Paul's View of the Law, Grace, Salvation and What It Means Today
Introduction
The Apostle Paul is believed to be one author in the New Testaments who has displayed a distinctive touch of personality and uniqueness to his writings.[1]The assertion could be due to his inimitable encounter with Jesus when in route to persecute the Christians, which was his practice having been educated and in good standing with the Pharisees. The religious leaders believed that the Christians were a threat to the Jews’ belief in the Mosaic law and must be dealt with vigorously. A religious zealot, fanatic, and even a legalist may have been some of the titles that Paul may have worn proudly for the cause in which he stood. That all changed with his conversion to Christianity where he was able to speak on the very matter that he once stood in defiance of which was the law as it pertained to salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.[2]
Brief History of the Law
From the very beginning, man has been defiant to the commands of God when He first told Adam and Eve not to touch one tree and yet, they disobeyed. “And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die” (Genesis 2:15-17).[3] God established a plan of redemption so that man would not die in his sins, but first, He chose a people who would be His and would come into covenant with Him so that all the nations would be blessed through them.” And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22:18).[4] Abraham and his seed was the recipient of that promise which would be passed down to all nations.
After the Children of Israel had been in captivity for four-hundred years, God sent a deliverer, Moses, to free them from the hands of their cruel taskmaster, Pharaoh. While they were in the wilderness, God told Moses to go to Mount Sinai where He would give him laws of tablets for the Children of Israel to obey. “When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18).[5] In addition to the laws that were on the two tablets, God gave instructions for worship, ceremonial purification, adherence of holy days, moral laws and special years of observance.[6] These are the laws that Paul spoke of in his writings that were and still are a subject for debate as to his view on the law as it relates to being under the New Covenant. “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).[7]
Paul’s View of the Law
British Old Testament scholar, R. E. Clements, wrote that the Torah is an all-inclusive list of provisions and directives through which Israel’s covenant with God is enforced and governed.[8]The law was a covenant between God and His people for out of it His love was shown to all mankind serving as a reflection of their sin and yet, God knew that it would take more than works to keep the law, so justification by faith through grace in Jesus Christ was given. “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin” (Romans 3:20).[9] Paul understood that no one could say that they were righteous by the keeping of the law for it was not possible to obtain righteousness apart from faith in Jesus Christ. Paul sought to help the reader understand their helpless condition caused by sin that the law was reflective of which required perfection from those who were under its authority and yet, it was a gift given for the edification of God’s people as a sign of divine favor.[10]
God, being perfect, holy, and righteous requires that the same attributes be manifested in His creation – something that cannot be obtained from fallen man. The standard through which the law is based is impossible for man to uphold. Paul believed that righteousness was made possible through Christ’s life, death and resurrection only through faith because of God’s love for His creation. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).[11] Paul embraced the fact that he wanted to obey the law because his heart was motivated to please God and yet, there was a battle with the flesh in that it fought against his mind to do what was right in the sight of God.[12] The Jews, however, thought that they could keep the law through works as a means to earn their righteousness without their hearts being fully for God.[13] Their mindset was that they could do the right things for the wrong reason when God looks beyond the actions but the motifs behind the deeds. “…for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).[14] Therefore, keeping the law was of no subsequence without faith for failure to have faith results in God’s displeasure, and one cannot please Him if they do not love Him through which the law abides.
Paul likened being under the law as an inmate imprisoned until the element of faith was revealed. “So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian” (Galatians 3: 24-25).[15] The law acted as the warden while faith was the sinner’s stay of execution. The law in this sense seems to have a negative connotation but on the contrary. Before the law, sin was manifested in man while knowing inherently right from wrong, but after the law was given, man was without excuse for defying the righteous will of God. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).[16] By the giving of the Law, God took away any excuse that man would have for breaking covenant with His righteous degree and in this, Paul understood that the law was to lead man towards a righteous and holy God in whom they were in covenant with as His chosen people.[17]
Paul’s View of Grace
Paul did not invent the concept of Christians being under grace instead of the curse of the law. This revelation was given to him by Divine intervention in that God did not want His children to think that they were hopeless and condemned after He sent His Son, Jesus, to the lost world. “Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly” (Ephesians 3:2-3).[18] Paul did not worry about what others thought of his teaching concerning the grace of God for he knew that this was the hope that God had given to every believer who accepted this free gift that was not possible through the works of keeping the law. “ However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24).[19] Paul wanted his readers to understand that God had given them grace as he often began his letters to them with a greeting concerning the grace of God.
Paul and others with him could give testimony to the grace that God showed to not only the Jews but the Gentiles in that they were adopted into the inheritance promised to Abraham and his seed. Paul taught that grace was God’s mercy shown to a fallen man while works were only good for rewards not based on faith.[20] “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.” (Romans 4:4).[21]Grace is in total contrast to works but is to be viewed as purely a gift not earned but granted out of God’s love. The breaking of the law demanded the repayment of death, but grace interceded by giving mercy. To be under grace meant freedom from the chains of sin that kept man enslaved to the law.[22]
Even though Christians are not enslaved to the demands of the law because of grace, Paul let them know that grace did not give them a free license to sin. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:1-2).[23] To be free from the law meant appreciating the free gift that God bestowed on the believer and yet, it did not give a person a free pass to sin against God and in so doing, put oneself under the curse of the law through intentional enslavement to sin. God’s grace was very real in Paul’s thinking, attitude and writing for he could not separate God’s grace from the life of being a Christian.[24]
Mankind was not deserving of God’s grace, and yet, that was the reason that God gave it. Paul knew all too well about the grace of God even in weakness due to asking God to remove a thorn from his side. Even though his request was denied, God reassured him that His grace would be enough to get him through.[25]Paul not only taught about grace, but it was applicable in his own life. He had to rely on the grace of God while having to deal with an unpleasant situation so that the magnificent power of God could be manifested through him. Grace taught him total reliance on God in the same way that grace was given to all man because of the impossibility of man’s natural strength in being a perfect law abider.
Paul’s message of grace was not always welcomed by those who wanted to insist that the Gentiles had to adhere to Jewish laws such as dietary codes, Sabbath, circumcision, and other ceremonial laws. Paul had to reaffirm his teaching to the Gentiles to keep the Judaizers from poisoning them with their teachings of the law. “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and is turning to a different gospel” (Galatians 1:6).[26] The Judaizers felt that the ceremonial laws were still to be observed even for the New Testament church. Their argument was based on the presumption that Paul was not a true apostle and his message was to make his teachings more pleasing to the new Gentile converts. Paul in his defense reminded them that his apostleship was not given by man but by the risen Savior through which they had received grace through faith in Him and not by works.[27]
Aurelius Augustine, bishop of Hippo Regius, who was affectionately called the Doctor of Grace, wrote that every good work and will in man is contributed to the grace of God and yet he has been given the free will to choose. The choice to choose grace is evident not of the works that a man does but that his works are done because of grace.[28]Paul wrote that there were those who professed knowledge of God but their actions were nothing short of detestable because good works only come through the grace of God for anything short of grace is man’s attempt to undermine God. “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good” (Titus 1:16).[29]
Grace, in Paul’s view, was hard for man to accept due to his nature suggesting that there needed to be a self-made atonement for sin.[30] Martin Luther wrote that man is always trying to compensate for his past transgression in such that he thinks he can do a certain amount of works to make up for what he had once done wrong as regret settles in his mind.[31]These types of thoughts that allows one to doubt grace is brought about only by the devil who has hated man from the very beginning. Paul spoke firmly about this in his rebuke to the Galatians. He went as far as to call them bewitched which was a tool used by the enemy to distort their thinking of religious freedom and to imprison themselves by the works of the law through the rejection of grace.[32] To reject grace was to discard the lifeline that God freely offered which could be obtained through no other means but through that sacrifice of Jesus Christ the Son of God. Therefore, God gave grace as a free gift to grant man salvation to enter His glorious kingdom through faith independent of human abilities.
Paul’s View of Salvation and the Law
Paul thought of Christ’s salvation as God’s grace to fallen humanity.[33] He knew about the salvation of God intimately through his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus. A religious fanatic who sought to persecute the Christians based on the law that inherently conflicted with the death, life, and resurrection of Jesus Christ whom the Christians’ belief embraced. “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem” (Acts 9:1-2).[34] This risen Lord, whom he considered to be more dangerous now than when he was alive, was contrary to everything he stood for and believed.
A belief where works through obedience to the laws of Moses was the only way to receive favor by God was threatened at its core from the apostates who preached about a man named Jesus who had taken on the sins of the world and through his sacrifice having gained victory over death and hell. A victory Paul was later able to write about after his conversion, “…’Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).[35] The grace of God herewith allowed Paul to be a first-hand witness to the saving power of Jesus Christ who gave him mercy even though he was persecuting Him.[36]
Paul wrote to those in Rome concerning the salvation of Jesus Christ and the law’s inability to save them through the works of their natural flesh. It was through Jesus Christ and Him alone that man can be saved.[37] Christ death made it possible for God to hit the reset button and put man back in right fellowship with Him. It took the shedding of Jesus’ blood as a sacrificial Lamb to do what the Mosaic laws and animal sacrifices fell short of permanently satisfying. “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:12).[38]
Paul did not just view salvation through monoscopic lenses where salvation was granted just for and between the individual and God. But he viewed salvation as being for all individuals, Jews and Gentiles, male and female, slave and free resulting in unity with Christ –
forming one body enjoying freedom from the law in Him.[39] Salvation in Christ is a continuous process and does not expire. Paul wrote that because of Christ’s work on the cross, believers in Him are free from the condemnation of the law. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2).[40]
Believers are to consider themselves dead to the sin of the law according to Paul once they accepted Jesus as their Savior.[41]Adam’s disobedience brought sin into a perfect world, but Christ’s sacrifice brought justification through faith into a fallen one.[42] Paul wrote that it only took one man to sin and cause many to die, but it also took one Man to save and cause many to live. “Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19).[43] A selfless act of love through God’s amazing grace gave to man Jesus, whom they rejected, and yet, He loved man despite his errors to relieve him of the burden of sin from which the law made visibly clear and granted him a pardon through his shed blood given freely to all.
Paul’s View for Today
The Apostle Paul’s writings are just as valuable today as they were during the early years of the churches to whom he wrote. The same debates still exist in many denominations as to if believers are under the law or grace, is works needed or not necessary, and the list continues to persist. Many people may be perceived as legalist if they believe that adhering to the law is still required and those on the opposite end are viewed as being indulgent in misappropriating the grace message. What can one say would be Paul’s view for today with regards to the law? That question can be answered with the same knowledge that he gave 2,000 years ago to the Jews and Gentiles who were caught up in a web of confusion as to the law and its meaning in their lives.
God gave the law as a covenant between Himself and His people so that they would be an example to the nations who did not have the law but would later receive righteousness by faith through grace in Jesus being one body united in Him. “The promises were spoken to Abraham and his seed. Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16).[44] Paul was outlining that God’s purpose of the law never stopped with just the Jews, but it was to show others the righteousness of God as Christians are to do today in not living a life contrary to God in abusing their freedom but to uphold Godly standards as a testament of their love for Him.
Paul’s view of the law in being both good and bad, necessary and inadequate, condemning and freeing highlights some major points that can impact the lives of many if they would accept his understanding and take it to heart. Paul viewed the law as being good when used appropriately to show man the error of his ways. “We know that the law is good if one uses it properly” (1 Timothy 1:8).[45] Man, for example, would not know that sexual immorality was wrong if the law did not state, “Do not commit adultery.”[46] In keeping this command, man is honoring God with his life by living holy and fulfilling Jesus’ commandment in loving his neighbor.[47]
The law is only bad in view of those who wish to oppose it by continuing in their sins and failing to accept the free gift of salvation. “What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "You shall not covet" (Romans 7:12).[48]There will be those who will reject the law not because of freedom but because they have a desire to sin and in so doing, place themselves under the curse of the law. Then there are those who will believe in their abilities of obeying the law thus causing them to again place themselves under to the curse of the law for to fail in one area is to break them all.[49]
Christians can learn from Paul that God can take the most wretched of sinners as he called himself and turned them into a masterpiece for Him. The grace of God is what accomplishes that and not by any works on man’s accord to make that happen. The works that are displayed as a result of the grace of God are for His edification only and to show others His goodness but not to achieve salvation through them. If man was able to work out his own salvation within himself then the there would not have been a need for redemption. As the world grows increasingly dark, the grace of God is needed even the more for, without it, man would be lost.
Church attendance cannot save anyone. Paying tithes cannot save a soul. Having a title cannot save nor eating a certain diet can save someone lost. It is only through the blood of Jesus and accepting His free gift of salvation can anyone be saved. The Pharisees and other religious leaders of Paul’s day were not able to offer anyone salvation, and this caused them to be bitter and pious in their thinking to know that they were only mere mortals who also were in need of a savior. If Paul were alive today, he would probably declare the following proclamation concerning his life as a testimony to others: “I was a murder, but God. I was a legalist, but God. I was spiritually blind, but God. I was unloving, but God. I was arrogant, but God. I was in violation of the very law I swore to uphold, but God. I was on my way down a road of destruction, but God. Until I met Jesus, I did not know God.”
Conclusion
God offered man grace through His Son’s atonement on the cross, and it is made available to anyone who accepts it for what it is – a free gift. The law was to be a mirror to show man his transgressions before a perfect, holy, and righteous God but its adherence was not a substitute for the work that Jesus did on the cross. Man could never live righteous, holy, or be good enough to earn salvation through his own works. The law stood as the accuser of man while God’s grace showed mercy in not giving the judgment that was rightfully due. Works could not save man for if it could, Jesus would have never had to die a horrible and grueling death by bearing the weight of sin upon his shoulders. Therefore, good works are to be thought of as a result of faith through grace and not to obtain grace due to the lack of faith.
The work that was done on the cross took care of the deficit that was left after the fall of Adam. Paul, in his many letters, desired for everyone to take hold of the free gift and to not allow the enemy easy access into their minds through his desperate attempt to nullify and diminish Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Grace did what the law couldn’t, and as a result, salvation is made available to all who believe. The law is honorable in that is shows the character of God, and yet it is debilitating in that man will forever fall short of its demands. Grace, nevertheless, covers that shortages of man’s incompetency in adhering to its demands perfectly.
A person who wishes to understand further the origins of the law could begin the covenant that God made between Abraham and Himself in Genesis that he and his descendants would be a blessing to the future generations.[50] Exodus 20 tells of God giving Moses the Ten Commandments on two tables of stone, but He also gave to Moses other ordinances that were to be observed for they were to be a holy people unto God.[51]From Leviticus throughout the Old Testament, God gave laws for His people to follow and they were promised to receive blessings from Him based on their obedience to Him. Israel, however, failed time and time miserably having brought condemnation upon her for dishonoring the one true God. Nevertheless, God sent His Son, Jesus, to save man from his sins to restore the relationship that was severed due to the stains of sin.[52]
Jesus’ final words to His disciples were to go into all the world spreading the good news about salvation as part of the Great Commission so that others could know that they too were free from the bondage of sin.[53] Paul was a witness to the grace that God bestowed upon all mankind who would willingly accept and receive His free gift. This gift of grace was what Paul so passionately wrote about and believed having experienced it for himself as a testimony to others about what the Lord had done for him. His epistles stand as evidence of the transformation that God’s grace has upon a person’s life and will have on anyone who accepts their shortcomings shown by the law but salvation given through Jesus Christ, Son of the living God. “ For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24).[54]
[1] F. F. Bruce, Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2000), 15.
[2] Eph.2:8 (New International Version).
[3] Gen. 2:15-17 (New International Version).
[4] Gen. 22:18 (King James Version).
[6] Martin Luther, Luther's Works (Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1960), vol. 35, 235-248.
[7] Matt. 22:37-40 (New International Version).
[8] R. E. Clements, Theology of the Old Testament: A Fresh Approach (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1978), 110.
[9] Rom. 3:20 (New International Version).
[10] Brevard S. Childs, Old Testament Theology in a Canonical Context (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985), 53.
[11] 2 Cor. 5:21 (New International Version).
[12] Rom. 8:21-23 (King James Version).
[13] Daniel P. Fuller, "Paul and "The Works of the Law"," Westminster Theological Journal 38, no. 1 (1975): 35.
[14] 1 Sam. 16:7 (King James Version).
[15] Gal. 3:24-25 (New International Version).
[16] Romans 1:20 (New International Version).
[17] D. B. Wallace, ""Galatians 3:19-20: A Crux Interpretum for Paul's View of the Law"," Westminster Theological Journal 52 (September 1990):232-236, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3396/75fbab7c9a82a8affb7c788f10cdf1731793.pdf..
[18] Eph. 3:2-3 (New International Version).
[19] Acts 20:24 (New International Version).
[20] Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid, Dictionary of Paul and His Letters (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2016), 25.
[21]Rom. 4:4 (King James Version).
[22] Bruce, Paul, 193.
[23] Rom. 6:1-2 (King James Version).
[24] Frank Ely Gaebelein, The Expositor's Bible Commentary The Complete Award-Winning 12-Volume Commentary with the Convenience and Speed of a CD-ROM ; with the New International Version ; Clear, Easy-to-Use, Verse-by-Verse Approach ; in-Depth Explanation from 78 Evangelical Scholars (Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 1998), 11:439.
[25] 2 Cor. 12:8-9 (King James Version).
[26] Gal. 1:6 (New International Version).
[27] Gal. 1:1 (New International Version).
[28] Aurelius Augustine, Augustine's Writings on Grace and Free Will (West Linn: Monergism Books, 2012), 420-423..
[29] Titus 1:16 (New International Version).
[30] Gal. 1:3-4 (New International Version).
[31]. Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 35, 384.
[32] Gal. 3:1 (New International Version).
[33] Donald Guthrie, The Pastoral Epistles: An Introduction and Commentary (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2009), 198.
[34] Acts 9:1-2 (New International Version).
[35] 1 Cor. 15:54-57 (New International Version).
[36] Acts 9:4-6 (New International Version).
[37] Romans 1:5 (New International Version).
[38] Heb. 9:12 (King James Version).
[39] Rom. 7:4 (New International Version).
[40] Rom. 8:1-2 (New International Version).
[41] Rom. 6:11 (New International Version).
[42] Douglas J Moo, The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 1996), 29.
[43] Rom. 5:19 (New Living Translation).
[44] Gal. 3:16 (New International Version).
[45] 1 Tim.1:8 (New International Version).
[46] Ex. 20:14 (King James Version).
[47] Mark 12:31 (King James Version).
[48] Rom. 7:12 (New International Version).
[49] James 2:10 (New International Version).
[50] Genesis 17 (New International Version).
[51] Exodus 20 (New International Version).
[52] John 3:16 (King James Version).
[53] Matt. 28:18-20 (New International Version).
[54] Rom. 3:23-24 (New International Version).
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