CAN GOD'S LAWS BE MISUSED AND ABUSED ?
The answer is an obvious, yes. So when the Apostle Paul says we are saved by grace and not the law, is he then rejecting the law? No. That would be totally ungodly and that is not what he meant. Believers are justifiedby grace but it has never been a license for lawbreaking or sin.
1 Timothy 1:8, “But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully,” (NKJV)
Paul is stating unequivocally that the laws of God are good and not done away when used correctly by someone who understands God purpose for His laws. Continuing:
Verse 9, “knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,”
The law is made for those who are misbehaving or evil because it defines right and wrong.
Romans 3:30-31, “…since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then make void the law through faith?Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.”
Rom 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”
How does one “establish the law” through faith? Take speeding for example. Speed limits are the maximum allowable speed by law. One cannot speed if there is no law against it. If there is no law, then there is no sin and no need for repentance. All of this was understood by the Galatians. So what was Paul saying when he said “Stand fast in the liberty of Christ”?
WHAT DOES CHRISTIAN LIBERTY AND FREEDOM REALLY MEAN ?
The Apostle to the gentiles is warning them of a legalistic, over-regulated approach to salvation. They would have less biblical knowledge and experience than the Jewish teachers of the circumcision party who were exploiting the new converts among gentiles. They claimed you could only gain salvation by rigid obedience to all the laws, even those that did not apply to them, like circumcision.
Galatians 5:2-4, “Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”
Paul is stating that if you turn away from justification by faith and instead try to earn it yourself, you will become estranged from Jesus of Nazareth. This was no doubt a shock to those receiving this letter from him. Note:
Ephesians 2:7-8, “…that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”
Why is this important for new converts to understand? Saving one’s self is erroneous and would turn many in those congregations into Pharisees. God hates this kind of religious pride.
Verse 9, “not of works, lest anyone should boast.10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Christ is building believers who are humble and kind and doing good works; not self-righteous people that are offensive to God, like the Pharisees. Note Luke 18:9-14. Therefore, liberty in Christ means obedience and growth without self-righteous over regulations.
Galatians 5:6, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.”
Galatians 5:13-16, “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
James 2:12, “So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.”
Walking earnestly in the spirit is the true meaning of Liberty in Christ.
TRUE CHRISTIAN LIBERTY IS ACHIEVED IN OUR HEARTS AS WE OBEY
Paul uses the example of a child who is under the care of a tutor. The father has assigned a tutor to be in charge of his son’s training as heir of the estate until he becomes an adult. Then the child can assimilate all the teaching of his tutor and other learning to obey freely on his own. The heir is now a mature, liberated and wise person.
Galatians 4:1-7, “Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, 2 but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”
If a loving father appointed over us a tutor to train us, would He expect us to reject everything the appointed tutor ever taught? No, He wouldn't. He would expect us to obey it at a higher, more mature level, understanding when and how to apply those teachings as FREE adults.
This is what we see in the new covenant.
Hebrews 8:6, “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator ofa better covenant, which was established on better promises.”
The law as administered by Moses was not wrong, but now God has a better agreement for us.
Hebrews 8:10, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
Hebrews 10:16, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”
This is the liberty that makes us free –– having God's laws inside us. The locus of control for our behavior is internal within us. A mature believer can apply God’s laws in their truer, deeper spiritual meaning. This is true spiritual freedom and liberty.
Hebrews 10:20-23, “…by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”
