The Bible tells us we are free from the curse of the law. In Galatians, it calls the law our “schoolmaster” and tells us it was necessary to bring us to Christ, but that after faith we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Does this mean we are exempt from the law?

Many were trying to take the simple message of faith in Jesus to bring them back into bondage of obedience to the law for salvation. The apostle Paul made it clear that those who are of works are under the curse because no one is justified by the law.

But what was the purpose of the law then?

It sounds like we are exempt from the law. So are we not bound by its rules?

The law was not given that we could possibly obey all points. It was to show us that we practice unrighteousness. We are not saved according to the law, either in obedience or in disobedience. We are saved in faith of Jesus Christ, thereby no need for the law to establish righteousness.

Law in Our Conscience

On the contrary, we were created with the law written on our hearts, and the conscience also bearing witness (Romans 2:15). But because of our own wickedness, that law written on our heart has been conditioned to blame other circumstances when we have committed spiritual unrighteousness.

Adolescence

The Old Testament is a history lesson of God training a people to understand His will and to understand the wicked heart of His created people. So it is a record of the journey God's chosen people took in understanding their unlawful heart and why the need of a Savior. Through the Jewish people, God made an example for the rest of the Gentile world as well.

The law was to provide discipline and re-train the heart to obey the law that was written in it. God's moral law is who He is and it was instilled in our heart during creation to seek Him out.

Think of it in terms of a parent/child relationship. Growing up as adolescents we were scolded by our parents to obey specific rules. Some of those rules we thought were nonsense. Yet our parents knew what was best and needed to develop discipline and principles in our hearts.

Our parents never expected to follow us the rest of our lives in order to remind us the rules. They most likely will not interfere with our married life and come over to send us to our room. When we are mature and independent, we no longer are under their laws. Yet the principles of their rules have been instilled in our hearts because they make sense to follow even as adults.

God's People

The history of the Hebrews and Jews was to provide an example of adolescence. God was teaching through His adolescent children the laws that are required in order to bring them to the future knowledge of Christ. After Christ, it was evident what the law stood for and the law was no longer needed, at least in the same sense.

Why not?

Now that we have Christ, the law written in our hearts is stirred and understood in principle. We don't obey in hopes to be righteous towards God, but we obey out of gratitude towards response of His grace. The amnesty we receive for unrighteousness is returned for maturity in spirit and in living a pure life as the Holy Spirit sanctifies us.

All Things Lawful

Paul told the Corinthians, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify”(1 Corinthians 10:23). We must make responsible choices out of what edifies us, not what is exempt from law. All things may be lawful to us and many things may be justified in some way, but we need to be careful what we put across our minds, what we allow to be viewed by our eyes, what we allow in our heart, what comes across our lips. It may still hinder us.

As grace abounds, we are more likely to discern our desires and not let those things unedifying to infect us. As we mature, things we desire will be more Christ-like and there is no need for the law to tutor us any longer as we want what Christ wants. We will have the mind of Christ and desire the purist and holiest things, which trumps the law.                                            L I