It really gets tiresome hearing Christians say they’re no longer under the Law, but under grace. The Law has been done away with, they say; nailed to the cross. Generally, this statement is meant to be an excuse for breaking the Law.
In Colossians 2: 14, there is a law nailed to the cross, but it is not God’s Ten Commandments that were written with His finger on stone. Instead, careful reading shows that it is the Mosaic Law, Moses’ handwritten ordinances – civil, ceremonial, and ritual laws – that were nailed to the cross.
It should be obvious that it’s not the Ten Commandments, for the Commandments are God’s eternal moral Law, a transcript of His character. God’s character isn’t and can’t be done away with.
However, it is true that the Christian is no longer under the Law. That’s because he or she has paid the penalty of the Law (death) in Christ Jesus. In other words, there is no condemnation of death for those who live in Christ Jesus.
God’s grace, indeed, is the power under which the Christian now lives. The power of God’s grace, if submitted to, is the means by which the Christian can experience life without sin; sin that has, objectively, been crucified in the flesh, thanks to Jesus.
Again, it’s the law’s penalty of death that the Christian is no longer under. The grace of the Holy Spirit is now in place and is used for the purpose of fashioning the believer into the likeness of Jesus; restoring the believer to the full and clear image of God.
As such, the character of God is manifested in the Christian’s life. This means that, though no longer under the Law, the goal is to identify with the Law and have the Ten Commandments be evident and observable in the believer’s walk. Like the heavenly Father, the Law will be a transcript of who the Christian is.
To say that one doesn’t have to keep the Law because of grace, is usually said as a rationalization to get around being obedient to the Law. In particular, for example, is the fourth commandment that is intentionally, continually discarded by most Christians.
If the Christian truly loves God, then there should be a willingness to be obedient. Jesus tells us, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
1 John 2: 4, 6 says, “The one who says ‘I have come to know Him’ [Jesus], and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
Why would Jesus and John make these statements if the Commandments were done away with at the cross?
Jesus kept the commandments as one who was obedient. He was not a legalist for doing so. He loved the ways of God. So should the Christian love and obey; not to be saved – that would be legalistic – but love and obey because of already being saved.
Obedience is the fruit of salvation; an evidence of faith. Obedience comes from appreciation, love, and a desire to be one with God in thoughts, feelings, and motives. Obedience leads to righteousness (Rom. 6: 16).
The Christian knows that God’s Law is good and holy (Rom. 7: 12). The Christian shouldn’t want to be released from it, for it is God’s standard. It is His righteousness.