Law, Law What Is It Good For?
“...since you are not under law but under grace.” Romans 6:14
This is a verse that is often used to justify the idea that Christians are “not under the law.” Or, to speak more plainly, that we can ignore God’s law as it’s no longer for us. However, is this really true? Many of us have heard this multiple times growing up in church…but hearing it often doesn’t make it true. The reply may come, “But there is a verse that says it!” But is this even true? Technically, there is a half of a verse that says it, just like there is half of a verse that says, “...there is no God” (Psalm 14:1). There is a Christian philosopher and apologist named Greg Koukl who always says, “Don’t just read a Bible verse.” His point is that we really need to read sections, follow arguments, and understand the flow of thought. As we read this passage in the book of Romans, is Paul the Apostle truly telling us to ignore God’s law? Is he saying that the law is not for believers today?
Paul had just finished writing in Romans chapters 3-5 that there is a contradiction between law and grace with regards to the specific nature of how we are made right before God. Paul is specifically dealing with the two ideas of “are we made right with God by the Law,” or “are we made right with God by grace?” Paul makes a clear argument for the idea that we are made right with God by grace and grace alone. Additionally, Paul makes clear that it is God’s grace alone that makes us right before Him through the conduit of faith alone. So, it may seem that since the Law does not make us right before God, we can just chuck the Law. Right? No! Or, as we see Paul say in Romans 6:15, “by no means!”
These passages only tell us that we are not made right by the Law. Although it is not the characteristic of the Law to make us right before God, this certainly doesn’t mean that the Law is useless. But it is at this point where many modern Evangelicals have misguided many of their efforts and much of their energy. They have created a sort of either-or scenario that says because we are under grace we must not be held to the law. Therefore, they argue, we can throw out the law in its entirety because it is completely useless. Yet, Paul does not make this argument at all. Paul only says that the Law does not make use right before God, not that the Law is useless for the Christian life.
Earlier in this same letter to the Romans, Paul states that the Law has a purpose and that, in a sense, we actually fulfill the Law. He says, “Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.” (Romans 3:31) Paul also states that, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” So, the Law actually serves to teach us what sin is. For example, we know that coveting is a sin because the Law says, “You shall not covet.” (Romans 7:7-8) So, contrary to what many Evangelical pastors say today, the Law actually does have a purpose—to show us what defines “sin.”
We can better understand Paul as saying that the Law tells us what is right before God, but it is grace alone that makes us right before God. The Law teaches us what we need to do, while grace gives us the power to do it. Now let us arrive at the pivotal verse of Romans 6:14, where we see the whole verse saying, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” Continuing with the flow of Paul’s thoughts throughout this letter, we see that the Law does not justify us before God, but it teaches us what is right and condemns when we are in rebellion. Since the Law teaches us what is right, and grace gives us the power to do what is right, sin no longer has dominion over believers. God’s grace has freed us from the power of sin and we now have the power to do what is pleasing to God and what is right in His eyes.
The next question that I want to briefly touch upon (as it really entails an article and podcast all of its own) is, “Which laws are the Christian to obey then?” I think it should suffice to say that Jesus summarized the Law well when He said, “To love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.” To be clear, this would include the Ten Commandments as our guide to constitute the biblical definition for “love,” directed to both God (Commandments 1-4) and others (Commandments 5-10). There is so much more to elaborate on here, but I think this is enough to give us a direction in the way we ought to go.
Finally, let’s finish with this simple question: Are Christians under the Law? If by “under,” it is meant that we have responsibilities to the Law of God as renewed and regenerate believers, then the answer is “Yes.” However, if by “under,” it is meant that we are under the boot of the law in its condemnation, then the answer is a resounding “No!” Remember, the Scriptures teach that we are free from the condemnation of the Law, not the obligations of the Law. When we act in faith and love toward God and others we are fulfilling the law in responsibility and obligation (Romans 3:31). We have to remember that it is the Law of God that defines love. We do not determine the definition of “love,” nor does love define itself. If we allow love to be defined outside of the clear Word of God as seen in His good and holy Law, we will have a world of chaos and lawlessness. Therefore, strive freely and joyfully to love God and others and so fulfill His law!
