The phrase, ‘We are not under the Law, but under grace,’ has been often used as an excuse to live unrighteously. By declaring that Jesus nailed the Old Testament Law to the cross, there are those that have chosen to interpret the meaning to suggest that there are no longer consequences for our behavior. Such thinking is not only unbiblical, it is delusional.

Ephesians 2:15 says, ‘Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances…’
And in another passage Paul states in…
Colossians 2:14 ‘Blotting out 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.’

It is clear that the ‘law of commandments contained in the ordinances,’ was nailed to the cross. But what were these ordinances?

Simply put, I believe that all those applications in the Law that specifically referred to the Jews are gone; no longer to be held over us as expectations. These would include the feasts and the offerings, the circumcision and the dress regulations. All that would put a distinction between the Jew and the Gentile were done away when Jesus died on the cross.

With the ordinances out of the way, does that mean, therefore, that we can now live however we like? I think the answer to that is found in the issuance of the Law. In several places, God said that He put His Law in our hearts (Rom. 2:15). This Law refers to His moral law. We are still commanded not to kill and not to lie. They do not become a judgment against us regarding our eternity, for all our sins were done away with in His blood. They are a guide to help us live our lives righteously.

The truth is, the more we learn of Christ, and submit ourselves to Him, the less reminders we need of the moral law. If I have the love of Christ in my heart, I am not going to be plotting someone’s death. Therefore, I am not subject to the law of ‘Thou shalt not kill.’

Paul wrote Timothy with a similar explanation in…

1 Timothy 1:9 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;

The law is not necessary for someone living righteously; it is made for the disobedient.
We can either choose to live in freedom from the law, or painfully weighed beneath its oppressive weight. The choice is ours.