No Longer Under the Law: a matter of the Believer's freedom in Christ!

Grace Life Articles

written by Grace Life Minnesota

No Longer Under the Law

... a matter of the Believer's Freedom in Christ!

Are we under the Law as our Rule of Life?

While our salvation in Christ Jesus is by grace alone, through faith alone - not by works, many Bible teachers teach that the Old Testament moral Law still applies as the Believer's "rule of life". Let's examine this claim under the magnifying glass of the New Covenant.

We are NOT under the law ... we are under grace!
Rom 3:19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; (NASB)

Rom 6:14-15 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! (NASB)

The Law is no longer our guardian (tutor, schoolmaster)!
Gal 3:23-26 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. (ESV)

Gal 4:4-5 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (ESV)

The Law is for lost sinners in need of salvation!
Gal 3:24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.
(NASB)

1Ti 1:8-11 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the glorious gospel of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted. (ESV)

Christ desires that we live in freedom!
Gal 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (ESV)

Gal 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
(NASB)

The Grace of God is not a license to Sin!
Rom 6:1-2 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? (ESV)

Tit 2:11-15 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (ESV)

Aren't we supposed to live under the "moral" Law?
Clearly the Believer has been set free from the bondage of attempting to live by the Ten commandments. The problem is with us - not God's law. We have no power in ourselves to keep the law, and that is why Jesus kept it for us, nailed it to the cross, and offers us His free gift of righteousness. Theologians like to refer to the moral, civil and ceremonial components of the Law to make the case that we are still under the moral code. This dissecting of the Law cannot be substantiated from Scripture ... the O.T. Law is always a complete body to be adhered to in its entirety!

Interestingly, the moral principles of the O.T. Law are all repeated as commands in the New Testament ... but these need to be filtered through a proper understanding of God's grace. Under grace, it is no longer about the externals; it is all about being led internally by His indwelling Spirit to lead a godly life of obedience (Titus 2:11-12, Gal. 5:18). Rules and principles often define what is right and wrong, but setting our mind on them becomes a legalistic, burdensome focus. Instead, we are to set our minds on Christ and allow His divine life to flow in and through us as we learn to grow in His grace and walk in His love (2Pet.1:3-4, Col.1:29)!

"Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2Cor. 3:5-6 (ESV)

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