Are you still under the Law? Well, what are you doing under there?
It is fascinating to me how many people believe that pastors should preach about the law at church. Considering how few unbelievers there are in the local evangelical church (few, right?) that means that the preacher is preaching law to the saved. I have heard too many people say that we need the law in order to stay true to the Lord—even as believers.
Sorry, I don’t agree. The law has value in revealing the truth of the unbeliever’s condition. The law condemns sin and shows that the unbeliever is under condemnation. But the believer has been redeemed from sin and the law. We are no longer under sin’s dominion and therefore no longer under the law.
Paul makes it clear that it is the law that holds us under bondage and condemnation. Jesus came to set us free, to pay the price of our redemption. In other words, He bought us out of bondage by the price of His own blood. This is what it means when we say that we are redeemed. We are free from the law and therefore free from the legal consequences of sin.
For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Romans 6:14
But preachers continue to tell us that we should heed the law. What does Paul say to that?
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law. . . Romans 3:19
The purpose of the law is to communicate guilt to the unsaved world, to challenge their self-righteousness, and take away any hope they have in eternal life apart from God. They are under law because they are still in their sins.
If you are no longer under law, you don’t need to hear law from the pulpit. Instead, you need to hear what it means to belong to Jesus, to be redeemed. The Christian is no longer led by the law, but now is led by the Spirit.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Galatians 5:18
When will the church get this right? Only when church leaders begin to understand what has truly happened for them in Christ. Only when the self-serving flesh is taken out of leadership in church life. Only when we believe what the Lord says.
Comments?
Grace for my Heart 
an ally has been found!
– grace and peace
I understand! Amen!
What did Jesus mean then when He said “If you love me you will obey my commandments”…I always thought that meant his “law”…as in the 10 Commandments…
John 14:15 – Yes, that’s what He said and I believe it. If we love Him, we will keep His commandments. However, He did not say “Keep my commandments in order to love me.” Nor did He say, “If you don’t keep my commandments you don’t love me.” What He said was that we would keep His commandments if we love Him. By putting Him first and loving Him, we are keeping His commandments.
How is this possible? Well, 1 John 3:23 tells us that the will of God, the commandments, are that we should trust in Jesus and love one another. Those are the commands of God for His people. If we love Jesus, we will do both of those.
But that isn’t law. That’s who we are under grace. Because of Jesus, these things are already at work in us. Christians do not need to be told what to do, they need to be told who to be. We need to learn to walk in love with Jesus. Then, and only then, will the commandments be working in our lives. As long as we strive to do the law, we will fail. When we look to Jesus and trust Him with our lives and our goodness, then His goodness is seen in us.
In fact, Jesus said that the whole law is summed up in just two commands: to love God and to love each other. So the 10 commandments and all the rest of the moral law is fulfilled in our relationship with Jesus. It is He who works the righteousness of God in us.
Thanks for the question! Ask more!