by Jacob Ninan
"There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified" (Rom.2:9-13). Here, the apostle Paul is making the point that when it comes to sin, Jews were as responsible towards God as the Gentiles. Sin is sin, and anyone who sins is responsible for that sin and becomes open to the judgment of God. In effect, Paul is saying, a Jew would be thoroughly mistaken if he thinks that since he is one of the chosen people of God, and God has given him the privileges that come along with it, God would overlook his sins or at least show him some special favour. What would this Jew's reasoning be based on? That he is one of the chosen, he is not like those who don't know God at all, God will not forget how faithfully he attends the synagogue, how he keeps the festivals, how he offers his sacrifices regularly, etc. What Paul is labouring to show is that even with all that background of the Jew, sin is still sin. It is not the hearers of the law who are approved by God, but only the doers.
But then Christians say, this does not apply to them! They are not under the Law! They have been accepted by grace through faith and not through keeping of any law! God's grace is a favour that He shows that cannot be earned by anything we do! They have been made children of God and nothing can separate them from the love of God! The blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed them from all sin! The righteousness of Jesus has been credited to them and God sees them through Jesus! Anyone who charges them with sin must be from Satan, the accuser!
Let us try to understand this from God's overall point of view concerning man. Certainly, a Jew had a great advantage over a Gentile. The Jews were entrusted with the Law (Rom.3:1,2). This opened to them the possibility of knowing the true and living God, and aligning themselves according to His ways. But what happened was that even though the Law was good and meant to lead them to God, the people were unable to keep it because of the weakness they had in themselves, in their flesh. They should have recognised their inability to keep God's laws and cried out to Him for help. But what happened was that instead they took comfort in the fact that they were the chosen people of God, and imagined that God could not leave them. What they failed to understand was that every disobedience of the Law was a sin, and therefore, having the Law with them was not a cover for breaking the Law in practical ways. "For there is no partiality with God. For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified" (Rom.2:11-13).
What the Jews should have understood was that having the Law made them much more responsible for their actions before God than the Gentiles. Knowing the Law and then disobeying it made their sin much more punishable than for others who did not even know what God wanted. This is a practical principle we must learn and remember. Jesus taught this very clearly, "And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more" (Lk.12:47,48).
When it comes to us Christians, we know that we have been given much more compared even to the Jews! The Law could save no one because no one was able to keep in fully. But now our Saviour has come with an offer in which we have to just receive by faith what He has paid for. What was impossible for man before, has been made possible through Jesus (Rom.8:3,4). Through our faith, the requirement of the Law has been fulfilled in us, which is a way of saying that how Jesus has met all the demands of the Law in His life has been credited to our account, after our sins were debited to His account. The Holy Spirit has been given to dwell in us, who teaches us things concerning God. We are in the midst of brothers and sisters in Christ and we can receive from and give comfort and encouragement to one another.
With all these privileges that have been given to us, what God expects is that we would obey Him in everything and stop sinning (1Jn.2:1). From God's point of view, it is totally unacceptable that we should continue sinning thinking that we are under His grace (Rom.6:15). Of course, God knows that even when we do not want to sin, we might fall sometimes, due to ignorance or weakness, and therefore He has provided for us a way to humble ourselves, confess our sins and receive forgiveness. God understands our limitations and weaknesses, and not only gives us mercy, but He also gives us help to overcome when we face temptations to sin. "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb.4:15,16).
But what would happen if we receive all this from God and take it as a free cover for sin? This started happening right from the days of the apostles (Jude.4). This deception has taken various forms over the years, and now influences a large number of Christians, and they do not realise that they are not taking the matter of personal sin seriously, assuming that all they need to do is to confess it to God for easy forgiveness. They claim, "We have been set free from the Law," "There is no condemnation for us because we are under grace," "Once God has accepted us we will never lose that salvation," "If you think that you have to do something to maintain your salvation, you are going back under the Law and giving up grace," etc.
It is true that we have been set free from bondage to the Law. This does not mean that we are without any law for our life. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death" (Rom.8:2). 'Living under the Law' meant trying to keep the whole law in order to earn salvation. But no one could, and therefore it became a heavy burden for them. But now God has freed us from that bondage of having to earn salvation, by giving us salvation as a gift. But to live under grace implies that we walk according to the law of the Spirit, and thus fulfil the standard of the Law (Rom.8:4). The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus will lead us to the highest standard of God for man. God Himself follows a law which means that He will do everything in line with His character. He cannot do anything that does not agree with His divine nature. In the same way, the more we become like Jesus, as the Spirit leads us, the more we will align with His character. How ridiculous it is to think that because we are under grace, we are free to do whatever we like!
But just think of it. Jesus suffered and died so that He could save us from our sins (Matt.1:21). This salvation was not meant to be limited to forgiveness of our sins, but also to save us from the power of sin in our daily life (Rom.6:14). This salvation is not going to be given to us on a plate, but there is a striving involved from our side in order to receive it (Heb.12:4). Yet this 'striving' is not in our human strength, but as the power of the Holy Spirit enables us (Rom.8:13). This striving is simply to deny our own sinful desires with which we are tempted and to do the will of God (Lk.9:23).
This path of salvation is hardly preached in these days. As a result, some people who want victory over sin in their life expect that God will supernaturally give it to them irrespective of whether they are denying themselves or not. There are many others who are convinced that such a victorious life is not going to be possible because they are, after all, only human! Doesn't this remind us about what ten of the twelve spies who were sent out to see the Promised Land said, that there were giants in the land? As a result of their unbelief in what God had clearly promised, they had to wander around in the desert till they died. But we must not lose sight of the other two spies who recognised that the task before them was too much for them, but believed that the God who had promised was able to take them into the Promised Land nevertheless.
Musn't we take responsibility for our behaviour and stop hiding behind the false cover given by a false understanding of grace? Shall we not dare to believe in what God has promised, a life of victory over sin that becomes true increasingly as we cling to God for His help and deny ourselves in order to be pleasing to Him?