Under Grace not Under Law

I'm under grace now, I'm no longer under the law, so I don't need to keep God's law, the ten commandments.

This is the most popular phrase I keep hearing with regards to the law of God, and keeping the Bible ten commandments. But what is the truth about being under grace and not under the law? Those professing Christians who claim that we no longer need to keep the law of God, ie, the ten commandments, often quote certain verses from the apostle Paul. One of the most popular verses being in Romans 6:14 ..... 'For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.'..... The problem is that the majority of Christians stop right there and ignore the very next verse which says ..... 'What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.'..... Paul could not be any clearer. Does being under grace give us a licence to carry on in sin? GOD FORBID!! Does being under grace mean we can now commit idolatry, adultery, covet, steal, lie, murder? Of course not! Therefore the Bible ten commandments must still be binding upon every living being. Just think for a moment about the cost of sin. Think about what Christ Jesus went through for you because of your sin. Paul confirmed in the strongest language he could say, that being under grace DOES NOT give us licence to carry on living a sinful life and ignore the law of God. So what does this mean? Well, if being under grace does not give us licence to sin, then it means that we must NOT sin, and therefore KEEP the ten commandments, the divine law of God. Do you see that? We are either allowed to carry on sinning under grace, or we are not. And Paul confirms that we are NOT allowed to carry on in sin under grace.
It's interesting that the Christians who proclaim the ten commandments to be abolished always quote the apostle Paul's writings. But the apostle Peter says in 2 Peter 3:15-16 that things Paul wrote about are hard to understand. And this is true if you take what Paul said about the law at face value, because Paul "seems" to suggest that we are no longer under the law of God (the ten commandments) whereas other scripture verses clearly say that we SHOULD still keep the ten commandments. Confusing? But if you are learned in Bible scripture then you will understand that Paul when referring to not being under the law, is not talking about the ten commandments.

If we take in the WHOLE council of the New Testament, it clearly teaches us that being under grace actually demands MORE of us.

Think about it this way; Say you were found guilty of murdering someone, and the law of the land sentenced you to death. Can you "work" your way to freedom? No, because you are under the law and it demands your life. The only way you can be free, is if a judge has compassion on you and pardons you. Let's say that happens; A judge comes along and pardons you. You are now under grace and no longer under the law, which demanded your life. You are free!! Now, do you leave thinking, "I'm free!! I found grace with the judge, I'm free to go and commit more crimes, because I'm now under grace, not under the law!"Of course not. Any person with an ounce of gratitude would now go and KEEP the law the best they could. And anyway, does the law of the land now become void because you found grace from the judge? No, the law still stands. Do you see this truth with regards to being under grace, not under law?
Jesus Christ Himself even confirmed His hatred for this false teaching of being free from His law, and being able to carry on living in sin. In the book of Revelation, He reveals to John His hatred for the teachings (doctrine) of the Nicolaitanes ..... Revelation 2:15 .....'So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.'..... And what doctrine did the Nicolaitanes teach? They taught that being under grace meant that you could carry on living in sin! Jesus Hates this teaching!

Isaiah 42:21 .....'The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.'

So what does it mean to not be under law? Well, firstly, as we learned in the previous studies, there were two laws. The divine moral law of God, the ten commandments, and the ceremonial laws that were ADDED to the ten commandments because of sin. Those ceremonial laws were taken away by Christ on the cross and we no longer need to keep those laws, as they contained sacrifices, burnt offerings, feast days etc, which pointed to Jesus, as He became our sacrifice. Another way of not being under the law is the fact that those who are in Christ Jesus are now free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). What is the law of sin and death? Is it the ten commandments? Absolutely not. What is our human nature we inherit from Adam and Eve? Sin! And what is the result of sin? Death! (Romans 6:23). That is the basic law of sin and death. But those who are in Christ are now free from that law, because they are under grace, not under the law of sin and death and in Romans 6:23 Paul confirmed that Jesus came to free us from the penalty of sin, which is death. He didn't come to free us from the ten commandments, God's divine, eternal, moral law. He came to free us from sin and death.

Is the Ten Commandments a Righteous Law?

What does it mean to be UN-righteous? Take a look at what Paul said in Romans 1:29-31 .....'Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful.'..... Look at the things that Paul is linking with unrighteousness. Are these not things which go against the ten commandments, the moral law of God? How could the saying "under grace, not under the law" mean that we no longer need to keep the ten commandments, and yet breaking the ten commandments would be classed as unrighteousness? It just doesn't make sense. And if we take a look at some other verses from Paul, we will see that being under grace DOESN'T mean we no longer need to keep the ten commandments:
Romans 6:1-2 .....'What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?'..... Again, Paul says in the strongest language he can that being under grace does NOT give us licence to continue living in sin. How can anyone who has truly accepted Christ continue living in open willfull sin? It's not possible. Now take a look at Romans 7:22-25. You will see Paul pointing out two laws. One righteous, spiritual law, the divine moral law of God found in the ten commandments, and a law of the flesh, which is sin. Now he says that he DELIGHTS in the law of God, which he keeps in His heart, but he also sees another law warring against this spiritual law of God, and that "other" law is the law of sin and death! The law of the flesh, which is our natural fallen state inherited from Adam and Eve. And Paul thanks God for FREEING us from this law of sin and death though our Lord, Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1-2 .....'There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death'..... To whom is there no condemnation? To those who are IN Christ Jesus, who DO NOT walk after the flesh. What does it mean to walk after the flesh? To willfully sin, and to think there is no problem with sin! So why would it be a problem to continue living in sin? ..... Romans 8:7 .....'Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.'..... So if we continue to be "carnally minded", then we will be at war with the Spirit of God, because we are not subjecting ourselves to the law of God, the ten commandments. And what does it mean to continue to be carnally minded? ..... Romans 8:6 .....'For to be carnally minded is death.'
Romans 6:13 .....'Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.'..... Without the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, we would have been dead in our sins. There would be no hope of the resurrection and no future for us. But now those of us who are in Christ, are "alive from the dead", which means we should yield our bodies as "instrument of righteousness". How do we yield to righteousness? By walking each day with Christ Jesus and being obedient to God's divine moral law, the ten commandments. Take a look at what Paul said about the divine moral law of God: Romans 7:12 .....'Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.'..... The divine law of God is holy, just and good. And what did Paul say in another place? ..... Romans 12:9 .....'Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.'..... Being under grace, we are to hate that which is evil, all sin, and CLING to what is good. What did Paul say is good and just and holy in the previous passage? The law of God!

Revelation 14:12 .....'Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.'

Yes we are under grace, but that doesn't and shouldn't stop us from keeping the law of God found in the Bible ten commandments. We are no longer under the law of sin and death, as Christ Jesus has freed us from this law, the law of the flesh. He paid the full price for our sin, but we should NEVER use His grace as an excuse to carry on living in sin. So the next time you think "Oh I'm under grace not under law", take a look at the WHOLE council of God and think on what Jesus did for you. He gave you a pardon from your death sentence. Are you now going to continue breaking the very law that put you in that death sentence in the first place? Are you going to count the love of Christ so cheaply? May God guide you into His truth about being under His grace.