RJ
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I am sorry! I am simply asking and answering a question. I have no intention of not being good to anyone. If that is what you percieve, I appologize and my question certainly does not equire answering.
“Keeping the Law”
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I understand why you ask it that way, out of sincerity, but the only law for the believer is "The law of the Spirit" (Rom 8:2).
"The Gospel may be designed by "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus"; which may be called a law, not as succeeding the law of works, by which that is abrogated; nor as requiring conditions to be performed, or as enjoining duties to be observed, or as delivering out threatenings in case of disobedience; but as it is a doctrine, order, and chain of truths." JG
brakelite
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3 Spiritual laws that govern life.
“For I delight in
Law One: ……….The law of God.
after the inward man”…..(Romans 7:22)
Paul has nothing but love and respect for God’s law. He considers it ‘holy, just and good’. It is Paul’s earnest and deepest desire to honour that law, and to keep all the commandments,
” but I see another law in my members, warring against the law (of God) of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to….” (v23cont.)
Law Two:………..“The law of sin…
“…which is in my members.
Paul delights in obedience, but finds that in the carnal nature resides a law which makes it impossible, the law of sin. Paul confesses his wretchedness and guilt. “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” he cries.
“I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin.” (vs 25)
But if Paul is bound by the law of sin, despite his best intentions to obey the law of God, how then can he overcome? The answer is just 2 verses later. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For…
Law Three:……….the law of the Spirit of life…
in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1,2.
Three laws. The law of God which is holy, just, and good.
The law of sin which binds the carnal man making it impossible to obey the law of God.
The law of the Spirit of life which through the grace and power of God makes it possible for the reborn child of God to obey the law of God, if he relies on and walks after the Spirit and not after the flesh.
The law of sin has no power over them who are completely surrendered to Christ. That is why elsewhere Paul can assert that to those who walk in the Spirit they are transformed by the renewing of their minds, and are recreated into the image of the character of Christ. A character that is obedient and a mind (like Christ’s) which delights in the law of God and rejoices that by faith in the power and grace of God he may be obedient to all the commandments.
“For I delight in
Law One: ……….The law of God.
after the inward man”…..(Romans 7:22)
Paul has nothing but love and respect for God’s law. He considers it ‘holy, just and good’. It is Paul’s earnest and deepest desire to honour that law, and to keep all the commandments,
” but I see another law in my members, warring against the law (of God) of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to….” (v23cont.)
Law Two:………..“The law of sin…
“…which is in my members.
Paul delights in obedience, but finds that in the carnal nature resides a law which makes it impossible, the law of sin. Paul confesses his wretchedness and guilt. “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” he cries.
“I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin.” (vs 25)
But if Paul is bound by the law of sin, despite his best intentions to obey the law of God, how then can he overcome? The answer is just 2 verses later. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For…
Law Three:……….the law of the Spirit of life…
in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1,2.
Three laws. The law of God which is holy, just, and good.
The law of sin which binds the carnal man making it impossible to obey the law of God.
The law of the Spirit of life which through the grace and power of God makes it possible for the reborn child of God to obey the law of God, if he relies on and walks after the Spirit and not after the flesh.
The law of sin has no power over them who are completely surrendered to Christ. That is why elsewhere Paul can assert that to those who walk in the Spirit they are transformed by the renewing of their minds, and are recreated into the image of the character of Christ. A character that is obedient and a mind (like Christ’s) which delights in the law of God and rejoices that by faith in the power and grace of God he may be obedient to all the commandments.
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I like what you got here, and the law of sin only governs the unbeliever, because the Spirit ensures the believer is not governed (dominated or rule) by the law of sin--even though it is still in our members (Gal 5:17).
brakelite
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Thought you all may be interested in the following...and @farout, I fully understand your perplexity. So also would the following great thinkers and Bible scholars of our age....
Calvin—Eternal Rule of Life.—We must not imagine that the coming of Christ has freed us from the authority of the law; for it is the eternal rule of a devout and holy life, and must, therefore, be as unchangeable, as the justice of God, which it embraced, is constant and uniform.—Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists (1845), Vol. 1, p. 277.
Wesley—Remains in Force.—But the moral law contained in the ten commandments, and enforced by the prophets, he did not take away. It was not the design of his coming to revoke any part of this. This is a law which never can be broken, which "stands fast as the faithful witness in heaven." The moral stands on an entirely different foundation from the ceremonial or ritual law. . . . Every part of this law must remain in force upon all mankind, and in all ages; as not depending either on time or place, or any other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature of God, and the nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to each other.—Sermons on Several Occasions, vol. 1, pp. 221, 222.
Spurgeon—The Law of God Perpetual.—Very great mistakes have been made about the law. Not long ago there were those about us who affirmed that the law is utterly abrogated and abolished, and they openly taught that believers were not bound to make the moral law the rule of their lives. What would have been sin in other men they counted to be no sin in themselves. From such Antinomianism as that may God deliver us. . . .
.....The Law of God Must Be Perpetual. There is no abrogation of it, nor amendment of it. It is not to be toned down or adjusted to our fallen condition; but every one of the Lord's righteous judgments, abideth for ever. . . .
Does any man say to me, "You see, then, instead of the ten commandments we have received the two commandments, and these are much easier." I answer that this reading of the law is not in the least easier. Such a remark implies a want of thought and experience. Those two precepts comprehend the ten at their fullest extent, and cannot be regarded as the erasure of a jot or tittle of them. . . .
Christ has not, therefore, abrogated or at all moderated the law to meet our helplessness; he has left it in all its sublime perfection, as it always must be left, and he has pointed out how deep are its foundations, how elevated are its heights, how measureless are its length and breadth. . . .
To show that he never meant to abrogate the law, our Lord Jesus has embodied all its commands in his own life. In his own person there was a nature which was perfectly conformed to the law of God; and as was his nature such was his life. He could say, "Which of you convinceth me of sin?" and again "I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.". . .
By his death he has vindicated the honour of God's moral government, and made it just for him to be merciful. When the lawgiver himself submits to the law, when the sovereign himself bears the extreme penalty of that law, then is the justice of God set upon such a glorious high throne that all admiring worlds must wonder at it. If therefore it is clearly proven that Jesus was obedient to the law, even to the extent of death, he certainly did not come to abolish or abrogate it; and if he did not remove it, who can do so? If he declares that he came to establish it, who shall overthrow it?. . .
The law is absolutely complete, and you can neither add to it nor take from it. "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law." If, then, no part of it can be taken down, it must stand, and stand for ever.—The Perpetuity of the Law of God, published in Spurgeon's Expository Encyclopedia
Calvin—Eternal Rule of Life.—We must not imagine that the coming of Christ has freed us from the authority of the law; for it is the eternal rule of a devout and holy life, and must, therefore, be as unchangeable, as the justice of God, which it embraced, is constant and uniform.—Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists (1845), Vol. 1, p. 277.
Wesley—Remains in Force.—But the moral law contained in the ten commandments, and enforced by the prophets, he did not take away. It was not the design of his coming to revoke any part of this. This is a law which never can be broken, which "stands fast as the faithful witness in heaven." The moral stands on an entirely different foundation from the ceremonial or ritual law. . . . Every part of this law must remain in force upon all mankind, and in all ages; as not depending either on time or place, or any other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature of God, and the nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to each other.—Sermons on Several Occasions, vol. 1, pp. 221, 222.
126
Morgan—Obedience by Faith.—It is only when grace enables men to keep the law, that they are free from it; just as a moral man who lives according to the laws of the country is free from arrest. God has not set aside law, but he has found a way by which man can fulfill law, and so be free from it—The Ten Commandments (1901), p. 23.Spurgeon—The Law of God Perpetual.—Very great mistakes have been made about the law. Not long ago there were those about us who affirmed that the law is utterly abrogated and abolished, and they openly taught that believers were not bound to make the moral law the rule of their lives. What would have been sin in other men they counted to be no sin in themselves. From such Antinomianism as that may God deliver us. . . .
.....The Law of God Must Be Perpetual. There is no abrogation of it, nor amendment of it. It is not to be toned down or adjusted to our fallen condition; but every one of the Lord's righteous judgments, abideth for ever. . . .
Does any man say to me, "You see, then, instead of the ten commandments we have received the two commandments, and these are much easier." I answer that this reading of the law is not in the least easier. Such a remark implies a want of thought and experience. Those two precepts comprehend the ten at their fullest extent, and cannot be regarded as the erasure of a jot or tittle of them. . . .
Christ has not, therefore, abrogated or at all moderated the law to meet our helplessness; he has left it in all its sublime perfection, as it always must be left, and he has pointed out how deep are its foundations, how elevated are its heights, how measureless are its length and breadth. . . .
To show that he never meant to abrogate the law, our Lord Jesus has embodied all its commands in his own life. In his own person there was a nature which was perfectly conformed to the law of God; and as was his nature such was his life. He could say, "Which of you convinceth me of sin?" and again "I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.". . .
By his death he has vindicated the honour of God's moral government, and made it just for him to be merciful. When the lawgiver himself submits to the law, when the sovereign himself bears the extreme penalty of that law, then is the justice of God set upon such a glorious high throne that all admiring worlds must wonder at it. If therefore it is clearly proven that Jesus was obedient to the law, even to the extent of death, he certainly did not come to abolish or abrogate it; and if he did not remove it, who can do so? If he declares that he came to establish it, who shall overthrow it?. . .
The law is absolutely complete, and you can neither add to it nor take from it. "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law." If, then, no part of it can be taken down, it must stand, and stand for ever.—The Perpetuity of the Law of God, published in Spurgeon's Expository Encyclopedia
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I would like to interject a little something-something here. God told Jonah to go tell Nineveh to repent but Nineveh wasn't apart of Israel. They used to "pick on" the Jews in battle. and Jonah was around 760 B.C but for sure after 612 B.C.
I realize thats kinda off topic and not really helping you out on saying the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good (romans 7:12) but I just wanted to point out that even tho the covenant was with Israel... God desired repentance of non-Israel nations also and it wasnt just Israel exclusive and there is evidence of this in the bible. God desired them too. Israel is just the royal bloodline so to speak.
This is what I thought of when I read what you had written in your post that I quoted above. Just thought I would share.
DHC
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Hello Brakelite.
An interesting reply from you and definitely one worthy of consideration.
May I restate what I said in my previous post which preceeded your post.
1) God's covenant was with Israel and not with the Gentile nations.
2) The Mt Sinai covenant included the ten commandments.
In order for you to convince me that the ten commandments existed before the
Mosaic covenant Brakelite. You would need to quote evidence that this was the case
from the scripture. My argument was that the evidence must not be on the basis of inference.
So now I will quote your reply Brakelite, and I abbreviated your reply.
"Genesis 39
9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing
from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness,
and sin against God?
1 Jo 3:4 hosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."
You are claiming that Joseph refused to sin by committing adultery and that this was
actually Joseph responding to the ten commandments. Well brakelite your quotation
does state that Joseph reacts to the invitation to commit adultery and calls it a sin against
God. That is exactly what the scripture tells us and this is no surprise.
Joseph is an Israelite and not a Gentile, Brakelite. We also know that in both the Babylonian and
Egyptian civilizations from archaeology, that before the time of Moses. These ancient civilizations
had civil law in effect which included laws against adultery and murder.
No one is denying that forms of civil law existed before Mt Sinai Brakelite. The creator of the
universe is a moral God and his moral impression exists throughout mankind's history.
Where you will strike difficulty Brakelite is in trying to establish that every one of the ten
commandments were in effect before Mt Sinai. More to the point your incredible generalization
that the whole world had the ten commandments must be erroneous.
The reason that the ten commandments could not have been in effect is simply because of the
revelation of God to Israel at Mt Sinai included the first commandment. This first commandment
which I will print below is part of what makes the Mosaic covenant unique.
Exodus 20
2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 You shall not make for yourself an idol.
This contrary to the often poorer and partly quoted version "You shall have no other
gods before me". Specifies that God brought Israel out of Egypt and that Israel will not
commit idolatry. This is the full version of the first commandment and rightly so. This is
the powerful revelation that Israel received at Mt Sinai, Brakelite. No other civilization
can have this law because this law is what makes Israel unique. Israel has a monotheism,
Israel cannot commit idolatry, Israel as a holy nation has been selected by YWYH and
because they are a special nation they cannot commit idolatry!!
Other nations apart from Israel will and did have some of the ten commandments in the
form of civil law. But they cannot have the first commandment nor even the fourth
commandment as these are unique to Israel. Archaeology proves this to be the case Brakelite.
Sure Brakelite before the event at Mt Sinai a descendant of Abraham could cite that they
follow the God of Abraham. Others may have followed the God of Issac and Jacob, e.t.c.
But no one could exclusively have stated before Mt Sinai that they follow the God of Israel
and that to worship another God would be idolatry. That is impossible.
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RJ
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- What is the "law as Christians"? Are we under the "law" of the old covenant, of our fore fathers and for our salvation? Indeed not, we are under the law of grace. Galatians 3:25
- This means that we are no longer under the old law ( 10 commandments) but under God's free gift of grace.
- Romans 7:7-12 The purpose of the law is to reveal the sin in us.
- James 2:10 You see, we are human and imperfect and not capable of keeping the old law perfectly.
- You haven't got it wrong. The law is still holy and righteous and a wondeful guide for us to live by. Christians should try to obey the law but, when we mess up, we are still forgiven an saved because of God's wonderful free gift of grace!
RJ
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Can you follow the 10 commandments with out missing one point?
Are you suggesting that we have to, or are you inferring that's what I was saying?.....I did say "follow," I never said "perfectly," did I.
They're the guide to use if you're in doubt what it means "love God with all your heart, and your neighbour as yourself."
That's what I meant and that's their purpose.
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Thanks for clarifying that! They are wonderful standards to try and live by until we realize the future hope of God's glory.
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NoHype
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If all of God's law was fulfilled by our Lord Jesus then how could Apostle Paul say the following to Timothy?
1 Tim 1:8-11
8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
11 According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
(KJV)
It's obvious that a lot of my Christian brethren don't really understand what all is contained in God's laws first given to Israel.
Our Lord Jesus nailed the handwriting of ordinances in the law to His cross, not all of God's law, for even God's commandment in Lev.19 to love our neighbor as thyself is a NEW TESTAMENT COMMANDMENT for ALL Christians.
God's law contains ordinances, judgments, statutes, and commandments.
Love thy neighbor as thy self is a commandment, just like the ten commandments.
The statutes serve as enactments, like legislature.
Judgments serve as penalties and awards.
Ordinances is what the Old Covenant ceremonial rituals and blood ordinances, and sacrifices were about. This is the part of God's laws that our Lord Jesus nailed to His cross.
Judgments covered penalties for crimes like rape, murder, thefts, perjury, etc. It also covered awards owed by a wrongdoer to a victim.
If you look at today's court system and governing branches you will see many of God's laws still in effect, every day!
The false prophets in some pulpits today that want to remove that part of God's law from Christian society are actually following the Devil himself, because to do so is to remove peace from our streets and create chaos.
1 Tim 1:8-11
8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
11 According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
(KJV)
It's obvious that a lot of my Christian brethren don't really understand what all is contained in God's laws first given to Israel.
Our Lord Jesus nailed the handwriting of ordinances in the law to His cross, not all of God's law, for even God's commandment in Lev.19 to love our neighbor as thyself is a NEW TESTAMENT COMMANDMENT for ALL Christians.
God's law contains ordinances, judgments, statutes, and commandments.
Love thy neighbor as thy self is a commandment, just like the ten commandments.
The statutes serve as enactments, like legislature.
Judgments serve as penalties and awards.
Ordinances is what the Old Covenant ceremonial rituals and blood ordinances, and sacrifices were about. This is the part of God's laws that our Lord Jesus nailed to His cross.
Judgments covered penalties for crimes like rape, murder, thefts, perjury, etc. It also covered awards owed by a wrongdoer to a victim.
If you look at today's court system and governing branches you will see many of God's laws still in effect, every day!
The false prophets in some pulpits today that want to remove that part of God's law from Christian society are actually following the Devil himself, because to do so is to remove peace from our streets and create chaos.
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Would you say the ordinances nailed to the cross would have been all those that was defining of their legalistic duties as required under the old covenant?
That's my take when considering the freedom from religious bureaucratic obligation we have in the New Testament, we need to understand what it means to have freedom in the true sense.
That's my take when considering the freedom from religious bureaucratic obligation we have in the New Testament, we need to understand what it means to have freedom in the true sense.
If one person says they keep the law, and another says they don't, it doesn't really mean anything. In God's eyes, righteousness is not a matter of law keeping... so we cannot say which person is right in the eyes of God and which one isn't.
For example, the apostle Paul kept the law, and in human terms he might be called a great Christian because he did everything God required according to the law, yet he ended up persecuting God.
Right standing with God - righteousness, is not of law, it is of Christ. The purpose of the law is to demand and condemn. If we love the law, the danger is that we become like Paul, zealous for God, but demanding and condemning. Jesus never commanded his disciples to love the law. There is no command in the whole new testament that we should love the law. Our love should be for God and Christ alone.
There were no laws in the Garden of Eden, except one, "thou shalt not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil".
The bible does not say there are any laws in the future New Jerusalem.
Often those who keep the law end up persecuting God. They are often ready to "throw stones" but God is waiting with mercy and grace.
Romans 8:3 says that it is impossible to keep the law because it is weak through the flesh.
God is not really interested in us keeping the law, and sometimes He may wish we did not keep the law, because our fleshly goodness, our outward hypocrisy is restricting His Spirit from flowing. Just like Peter who said to the Lord that He would never deny Him, even unto death. Yet Jesus let Peter fail so that Peter's flesh could be reduced to nothing. God probably went to the Gentiles for this reason - He knew that He could not use the Jews, or even the Jewish believers who were still in the realm of the law and outward forms. It has largely been the Gentile, formerly pagan nations, not Israel, which has carried the message of Christ to all corners of the Earth.
As 1 Tim 1:9 says, the law was not made for a righteous man, and anyone who believes in Christ is righteous by faith. If we believe in Christ, we should understand that the law is not made for us, just like the law was not made for Christ. If we believe the law is made for us, then we are implicitly declaring that we are unrighteous men.
For example, the apostle Paul kept the law, and in human terms he might be called a great Christian because he did everything God required according to the law, yet he ended up persecuting God.
Right standing with God - righteousness, is not of law, it is of Christ. The purpose of the law is to demand and condemn. If we love the law, the danger is that we become like Paul, zealous for God, but demanding and condemning. Jesus never commanded his disciples to love the law. There is no command in the whole new testament that we should love the law. Our love should be for God and Christ alone.
There were no laws in the Garden of Eden, except one, "thou shalt not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil".
The bible does not say there are any laws in the future New Jerusalem.
Often those who keep the law end up persecuting God. They are often ready to "throw stones" but God is waiting with mercy and grace.
Romans 8:3 says that it is impossible to keep the law because it is weak through the flesh.
God is not really interested in us keeping the law, and sometimes He may wish we did not keep the law, because our fleshly goodness, our outward hypocrisy is restricting His Spirit from flowing. Just like Peter who said to the Lord that He would never deny Him, even unto death. Yet Jesus let Peter fail so that Peter's flesh could be reduced to nothing. God probably went to the Gentiles for this reason - He knew that He could not use the Jews, or even the Jewish believers who were still in the realm of the law and outward forms. It has largely been the Gentile, formerly pagan nations, not Israel, which has carried the message of Christ to all corners of the Earth.
As 1 Tim 1:9 says, the law was not made for a righteous man, and anyone who believes in Christ is righteous by faith. If we believe in Christ, we should understand that the law is not made for us, just like the law was not made for Christ. If we believe the law is made for us, then we are implicitly declaring that we are unrighteous men.
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NetChaplain
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The Law at that time was still in effect in their reasoning, because they were still in the process of learning about Christianity.
To really get the meaning of what Paul is saying above we need to go back a few verses, 1 Tim 1:5-7 "Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: 6. From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; 7. Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
What Paul is saying is those desiring to continue to teach the keeping of the law have swerved aside to vain jangling. This is not a statement in support of teaching the keeping of the law, but rather speaks to the futility of attempting to bring others under a system they themselves had no success in. The statement in verse eight that "the law is good" does not mean it ( the law ) creates or causes good in us, it means because it is good it exposes our lack of goodness or righteousness. This was always the purpose of the law not to save you or make you a good or righteous person, but to show us just how hopelessly unrighteous and evil ( in God's eyes ) we are. The law did nothing to deal with the heart of man. Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? That is why the most perfect of law keepers ( the Pharisees ) were still so far from keeping the spirit of the law. Matt 5: 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceedthe righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. This is why God gave us a new heart along with the new covenant, Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. Why is the old heart referred to as stony ? Because the law was written on tablets of stone, and the required a rigid adherence to follow it all.
Heb 10:16 " This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
God want us to draw close to him with our hearts, not with any works of law keeping, but in " spirit and in truth". Desiring to keep the law is like saying to God " I will obey you, but I wont love you ". " I'll do what you say because its your law, but I will not trust you to love me and cleanse me without my righteous adherence to your law. " I know you have said in your that saving grace is free from my works, but I'm afraid to take my eyes off the law, for fear you wont show me how to live above the law. I dont believe your Holy Spirit in me is able to keep me from sin without measuring it by the law"
Remember the same God who gave the law is the Same God who brought us grace. His law, His grace. If we can trust that which condemns, should we not much more trust that which gives freedom and life ?
"Grace that is greater than all our sins"
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Hi W1 - I agree. The Jewish believers did not know this though, until Paul declared it to them, because they were in transition of learning the passing of the Law, by the coming of the Gospel of grace.
