Gal 3:8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed."
Gal 3:9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Gal 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them."
Gal 3:11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith."
Wow, is there confusion in the church today on this one! I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard someone say that we don't have to obey the Ten Commandments because "I am under grace, not under the Law."
This statement, and similar like it, demonstrate a lack of understanding of what Paul was referring to when he used the expression, "not under law but under grace." We'll see how he used it in a minute, but first, we need to understand a principle or two.
Paul wrote the book of Galatians, not because they sought to obey the Ten Commandments, but because they sought to be "righteous" and "justified" by obedience to the law of God and the ceremonial aspects in particular. Consider,
Gal 2:15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; Gal 2:16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
In the above passage, we can clearly see that the context of Paul's remarks (and rebukes) is one seeking to be "justified" by obedience to the law. Justification (or being declared "not guilty" by God) comes by faith and at the moment we first believe.
This is known as the doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone. It speaks to one's position before God (as either guilty or not guilty, unsaved or saved, unrighteous or righteous). It is not addressing our behavior. Anyone who teaches that we are justified (made "not guilty in position) by obedience to the Ten Commandments, or any other law for that matter, has slipped into error. We are justified by faith alone, period.
Paul was addressing the error of believing that one could be justified by faith + obedience. This is what the Galatians sought and this was wrong. Here is another passage from Galatians which clearly demonstrates that Paul is addressing the error of trying to be justified by obedience to God's law.
Gal 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Gal 5:2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. Gal 5:3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. Gal 5:4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
Paul makes the same argument in Romans 10. Here, he plainly states that faith in Christ is the end of the discussion when it comes to the law - but his context is "for righteousness." He is referring to positional righteousness, our standing before God.
Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Rom 10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.
Paul is not saying anything here about behavioral obedience to God, or even the Ten Commandments AS someone who is already justified by faith. He, and the other Apostles do that elsewhere. Consider Paul's remarks now in Romans 10 as follows:
Rom 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.... (i.e. We are made righteous in position by virtue of our faith alone. In Romans 6, Paul moves on to how we should behave now that we are made righteous by faith.)Rom 6:11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Rom 6:13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. Rom 6:14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. Rom 6:15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
The point Paul is making here is that IF you believe in Christ, and you are already justified by faith (Romans 5:1), don't use your freedom now (since you can't loose your salvation or justification by anything you do, as they were obtained by faith) for sin. He is now speaking of our behavior in Romans 6 above, not our position in Christ.
And what is sin you ask? The Apostle John tells us.
1Jn_3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Sin is any time we break God's law, or transgress God's law.
So what is Paul saying in Romans 6? If you have been justified (made not guilty) by faith, don't use your freedom to break God's law in behavior.
Rom 6:15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
If sin is any time we break God's law, then righteousness in this context (which is behavioral, not positional), is obedience to God's law. Read now what Paul says in this light.
Rom 6:13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
Sin is also seen as "lawlessness" (1 John 3:4) or "unrighteousness" above. Looking at Romans 6:13 then, we can understand it to mean this. As justified persons, we should not present our members (obviously a reference to our behavior and not our position in Christ) as instruments for unrighteousness, which is lawlessness, which is sin, which is disobedience to God's law. Instead, as justified persons, we should present our members to God as "instruments of righteousness," meaning behavioral righteousness, meaning lawfulness, meaning obedience to God's law.
[I should say here that I am not addressing the Ceremonial aspects of God's Law, which the author of Hebrews addresses in chapter 10 of that book. Christ fulfilled all of the ceremonial or typical aspects of the Law and therefore they are no longer applicable. The Moral Law, or Ten Commandments, are not typical in nature.]
Here is a very simple principle that will give us discernment on these issues and clear up a lot of confusion that occurs today.
We are saved, justified and made righteous by faith alone. This is our position in Christ by virtue of faith. As saved, justified and righteous persons, we are now to behave in obedience to God's commandments. This is plainly taught throughout the New Testament by Christ and the Apostles. The following should make sense now in light of what we have covered.
Joh_14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments....Joh_14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Joh 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
1Jn_5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 1Jn 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 1Jn 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
If we believe in Him, and receive all of the glorious benefits of faith, then let us obey Him in behavior. Obedience to God's Commandments is evidence of our genuine faith, which saves us. May God write this on the hearts of His people today.