It is a hard thing to study the laws of cleanliness and of animal sacrifices. It is easy to see how one that lived their lives trying to learn and follow, to the letter, each and every one of these laws would start to feel that righteousness was something earned. Add to that the exceptions to the laws (the distance one was allowed to travel on the Sabbath, etc) and it is an impossible challenge for one immersed in it to not be overwhelmed by it. The law was not intended to be burden. Righteousness was always by grace only. In Psalm 32 it is written, “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are forgiven. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity.” In Isaiah 64 it is written “We are all like the unclean, and all of our righteousness is like filthy rags.” In Romans 3 it is written, “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed to by the law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ, to all and on all that believe. …Being justified freely (without any cost) by His grace through the redemption that is Christ Jesus.” Grace apart from law was revealed, it had always been but the coming of Jesus revealed it. Through Jesus grace was made known to the populace.
Love is in spite of who the person is that is being loved. Love is regardless of the actions taken by the person being loved. While the ability to love is a gift to the one loving, love itself is for the one being loved. If one loves to bring something to them, they love themselves and are lost to the truth of love. Ones love for another brings gifts and is a gift to the one loving, but cannot be the reason one loves. How did we get from the law to love? The law and punishment became a reason to internalize a relationship with God and to look at and know others by their sins. Love externalizes the relationship with God and allows us to look at others as children of God. The law stated that love is the keeping of law and the punishment for not keeping law was a separation from God. The law was a way to try to obey our way back to God. Love is in spite of law, in spite of who we are now, and is focused outside of the self. One obeys law. One has love for others, including God. Law was not intended to be internalizing. The rigid interpretation of detailed instructions became a mater of ones knowledge and the appearance of compliance.
Today what is said of law can also be said of grace. Not that grace can be anything other than grace, but some would add a cost to grace and a penalty if that cost were not paid. That is not grace. Grace is a direct result of love and as such is in spite of the one receiving grace. Grace is regardless of the actions taken by the person receiving grace. Some say we must say the name of Jesus Christ and accept grace for it to be in our life. But Jesus forgave, showed grace, and said, “… for they know not what they do.” Grace is forgiveness of sins (pardon from the penalty of law) that is not deserved, while we do not know what we do. It may seem to be a slap in the face of those trying to earn grace by being the best they can but “we are all like the unclean, and all of our righteousness is like filthy rags.” The Son of God must be our righteousness. Where does that leave repentance? We must turn away from sin. Yes. Out of love and gratefulness for receiving unearned forgiveness, we repent. We cannot do it on our own. Jesus Christ is our strength. Love is in spite of who we are. We love God because He first loved and loves us. Love is in spite of who we are and because of who God is.
The prayer that Jesus gave us, as an example of prayer, states that we are forgiven as we forgive or that is how we should pray. Does that mean that it is a cost for grace? No. It means, just as Jesus has forgiven us without cost we cannot put a cost on forgiving others. One does not accept or receive Jesus’ gift. Instead one realizes the gift. It becomes real to them when they understand that Jesus died to give a gift to them. One becomes of the body of Christ when they realize what the gift is that Jesus died to give them and turns away from sin out of love. Even that is more than is required for grace. The Bible states that one that does not keep the word and teaches other not too will be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. Repentance is a result of grace. Grace is not a result of repentance. Should we continue to sin? No! We should begin to love in the way God loves us.
We do not have to wash with water to be cleansed nor do we present animals to the priests as blood to cover our sins. We do not burn offerings or sprinkle blood on the altar to be clean. We do not pay monies, cattle or grain to those that are born into a family of priests to earn grace. We do not pay monies to those that preach as a payment for grace. We realize that no one is righteous and deserving of grace and, because that is true, we all have grace freely given to us. There is nothing we can do to earn the gift. The gift was purchased for us by Jesus and is given freely. The love of God is revealed in the freely given gift of Jesus. We did not take His life He gave it. We do not take grace He gives it. We do not come out of sin to earn the righteousness and strength of God. We come out of sin with the righteousness and strength of God. Love is not that we love God but that He first loved us.