6:23<\/p>\n
C. Doing the Law of Christ is a blessing – James 1:25<\/p>\n
D. We are born by the word of God – I Peter 1:22-25<\/p>\n
E. Jesus brought grace and truth – John 1:17<\/p>\n
1. Just as God prophesied – Psalms 85<\/p>\n 2. Surely grace and truth have met together in our Lord and Savior – II Peter\n3:18\n 3. Think about what that title means: Savior (grace) and Lord (law) are in one\npersonage. There is no contradiction here.\n
\n
Based on an article by Jonathan Perz<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: John 1:14-17 I. False ideas don’t always die. They end up getting recycled at a later time when the present generation has forgotten the teachings of the past which showed the ideas to be false. A. I remember from childhood a big debate over the role of grace 1. The core was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[48,177],"class_list":["post-62632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-grace","tag-law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38588,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/truth-and-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":62632,"position":0},"title":"Truth and Law","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry W. Benton Today there is lawlessness going on at elevated proportions. Even churches that have claimed to be \"of Christ\" have been divided by a spirit of lawlessness. Some misuse \"we are not under law but under grace\" (Romans 6:15) to give the undiscerning a scripture on which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56603,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/grace-and-permissiveness\/","url_meta":{"origin":62632,"position":1},"title":"Grace and Permissiveness","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 3, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dale Smelser via\u00a0Truth Magazine, July 25, 1974 There is cause for concern in some current ideas premised upon the grace of God. What persons with such ideas are saying of grace per se is often fine, but their projected applications are unjustified, especially when they suppose that the fellowship\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47543,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/concern-about-biblical-authority\/","url_meta":{"origin":62632,"position":2},"title":"Concern About Biblical Authority","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Why be concerned about biblical authority? For this one simple reason: \"Your God reigns!\" (Isaiah 52:7). If we aren't concerned about authority, then we place ourselves in God's position of reigning. It really is just that simple. Jesus is Head (Colossians 1:18). We aren't. Does stressing authority\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54722,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/false-dichotomies\/","url_meta":{"origin":62632,"position":3},"title":"False Dichotomies","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 29, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Gardner Hall A false dichotomy is treating two different principles or ideas as mutually exclusive when they are not, or an issue or group of issues as the only options when there are others. In a controversy, the use of false dichotomies often involves a demand to choose one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35755,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-it-mean-that-grace-and-truth-came-by-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":62632,"position":4},"title":"What does it mean that grace and truth came by Jesus?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 8, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello Jeff, I came across these beautiful words from John 1:16-17\u00a0 \"And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.\" Can you explain, what does it really means that grace and truth came\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":48211,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-we-under-law-or-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":62632,"position":5},"title":"Are We Under “Law” or “Grace”?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Wayne Jackson \"Why do some insist that Christians are 'under law' today? We are not under law, but grace. The law came by Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus\u00a0(John 1:17).\" We must respectfully point out that the question recorded above reflects a serious misunderstanding of the nature\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62632\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}