Moving From Law To Grace, From Law To Christ

By Tammy Lacock

In this week’s podcast, Warren Litzman helps us understand through Paul’s final gospel of grace, how to move from living by a deep-rooted law to the grace of God as believers.

First, he acknowledges that only believers are predestined for grace. Only believers are predestined to come to the fullness of God. By “following Paul as he follows Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1), we can begin to understand this fullness.

“In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.” (Ephesians 1:11 KJV)

With Christ as our new life, we are complete. We are now bona fide children of God and, therefore, joint-heirs with Christ to His inheritance. We can now live out His will for us, who He created us to be. Without Christ now living in us, there’s no other way to live out our fullness, our true purpose. This is God’s Grace among believers. Grace comes from the cross. As believers, we are no longer bound by law. We have moved into grace by Christ’s death and resurrection and by Him now living in us.

Warren also acknowledges that about 90 percent of believers are still living under some sort of law and most don’t even know it. Churches still preach law and most believe Christianity can’t work without it. By law, Warren refers to Moses’ Law, of which every other law is under. By law, he means that we are identified by our works, by what we do or don’t do. Paul’s final gospel of grace tells us there’s nothing we can do to be saved. This is what grace is all about. Christ did the work on the cross; and by His Grace, we are redeemed. Christ is our new identity.

The Apostle Paul was the only man raised up by God to reveal to the world this gospel of grace, the final gospel to believers. It makes sense that Paul was chosen because he was deeply rooted in the law. In Philippians 3:5, Paul acknowledges his former identity as being deeply seeded in the Hebrew law. He goes so far as to brag about keeping the law to show us how even he has now moved into grace by his new life in Christ.

“Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee.” (Philippians 3:5)

Paul is very clear throughout his epistles when he describes grace and what it means to us as believers. Grace is all about a new birth. A birthing by God. We were IN Christ when He died, so we died, too. And when He arose from death, we were resurrected as well to a new life in Him. Our old man, bound by rules and laws, needed to be killed out with Him. With His death, we too are dead to the law. We now live only by grace, by Christ and in Christ. Our new life is Christ. No longer are we bound by the law for our righteousness. We are born again, and Christ is our righteousness now (Romans 7:6).

God sees only Christ in us now, never again our works.

Warren tells us that if we replace the word grace with Christ, every time the meaning is kept intact. This is because Christ is grace and grace is Christ. He has everything to do with God’s plan, which is that we live in His fullness. In Christ, we are complete.

We won’t be able to truly understand Him, however; until we move from living by the law into living by grace, that is living in Christ.

Dive into Paul’s epistles where he reveals, from Christ directly, how we live now in grace. He tells us over 146 times that we are in Christ now. From law to grace, from law to Christ. Life is now about a loving, personal relationship with Him. Nothing more and nothing less.