Whenever someone hears that Christians are no longer under the Law, the immediate reaction often comes:
“That sounds like antinomianism! You’re basically saying God’s law doesn’t matter anymore.”
The concern is understandable. The church has long recognized the dangers of lawlessness. But is the New Covenant message really antinomian—or does it actually offer the truest way to holiness?
1. The Three Classical Uses of the Law
For centuries, Christians have identified three “uses” of God’s Law:
- Civil use – to restrain evil in society.
- Pedagogical use – to expose sin and drive us to Christ.
- Normative use – to guide believers in righteous living.
This framework helps explain how the Law functioned under the Old Covenant. But the New Covenant changes the dynamic entirely. Let’s see how.
2. The Civil Use — Still Valuable
Even though we are no longer under the Law as a covenant, God’s moral order still restrains evil in the world. Laws against murder, theft, and perjury still reflect His character.
But this is not how believers are shaped. Society benefits from the civil use of the law; the church is shaped by the Spirit of Christ.
3. The Pedagogical Use — Fulfilled in Christ
Paul is clear: “I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’” (Rom. 7:7).
The Law exposes sin but cannot heal it. Instead, it condemns us and drives us to Christ. That’s why Paul says in Galatians 3:24: “The law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.”
But once faith has come, we are no longer under that guardian (Gal. 3:25). The Law did its job—it showed our need. Christ did His job—He met that need fully.
4. The Normative Use — Transformed by the Spirit
This is where most accusations of antinomianism arise. “If Christians are not under the Ten Commandments, how will they know how to live?”
Paul answers in Romans 7 with the marriage analogy: just as a woman is freed from her husband when he dies, we have died to the Law so we may belong to Christ (Rom. 7:4). The result?
“We serve in the new way of the Spirit, not in the old way of the written code.” (Rom. 7:6)
This isn’t lawlessness. It’s Spirit-led living. The same holiness the Law demanded is now produced in us by the Spirit. Romans 8:4 says: “The righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
So yes, believers are guided. But not by stone tablets—we are guided by the Spirit writing God’s law on our hearts.
5. Galatians: Not Perfected by the Law
Paul’s rebuke to the Galatians couldn’t be clearer:
“Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:3)
To return to the Law as a guide for sanctification is not only unnecessary—it’s a denial of the gospel’s power. We were saved by grace, and we are sanctified by the same grace.
6. True Holiness, Not Antinomianism
Antinomianism says: “You don’t need to worry about sin at all.”
The gospel says: “Sin has no dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14).
Antinomianism cheapens grace. The gospel empowers it.
Far from producing lawlessness, the New Covenant produces a deeper obedience:
- Not “don’t murder,” but “love your enemy.”
- Not “don’t commit adultery,” but “love your spouse as Christ loved the church.”
- Not “remember the Sabbath,” but “rest in Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath.”
This isn’t less than the Law—it’s more. It’s not antinomianism—it’s Christlikeness.
✨ Conclusion
The accusation of antinomianism misunderstands what the gospel offers.
- The Law restrains, reveals, and points.
- But Christ fulfills, frees, and transforms.
To say we are not under the Law is not to say we are lawless. It’s to say we are under a greater power: the Spirit of Christ, who fulfills the Law in us.
The husband (the Law) has died. We now belong to another—Jesus. And in Him, holiness is not about striving under the written code but about walking in step with the Spirit.
That’s not antinomianism. That’s the New Covenant.
Leave a Reply