We Can’t Live By Faith And The Law

The law is the righteous requirements given to the nation of Israel to keep them separate from the Gentile nations for the purpose of being a light of God's love to the Gentile nations. The law was the standard of righteousness.

This would include the Ten Commandments and the Two Great Commandments, to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love others as you love yourself. It would also include everything else in Exodus 19-Deuteronomy.

The Gentiles were never under the law.

However, the law can also be viewed as any moral, religious, spiritual, denominational, or organizational system or set of practices that one must adhere to so closeness to God, acceptance with God, or a right standing before God can be experienced.

The law requires a person to meet its standard or have experiences.

The law is dependent upon one’s own ability to adhere to it’s requirements.

The law does not require faith but requires self-effort.

The law is a system or practices of achieving.

Faith is receiving what God has fully achieved for us by grace in Jesus.

The Bible is very, very clear...a person either lives by law or by faith but can’t live by both.

Romans 4:14 says ,“For if those who live by the law are heirs, faith is useless and the promise is worthless.”

What is the promise?

In context, it is righteousness. (forgiveness and innocence before God - not guilty).

Either a person receives by grace through faith in Jesus God’s righteousness, or they try to achieve these through self-effort.

It can’t be both.

Galatians 2:21 clearly expresses this truth:

"I do not set aside grace of God. For if righteousness could be gained through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

Pretty simple...if righteousness, could be gained through the practices of the law, then we do not need the person of Christ nor his death.

To seek to gain righteousness through a law system or a set of practices is to fall from grace...to cease to live by faith in Jesus (Galatians 5:4).

It is either faith in Jesus or following the law.

It is not a combination of the two.

It’s either trusting or trying...believing or behaving.

According to the Bible, it’s faith only.

That is how the ascended Jesus taught Paul to live.

In Galatians 2:19-20, Paul states:

"For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Galatians says 3:22 says, “Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.”

Under the law, we are prisoners...guilty of sin not matter how fervently we follow the law’s system and practices (Galatians 3:22).

The law can’t remove one’s guilt or make one righteous….no matter how much effort is put forth.

The fact we need a law reveals we are sinners and in need of placing our faith in Jesus (Galatians 2:22).

Romans 10:4 says, “Christ is the end of the law so there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”

Walk free today.

Free yourself from whatever law you are under to seek a righteous standing before God.

Free yourself by by receiving God’s grace through placing your faith in Jesus.

You no longer have to live following the law’s system and practices or any religious or church law-based system.

You now live by grace through faith in Jesus alone...the one who loves you, gave his life for you, and lives in you.