There is law under the New Covenant but different from law under the Old Covenant.
The law is not done away with but there is a difference between the law under the Old Covenant and the law under the New Covenant. In other words there is a difference in the law of God as it existed prior to Christ crucifixion and as it now exists after Christ crucifixion.
Romans 6:14 says: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”
In Romans 6:14 Paul is not saying there is no law applicable to us under Christ. He is saying the law cannot condemn us for our sin(s). For the grace of God that comes through Christ and him crucified, body bruised, blood-shed, buried, and resurrected takes care of our sins on our behalf when we sincerely look to Christ as the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-4). Paul makes this clear in Romans 3:31 where he says: ” Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.”
Matthew 5:27-28 says: Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
To me that is a law that applies today under Christ.
Some Christians do not want to call it a law. Well whatever one labels it, one thing for sure it is a “Thou shalt not commit adultery”.
I am 99.99% confident most if not all Christians know God is not pleased if a man has sex with another man’s wife.
Jesus says in Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
And for those who think Paul’s attitude toward the law for both Jew and Gentile differs from Jesus, let me provide what ought to be clear and compelling evidence that it does not.
Ephesians 6:2-3 says: Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;); That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
That is straight out of Exodus 20:12.
Paul known by many as the apostle of grace reminds us of the following with respect to the law:
In Romans 7:7-25 Paul gives something like a personal testimony about the role of the law in his life to include his struggle and sometimes failure to keep the law. I will herein quote a few of those scriptures.
In Romans 7:7 Paul says: “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”
And in Romans 7:12 Paul says: “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.”
And Romans 7:24-25 Paul says “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”
I am 100% certain a person’s attitude towards God’s law is very important to God.
Now for anyone who thinks I am saying Christians (that is, disciples of Christ) have to keep every law and do so perfectly to be righteous/saved or that the law has not changed or there is a different standard for Jew and Gentile under the New Covenant, I refer you to the following:
Hebrews 7:12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.
People may disagree about the extent of the change but there ought to be agreement there has been a change.
The very presence of the words old and new in Old Covenant and New Covenant says it is not now the way it was then.
When we see the words law in the New Testament, it is important that we allow context to inform us as to whether the word is being used to refer to the law as given under Moses, the law as given under Christ after his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, or both.
Romans 3:21-22 says: But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Romans 3:28-31 says: Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
The “God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” means Christian are not to live lawlessly. Much of what Jesus said pre-crucifixion is about not living lawlessly. This includes John 8:1-11 which is even about not living lawlessly under grace that he was to more fully bring through the cross. For he said unto the woman caught in the act of adultery, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more”. The four Gospels focus on Jeus life and teachings prior to his crucifixion. Acts focus on life in the early church. Much of the epistles are not only about getting saved but also describes what we are to do and not do to avoid living lawlessly even under the New Covenant.
Certainly, the saved does not live lawlessly. Therefore, some level of obedience must exist if one is truly saved.
Certainly, none of us obeys perfectly from birth to death. Only Jesus has done that.
As to what level of obedience God requires, I have not the power or insight to determine. Jesus will make that call for each of us on an individual basis as I see it.
The key is to have the right attitude toward the Father, the Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
The key is to have the right attitude toward the commandments/laws of God as given under Christ. For the law as given under Christ has superseded the law as given under Moses though it incorporates aspects of the law as given under Moses. Certainly, there is disagreement over what those aspects are; that is part of the spiritual growth process as we all are at different levels of spiritual maturity.
I think folks get confused on the fact that Christ is superior to Moses and that the focus now is not law as it was under Moses. But now the focus is Jesus Christ and him crucified, resurrected, and ascended, and the Holy Spirit that the Father and the Son sends and gives to those who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. That is the essence of the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Yet, all of the law as given under Christ is still important to obey.
Ephesians 2:8-10 says: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Revelation 1:5 says: And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Revelation 14:12 says: Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Revelation 22:14 says: Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
2 Corinthians 7:8-10 says: For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
It is unreasonable to think God has no thou shall do and thou shall not do under the New Covenant. It is unreasonable to think there are not things we need to give attention to changing in our lives that displeases God. Whether one calls it sin or just something that is not good, the result ought to be have faith to change for that is what God expects and pleases him.
Without confession at least to God and oneself, can there be godly sorrow unto repentance constituting a laboring to surrender to the call of the Holy Spirit to change one’s behavior? The very act of recognizing one has sinned is an act of confession for God knows every thought. Thinking out loud expressing godly sorrow is good to do. But if only in thought, let the result for all of us be change to be better and do better to the glory of God as Jesus speaks to in Matthew 5:16 where he says: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
1 John 1:8-10 says: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
I exhort all to attend to and communicate the whole counsel of God by the leading, guiding, and surrender to the Holy Spirit, whose sword is the Word of God, of which we all should seek a higher, deeper, and wider understanding.
