Let's first take a look at the apostle Paul's words in Colossians 2:14-17: "Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ... So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ."

When some read about the sabbath days that were shadows and that passed away at the cross, they think that Paul was referring to the weekly Sabbath, the fourth of the Ten Commandments. Is this accurate? It's important to get this right, because our interpretation of the apostle's actual meaning ...

This question - Are we still under the law? - is often asked in an effort to diminish the law of God in the life of the Christian. It is said, "Since we are not under law but under grace, we do not need to keep the Ten Commandments any longer."

But is this a valid point?

The Bible certainly does say that we are not under law, but does that imply that we are free from the obligation to obey it? The passage is found in Romans 6:14, 15: "Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."

How easily we could prevent confusion if we accepted exactly what the Bible says. Paul gives his own explanation of this ...

Some teach that after the law has accomplished its purpose of pointing a sinner to Christ for forgiveness and cleansing, the commandments are no longer needed in the experience of a believer. Is that true?

A Christian will continue to depend upon the "watchdog" of the law to reveal any deviations from the true path of righteousness and to point him or her back to the cleansing cross of Jesus. This mirror of correction will most certainly be needed in the progressive growth experience of the Christian.

Law and grace do not work in competition with one another, but rather they work in perfect cooperation. The law points out our sin, and grace saves from sin. The law ...