Therefore, they are not under it but, rather, are under the power of grace instead. They are not breaking it - not guilty and condemned by it. 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. "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." If being under grace does not exempt 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: Yet this is what millions believe today, missing Paul's clear point. In anticipation that some will construe his words to mean that you can break the law because you are under grace, he says, "Shall we sin (break the law) because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!" In the strongest possible language, Paul states that being under grace does not give a license to break the law. After stating that we are not under the law but under grace, he asks, "What then?" This simply means, "How are we to understand this?" Paul gives his own explanation of this very statement. How easily we could prevent confusion if we accepted exactly what the Bible says. The Bible certainly does say that we are not under law, but does that imply that we are free from the obligation to obey it? The passage is found in Romans 6:14, 15: "Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." It is said, "Since we are not under law but under grace, we do not need to keep the Ten Commandments any longer." This question - Are we still under the law? - is often asked in an effort to diminish the law of God in the life of the Christian.
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