Re: what problem you got with the law?

Vektek, of course it is by the grace of Christ that we are saved, but that doesn't go against following the other commandments Jesus gave as well. The way I see it, it is cause and effect. If you love God with all your heart and all your might, then you will also love everyone else as you love God. If you don't love everyone else, then you never loved God in the first place (at least not the way God intended you to love Him). If you have the grace of Christ upon you, then you love everyone as you love Christ. If we don't love everyone, then we haven't completely received the grace of Christ into our hearts yet. This may be a hard doctrine to accept, because it means that a lot of us still have a long way to go before we have received our inheritance as children of God. Just because it is a hard doctrine to accept, doesn't make it any less true. We can't focus on just one part of the Gospel of Jesus and ignore everything else that He taught.

It is by grace we are saved, not works. The whole by grace/works debate really seems silly to me because the two do not contradict each other in any way. The only way we can make it into a debate is to make two New Testament doctrines battle it out against each other. The doctrines are not there for us to decide which one is right and which one is wrong, but to understand how they all go together as a while.

It is by the fruit that we know that someone is of Christ. In my opinion, the main person of whom we need to examine the fruit is ourselves. Am I bearing the fruit of Christ, which is love, joy and service to those in need? Only we, ourselves know the answer to this question if we are honest with ourselves. If we are not bearing the fruit of the Spirit, then we need to continue in prayer and abide in Christ, and if our heart is contrite and not filled with pride, one day we will be able to bear the fruit of the Spirit and we will know that we are His. If we are not bearing the fruit of the Spirit, and we say in our hearts, 'oh well, it doesn't matter because I have the grace of Christ on me', we are deceiving ourselves and we are disobeying the commandments that came directly from Christ's mouth who we claim to follow.

Christ said that anyone that believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. Christ also said that anyone that is of Him will have the fruit of the Spirit. That means that anyone who believes in Christ will have the fruit of the Spirit, which is love and service to everyone. If we are not yet displaying the fruit of the Spirit, it just means we are not a full grown tree yet. It is no reason to despair. We are in the process of growing into a tree in faith in Christ and we have the promise that one day we will bear fruit. But if we are not displaying the fruit of the Spirit and we think in our hearts 'this is okay and I shouldn't expect to see the fruit of the Spirit and it is not necessary for me because I am just a human after all, Christ can't expect that much of me as long as I believe in Him.' That line of thinking is human rationalization that goes in direct opposition of what Christ taught. This line of thinking will stunt our growth in Christ. It is not by our own effort that we grow into a tree and bear fruit, but it is by us surrendering our heart to Christ that this transformation takes place. If we are not at least in the process of growing into a tree, then what good are we to Christ, except to be a dried up twig that is cast into the fire?