Do Christians Have to Keep the Law Today?

NBST 520 New Testament Orientation II

By Daryl Grimes

I do not believe Christians have to live by the standards of the Law that God gave to Israel. In this thread,
I will attempt to demonstrate why this is the case and show what God has called us to do.
First, it is clear from Scripture that one is not saved (made righteous or justified) by the works of the Law.
Paul makes this very clear in his writings (note Romans 9:30-32; Galatians 2:14-16, 3:5-12). However,
the question is, does a believer who has been saved due to faith in Christ have the obligation to live by the
standards of the Law God gave to Israel?
Those who follow the New Perspective on Paul also reject the concept that law-keeping enables one to
attain salvation. Unfortunately, some of these scholars took a step too far and suggested that it was
“sinful” to keep the OT Law, and faith in Christ did away with all law-keeping. 1 I certainly do not think
anything is wrong with keeping the OT Law, especially those commands repeated in the New Testament.
However, the important thing is for everyone to understand that law-keeping does not save us, sanctify us,
or keep us in the right relationship with God. As the Reformation emphasized, we are justified by faith,
not by works.2
This became a hot topic in the early church as Gentiles came to faith in Christ. Were they to be
circumcised as the Law instructed? Were they to abstain from certain types of foods as the OT Law
instructed? Some said yes, and some said no. Scripture, in my opinion, gives a clear answer to these
questions.
In Galatians 3:1-4, for instance, the Galatians were being led to believe that to be “made perfect” (a
complete believer), they must follow the “works of the flesh,” as Paul puts it. But Paul reminds them they
weren’t “saved” (they didn’t receive the Spirit) by the “works of the Law,” so what makes them think they
are going to grow into spiritual maturity “by the flesh.” The works of the Law do not justify us, nor do
they sanctify us! Leroy Forlines says that if the believers were to go back under the Law, they would be
trading “the Christian liberty of the New Covenant for the bondage of ethical legalism of the Covenant of
the Law.3

Part of the confusion, I believe, on this topic comes into play when Paul demonstrates appreciation for the
Law. For instance, in Romans 7:12, he refers to the Law as “holy and righteous and good.” 4 It’s important
to understand the Law’s purpose. Paul mentions this purpose in Galatians 3:24-25. The Law served as a

1
Walter A. Elwell and Robert W. Yarbrough, Encountering the New Testament: A Historical and
Theological Survey, Third Edition., Encountering Biblical Studies (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic,
2013), 250.
2
Ibid.
3
F. Leroy Forlines, The Quest for Truth: Theology for Postmodern World (Nashville, TN: Randall
House Publications; Worldwide Ministries, 2001), 495–496.
4
Elwell and Yarbrough, Encountering the New Testament, 250.
tutor, not to save us, but to point us to the Savior! Paul then goes on to say, in verse 25, “But after faith
has come, we are no longer under a tutor” (New King James Version). We are no longer under Law but
under grace.
Grace drives us not to be lawbreakers but rather live in a way that pleases God because we are righteous,
not to become righteous. Grace drives us to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to
love our neighbors as ourselves because of the grace we have already experienced, not to earn something.
Grace reminds us of what Robert Wayne Stacy points out in his video that the heart of Galatians is 2:19-
20 where Paul reminds the believers that Christ is now living His life through Him. Stacy says about this
passage, “…there is no need for constraints and controls that are purely external and material. Christ in
me, not Torah, is the law Jesus followers obey.”5

Bibliography
Elwell, Walter A., and Robert W. Yarbrough. Encountering the New Testament: A Historical and
Theological Survey. Third Edition. Encountering Biblical Studies. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker
Academic, 2013.
Forlines, F. Leroy. The Quest for Truth: Theology for Postmodern World. Nashville, TN: Randall House
Publications; Worldwide Ministries, 2001.
Stacy, Robert Wayne, “Corinthians and Galatians. “Video Lecture in NBST 520 at Liberty University,
Lynchburg, VA, July 16, 2022.

5
Robert Wayne Stacy, “Corinthians and Galatians” (video lecture in NBST 520 at Liberty University,
Lynchburg, VA, July 16, 2022).