It is true that we are justified by faith; we are saved by grace through faith. Grace is the objective; faith is the subjective. I received forgiveness of sins when I put my faith in Christ. The fact is that Jesus died for everyone, once and for all (of these things I do not need to write you). What if I lived before Jesus died on the cross? It is written: “For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time.” (Romans 3: 25,26) So then, when did the Gospel begin? The Good News has always been since the beginning, but was hidden. In the same way, the law has always been from the beginning, but was hidden. “Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know His law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it.” (Romans 2:14) The conscience was revealed on Mount Sinai, through the giving of the law, uncovering what has always been; and Jesus came and preached the Gospel, uncovering justification by faith which has always been; and then He made atonement for sin. Does the Scripture suggest anything otherwise? Isn’t Hebrews 11 filled with men and women of faith that were justified apart from the law? Weren’t they alive long before Christ was crucified? Also “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:3)
Under the law, King David should have been punished for his sins; He committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed Uriah the Hittite. He should have been, according to the law, stoned to death. Did God pardon David’s sin because he was the king of Israel? “God does not show favoritism.” (Romans 2:11) He was included in what his Seed would do in the future; he was justified by his faith in God, the promised Messiah, his Lord. (His life was spared by that faith, but we know David’s sins needed expiated for, which was through punishment inflicted upon him) Faith in itself cannot save even if it is proven by works; For “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22) God’s justice demands death for sin, but by God’s unfailing love and compassion and mercy, He has taken the payment upon Himself and opened up the way of being made right with God through faith in His name. It’s the Father’s grace which saves, through His Son, given for us. So apart from time, men are chosen by grace and are justified through faith in Jesus Christ; this is what is meant by, “the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8) The Father has ordained it.
So then, why is it being said, “I have been crucified with Christ and I have died to the law” then stating, “Jesus is under the Old Testament and preached to those under the Old Testament”? What you are really saying is, “I don’t have to abide by Jesus’ teachings, they are not for me!” Oh, what a terrible thing to believe! How would one’s actions reflect their beliefs? Jesus died once for sin as the Lamb; today, He is exhaled as King and the Lion from the tribe of Judah. Those who are wild do not have a king, but those who are servants subject themselves to the king. We have been set free from sin; let us not say we are free from sin then stay in bondage to it. Doesn’t freedom come from following the Spirit? “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” (Galatians 5:22,23) How many times is it said that sin will not enter into the Kingdom? (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:3-6, Revelation 22:15, Revelation 21:8,27)
Isn’t the New Testament composed of letters written to individual believers or in other cases to churches? Aren’t the Gospel accounts located in the New Testament partition of our Bible? (If you don’t see truth in these facts, how will you see with more compelling arguments?) Aren’t the letters addressed to the church in the foremost part of the letter? When is a letter written to a band of unbelievers? What is there in common between light and darkness? Paul wrote to Timothy (a fellow believer) quoting Jesus while here on earth: “Everyone who acknowledge Me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth. I will also deny before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32,33) Also, “If we deny Him, He will deny us. If we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny who He is.” (2 Timothy 2:12,13) This shows the same teaching during Jesus’ ministry, Who was the first to preach the Good News; (Hebrews 2:3) and the same teaching persists after the New Covenant was inaugurated. God has made a covenant with us through Christ and He shows His kindness to us in order to turn us from sin.
So now, that Jesus’ teachings have come back to life for you, “They (the Pharisees) crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.” (Matthew 23:4) Jesus gave demands more demanding than theirs! For He said, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees, you will by no means enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.“ Does He rebuke someone and then do the same thing? No! The difference is Jesus did much more than just lift a finger. He served humanity by dying on the cross for the sin of the world and He helps His Body, the Church, through the ministering of His Spirit. This is why Jesus is called the Servant and the Holy Spirit is called the Helper. He has done everything for us, so that we may obtain by faith everything He has promised. “You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4:2,3) My spirit was deeply angered and then deeply grieved when I heard this is what some of you believe.
And if you desire to argue further, haven’t you read in the letters these passages (2 Peter 2:1 & Jude 4 & Titus 1:16)? This very grace that you claim denies the Lord who bought you; it perverts the grace of God into lawlessness. We have been set free from the law of God; but yet we are under the law of Christ: and that is of faith. Faith by no means nullifies the law of God, but upholds it.