Taking every thought captive for obedience to Christ (2 Cor. 10.5)

Outcomes
Antinomianism
“But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter” (Rom. 7.6 NKJV).

These days it is fashionable among many believers who bask in the grace of God to deny any place for the Law of God in the life of faith. “We’re not under Law, but under grace,” they insist, and find comfort in the fact that God knows they’re sinners and accepts them just as they are.

For many such believers, works – especially the works of the Law of God – have no place in our salvation. It’s all of grace, since, as Paul noted, we have been “released from the Law.”

But we need to look more closely at the New Testament’s teaching about the Law, to understand in what sense we have been released or delivered (κατηργηθημεν) from the Law.

Certainly we have not been released from the Law’s role as definer of good and evil, for Paul says that through the Law comes the knowledge of sin (Rom. 7.7), and John teaches that sin is lawlessness (1 Jn. 3.4).

Nor are we delivered from the Law as the standard of goodness, for if it shows us our sin it must also, being holy and righteous and good (Rom. 7.12, 16), indicate the way of righteousness (cf. Ps. 1; 1 Jn. 2.1-6). The Law thus remains established as a standard of goodness for us (Rom. 3.31).

Then are we delivered from the Law as a means to spiritual health and growth? No, because the Law is spiritual (Rom. 7.14), and it is the “core curriculum” by which the Spirit brings us to the glory of God and forms us into the image of Christ (Ezek. 36.26, 27; 2 Cor. ‪3.12-18).

Are we delivered from the Law in order to live in the way of love? But the Law defines the way of love, both for God and our neighbors (Matt. 22.34-40; 1 Jn. 5.1-3).

Perhaps the Law has been superseded by the Spirit and Kingdom of God? But Jesus said that keeping the Law and teaching it to others is the way to greatness in the Kingdom of God (Matt. ‪5.17-19).

How then are we delivered or released from the Law?

We are delivered from the Law’s power to condemn and kill us, which power it wielded within our souls while we were yet in our sins (Rom. 7.5, 6; cf. Rom. 2.14, 15). Our conscience is no longer a slave to the Law as the way to be pleasing to God, but to Christ, so that, whenever we would be condemned for transgression, we know that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ and to whom the righteousness of Christ is credited by grace through faith (Rom. 8.1, ‪3.19-22).

So while the Law no longer condemns those who are in Christ, it still convicts us of sin, righteousness, and judgment in the classroom of the Spirit (Jn. 16.8-11). And while it does not save, it is a primary means by which the Spirit enables us to work out our salvation in ways that are pleasing to God and beneficial for us in realizing the life and good works for which we have been redeemed (Phil. 2.12, 13; Lev. 18.1-5; Eph. 2.8-10).

The Law guides us into the liberty we possess as sons and daughters of God (Jms. 2.8-12), and teaches us both the ways of love and how to read all the rest of Scripture in order truly to understand the ways of love.

This does not mean that all the Law remains valid (cf. Heb. 7-9), or that the letter of the Law must be applied as originally given. We seek to know and obey the spirit of the Law in these latter days of the Spirit of God, not merely the letter of it (cf. Deut. 30.1-10; 2 Cor. 3.5-11: 1 Cor. 5.1ff, cf. Lev. 18.8; 1 Cor. 9.8-14).

To neglect, minimize, or scorn the Law, pleading that we are “delivered” from it and no longer obligated to keep it, since we are under grace not Law, is to misunderstand and disobey the teaching of the New Testament about the place of the Law in the life of faith. Neglecting the Law – failing to read, meditate and delight in, and walk within the path it describes – is to be in danger of failing in the way of righteousness (Ps. 1) and of making even one’s prayers an abomination in the sight of God (Prov. 28.9).

Believers are delivered from the Law’s power to condemn, but we are also delivered into the liberty and love of Christ through faithful reading and study of His Law.

For reflection
1.  What role does the Law of God play in your own growth as a Christian? Meditate on Psalm 1. Does this describe your relationship to the Law of God?

2.  Meditate on Matthew 5.17-19. What place did Jesus consider the Law to have in His Kingdom?

3.  We’re not saved by keeping the Law, but we’re not saved without keeping the Law. Explain.

Next steps: Reflecting on Psalm 1, what would you consider to be a reasonable approach to bringing more reading and meditation in God’s Law into your walk with and work for the Lord? Talk with a pastor or church leader about this question.

Please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452. Or, you can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal.

Two important books can help you get started in learning the Law of God. The Law of God is a compendium of the Ten Commandments and the various statutes, precepts, and testimonies that support, illustrate, and explain the Law. It’s available by clicking here. The Ground for Christian Ethicspresents a lively discussion of why the Law of God is so important for us as believers. You can order this book by clicking here. And check out our daily column, In the Gates, which looks at the Law from various angles in order to discover its relevance for our lives today.