We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, (1 Timothy 1:9 NIV, 8-9-13)

If the law isn’t for us, does that mean we can do whatever we want?

Well, ideally, yes.

Because if we are participating in God’s grace, and are appreciating the scope of that grace to us, we don’t need laws. We are, again ideally, focused on pleasing God, which means we are trying to live in sync with His nature. And since God’s law is a reflection of His nature, we will (once again, ideally) be living in harmony with God’s law without needing the rules themselves.

Now, since we are still lawbreakers and rebels, it’s good to keep the rules in our consciousness as a guide. But the closer we get to God, the less we need the laws because we are living in harmony with the Lawgiver.

[Father, help me to do right because of love, not rules.]