The Bible is clear—we are saved by grace (Eph 2:8) and that by the works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight (Rom 3:20). The law, it says, only exists to bring our attention to the knowledge of sin. Once saved, we are no longer under the law (Rom 6:14). That sounds pretty good, huh? I’m free!!
It seems clear enough, but this is probably one of the most difficult concepts for humans to apply. The law is everywhere. There is no escape. As I barrel down the highway twenty miles an hour over the speed limit, I know I risk being caught by the long arm of the law. When I tell him, “Sorry officer, I am not under the law,” he will no doubt check me for drugs in addition to handing me my ticket.
It’s clear there are consequences if we break the law of the land. There may be a few politicians or some of the rich and famous who are not under the law, but the rest of us are going to pay to the uttermost farthing.
In the context of Scripture, we are obviously talking about a different set of laws. So what are these laws and how does this work, us being exempt from them? Face it—many pastors and well-meaning fellow Christians quiver at the thought of total freedom. They think all Hell will break loose if we don’t keep some restrictions in place. So, what is the problem with a few regulations?
Let’s be truthful. Few have actually freed themselves completely from the law. If you examine the language we use and the way we dance around grace and the law, it sure seems they are inextricably mixed. Just as a little leaven leavens the whole lump, so has grace been leavened with law. The law seems to engulf us in this haze we don’t see. I remember one time driving to a chemical plant. As I crested the hill, I could see it was totally engulfed in a domelike chemical haze. When I arrived and brought it to their attention, they were totally clueless. They didn’t see it. Their eyes had adjusted to the dimmer light.
There are a lot of buzzwords and innuendo that raise flags to this point. Someone mentions core values or a moral code, or we need to do this or we need to do that for Jesus because of what He did for us—no more than an obligation to pay Him back. We need to live “for” Jesus. All these things sound very righteous. Unfortunately, we have no righteousness other than Christ in us, and He doesn’t need any competition.
The fact is grace and law can’t be mixed any more than oil and water can mix. We are fooling ourselves if we believe they can. It’s one or the other.
Adherence to any external law restricts our freedom in Christ and shows that we lack the faith to believe Christ in us is able to accomplish His purpose in us. Freedom from the law does not mean we have license to sin (Rom 6:1). And freedom from the law does not mean it is abolished—it means it is fulfilled. How? Christ fulfilled it:
Matt 5:18, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
And if He fulfilled it, then it is already fulfilled in us because Christ dwells in our spirits. It becomes natural and spontaneous because the law is now who we are:
Heb 10: 15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”
The thing—the “laws”—He put in us is Christ! And Christ is Love. The only thing hindering our freedom is unbelief. Christ is all we need:
Rom 10: 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Do you believe?
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