Since I have begun to understand God's grace, the "law" has a limited function in my life. Once upon a time I allowed my level of law performance to tell me who I am. Of course, no matter how well I performed I was declared "not good enough."
Paul said in Romans 6:14, "For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace." (NASB) Paul is implying that when we were under law, sin was our master. Since we have been transferred to a different kingdom (Col. 1:13) our system of government is different. In the kingdom of darkness we were under a law system. It is true that God put that law system in place, but that was to remind us that we were doomed as residents of this dark kingdom.
Now that we have been rescued from this kingdom of darkness by Christ Himself, we are now under a new system. This new system is called "grace." This new kingdom is a kingdom of light and life. In the kingdom of darkness, performance was the standard that determined your rank and position. No matter how well you performed, you still lived in a dark kingdom that God describes as eternal death!
In this new kingdom of light, identity in Christ is the standard. Christ made us new creatures who want to live righteously at our deepest level. Kingdom life this side of heaven is lived out in this world where we are aliens and strangers. This is not our home. As a matter of fact, even our bodies once belonged to the resident of that dark kingdom dweller. God, by His design, placed that new creature in the earth suit of that old creature that was crucified. (Gal. 2:20)
God's grace is the economic standard of this new kingdom. His grace makes it possible for me to live among those who are still residents of the dark kingdom. His grace makes it possible for me to love my fellow kingdom dwellers even when they aren't acting like it. His grace is constantly reminding me of who I am when I am acting like a dark kingdom dweller.
In the dark kingdom "sin" was the master; in this glorious and wonderful kingdom of light, Christ is my master and He rules by grace! In this world I am still obligated to abide by its laws, but "law" does not give me life and purpose. Only my relationship with Christ gives me life!
