Is Paul Contrasting God's Grace with the Law of Moses?

I have spent a significant part of the last few months considering this connection between grace, faith and works. One reason is because studying Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome has forced me to delve deeper into the subject. Another reason I have spent so much time looking at this is because of how disturbing it is that I missed the mark on this for a number of years. I have to admit that what Paul says throughout Romans with regard to the process of our salvation doesn’t seem to fit well with what I have believed in the past. Let me say with strong emphasis (and conviction) that nothing has changed as far as whether or not I believe we should submit to God in order to be saved. I have always believed and taught this, and I still do. What has changed however is that I can longer ignore Paul’s greater emphasis on God’s grace and His righteousness as opposed to our own.

The Romans epistle (along with others), emphasizes acceptance of salvation by God’s grace through our faith (i.e., Romans 3:28; 4:6; Romans 5:1-11; Ephesians 2:8-9). In other words, I do not see some precise “perfect 50/50 balance” between our works and God's grace expressed in the Bible as for what constitutes our being justified. I don’t see where God says, “meet me half way” or “you do your part and I will do my part.” That would not make sense because the Bible teaches that Jesus already paid it all (Romans 5:6-11). What I do see, is where God has lovingly and mercifully sacrificed in order to provide us with a salvation that we could not provide for ourselves. I see where we are given the charge to believe, accept, and trust in His wonderful power to save as opposed to thinking that our own righteousness somehow saves us. And I don’t believe that this compromises or diminishes from the fact that conditions were indeed met by the early Christians when they became a part of the church (Acts 2:37-47).

I think a lot of the “hang up” that prevented me from focusing more on grace in the past, was my insistence that Paul, throughout Romans, was comparing this new system of grace to the Law of Moses, as if grace were not substantial in the Law of Moses too. We have always taught that God’s character does not change. And I believe the Old Covenant, albeit to a lesser degree perhaps, was a system of grace as the New Covenant is today. The Law of Moses came as a tremendous blessing to God’s people as they had been stuck in Egyptian bondage for years. The Law was a beautiful gift from God that taught them how to live and function as a community of His followers, while striving to inherit the Promised Land of Canaan. They did not inherit this land by their own doing. It was a gift from God. And it was their faith in Him and their trust in His righteousness, as opposed to their own, that allowed them to follow His lead that got them there.

Thus, it is difficult for me to imagine Paul solely talking about the Law of Moses when contrasting law and grace as competing sources of salvation. The gospel does not stand in contrast with only the Law of Moses. The contrast is not between the gospel of Jesus and a particular law code, but rather between grace as a system of salvation and law as a system of salvation. When Paul states that we are not saved by a system of law, he is not intending to limit this to the Law of Moses, but is including any system of law—the idea of law. If “law” every time it is used, is limited exclusively to the Law of Moses, then why would Paul write what he does in Romans 2:14-15? The concept of “law” applied to more people than just those under the Law of Moses. The overall context shows that Paul is contrasting grace as a method of being saved with the idea of law or works as a method of being saved.

I don't feel real comfortable suggesting that God's justifying us is really a “both” scenario either. Paul seems to be setting forth this law/grace contrast as a “either/or” concept. It cannot be both. If law saves, why did Jesus die on the cross? And just because one meets the conditions of God’s grace (which are required, yes), does not mean that their obedience saves them. To suggest such would completely miss the point of God’s provision of what we could not supply for ourselves (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). Without God’s grace providing these conditions, there are no conditions to be met. Meeting God’s conditions gives us no right to take the credit. God is the source of salvation. His righteousness makes it possible, not ours (Romans 7:18).

“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty’”(Luke 17:7-10).

“Thank You Heavenly Father for your sweet and redeeming Grace!”