In the Law of Grace, 1-1=3

One of my favorite short stories is only a paragraph long. It’s called ON EXACTITUDE IN SCIENCE, and it’s by the Argentinian writer Jorge Louis Borges. The story was written in 1946, and since the very first time I read it I found it utterly fascinating.

The story is about a cartographer, a map-maker. This map-maker is called by the ruler of an ancient empire to make a perfect map of the kingdom they live in. The map-maker works and works, and when he finally reveals his perfect map, there is a surprise.

You see, the “map” the cartographer creates is such a “good” map that it drapes over the kingdom, like a sheet covering it up. The map is no map at all, but simply a one-to-one scale “representation” of the kingdom itself. 

Of course, this means the map doesn’t “represent” anything at all, does it? How useful is a map if it is merely an exact facsimile of the thing it is meant to represent? WE CAN LEARN A LOT ABOUT HOW THE LAW WORKS FROM BORGES’ MAP. 

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The Greek word “νόμος” (“nomos”) has a broad range of meanings, but it more or less means “law.” This can mean “law as a principle revealed in nature or reason,” like a Law of Science. Like the Law of Gravity. A word to describe something that ought to be true all the time.

It can also refer to the Old Testament Scriptures as “a body,” as in “the body of Law.” For example, this Greek word refers to the first five books of the Scriptures – the Torah, or Pentatuch. It can also mean any single command from those. So, EARTHLY LAW.

The Law is the basis of the Old Covenant. It is “Earthly.” It is a “body.” It is the same as a “law of nature,” such as gravity. And it works like a natural law. “People will do bad things all the time (the natural law); we need something to contain their evil.” Fair enough. Makes sense.

And yet… As Christians, we’re called to more. Let’s get into it. This Greek word “nomos” is used 194 times in the New Testament. And in almost all of the instances where it occurs, it occurs either in the words of Jesus, or those of the Disciples, quoting Jesus. 

Here, for example, is Jesus speaking in Matthew 5: 17, 20, right at the beginning of The Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5:17-20: “17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 

20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

What does it mean to “fulfill” something? Here is Webster’s definition: to put into effect or EXECUTE; to measure up to or SATISFY; to bring to an end; to develop the full potentialities of; to convert into reality. 

When Jesus tells us that he is here to FULFILL THE LAW, what is he really telling us? What does it mean to truly SATISFY what the Law was meant to do? How does Jesus BRING THE LAW INTO EFFECT? 

It seems to be important, because Jesus tells us very directly in Matthew 5:20 “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” But what does Jesus mean? 

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Let’s start by talking a little bit about The Law, Earthly Law. Earthly Law is something we all understand. It proscribes a limit, saying “on this side of the Limit of the Law, you are not doing wrong. But on this side over here, you are.” That limit is Earthly Law.

Is Earthly Law then the same as “ethics?” Or “morals?” Sort of, right? There is quite a bit of overlap between Earthly Law and what most people consider “good.” But are there things we would consider “bad” that are legal within Earthly Law? Or course. “Being a jerk” isn’t illegal.

Conversely, there are all kinds of Earthly Law that don’t seem to have a single thing to do with being “good” or “bad.” I just randomly Googled “US Code 197,” and here is what I found: 

“If, pursuant to § 1.704-1(b)(2)(iv)(f) of the Income Tax Regulations, a partnership revalues a section 197 intangible, may the partnership allocate amortization with respect to the section 197 intangible so as to take into account the built-in gain or loss from the revaluation?”

Now, granted I went to Business School and not Law School. But does that make sense to you? I mean, I sort of gather that it’s talking about “amortization,” and I get that it's about depreciating assets for accounting purposes. 

But seriously: THIS LAW ENDS WITH A QUESTION, FOR PETE’S SAKE! HOW CAN A LAW END WITH A QUESTION? To be honest with you, I wish I hadn’t done that Googling exercise. I’m honestly going to lose sleep over it. Or rather: WILL THIS CAUSE ME TO LOSE SLEEP?

I digress. Phew. Aside from being fairly objectively BONKERS in its modern format, Earthly Law has some truly serious challenges. The first of them is that BECAUSE BREAKING THE LAW IS OBVIOUSLY “BAD,” EARTHLY LAW IMPLIES YOU ARE “GOOD” IF YOU DON’T.

Let that sink in for a moment or two. Breaking Earthly Law IS BAD. That much is true! If you’re an accountant, you should probably be aware of US Code 197, understand it, and follow it. I’m sure there’s a good reason it’s been put into place, even if I don’t understand it.

But IS SOMEONE “GOOD” IF THEY FOLLOW EARTHLY LAW? Remember: “being a jerk” isn’t illegal. “Hurting someone’s feelings” isn’t illegal. “Taking advantage of a friend’s generosity” isn’t illegal. “Taking advantage of your spouse’s trust” isn’t illegal. Yet all these are BAD, right?

This is another serious issue with Earthly Law. EARTHLY LAW ALLOWS SOME MEASURE OF BAD. There is a sense that “I can do THIS MUCH BAD” before I break The Law. “Thou shalt not murder?” Well, I just beat him up. He’ll live. “Don’t commit adultery?” I’m just looking! Right?

Big corporations do this all the time. It’s called a “legal loophole.” If the law says I pay taxes if I ship more than 10,000 of something, you bet I’m going to find a way to ship only 9,999 at a time so I don’t get caught and have to pay. This is standard practice in the corporate world.

Yet another issue is that EARTHLY LAW CAN’T POSSIBLY COVER ALL THE WRONG WE COULD DO. The scribes calculated over 600 prohibitions and commandments in the Old Testament, and the Pharisees aspired to keep all of them, all the time.

Here’s an example. Think about how you would describe what you’re doing right now. You’re here, sitting in Church. It’s Sunday. You’re wearing the clothes you have on. You can get elaborate with your description, but it’s a fairly finite thing to describe what we’re doing.

Now, TRY AND DESCRIBE ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE NOT DOING, BUT COULD BE DOING RIGHT NOW. Well, you’re sitting, so you’re not standing. You’re not walking either, or running. You’re not lying down, or crouching, or climbing, or throwing… You get the point. 

It’s substantially more difficult to describe a conditional set of things we MIGHT do. Yet this is precisely what Earthly Law attempts to do. BECAUSE EARTHLY LAW TRIES TO TELL US WHAT NOT TO DO, IT HAS THE SAME LIMITATIONS AS BORGES’ MAP.

EARTHLY LAW ATTEMPTS TO PROSCRIBE, THROUGH PROHIBITION, ALL THE INFINITE THINGS WE COULD BE DOING THAT ARE BAD. IN THIS WAY, IT IS JUST AS IMPERFECT AS THE MAP IN BORGES’ STORY. IF LAW ATTEMPTS TO BE EVERYTHING, IT IS NOTHING.

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So this is how Earthly Law works. Let’s compare “Earthly Law” to “The Law of Grace.” So what do I mean when I say THE LAW OF GRACE? What does this Law of Grace look like? What does Jesus mean when he says he comes to “fulfill the law and the prophets?”

Well, we know that there is something about Jesus, and specifically about Grace, that makes our understanding of Earthly Law different than it was in the Old Testament. John 1:17: “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

You see, what’s going on in this verse from John is that Earthly Law, the “nomos,” is presented as this thing over here, given to Moses, and over here is this other thing, called Grace and Truth. This other thing, Grace and Truth, “came through Jesus Christ.” It is different from Law.

We know already that to understand the TRUTH OF JESUS, we HAVE TO TRY AND LIVE THE WAY JESUS TAUGHT US. Remember: Jesus is THE WAY, and THEN THE TRUTH, and THEN THE LIFE.

So when we ask ourselves “how do we understand this TRUTH about Jesus,” we should always remember to also ask “what is Jesus telling me to DO IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND HIM?” Because it is always, always, always the ACTIONS that will bring you closer to God.

Thankfully, Jesus spells this out for us fairly directly. In a few different places of the New Testament, but my personal favorite is this one from Matthew 22:36-40. This passage is specifically about LOVING UP TO LOVE OUT, AND LOVING OUT TO LOVE UP.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. 

And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Here, Jesus is talking about the Greek word “νόμος,” or “nomos.” In both this passage from Matthew and the one from John above, it’s the same word.

Now, keep in mind that to those around Jesus at the time, “νόμος” (“nomos”) meant “The Torah.” Among the people where he traveled and preached, EARTHLY LAW AND THE TORAH WERE ONE AND THE SAME.

So when those around Jesus asked “which is the greatest commandment in the Law,” what they were very specifically and directly asking was “WHICH OF THOSE EXISTING LAWS, THE ONES WE ARE FAMILIAR WITH AND HAVE STUDIED, MATTERS MOST?”

It must have been pretty jarring when he said back to them TWO COMMANDMENTS THEY HAD NEVER HEARD BEFORE. It would be like if I were asking you for fashion advice, and I asked you “which of these two bowties do you like better” and you said “a book.” 

Remember, Jesus was “rabbi,” teacher, seen from the time he was found teaching in the temple at the age of 12 to be a highly studied scholar of Earthly Law. He was understood even by the scribes and Pharisees to be very knowledgeable about Earthly Law. Hence: rabbi.

Try and imagine how utterly shocking it must have been when those listening to Him asked such a question. “Which of these 600 Earthly Laws our ancestors have written out is the most important one, rabbi?” And Jesus answers “these other two Laws you’ve never heard before.” 

This is radical stuff. HERE, IN THIS PASSAGE, JESUS IS PROVIDING THE ANSWER TO A QUESTION THAT THE SCHOLARS OF EARTHLY LAW HAD NOT EVEN YET ASKED. Jesus doesn’t answer their question about “which of the 600 Earthly Laws matters most.” See that?

Instead, JESUS ANSWERS THE QUESTION “HOW SHOULD WE BE BETTER PEOPLE? HOW CAN WE BE MORE RIGHTEOUS, RABBI? HOW CAN WE DO MORE GOOD? Not what bad should we avoid, which is how the scholars of Earthly Law thought. What good should we do.

When we turn towards the example of Jesus, we still have The Law, but we need it less and less. Because THE STRUCTURE OF EARTHLY LAW IS “I AVOID DOING BAD, THEREFORE I AM GOOD.” BUT THE LAW OF GRACE IS “I TRY TO DO GOOD, THUS I AM LESS BAD."

Come back to our beloved passage from James. When we have SUCH FAITH – a faith of action, and more than the faith of demons, which they have out of fear – then doing God’s Will becomes MORE THAN A BURDEN, MORE THAN A DUTY. 

After Jesus, WE DON’T JUST FOLLOW THE LAW OUT OF A FEAR OF DOING WRONG. INSTEAD, WE FOLLOW JESUS OUT OF A DESIRE TO DO RIGHT. And “follow” means something different in those two statements. 

When we “follow Earthly Law,” what we mean is something more like “obey.” It’s a sense of simply not doing wrong. When we “follow Jesus and the Law of Grace,” it’s about what we ACTUALLY DO, NOT ONLY WHAT WE DO NOT DO. 

So how does Jesus “fulfill Earthly Law?” It’s the same way AN ACTION BRINGS INTO EFFECT A THOUGHT. Here is Earthly Law. It’s a bunch of THOUGHTS, almost entirely about WHAT WE SHOULD NOT DO. Remember: there are 600 of them written in the Old Testament.

And here is the Law of Grace. THE LAW OF GRACE IS SO BEAUTIFUL BECAUSE IT IS LIMITLESS. THERE IS NO COUNTING ALL THE WAYS WE CAN BE KIND, OR LOVING, OR CHARITABLE. IT IS A PRINCIPLE OF CREATIVE ACTION, NOT PROHIBITION.

You see: the Law of Grace does not fall into the same limitations as Borges’ map. Because it doesn’t attempt to catalog all the potential things we should NOT be doing, Jesus’ Law of Grace instead points us in the direction of “right,” and tells us to go bonkers doing it.

We are called to DO AS MUCH RIGHT AS WE ARE ABLE. NOT TO DO JUST ENOUGH WRONG to stay on this side of Earthly Law. THERE IS A RADICAL DIFFERENCE. We are called to a radical way of life in this faith. If that doesn’t move you, I don’t know what will.

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There is a terrific passage from Jeremiah that perfectly prophesied what Jesus will do. Now, you and I have yet to really dive into the Prophet parts of the Old Testament, but this is some seriously crazy stuff in there, which foretells in great detail what Jesus will do in the future.

Way more on that another time. But for now, let’s consider just this example from Jeremiah 31:31-33: “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 

It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt… “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.”

Again, remember that The Torah was an actual thing, which lived for parts of history as an oral tradition of the Israelites, and parts as an actual physical document. But in either case, EARTHLY LAW LIVED SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE OF ANY ONE INDIVIDUAL. 

In this passage from Jeremiah, here we’re told The Law will be put IN OUR MINDS, AND WRITTEN ON OUR HEARTS. It’s as though we’ve internalized Earthly Law. It’s as though we encountered Borges’ map in that ancient kingdom, and swallowed it up. We digested it.  

And what’s left underneath Borges’ map? Real life. Not a representation of it. Because even a perfect-seeming representation of real life is still, in the end, not real life. EARTHLY LAW IS ABOUT CONTROLLING WHAT WE WANT TO DO WHEN WE LIVE IN SELF-WILL. 

THE LAW OF GRACE IS ABOUT WANTING TO DO BETTER BECAUSE WE LIVE IN GOD’S WILL. This is why Jesus’ fulfillment of The Law is such a radical change. Once The Law of Grace is inside us, DOING GOD’S WILL BECOMES A CREATIVE POSSIBILITY.

Here’s another way to look at the failures of prohibition from Earthly Law – the approach of simply “not doing wrong.” If I were to never leave my house, how could I break the law? If I worked from home, paid my bills, paid my taxes, and so on, what Earthly Law could I break?

But, here’s the catch. If I were to live my life by simply NOT DOING WRONG, WOULD I BE LIVING IN GOD’S WILL? I would not. Because I would be breaking the Law of Grace. THE LAW OF GRACE IS THAT I SHOULD DO GOOD, NOT SIMPLY AVOID DOING WRONG. 

AND THAT IS BECAUSE IF I TRY TO LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY, IF I TRY TO LIVE IN GOD’S WILL, I AM EXPRESSING ‘SUCH FAITH,’ THE TYPE OF FAITH THAT MAKES ME WANT TO BE USEFUL TO GOD.

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The Law of Grace FULFILLS Earthly Law in all ways imaginable. THE LAW OF GRACE PERFECTLY FULFILLS EARTHLY LAW. THE LAW OF GRACE PUTS EARTHLY LAW “INTO EFFECT,” IT “BRINGS ABOUT ITS POTENTIAL,” IT “REALIZES” EARTHLY LAW.

Here is a passage from Matthew 5:27-28: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 

This verse from Matthew is THE BEST VERSE when it comes to understanding the difference between Earthly Law and The Law of Grace. See how the Earthly Law of “you shall not commit adultery” perfectly shows the two main failings of Earthly Law in general?

First, it begs the question of the difference between NOT COMMITTING ADULTERY AND TRULY BEING A FAITHFUL SPOUSE. There is a LOT of gray zone between “doing right by your spouse” and simply “not committing the actual act of adultery.”

If I flirt with this person, am I “committing adultery?” What if I invite them to dinner? What if I just think about them all the time, and never act out in any way whatsoever? WHAT IF I JUST KEEP MY UNRIGHTEOUSNESS TO MYSELF?

And there is a second failing of the Earthly Law of “you shall not commit adultery.” It fails to consider that there are acts RELATED TO ADULTERY that aren’t adultery itself. I’ll spare you the details here from the pulpit, but certain online activities come to mind.

Jesus fully, 100%, without doubt provides us an answer to these short-comings of Earthly Law when He gives us The Law of Grace. And it is the PERFECT FULFILLMENT OF EARTHLY LAW, IN EVERY POSSIBLE WAY.

When Jesus presses upon us the imperative to TRY NOT TO SIN IN OUR HEARTS, He SURPASSES IN EVERY WAY WHAT EARTHLY LAW CAN ACCOMPLISH. He emphasizes PURITY OF HEART, the importance of LIVING THE LAW OF GRACE.

JESUS RECOGNIZES THAT VIOLATIONS OF EARTHLY LAW, SUCH AS COMMITTING ADULTERY OR MURDER, ARE SIMPLY SYMPTOMS OF A DEEPER MALADY. And that malady, Jesus realizes, IS IN OUR HEARTS. 

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How can we live up to the standards of The Law of Grace on our own? We cannot. We need God to help us. “We die and are born again in Christ.” Romans 7:4, “you also died to the law through the body of Christ… in order that we might bear fruit for God.”

Romans 7:5-6: “For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death.” “SINFUL PASSIONS,” “AROUSED BY THE LAW?” Do you see what this is about? 

This passage is PRECISELY ABOUT BEING ABLE TO GET AWAY WITH ‘THIS MUCH WRONG’ BEFORE VIOLATING EARTHLY LAW. It shows how Earthly Law might actually HINDER RIGHTEOUSNESS, BECAUSE IT FAILS TO CALL US TO BE BETTER. 

Earthly Law only prohibits us from doing bad. And we’ve already talked about how it falls short. This passage shows us how Earthly Law might trick us into THINKING WE ARE “GOOD” BECAUSE WE ARE NOT ACTIVELY BEING “BAD.” 

Romans 7:7 “But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” 

WE CHOOSE TO DIE HERE, IN THIS WORLD, TO ALLOW GOD TO DO HIS REFINING WORK ON US, TO BURN AWAY OUR SELF-WILL, SO THAT WE MAY BE BORN AGAIN INTO GOD’S WILL AND THE LAW OF GRACE. 

Let’s read back over all of Romans 7:14-25. By the way, the founder of our faith, John Wesley, was listening to someone read Luther’s treatise on this book of the Bible one night and had what we in Methodism refer to as the “Aldersgate experience.”

So Paul’s letter to the Romans is of particular importance to us, as Methodists. Primarily because of what Paul tells us about Grace, and how it comes to supplant and fulfill Earthly Law. Mark your calendars for May 24th, when we’ll commemorate that here in this church!

Anyway: Romans 7:14-25. “14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 

17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 

19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 

22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 

25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” DO YOU SEE HOW THIS MAKES SENSE BASED ON WHAT WE’VE BEEN DISCUSSING?

Jesus tells us that AS CHRISTIANS, IF WE LIVE BY LIVING THE LAW OF GRACE, NOT EVEN THE EARTHLY LAW OF DEATH APPLIES TO US. HE ALSO SAYS THAT, CONVERSELY, LIVING ONLY ACCORDING TO EARTHLY LAW MEANS WE ARE ‘SUBJECT TO DEATH.’

But if we follow the example of Jesus, if we make the turn of repentance and do the work of allowing God to refine and purify us, we can try to live under The Law of Grace. We can live to be useful to God on a daily basis, to do as much good as we’re able, not only avoiding bad.

WHEN WE TAKE OURSELVES OUT OF THE EQUATION, THE MATH BECOMES 1 MINUS 1 EQUALS 3. If we can recognize that we need to get out of our own way to be our best selves, we can see that OURSELVES, MINUS OURSELVES, EQUALS GOD.

ONLY BY MINIMIZING OUR SELF-WILL, AND MAXIMIZING OUR ABILITY TO CHANNEL GOD’S WILL, CAN WE HOPE TO LIVE OUT THE LAW OF GRACE. We can’t do it on our own…