Grace And The New Covenant

“We’re not under the law anymore. Now, we’re under grace.” 

I hear this a lot from practicing Christians. Even preachers have said similar things. Both while delivering sermons and while speaking with me one-on-one. We have songs dedicated to God’s grace and how we’re no longer bound by the law. I can’t say that this has always bothered me because I haven’t always known what I do now. However, having learned more about God, and Christ, that style of thinking makes less sense to me.

To fully understand, I think that it’s important for Christians to know what grace is. We seem to think that grace is synonymous with love. Even online definitions of the term refer to grace as unmerited favor or the act of being favored by God. However, multiple times throughout the Bible grace is made synonymous with pity.

Being favored indicates that you have approval. What is bestowed on you is a sign of support. Pity is a sign of compassion. Although our actions don’t merit God’s approval, he chooses to show us grace, compassion, pity. I am confident that He does not support our sinful behavior. I am confident that He is faithful to show me grace in the sense that He will have pity on me and forgive my sinful nature if I choose to repent (that is, to change) and turn back to Him.

Grace may have the potential to mean different things depending on the person. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Lot all had God’s favor. They lived in a righteous manner and received blessings from God. The Israeli people have not always had favor with God. They have frequently turned from God. However, God has always shown compassion. He has always been faithful to forgive when His people return to Him. How many times were God’s people forgiven throughout the Old Testament? Countless stories are written about His people abandoning Him for false gods only to have Him forgive them.

Now that we understand what grace is, are we “under grace?” Yes. However, we were always under grace. We have always had God’s compassion and pity. He has always been faithful to forgive us. Even under the old covenant, long before Christ was born, God forgave His people as long as they repented (changed) and turned back to Him. The same is true now. If we are living in sin then we don’t have God’s grace. We’re told that we can not continue in sin if we are part of the body of Christ. We must repent (change) and ask for God to forgive us.

So… If that hasn’t changed then why was Christ crucified?

Was it for the gift of eternal life? Well, according to the Old Testament, God’s people found life in following the Torah. We’re told that eternal life is knowing Christ and God.

John 17:3
"And eternal life is this: to know you, the one true God, and him whom you sent, Yeshua the Messiah."

Eternal life is typically referred to as something current. Not something that will be. It is focused on quality over quantity. In that sense, those that are faithful to God have always had life. Eternal life. Why then, was Christ crucified?

I know that we like to believe that the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross had to do with us receiving some amazing gift that wasn’t available to everyone else. And, in a way, that’s true. However, how most Christians perceive the sacrifice is incorrect. Christ wasn’t sacrificed to bring about God’s grace or the gift of life. His crucifixion marks the closing of the old covenant between God and His people and the beginning of the new covenant between God and His people.

No longer are we bound by the law in the sense that we must offer sacrifices. We are bound by a new law. The law given by Jesus demanding our show of love. Showing love towards God and those around us encompasses all of the Torah. However, it takes it a step further.

We cannot have anger or lust in our hearts. We cannot seek vengeance for wrongs done to us. We must forgive others no matter how difficult it may be. In reality, the law that we are under now is more difficult than that of the old covenant. The main difference between the old covenant and the new covenant is that God’s people were given a helper. We have the Holy Spirit with us, guiding us, acting like a conscience.

Although we have God’s grace (pity) and eternal life, that is not new. What is new is the covenant between God and His people. We are called to do more, not less. Don’t believe that grace is a free pass to sin because that couldn’t be further from the truth.