Was the Law crucified with Christ, and is the Law now dead?
Yes. Colossians chapter 2 teaches that the handwriting of ordinances against us was blotted out, taken out of the way, and nailed to His cross. When Christ was crucified for the sins of the world, the Law was crucified with Him. It is now a dead system, though people try to pull it back from the grave.
Les explains that God took the Law, all of its demands, and all of legalism, and literally jerked it away and nailed it to His cross. As Christ hung there and was crucified for the sins of the world, the Law was crucified with Him. It is now a dead system, and the human race is constantly pulling it back out of the grave. Les compares that to fooling with something that has been dead for a while—it is not pretty—and says this is how we should feel about legalism. Paul is trying to hammer home: why go back to that weak and beggarly stuff that has been done away with? It has been crucified and is dead. Romans 7:4 likewise says believers have become dead to the Law.
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
More Questions
Why is going back to legalism like digging up something dead?
The human race constantly tries to pull the dead Law back out of the grave, and going back to legalism is like trying to revive something that has been dead a long time — there is nothing beautiful about it.