Jesus the Savior placed Himself under the law given by God through Moses, or as it is written: "He submitted to the law," in order to accomplish the redemption of people. And when He took upon Himself our sins, the curse of the law fell upon Him as punishment for those sins, as it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." That is, Jesus was condemned according to the law and received the punishment and curse in accordance with the law, as it is written: "He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him..." That is, the law condemned Him and sentenced Him to death for our sins, since the wages of sin is death, and Jesus died instead of us, taking our sins upon Himself. In other words, the law carried out its judgment, a verdict was issued, and it was executed.
And if the law has condemned you and the judgment has been carried out, the law cannot condemn you a second time because you have already died according to the law for sins with Christ, as the apostle wrote: "I died to the law through the law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ." That is, the believer has already been crucified and died with Christ for sins, and in Christ, you have paid for your sins. The law has authority over a person as long as he lives, but if you died with Christ since Christ died on the cross, then you have been set free from the law and are not under law but under God's grace. God's grace is what God does—good and favorable things for you—accomplishing your salvation. And you were raised with Christ for a new life, as it is written: "Our old self was crucified with Him (Christ) so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin." That is, God in Christ killed our old nature, or the old self, which was a slave to sin, and you were raised with Christ when Jesus was resurrected. You now have a new life since you possess a new essence or nature within yourself, and God has removed the sinful nature from your heart.
According to the law, you, being a sinner, were condemned and put to death, and having been raised with Christ, you became a new creation of God with a new Spirit that God placed within you, in your heart. Jesus wiped out, through His teaching, the written code that was against us, or the law that opposed us. He took that law and nailed it to the cross, thus disarming the principalities and powers, the forces of darkness and Satan (for the power of sin is the law). He made a public spectacle of all the dark powers, shaming them... For this reason, let no one judge you regarding food or drink, or with respect to a festival, a new moon, or a Sabbath, because these are a SHADOW of the things to come, but the reality is found in Christ, or we are united with Him in His death and resurrection, and the law of Moses has been nailed to the cross.
Christ submitted to the law only to redeem those who were under the law. For you, the commandments of Christ's teaching are relevant, while the law has been nailed to the cross as it fulfilled its function when Jesus Christ died according to the law. And you are not under the curse of the law because Christ redeemed you from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us according to the law, for our sins.
Study the teaching of Christ diligently and obey the commandments of His doctrine because the word that Jesus Christ spoke and commanded was spoken by God the Father through Christ, and this word will judge people on the last day. The Holy Spirit was sent by God the Father to remind you of everything Jesus Christ taught so that you may become doers of His commandments. Whoever breaks one of these least commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
