1. There are 2 ways in which we know God's standard. The Law and Conscience. Conscience is made up of 2 Latin words. con=with science=knowledge. In other words every human has the Law written in their hearts. We do not learn this, it is given to us from birth. The written Law explains what is already in our hearts, unless we have seared our conscience through excessive sin. On the otherhand, the Gospel is the power of Salvation unto all who believe.
2. In addition to the law, the Holy Spirit convicts all men of sin, righteousness and judgement.
3. The written Law was specifically given to Israel/Jewish people.
4. The Law is God's standard for righteousness and God used his people as a witness of himself. They were set apart from the Gentiles.
5. No man can keep the whole Law, (letter of the law).
6. Men should try and keep the spirit of the law. ie Love God with all your heart, soul and mind and love your fellow man as you love yourself. So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Romans 13:8-10
7. Jesus said that the Pharasees held Moses seat, but he said to do as they say, not as they do. In other words they followed the letter, but neglected the spirit of the law. So Jesus said that our righteousness would have to exceed that of the Pharisees if we are to enter the Kingdom of God. What they were missing was the spirit of the Law which resembles Grace. i.e Justice, mercy and love.
8. Jesus fulfilled the letter of the Law for us. The law required death for sin and Jesus took that death for us. We are expected to live by the spirit of the law. i.e Love God and Man. That is our only obligation or debt. Again the Spirit of the Law resembles grace and mercy.
9. Grace is greater than the Law. It superceeds it like aerodynamics superceeds gravity. It overcomes it, it fulfills it.
10. The Law still stands until this world passes away, because the Law is made for the sinner, not the righteous. Simily gravity still exists even though a place can fly using the law of aerodynamics. Aerodynamics superceeds gravity, it doesn't nullify it.
11. Unlike the Law, Satan doesn't understand Grace. Satan is a legalist and pointed out to God all our transgressions.
12. If Satan and those of him knew about Grace, they wouldn't have crucified Jesus.
13. Angels are not the recipents of grace, they can only understand it by looking into it by observing our lives. God's wisdom is playing out in the lives of the redeemed, and Angels long to look into such things.
14. The law has condemned all men. But the Devil is being defeated (in the battle for the souls of man) by grace not the Law. Grace is a wisdom that was hidden and is older than creation itself. Therefore Angels didn't know of it, but now observe it through us.
15. John the Baptist was the greatest man born of a woman, yet those in the Kingdom are greater than he. John was under the Law, we are under Grace. We live in a superior covenant. The Old covenant was but a shadow of this one. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
16. Certain Pharisees who had become believers insisted that they were circumcised in order to obey the Law of Moses to gain salvation. The Apostles had a meeting and concluded by judgement and what they thought was good in the Spirit and offered the following good ADVICE: "we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.
17. Certain believers eat meat and others do not, some consider one day holy and others consider all days holy. But all do it to please God and this is pleasing to God. We shouldn't look down on believers that are different to us and have different convictions.
18. Gentiles are Children of Abraham by faith. His natural sons (Jews) were/are under the written Law..
19. However we should not let Grace be an excuse for sin. The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.
20. We should not use grace as an excuse to sin. If we do, then sin becomes our master and if so, we are then under the Law and it's consequences come back into effect, until we repent and grace superceeds the Law. The Law makes sin our master, but Christ frees us from that curse.
21. We shouldn't set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
22. If we are trying to be justified by law, then we alienate ourselves from Christ and grace.
23. In other words if we try to live by the Letter of the Law, we are not recognising the death of Christ that redeemed us from the curse of the law. We are required to live by the Spirit of the Law which is love. Love is our only true debt.

For more information on God's law, try this page.