A commenter asked a good question about a specific line in my previous post: What does it mean that Christians have an on-going need for the law to guide our steps? I like the way Tom Schreiner puts it:
It is clear, then, that Paul was free from the Mosaic law. Yet, he adds a qualification, emphasizing that he was still subject to Christ’s law. Freedom from the Mosaic law does not mean that Paul was liberated from all moral normals. Freedom from the law does not mean freedom from ought; it is not the pathway to libertinism. (40 Questions About Christians and Biblical Law, 103)
Schreiner goes on to talk about Christ’s law of love and how it relates to moral imperatives.
The life of Christ, then, exemplifies the law of love. It would be a mistake to conclude that there are no moral norms in the law of Christ, for Romans 13:8-10 makes it clear, as do many other texts in Paul, that the life of love cannot be separated from moral norms. (103-4)
Christians are not under law, but we still find in the law the precepts, or in many cases the principles under the precepts, that please God. The Christian is still subject to commands. Freedom from the law does not mean we are free to do as we please. It means we are free to do as we ought.
