The Motives of Law and Grace
by Pastor Ricky Kurth
"Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm" (I Timothy 1:7).
Since
"we are not under law, but under grace" (Rom. 6:15), what possible
motive could someone have to teach the law? Well, in Paul's day, the men
most likely to desire to cling to the law were Jews (Acts 15:1).
Speaking of them, Paul told Titus:
"...there are many unruly and vain talkers...of the circumcision...who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake" (Titus 1:10,11).
The
thing that these circumcision Jews "ought not" to have been teaching
was the law, which they taught for the same reason men teach the law
today--because there is money in it. Satan always makes sure that undispensational truth is popular, and teaching what is popular is always a lucrative endeavor!
For
instance, in time past, God's message to Israel was that He was going
to use Nebuchadnezzar to conquer the nation to chasten her for her
iniquities (Jer. 25:9). But false prophets in Israel were assuring God's
people it would never happen, that they would continue to enjoy peace
(Jer. 23:17). Which of those two messages do you think was more popular,
and thus more lucrative?
Of course, when Israel was obedient to God's law, His message to them was a message of peace, but when they rebelled against His law, that message became one dispensation too late. Well, today the law
is one dispensation too late, but it is as popular and as profitable as
undispensational teaching has always been. People are religious by
nature, and the law appeals to their religious "flesh" (Gal. 3:3). And
that which appeals to a man's religious flesh is always going to be as popular and as lucrative a business as that which appeals to his carnal flesh (II Cor. 11:20).
When
Paul added that those teachers of the law understood "neither what they
say, nor whereof they affirm," that was a polite way of saying they
didn't know what they were talking about! All because they were one
dispensation too late in their teaching. What's that say about all those
"desiring to be teachers of the law" in our own day?
Maybe
you are thinking, "If the goal of the law is to get us to love God and
our neighbor (I Tim. 1:5), and we're not under the law, does that mean
God doesn't want us to love God and our neighbor?" Of course He does!
But now such loving charity is the goal of a new commandment. You see, when Paul said that "the end of the commandment is charity" (I Tim. 1:5), he wasn't just referring to the goal of the ten commandments.
Remember, Paul opened this epistle by insisting that he was an apostle "by the commandment of God" (I Tim. 1:1), and in the dispensation of grace, the goal of that commandment
is charity out of a pure heart. The goal of Paul's God-ordained
apostleship is to get people saved and loving God and their neighbor,
just as it was under the law. The difference is, in this dispensation,
"the love of Christ constraineth us" to serve Him (II Cor. 5:14), not
the fear of what will happen to us if we disobey Him, as was the case
under the law. That's the motivation of love, not law! That's the
motivation of grace.
Christ Arrest and His Suffering
By Les Feldick
Les Feldick Ministries
30706 W. Lona Valley Rd.
Kinta, OK 74552
Psted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
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