Would you dare to drink rat poison? Even it’s it a little bit? Probably not. Like many of you, I grew up with a mixture of Law and Grace. A deadly cocktail. Mixing Law with Grace is like drinking rat poisoning with milk. It kills your faith. Therefore, I didn’t experience the fullness of God’s love and power.
God doesn’t serve mixed drinks. The divine cocktail is not Law mixed with Grace. God serves two separate shots: Law and Grace. And they have to be drunken separately or else you’re in trouble. You absolutely can’t mix them. If you do, you’ll end up on the treadmill of the do-it-yourself-and-get-the-glory-religion because the formula goes: a little bit of Law + a lot of Grace = Law.
Demand and Supply
God’s Word comes to us in two forms of speech: law and grace. The law is God’s word of demand and grace is God’s word of supply. The law tells us what to do, while grace tells us what God has done.
When you read the Bible you will either find a passage that demands something from you (law), like “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Matt. 22:37), or a passage that supplies something to you (grace), like “love one another as I (Jesus) have loved you” (John 13:34).
Everything in both the Old and New Testament comes in one of these two forms.
Both God’s law and God’s grace are from God, which means both are good and necessary. But each one has their unique job description.
- The law (Old Covenant) is meant to condemn sinners
- Grace (New Covenant ) is meant to deal life to saints
Serious confusion and condemnation kicks in when you – as a saint – apply law-based verses to your life. You’ll end up having religious beliefs, like “I need to do the right things, avoid evil, try my best to serve and please God.”
Just drink the Grace cocktail
You’re meant to only drink the from the cocktail of undiluted grace in order to walk in victory and freedom. Take even the slightest sip from the cocktail of law and you’ll en up confused and condemned. Remember, a bit of law + lots of grace 
is still law. Even 1 % rat poisoning in a glass of milk is still damaging if not lethal for you!
The key for holy and happy living comes from just drinking the cocktail of grace. Oh, the importance of making the distinction between law and grace! What’s the result when I fail to understand the unique job description of God’s word of demand (law) and Gods word of supply (grace)? I get into the frustrating “do-to-be”- mode.
- I strive to become what I already am
- I work to attain what I already have
- I try to measure up when I already do
- I seek to find what I already possess
- I try to cross a divide that isn’t there
In short, I let myself be burdened by the yoke of religion (Gal. 5:1).
Instead of living in the freedom Christ has purchased for me, I will act as if I’m part of a horrible religion where a mean, dissatisfied God has set up unattainable standards to live by without providing the means to fulfill them and then punished His followers in anger as they constantly fail and fall short. Who wants to join such a perverse club? Thank God for the Gospel of grace!
Ask the million dollar question
When we read the Bible we should ask ourselves the question: is this Scripture describing the Old Covenant law which is meant to knock sinners on their knees by exposing their self-righteousness and their need for a Savior or the New Covenant of grace which convicts saints of Christ’s indwelling nature and their right standing with the Father.
To bring a final stop to confusion and condemnation and to experience the fullness of God’s love and power, we need to rightly divide between law and grace when reading the Bible. The whole Bible was written for you, but not written to you. Go to this post to read and watch more on this topic.
So, God serves two separate shots of divine cocktail: law and grace. Make sure to drink from the right glass .
In the next post I’ll share the next 25 comparisons between a law and grace mindset to help you rightly divide God’s Word. Again, the law tells you what to do (demands), while grace tells us what God has done (supplies).
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Go the the first post in this four-part series by clicking here
Go to the third post in this four-part series by clicking here
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The tightrope of law vs grace is a tough one to walk. I think you are negotiating better than most. This is definitely a tough concept for even seasoned believers to wrap their heads around. It’s almost a chicken-or-the-egg question: Am I saved because of the choices I’ve made, or do I make these choices because I am saved? Thanks for the reminder that I have nothing to boast about. Any righteousness in me is from my Father and given by His grace.