of the following final section This lesson looks at Paul’s statement in Galatians 5:18, "If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law" . This gets to the main issue of the letter
"You are not under law"
Paul makes this statement to the Romans as well: "Sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace"
It is a wonderful statement, however it is greatly misunderstood. The aim of this lesson is to help us understand what it means to be "not under law"
First we notice the simple fact that when Paul said, "you are not under law" he certainly did not say, or mean, "you are not under
Compare Paul’s statement, "you are not under law" with another statement Paul makes in
So we must note that whilst Paul has said, "You are not under law" he now in this place says, "Fulfill the law of Christ". Paul does not contradict himself, and we must be careful not to misinterpret him so as to make him contradict himself.. Paul is making two compatible statements here. Paul expects us to lay the two statements
"You are not under law... fulfill the
It is not hard to see how these two statements harmonise, when you put them side by side like that. What that clearly means is that you are not under any obligation to somebody else’s law, you are free from that now, so go ahead and fulfill the law of Christ and don't let anybody bind upon you any other religious, moral,
Clearly, when we claim to be set free and no longer under law, we do not mean to say that we can disobey Christ or count ourselves as under no obligation to him! Rather, we mean that he has set us free from obligation to another master and to another law which offered us nothing but death, and enabled us to make him our Master and obey his law who offers us everything
So I hope we have that clear. When Paul said, "you are not under law" he certainly did not say, or mean, "you are not under
Now let us think about the idea of enslavement which Paul introduces at the beginning of his letter when he calls himself "the bondslave of Christ"
For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Never! Don't you know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness? But, thank God, although you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of doctrine to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became the slaves of righteousness"
Like we said in our first point above, We must not make Paul contradict himself. Paul says, "Christ set us free"
"Christ set us free... we are
Imagine you were enslaved to a terrible master who cursed, condemned, and punished you, but offered you no means of finding favour and forgiveness. You lived in hopeless
Then a more powerful master rescued you, and made you his slave. You no longer had to obey your old master. You were set free from his rule. But you had to obey your new master and be
You nevertheless regarded yourself as free, because your new master loved you more than himself, treated you as his own brother, willingly forgave your wrongs, and helped you to follow his will. He did not lay heavy burdens on you, and he rewarded you with gifts beyond anything you could imagine. You are his slave, but you quite properly regard him as having
This is what Paul has in mind. By becoming Christ’s slave, we escape the condemnation and curse of laws pertaining to our
I have heard of drug addicts being converted to Christ and thereby overcoming and being set free from their addiction. They have got out of the downward spiral of troubles it brings. They become Christ’s slaves in order to be no longer under the law of drug addiction, with its condemnation and punishments. They are free of it now, so certainly they regard themselves as "not under law" anymore with regard to their former addiction. But that doesn't mean they think they are not under Christ’s law. Of course they are, and that’s the very thing that gains and maintains
Now joining the two things we have considered so far (because they are really the same thing expressed in different ways) we can say that Paul regards these two things
is also and equally
No master in this world is above or equal to Christ the Lord. Christ has the power to abolish or veto any law, and to replace it with his own. He has the power to redeem the slave of any master, and make that slave his own slave. The freedom from the burden of that old enslavement under an oppressive and killing law, is properly regarded as being free and
Becoming enslaved to Christ and placing ourselves under his law, we find true life and liberty. Jesus himself said, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free"
Now someone will ask, and so they should, "Well where does love come in?" John answers that question very well: "This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome"
Paul’s concern was not that the Galatians were enslaved under the law of Christ, but that they were leaving that happy state and seemed ready to "turn back again... to be enslaved all over again" to that from which Christ had set them free
"Against such there is no law"
In closing this lesson, I'd like you to notice something that Paul says after he makes the statement, "Led by the Spirit, you are not under law"
Now if I choose to do things "against which there is no law" isn't it true to say that I am "not under law" in that respect? And if I choose not to do things that are against the law, then surely the law against those things does not apply to me, so I am "not under law" in that respect
To illustrate this principle, take the fact that I am a teetotaller. I never take strong drink or alchoholic beverages of any kind. Now there are all sorts of laws dealing with the consumption of strong drink. If I were to purchase and consume alcholic drink, I would be under the law of requirements and punishments about the practice of consuming alchohol. But I never purchase or consume it. So all that law about it has absolutely nothing to do with me. They could change that law, double all the punishments and toughen all the restrictions. It would not make any difference to me. I wouldn't even need to know or care about those laws. I don't give two hoots whether I can drink alchohol in this place or that place, at this time or that time, nor how much of it I've got in my blood. All the booze buses in Victoria could come to Bairnsdale and blitz the town. What is that to me? I could blow into their gizmos till I went blue. It would all be meaningless because I am "not under law" regarding alchohol because I drink beverages against which
That’s Paul’s own explanation of what he means when he says, "You are not under law". He says, "The deeds of the flesh are evident". In other words he is saying that it’s easy to see what there are laws against, and if you do the things against which there is law, then you will be banned from God’s kingdom. But he points out that there is no law against practicing the fruits of the Spirit. If you do these things "against which there is no law", then "you are not under law"
Christianity is about sowing and reaping good fruits abundantly. Where there is much planting and harvesting, few weeds ever get a chance to grow. Being a Christian is not about fighting the desires of the flesh. It’s about nurturing the good things of the Spirit. While you are doing that, there is little opportunity for evil. You are happy and free. You don't have to worry much about things which are against the law, because you are diligently doing things against which no law exists! That’s what it means to be
of the following final section
Of course some of you who read this lesson will run away with the idea that if there is no law against something then it’s OK to do it. Don't fall into that trap, because that is not Paul’s view (nor mine if that counts at all). It’s the Devil’s view. You will notice that Paul speaks of being "led by the Spirit" and tells us to "walk by the Spirit". The Spirit teaches us the law of Christ, and we have seen clearly that we are certainly under the law of Christ. Living by the law of Christ certainly does not mean doing anything we please so long as Christ has not specifically passed a law against it. That approach is a form of legalism. It is
There is a principle by which the Spirit leads us, concerning things which Christ has passed no law against. Paul looked at all
"All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me but I will not be mastered by anything... All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good but that of his neighbour."
Paul did not live only by the principle "against such there is no law". He included another principle, "such things as edify and make for peace and are profitable". When you are "not under law" you are doing things "against which there is no law" but that’s not why you are doing them. You are doing them because they are "profitable" and constructive, and if they are not so, then you will not want to do them, even though there is no
Christianity is not really about not doing what there is a law against. It’s true, of course, that if there is a law against something, then we would consider it is "not right" to do it. But that is not our guiding light. That is not the basic
Christianity is not really about doing what there is no law against. It’s true, of course, that if there is no law against something, then we would consider it is "not wrong" to do it. But that is not our guiding light. That is not the basic
Christianity is really about doing what is profitable and constructive. That eliminates not only what is against the law, but it also eliminates a great many things against which there is no law. The Spirit leads us away from all things that are unlawful or unprofitable. He leads us to do what is helpful and leads to growth and goodness. That is our guiding light. That is the principle we live by. When we walk in that path,
We are free to live in "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus"