Recently I saw a cartoon that featured a father and his son gazing at a brokenΒ lamp. In the caption, the father said to his son, βWhat do you mean it justΒ happened? Didnβt we discuss the laws of cause and effect?β
That got me to thinking about the difference between law and grace whenΒ it comes to cause and effect. Under the law, the Jews were told,
βYe shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commandedΒ you, that ye may liveβ¦β (Deut. 5:33).
This was the law in a nutshell. Under the law, God said, βkeep My statutes,Β and My judgments: which if a man do, he shall liveβ (Lev. 18:5). We knowΒ that He meant they would live eternally if they kept His statutes, because whenΒ the Lord was asked what to do to inherit eternal life, He quoted Leviticus 18:5Β (Luke 10:25,28). You see, under the law, men were saved by faith plus works,Β the specific works of observing the statutes and judgments of the law. ThatΒ included being circumcised, keeping the Leviticus 23 feasts, bringing animalΒ sacrifices, and so forth.
But while the law said βwalkβ¦that ye may liveβ (Deut. 5:33), grace presentsΒ a different cause and effect, as we can see from the words of Paul, the apostleΒ of grace:
βIf we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spiritβ (Gal. 5:25).
See the difference? Under the law, walking in Godβs statutes caused the effectΒ of eternal life, but under grace, the eternal life that we are given by faith withoutΒ works (Eph. 2:8,9) should cause the effect of walking in Godβs ways!
So how about it? Are you walking in the Spirit? Can it be said of you whatΒ Paul said to the Thessalonians?
βFor this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye receivedΒ the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men,Β but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you thatΒ believeβ (I Thes. 2:13).
The words of men can come and go without having any effect in your life,Β but if you truly believe God when He says you have eternal life in the Spirit,Β why not determine to walk in the Spirit? Youβll be eternally glad you did. source
