Under the Moral Law?

The BCF is not contrary to Galatians 4 or any other portion of Scripture.
What you ned to understand is that the Galatian Christians were being encouraged by false teachers to adopt the Jewish ceremonial law, especially circumcision (Galatians 5:1-6; cf. Acts of the Apostles 15:1). The idea that the law cannot be divided is completely crackers! For a start, all the 10 Commandments can be found in Scripture before Exodus 20.
As someone who has been in church leadership for many years, I have seen professing Christians make complete shipwreck because they believed they were 'walking in the Spirit.' "It feels so right, I can't believe that God isn't in it!" Let me finish by saying, if you or anyone else thinks the Spirit is leading you to do something that is against God's Moral Law, it's not the Holy Spirit you're hearing, it's something else entirely!

 

I am reminded of what the apostle Paul wrote about those who make up rules(remember the Pharisees), who fashion themselves as gatekeepers of the "moral law":

Colossians 2:20-23(NKJV) Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—“Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

I figure a pretty good rule of thumb is that in loving God to always keep God on His throne and keep yourself in the dust(as Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 6 and Job in Job chapter 42); and in loving one's neighbor, to first off, don't break his leg and don't steal his stuff, and, as God provides an opportunity to help him out when needed, do so(as Jesus described in the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke chapter 10).

 

What gets confusing is that what you mean by "being under" makes all the difference. We all have been and always will be under the moral law in the sense of the moral law being right and we being obligated to obey it. We are not under the law and probably never were, in the sense that keeping it will save us, simply because we didn't, and still don't, in all cases. What I see being taught nowadays is almost to the point of teaching the idea that you have to be Spirit led and your main obligation is don't you dare read a Biblical teaching and do it because it is a Biblical teaching as that will make you a legalist. All making the law a "rule of life" does is say that these teachings are the same as what you do when you are truly led by the Spirit. The scripture can be a means of knowing how to behave. The Spirit will indeed help you in areas not spelled out as you go through life but will never be in contradiction to the teachings of scripture. Any perceived contradiction should be a huge red flag for a Christian and a signal to stop immediately and figure it out. I think I remember where Thomas Kempis said that ideally, it is desirable to get to the point where you would do good and obey Christ unconsciously, not even realizing you were doing it because it had become so much of who you now are. That would be idea but if you happen to read in scripture verses teaching you the same thing what do you do now - you either have to obey or disobey what you know to be the moral law.

 

That's OK. I'll be a legalist with Spurgeon and Paul. 'Not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ.'

 

Once again you are confusing the Moral law with the ceremonial and dietary laws. The Colossians, in slightly different circumstances to the Galatians, were being led by false teachers into obeying the law of Moses in regard to eating, drinking, touching dead bodies and so forth. 'Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters' (1 Corinthians 7:19).

Yep! Don't put any gods before Him; don't take His name in vain, don't have any idols in your life, and keep the His day special.

Yep. Also, don't lie to him, don't steal his wife and don't covet any of his stuff.
We aren't really very far apart.

 

The New Covenant is the written "last will and testament" of Jesus that He has engraved on our hearts (Hebrews 9). This engraving is a mark on us so that God the Father will never condemn us for failing to keep the Old Covenant law precisely because Jesus fully kept the Old Covenant law and substituted his holiness by imparting it to us in His will. Meanwhile our sins were placed upon Jesus and forever redeemed at the cross.

So, the New Covenant is written on our hearts and we obey all that Christ commands, not to be saved, but precisely because we are saved and we are marked by the New Covenant.

 

1 John 3:22-24, ". . . And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. . . ." The commandments of the New, not referring to the Old.

 

Thank you @JonC, @AustinC, @KenH and others, perhaps even those who disagree as perhaps all of this is helping me to get a proper view Romans 8:28. I do have to believe we are not under the law and not to be by the works of the law, for our righteousness is of faith, but that doesn't mean we live without law to God, though i am still confused on that part, or that we walk in sin, but rather we live to glorify God and to walk following the Spirit is what i am getting.

 

God is glorified in Christ. If God were looking at us, instead of our substitute, "all our righteousness would be as filthy rags" before God. It is our foolish pride that thinks we could do something that impresses God. What impresses God is His Son and His Son's perfect holiness. This is why we say, with Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose."
~ Galatians 2:20-21

Jason, find your joy in Christ alone. He chose you and purchased you for His own, not because of your inherent goodness, but purely because of His particular grace for you, which was entirely undeserved.
Now, live in that grace and endeavor to be holy as He is holy by living your life in Christ. Let Christ live in you. Let go of your worries and embrace your inheritance as a child of God.

 

The Reformers view(ed) the moral law as the inherent knowledge of right and wrong. Before the Ten Commandments, mankind was still accountable for sin. Romans 5:13 - or until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. So, even though "the Law" was not yet codified at Sinai, the knowledge of right and wrong existed. This is what the Reformers referred to as "moral knowledge" or the moral law. As Baptists, we bristle at the idea that we are under the law, and we certainly are not. But even though we are under grace, we are still held accountable for doing wrong. We can face the chastening of the Lord when we sin.

 

The "LAW" as in OT Law, is never spoken of in plural, like "Laws" so it is an indivisible unity.

Romans 6:14 clearly says we are n longer under law, but under grace.

Therefore, any supposed division into moral/ civil/ ceremonial, is man made and false.

We are not under OT law. Maybe the Law of Christ, or the Law of Liberty, or the Law of love all mentioned in the NT.