How do believers keep the law without being under the burden and fear of the law?
Believers keep the law by serving in newness of spirit and being controlled by the Holy Spirit, not by the oldness of the letter. They are freed from the law’s burden and fear, yet the Spirit never leads them contrary to the law; He leads, guides, and directs them so that they keep it.
Les explains that Paul, writing as a Jew, contrasts serving in newness of spirit with the oldness of the letter. Believers are no longer under the demands of the Ten Commandments of Moses; they are under the Holy Spirit’s control. Logically, the Spirit will never lead a believer contrary to the law—never into adultery or idolatry. So without the law’s burden and the fear of breaking it, grace now operates, and the Holy Spirit leads, guides, and directs believers so they keep the law under a different set of circumstances. Paul says all things are lawful, yet he will not be brought under the power of things the law forbids; he is free from the law’s burden but does not use it as license, because the Spirit controls every facet of his life, and so it should be with us.