Law tells you what to do, but does not give you the power to do it, and curses you if you don’t. Grace teaches you what to do, and gives you the power to do it, and rewards you when you do. So law carries the threat of punishment while grace carries the promise of reward.

Law condemns the best, since even the best cannot keep the Ten Commandments. Grace justifies the worst. Law reveals sin. Grace takes away sin. Law encourages boasting. Grace excludes boasting. Under the law, the work is never finished. Grace tells you of the One who finished the work.

The law demands, “You shall love.” Grace announces, “God so loved.” The law lays heavy burdens on people. The burdens of grace are light. Law is a system of bondage, grace of liberty. There is no mercy in the law. It is cold, hard, and inflexible. Grace tells of a God who is rich in mercy.

– William MacDonald