Not under Law?

Not under Law?

• You are not under law but under grace. Rom 6:14

1. I am free to do whatever I wish
2. The law is still my “rule of life” even though I am free from its guilt

• Which is true?

Under law?

no rules	RULES
no guilt	no guilt

Not under Law—2 views

1. I am free to do whatever I wish
   • Jesus has paid the price, not only of my sin, but also freed me from the constraint of law
   • The only contraint is that I must try to act out of love (but if I don’t, that is still ok)
2. The law is still my “rule of life” even though I am free from its guilt
   • I am freed from the “ceremonial” law, but under the “moral” law—the 10 commandments
   • But if I break them, he will forgive me if I am truly repentant
   • My life is measured against this list of things I should not do

Problem

• But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 1 Cor 5:11
• For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the anger of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Eph 5:5-6

Colossians 3:5-8

5. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
6. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
7. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.
8. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

9. Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,
10. nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
11. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

1 Thess 4:2-4

2. For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
3. For this is God’s will: that you become holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality,
4. that each of you know how to possess his own body in holiness and honor,

Not under Law—3rd view

1. I am free to do whatever I wish
   • anti-nomianism
2. The law is still my “rule of life” even though I am free from its guilt
   • legalism
3. I am under Christ, and his commands
   • If I break them, he will forgive me
   • If I have no intention of keeping them, then I am not Christ’s, because all who are his have his Spirit who will make us like him
   • My life is measured by “Christ-likeness”

Confusion with word LAW

• The word law in the Bible almost always refers to the law of Moses
• There are a few exceptions to this, but generally it is either

1. The books of Moses, as in “Law and the Prophets”
   • For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John Mat 11:13
2. The regulations of the O.T.
   • For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17
   • For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities Heb 10:1

Under the commands of Jesus

• “Not under the law” means not under Moses
  • law written in stone
• We are “under Christ”
  • not only spoken by Jesus, but written on our hearts by the Spirit
• For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Heb 8:10

Galatians 5:18-25

18. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

John 14, 15

15. If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
21. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
10. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

John 13, 15

34. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
12. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Summarize:

• If our trust is in Jesus, we are not under the guilt of any law or command—we are forgiven
• The law of Moses is gone, replace by a person: Jesus
• His new commandment is “follow me”
• We are under this command
• But he not only commands, but creates joyful obedience by the gift of the Spirit

Under Jesus

no rules	LAW	JESUS
no guilt	no guilt	no guilt

Problem if...

• What if someone is:
• trusting Jesus for salvation
• but not willing to submit to his lifestyle commands
• will they go to hell ?

Romans 6:14-17

14. For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace.
15. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not!
16. Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness?
17. But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to,

Romans 8:5-15

5. For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit.
6. For the outlook of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace,
7. because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so.
8. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Romans 8:5-15 cont’d

9. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him.
13. (for if you live according to the flesh, you will die), but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.
14. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.

Romans 8:15

15. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.”