Are you a sinner saved by grace? We often say that we're saved by grace and not by our good works or by keeping the rules. In his letter to the Romans, Paul said, we are no longer "under the Law." When we say that, we are usually referring to the Law of Moses or the Ten Commandments. As followers of Jesus, we know that we cannot keep the Law by our own initiative so we are grateful that God has made a way for us in Jesus. But what does Paul really mean when he says we're not under the Law? Today, let's consider two passages that can help us have a better understanding of what Paul meant:
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! (Romans 6:15)
I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law. (1 Corinthians 9:21)
In the first passage, the apostle Paul writes to the congregation in Rome and says that “we are not under the law” but “under grace.” But when Paul exclaims “By no means!” does he imply that we are indeed required to submit to God by obeying the Law? Paul helps us understand his intent in our second passage, from his letter to the congregation in Corinth. “I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law.” Paul wasn't “under” the law as a way to earn his own salvation; instead, he was free to embrace God’s law as it had been fulfilled in Christ. In fact, he submitted to God’s law as a way of expressing his love for Jesus. Neither can you or I earn our salvation through keeping the law. When we come to fully understand that Jesus has fulfilled the Law for us, and we can be secure in God’s love and grace. And, as you and I grow in our love and obedience to God, we also grow to know Jesus more deeply, delight more fully in His grace, and learn practical ways to love the people God loves.
Today, you and I can begin to live more fully under Christ's law...and that's such very Good News!
“When the bottom falls out and disappointments come, you will learn what you believe, what you love, and what you treasure.”