In Romans 6:14, Paul tells the Romans and God tells us, "For sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace." What does it mean to be under law? What does it mean to be NOT under law? What does it mean to be under grace? These are necessary questions for honest people to ask.

To begin with, this verse is an absolute. Other verses, verses in other contexts that do not deal with salvation, and "difficult" verses must all be understood in the light of absolutes, and not the other way around. For instance, if the whole Bible teaches the righteousness of God and we come across a verse where God promises to bring evil upon a people (Jeremiah 44:11), we do not throw out all the verses that teach the moral rectitude of God because of this one verse that seems to teach that God does evil. We accept the great absolute that God is righteous and admit that we have a verse that cannot deny this great absolute, but certainly seems to. With study we may find the answer in our lifetime, or we may not. A look at the word "evil" in the original Hebrew will tell us that it means adversity. Thus we know that the Bible has not contradicted itself. God, in righteous judgment, is bringing adversity to a people who have refused His mercy. God bringing adversity to a people who deserve adversity, and much more, is not the same thing as God doing "evil," though men certainly view adversity as evil.

Another illustration of this same truth is found in Matthew 24:13, where Christ tells Jews that "he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." This verse seems to fly in the face of all the verses that teach salvation by grace alone through faith alone...but does it? When we examine the context we find that our Lord is not here talking about salvation from the consequences of sin--judgment and the Lake of Fire. He is talking about salvation (the Greek word is "deliverance") from physical death for those who survive the Great Tribulation and are alive to be rescued by His return to Israel in "the bottom of the ninth." The word "end" is used four times in this sermon and not once does it refer to the end of a person’s life.

Romans 6:14, as we said, is an absolute; it does not stand alone. It summarizes the great sweeping argument that precedes it in the Epistle, and it introduces the great argument to follow. It is far more than a "proof text," it is the very essence of God’s argument with human viewpoint that is found in Romans. I have read many books and articles by men who insist on approaching God on the grounds of their own merit rather than the grounds of His pure Grace alone. Not one of them recognizes the grand sweep of Romans--the handbook of Salvation.., they all "prooftext!" Romans is not a collection of proverbs, it is a legal debate between God and man. It is a great forensic argument, cohesive and coherent. It vindicates God for declaring legally right, people who are morally wrong, and explains how He can do this and still retain His integrity because he declares them righteous on the basis of what Christ has done for them and not what they have done for Christ (Romans 3:26; Romans 4:4-5; Romans 5:8-11). We have salvation because of Who and What God is and not because of who and what we are.

What of the Law then? Has God ignored it? Has He violated it? After all, did not the Law teach that it is wrong to condemn the righteous and justify the wicked (Proverbs 17:15; Deuteronomy 25:1). And isn’t this just what God has done in imputing our sins to Him Who knew no sin and imputing His righteousness to us who had none of our own (2 Corinthians 5:21)? No, God has not violated the Law nor even ignored it; He has fulfilled it! The Law pronounced the sinner’s doom (Ezekiel 18:4). Christ, the sinner’s Substitute, died under that Law (Galatians 3:13), completely satisfying the demands of that Law (1 John 2:2), fully paying the wages of sin for the sinner (Romans 6:23).

A good Law cannot be satisfied by bad people. A holy Law is bad news for unholy people. A just Law can only condemn and slay the unjust (2 Corinthians 3:7-9). A perfect Law (Psalm 19:7) demands perfection and cannot justify a fallen race of totally ruined sinners (Romans 3:20). It is for just this reason that the Law never saved one single Jew in the 1500 years of its reign; it couldn’t. Sinai cannot save (Galatians 2:16). Sinai can only warn ruined sinners that they have offended Infinite Majesty. Calvary must save if we are to be saved at all. And Calvary does save! You and I will never meet one single son or daughter of Adam walking the streets of Heaven who got there through Law keeping, through being good or doing good, through human merit. Everyone who lives in Heaven for Eternity will have gotten there through the crosswork of God’s Son at Calvary! (1 Corinthians 15:1-3)

What then is our relationship to the Law? God and Paul tell us that we are not under it (Romans 6:14), that we have died to it (Romans 7:4), that we have been delivered from it (Romans 7:6). But listen hard! God and Paul also tell us that we are under Grace! To be under Law meant condemnation and death. Not to be under Law means to be liberated from its sentence. To be under Grace means to be free to serve God because I want to, not because I have to. For us who died to the Law with Christ (Galatians 2:20), there is a new sphere of living (Romans 6:4), a new nature to live in that new sphere (2 Corinthians 5:17), and the indwelling Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) to energize us through the powerful divine dynamic of Scripture (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

Wherever this great truth is taught--the truth of our death to Law and our new life in Grace--the objection will be raised that this type of teaching encourages the Believer to sin. On the contrary, Paul said that he died to the Law that he might live unto God!(Galatians 2:19) Paul said that we were slain to the law that we might bear fruit unto God (Romans 7:4).

God dealt with Israel as with children in their minority. He deals with us, the Body of Christ, as "adopted," fully grown and "bar mitzva’d" sons and daughters (Galatians 4:1-7). We are free of governesses! We are adults in our legal position before God, and God longs for us to "act" our age. God wants you and me to serve Him faithfully...trustworthily. Will we prayerfully seek to warrant this trust?