Under the law vs Under Grace
Building Blocks Bible Study Week 11
For centuries Christian’s have wrestled with the issue of, are the non-Jewish believers of Jesus, having been grafted into the “Israel of God” “under the Law?” This debate is not new as very early on, the Apostles had to deal with the Gentiles relationship to the Old Covenant, or what we abbreviate as “the Law.” The issue arose early with the primary question of whether gentile converts would be required to be circumcised. In Acts 15 the Apostolic Halachic decision was handed down that they did not. Rather than issuing an edict stating that Gentiles should abide by all the tenants of the Torah, the Apostles chose to clearly establish that they did not have to be circumcised but that there were several aspects found in the Torah to which they must abide and would be important starting points in their new walk of faith.
Jacob (aka James) pens a letter to be sent to the believing communities informing them of their decision. A decision Jesus gave them the authority to make, when He told them,
“Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 18:18
This is the authority to render halacha, or authoritative interpretive decisions for the Body of Christ, both Jew and Gentile.
The Apostolic letter to the Gentiles did require them to abide by four restrictions that are found in the Torah: (Each of these four deal with keeping ourselves pure from contamination that would negatively impact their walk with Christ. 3 are directly related to their physical diet and the last to their sexual appetite. They were also all associated with other religious idolatry)
1. Abstain from things sacrificed to idols.
2. Abstain from eating blood.
3. Abstain from eating meat from strangled animals.
4. Abstain from sexual fornication.
The Apostles letter then surmised that there was no need to enjoin all the commandments of the Torah upon them. Gentiles were certainly invited to study the Torah as it was taught in the synagogues in every city on the Sabbath.
Q. So what does this tell us?
A. That while the Apostles did NOT place the Gentiles under the vast requirements of the Torah, they did NOT see Gentiles embracing and study of the Torah as antithetical or contrary to their New Covenant faith in Jesus.
Q. So why has this Law vs Grace debate continued for so long?
A. Well there are multiple reasons. But listen to some statements that the Apostle Paul, who was a part of that Apostolic forum in Jerusalem later wrote about the Law:
Paul pens phrases like…
- “the law of Christ” in Galatians 6:2
- “you are not under the law” in Romans 6:14
- “For the Law brings wrath” Romans 4:15
- “the curse of the law” in Galatians 3:13
- “the law was our guardian until Christ came” in Galatians 3:24
- “for Christ is the end (telos: goal of) of the law” in Romans 10:4
- “those who are under the law” in Romans 3:19
Many have used Paul’s words to sow a seed of antagonism toward the Law that was not evidenced in the Apostles Halachic ruling for the Gentiles. The Apostles were not antinomian. Modern attitudes in the church are often openly hostile towards the Law and frame it as antithetical or in conflict with New Covenant faith in Jesus. Neither the original Apostles of Christ nor Paul shared that antagonism. They believed the Law remained a significant and valuable revelation of the Holiness and Righteousness of God that would benefit and blessing to all believers, even those who were and are partakers or adherents to the Mosaic covenant.
But now the pendulum has swung the other direction. Torah antagonism remained unchallenged and unchecked for many generations. That is until Israel was re-established as a state and Jewish people began calling on Yeshua as the Messiah. Pretty soon, Gentiles, excited by the Messianic Jewish revival, started participating with them in their services and quickly fell in love with the Torah, and the revelation it contained.
But parts of that movement quickly devolved into the opposite of the antinomian (anti law) position of the church. Sadly, in the same way the church had, for generations, ignored what the Apostles actually said and taught about the Torah, the new pro-Torah movement began to do exactly the same thing, ignoring, undermining and reframing the words of Jesus and the Apostles on the subject.
BOTH POSITIONS…
a. “You are not under the Law and you should be antagonistic towards it
and
b. You ARE under the Law and should obey all of it.
Both arrived at their conclusions by ignoring or misrepresenting the words of Jesus and the Apostles.
Many in our fellowship, here at HFF have history in both of these camps. Most began in the church where they likely heard the Law pitted against Grace. Then at some point came to a greater appreciation of the relevant role of the Torah. But lets be honest…some of us have not only been in both camps, we have participated in both extremes in this discussion. No good has come of either extreme.
How then should we proceed? We must do so with a commitment to let Jesus say what He says and limit our application of what He says to what He actually said! This is true for the Apostolic Scriptures as well.
Tonight, we cannot possibly discuss every verse and every argument each of these extreme positions express. So, let’s just take a look at what Jesus said and see if we can limit ourselves to what He said and not what we want Him to say to validate our position.
Jesus taught…
17 p“Do not think that I have come to abolish qthe Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but rto fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, suntil heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 tTherefore whoever relaxes uone of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least vin the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great vin the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds wthat of the scribes and Pharisees, you xwill never enter the kingdom of heaven.
-Matthew 5: 17-20
Two extreme misinterpretations:
1. Jesus clearly says that He came to fulfill the Law therefore since He has done that it is done away with and represents nothing of real value for the non-Jewish believer.
2. Jesus clearly says that He did not come to nullify or abolish the Law therefore the Law is still in effect and all believers, Jew and Gentile are fully obligate to it.
Jesus clarifies that He did not come to nullify or abolish the Torah OR the Prophets. The issue then becomes what does Jesus mean by “FULFILL” and does that change the believers relationship to the Torah once HE has “fulfilled” the Torah?
Let’s start with a few observations:
1. Jesus cannot fulfill something that has been abolished and nullified.
2. Jesus would not and could not nullify a covenant or a prophecy, both of which came forth as Dvar HaShem, the Word of the LORD. It is in this same sermon that Jesus will speak to the people about maintaining their marriage covenants. Why? Because from God’s point of view you just don’t walk away from a covenant. That is how it is abolished. When one or both parties simply stop adhering to the terms. Divorce, while a sensitive subject IS the illustration that Jesus will use to make this point. Since the Torah is seen as a marriage covenant between God and Israel, Jesus would NEVER seek to abandon or nullify it. He WOULD however seek to fulfill it.
3. But fulfilling a covenant is NOT the same as abandoning it or abolishing it. A covenant is deemed fulfilled when all of its terms and conditions have been met.
Example: If I sign a document, a contractual agreement to pay a certain amount of money for a house, once that house is paid for the contract/covenant is fulfilled. I don’t keep making payments on a house that is now mine, just because the path to my ownership of the house told me I had to pay so much each month. Once the covenant is fulfilled THE RELATIONSHIP CHANGES! Does that former covenant become irrelevant? NO, it remains the proof of my ownership.
4. A covenant completes its course when it brings you to the destination for which it was created. Jesus doesn’t come to offer a New Covenant because He abolished the first one. He is able to offer a New Covenant becomes the terms, destination and course of the first covenant has been fulfilled.
We won’t take time to read it, but Paul makes the same argument in Romans when he explains that Christ can legally and rightfully offer us a New Covenant in the same way a widowed individual can enter into a new marriage covenant once their spouse has died. A widower doesn’t commit adultery by entering a new marriage covenant once their spouse has passed because that covenant is FULFILLED, NOT Abolished. It’s terms and conditions were met. Therefore, they have every right to enter a new marriage covenant.
“Therefore, my brethren you also were made to die to the Law THROUGH the body of Christ, SO THAT you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.”
- Romans 7: 4
Fulfilling does change the potential of relationship! The New Covenant offered Israel a New Covenant with God through Christ who had fulfilled their covenant for them.
Q. But the Old Covenant was also an Instruction in Righteousness. Does that mean God no longer cares about righteousness. Or that He has changed the explanations for what is an isn’t sin?
A. Here is a place where we simply fail to accept what Paul is telling us.
“I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Gentile) For in IT ( IT being the gospel of Jesus Christ) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous shall live by faith.”
-Romans 1:16-17
Paul says within the gospel of Jesus Christ is the righteousness that God has always desired. It is a righteousness that was seen in Abraham’s willingness to GIVE his son Isaac to God because Abraham believed in the Promise of God regarding Isaac.
Paul writes that, that type of righteousness is EVIDENCED in the Gospel.
Q. How so?
A. God wouldn’t let Abraham take the life of his son for God, but God was willing to demonstrate His righteousness by letting the sons of Abraham take the life of His son on their behalf.
B. Paul also says this in Romans 3, “For we maintain that a man is justified (declared righteous) by faith apart from observing the Law.”
Q. How can Paul say that someone can be declared righteous even if they aren’t keeping or under the Law?
A. Well what type of righteousness testify to that was coming? The type that Abraham manifested when he trusted, had faith in God’s promise and was willing to place his trust, even the life of his son fully in the hands of God. Paul says in Romans 4 that is why non-Jews can be right with God apart from the Law. Because Abraham was credited as Righteous for his faith before he was circumcised, before the Covenant of the Torah even existed! Paul is saying that the Gentiles are being justified by their faith exactly like Abraham was who was NOT under the Law. He was a part of the Abrahamic covenant.
So, let’s get back to Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus said that unless our righteousness EXCEEDS that of the Pharisees, we will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Q. How do you and I find righteousness greater than the scribes (lawyers of the law), and the Pharisees (the most righteous of law keepers)?
A. JESUS!
It is through the giving of His life on the Cross that Jesus satisfies the terms of the first covenant. It is resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God so that He could pour forth the Holy Spirit upon us and within us that we can be given a gift of righteousness because of our faith in HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Having fulfilled the first covenant, He now invites us all, Jew and Gentile alike into a New Covenant in Christ where the Righteousness God desires is manifested in us through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.
The Law could help us correct our behavior, but it could not restore the life of our being.
We were dead in our trespasses and sins. Only the life-giving Spirit of God can change our being from dead to alive. Jesus didn’t go through all of this just to correct our behavior but that we might have life in Him. That is why Paul told the men of Athens, “for in Him (God) we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28.
Jesus is the greater covenant, the greater gift, and everything that the Torah wants to point us to. (This was the original goal in the Garden, and through Jesus, God provides a way not back to Sinai, but to Eden. The original intent.)
The New Covenant didn’t come to change the definition of sin, but to deliver us from sin’s effects. We don’t get to redefine what sin is. We don’t get to declare that God has changed His mind about what is healthy and proper for His children’s diet. Believers have every opportunity to study that for themselves. But we also do not get to condemn, demean and judge those who are filled with Christ’s Holy Spirit whose diet may vary from what is recorded in the Torah. IF the Apostles didn’t impose it and condemn anyone for it, then neither can we. We will have to let God be God.
When the Spirit of God dwells inside of us, He begins to transform us. His purpose is far deeper than just keeping you from eating pork, He is transforming our heart and mind, where we wouldn’t even need the law to understand how we are to behave because we have the mind of Christ and Christ has the mind of God. He is Holy, His mind is Holy, He is the only thing that is Holy. We were created in HIS image, the Holy Spirit is to transform us from the inside out to be transformed into His image, the one we were created to walk as.
This is in such stark contrast with those who demand Torah observance for non-Jewish believers but ignore the teaching of Yeshua and His Apostles. It also reeks of hypocrisy as the ones who demand such things don’t travel to Jerusalem for the Feasts, they don’t regularly tithe, they don’t regularly gather on the Sabbath, and many other commandments given in the Torah and Prophets.
Some who demand gentile adherence to the Torah go way beyond just explaining why they think gentiles should do so. Their “instruction” often lapses into full scale condemnation. Paul contrasts his instruction with those who have a different agenda and goal for their teaching. And its relevant to seeing what really drives this discussion and debate today.
The aim of our charge is love lthat issues from a pure heart and ma good conscience and na sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into pvain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, qwithout understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
- 1 Timothy 1:1-5
Even in Paul’s day there were people who “wanted to be teachers of the Law.” But they had an agenda that was not Paul’s agenda. Paul declared that they make “confident assertions about things they know not.”
When someone tries to re-frame Jesus’ comments about not abolishing the Law and then completely ignore what Jesus and the Apostles teach about Christ fulfilling the Law and the legal justification for a New Covenant, they are “making confident assertions about things they know not.”
The Law is not opposed to Christ, the law points us to Christ. The Temple and the Sacrifices were a necessity. It served as a place where Israel could express their love and faith in God and express their desire to be restored to His presence. God created a place where they could draw near to Him and He could draw near to them. It was a place where they could declare their desire for their Spiritual man to be elevated above their fallen carnal flesh with its appetite for sin.
It was a constant invitation to a renewed relationship with God in a place where His glory and His Spirit dwelt. Now we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit and our lives are all about drawing nearer and nearer to God as we submit more and more to the voice of the Holy Spirit instead of the voice of our flesh.
When Yeshua taught the Sermon on the Mount, it was like unto the giving of the law at Sinai. But it was His moment to show that the Law revealed that God always had a greater revelation of His righteousness than even what they found in the Torah. With each commandment that Jesus addressed, His teaching revealed the Torah had a goal that many of them hadn’t even realized. That fact alone exposes the reality that even those who considered themselves experts on the Law often missed the very heart and soul of it.
IF that was true of them, how much more of modern-day extremist who have made themselves the self-appointed teachers of the Torah?
No one was more well versed on the Pharisees approach to the Torah than the Apostle Paul. Paul described himself more than once as a Pharisee, as in his letter to Philemon (3:5) and in his appeal before Felix where he stated he still considered himself a Pharisee.
Q. So how could someone who considered himself a Pharisee say all those things we read in the beginning of our study tonight?
A. He could say I am not under the law because he knew what “abolish” and “fulfill” actually meant and both definitions mattered. He could say it because he knew that the Law AND THE PROPHETS all pointed to the Messiah. The Pharisees knew that too but rejected Jesus as that Messiah.
He could say those things because they were the foundation of why he knew his faith in Jesus was NOT contrary or antagonistic to the Torah. He could say those things because when he came to Jesus, or more accurately, when Jesus came to him, He saw the full truth and extent of what it meant for Jesus to fulfill the law and open the door for a new covenant. He could say those things because he knew, Jesus WAS THE COVENANT. And nothing in the Law that WE could do would ever elevate us or restore us to fellowship with the Father like what Jesus had done for us.
At HFF we do not believe Jesus abolished the Torah. We do believe that He fulfilled it and by doing so moved us from under the Law which governed our flesh, to a life in the Spirit. In the same way He moved from bondage to freedom. In the same way He moved us from death to life. IF you can accept that Jesus’ fulfilling the Torah accomplished those essential moves then you should have no problem with Him loving us enough to move us into a New and Better Covenant with better promises. And He did all of that without causing us to disparage or demean the tutor, the Torah that brought us and should still bring us to the knowledge of the one true God.
At HFF the Torah remains a revelation given by God to Israel as an act of grace. As an act of covenant loyalty and love. But we also believe that God loved us so much that He sent His son to fulfill what we could not, to move us where we could not go, to rescue us when we could not rescue ourselves, through His Son who revealed the Righteousness of God so that We could become the righteousness of God. The covenants of God matter.
