Grace Requires More of Us than the Law

Jesus told us in Matthew 5 that He did not come to replace the law of the Old Testament, but instead, to complete it.  He went so far as to say that not one word of the Law will pass away... that we will be accountable to the Old Testament until the end of time.

He also said that our righteousness must surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees.  In other words, those who simply obey the OT law don't have enough righteousness.  They must obey the law and go beyond the law, led by the Spirit of Truth.  And so God's grace empowers us to not only follow the Old Testament law as our foundation, but to honor God at an even higher, even stricter level.  The New Testament is actually stricter than the Old Testament.  The new covenant we have in Jesus requires more of us than the old covenant.  Jesus gave us examples.  Here's a really good one:

Matthew 5:27-28 (NIV)
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

What Jesus said is that the Old Testament only required that you cannot actually physically engage in sex outside of marriage. But according to the New Testament, it is already sinful just to fantasize about having sex outside of marriage.  The Holy Spirit empowers us to be able to live according to the higher standards of the new covenant.  A personal relationship with Jesus is the key to living a life pleasing to Him.

This is true grace.

John 1:17 (NIV)
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.