So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. – Romans 6:11-14
The final nine words of this passage of scripture identify a powerful dissonance in today’s Christian dialogue. A dissonance that I believe neither Paul, or the Spirit of God that inspired his work, ever intended. The dissonance between Law and Grace.
It is easy to interpret this passage as implying that Grace is superior to the Law. Some circles of belief are criticized for defending the opposite. I argue that neither is superior to the other, but that they are co-dependent. Co-dependent still isn’t a very accurate way to define the relationship, as the Bible does not require any measured balance of the two in the believer’s life.
This isn’t 50% Law, 50% Grace talk.
Justification, Reconciliation, Faith, and Salvation happen completely by Grace. (Eph 2:8-10) I am simply arguing that both are equally pure, good, and holy, given by God. One does not exist without the other. For any work of Divine Reconciliation to take place (Ro 5:9-10) sin needs a law, therefore grace needs a law. Those subject to the law need grace, lest they perish. (1 Cor 15:56) Likewise, those subject to grace need a law, so they have reason to rejoice.
The presence of Grace is not an opportunity to abandon the law, for that is impossible. We know that the law is not abolished, but completed in Christ. (Matt 5:17-20) The law was, is, and always will be God’s Standard. The presence of Grace is an opportunity to pursue communion with God, who without it, would exercise Holy wrath on his people.
Consider this – prior to the outpouring of Grace through the Cross of Christ, you could neither hide from, nor pursue the Law. Utterly helpless. In a state of “Total Depravity” if I may quote Calvin. How much worse is it to be prevented from pursuing something than prevented from hiding from it?
Grace does not erase the Law. How can sin be sin if there is no law to condemn it? If there is not a law, it can’t be sin. If it isn’t sin, then it doesn’t merit the need for grace.
Key Thoughts:
- Grace does not make sin any less real, painful, dreadful, or evil in the sight of God.
- Grace does not allow for the willful ignorance to the pursuit of discipline, accountability, or holiness.
- Grace is not a trump card to disobey the commands of scripture.
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Romans 6:15
Grace is not in any way like the social concept of acceptance and allowance, allowing us to do what we please and accepting it. Grace does not permit us to live in a way the pleases ourselves. Grace permits us to live in a way that pleases God, when we have absolutely no chance of fulfilling his law in this lifetime. Grace permits us to strive for obedience. Grace permits us to love God. All things we cannot do under the dominion of sin.
So, the call is to escape living under sin’s dominion, which brings death, and pursue Christ’s dominion. Then to live under his Grace. So let us affirm the Law, which exposes our sin, and then flee from sin into the riches of Grace, that is Christ.
Grace | Peace
