Talking About Grace, Living By Law?

While discussing his religious upbringing, Philip Yancey makes an eye-opening statement about his early church experience. He says, "They talked about Grace but lived by Law; they spoke of love but showed signs of hate" (Church: Why Bother page 19).

Sometimes I wonder if I have been guilty of "talking about Grace but living by Law." We have had to fight many battles against the error of Calvinism and the concept of "the impossibility of apostasy." Clearly the Bible teaches that it is possible to be a genuine Christian and then turn your back on the faith, and thus loose your salvation (Heb. 6:4-6; 2 Peter 3:20-22; et. al.). But in our constant warnings that it is possible to "fall from grace," I wonder if we have left the average person thinking they have to constantly "work" to keep themselves saved. This too is grievous error. We are not saved by works, but by grace (Eph. 2:8-10). If we attempt to return to a "works-system" of salvation, ironically, it is then that we really fall from grace (Gal. 5:3-4). In our hurry to sound a warning that Christians "not fall from grace," we may have inadvertently caused them to actually fall from grace by trying to be saved by perfect law keeping.

"They talked about Grace but lived by Law; they spoke of love but showed signs of hate." --Philip Yancey

We are saved by grace, period. But we must remain under the protection of God's grace, just as we must "keep ourselves in the love of God" (Jude 21). As long as we have a genuine relationship with Christ and are on the pathway of light, grace continually covers us (1 John 1:9). If we ever venture away from Christ and into the darkness, we do not have the protection of grace (1 John 1:6). But we are saved by being "in Christ" and "in his grace" not by our own works or attempts at perfect law keeping.

When you live by a "Law-system mindset," spirituality becomes a burden and following God feels like slavery (Rom. 8:14-15). But Christ came to set us free from such a mindset (Gal. 5:1). When we stop living by Law and start living by grace, it is liberating. Suddenly following God does not feel like a burden but a joy. Working for God is no longer a "fear of doing enough to get to heaven." Rather, serving the Lord is a celebration of thanksgiving for the gift of his grace. Keeping Christ's commandments become a simple expression of loving Him (John 14:15).

Let us all not just talk about grace, but live by it!