DM#13: Submission to Authorities

Doctrine of the Mysteries #13

Submission to authorities

It can be amusing (and sad) to read the reactions of people when you tell them that, as grace believers, we are not under the law, but under grace.

Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 

The reactions can vary from being called blasphemous, to a show of ignorance by people who ask the very question Paul deals with in Rom 6:15, “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.” Others would respond with some confusion, asking to what extent this statement applies; is it the Mosaic law? Is it church, or state, or country law? Is it secular rules and regulations, or is it laws that are more personal?

Well, before we get into our actual topic of submission to authorities, it will help to clarify what laws Paul is saying we are not under. The law that Paul refers to here is not the moral laws (aka: The 10-commandments, minus observing the Sabbath), but rather, they are the laws connected to Israel’s priesthood.

OBS: God's Word is a Progressive Plan (Part.6.2)

This is Part 6 of the Series

Click here for the previous lesson: Part 6.1

The Meaning of 'Not under Law'
in the Grace Dispensation

It is easy to understand what LAW meant in the Old Testament and in the four Gospels. The law in question was the 'Mosaic Law' and there was no dispute that it was active at this time and it was required to obey it and adhere to it as a way of life. The following (taken from 100's of available scriptures) attest to this fact,

Deuteronomy 6:1 "Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, ... 6 "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, ...

Joshua 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 

Matthew 19:16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? 17 So He said to him, why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.

So, when we come to the grace dispensation, does adhering to the law change, and if so, does the law change or do we change in respect to the law or does the law completely fall away? Paul writes that we are not under the laws of Israel and that grace no longer owes allegiance to the law,