That doesn't make any sense.
We re supposed to live according to the law but we are not supposed to be under the law?
You see, the bible is like a rabbit hole. The more questions you ask the deeper you go. lol
I don't know if your ready for another bite. You seem to still be having trouble chewing on the first bite.
But because you asked..
I will quote Paul in Romans chapter 8. It's heavy, and takes some serious thought to understand, but I'll serve it to you and hope it goes down smoothly..ready?
Rom 8:2
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Rom 8:4
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
I understand what that means because I been studying the bible for a lot of years now. But I'm sure to a newbie like yourself, that can sound pretty confusing.
Do you want the entire history of Moses and the law that God gave to him to hand down through the generations of Israel?
And how they kept breaking the law by trying to keep the law, trying to gain their own rightness with God?
And how no matter how right we try to be, we can never truly be as right as we should be by doing it ourselves, because we are human beings and we make a lot of mistakes. We do things we think are right, but God's right ways are more internal and from the heart than doing things with our own hands and in our own power.
Or the history about how Jesus came to fulfil that very law that we could not fulfil ourselves. And gave us His Spirit which keeps us in the spirit of the law? So, only by His Spirit and allowing His spirit to work through us, are we able to stay in the boundary of the law.
Now the law which was given to Moses was all about how you live your life in service to God in the flesh.
They had to perform services every day in a specific way. And they did according to the letter.
Every plate was washed, every sacrifice was given, every ordinance was kept. But their heart wasn't in it. They just went about the daily routines but they had no faith. They simply believed by doing what was written, they would be in good standing and saved by God.
So Jesus himself came and fulfilled the very meaning or spirit of the law that God had given to Israel but they were too hard hearted to understand what should of motivated them to keep the law.
This motivation can only come from God's spirit. We just don't have it in ourselves to always do the right thing.
So when I say we are not under the law, I'm talking about the law God gave to Moses written with pen and ink which they couldn't keep because they didn't have any faith mixed in with their services. Or what one would call.. book smart. They read the manual but the engine still wouldn't run.
And because they had covenanted or promised God that they would keep it and couldn't, they fell under condemnation for breaking it.
They couldn't keep it. Because they were trying to do things their way.
So now God has sent his Spirit to reside in us to walk in the law through faith through his power and not our own.
So let's take a look at Moses' law.
Thou shalt not kill/murder whichever you choose.
But Jesus says it's more than just the act of killing or murdering, He says:
Mat 5:21
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Mat 5:22
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
So the physical thou shalt not kill was what you do in the flesh, in your physical body.
But in the spirit of the law, it begins in the heart. It begins with anger and hatred. This is the seed which leads to the action.
And another:
Mat 5:27
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
It's not just the action with the physical body thats a sin, it begins in the spirit, in the heart of one lusting after a woman to commit adultery. It's the motivation behind the action, and that is the spirit of the law. Not just what is written on paper, but what is written in the heart and in the mind.
And this is the meaning of the New Covenant we have with God today through Jesus and His Holy Spirit:
Heb 8:10
For this
is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
And I realize this is a lot to take in and you probably haven't read a word I've written and that's ok.
You asked, I answered to the best of my limited understanding.
So we no longer are under the condemnation of the law which we couldn't keep through our own might.
Now we walk according to the spirit of the law, that comes from the heart and mind, the motivation if you will, that comes from the Holy Spirit of God.
We don't hate, we don't get angry just to be a jerk, we don't googly eye all the pretty guys and girls that go by. We don't lie to others, and we shouldn't lie to ourselves.. (thats a hard one) . We don't steal or take anothers joy to be hurtful, jealousy is useless.
So this law we walk in now, is the law in our hearts and it's the same law that comes from God's own spirit.
So yeah, not an easy topic to explain, but if you study it, you'll understand the difference between being under the law, and condemned by something we can't keep. To walking in the law which God put in our hearts and minds and by His spirit it is kept.
Gee, I hope that helped..
Just something to chew on.
Hugs