Law and Grace
By Hillel ben David (Greg Killian)
In this study I would like to explore the relationship between law and grace. First let's find the definition for "grace". The word, grace, is first used in Genesis 6:8:
Genesis 6:8 But Noah found grace in the
eyes of the LORD.
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2580 chen, khane; from 2603; graciousness, i.e. subj. (kindness, favor) or objective (beauty):-favour, grace (-ious), pleasant, precious, [well-] favoured.
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2603 chanan, khaw-nan'; a prim. root [comp. 2583]; prop. to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior; to favor, bestow; causat. to implore (i.e. move to favor by petition):-beseech, X fair, (be, find, shew) favour (-able), be (deal), give, grant (gracious [-ly]), intreat, (be) merciful, have (shew) mercy (on, upon), have pity upon, pray, make supplication, X very.
The Midrash Rabbah contains some insights on this verse:
Midrash Rabbah - Genesis XXVIII:8 8. R. ‘Azariah said in R. Judah's name: All acted corruptly in the generation of the Flood: the dog [copulated] with the wolf, the fowl with the peacock; hence it is written, For all flesh had corrupted their way, etc. (Gen. VI, 12).[1] R. Julian [Lulianus] b. Tiberius said in R. Isaac's name: Even the earth acted lewdly; wheat was sown and it produced pseudo-wheat,[2] for the pseudo-wheat we now find came from the age of the deluge. R. Johanan said: We learnt[3]: The judgment of the generation of the Flood lasted twelve months: having received their punishment, are they to enjoy a portion in the World to Come?[4]-Said R. Johanan: The Holy One, blessed be He, will boil up in Gehenna every single drop which He poured out on them, produce it and pour it down upon them. Thus it is written, What time they wax hot, they vanish (Job VI, 17), which means, they will be destroyed absolutely by scalding water. As well their love (Eccl. IX, 6)-i.e. they loved idolatry; As their hatred (ib.): they hated the Holy One, blessed be He, and provoked His jealousy; Is long ago perished, neither have they any more a portion in the world [to come] on account of everything that was done [by them] under the sun (ib.).[5] FOR IT REPENTETH ME, etc. R. Abba b. Kahana observed: FOR IT REPENTET H ME THAT I HAVE MADE THEM AND NOAH-surely not![6] Even Noah, however, was left not because he deserved it, but because he found grace: hence, BUT NOAH FOUND GRACE IN THE EYES OF THE LORD.[7]
Genesis 6:5-9 The LORD saw how great man's
wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts
of his heart was only evil all the time.
The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart
was filled with pain. So the LORD said,
"I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth--men
and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the
air--for I am grieved that I have made them." But Noah found favor in the eyes of
the LORD. This is the account of Noah.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked
with God.
Notice, in Genesis 6:5-9, that Noah found God's grace, but, he was a righteous man. This is the opposite of those who did not find God's grace: they were evil all of the time. So, grace is associated with righteous behavior.
All of the following Torah verses use this Hebrew word, grace. Lets look at each of them so that we can gain some insight as to how this word is used:
Genesis 17:27- 18:5 On that very day Abraham took his son
Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every
male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was
circumcised, And his son Ishmael was
thirteen; Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same
day. And every male in Abraham's
household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner,
was circumcised with him.
The LORD appeared to
Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to
his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing
nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them
and bowed low to the ground. He said,
"If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your
servant by. Let a little water be
brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can
be refreshed and then go on your way--now that you have come to your
servant." "Very well," they answered, "do as you say."
In the above verses, we find that Abraham receives God's grace right after he had obeyed God and circumcised himself and his whole household. The following verses indicate that Abraham obeyed the law:
Genesis 26:1-6 Now there was a famine in the
land--besides the earlier famine of Abraham's time--and Isaac went to Abimelech
king of the Philistines in Gerar. The
LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to
Here, we see that Abraham was justified by grace trough faith, but, he still obeyed God's requirements. Commands, decrees, and Torah. God seems to give grace to those who are obedient to God's Torah, yet even the Torah observant, like Abraham, do not deserve the grace. Grace comes by faith, but faith is demonstrated by righteous actions.
Genesis 19:15-21 With the coming of dawn, the
angels urged
Genesis 30:25-30 After Rachel gave birth to
Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me on my way so I can go back to my own
homeland. Give me my wives and children,
for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I've
done for you." But Laban said to
him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have
learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you." He added, "Name your wages, and I will
pay them." Jacob said to him,
"You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under
my care. The little you had before I
came has increased greatly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I have been.
But now, when may I do something for my own household?"
In Genesis 19 we see God's grace being bestowed on
Genesis 18:20-33 Then the LORD said, "The
outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous That I will go down and see if what they have
done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will
know." The men turned away and
went toward
So,
Genesis 32:3-6 Jacob sent messengers ahead of
him to his brother Esau in the
We all remember the story of wicked Esau trying to kill his righteous brother, Jacob. Again, in the above verses, we see that the righteous find grace.
Genesis 33:1-11 Jacob looked up and there was
Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah,
Rachel and the two maidservants. He put
the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and
Rachel and Joseph in the rear. He
himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached
his brother. But Esau ran to meet Jacob
and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they
wept. Then Esau looked up and saw the
women and children. "Who are these with you?" he asked. Jacob
answered, "They are the children God has graciously given your
servant." Then the maidservants
and their children approached and bowed down.
Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph
and Rachel, and they too bowed down.
Esau asked, "What do you mean by all these droves I met?"
"To find favor in your eyes, my lord," he said. But Esau said, "I already have plenty,
my brother. Keep what you have for yourself." "No, please!" said Jacob. "If
I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see
your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me
favorably. Please accept the present
that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I
need." And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it. Then Esau said,
"Let us be on our way; I'll accompany you." But Jacob said to him,
"My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the
ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one
day, all the animals will die. So let my
lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the
droves before me and that of the children, until I come to my lord in
Seir." Esau said, "Then let me leave some of my men with you."
"But why do that?" Jacob asked. "Just let me find favor in the
eyes of my lord." So that day Esau
started on his way back to Seir.
Genesis 34:1-12 Now Dinah, the daughter Leah
had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the
ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and violated her. His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of
Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. And Shechem said to his father Hamor,
"Get me this girl as my wife."
When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were
in the fields with his livestock; so he kept quiet about it until they came home. Then Shechem's father Hamor went out to talk
with Jacob. Now Jacob's sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard
what had happened. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had
done a disgraceful thing in
In this story, we have a wicked man who wants grace from Dinah's family. He does not find grace, but rather death. Again, we see a link between righteousness and grace, or rather the opposite: the wicked find no grace.
Genesis 39:2-5 The LORD was with Joseph and he
prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with
him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and
became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he
entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge
of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of
the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything
Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.
Here, righteous Joseph finds grace.
Genesis 39:19-23 When his master heard the story
his wife told him, saying, "This is how your slave treated me," he
burned with anger. Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place
where the king's prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the
prison, The LORD was with him; he showed
him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison
warden. So the warden put Joseph in
charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all
that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's
care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
Righteous Joseph again finds grace.
Genesis 47:23-30 Joseph said to the people,
"Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed
for you so you can plant the ground. But
when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths
you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your
households and your children."
"You have saved our lives," they said. "May we find favor
in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh." So Joseph established it as a law concerning
land in
In the above story, all of the hungry people find grace, and righteous Jacob finds grace.
Genesis 49:33 - 50:6 When
Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into
the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people. Joseph threw himself upon his father and
wept over him and kissed him. Then
Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father
Exodus 3:20-22 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders
that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go. "And I will make the Egyptians favorably
disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go
empty-handed. Every woman is to ask her
neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and
for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will
plunder the Egyptians."
Exodus 11:1-4 Now the LORD had said to Moses,
"I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on
Here, all of God's people find grace.
Exodus 12:35-36 The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for
articles of silver and gold and for clothing.
The LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the
people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the
Egyptians.
Exodus 33:12-17 Moses said to the LORD,
"You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,' but you have not let me
know whom you will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name and you
have found favor with me.' If you
are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor
with you. Remember that this nation is your people." The LORD replied, "My Presence will go
with you, and I will give you rest."
Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do
not send us up from here. How will
anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you
go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other
people on the face of the earth?"
And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have
asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name."
Here they not only find grace, but God indicates that He "knows" them by name.
Exodus 34:8-14 Moses bowed to the ground at
once and worshiped. "O Lord, if I
have found favor in your eyes," he said, "then let the Lord go
with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our
sin, and take us as your inheritance."
Then the LORD said: "I am making a covenant with you. Before all
your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world.
The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD,
will do for you. Obey what I command you
today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites,
Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Be
careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are
going, or they will be a snare among you.
Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their
Asherah poles. Do not worship any other
god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
Righteous Moses finds grace.
Numbers 11:10-15 Moses heard the people of every
family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD became exceedingly
angry, and Moses was troubled. He asked the
LORD, "Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done
to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give
them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an
infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers? Where can I get meat for all these people?
They keep wailing to me, 'Give us meat to eat!'
I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for
me. If this is how you are going to
treat me, put me to death right now--if I have found favor in your
eyes--and do not let me face my own ruin."
Righteous Moses, again, finds grace.
Numbers 32:4-7 The land the LORD subdued before the people of
In this section, the tribes of Gad and Reuben find grace.
Remember that these are the righteous children of those who left
Deuteronomy 24:1-4 If a
man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds
something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives
it to her and sends her from his house,
And if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another
man, And her second husband dislikes her
and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his
house, or if he dies, Then her first
husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been
defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the LORD. Do not bring sin
upon the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
In this passage, grace is denied to the wicked.
After looking at each of these passages, it appears that the righteous find grace, not because they deserve it, but rather because God is favorably disposed towards those who obey Torah.
I have listed the rest of the verses in the TaNaK which contain our word "grace":
RUT 2:2, RUT 2:10, RUT 2:13, 1SA 1:18,
1SA 16:22, 1SA 20:3, 1SA 20:29, 1SA 25:8, 1SA 27:5, 2SA 14:22, 2SA 15:25 2SA 16:4,
1KI 11:19, EST 2:15, EST 2:17, EST 5:2,
EST 5:8, EST 7:3, EST 8:5, PRO 3:4, PRO 5:19, PRO 11:16, PRO 13:15, PRO 17:8, PRO 22:1, PRO 28:23, PRO 31:30, PRO 1:9, PRO 3:22, PRO 3:34, PRO 4:9, PRO 22:11, ECC 9:11, ECC 10:12, JUD 6:17, PSA 45:2, PSA 84:11, JER 31:2, ZEC 4:7, ZEC 12:10, NAH 3:4
Okay, now lets examine the Apostolic Writings to see how grace is used. The first use of "grace", in the Apostolic Writings, is found in:
Luke 1:30 And the angel said unto her,
Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
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5485 charis, khar'-ece; from 5463; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstr. or concr.; lit., fig. or spiritual; espec. the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude):-acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace (-ious), joy liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy).
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5463 chairo, khah'-ee-ro; a prim. verb; to be "cheer" ful, i.e. calmly happy or well-off; impers. espec. as salutation (on meeting or parting), be well:-farewell, be glad, God speed, greeting, hail, joy (-fully), rejoice.
In this verse, righteous Mary receives God's grace. It was not because of what she had done, but because God chose her. She did not abandon the Torah because of this grace, but rather taught it to her son, and encouraged Him to walk in the ways of Torah.
Lets look at some more verses which deal with grace:
Acts 2:42-3:1 They devoted themselves to the
apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to
prayer. Everyone was filled with awe,
and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the
believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they
gave to anyone as he had need. Every day
they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their
homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, Praising God and enjoying the favor of
all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being
saved. One day Peter and John were
going up to the temple at the time of prayer--at three in the afternoon.
In these verses, the ones who find grace are the ones who
devote themselves to the Apostles' teaching, which includes going to the
John 1:15-23 John testifies concerning him.
He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me
has surpassed me because he was before me.'" From the fullness of his grace we have
all received one blessing after another.
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through
Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God,
but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known. Now this was John's testimony when the Jews
of
Notice, in the above verses, that law and grace are together in the sentence, not as opposites, but as complements to each other. The One who brought us grace was himself, completely, obedient to the Torah.
Acts 13:42-44 As
Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak
further about these things on the next Sabbath.
When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout
converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged
them to continue in the grace of God.
On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of
the Lord.
In the above verses, we see Paul and Barnabas urging the saints to "continue" in the grace of God. Notice what they are doing, that they should continue doing: They are studying God's word in the synagogue on the Sabbath. They are not meeting on Sunday, they are, repeatedly, meeting on the Sabbath.
Acts 14:1-3 At Iconium Paul and Barnabas
went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a
great number of Jews and Gentiles believed.
But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned
their minds against the brothers. So
Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord,
who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous
signs and wonders.
Here we see grace associated with those who usually go to the Jewish synagogue.
Acts 15:1-22 Some men came down from Judea
to
In the above passage, we see that salvation comes through grace, but we still have to obey parts of the law immediately, and we will learn the rest of the law of Moses when we go to the synagogue on the Sabbath.
Acts 18:24-28 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos,
a native of
Here we see grace associated with those who spoke in the
synagogue, Apollo; and those who attended the synagogue, Priscilla and
Romans 3:21-24 But now a righteousness from
God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets
testify. This righteousness from God
comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, For all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God, And are justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Notice, in the above verses, that grace is related to justification, NOT sanctification. We receive God's grace in order to be justified, not for sanctification. Since we sin, we need grace in order to escape the condemnation that our sins bring upon us. This grace does not preclude Torah observance for sanctification. The law and the prophets testify about this righteousness. If we want to "hear" this testimony we have to look to the Torah and to the Prophets.
Romans 4:1-10 What then shall we say that
Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works,
he had something to boast about--but not before God. What does the Scripture say? "Abraham
believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Now when a man
works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an
obligation. However, to the man who does
not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as
righteousness. David says the same thing
when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness
apart from works: "Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will
never count against him." Is this
blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have
been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was
it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!
Now, we can see that Abraham was justified by grace BEFORE he was circumcised, BUT, he still circumcised himself and his whole household. He even circumcised Isaac, sometime later, on the eighth day, just as the law requires.
Romans 4:13-16 It
was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he
would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by
faith. For if those who live by law are
heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, Because law brings wrath. And where there is
no law there is no transgression.
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and
may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring--[not only to those] who are of
the law [but] also [to those] who are [of the faith] of Abraham. He is the
father of us all.
Notice that the words in the brackets are NOT part of the text. These words reflect the theology of the translator. The above verses also compare law and grace. The law brings wrath. We are never justified by the Torah, justification always comes by grace through faith. Grace from God is clearly linked to faith and to justification. But, lest you think that Abraham did not obey the Torah, consider:
Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, since we have been
justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, Through whom we have gained
access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in
the hope of the glory of God.
Here we see that grace is clearly associated with justification. The law is never used for justification.
Romans 5:12-18 Therefore, just as sin entered
the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to
all men, because all sinned-- For before
the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when
there is no law. Nevertheless, death
reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not
sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.
But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of
the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the
grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result
of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation,
but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death
reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's
abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in
life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for
all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that
brings life for all men.
The ones who need grace, are the ones who trespass God's law, and we know that we are not to sin in order for grace to abound.:
James 2:14-24 What good is it, my brothers, if
a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without
clothes and daily food. If one of you
says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does
nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is
not accompanied by action, is dead. But
someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith
without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even
the demons believe that--and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is
useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham
considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the
altar? You see that his faith and his
actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he
did. And the scripture was fulfilled
that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as
righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he
does and not by faith alone.
James indicates that those who obey God's word, which is found in the Bible, will be justified by their faith.
This study was written by Hillel ben David
(Greg Killian).
Comments may be submitted to:
Greg Killian
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address:
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[1] Not only human beings.-Hence the Flood destroyed all. Cf. Sanh.- 108a.
[2] Jast. (darnel or rye-grass).
[3] ‘Ed. II, 10.
[4] But it is stated in Sanh. X, 3 that they have no portion in the World to come.
[5] Infra, XXXIII, 7; Lev. R. VII, 6; Eccl. R. IX, 4.
[6] By disregarding the punctuation it appears that even Noah was included.
[7] Cf. supra, XXVI, 6; Sanh. 108a.