How many people do you know who think they are beyond the law? Maybe you are one?
Maybe it is driving your car faster than the posted speed limit? Perhaps thinking Stop signs are merely a suggestion? Maybe more serious than that, such as, cheating on income tax or stealing something from your company or organization? I’ve seen people stealing time—being paid for doing something and collecting the money without doing the work. This even extends to physical or emotional abuse, sexual activities, or worse.
Paul the Apostle liked to write about freedom from the Law. His life had been devoted to learning about and following the Jewish Law. One day he experienced blindness, an event that completely shook his foundations. Then God got his attention. He discovered a life filled with the spirit. That life was beyond the Law.
He preached that and wrote about it. The problem was that these early (and many later) Christ Followers were confused. They said, “Hallelujah! We don’t have to follow the law. We can do whatever we want!”
Paul said, “Whoa, guys. Not so fast.”
It’s not about ignoring the law. Life in the spirit means we don’t focus on the law because life in the spirit naturally does the intent of the laws.
Freedom doesn’t mean that we are above the law like a rebellious teenager. Freedom means that we don’t have to worry about it continuously. It means living in the spirit we will behave responsibly because that is what people in the spirit do.
I think Paul went to his grave trying to explain that. Even today we have people who miss the freedom part and read Paul for a list of new laws. Or we have people who, like the early Christians in Corinth, absorbed the freedom part without the responsibility part.
What a balancing act we must perform while living in the spirit. Freedom and responsibility.
Faith Venture 
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