The False Accusations the Gospel of Grace Faces and Why #1

False Accusation #1:

“Those who preach grace, say that everything written in Scripture before the Cross—including what Jesus said—is not applicable to the believer today!”

Let me first be clear about my stance on God’s Word:
The entire Bible is God’s inspired word. Therefore, I love and revere all of it! Every single word!

Having said that, Scripture also instructs us to handle God’s Word very carefully:

2 Timothy 2:15 (AMP)
Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth.

The KJV puts it this way:

2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

1. “dividing” means separating—Paul was not telling Timothy to pick and choose what he liked or felt good; No! He was telling Timothy to make a clear distinction between the old and new covenant operating systems!
2. In other words, making the distinction between what it means to relate to God by Old Covenant Law and by New Covenant Grace!
3. Paul was in essence telling Timothy (and us) to avoid mixing the two and thus prevent bringing shame on himself!—Keep reading, I’ll prove this to you!…

Romans 10:4 (AMP)
For Christ is the end of the law [it leads to Him and its purpose is fulfilled in Him], for [granting] righteousness to everyone who believes [in Him as Savior].

1. Jesus brought an end to the old covenant way of relating to God by Law, which involved one’s merit and performance.
2. It was (and still is) an operating system which involves human effort and one’s merit and performance in order to enjoy God approval and blessing.
3. It is a system that requires one to earn and deserve God’s blessing and favor—and Jesus brought an end to that way of relating to God!
4. How did He do that?—While Jesus was on the earth, He himself lived under Law. He satisfied and fulfilled the requirements of the Law, and represented the Law correctly, in its fullness! (He was the only one who could, since He was not a descendant of fallen Adam!)
5. Jesus was the only one, perfect enough to satisfy God’s prefect standard!
6. Because of this, much of what Jesus said was addressed to people still living under the old covenant, relating to God by law—and at times Jesus would magnify the Law to its purest form so that those who thought they were getting it right would realize they were not!—For example:

Matthew 5:27-28 (AMP)
²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’; ²⁸ but I say to you that everyone who [so much as] looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

1. Jesus takes the commandment of the law against adultery and reveals it in its purest, intended form, which is, at heart-level—By just looking at someone with lust in the heart, is adultery according to God’s Law!
2. Jesus was not “raising the standard” for new covenant believers, as is commonly and erroneously taught!—Jesus was bringing people to the end of themselves by showing them the purity and perfection of the Law, so they would realize and see their need for redemption and the value of God’s grace, which would be extended to them (and us) through the new covenant!

The same is true in what is often referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer”:

Matthew 6:9-15 (AMP)
⁹ “Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰ ‘Your kingdom come,
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
¹² ‘And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment].
¹³ ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’
¹⁴ For if you forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses.

1. Jesus not only states it, but makes it explicitly clear that in order to be forgiven by God, we first must forgive!!—Again, magnifying the purity and perfection of God’s Law!
2. Based on what Jesus said here, we see that one’s merit and performance as a forgiver qualifies them for forgiveness!!—Again, magnifying the purity and perfection of the Law! And when it comes to forgiveness, it is proportional, conditional, and legalistic!—And rightly so, since that is how God’s Law works: You do, you get—You don’t do, you don’t get!
3. This is how old covenant law works!—It is conditional and performance-based!
4. Jesus was representing the law correctly here, to a people still under it!—Redemption had not yet come. The cross had not yet happened. The new covenant of grace had not yet been instituted!
5. So we can conclude that this was written FOR us, it was not written TO us!
6. Under the New Covenant everything changes! Believers are meant to relate to God by grace, not Law!—Even though many fail to do so because of erroneous teaching which mixes law and grace, often putting the greater emphasis on Law!—Essentially dressing the Law as Grace!
7. Take a look at what the new covenant says about forgiveness:

Hebrews 10:17-19 (AMP)
¹⁷ “AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS ACTS
I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE [no longer holding their sins against them].”
¹⁸ Now where there is [absolute] forgiveness and complete cancellation of the penalty of these things, there is no longer any offering [to be made to atone] for sin.
¹⁹ Therefore, believers, since we have confidence and full freedom to enter the Holy Place [the place where God dwells] by [means of] the blood of Jesus,

1. Notice: Because of Jesus and the finished work of the cross—God remembers our sins no more!
2. New covenant forgiveness is not based on how well we perform as a forgiver; It is based on how well and completely we were forgiven through Jesus and the finished work of the cross!
3. Your sins —past, present, and future— were forgiven when Jesus hung on that cross. That is when absolute, and complete forgiveness took place!
4. If you are alive and reading this article, your sins were all in the future tense when Jesus hung on the cross, so if for any reason you’ve told that you were forgiven for all your past and present sins, but not your future sins—I hope you realize that, that makes no sense and ultimately devalues Jesus’ sacrifice and His complete work of redemption! (This is what mixing old covenant law and new covenant grace does!)
5. In the New Covenant we forgive because we have been forgiven, not to be forgiven!

Ephesians 4:32 (AMP)
Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you.

Conclusion:
Everything Jesus said is sacred. But He also told us to rightly divide the Word of Truth. Mixing the old and new covenant operating systems puts guilt and condemnation back on people and treats the finished work of the cross as incomplete and insufficient. That is the real problem!
So I encourage you, to search the Scriptures for yourself. Have an open mind, and discover what the Gospel of Grace, the Gospel Truth, truly says!