GRACE ON TRIAL - Week 2: Repentance, Law, and Consequences

[00:00:00] Hello, welcome to your Daily Grace By Timothy Wilder grace on trial Week 2 Repentance Law and Consequences doesn't the New Covenant still require law keeping? One of the most common assumptions Christians make is that the New Covenant is essentially the Old Covenant, with better promises and more forgiveness. [00:00:26] In practice, this often means people believe grace has changed how we are saved, but not how we are meant to live. The underlying idea is that believers still maintain their relationship with God through some form of law keeping. But is that how the New Testament describes the New Covenant? The writer of Hebrews says that Jesus is mediator of a better covenant which was established on better promises. Hebrews 8:6 NKJV he goes on to explain that by establishing a new covenant, God made the first one obsolete. Hebrews 8:13 that is a stronger statement than many of us realize. [00:01:12] The New Covenant is not merely an improved version of the old one it is a different covenant altogether. Under the Law, the emphasis rested upon human obligation. The covenant centered on what people were required to do. [00:01:28] Under the New Covenant, the emphasis shifts to what God has done through Christ. The focus moves from human performance to divine provision. [00:01:38] This is where confusion often enters the discussion. [00:01:42] Many believers agree that salvation is by grace, yet they still view spiritual growth through the lens of law. [00:01:51] The result is a subtle mixture of grace and performance. [00:01:56] Christ becomes the means of entering the Christian life, while law keeping becomes the means of maintaining it. Paul addresses this tension directly when he writes writes, but if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Galatians 5:18 NKJ notice what Paul does not say. He does not say believers are lawless. [00:02:21] He does not say holiness is unimportant. He says believers are led by the Spirit rather than living under the authority of the law. [00:02:31] Those are not the same thing. The law can reveal God's standards. It can expose sin. It can show us our need for Savior. But the law was never designed to produce spiritual life. [00:02:44] It can diagnose the problem, but it cannot provide the cure. [00:02:49] That is why Paul describes believers as being led by the Spirit. The Christian life is not sustained by external regulations but by an internal relationship with Christ. [00:03:02] Paul makes a similar point in Romans when he writes, for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. [00:03:11] Romans 10:4 NKJV Christ did not simply help us keep the law better he fulfilled its demands on our behalf. [00:03:22] He accomplished what the law could never accomplish through human effort. [00:03:27] As a result, our righteousness is found in him rather than in our ability to perform. [00:03:33] This does not diminish obedience. If anything, it places obedience on a stronger foundation. Instead of obeying to earn acceptance, we obey obey because we have already been accepted in Christ. [00:03:47] Instead of striving to establish righteousness, we live from the righteousness he has already provided. [00:03:54] Perhaps the real question is not whether the New Covenant includes obedience. It clearly does. [00:04:02] The question is whether obedience flows from law keeping or from life in Christ. [00:04:08] The New Covenant points us to the latter. [00:04:12] When you think about your walk with God, do you find yourself relying more on rules to sustain your relationship with him or on the Spirit who now lives within you? [00:04:24] Thank you for being part of our community. If these posts are helping you grow in your understanding of God's grace, we invite you to follow this page and engage with the content. [00:04:37] Your follows, Subscriptions, likes, comments and shares help bring these biblical truths to others who may be searching for the same encouragement.