NOT UNDER LAW BUT UNDER GRACE

_{As a gospel believer, I espouse neither. I hold to a liberty, won by a perfect and imputed righteousness. I have no desire to fulfill the lusts and corruption that are natural to my flesh. I do not wish to use the liberty that has been gained by this imputed righteousness as a license to fulfill my depravity, though it is natural to me. And yet, I am not under the law. So these words are a comfort to me. Consider what it means then, ‘you are not under law but under grace.’}

_{Who are the ‘you’ referred to here? He means those of you identified in the first chapter as the ‘called,’ ‘the beloved of God,’ ‘the saints.’ ‘YOU’ who were under condemnation because of Adam’s sin; ‘YOU’ who are now justified because of Christ’s obedience, blood, and imputed righteousness to your account; YOU are not (present tense- as in even now) under the law.}

_{What does the word ‘under’ mean? It is a word that means to be under the authority of another. Therefore, it means that you are not answerable to. You are either answerable to one or the other, law or grace. Here it says you are not answerable to, or under the authority of the law. In the original language there is no definite article, ‘the.’ When the article is there it refers to a specific designation as in ‘the Williams, the Mostellers, the Browns.’ Without the article it means essence. So Paul is not here referring to THE LAW, as in the law of Moses, but rather the essence of the law, as in any requirements or conditions that any might impose. That’s what the essence of the law is. The law had many parts, but all of them are summed up in two things- conditions and requirements.}

_{So ‘law’ without the article means that you are not under the essence of law or anything that is in essence made a part of the law; BUT (in the strongest sense) under (answerable to) grace- that unearned, undeserved, unmerited, uncoerced, unconditioned, unsought, saving favor from God. Merit is accounted, but not conditioned upon human works or the human will. A requirement is conditioned upon something a human being does. As soon as you make something a condition or requirement, that’s a law. Grace, however, is merit accounted or conditioned on Christ alone. That’s what grace does. It is God’s unmerited favor granted freely to the sinner, conditioned on Christ and His finished work alone. It is to this grace only, and not to rules and conditions accomplished by us, that the Gospel believer answers-Grace and grace alone.}

T. DAVID SIMPSON - Pastor of Providence Grace Church, Powell, Tn.

“Good News For Sinners”

Like most people in our country, I was raised in my parents’ religion. I was taught the “10 Commandments” at an early age. I was taught and read all the religious stories about Jesus. I learned all the songs religion teaches children about Christ. Just like my friends, I made a profession of religion at age 7, was baptized, and began my own life of religion. Being raised a Baptist, I clung tenaciously to “once saved, always saved”. When I reached young adulthood, my parents quit forcing me to go to church, so I stopped going. But I was still “once saved, always saved”, because I had “accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Saviour”. I only became interested in religion again when personal tragedy caused me to think, “I better get right, or I might get left.” I made a second profession of religion at 23 and was immersed a second time. I became active in the local Church, was chairman of the deacon board, taught the fastest growing young married adult Sunday school class, and later surrendered to the ministry. The tragedy of all this was that I did not know God. I was religious, but lost. Our Lord put it like this: “And THIS IS LIFE ETERNAL, that they might know (lit., to be intimately acquainted with) thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”(Jn.17:3) I never had any peace or security of eternal life and the false preacher I was under kept telling me: “It’s not the one that starts the race, but the one who finishes the race who gains eternal life. There was always another prayer to be prayed, an offering to be offered, obedience to be rendered. There was no hope of eternal life unless I fulfilled all my obligation. Basically I was trapped in works religion.

Is this the condition you find yourself in today? Let me tell you: THIS IS NOT THE GOSPEL. The word “gospel” literally translated means “good tidings”. As God’s ambassadors we get the privilege to tell sinner’s who are trying their best to gain or maintain salvation by their religious attempts that Christ did ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING NECESSARY to obtain the salvation of all God’s elect. Christ fulfilled every legal requirement of God’s law and justice for His people and He actually justified them at Calvary when He cried, “IT IS FINISHED”. “Being (HAVING BEEN) justified freely (without any cause on our part) by his grace through the redemption (release secured by payment of the ransom price) that is in Christ Jesus.”(Rom.3:24) This is good news to a sinner! Christ said-“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I WILL GIVE YOU REST.”(Matt.11:28) Now I have that “peace that passeth all understanding”, and I know I am as sure and certain for heaven as if I am already there-(Read I Jn.5:12,13) “Run, Run, the Law commands, but gives me neither feet nor hands. A sweeter song the Gospel sings, it bids me fly, and gives me wings.”(John Bunyan)