Theology for Everybody: RomansSample

Living under the law is like a bad marriage. When Grace and I were first married, her name was “Grace,” but my name was “Law.” I would read the Bible, look at everything that should be done, and then hand out the job descriptions. In a marriage, there is often one law-based spouse and one grace-based spouse. The law-based one tends to be very inflexible, so the grace-based one must flex. The law-based spouse tends to create a difficult environment in which the grace-based one struggles to flourish. The law creates an environment, an atmosphere, and a culture of control, including rules, fear, punishment, threats, impossible expectations, and demands perfection. The law is very non-relational and very discouraging. It kills those who live under it and robs them of the joy of life.

In law-based relationships or environments, there are only two categories: perfection and failure. Even if you are perfect right now, it’s only a matter of time before you’re a failure. It’s inevitable. This treadmill of performance always judges you by what you didn’t do, not what you did do, and how far you’ve fallen short, not the progress you’ve made.

If we live under the law, it breaks us. It’s too much to bear. The Jewish people had a word for this: yoke (see Acts 15:10). They talked about living under the yoke of the law. If you’ve ever seen an animal carrying a yoke, then it’s a very heavy burden. Living under the law is like being under a yoke. It’s heavy, it’s burdensome, and it breaks you. It seems very unfair and unjust.

In the United States, we have laws. In 2020–21, because of the global pandemic, we added more laws. Then we had people who deputized themselves as enforcers of these laws. In the Bible, the rule enforcers were called the Pharisees. The Pharisees had rules about rules. The problem with rules and laws is that they don’t create life. Grace produces life, while the law only kills. The gospel of Jesus is that we are judged by the law and killed, and then we are brought into newness of life by the grace of God. The law shows us that we are dying, and grace gives us new life. The problem in our world and our nation today is that we are all law and no grace. People are struggling and suffering. We tend to think of this in terms of religious or spiritual law, but there’s also legal, moral, and relational law. A Gallup poll came out in December 2020, and every single group in America reported having worse mental health in 2020 than in 2019, except for one category of people—those who attend church every week. Frequent church attendees actually had better mental health in 2020 than in 2019. Why is that? Because the church is supposed to be a grace-based environment. As there’s more law in the world, there’s more gratitude for grace in the church. If your whole life is law, then you really need a dose of grace.

Today’s Reflection

How does the law affect your mental health? How does grace affect your mental health?