What’s So Wrong with Law?
An old, plain-spoken preacher was often heard to say, “If there’s one verse that every old reprobate knows how to quote, it’s Matthew 7:1.” With a couple of minor changes, one could just as easily (and accurately) affirm, “If there is one verse that every liberal-minded brother knows how to quote, it’s Romans 6:14.” Now don’t misunderstand. There is certainly nothing wrong with Matthew 7:1 or Romans 6:14 if they are properly applied. But therein lies the problem. Not all those who can quote, “You are not under law but under grace” know what it means.
Some folks have an aversion to speaking of the New Testament as a “law” in any sense of the word. But that stumbling block can be overcome rather quickly and easily for the fair-minded. If the New Testament is not a law in any sense, then there is no sin today. Sin is defined in Scripture as “the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4, KJV). But if we are not under law at all, then how could there be sin? Romans 4:15 states, “Where there is no law there is no transgression” (ESV). The converse of that is just as true: if there is transgression (sin), there must be law. No rational person would deny the existence of sin. But to affirm sin’s existence is to implicitly affirm the existence of a violated law.
Consider as well that the New Testament is often referred to in “law” terminology:
- Galatians 6:2 refers to our obligation to ”fulfill the law of Christ.”
- Paul said that he was “under the law of Christ” (1 Cor. 9:21).
- The New Testament is a “law of faith” (Rom. 3:27).
- Romans 7:2-3 states that husbands and wives are bound “by law” to stay married to each other until death separates them. Bound by whose law? Certainly not man’s.
- The New Testament is “the law of the Spirit of life” (Rom. 8:2).
- Hebrews 7:12 affirms that for Christ to be High Priest there was a necessary “change” in the law, but not a complete abandonment of all law.
- Hebrews 8:10 and 10:16 speak of the New Testament as being a system in which “laws” are written on people’s hearts.
- James 1:25 refers to the “word” of God (v. 22) as “the perfect law, the law of liberty.”
So, again I ask, what is so wrong with law?
What some folks fail to understand is that “law” can be used in two senses – to refer to the mere concept, or to refer to a system. This is where Romans 6:14 comes in. We are “not under law” in the sense that the New Testament is not a “law system.” A law system is pure law, devoid of grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Under pure law, no provision is made for the pardoning of violators. If we lived under that kind of system then sin would clearly have dominion over us, for no one keeps law perfectly and there would be no way to erase the guilt of any violation. But the New Testament is a “grace system,” in which provision for the forgiveness of transgressors has been made through the sacrifice of Christ. The reason why sin does not have dominion over us is because of God’s grace that is available through the gospel. But within that grace system are specific, individual obligations that can rightly be called “laws,” as indicated by the references above. More than that, the whole of the New Testament is a “law.” It is not a “law system,” but it is a law in the sense that it contains directives designed to govern people’s lives.
“Law,” when used not in the sense of a system, but just as a concept, merely refers to “instruction that regulates conduct.” If God has not given us instructions to regulate our conduct, then what exactly is 2 Timothy 2:22, for example, “Flee youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace…”? Is that a law from God? Yes. It is instruction designed to regulate my conduct. It is a part of Christ’s New Testament law.
What happens, then, if I violate that law? If the New Testament was a law system, I would have no recourse. I would be condemned and that would be the end of it. A system of pure law can only condemn. It cannot redeem. Under a grace system, which the New Testament is, God has made provision for my forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Therefore, I don’t have to be condemned for violating that law. If I seek forgiveness according His will, I can receive it and be pardoned.
But just because I am under a system of grace does not mean that there are no laws that I am obligated to obey. It just means that I have grace available to cover me when I transgress those laws. And it means that my salvation is not based upon my personal perfection, but on Christ’s blood, which is applied to my spiritual account when I humbly submit to Him in obedience (Heb. 5:9).
There is nothing wrong with “law” when it is understood and properly applied. Why some brethren depart from New Testament teaching and only use the term in a derogatory fashion is a question that they will have to answer for themselves. But I know this: if one can get brethren to stop thinking about Christianity in terms of personal obligation, abiding within the doctrine of Christ, doing only those things that are authorized by God, and obeying the rules, then it is much easier to gain acceptance for doctrines and practices that God has not sanctioned.
