Well you've said a lot in this post so I'm going to give you a detailed and long response.
Well, the Bible does say that we are not under law, but does that mean that we are free from obeying the law? Is it okay to lie, steal, murder etc because we are no longer under law? The passage is found in
Romans 6:14,
"Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."
After Paul states that we are not under the law but under grace, he asks in
verse 15,
"What then? Shall we sin (
break the law)
because we are not under law but under grace?" His answer in the same verse is
"Certainly not!" In the strongest possible language, Paul states that being under grace does not give us license to break the law. Yet this is what millions of Christians believe today, missing Paul's clear point.
So if being under grace does not excuse us from keeping the law, then what does Paul mean by saying that Christians are not under the law? He gives that answer in
Romans 3:19,
"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God."
Here Paul equates being under the law with being
"guilty before God." In other words, those who are under the law are guilty of breaking it and are under the condemnation of it. This is why Christians are not under it. They are not breaking it, theyare not guilty and condemned by it. Therefore, they are not under it but, rather, are under the power of grace instead. Later in his argument, Paul points out that the power of grace is greater than the power of sin. This is why he states so emphatically,
"For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." Grace overrules the authority of sin, giving power to obey God's law.
The law was never meant to effect any change in either the Old or New Testaments. The following is what the Bible has to say about what the function of the law is:
Romans 3:20, "Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin."
Romans 5:12-13, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law."
Romans 7:7-8, "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead."
Galatians 2:21, "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
From what the Word of God says, the law (the ten commandments) is the only indicator for mankind to determine whether they are living a sinful life or not. There is no other measure by which a human being can be made aware if they are righteous or unrighteous than through the law of God. So the law separates that which is good from that which is evil, identifies what sin is, but cannot solve the problems that sin causes, man cannot be saved by the law but can only be saved by Jesus Christ who can destroy sin.
This was/is true in both the Old and New Testaments.
The law was and will always be relevant in both the Old and New covenants. In fact in the New Covenant we are told,
"I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts” (
Hebrews 8:10). Why would this be written in the New Covenant if the law was not essential in it? Obedience is not just an Old Covenant concept. The law is an important element of the New Covenant as well. In the New Covenant, both the law and the gospel appear. The law shows what sin is; the gospel points to the remedy for that sin, which is the death and resurrection of Jesus. If there is no law, there is no sin, and so what are we saved from? Only in the context of the law does the gospel make sense.
The Holy Spirit which is God was also in the Old Covenant. It convicted people of God, led them to repentance and change of heart which led them to naturally obey God's law (those that did).
Yes, the Holy Spirit leads us to repent and be baptised. It leads us to accept Christ as our personal Saviour. This change that takes place in our hearts leads God to give us a new heart, one that loves Him and desires to serve Him. As we grow in our faith daily, God empowers us to obey His law, He writes the law in our hearts.
That's not what the Bible says. The Bible tells us we will be judged by the standard of the law,
"For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty" (
James 2:10-12).
We will all be judged by God’s law. Paul wrote thieves will not inherit the heaven. Furthermore, the Bible says that liars, adulterers, idolaters, and covetous men will not be in the kingdom (
1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Why? Because the law forbid those things, and men will be judged finally by that law. Not one person will be admitted into heaven who wilfully violates any one of the Ten Commandments, because breaking one is breaking all.
If we are justified by faith and have Christ's righteousness then that means we are obedient and do God's will just like Christ Himself did. He is our example.
None of us can keep the law by ourselves. We will fail miserably without Christ in the equation. When we submit to God, He empowers us to do His will. To have Christ's righteousness is to be obedient to His law just as He was.
Jesus said,
“If you love Me, keep My commandments” (
John 14:15). Why would He say that if we are not meant to keep the law? When we love Christ, we naturally obey His law. It comes from the heart. Love is what motivates the obedience.
Its always important to remember that we cannot earn salvation by our good works. Obedience is the fruit of salvation in Christ. Through His amazing grace, especially displayed at the cross, God has liberated His people from the penalty and curse of sin.