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Martin Weber says “Dale, you teach that the New Covenant does away with the Ten Commandments, including the Sabbath. But the NT teaches that what God wrote on the tables of stone in the Old Covenant is now written on our hearts. Hebrews 10:16 says: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds.” These are not just spiritual principles (as you say), but God’s actual commandments.”
Read 2 Corinthians 3. I’ll post it here
“2You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men;
3being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”
Yes, the NT does talk about something being written on our heart, but what is it? The 10 commandments? Keep reading 2 Corinthians 3.
“4Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.
5Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,
6who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
Here we find the letter of the law contrasting with the Spirit. Notice it says nothing about the spirit of the law. Keep reading and you will see it defines exactly what Spirit means. What is the law it talks about in 2 Corinthians 3?
“7But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was,
8how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory?”
What is the law that was engraved on stones? This is not just talking about part of the law, but it actually refers to the tablets of stone - the 10 commandments - the old covenant. Keep reading.
“9For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. 10For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. 11For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.”
Wow, the old covenant was good. It had glory, but it has come to have no glory at all because of what we have now. Again we see a contrast to the 10 commandments and the Spirit. But what is the spirit? Is it the spirit of the law? Keep reading.
“12 Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, 13and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. 14But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. 15But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; 16but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”
Wow, focusing on the old covenant is not beneficial to us. Remember what Exodus 34 says “28So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. 29It came about when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him.”
Exodus comes right out and says that the 10 commandments were the words of the covenant. This is what we are warned about focusing on here in 2 Corinthians 3. 2 Corinthians 3 directly warns us that focusing on the law will cause a veil to be upon our hearts. Remember how this chapter started out by saying we have confidence? We can’t have confidence in the law or our law keeping. Our adequacy is from God according to 2 Corinthians 3. Focusing on what the Bible calls the Ministy of Death will veil the Gospel. The Gospel of grace does not require law-keeping. Requiring law-keeping to be saved or to stay saved obscures the Gospel. Because with the Gospel our adequacy comes from God! But, but, but it is talking about the spirit of the law, right? Let’s keep reading in 2 Corinthians 3…
” 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
The Spirit referred to thoughout 2 Corinthians 3 is not the spirit of the law, but the Holy Spirit. I have not found “spirit of the law” anywhere in the Bible. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is such much more than following a law. The law condemns. The Spirit gives life! Notice what it says here - the Spirit gives liberty! So in 2 Corinthians 3 we find the 10 commandments contrasted with something new. We find the 10 commandments as something we should not focus on. We find that the Gospel can be veiled to those focusing on the 10 commandments. We find that the way of the Spirit is one of adequacy and one of liberty. We find that the Spirit is none other than God Himself.
Now, is it wrong to steal or kill? Of course, but not because of the 10 commandments. If you do uphold the 10 commandments as for the new covenant Christian is that what prevents you from stealing or killing? Or could it be the Holy Spirit?
I’d like to also respond to Martin Weber’s statement
“We are not saved by keeping the law, but the life of faith will make us faithful. Believers become fully devoted disciples, being drawn into harmony with God’s Ten Commandments so that the “righteousness of the law will be fulfilled in us” (Romans 8:3-4). Whereas ceremonial laws are done away with in the NT, God’s eternal law remains to test the genuineness of our faith. And so we read in 1 Corinthians 7:19: “Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters.””
Please provide evidence for your claim that new covenant believers will become in harmony with the 10 commandments.
You quoted Romans 8. If you look at it in it’s entirety you will again see the same theme as 2 Corinthians 3.
“1Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. ”
Again there is that contrast between the law and the Spirit. Is this the spirit of the law? Keep reading.
“3For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
The righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in us NOT by following the 10 commandments! It says the opposite!!
“5For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
The law was written for people in the flesh - people who were not born again. No one could keep the law. Condemnation abounded.
“9However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”
Again the way of the Spirit is not talking about the essence of the law, but the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is essential to the believer.
“10If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
Wow, the same theme. The Holy Spirit is what is essential to the Christian. Again here in Romans 8 the law is described as the old way.
1 Corinthians 7 is also quoted in Martin Weber’s response. It describes how keeping the commandments of God matters. It sure does, but are our commands the old covenant commands - the commands of the Torah - the commands in the 10 commandments? The commands given to New Covenant Christians is defined in the new covenant. 1 John 3 says
“21Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;
22and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
23This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.
24The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”
Commandments are specifically defined here and they are not the 10 commandments. Our commands are simple - believe in Jesus and love one another.
And love? It goes beyond not stealing. It goes beyond not killing. Love is the more excellent way. Keeping the commandments of God are very important. Keeping the 10 commandments is no more important than wearing tassels on your robe. The old covenant with all it’s requirements is the old way. The new covenant is just that - NEW! It is not the old re-written. It is not just written in a new place. The ministry of death has passed into the ministry of the Spirit. The law of the Spirit of life versus the ministry of death - what a contrast. The ministry of death should have no role in a believer’s life. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty!
Today my 5 year old son was distraught. He lost a toy yesterday and after much searching he could not find it. I took him aside and told him that God cared about his little toy. I asked him if he wanted to pray for God to help him find the toy. So with tears streaming down his face he simply asked God to help him find his toy. Within 5 minutes his toy was found! He was so incredibly happy. We stopped and he thanked God with a simple prayer. This time the tears coming down his face were tears of happiness. Later that day he came to me to tell me of a song he made up in the bathroom. He sang it to me. “God made me. God made me. God made me. God made me. God made me.” It was a simple song sung with a sweet voice. I praise God for revealing Himself to my child.
My 6 year old lost two computer games that he received for his 6th birthday. They had been packed during a move and after much searching we were unable to locate them. We stopped and prayed and suggested that we be quiet and listen to hear any ideas that God gave us. My son told me that he thought they were in a small box across the room. I told him we had already looked in that box. I asked him why he thought they were in that box and he told me that God told him. So off to the box we went. And there they were! Both missing games were there in a box I had already searched. We stopped and thanked God. Boy was my son happy. I think I was happier though. Happy that my son heard from God. Happy that my son saw that God was real.
I love it when my kids lose things!
Storms in life come to us all. News headlines tell of job losses, foreclosures, budget cuts, and homelessness. It is one thing to hear the news and another to have it hit home with you. How can you have peace when the storm is raging? How can you have peace when you don’t know what you are going to do? Jesus said we should not worry.
25″For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26″Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
27″And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
28″And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
30″But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
31″Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’
32″For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33″But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34″So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
It is God’s will that we not worry. It is God’s will that we be at peace. How is this peace achieved? How do we find peace in the middle of a storm in life? Paul shares in Phillipians how he was able to be content when not having enough food to eat.
12I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
13I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
It is God who gives us strength. Isn’t God great? When times are tough not only does He not want us to worry, but He gives us the strength to get through the tough times. He wants us to have peace. How does He give us the strength? The Bible tells us that as well. In Ephesians 3 Paul is describing how God gives us strength.
14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
15from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,
16that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
19and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
20Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
21to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
He strengthens us through the Holy Spirit. If you have been born again and filled with the Spirit you can have peace in the storm. Are you feeling worried about your circumstances? Know that God is able to do abundantly above and beyond all we can ask or think. When that worry rises up in you go to the Bible and read what God says and give that worry to God. He doesn’t want you to have it. Pray, present your requests to God, and rest. Resting means you cast off your worry and trust that He has the problem worked out. Worry is natural and when it comes don’t let it stay. Resting in Christ is the best spiritual warfare you can do.
Phillipians 4 sums it all up
6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
You can have peace in the storm. You can find freedom from worry. Focus on what God says. Bills will come and talk to you and ask you whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do? Bring the bill to God and ask for wisdom and provision. Then rest in Him. He is faithful. He will bring you through the storm. And remember He is able to do above and beyond all you can ask or think.
What must I do to be saved? What a question! Someone in the Bible asked that very question. In Acts 16 it says
29Then [the jailer] called for lights and rushed in, and trembling and terrified he fell down before Paul and Silas.
30And he brought them out [of the dungeon] and said, Men, what is it necessary for me to do that I may be saved?
31And they answered, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ [give yourself up to Him, take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself into His keeping] and you will be saved, [and this applies both to] you and your household as well.
32And they declared the Word of the Lord [the doctrine concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God] to him and to all who were in his house.
33And he took them the same hour of the night and bathed [them because of their bloody] wounds, and he was baptized immediately and all [the members of] his [household].
34Then he took them up into his house and set food before them; and he leaped much for joy and exulted with all his family that he believed in God [accepting and joyously welcoming what He had made known through Christ].
The answer was simple. Believe. You don’t have a list of rules to do to be saved. You don’t have to change your life to be saved. You are required to give yourself to Christ. This belief is not believing that Christ exists. There are plenty of people in churches that believe Christ exists, yet they have not been saved. As the Amplifed Bible puts it - give yourself to Him. Take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself to His keeping. What does that mean?
You are no longer dependent on yourself. You are dependent on Christ. You not only believe He exists, but you invite Him into your life as Lord.
Does this mean you need to give up your vices? Do I need to stop smoking or lying or cheating to come to Christ? No. Come just as you are with all the sin that is in your life. When you come to Christ and accept Him as Lord you receive a gift. This gift is invaluable. You receive the Holy Spirit who is God Himself! The Holy Spirit comes and lives in you. It is He who will change your actions and behavior.
Do you want to be saved? Do you want to experience peace that passes understanding?
1. Acknowledge that you are a sinner. The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short. No man on earth is without fault. There is no way that you can be perfect to be saved by your own actions. John 3 says
18He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation--he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ's name.]
The Bible says that those who do not believe in Jesus are condemned. Jesus is the only way to salvation. Why? Sin came into the world when Adam and Eve refused to trust God. This sin caused a separation between God and mankind. God wanted to reunite with his creation so He came to earth and lived as a man. This Jesus lived a sinless life. He died an innocent man. He took the sin, pain, and sickness of the world on Him and paid the punishment for the sins of the world. He did this so you wouldn’t have to. He did this because he didn’t want to be separate from his beloved creation. He wanted a relationship with you.
2. Accept Jesus into your life. Decide to put your trust in Him and tell Him. How? There is no magic formula or special prayer. Just talk to God. Tell Him you want to give Him your life. Speak from your heart. He is there with you.
3. Rest. There is no more to do to be saved. He lives in you. He will guide you. Start reading the Bible. The New Testament is a great place to start. If you don’t know a church to go to give me a shout and I’ll recommend a couple for you.
Salvation is the greatest gift and it is available to you today. Not sure about it? Talk to God. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you. He is there loving you.
I died once. I died when I came to Christ. Colossians 3 says “3For [as far as this world is concerned] you have died, and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God.” Born again is more than mere religious terminology. Being born again is a recreation. Your old sinful self has died along with the condemnation you deserved.
John 3 says 3Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God.
4Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother’s womb again and be born?
5Jesus answered, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and [even] the Spirit, he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God.(A)
6What is born of [from] the flesh is flesh [of the physical is physical]; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7Marvel not [do not be surprised, astonished] at My telling you, You must all be born anew (from above).
8The wind blows (breathes) where it wills; and though you hear its sound, yet you neither know where it comes from nor where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born again. Jesus describes 2 births - a physical birth of water and a spiritual birth of spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh. When you were born of your mother you came forth from a sack of waters. When a person is born again it is not their flesh that is born, but their spirit. It is the inner man that is changed when the Holy Spirit comes and resides in the person. A person who is born again still lives in a body of sin and faces temptations and trials. But that reborn spirit is as clean and pure as a newborn baby. No sin exists in that reborn spirit. Why? It all comes down to identity.
1 Corinthians 1 says 28And God also selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is lowborn and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose and bring to nothing the things that are,
29So that no mortal man should [have pretense for glorying and] boast in the presence of God.
30But it is from Him that you have your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, [revealed to us a knowledge of the divine plan of salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as] our Righteousness [thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God], and our Consecration [making us pure and holy], and our Redemption [providing our ransom from eternal penalty for sin].
31So then, as it is written, Let him who boasts and proudly rejoices and glories, boast and proudly rejoice and glory in the Lord.(B)
As a new creation, as a born again Christian we have our identity in Christ. Christ is our righteousness. Christ is our holiness. There is nothing we can do to get more righteous or more holy. Doing good or being good won’t gain us any points. A born again Christian is fully righteous and fully holy. Why? Because the righteousness and holiness a Christian possesses are Christ’s. Jesus won’t become unrighteous. Jesus won’t become unholy. This magnificent gift was given to all who accept Jesus.
I realize some must be saying…wait…wait…wait. What about behavior? Doesn’t this give me a license to sin? If you look at it that way, then yes. You can sin, but sin has consequences. The consequences of sin are not a loss of your salvation. Ephesians says that we are saved by grace through faith and not by works. Our works, good or bad, don’t impact our salvation. However, our works will impact our life. If we hurt others, there are natural consequences. If we kill someone, there are consequences. The Bible talks about being rewarded for works. We are rewarded in heaven for our good works on earth. Our reward is not salvation. Salvation is a gift - a reward is earned.
Our old life is gone. We died. Our new life is hidden in Him. And what a glorious life that is. Life with the Master is life abundant. No matter what the circumstances in life, we can have assurance that we belong to Him and He is in us. He is there with us. We do not stand condemned. There is no condemnation for those in Christ. In Christ we have a beautiful clean spirit. Don’t let anyone try and put a yoke on you that you must do x and y to keep your salvation. Salvation is a gift. A regenerated spirit is life anew. You can’t change Christ’s righteousness. You can’t change Christ’s holiness. Your salvation is safe in Him.
Freedom! In the western hemisphere that word is often used to describe our freedom to follow our dreams and live without religious persecution. However, that is not the freedom I am referring to. I am talking about freedom found in Him. In Galatians 5:1 AMP it says “IN [this] freedom Christ has made us free [and completely liberated us]; stand fast then, and do not be hampered and held ensnared and submit again to a yoke of slavery [which you have once put off].” Christ has made us free and He does not want us to live under the yoke of slavery.
What is this yoke that is referred to in Galatians? If you back up to chapter 4 we read “22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondmaid and one by the free woman. 23But whereas the child of the slave woman was born according to the flesh and had an ordinary birth, the son of the free woman was born in fulfillment of the promise. 24Now all this is an allegory; these [two women] represent two covenants. One covenant originated from Mount Sinai [where the Law was given] and bears [children destined] for slavery; this is Hagar. “ 25Now Hagar is (stands for) Mount Sinai in Arabia and she corresponds to and belongs in the same category with the present Jerusalem, for she is in bondage together with her children.”
The covenant that originated on Mount Sinai was not just the sacrificial system and the ordinances for Israel, but the 10 commandments. The Bible actually refers to the 10 commandments as the words of the covenant in Exodus 34:28 “Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he ate no bread and drank no water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.”
The Bible refers to the 10 commandments engraved on stone as the ministry of death. In 1 Corinthians 3 it says “7Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, 8will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!” The Bible states that the law, including the 10 commandments, brings death. The law condemns me. How do I know that as a Christian I am no longer under the law?
Romans 10 says “3For being ignorant of the righteousness that God ascribes [which makes one acceptable to Him in word, thought, and deed] and seeking to establish a righteousness (a means of salvation) of their own, they did not obey or submit themselves to God’s righteousness. 4For Christ is the end of the Law [the limit at which it ceases to be, for the Law leads up to Him Who is the fulfillment of its types, and in Him the purpose which it was designed to accomplish is fulfilled. That is, the purpose of the Law is fulfilled in Him] as the means of righteousness (right relationship to God) for everyone who trusts in and adheres to and relies on Him.” Christ fulfilled the law. It came to an end with His sacrifice on the cross. Jesus fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the Law for me. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-18 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18“For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. “
Jesus did not come to remove the law, but to fulfill the righteous requirements of the law. He was the only one who could keep the law perfectly. Not one portion of the law was to become unenforced until all was fulfilled. Most Christians believe the sacrificial system and the civil laws governing the Israelites were fulfilled at the cross, but still uphold the 10 commandments as God’s eternal law. However, Jesus said not one portion of the law would pass away until all was fulfilled. If one part of the law still applies to us then the whole thing does.
Hebrew 9 says “11But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, 14how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” Jesus put an end to the sacrificial system once and for all with His blood.
But wait, doesn’t Romans 3:31 say that we establish the law? Doesn’t the Bible say that the commandments were holy? Yes and yes. The law was made by God. God is just and the law was just. However, no one was able to meet the righteous requirements of the law - only Jesus did. Jesus came and fulfilled the law as required by God. He did what no man could do. God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus as punishment for our sins. To require anything on top of what the law required Jesus to do would be unjust. Jesus paid it all. To require my works on top of that would be unjust. We uphold and establish the law since Jesus fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the law. Because He did it - we did too since we are in Him. The law used to condemn us, but we have fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the law through Him. The Father accepted the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins as portrayed in the law. By establishing the law we are upholding what Jesus did. He fulfilled the law!
The law was to point out sin and was put in place until Christ. Romans 7:6 says “6But now we are discharged from the Law and have terminated all intercourse with it, having died to what once restrained and held us captive. So now we serve not under [obedience to] the old code of written regulations, but [under obedience to the promptings] of the Spirit in newness [of life].”
So what now? Are we free from all the commandments in the law? Are we free to do whatever we want now? We are free from any condemnation, but we are not without a guide. Romans 8 says “1THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death. 3For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice], 4So that the righteous and just requirement of the Law might be fully met in us who live and move not in the ways of the flesh but in the ways of the Spirit [our lives governed not by the standards and according to the dictates of the flesh, but controlled by the Holy Spirit]. 5For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit.”
The old covenant way is to live your life according to the standards in the law. The new covenant way is to live your life according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. When you are born again the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in you. In Romans 8 it says “8So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him. 9But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of God [really] dwells within you [directs and controls you]. But if anyone does not possess the [Holy] Spirit of Christ, he is none of His [he does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God]. 10But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you].”
As a Christian who has been born again and filled with His Spirit you no longer are controlled by rules and regulations, but by the leading of His Spirit within you. What about the 10 commandments? Does that mean we can kill or steal or hurt others? Of course not. The very One who set the commandments in stone lives within you guiding you.
A person led by the Spirit will fulfill the law of Christ. What is the law of Christ? 1 John 3 says “23And this is His order (His command, His injunction): that we should believe in (put our faith and trust in and adhere to and rely on) the name of His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and that we should love one another, just as He has commanded us. 24All who keep His commandments [who obey His orders and follow His plan, live and continue to live, to stay and] abide in Him, and He in them. [[They let Christ be a home to them and they are the home of Christ.] And by this we know and understand and have the proof that He [really] lives and makes His home in us: by the [Holy] Spirit Whom He has given us.”
We are to believe in Jesus and walk in love to others. If I love someone will I kill him? No. If I love someone will I steal from him? Of course not. A person can follow the 10 commandments to the letter without demonstrating any love. Love goes far and above any written code. As a Christian we now have the ability to show agape or the God-kind of love because Christ dwells in us. The ability to show agape love is only through Him within us. His love shines out in our actions and in our words. His love is present within us. He is present within us. A Christian should not listen to their flesh, but to the Spirit as He guides in all our interactions with people. A Christian can keep the 10 commandments, but be devoid of love. Love is the new way. Upholding the letter of the law is inferior to the new way.
Freedom!! Freedom in Christ. I am no longer under the law. I am not under any condemnation. Galatians 2 says “9For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” As someone who was once bound by legalism I can boldly shout “FREEDOM!”. Freedom in Christ is free from “thou shalt nots” and filled with love. Now my role is to walk in love to all and to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
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