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Am I Lawless?

By Rev. & Evang. John Caesar, (January 5th, 2006)
Christian-Way Gospel Outreach

Today, we live in a society where Christians pick and choose their lifestyles and do as they please according to their own sub-philosophies. Many are taught from social norms to be unrestrained in their thinking and personal ethics. The same situation has plagued the church for centuries. One of the biggest problems with Christians today is that we pick and choose biblical laws and principles that suit our own personal ideas without clearly balancing interpretation of scripture in context with its historical significance connected to "idioms" of language used at the specific timeframe. Nor do many people review the literal or figurative meanings of words and sentences in the bible to find their correct meanings.

Many Christians often chose scriptures to suit their own liberal or legalistic self concepts. In turn, they contort them into a new Gospel that separates valid Jewish traditions and Mosaic understanding. Many interpret the bible from 'here and now standards", rather than research and connect significant historical facts with the usage of ideas of that timeframe. An example of this problem is the "Lawless Grace" concept.

The Answers.com Dictionary defines lawless as being unrestrained by law or not governed by law. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, names religious lawlessness as antinomianism. In this theological concept there is the idea that members of a particular religious group are under no obligation to obey the laws of ethics or morality as presented by religious authorities. It is also described as being irresponsible in the Grace-covenant given by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Within the doctrinal concept of Lawless Grace, a Christian gets their name cleared of sin and is free to practice sin, make mistakes, and never strive to mature in Christ. In essence, they just live their life the "best way that they know how" with the Ten Commandments being only a rule of thumb because God's grace is a safety net to ask for forgiveness and repent later. The art of questioning clear right and wrong or do's and don'ts as if it was not literal truth is often a behavior exhibited by them (Genesis 3:1). Some believe that the Mosaic Law does not apply to them, while others believe that it was abolished with only the New Testament books to follow as a relative guide. Many of them are also afraid of the concept of being "Holy" like GOD. Yes, many so called Christians follow this doctrine knowingly or unknowingly. It is obvious from both secular definitions and New Testament scripture that this concept is lawlessness (Deuteronomy 19:15, Mathew 18:16b, II Corinthians 13:1b).

Perversion of Scriptures

The following scriptures in "Romans 3:23-28, Ephesians 2:15, and Colossians 2:13-14 are often used in support of lawless Christian lifestyles. Even the defining of the word lawless Christian lifestyles does not make sense with what is known as a true Christian lifestyle.

Now if you cut these verses off here, certainly some would think that the laws of GOD are bad things and we do not need to follow laws or have good works to please GOD. It is true that following the Ten Commandments will not save a person. It only reflects our inability to keep them because we all sin, however it does not make void of the consequences of sin if we break them. Living by faith does not infer living unregulated in our without personal ethics. We as Christians are neither above the law nor immune to the consequences of breaking the natural and supernatural laws of God.

Jesus said that he came to fulfill the law, not abolish it. (Matthew 5:17-18). If he said this, then today, why are some Christians transgressing something that has not been abolished. He did not come to die so we could break the commandments or live apart from them.

Verse 31 of the 3rd Chapter of Romans, clearly refutes the idea that the law has been abolished. People also try to use Romans 7:6 to say that we have been released from obeying the Laws of God. But don't stop there, read the next scripture and chapter if you like.

Romans 7:7 "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." (KJV)

It is our sin that is main problem here. Not the Law. As Christians, we have a greater responsibility to follow God's laws by obeying his Spirit in us (Romans 7:6).

In Galatians 5:14 for the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment, namely, "You must love your neighbor as yourself."

This is why Jesus said he kept his father's commandments and we should keep his commandments if we love him (John 15:10). Love does not oppress (I Corinthians 13 chapter). God's laws reflect His love. If we follow them, they will reflect Him in us. If we want to abolish His Laws, it reflects "our lack of love".

James 2:10-11 KJV
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, do not commit adultery, said also, do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.

Holy, who me?

On a website, The Temple Institute, they define "holy" as being "set apart to the service of God." As Christians, our life too is supposed to be set apart to GOD. If we walk in the Holy Spirit of Christ and crucify our fleshly passions, and allow Christ to live through us and bear fruits, then the law cannot harm us because Jesus is keeping the law inside of us (Galatians 5:22-25).

What are we doing when we follow Paul's letter to the Galatians church? Umm. Sounds like being holy to me. Yah, that's it:

Romans 8:3-4 KJV
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Romans 6:13 KJV
"Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God."

Obviously, this means that some effort on our part has to be done to become Holy. You have to be able to obey God's commandment to "Be Holy as He is Holy" (Lev. 11:44 and I Peter 1:16). Why does GOD want us to be Holy? It does not please GOD when we still practice sin or are purposely being ignorant of it. He wants us to be mature in him, so we can accomplish his will on this earth. We cannot do his will effectively, if we do not set apart lives for him to work in us.

We are called to live for Him not our past transgressions against His laws. We benefit by following God's laws. Transgressing God's laws still has hefty penalties, even for Christians. Paul wrote that all things are lawful but not profitable (1Cor 6:12). This is a balanced spiritual concept to follow when living the Christian life. We need to continue to try to overcome sinful habits and genetic generational curses with God's help. It is not that we are perfect, but we have the responsibility to keep striving in his power to be Holy (Philippians Chapter 3).

What was nailed to the Cross?

Two other misused Scriptures are Ephesians 2:15 which states "Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, [even] the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances," and Colossians 2:14 where they state that the " handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross (KJV). Many wrongly interpret this as meaning that the Mosaic laws of God were nailed to the cross.

So what was nailed to the cross? The Law (First 5 books of the OT)? Absolutely not. That would be like saying, "the rules of the road and stop signs are evil, so we must get rid of them". No. The enmity in the law and handwriting of ordinances means that our transgressions against the law were nailed on the cross.

In Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (because it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"( KJV). He took our place of judgment. Thank you Jesus! Amen. We deserve judgment, but God has wiped away our transgressions. He did not die so we could break the Ten Commandments! If we do we are sinning against GOD. When we break one law, the whole law is broken (James 2:10).

Live Righteous? What about Heb 8:10-13 (Grace Covenant)? The covenant of Grace does not imply abolishing the whole Law. Nor does it infer living unregulated lives apart from God's Holy commandments. It implies that the rituals that deal with sacrifice for our sins were abolished. Jesus Christ is our High Priest and sacrifice. (Read the whole chapter in context.) He puts God's laws inside of us (Romans 7:22). True biblical Grace can be described as God's unwarranted pardon of our sins because we transgressed the laws of God. Obedience of the Law does not merit salvation. It is only by our acknowledgement of sin, repentance of sins, and trusting in the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: - his death on behalf of our sins, resurrection from the dead and infilling of his Holy Spirit is we saved by Grace.

Living in God's Grace is not purposely disobeying God's Laws or making up your own rules. Nor is it only receiving messages from the Spirit realm. God's Holy Spirit and his truth (bible) work together to bring about a balance in our lives. They act as a moral compasses pointing back to our Creator's ways. God's word and the Holy Spirit serve as mirrors to show what is wrong in our lives so we can repent and ask him to help us in those areas, then apply it the world around us. Jesus was not against the Law and the Holy Spirit has not and will not lead us against His Laws. Think about it. Who would? Not a spirit of the living God for sure.

So does this mean, I cannot sin anymore?

The right question should be, "How can I sin less"? We are still in a sinful body. We also have the devil and the fallen world warring against our bodies, souls, and minds. However, Christians also have God's nature and Spirit dwelling in them to help them overcome (1 John 4:4 and 5:5). All Christians may "fall into sin or struggle with sin inside themselves", but we should not be trying to practice it as an art or make excuses for it. We are justified by faith, but how is your faith proved if you do not live it by practicing it. Obviously, if we choose to sin, a true Christian is going to be convicted and will reap the consequences of the sin (Hebrews 12:3-11). If we sin. We "all" must repent of it, in order to be forgiven and strive to overcome it with Christ's help (1 John 1:1-5 and 2:1-2, 29). Furthermore, the right attitude for understanding God's laws are found in Psalms 119.

Perhaps some Christians do not like the Law because they would rather live in sin. We need to live righteous before God. How? I'll repeat this, by allowing the Spirit of God to live inside of us and help us overcome carnal habits that lead to death (Romans Chapter 8). Another tell all scripture is Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lived in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God" (KJV).

There is no way that we can become righteous through our own works or just following the Law. To God our righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6 and Ezekiel 33:13). It is only by faith in God's Grace that we are righteous and have the ability through him to walk in righteousness (Rom. 1:17). Christians should look to the Law as if it was a mirror helping reveal what is wrong in their lives. The Law defines what righteousness is since sin occurs when it is disobeyed.

Clearly the ritualistic aspects of the Law have been changed because of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. (Acts Ch 10, Eph. 2:15, Heb. 9:10,& 10:8-9). But the "moral aspect" of the Law outlined in the Ten Commandments are still to be obeyed, applied, and balanced with love, mercy, and common sense (John 14:14and Mark 2:23-28). We are under a new covenant of Grace, but it has nothing to do with living and unregulated lifestyle apart from morality.

Conclusion If we take an honest look at the immoral state of personal ethics in today's Christian church, we can see the effects of this Lawless Grace concept. The New Testament outlines similar problems in its letters written to the early churches. So we cannot play dumb and speculate about what the bible is clearly saying to us. Obviously, we do not have a license to sin. (Romans 6). Practicing sin and making up our own religious freedoms apart from God's laws is transgression of God's Grace for us. (1 John 3:2-8) Not obeying God's laws written in our hearts is a greater sin. Again, Jesus did not suffer and die so we could break his commandments or grieve his Holy Spirit. We all need to ask ourselves, "are we lawless"? Why? For this reason: Matthew 7:21-22 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven – only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do many powerful deeds?' 7:23 Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers! (Net Bible)

No one wants to think they were saved and end up cast into Hell before the Judgment seat of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you feel a heart tug from the Holy Spirit, then hear the voice of GOD calling across the ages: Revelations 18:4 "Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, so you will not take part in her sins and so you will not receive her plagues"( Net Bible). The Strongs Concordance translates the Greek word "ekklesia" or church as "the called out ones" (2 Timothy 1:9 and 1 Peter 2:9). The false church is spreading "do as you feel" salvation messages without consequences. As a result, many have gone to Hell, while others still suffer torment on earth because they do not stop practicing sin.

Bottom line Everyone must do this to be saved from Hell and eternal damnation:" acknowledge you are a sinner, repent of your sins, believe that Jesus Christ is the son of GOD, that He died for your sins on the cross and He rose from the dead, and then allow Him to fill us with his Holy Spirit". To live a successful Christian life: "obey the Holy Spirit and God's commandments (OT&NT)". Amen.

By Rev. & Evang. John Caesar,
Christian-Way Gospel Outreach