Are we free from moral obligations if the law is no longer our guardian and tutor?
“For you are called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge in your flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment, namely, ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.'” (Galatians 5:13, 14, NET). The yielded believers do not do what is right because it is required. They do what is right because they love the right. The yielded believers have the Holy Spirit in them, so they do what the Spirit tells them to do. John 14:15 – 17.
The Holy Spirit does not need help from the legalistic guardians and preachers in the congregation of saints. The yielded believers have the righteous Teacher as their Master; they do not need the instructions ‘do this,’ and ‘do not do that,’ they follow the Teacher. Some Christians believe that if there is no explicitly written prohibition, one is free to do as one pleases. However, Paul issued a different instruction. “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not!” (Romans 6:15, NET).
Paul explains why those who are under grace do not sin. He maintains that we are slaves of the one we obey. If we follow the old guardian, the law, we remain sinners, thus under eternal condemnation. On the other hand, if we obey the Righteous Teacher, the Son of the promise, we are slaves to Him and have His eternal life. Paul gives another logical reason the righteous, by the faithfulness of Jesus, do not sin. “We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.” (Romans 6:6, NET). The believers can live their life either by obedience to the legalistic statutes of the law or by obedience to the principles of the Holy Spirit, but not to both. We can serve only one Master; Mathew 6:24; 23:8. It is our choice which one we obey.
