Sunday, February 22, 2015

Are Christians Still Under the Law?


NO, Christians are NOT under the Law. The only way anyone could get to heaven before Jesus died on the cross was if they fulfilled the Law and obeyed it perfectly. A lot of what Jesus taught while He walked on this earth was how impossible it was for anyone to measure up to the Law. This is why we needed a Savior.

Many argued with me when I wrote about tithing and the reason they believe in tithing is because they still believe we are under the Law. Even my post about modesty, some wrote me rules for modesty from the Law. Yes, if you live under the Law, you must keep the rules of the Law but I just want to inform you that no matter what you say, you are not going to convince me that we still live under the Law.

Jesus fulfilled the Law completely for us. When He died, we died to the Law. "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God" {Romans 7:4}. 

In the whole book of Galatians Paul is exhorting Jews who became Christians and began living under the Law. "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?...Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed {Jesus} should come to whom the promise was made...Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster {the Law}." {All from Galatians 3}

Then in Hebrews 8:13, we are told, "In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first {the Law} old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." You'll also find this teaching in Romans and other books of the New Testament. Hebrews was specifically written to explain the superiority of Christ over the Law and sacrifices.

I don't know how anyone who studies the Bible can really believe that we are still under the Law. Just these few verses prove it but all of Galatians was written to explain it clearly to us. I'm not going to be publishing any comments that disagree with me. I have heard them all before but I believe the Bible is very clear about this topic and no one is going to convince me that I live under the Law. Christ died to free me from the Law and the punishment of the Law and I intend to stay in the freedom the Lord provided for me! No one's going to put this baby under the Law! :) {Taken from the woot woot lady!}

If you're interested in doing an in-depth, amazing study of Galatians,
 Michael Pearl's study on this is eye-opening!

Comments (23)

Loading... Logging you in...
  • Logged in as
Agree 101% Lori!

People seem to want to be half under the law and have under grace.......Paul was very clear in his teachings on this matter and I don't see how they can be misinterpreted?!
Blessings to you and Ken as ever
Helen UK
1 reply · active 527 weeks ago
Blessing to you also, Helen! Happy Sunday!
Dear Lori,

Applicable to your post was my quiet time of the study of 2 Corinthians, chapter 3 this morning. It continually amazes me how my scheduled Bible reading will echo what I read other places. He is so very good to me! In 2 Cor. 3: 7-11, Paul writes:

"7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory." (ESV)

In Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, he writes of verse 11:

"The law is done away, but the gospel does and shall remain, v. 11. Not only did the glory of Moses's face go away, but the glory of Moses's law is done away also; yea, the law of Moses itself is now abolished. That dispensation was only to continue for a time, and then to vanish away; whereas the gospel shall remain to the end of the world, and is always fresh and flourishing and remains glorious."

I loved this quote so very much that I felt compelled to share it with you and your readers! Praise God, I'm free from the Law!

In His All-Sufficient Grace,
Martha
1 reply · active 526 weeks ago
Thank you for sharing, Martha! These were wonderful verses and quotes. Jesus is our New Covenant. We live, move and breath because of Him and His righteousness which is now our righteousness. It's all so uncomprehensible!
Amen, sister!
Are the Ten Commandments still relative, or are they classified as being under the Law?
2 replies · active 527 weeks ago
They are definitely part of the Law, Maria, but all those commands that are still relevant for today are in the New Testament. For instance, here is a great article on why we no longer have to keep the Sabbath ~
http://www.jcblog.net/hebrews/4/9-10/true-sabbath...

We can definitely learn from the OT but everything we need for life and godliness is in the NT. Proverbs and Psalms are not part of the Law and we can learn a lot from them also; wisdom in Proverbs and encouragement in the Psalms. We now have freedom in Christ, the Holy Spirit living inside of us and the ability to walk in righteousness because of the work that Christ accomplished on the cross for us! Yes, we will still sin but all of our sins were forgiven the moment we believe. They were all taken care of on the cross; past, present, and future.
FREEINDEED!'s avatar

FREEINDEED! · 527 weeks ago

Maria - Our pastor spoke about this today. Basically, he said, we have two commandments in the NT - to love The Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. So, we should ask ourselves the question, "What does Love require of me?" This will help us answer the questions as to whether or not we should murder, lie, steal, commit adultery, etc., etc., etc. If we live under the above two commandments from the NT, there is much of the old law that will still be "required" of us as Christ followers, even though we are not under it.
I read these verses today and thought it pertains to your post also.

Colossians 2:13-15 - When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, mailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Paul seems to warn against legalism and how rules that we consider "spiritual" can actually be harmful to a person's relationship with God. True fullness is only found in Christ!

I admire your steadfast faith and patience with others, Lori! Have a good day.
1 reply · active 527 weeks ago
I LOVE those verses, Katie! Our freedom from the Law and in Christ is made so clear throughout the NT. Thank you for your comment.
Amen, Lori!

I would so much rather live unto God than live unto the law! HIS yolk is easy and burden light! I will always choose the perfect righteousness of Christ than to choose the unbearable burden of putting myself back under the law only to flail, strive, fail...and die. God tells us that if our righteousness is found in the law, then Christ's death was in vain---completely useless! (I'm referring to Galatians 2:19) In Christ alone there is LIFE! We walk in the Spirit, so that we do not fulfil the lust of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16) That is completely different than keeping the Law!

Much love, HisHelper

P.S. I love the verse you posted, Martha!
1 reply · active 527 weeks ago
I never really understood Galatians until I really studied it and now it makes SO much sense! We serve such a gracious Father. The Law was simply to point out our sin and our desperate need for a Savior!
Good Morning!
I am so glad you made the statement that the books of Proverbs and Psalms are not the Law!
As I think we need others to know that it is filled with wisdom as how to live as a Christian under grace! But we need the whole counsel of God!
Blessings, Roxy
I believe husbands should be the spiritual leaders of the family. The husband is obligated to teach his family in accordance with the family’s church doctrine. Wives should not be encouraged to disagree with what their husband or church teaches. It creates unnecessary strife. Is there a biblical example of women being encouraged to argue with their husbands on spiritual matters? Or are wives to submit in this area as well?
Christians are not bound by the Law. That was the crucial point of Paul's argument to Peter regarding circumcision of converts in Acts 15. Paul did not think new believers needed to be circumcised or follow the Law, and Paul convinced Peter. That is what began the separation of early Christianity from Judaism.

Me, I am under the Law, no question. I accepted the Covenant at Sinai, and I have a place in the World to Come. Yep, I'm Jewish. Fridays can be pretty hectic, making sure all is ready for Shabbat by sunset. But the Law is not the onerous burden Paul makes it out to be.
1 reply · active 526 weeks ago
Cathy,

One who is under the law is bound by all of it, yet there are crucial laws of God that the Jew cannot fulfill, such as temple worship and regular sacrifice. Keeping the Shabbat is an impractical exercise if one is to truly follow all of the law, so hence, most Jews find ways around it, keeping the letter of the law but not what God intends for today... freedom and liberty in Christ Jesus.

If you are still under the law you ignore a huge section of Biblical teaching given to Jews and Greeks alike that Christ has fulfilled the law, breaking its hold on us that we may walk in the Spirit and not in fleshly fulfillment of laws. The Believer dies with Christ so that the law has no hold on us, but instead we are to walk in the Spirit.

"For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” (Gal. 2:19-21).

If you as a Jew want to keep certain Jewish customs and traditions, you are welcome to do so. But to assume that keeping any part of the OT law for the purpose of keeping the law is profitable before God, or merits you anything, is not Biblical. Paul speaks through the inspration of the Holy Spirit, and Peter stood corrected by him when this discussion took place many years ago. Enjoy your traditions, but don't consider them the law, because the law has no hold on you anymore if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am a couple days late but I do have something to add. My mom and step dad left a very nice Baptist church to become Messianic's. When they did that they started observing all the feasts, blew the Shofar, dressed and played the part to the hilt. They told one of my nieces to never say the name Jesus because that offends him. They told all of us that the KJV is riddled with flaws. They almost totally have forgotten any new testament because everything they study and follow is old testament. They do not witness. And no one would listen to them because they are haughty about their beliefs and come across in a very bad way. They firmly believe that God will be calling all believers back to the true Sabbath and following all the feast. Everything the Jews did before Christ. You said that you don't know how anyone who studies the Bible can believe we are under the law....well, that is how. When you leave the new testament out of all services and only read the Torah at home...its easy I guess.
2 replies · active 526 weeks ago
I really don't understand Messianic Jews. (who are regarded by real Jews as being Christians) I have only met a few in person, but I have not yet met one who made more than a token effort to observe the Law. Do they keep a kosher kitchen? Do they cook on Shabbat, or do any of the other forbidden types of work?
I don't either, Cathy. If people who were Jews and became Christians were suppose to call themselves Messianic Jews, Paul would have called himself one, since he was a Jew that converted and wrote much of the New Testament and was even angry with those Christians who were going back under the law.
Lori, Thank you for this post. I recently did a study of the Law in the Bible and how it affects Christians. I studied it in the OT and the NT. Someone I know recently made the argument that Christ obeyed the Law as an example for us to follow. This is just not so. He came and fulfilled the Law because he could, and he was the only man that could. He did it because we could not. He fulfilled the Law and was the perfect, spotless Lamb that was sacrificed for our sins for all times. Thank you Jesus! Thank you again for sharing the truth and your insights.
In Christ,
Lisa <3
In answer to Cathy's question...yes...they keep a kosher kitchen to a certain extent. They do not have yeast when they are not supposed to have yeast...they eat no pork or unclean meat. My mom cooks on Friday so she does no work on the Sabbath. They try to avoid any travel on that day also. They seem to cling to all the legalism. If you call them between sundown on Friday and sundown on Saturday they answer the phone "shabbat shalom". Sometimes I wonder if it is more the prestige than beliefs that draw them.
Lori, You began your post with, "NO, Christians are NOT under the Law. The only way anyone could get to heaven before Jesus died on the cross was if they fulfilled the Law and obeyed it perfectly." You are correct in saying Christians are not under Law. We also know no one but Jesus fulfilled the Law perfectly. How then did Jews under the Law covenant go to heaven? The same way Abraham did. Through faith. -- Enjoyed your post!
In order for us to fully understand what all of Scripture reveals to us regarding the topic of discussion, we have to take into account—all of it. The questions to be asked are: What was the purpose of the sanctuary service? And, what "law" is spoken of in many of the verses shared? The law of Moses, or the law of God's character, which is the whole duty of Man (Ecc 12:13;14)?

Did the sanctuary service instituted by Christ Himself point to something? Was there a series of processes? If so, where did the cross come into play? Was it at the end of the service, or was it among the 1st steps taken in an endeavor to accomplish and end overall goal? The lamb, goat or bulluck was slain, but was that the end of the story? Would it have made sense to slay the innocent victim, and then afterwards, continue the very act(s) that were instrumental in bringing about the manifested end result of their indulgence?

Perhaps we could study the book of Hebrews extensively to get a better view of what was accomplished at the cross, as explained by the Apostle Paul. As students of the Scriptures, let us not pick and choose which of the books best makes us feel released from the possible duty that is ours by privilege—possesion and knowledge of the entirety (New 'and' Old) of the Word of God.

-Jon-

Post a new comment

Comments by