The New Testament book of Romans has much to say about “law” and “grace.” The word “law” (Greek: nomos) occurs about 80 times, and “grace” (Greek: charis) some 20 times. Often the word “law” refers clearly to the law given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai, shortly after Israel’s exodus from Egypt. Let’s briefly follow the thought of the first half of Romans.
- Chapter one: Gentiles should know about God from nature, but they rejected God and became sinful instead.
- Chapter two: Jews had the law, but they too became sinful.
- Chapter three: All, both Jews and Gentiles, have sinned and deserve to be condemned. But God’s grace (kindness) opens the way for all to be rescued. That way is faith in Christ—apart from obeying the law
(Romans 3:20, 21, 28). - Chapter four: Abraham is our example: As Genesis 15:6 says, Abraham “believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.” God gave this gift of righteousness, based on faith, long before the law, and even before circumcision. That shows we too can be saved—counted as righteous—without either.
- Chapter five: God’s love and grace, expressed in Jesus, are the reasons we can be justified by faith. God makes us His friends through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus is the one Man who undoes the damage brought into the world by one man, Adam.
- Chapter six: Grace cannot be twisted into an excuse for more sin. All believers were baptized into Jesus’
death and resurrection, which means they died to sin and now live for God’s will (Romans 6:3-15). - Chapter seven: Believers also died to the old law. The problem with the law is human weakness. People want to do right, but they find themselves breaking the law. So the law, though good, has the effect of
bringing them death. - Chapter eight: People in Christ, by contrast, have no condemnation. Christ’s death has dealt with their sins already. They are true sons of God empowered by Christ’s Spirit inside them.