Old Testament Law

Question: Should Christians keep the Law of Moses? Is a Christian under law?

No. We are taught in Galatians 5:18, "If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law." But this does not mean for a moment that a Christian is to lead a lawless life. While we are not under the Law of Moses, we are under law to Christ; that is, we are under obligation to do, in all things, what pleases our new Husband, Christ. (Romans 7:1-4). Those who are led by the Spirit - who are the only ones who are not under law - will not do things that are forbidden by the Spirit in the Word of God.

There are many in our day who have gone into the most foolish extravagances in regard to not being under the law. They say that they are led by the Spirit and therefore are not under any obligation to obey the Word. They do things that they say the Spirit leads them to do that are directly contrary to the will of God as revealed in the Bible. Now, the Bible is the Holy Spirit's Book, and the Holy Spirit certainly does not lead a person to do things that are contrary to the Bible. Any spirit that leads men to do things that are contrary to the teachings of the Bible is certainly not the Holy Spirit. There are some Christians, for instance, who scoff at all obligation to keep the Lord's Day differently from other days, and who ridicule as being under the law those who do set this day apart. These people are unscriptural and are doing much harm. While they claim to be in subjection to the Holy Spirit, they are really in subjection to their own headstrong self-will and spiritual pride.

~R. A. Torrey~