Therefore, my brethren, you too were compelled to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might join another, the One who rose from the dead, so that we might bear fruit for God (Romans 7). :4, New American Standard Bible).
At salvation, we spiritually die with Jesus. As a result, we die to life based on the law and are united with the risen Christ. This is how we bear fruit for God.
LIE #1: Christians are free from part of the law, but not all of the law.
Some claim that we believers die for a part of the Law, but we are still under the Ten Commandments.
Is this true?
It is relatively easy to accept that the rules about pork and shellfish and ceremonial washings do not apply to Christians today. But it is much more difficult to set aside the Ten Commandments as our “source” or “guide” for daily life.
Many argue that when Paul says we are dead to the law and not under the law, he is excluding the moral law (the Ten Commandments). But in Romans 7, we see the argument disappear out of the water:
I would not have known how to covet if the Law had not said, “Thou shalt not covet.” But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, produced in me all covetousness; for without the law sin is dead. (Romans 7:7b-8).
Paul’s concern here is his covetousness and his inability to obey the command, “Thou shalt not covet.” Obviously, the greedy command is one of the Ten Commandments.
So, here, Paul is referring to the moral law, and points out that sin takes opportunity through the commandment. What commandment? The commandment of greed, of course. In other words, if you live by the Ten Commandments, you are giving sin a chance to thrive in your life!
And notice Paul’s solution to his problem of covetousness: “for without the law sin is dead” (Romans 7:8).
Paul is instructing us that we as believers need to live apart from the Law (which here includes the Ten Commandments) in order to find true victory over sin, we need to trust the indwelling Christ in our struggles, whether they be covetousness, lies, lust or any other moral issue.
Therefore, it is not “more Moses.” For the believer, he is Jesus, and nothing else, 100 percent natural, without additives!
Now, if it makes you nervous as a Christian to loosen your grip on the Ten Commandments, consider this: Do you really believe that the Spirit of God would ever lead you to lie or commit adultery or murder someone anyway? Of course not!
So here’s the bottom line: The Ten Commandments are not the source of our morality. And the Ten Commandments are not the goal of the Christian life either. Knowing Christ is the source, and knowing Christ is the goal (Philippians 3:8).
The natural byproduct of knowing Jesus is that we will bear the fruit of his Spirit, which includes self-control. Therefore, trusting in Jesus alone can and will lead us to a righteous and godly life that pleases God in a way that life under the Ten Commandments never could.
LIE #2: The Ten Commandments are God’s glorious and best way
There is even more clarity on the subject of the moral law. In 2 Corinthians, Paul tells us that the Ten Commandments, a ministry set in stone, is a “ministry of death” and a “ministry of damnation” that “has no glory” now compared to Christ.
new covenant ministry
And if the ministry of death engraved with letters on stones was with glory, so much so that the children of Israel could not fix their eyes on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, which was to perish, how could it not be rather with glory the ministry of the spirit? For if the ministry of condemnation was with glory, much more will the ministry of justification abound in glory. For even what was glorious is not glorious in this respect, in comparison with the most eminent glory. (2 Corinthians 3:7-10).
Only ten of the requirements of the Law were engraved in stone: the Ten Commandments. So here Paul is clearly referring to the moral law, the Big Ten. So why would we want to stand firmly in a ministry that now has no glory compared to what Jesus Christ has brought us in the new covenant, a ministry of righteousness?
LIE #3: Christians cannot define sin without the Ten Commandments
A frequently asked question is: “Without the Law, how can we define sin in the life of a believer?” That question deserves another: Can you imagine what it would be like to actually define sin using the Law today? There would be 613 flavors of sin. Eating pork or shellfish would be a sin. Sitting in a “dirty” chair would be a sin. Sending work emails on Friday night would be a sin. Lawn care on Saturday would be a sin. We don’t even realize what we are asking for when we think we need the Law to define sin for us as believers.
The life lived by the Spirit is far from nebulous. The New Testament is full of instructions on the attitudes and actions that Christ is working in us. And if there is any doubt, Paul reminds us that “everything that does not come from faith [en Jesucristo] it is sin” (Romans 14:23).
Therefore, there is no need to go digging through Leviticus looking for random, picky definitions of sin for today’s believer.
Yes, the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God from Genesis to Revelation, but context matters. We must read the Old Testament with our “New Covenant glasses,” since we are led by the Spirit and not under the Law (Galatians 5:18).
Isn’t Jesus enough?
Law and conscience are perfect for convicting unbelievers of their slavery to sin and their need for Jesus (1 Timothy 1:8-10). And while we were under the law, we also experienced sin “of every kind.”
But now, as New Testament believers, we are designed to live apart from the law. (Romans 7:8). As believers, we die to the Law—including the Ten Commandments—so that we can “bear fruit for God” (Romans 7:4).
We have Jesus Christ dwelling within us. He is more than enough to inspire us, and his grace is worthy of our trust.
Because the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and piously in the present age (Titus 2:11-12, NASB).
Adapted from the new best-selling book “Twisted Scripture: 45 Lies Christians Have Been Told You” by Andrew Farley.
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