As a Christian, do you keep God's law? Do you break His law?
The answer to both is "no!"
As a Christian, do I keep God's law (am I a law-keeper)? You might see me walking righteously - not stealing, not committing adultery, honoring my parents, loving my neighbor as myself, etc, and you might say, "See, you're keeping God's laws!" To which I'd say, "No, I'm not!" I'm not looking to God's law as the source of my righteous living at all. Rather, what you see is an expression of the Life of Christ in me. I'm not following the law, I'm not keeping the law. What you see is me walking according to the Spirit of Christ who lives in me and who is my life.
As a Christian do I break God's law (am I a law-breaker)? You might see me doing unrighteous things - stealing, committing adultery (Matthew 5:28, anyone?), not honoring my parents, not loving my neighbor as myself, etc, and you might say, "See, you're breaking God's laws!" To which I'd say, "No, I'm not!" What you see is an expression of my flesh acting out in independence, rather than
me walking according to my true identity in Christ and my union with Him.
In Christ I'm not a law keeper and I'm not a law breaker. I have
died to the law. The only way I could "live to God" in the first place was to
die to the law! How can I 'keep' or 'break' what I've died to? In fact that old written code was "wiped out." It was
against me (no matter how well I kept it or how badly I broke it), and God took it out of the way, removing it completely. He
nailed it to the cross. My life is no longer defined by law keeping or law breaking. My life is now defined by the
Life of Christ in me, and nothing else! How has this become one of the church's best kept
secrets???
Col 2:13-14
13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
Gal 2:19-21
19 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."
