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“But if you are guided (led) by the [Holy] Spirit, you are not subject to the Law.” (Galatians 5:18 AMP)
God deals with men based on His Covenant with them. Before the coming of Jesus Christ into the world, God dealt with His people based on the Covenant He made with them on Mount Sinai.
Moses was the mediator of the Old Covenant, and the blessings or benefits of this Covenant are contingent on the performance or obedience of the people to the written regulations of the Covenant – the Law.
Moses clearly explained this truth to the children of Israel.
Deuteronomy 28:1-3, 15-16 – NKJV
1 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.
2 “And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:
3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country…
15 “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country…”
Under the Old Covenant, the children of Israel enjoyed the blessings or benefits of the Covenant when they obeyed the Law. But they could not enjoy God’s blessings consistently and entirely because they could not keep or obey the Law always and completely. The truth is that nobody can keep the whole Law without stumbling at one point at any time.
The death and resurrection of Christ brought to a close the dispensation of the Law and thus abolished the Old Covenant.
As a result, God is no longer dealing or relating with men according to their self-righteousness, performance, or good works but according to their faith in the person of Jesus Christ and His finished work of redemption.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Mediator, Negotiator, or Guarantor of a New and Better Covenant. The New Covenant is not an elongation, extension, or modification of the former Covenant. It is entirely different from the Old Covenant. It is infinitely greater, bigger, and better than the Old Covenant!
The Scripture aptly states this truth.
Hebrews 8:13 – AMP
13 When God speaks of a new [covenant or agreement], He makes the first one obsolete (out of use). And what is obsolete (out of use and annulled because of age) is ripe for disappearance and to be dispensed with altogether.
Hebrews 9:15 – AMP
15 [Christ, the Messiah] is therefore the Negotiator and Mediator of an [entirely] new agreement (testament, Covenant), so that those who are called and offered it may receive the fulfillment of the promised everlasting inheritance – since a death has taken place which rescues and delivers and redeems them from the transgressions committed under the [old] first agreement.
Sadly, some believers today are not appropriating, enjoying, and walking in the blessings and benefits of the New Covenant because they are still serving God according to the regulations of the Old Covenant.
In the first part of this piece, the truth was presented from God’s Word that God’s dealings with us are no longer contingent or dependent upon our allegiance or adherence to the Law God gave the children of Israel through Moses but upon our faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work. Why?
Because the ultimate purpose of the Law has been fulfilled in Christ!
Because Christ has brought the Law to its completion or fulfillment by His Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection!
The Lord Jesus clearly states this truth.
Matthew 5:17 – AMP
17 Do not think that I have come to do away with or undo the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to do away with or undo but to complete and fulfil them.
Apostle Paul also attests to this truth.
Romans 10:4 – AMP
4 For 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.
Through the body of Christ, the born-again believers have become dead to the Law and thus discharged or delivered from the Law.
As a believer in Christ, you are no longer expected to live under the Law or be subject to the Old Covenant’s old written regulations. Your worship, service, or giving to God should no longer be regulated or determined by the Old Testament’s letter, the old written code, or regulations (Rom. 7:4-6).
If the born-again believers are no longer expected to live by the Law, walk with God, worship and serve God, or give to God according to the specifications or regulations of the Law, how then should they live, worship, serve, and walk with God?
By living and walking in the Spirit!
By obeying or following the leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit!
Paul reveals and explains this truth in Romans 7:6.
Let us examine this scripture in different versions of the Bible.
Romans 7:6 – NKJV
6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
Romans 7:6 – AMP
6 But 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].
Romans 7:6 – NLT
6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.
As a born-again believer in Christ, you are to be led by the Holy Spirit in your walk with God, giving to God and serving God.
Sadly, some believers today are still worshipping and serving God under the obligation or the bondage of the Law. They give to God by fraction or percentage according to the specification or regulation of the Mosaic Law.
What an ignorance of the liberty they have in Christ!
Paul writes, “But if you are guided (led) by the [Holy] Spirit, you are not subject to the Law.” (Gal. 5:18 AMP).
“But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.” (Gal. 5:18 NLT).
Beloved, are you still walking with God, serving and worshipping God, and giving to God as one who is still under the obligation of the Law or has been delivered from the Law to serve God in the new way of living in the Spirit?
Examine your life and walk with God today!
You are a New Covenant believer and thus a subject of God’s favor and mercy, not a slave to the Law. Therefore, arise today to live as one who is indeed dead to the Law through the body of Christ but alive to the Holy Spirit.
Romans 6:14 – AMP
14 For sin shall not [any longer] exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law [as slaves], but under grace [as subjects of God’s favor and mercy].
Galatians 5:1 – NLT
1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
Live under Grace and not under Law!
Prayer:
My Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for discharging and delivering me from the Law through the body of Christ. My Dear Holy Spirit, teach and help me constantly live under grace, not under the law, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Our mandate is to preserve the faith of the Apostolic Generation.
Eniyekpemi Fidelis Oyinpreyebi.
AWH, Blogs.
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