John 1:16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

The law was given by God through Moses to show the world what as right and what is wrong. The details of some of it can be debated, but most of it is fairly clear. It is not too hard to figure out right and wrong because we have it written in the scriptures.

The law’s purpose though, was not to make us righteous. (Romans 3:20 says, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.”) The purpose of the law was to show us our sinful condition, and to draw us closer to God.

The Jews in Jesus day had decided that if some law was good, more would be better. They created an additional law, they called the Mishna, and if one followed that they would be super Godly people it was taught. It even got to the point that the Mishna was regarded as equal to the books of Moses.

It was into this world that Jesus came, bringing Grace and Truth.

It was not that Jesus was against the law or that the law was against Jesus. The problem was, the religious leaders of the day had abused law to the point that its purpose had been lost. The religious leaders of the day put tremendous burdens on people, just as is done today, and Jesus brought grace and truth to set them free.

If we look honestly at the law, we can see that we are all lawbreakers. Some people are naturally better at keeping the law than others, but this will not make a person righteous in God’s Sight. Paul was as righteous as any Jew of his day, yet in Philippians 3, he called that goodness rubbish compared to the richness of knowing Christ.

Even in Old Testament times, salvation was by faith. In Genesis 15 it says Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. They were also looking forward to the day of Christ, just as we now look back to that time.

When Jesus came, the fullness of Grace came, as well as truth.

Romans Chapter 3 goes into much more detail about the place of law and grace. It makes clear that we are saved, made righteous, and kept saved, by the grace of God, and not by our own human efforts. (Ephesians 2:8 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved,

through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

But some will argue, no doubt, that this creates a license to sin, and it is often called easy believism. Even Paul was accused of this and he scoffed at the very idea (See Romans 3.)

In many Christian circles, people say grace plus this, grace if that, and so on. The Scriptures say, Grace plus nothing.

Why do we want to add something to Grace?

There are a few possible reasons. One is pride, in that we want to be able to show God or others that we are somehow worthy of his affection. One reason could be that people want to make themselves special, or better than others at least in their own sight. Another reason is fear or unbelief.

To totally trust in the goodness of God, and not depend on your own efforts in the least, is a scary thought. Yet this is the mystery of Godliness.