Grace vs. Obedience

By Paul Kasch

Christians often struggle with a sorrowful realization of our inadequacy, especially when we encounter the New Testament passages that speak of obedience. And for good reason! This is something we all fail miserably at, despite our best intentions. Jesus himself said:

"Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will in enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father in heaven."

How secure are you in your salvation after reading the above verse? If your answer is anything less than 100% secure, you probably don't have a proper grasp of God's grace as revealed in the New Testament – where we find many wonderful passages assuring us that belief and faith in Christ alone has sealed our eternal life …but only so long as we choose to remain in Christ. But if we are capable of choosing to leave the faith, how is it we are sealed?

And what about exaltation in the afterlife? Is hope of reward proper (or acceptable) motivation for wanting to perform good Christian works?

In this work, Paul Kasch scripturally guides the malleable Christian around the circle of grace and obedience in an attempt to find a Biblically-based, peaceful resolution. The believer should come away from this book with a better understanding of the relationship between faith and works, and a glorious confidence in their relationship with Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andy Kasch
• Release date: Sep 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393518815

Book preview

Grace vs. Obedience

Navigation Charts for the

Christian’s Vicious Circle

Paul Kasch

© 2013-2019 Andrew Kasch

All Rights Reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including scanning, photocopying, or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder.

Disclaimer and Terms of Use: The Author and Publisher have strived to be as accurate and complete as possible in the creation of this book, notwithstanding the fact that they do not warrant or represent at any time that the contents within are accurate. While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this publication, the Author and Publisher assume no responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein. Any perceived slights of specific persons, peoples, or organizations are unintentional. In practical advice books, like anything else in life, there are no guarantees of personal results.  This book is not intended for use as a source of legal, business, accounting, medical, or financial advice. All readers are advised to seek services of competent professionals in the legal, business, accounting, medical, and finance fields. Furthermore, what works for some people may not work for others. Following the advice given in this book may result in unintended consequences in your life and the author and publisher assume no responsibility for that. Pursue the contents of this book at your own risk.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Earning Salvation

Retaining Salvation

Justification vs. Sanctification

Fruit Inspection & Vessels of Honor

Moral Law vs. Ceremonial Law

The Birth of Legalism

The Problem with Legalism

Shall We Sin, So Grace May Abound?

The Commandments of Jesus

What it All Boils Down To

Our Primary Stumbling Block

Eyes on the Prize

About the Author

Introduction

Saved by grace – we all know that, right? The Apostle Paul made this explicitly clear in places like Romans and Ephesians. In these important epistles, he stressed that we cannot earn our way into heaven. We can only accept the invitation to repent of our sins and receive Jesus as Lord and savior, trusting in his blood to cleanse our sin and impute his righteousness to us. Paul assures us this is the only way we can come into a right relationship with God and secure our salvation.

Wait a minute. Did you catch the part about repenting, above? An invitation to repent? That sounds like we have to do something there – and if we have to do something, doesn’t that nullify the concept of grace? The first word of John the Baptist’s ministry was repent, and this was echoed by the first word of Jesus’ ministry as well:

Matthew 3:1-2: In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!

Matthew 4:17: From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. – NKJV

The necessity of repentance in order to have one’s sins forgiven is unavoidable in scripture. Peter confirms this:

2 Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. – NIV

And even in the Old Testament we find it:

Ezekiel 33:11: Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? – ESV

Clearly we see that without repentance there can be no forgiveness – for if you do not believe repentance is necessary, then how can you accept what the Bible says about you being a sinner? If you don’t think you have anything to apologize for, how can you sincerely ask to be forgiven of your sins?

True, the grace of God (through the sacrifice of His son on the cross) freely offers forgiveness to all who come to Him through His son, but that forgiveness only comes after one performs the act of repentance in one’s heart. So, the reality is we are only saved by grace after we perform an act – albeit an internal act. Otherwise, everyone would be going to heaven as a result of the crucifixion, wouldn’t they? And the Bible tells us most people are insisting on going to hell.

This is not a book about salvation, however. It’s about coming to grips with the seemingly opposing doctrines of grace and obedience, both of which are undeniably present in scripture. In the following pages, we will attempt to find balance and make peace with these two concepts while keeping the Bible passages which refer to them in context. If you are anything like me, you may discover yourself caught up in what I like to refer to as a vicious circle rotating between them. There are times when I find myself rejoicing over passages such as:

Ephesians 2:4-5: But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) – NKJV

Galatians 2:16: Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law. – NLT

John 20:31: