Bulletin Articles
Are Christians Under Law?
There are some religious people who are fighting a battle they cannot win. I refer to those who try to claim that we are not under any law today. Now it IS true that we cannot be “justified” (acquitted of sin) by law (Rm.3:20; Ga.2:16). But that is a far cry from saying that we are not “under” any kind of law. Indeed, if we are not “under” any kind of law, then we do not need to be “justified!” Why do I say this? Because without law, there can be no sin (Rm.4:15)! Even if you limit this “not under any kind of law” idea to Christians, then you are faced with the reality that Christians would therefore be incapable of sin. But that’s not true, either (cf. 1Jn.1:7-9)! No matter how you slice it, you simply cannot win the argument that says we are not under any kind of law today. In the rest of this article, I want to show that the Scriptures clearly teach that we ARE under law today!
Romans 8:2 says, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”
1 Corinthians 9:21 says, “to those who are without law, (I became) as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law.”
1 Corinthians 15:56-57 says, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Galatian 6:2 says, “Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”
1 Timothy 1:8-11 says, “But we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.”
Hebrews 7:12 says, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also.”
Hebrews 8:10 says, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts, And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
James 1:25 says, “But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”
James 2:10-12 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not commit murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.”
James 4:11-12 says, “Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?”
As we wrap this up, I remind you that we cannot be “justified” (acquitted of sin) by law. Instead, we are “justified by faith in Christ” (Ga.2:16). Our faith in Christ makes it possible to be “forgiven” of sin (Rm.4:5-8). But do not forget this one thing: faith in Christ STILL requires obedience to God’s law! (Jm.2:14-26). The difference is that faith in LAW leads to defeat (because we sin); but faith in CHRIST leads to victory (because forgiveness is available). I hope this helps clarify the proper place of “law” in God’s scheme of redemption.
--Lanny Smith
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