“Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Rom. 6: 14.
NOTE.— The expression here “under the law,” is in the Greek hupo nomon, and means literally under the law, under its condemnation. The scripture therefore equivalently says that the believer is not under the condemnation of the law, but under the unmerited favor that comes through his faith in Christ.
2. Does “under the law” in the Scriptures ever mean anything else?
ANSWER.— There are a number of other scriptures which manifestly mean the same as the one above quoted, but there are two scriptures in which “under the law” occurs, which are from a different expression in the Greek. First, there is the expression en to nomo in Rom. 3: 19, meaning “in the law,” or “within the law,” subject to its scope, subject to its jurisdiction. The other, 1 Cor. 9: 21, in which ennomos occurs, meaning “within law,” or “subject to law, lawful.” “Within law to Christ,” one translation gives it. In both of the above scriptures, our version renders these Greek expressions “under the law.”
3. How many are bound by the law?
“We know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” Rom. 3: 19. “Before faith came, we were kept in ward under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterward be revealed.” Gal. 3: 23, R.V.
4. Why are men not justified?
“All have sinned.” Rom. 3: 23. “Jews and Gentiles . . . are all under sin.” Verse 9. “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified: . . . for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Verse 20.
NOTE.— Without Christ every man is a sinner, and condemned by the law as such. The law, in bringing knowledge of sin to the conscience, thereby condemns the conscience, and as the man of himself can not obey the law, he remains in this sinful, condemned condition, shut up under the condemnation of the law until faith comes to rescue him.
5. How is the believer justified?
“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” “But now the righteousness of God without the law [not OBTAINED through the law] is manifested.” Verses 24, 21.
6. Does this righteousness ignore or transgress the law?
“Being witnessed by the law and the prophets.” Last of verse 21.
NOTE.— The law and the prophets witness to this righteousness, therefore it must be in conformity to them throughout.
7. How does this righteousness come?
“The righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” Verse 22.
NOTE.— Christ’s life of obedience is imputed by faith to cover the life of the believer.
8. Does this permit him to transgress the law?
“Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey? . . . sin unto death, . . . obedience unto righteousness.” Rom. 6: 15, 16.
NOTE.— After having been freed from sin, from the condemnation of the law, by the grace of Christ, if we sin anew we become again the servants of sin and fall back under the condemnation of the law. The grace of Christ does not make one immune from transgression, neither does it put a premium on sin by condoning it.
9. What does God offer those who are under the law?
“When the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, that He might redeem them which were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Gal. 4: 4, 5, R.V.
NOTE.— Christ was made to be sin in our behalf, “that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Cor. 5: 21, R.V. By the favor of God through the work of Christ, we are removed from the condemnation of the law by faith, and set to the ever-after keeping of the law of God, else we fall again into sin and are in need as before of a Saviour. See Titus 2: 11-14; 1 John 2: 6; 5: 3. This adoption of sons is that of obedient sons. R.