Romans Chapter 6

In chapter 6 Paul begins to explain the second cornerstone of our foundation in faith---Sanctification. This teaching will help us get further established in grace and thus avoid being tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine....  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; (Eph. 4:14). Now the word sanctification is not used in Romans 6-8; however, it is used in II Thess. 2:13 and explained in detail in Romans…But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:   

Chapter 6 is also the KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE GRACE LIFE. Failure to comprehend or understand what Paul is teaching about sanctification necessarily means that your life as a saint will be misdirected and unprofitable. This chapter will explain why people are having such a hard time “living the Christian life”. There are books galore giving “Christians” a thousand ways to have victory over certain sins.

A good scriptural definition for sanctification is---a new identity or “set apart position” given to the believer at the point of his/her belief of the gospel of Christ. (II Cor. 5:17). This new position is not dependent upon the believer’s BEHAVIOR or the struggle with progressively becoming less and less sinful or more and more holy. Sanctification is the “operation of God” (Col. 2:12-13…Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. [13] And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;) whereby the Holy Spirit “baptizes” the new believer into the death of Christ thereby giving the believer a new identity or new position. The new believer is no longer “In Adam”; he/she is placed “In Christ”. This operation by the Holy Spirit is an “unseen” and “unfelt” act whereby the believer is “joined to Christ”… For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. (Eph. 5:30). This “baptism” does not involve water, a pastor or a church ceremony. It is the work of the Holy Spirit spiritually uniting the believer to Christ… For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. [13] For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.  (I Cor. 12:12-13)

Being saved does not eradicate the sin nature in us. But God wants us to understand the complex way our body, soul and spirit interacts with each other as believers. We can never improve or eliminate the sin nature.

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (I Thess. 5:23)

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. (Gal. 5:17)

I believe that the grace doctrine of sanctification is the second most misunderstood doctrine next to justification. These two doctrines are “assurance doctrines”.

Sanctification is generally taught to mean becoming a little less sinful or to become more holy. “Christian leaders” link justification and sanctification to PERFORMANCE. They attribute this thought to God because man in his pride nature wants to do something that makes him acceptable to God. They do not want to come to the same conclusion that Paul expresses in Romans chapters one and two---all men are worthy of the wrath of God because they are incapable of pleasing God to the degree that He requires. Holiness linked to performance is what religion is all about and it leads to instability in life.

Sanctification simply means “to separate” or “to set apart”. It does not mean to become progressively more holy or progressively less sinful or to eradicate our sin nature. Let’s see how these definitions work out in scripture:

Inanimate objects can be sanctified. Ex. 40:10-11… And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy. [11] And thou shalt anoint the laver and his foot, and sanctify it. Do inanimate objects have a sin nature? Obviously not. Can an altar or a laver become progressively less sinful? No.

Ex. 19:23… And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.  Was Moses to take sin out of the mountain? No

People can sanctify themselves without any act of divine intervention. Ex. 19:22… And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them. Sanctification is dependent on the one who is doing the setting apart. Sanctification does not mean that the priests were to progressively become more holy or progressively less sinful.

Babies can be sanctified. Ex. 13:2… Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine. Were the firstborn babies to become progressively holy or were to eliminate their sin nature, root and branch? No! They were set apart for the purposes of belonging to the Lord.

One man can sanctify another man. Ex. 19:10… And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,  These people were worshipping an idol; they were not becoming progressively holy. Moses was instructed to set apart other men for God’s purpose.

People can sanctify themselves---to do evil. Isa. 66:17… They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.

The word “saints” is a neutral word that can be used in the context of good or bad; it simply means set apart ones. Paul even called the carnal Corinthians “saints” because they were set apart to the gospel of Christ. Most of us chose to call ourselves “Christians” today because we are followers of Christ. However, technically they are not saints because they have not been set apart to Paul’s gospel---the gospel of Christ. In fact, the “Christians” that I meet have either never heard of the work of reconciliation where we learn that our sins were imputed to Christ and forgiven 2,000 years ago or they will not submit themselves unto the righteousness of Christ and go about to establish their own righteousness while calling themselves “followers of Christ” (Christians). The title Christian does not make a person a believer in Paul’s gospel and therefore they are lost (II Cor. 4:3). Their behavior does not make them a believer of Paul’s gospel; their church attendance does not make them a believer of Paul’s gospel. Their attitudes and actions, though modeled after Christ does not make them a saint. Paul did not begin even one of his thirteen letters with “to the Christians at…” Paul always writes to the saints in a certain location because they were the “set apart ones”. The Romans chose the word Christians for believers but God chose the word “saints”. That means a sinner has been set apart by God because he/she has believed the gospel of Christ. Sanctification is dependent upon the one doing the sanctifying.

God sanctified Jesus… Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? (John 10:36) God set Jesus apart for His own purpose.

Jesus sanctified Himself. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. (John 17:19) This is the true “Lord’s prayer”. Jesus was not becoming progressively holy; He had no sin nature to remove or conquer.

Unbelievers can be sanctified. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. (I Cor. 7:14) Verse 16 tells us how an unbeliever can be set apart by a believer--- For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife? The believer remains in a position to still give Paul’s gospel to the believer and so lead them to salvation.

Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:  I Cor. 1:2) The Corinthians behavior did not reflect the fact that they had been set apart to Paul’s gospel. Don’t be so quick to conclude that a person is not saved because of their performance. When the Corinthians believed Paul’s gospel, God called them saints. You can never lose by being bad what you did not gain by being good. Justification is a free gift of righteousness.

Vs. 4…“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death”…This death baptism with Christ results in the righteousness of Christ becoming yours. New believers must think in terms of whom God sees you to be in Christ. He no longer looks at us in the way He did when we were “In Adam”. Unless we listen to our Apostle of grace (Paul) we would not know this and as a result we will see ourselves “in Adam” and performance will be our focus. A full understanding of our new identity will cause us to walk in a newness of life… that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Rom. 6:4) After we are saved, God does not just tolerate us, He has accepted us in Christ. Do you make yourself acceptable to God by your performance or has God the Father made you acceptable in Christ? To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (Eph. 1:6) God called His Son---“My Beloved in whom I am well pleased”. This is our new identity in Christ; focus on it. Do not allow religious leaders to focus your mindset on the things that you do or the things you need to do to keep in good standing with God. There will always be a need for new forgiveness promoted within religianity. The issue of sin has been forever put away by the death of Christ on the Cross. Jesus was willing to bear our Sin Identity on the Cross in order that we might be able to share in His “Newness of Life Identity”. Jesus, at the point of His resurrection, has a new identity and He will never again bear the identity of sin. He did not earn this new identity by His performance after His resurrection; He assumed this new identity because of who He is and He offers this new identity to the believer. We live this life not as though we can attain it through our conduct; we live this new life based on the knowledge that we already have it. Get this settled in your mind---know who you are in Christ Jesus…For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:  (Rom. 6:5)

Vs. 6… Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Who is this “old man”? Your “old man” is your former position in Adam.  At the point of our belief, our old man is crucified; however, our old nature is still alive and resident in us. Therefore, after salvation we will still experience the law of sin working in our members. Paul dealt with this in the Colossian assembly…Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; (Col. 3:9). Now how does religianity explain this verse? They tell us we have got to put the old man off; we must stop doing these sinful things. However, this verse tells the believer that the “old man” has already been put off. When? When the believer believes the gospel of Christ. The old man was put off at the point of belief. The old man is gone; he was crucified with Christ. You got a new identity. You became a new man; a new creation in Christ Jesus. Paul tells the saints at Colossae to stop lying to one anther based on something that has already been accomplished and then proceeds to tell them to put on the new man by thinking correctly about how God dealt with Christ at the Cross.… And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: (Col. 3:10). We are not instructed to do something in order to get something to take place (religianity tells us that); we stop doing things or start doing things because that which is necessary HAS ALREADY TAKEN PLACE! Religianity tells us that “putting off the old man” has to do with ceasing to sin (our performance is the issue). However, these verses teach us that a saint is to stop practicing sinful behavior in light of the fact that our old man has already been crucified/put to death. Once again, we need to know who we are in Christ and what happened at the point of our belief…we were joined to Christ; what is His is now ours. 

God wants us to see ourselves as He sees us---In Christ. He sees and deals with us as He does with His resurrected Son. That is why He chooses to call us SAINTS (holy ones). We keep looking at ourselves in our old identity and trying to perform better. So if the old man has already been put off, what does Ephesians 4: 17-24 mean where we are told to “put off the old man”? “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, [18] Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: [19] Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. [20] But ye have not so learned Christ; [21] If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: [22] That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; [23] And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; [24] And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. If the old man has already been put off at the point of our belief, how are we to put him off again? In our minds (vs. 23). Recognize who you are in Christ…a new man! If you do not think like this, you will continually be asking God to forgive you and to help you try harder next time (dedicating and rededicating yourself). That is to be dealing with God according to our former identity. Sanctification is not about practice, it is about position.

“we should not serve sin”… You are serving sin when you allow the issue of sin to continually stand between you and God---in your mind.

Vs. 7… For he that is dead is freed from sin. Does freed from sin mean that you no longer sin? No. Does it mean that you can now live as righteous as God Himself? No. Does it mean that you now have the ability to cease from sin altogether? Of course not. It means to render innocent; to be regarded as righteous without sin. Because of our new man identity, God declares us innocent of sins. Jesus was innocent of the sins He bore on our behalf. He did not commit the sins He died for. Because of this new status God has given us, it is not one that we can attain to or maintain; it is a gift of God freely given to those who will take Him at His word concerning what He did with our sins at Calvary.

Vs. 8… Now if (if it be true) we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:  Because of our “new man” status, we can be sure that we are going to live with God forever… For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, [39] Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:38-39) This verse is not telling us that “if” we start performing in a manner worthy of Christ, we will also live with him. It is not about us; it is about Christ and the fact that “if” we have experienced the operation of the Holy Spirit of a death burial into Christ, we will live with him. We will never return to our “sin identity” in Adam.

Vs. 9-11… Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. [10] For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. [11] Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Paul wants us to think about our union with Christ in the same manner that God dealt with Jesus in His work on the Cross and His resurrection. We are to “reckon” it to our account. He wants us to see ourselves as God sees us. This is Positional Truth or New Identity Truth. “Likewise reckon” does not mean that Paul is giving us something we must do; he is telling us something we must believe is true. Working our way to acceptance with God unfortunately is how Christianity operates. Grace teaches to us “put on the new man” by understanding our new identity in Christ and the process of the Word of God rightly divided effectually working in us.   

Vs. 12… Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Do you mean that even in a believer’s life sin can reign? Yes!

Vs. 13…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. We are not to yield our members to sin… But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. (Rom. 13:14) The word “instruments” is the same word “weapons” in II Cor. 10:4-5… (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) [5] Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; We hand our weapons over to our enemy (flesh) by failing to renew our minds with grace truth, rightly divided. The Word of God will do the work of God in our lives as we yield our members toward that end. How does the Holy Spirit produce the fruit of the Spirit in us? By the Word that He authored. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (Phil. 2:13) As we yield our members as His instruments we are thereby crucifying the flesh IN OUR MINDS (reckoning it to be worthless)… And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. (Gal. 5:24) God can not accomplish His work through us until His Word has accomplished its work in us!!! Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: (Phil. 1:6) Not only does this “work”; it is the only thing that does “work”.

Vs. 14… For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. This verse explains the reason God called Paul as the Apostle of grace. God selected him to announce to the nation of Israel and to the Gentile world that the Covenant Program of Law that God instituted with Israel through Moses had come to an end. This announcement affected Israel and the Gentiles, since the Gentiles had to bless Israel (Gen. 12:1-3) and become a proselyte to Judaism if they were to have a relationship with God. (Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. (Rom. 3:19). Paul is not telling the Romans about a new found capacity of mankind to live up to the righteous standards of God now that they were saved. Neither is he telling them that there is something wrong with the law… “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. [13] Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. [14] For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.”  (Rom. 7:12-14) The problem is with the man’s flesh, not the law program… For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: (Rom. 7:18). Man’s flesh nature cannot fulfill God’s law… Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. (Rom. 3:20) So Paul is not doing away with the law program in the sense that it was a bad idea and needed to be discarded. God has never used man’s performance as the criteria by which He will accept man. However, in time past and in connection with the law program, God gave those who were under the law the manner in which they were to manifest their faith in order to become a “special nation” for His glory… But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:  (I Pet. 2:9). The law required perfect obedience for righteousness. No one was able to perform at that level thus telling them of their need for a Saviour. Man’s pride nature will not easily let him admit that he cannot measure up to God’s standard of righteousness---perfection. Religiously minded people (due to their pride nature) continue to subject themselves and those around them to the law of Moses… Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? (Gal. 4:21). 

The termination of the law program was an astounding announcement because it had been in existence for some 1,500 years. People were in no mood to “change religions”. Fast forward 2,000 years and guess what? Nothing has changed. Both Jews and Gentiles have successfully retained the law program. Although religious people today frequently use the words “sin” and “grace”, they do not understand what Paul is saying or comprehend the meaning behind those words---ye are not under the law but under grace. They continue to subject themselves to the Law of Moses and its customs without even realizing they are doing it. They don’t see it as “performance based legalism”. To them living under the law is the way that seems most natural. It seems to be right to the human mind. People desire the law. Religious people argue that if you take away the law you have taken away the motivation to do good and avoid evil. They contend that taking away the law means that people will go out and live any old way they please. It would be the equivalent of giving a person a “license to sin”. Paul is challenging “religious thinking” by stating that God did not give Israel a law contract in order to motivate them to live righteously before Him. The motivation to do righteousness is the exact opposite of what our natural minds supposes it to be. God designed law to make sin show its hand… Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: (Rom. 5:20). Jews should have looked at the law and then at themselves and realized that something was wrong with their performance ability… But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. (Gal. 3:11). This was a revolutionary statement to make in that day. They would rather “do away with Paul” than to “do away with the law”. Nothing has changed today. Announce the dispensation of the grace of God and you will be promptly dismissed as a heretic or involved in a cult.

So, what is Paul telling us here in Romans 6? That “under grace” the performance of the flesh must be removed from the picture when it comes to a relationship with the God of salvation. We must rid ourselves of that tendency to think that God is dealing with us as He did with Israel in time past when the law program was operational. The book of Galatians was written not because the Galatians were falling back into practicing sin; they were falling back into practicing law. They were falling back into the thinking that their righteousness before God was tied to their performance… O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? (Gal. 3:1) Their problem was not breaking the law; it was not obeying the truth of their righteous standing in Christ based on their belief of the gospel of Christ.

Paul told them they were foolish (unable to think properly about daily living) to desire to go back to the “law program”…This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? [3] Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”  (Gal. 3:2-3)  Could you ever be declared righteous based on what the law required? No. They were trying to perfect or enhance (top off) the righteousness they already had in Christ by adding their righteousness to it. They were using certain elements the law program to accomplish this additional righteousness. Religious leaders teach the same thing today. They select certain elements of the law program and measure people by them (do you go to church, tithe, water baptized, use your spiritual gift? etc.) God had used the cross-work of His Son to forgive the Galatian’s sins and to bring them into union with Christ. How could their performance improve on that? It is not Christ’s righteousness plus our righteousness that pleases God. We can’t add to God’s righteousness. 

Paul is challenging the Galatians to realize that the object of salvation is not to “Christianize the flesh” or improve the flesh by law keeping; it is to realize the inability of the flesh to please God ever. Paul is telling them that they already have all that is necessary to bring their body into subjection Grace is the only legitimate motivator for a believer. As a believer learns what Christ has done for him that he (the sinner) could not do for himself and grows in his comprehension of what Christ has provided for him in “the riches of His grace”; the believer will be motivated to “subdue” is “flesh” to whatever degree that you can; not in order to enhance his flesh to become a better saint or more perfect saint, but for the benefit of proclaiming the message of grace to others. In the context of law-keeping for righteousness Paul tells us in Romans 7:18-19… For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. [19] For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Paul was not trying to become something better through fleshly performance; he had already been made the righteousness of God in Christ. “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”  (I Cor. 9:27) He was concerned about making his fleshly body subservient to his renewed mind as a grace believer. He was certainly motivated by grace to sacrifice himself (even unto death) for the sake of them to whom he had been sent. That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;  (Phil. 3:10) That means Paul wanted to be selfless like the Lord Jesus when He died for the Father’s enemies. But Paul is being honest with us when he told us the new grace of God program did not make him fully successful in subduing his flesh…“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,” (Phil. 3: 13). The ability of the flesh to merit righteousness before God is impossible…Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: …Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: (Rom. 3:20 & 24). Even with grace as a motivator we are incapable of removing self from our service to others. Righteousness can not come by performance of man; it has to come by way of BELIEF NOT BEHAVIOR. Unbelievers can not gain righteousness by their performance; Believers can not add to their righteousness by way of their improved performance. Identification is the issue in Romans 6, not conduct. This is what Paul is announcing in verse 14. Paul is not telling us what should be true or could be true about the believer; he is telling us what is true at the moment a sinner believes the gospel of Christ. We are taken out of rebellious Adam and placed in Christ.

“For sin shall not have dominion over you”… What sin is Paul talking about? The one he mentioned in Rom. 5:21… That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”  The rebellious, sinful nature passed on throughout Adam’s race is the sin that shall not have dominion over you. Why? Because the saint stands in the perfection of Christ under the program of grace.

Verse 14 is not saying that sin is not having dominion over you because you are now obeying God’s laws. It is not saying that sin shall not have dominion over you because you have received the baptism of the Holy Ghost or you have been filled with the Spirit and now have power to heal all sicknesses and can speak in an unknown tongue. These are all man-made interpretations that “Christians” today attach to why “sin shall not have dominion over you”. That is not what Paul says. IT IS BECAUSE WE ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW PROGRAM.

The dispensation of law is no longer in effect; however, the law is not totally inoperable today for those who THINK that their righteousness is tied to their performance… “But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; [9] Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, [10] For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; [11] According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.” (I Tim. 1:8-11) The law can still serve those who reject the gospel of Christ if they (unsaved) will hear what the law is saying. The law tells people something… Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?  (Gal. 4:21) The law was a picture of the performance of the righteousness that God requires when it comes to having a righteous standing before Him. No one could measure up. It tells a sinner that if they think in their minds that God is using that law for their righteousness, they need a Saviour. That is what the law is saying. The problem today is the same problem in Israel of old---people do not hear what the law is saying.

Verse 14 does not mean that we are to be lawless in the way we deal with one another… Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. (Gal. 6:2) Are believers under a new law in the dispensation of grace? No. This is not a measuring stick to see if we are performing adequately as believers. This “new commandment” (love) was given by Jesus during His earthly ministry to Israel… Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. [38] This is the first and great commandment. [39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. [40] On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matt. 22:37-40)… A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (John 13:34) The Jews had been told to love one another under the Old Testament law. So how was this a “new commandment”? They were to love one another “as I have loved you” (selfless love). Paul is not telling the Galatians that God is initiating a new grace age law by which man can obtain righteousness through performance…By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified. Paul is telling them that they owe love one to another (Rom. 13:8) based on what God’s love has done for them for whom Christ died. Paul clearly knew that his standing in Christ was not based on his success in loving others. However, Paul was not lawless in the way he dealt with others. While Paul was not under the law of Christ, he placed himself under the law to Christ WHEN DEALING WITH OTHERS. There is a difference in the two things…To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. (I Cor. 9:21) Paul dealt with others outside the law (Gentiles), by exercising himself according to what he called the “law to Christ” (preferring others above self). Now it is important that we get the dispensation altering announcement of Rom. 6:14 right…EVEN THOUGH THE LAW PROGRAM HAD ENDED, PAUL CONTINUED TO DEAL WITH PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE ON THE BASIS OF WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAD SUBMITTED THEIR THINKING TO A LAW BASED PERFORMANCE. If Paul was talking to someone who had no concept of a law based performance, he dealt with them according to grace. If he was talking to someone who “knew the law” (Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law) (Rom. 7:1), he dealt with them according to the law. So even though the law program had ended in one sense, it still had a purpose in another sense for a grace ambassador. Law keeping for righteousness has never been acceptable to God.

1. You are not under law DISPENSATIONALLY… The law program as a system of God working with men is over with. ..But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:…[11] For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. (II Cor. 3: 7 & 11) God dispensed to Israel the program of law to show to them the exceeding glory attached to His righteous character in order to prove the exceeding sinfulness and the absolute inability of human flesh to merit righteousness through performance. But God brought that program to a close. He dispensed a brand new program through a brand new apostle---Paul. We are now living in that new dispensation or “dispensing” of God.

2. You are not under the law SPIRITUALLY. That means that the curse of the law is broken. We are no longer under the curse (penalty) that comes from disobeying the law… For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them…vs. 13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: (Gal. 3:10 & 13)

3. You are not under the law POSITIONALLY. How was a person made acceptable to God under the law program? Faith has always been the criteria for counting a person righteous. That has always been true in any dispensation. However, what did faith require in order for a person to be made acceptable to God when Jesus was ministering to the nation of Israel during His earthly ministry? Peter answers this question in Acts 10:35… But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. What work of righteousness is Peter referring to? The answer is in verses 36-37… The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)[37] That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;  This is the same message Peter preached at Pentecost… Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38) God gave Peter a sign at Cornelius’ house that He had begun working differently with men in that the law program had been placed on hold by giving Cornelius the gift of the Holy Spirit before he was water baptized. How is a person made acceptable to God during the dispensation of grace? Ephesians 1:6-7… To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. [7] In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;  Our acceptance is associated with the work of Christ on the Cross; not the works of righteousness associated with the baptism of John.

4. We are not under the law JUDICIALLY. We are 100% liberated from the requirement of the law covenant for righteousness.  I Cor. 6:12… All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.; 10:23… All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. Four times in two verses Paul says all things are lawful to him… “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient (helpful): all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” (I Cor. 6:12) “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” (I Cor. 10:23) Who really believes that God will not hold anything written on the pages of the law program against you? Nothing in the law can touch me when it comes to the justice of God. Can you say that? You would have to understand God’s grace to make such a statement. You would have to understand “the mystery” committed to Paul to go that far. Sin shall not have dominion over you because you are under grace---joined to the person of His Son.

5. You are not under the law‘s PERFORMANCE BASED BLESSING PRINCIPLE. Ephesians 1:3… Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:  Blessings under the law program came based on Performance. Blessings under the grace program come based on Position. This is hard for us to get our thinking straight on. First, the Bible is full of performance based blessing because of the 66 books of the Bible 53 are dealing with the nation of Israel and its law program. The overwhelming majority of the sermons we hear are out of the law portion of Scripture and therefore we get blessings based on performance ingrained in our minds. Also, the “natural man” (unrenewed thinking) can not believe that someone would give them good things while they are doing bad things. Therein lies the difficulty of preaching "Grace”.

Until we can claim all those spiritual blessings IN HEAVENLY PLACES, we will have to put up with living in a present evil world… Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: (Gal. 1:4)