Not Under the Law…

How often do you hear someone say, we are no longer under the law of God, because we are under faith? How many times have you said it yourself? I decided to get into this topic because I have heard this phrase several times over the last few months. I have been posting things in support of the law and it seems that people are not willing to accept the Biblical evidence that I have been putting forth. So, I wanted to look into this particular verse and compare it to other verses and take this verse in the context it was meant to be taken in. What I have found seems to negate the argument that we in fact are not under the law of God.

Romans 6: 14

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace

Which law are we no longer under? Is it Gods law that we are no longer under, or is there another law? If we break this down, we may be able to see a little bit clearer. For starters, the first part of this verse says that sin will not have dominion over believers. The reason for this is because believers are not under the law. So, to say this is the law of God, we are then equating the law of God with being equal to sin. These two ideas are directly related to one another in this verse. So, are we saying that Gods law is sinful? If not, we can only conclude then, that there is another law Paul is talking about in this verse. If you do believe that the law was equal to sin, then check out what Paul had to say about this.

Romans 7:7

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”

As we can see, Paul absolutely does not believe the law is sin. So to claim it is would be heresy. To say that the law of God no longer means anything or doesn’t apply to us is a modern day Christianity error. The reason I say this is because without the law there would not be sin, because the law defines sin. The law tells us what sin is, according to Paul. Therefore, without the law, there would be no sin, and if there is no sin, there would be no need for a savior.

Going back to not being under the law, here is an example of one of the other laws Paul discusses. This is the law we are no longer under. This law is the law of Sin.

Romans 7: 22-23, 25

For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members

So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

As we can see here, Paul clarifies what he meant in chapter six. We are no longer under the law of sin, because we are under Grace. The law of God is something he still serves. The law of God is to be written on our hearts and MINDS, this is exactly the terminology Paul uses here.

Romans 8: 6-8

For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

The carnal mind, as is the mind without the spirit, is not subject to the law of God. It is pretty clear that it is those that do not have the spirit that do not follow the law of God, and therefore, cannot please God. If that is the case, then claiming we all have our own law to follow, based on what we think the Holy Spirit wants us to do, is wrong. We are told by Paul that sin is defined by the law, therefore, to live a sinless life can only mean following the law, and that is how we please the Father.