posted
I have often been confused by this statement because I know that even though we are under grace we are not free to transgress the law. But more recently I have understood it better.
Jesus told us to love God first, and our neighbor as ourself. We should do unto others as we would have them do unto us. In other words, we should treat others as we would like for them to treat us if the roles were reversed.
If we love our neighbors as God instructed then we will be looking out for their best interest as well as our own. As Christians we will have the love of God in our hearts and will walk in the spirit of God's love. When you are doing good toward others there is no law to prohibit such things. So those who walk in the spirit of Truth do not come under the jurisdiction of the law.
But there is a law which forbids lying, stealing, murder, and all evil acts and thoughts. Those who do such things show that they are still under the law. We are not free to do evil or think evil. All unrighteousness is sin. Those who continue to allow sin to rule over them cannot be walking in the spirit of Truth.
So those who willingly break the law when they know that it is sin cannot claim to be walking in grace. They are still under the law. They still serve the law of sin and death. Therefore, they are servants to unrighteousness if they yield themselves to serve sin.
posted
...nor do we want to place ourselves under the law as a means of justification. The purpose of the law is to expose sin for what it truly is. The law can never justify a man because he always comes short in his obedience.
Scripture tells us that we are justified by faith in Jesus' atoning sacrifice. If we live by faith which works through love for Christ then we too are justified by his blood. This is our only hope.
Yet, to love Christ is to love righteousness and to hate iniquity. When we love righteousness we love every right way and we flee from evil. Let's not allow evil to dwell in our hearts and mind but let's flee from evil and draw nigh unto God. Since sin separates us from God it is obvious that Christ wants to get in-between us and sin to prevent our continuation in sin so that we may draw closer to God and he may dwell in us. The house is not divide. Either we are Christ's or we are servants of sin.
It is the Holy Spirit which guides us into all righteousness. Through the knowledge of sin which comes by the law of God the Holy Spirit directs our steps and leads us in paths of righteousness. When you hear that still, small, voice telling you that what you are thinking or planning to do is wrong that is the Holy Spirit prompting you to stop.
To humble ourselves and allow God to dwell in us means that we will listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and act accordingly. Even though our natural man may be tempted to sin we believe the promise of Jesus to save us from our sins and through faith power is given to us to withdraw from the evil and draw nigh unto God.
Prayer is powerful and we should be constantly in a state of prayer. Open communications should continually be established with heaven. We are not safe without that link to our Savior.
If we know to not do something and we choose to do it anyway then we have not yielded our will to the will of God. God cannot dwell in us if we will not receive him.
Because God is love, he does not operate on the same prinicples as the Wicked One. God created man as free moral agents and he will do nothing to deny us of the right which he has bestowed on us. God will reason with us with powerful arguments but in the end it is our choice. We can die to self, humble ourselves to accept God's will for us rather than our own, or we can reject God's will and serve our own lusts. One or the other but not both.
John, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit put it in these words. "If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him." "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning." 1 John 2:29, 1 John 3:8.
So then we know that God is love and the devil is sin.
If you want to know how the Bible defines love and sin just look up these phrases:
"LOVE IS" "SIN IS"
They appear to be complete opposites.
In the KJV I found these verses.
"Love is the fulfilling of the law" Romans 13:10 "Sin is the transgression of the law" 1 John 3:4
So, in keeping with what we have already learned the law of God must be a law of love--to God first and then to our neighbor. And, sin, being the transgression of the law, must also include breaking the Ten Commandments which is the simplest description of sin that God has given to man. And we know that the purpose of the law was to expose sin and make it exceedingly sinful.
This law of love rises far above the Ten Commandments. It involves a deep, godly love for all of God's creation. As Paul wrote in Romans 13, if you love your neighbor you have fulfilled the law. If, however, you break even the smallest law you demonstrate that in that aspect of your life you are not in harmony with the will of God and are not perfected in love. If anyone willingly disobeys the law of God then they cannot be "above" the law in their service to God but are obviously still "under" the law in that they still serve sin. When their life is measured against the will of God as outlined in the law then the law will surely condemn them.
So then, we don't have to remain under the servitude of sin in breaking the law. We can receive the righteousness of Christ by faith to yield our bodies to serve righteousness. We would all agree that no human effort will satisfy the demands of the law so as to justify anyone. It can only be accomplished by faith in Jesus. Those who live just lives do so by faith. As it is written, "The just shall live by faith." Because we are justified by faith and not works, no one is excluded. Faith is a gift of God also. There is no room for boasting.
posted
What does it means to be "not under the law?"
(First, and to make it clear, there is no other way to be justified than by the merits of Christ's atoning sacrifice. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." "There is none righteous." Not a single person will ever earn heaven by keeping the law because that all have sinned. "Therefore, by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in [God's] eyes." I am not advocating that a person keep the law to earn salvation because that requires perfect obedience and we have all already fallen and been disqualified in that respect. And, don't think that I am trying to place anyone under the law. I am not. It may sound like it to the casual reader but that is not my point. My point is that while we are NOT UNDER THE LAW there must remain a law for us to NOT be under. Make sense? So if that makes sense then... )
What does it mean when Paul says we are NOT "under the law"?
It either means 1) there is no law to be under or 2) we are no longer transgressors of the law. I vote for the second meaning. If there was no law then Paul would have said there is no law--anything goes. But he didn't say that. He said that we are no longer under it. That implies that "it", the law, remains--yet we are not under it.
Let me illustrate my point with a simple example.
If I am driving down the hi-way at 55 MPH then I am not under any speeding law. Does the law against speeding still exist? Certainly. But it doesn't speak to me it only speaks to those who are breaking it. There is no law against driving the posted speed so when I am driving 55 MPH I am under no law. No law has authority over me. No law condemns me. No law speaks to me as a transgressor. But if I exceed the speed limit then the law speaks to me because I am breaking it.
Similarly, when we are under the "law" of Christ, a law of love toward God and man, then we are not under the law of sin. When we are doing good and right there is no law against those things. There is no law against the fruits of the spirit such as meekness and kindness, etc... "against such there is no law." (Gal 5:23). Therefore, as long as we continue living righteously and godly according to the law of Christ then we are not under the law. The Ten Commandment law does not speak to us. The Ten Commandment law speaks only to those who are transgressing it. It condemns them as sinners (transgressors of the law). The purpose of the law was to condemn sin. It can never produce righteousness in us or pardon us. If it could, and we could, then we would not need a Savior. But because we have sinned and the law condemns us to die, we need a Savior. Our only hope is to have the righteousness of Jesus. Not our own righteousness by the deeds of the law, but the righteousness which comes by faith in Him.
Email this page to someone.
