How Religion Misrepresents God

One of the biggest problems is religion’s misuse of the Law. This has done tremendous damage to God’s image. The Law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17). The Law wasn’t inaccurate, but incomplete. And if it is not properly applied, it gives a wrong representation of God.

Jesus was the perfect representation of God (Heb. 1:3). He said that if we have seen Him, then we have seen the Father (John 14:9). He did exactly what He saw His Father do (John 5:19). Jesus showed us that God is love (1 John 4:8). Yet He was constantly accused of breaking the Law.

Jesus’ Radical Mercy vs. Old Testament Justice

Of course, Jesus didn’t break the Law. He’s the only One who ever truly kept it. But the mercy and grace Jesus extended toward people were radically different from the “eye for an eye” and “tooth for a tooth” of the Old Testament Law.

Jesus forgave a woman whom the Law condemned to death (John 8:1–11). Jesus ate and fellowshipped with publicans and sinners, which the legalistic Jews of His day wouldn’t do (Matt. 9:11). Jesus touched the untouchable (Matt. 8:3) and loved the unlovable (Luke 8:2). He showed us grace and mercy, which the Old Testament Law didn’t do.

Revealing Our Need for Grace

A wrong understanding of the purpose of the Old Testament Law leads to a misunderstanding of the nature of God. Many people believe God gave the Law to show us what we needed to do to obtain relationship with Him. But the Law was never intended to bring us into relationship with our heavenly Father. It was intended to show us our sin and our need for God.

The Law was given to show us how unholy we were so we would despair of trying to earn salvation and instead receive it as a gift by faith. It was designed to turn us from self-righteousness to a faith-righteousness that could only come through a Savior (Rom. 10:3–4).

The Law’s Impact: Why It Wasn’t Designed to Save

Consider some of the things Scripture says about the Law:

• The Law strengthened sin (1 Cor. 15:56).
• The Law was a ministry of death and condemnation (2 Cor. 3:7 and 9).
• The Law gave guilt and knowledge of sin, not salvation (Rom. 3:19–20).
• The Law made sin come alive and killed us (Rom. 7:9).
• The Law magnified sin and produced hopelessness (Rom. 7:13–25).

Why would God give us something with all these negative effects? It was because we were already beaten by sin and didn’t realize it. Before we could be motivated to receive God’s gift of salvation by grace through faith in a Savior, we needed to be convinced that we couldn’t save ourselves.

Shutting Us Up to Faith

The Lord revealed His standard of holiness (the Law), a standard infinitely higher than any of us could ever attain. We had to come to the end of ourselves before we could begin to find God. The Law was perfectly suited to do that. It shut us up to faith so that the only way we could look was up (Gal. 3:23).

When the Law is used for this purpose, then it is good (1 Tim. 1:8). But when people are taught that God’s blessings are dependent upon our performance, that kills faith in what Jesus did for us. Religion has taught that we have to fulfill the demands of the Law in order for God to love us or use us. That’s totally wrong!

Grace over Law

For two thousand years after Adam’s fall, God dealt with mankind through mercy and grace, which became less evident when the Law was introduced. For instance, God protected the first murderer (Gen. 4:15) instead of killing him, as the Law later prescribed (Lev. 24:17). Abraham married his half-sister, which the Law declared was punishable by death (Lev. 18:9). Jacob married two women who were sisters, which the Law condemned as deserving of death (Lev. 18:18). Yet Abraham and Jacob became great patriarchs of the Old Testament because, during that time, God wasn’t imputing man’s sins unto him (Rom. 5:13).

But when the Law came, God’s wrath was released against sin (Rom. 4:15), and we got caught in the middle. God smote people with leprosy (Num. 12:10 and 2 Chr. 26:19–20) and all manner of plagues (Deut. 28:15–68) because of sin.

Understanding the Law

Yet this wasn’t God’s original reaction to sin, as can be seen by the fact that it was two thousand years after Adam’s sin when He gave the Law and released His wrath. He wasn’t imputing man’s sin unto him until the Law was given.

However, the Law made sin come alive, and it killed us (Rom. 7:9). The Law released God’s wrath (Rom. 4:15). This served two main purposes.

First, God’s display of His wrath against sin forever changed the way man thought of sin. Now he had graphic evidence of how much God hated sin, so this served as a deterrent.

Second, and more importantly, the Law gave such a perfect standard of performance that it became clear that no one could ever be good enough to receive anything from God. It took away any deception that God owed us anything, and it made us throw ourselves on God for mercy. That’s BIG, and that’s what the Law was intended to do.

True Gift of Salvation

A proper use of the Law drives us to God for mercy instead of pushing us away in guilt and condemnation. Once we come to Jesus and receive salvation as a gift (Rom. 6:23), we are no longer under the Law but under grace (Rom. 6:14).

God always wanted to relate to us by grace, but He couldn’t just look the other way and ignore sin. The sin debt had to be paid. That’s why Jesus came. He suffered all of God’s wrath against the sin of all mankind (John 12:32). Those who receive God’s grace and accept salvation as a gift by faith in Jesus don’t have any more wrath against them. The Lord will never be angry with us or rebuke us (Is. 54:9). Hallelujah!

From Sin to Righteousness

Our sin debt has been paid. Not only that, but we have become the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). This is the great exchange—Jesus took away our sin and gave us His righteousness. We are now as clean and holy in our spirits as Jesus is (1 John 4:17). That’s powerful. If people could understand what I’ve shared in this article, it would change everything.

That’s why I produced the teaching The True Nature of God. It harmonizes the wrath and punishment of the Old Testament Law with the grace and mercy of the New Testament. You can’t have a good relationship with someone you don’t really know. This teaching reveals our loving heavenly Father in a way that enables you to receive His love like never before. I encourage you to get it—it’s available in book, booklet, CD, DVD, or USB format.

Transforming Lives

I wish you could see what the Lord is doing at Charis Bible College. People are coming alive as they learn the truths I’ve shared in this article. They truly are getting their opinions of God changed, and this message is changing them. I hear testimonies every day. And I fully expect these students to go and change the world. Thank You, Jesus!

Join the Movement

Thank you to everyone who is helping us develop a world-class Bible college where thousands of world-changers are being raised up to carry this good-news Gospel to the ends of the earth. The Gospel is the power of God, and we are seeing it set people free. We couldn’t do this without you.

If you haven’t joined us yet, please consider partnering with us. There are many things that vie for our resources, but transforming the lives of people who will, in turn, change the world should be a priority. Please consider being a part of this life-changing ministry.