Study Guide: Not by Keeping the Law
Quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB); please check each one in your own Bible.
The Big Idea
The big idea: Paul states the ground of acceptance with God in one verse, three times over: “a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16). The law of Moses was a tutor until Christ came; believers are not under it as a covenant. Neither are they lawless: they are bound by the law of Christ — love, and the commands Jesus and the apostles gave. Paul's own phrase for the standing is “not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ” (1 Corinthians 9:21): not under law is not lawlessness, and this article refuses that error by name.
Read Aloud
“We, being Jews by nature and not Gentile sinners, yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because no flesh will be justified by the works of the law. But if while we sought to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also were found sinners, is Christ a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I build up again those things which I destroyed, I prove myself a law-breaker. For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. I don’t reject the grace of God. For if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for nothing!”
— Galatians 2:15–21
Let no one therefore judge you in eating or drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day, which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s.
— Colossians 2:16–17
Where We Stand
Scripture says
- A man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ — stated three times in one verse (Galatians 2:16).
- “You are alienated from Christ, you who desire to be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace.” (Galatians 5:4)
- The law has become our tutor to bring us to Christ; now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor (Galatians 3:24–25).
- You are not under law, but under grace (Romans 6:14).
- Believers were made dead to the law through the body of Christ, and have been discharged from the law, to serve in newness of the Spirit (Romans 7:4, 6).
- Christ is the fulfillment of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes (Romans 10:4).
- Let no one judge you with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day; these are a shadow of the things to come, but the body is Christ's (Colossians 2:16–17).
- The apostles refused to put a yoke on the disciples which neither their fathers nor they were able to bear, and laid no greater burden than the necessary things (Acts 15:10, 28).
- “In that he says, ‘A new covenant’, he has made the first obsolete.” (Hebrews 8:13)
- The whole law and the prophets depend on two commandments: love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37–40).
- “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)
We conclude
- Our conclusion: the law of Moses, as a covenant, does not bind believers in Christ; justification is by faith in Christ, not by the works of the law (Galatians 2:16; Romans 6:14).
- Our conclusion: believers are not lawless — they are bound by the law of Christ: love, and the commands Jesus and the apostles gave (Galatians 6:2; Matthew 22:37–40; 1 Corinthians 9:21).
- Our conclusion: the weekly Sabbath stands among the shadows of the old covenant (Colossians 2:16–17); days are left to each believer's own assurance, and no one may judge another over them (Romans 14:5–6).
The Hard Questions
- Didn't Jesus tell a man seeking eternal life to keep the commandments (Matthew 19:17)? See The strongest objection under Not Justified by the Works of the Law.
- Didn't Jesus say that not one letter of the law would pass away (Matthew 5:17–19)? See The strongest objection under No Longer Under a Tutor.
- Wasn't the decree of Acts 15 only a starting point, with the rest of Moses to follow (Acts 15:21)? See The strongest objection under The Council Would Not Lay the Yoke.
- But didn't Paul himself keep the law in Acts 21? See Paul's own practice under The Council Would Not Lay the Yoke.
- Isn't the Sabbath a perpetual covenant, made holy at creation (Exodus 31:16–17; Genesis 2:3; Exodus 20:8–11)? See The strongest objection under Shadows, and the Substance.
- Didn't Jesus say the Sabbath was made for man (Mark 2:27–28)? See A second objection under Shadows, and the Substance.
- Doesn't a Sabbath rest still remain for the people of God (Hebrews 4:9)? See A third objection under Shadows, and the Substance.
- Doesn't Paul say that faith establishes the law (Romans 3:31)? See The strongest objection under We Establish the Law.
- Doesn't Psalm 119 say God's ordinances endure forever? See A second objection under We Establish the Law.
- Aren't the saints known by keeping God's commandments (1 John 2:3–4; Revelation 14:12)? See The strongest objection under Bound by the Law of Christ.
- Does being free from the law mean obedience doesn't matter? See The opposite ditch under Bound by the Law of Christ.
- How is the teaching stated by those who hold it — in the form the apostles met, and in the form most holders profess today? See The Teaching We Differ From.
- Does salvation depend on settling these questions? See Whether salvation depends on these questions under Questions Answered.
Discussion Questions
- How many times does Galatians 2:16 deny justification by the works of the law, and what does Galatians 5:4 call the attempt to be justified by the law? (See Not Justified by the Works of the Law.)
- In the exchange with the rich young ruler, where does Jesus' answer finally point the man — and why does that matter? (See The strongest objection under Not Justified by the Works of the Law.)
- What office does Paul give the law in Galatians 3:24, and what has happened now that faith has come? (See No Longer Under a Tutor.)
- How does the answer to Matthew 5:17–19 grant Jesus' words their full force without freezing the law's custody? (See The strongest objection under No Longer Under a Tutor.)
- What word does Peter use for the law laid on disciples, and what did the council lay on the Gentile believers instead? (See The Council Would Not Lay the Yoke.)
- Why does the word perpetual in Exodus 31:16 not settle the Sabbath question? (See The strongest objection under Shadows, and the Substance.)
- What is the law of Christ, and what commandments bind the believer now? (See Bound by the Law of Christ.)
- What is the opposite ditch this article refuses, and where does Paul refuse it? (See The opposite ditch under Bound by the Law of Christ.)
Hope
The ground under the believer's feet is not his keeping; it is Christ's. “Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1). “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1).
For the Leader
Allow about 40 minutes for one session. Read Galatians 2:15–21 first, then Colossians 2:16–17. Invite everyone to open and check each verse in their own Bible.
© 2026 Elvis Lucas, Open the Text. Original: https://openthetext.com/series/test-the-teaching/06-not-by-keeping-the-law-study-guide/
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