Not Under The Law ~ Video
Posted under: I keep hearing the argument from those who say I am in error, that we are no longer under the law. One of the most used verses they give me is Romans 6:14.
So are we no longer Under The Law? Is the law a curse? Why would God say something is perfect and yet Paul call it a curse?
Psalms 19:7
The LAW of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul.
Perhaps more likely there is a misunderstanding. Let’s take a look at Romans 6:14.
Good word, solid word, and simple to follow. Thanks for sharing!
You say in the video that when we sin or “run the red light” and get caught, we go to the judge and pay the penalty for that sin, but you also say in FAQ’s that you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins. Help me understand, isn’t this paying for sin twice? Something doesn’t make sense.
The red light story is just an allegory to make a point. You don’t have a “checkbook” big enough to pay for your sins. Only our Messiah with the payment of His death can cover that cost. Nothing we can do will cover the cost of our disobedience. The point is now that He has paid our fine with His sacrifice, we need to walk out our faith by trying to avoid sin (breaking the law). When we fail and fall into temptation, we need to repent and do our best to not again transgress the law. His grace covers us from again being under the penalty of punishment(law).
However, many people in Christianity think that once we acknowledge His sacrifice, its now ok to live life anyway we choose. If we continue to live a lawless lifestyle, we trample His sacrifice and He views that lawlessness as open rebellion.
I hope that makes sense.
could you please explain Colossian 2:14-16? Is there a difference between the Law and ordinances? Are the ceremonial laws the only ones that have been done away with? If we are supposed to follow Laws other than the 10 Commandments, what are they? I’m so confused!! My mother tells me that because of Colossian 2:14-16, Jesus nailed the Laws of the Old Testament to the cross, and only the 10 Commandents are the Law we have to follow.
Jennifer, Colossians 2:14 is actually referring to our debt record (the list of transgressions we’ve committed). The Father’s instructions could never (ever!) be considered “contrary to us”, the Torah was given to us as a blessing and it contains the perfect instructions by which we’re to live. Also, keep in mind that the Torah was never a means for salvation, it serves 3 purposes:
1. It defines what sin is. (1 John 3:4)
2. It curses us when we break it. (Deuteronomy 11:26-28)
3. It blesses us when we walk in obedience to it. (Deuteronomy 11:26-28)
The Torah is the first 5 books of the Bible, and it contains more than just the 10 Commandments (although they are a part of it). As Yeshua says in Matthew 5:18, “till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” There is no “moral law”, “ceremonial law”, etc. — there is only one set of instructions, the Father’s Torah, and we’re to keep it throughout all of our generations.
Much confusion is caused by those who attempt to dissect the Torah, picking and choosing what they want to adhere to. All of this goes away once one realizes that there is one people (Israel), one Father, one Kingdom, and one set of instructions for all of us. It’s a beautiful picture!
By the way, if you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend that you watch Jim Staley’s excellent “Identity Crisis” teaching on YouTube…
Jason,
Thank you for your response. ‘Identity Crisis’ was the first video I watched. I tried to get mom to watch it, but she said she got bored with it. I then moved on to the video on clean/unclean meat, and after I let her know I wouldn’t be eating unclean meat now and tried to explain to her why she quoted the same verses at me: 1Timothy 4:1-11 and Colossian 2:14-16.
I’ve read many explanations on Colossian 2:14-16 and most say it was only the ceremonial laws that were done away with, since there is no sacrifices. I’ve never read anything about ‘ordinances’ being referred to as our debt record. I wish you would explain how ordinances becomes a list of our transgressions or direct me to a video.
Once again, thank you…this is all so new and different to me. Although we read the Old Testament, I have always been taught Old Covenant and now there is also a New Covenant (New Testament). Not replacement of Old Testament.
Jennifer, I can identify with you. Some people immediately “get it” when they are shown the truth regarding Israel, while others simply can’t connect the dots yet even though it’s staring them directly in the face. I think the roots of man-made tradition go much deeper than we all initially realize. When I was presented with that information about a year ago for the very first time, it literally brought tears to my eyes and made my spirit leap for joy. It was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever discovered and completely changed my life going forward.
Back to Colossians 2:14…
If you look at the Strong’s reference for the words in that verse, you will see that the word for “handwriting” is G5490, cheirographon, “a note of hand or writing in which one acknowledges that money has either been deposited with him or lent to him by another, to be returned at the appointed time — this, in a nutshell, is a debt record.
Next, the word for “ordinances” is G1378, dogma. This is not a word that is used in Scripture to refer to the Torah in any way, shape, or form. Paul tells us in Romans 7:12 that the Torah is “holy, righteous, and good”, so the understanding that he is referring to the perfect here as “contrary to us” does not compute. Take some time to read and meditate on Psalm 119, it does a wonderful job of framing how we should be viewing the instructions we were given.
The belief that Yeshua came to keep the instructions perfectly so that we don’t have to just doesn’t make sense once you take a step back from the popular stream of thought and evaluate it without bias. Yeshua’s sacrifice for us did not miraculously cause the flesh of swine and rodents to be nutritional, nor did it do away with the everlasting instructions of the Father to keep His Sabbath and Appointed Times throughout all our generations. If WWJD is truly a slogan to live our lives by, then it only makes sense that we should be doing the same exact things as Yeshua did. He came as our perfect example.
Jason,
Thank you sooooo much! I can relate to your ‘brought tears to my eyes and made my spirit leap for joy.’ Mine did the same. I have prayed and prayed that the truth be revealed – I only want to be who God wants me to be – and then I was introduced to ‘Hebrew Roots’ and ‘Identity Crisis’. A miracle to me! My mother told me I was an answer to her prayer and I had a very special purpose…maybe that purpose is to help her also know the Truth…??? She told me that from a very young age (2 years old), that she felt a very strong link to Israel. I will continue to delve into the Truth that God wants us to know, and share everything with her. My prayers are being answered.
Jennifer, may Yahweh continue to bless you as you embark on this exciting journey back to His Ways. These are such exciting times that we live in as He is calls His lost sheep back to Him!
Jennifer & Jason,
I have addressed this topic many times as well. And one thing that is helpful for some people in understanding what parts of the Torah are “gone away” is understanding what Yeshua HaMashiach’s purpose was on Earth.
We all know that He can to die for our sins, but what does that mean for us and the Torah. Christ was/is our High Priest. In the Tanakh when you commit a sin (transgression of Torah) you are required to bring a sacrifice to the Priest to offer unto the Most High to pay the penalty for your transgressions. Christ made Himself both our Priest and our sin offering. So in Matthew 5 (quoted above) when He says that no part of the Law shall pass away but will be fulfilled thats part of the meaning.
And throughout all of His ministry Christ never teaches us to disobey Torah, if anything He makes the definitions of the transgressions stricter. He does however speak out about the man-made practices and teachings that were added onto the Torah by the Pharisees. He didn’t have to set us free from those rituals and practices but rather told us we were never truly burdened by them in the first place (this principle can be applied to the Jewish Talmud as well as the many practices and rituals of the Catholic and Protestant churches).
So the Law concerning sacrifice is still in place, we simply have no need to make sacrifice because Yeshua has already made it for us. And the traditions and rituals heaped on top of the Torah are not only not applicable today, they never were to start with.
I’m really just repeating what Jason has already said here, but I wanted to share it in these words becuase they have been very effective for me and I thought perhaps they would be helpful for someone else. Thanks for the site and the videos, they are an amazing resource.
The explanations were as good as the video itself.
The red light example and paying that penalty changing us from ‘under the law’ to ‘free to observer the law’ is profound!. Thank you!
[...] Zac at New2Torah has a great analogy for all of this — you blow a red light on the way home from work because you’re late for dinner and you subsequently get pulled over. The officer proceeds to write you a ticket and you are required to make an appearance in court. On the day that you humbly stand in front of the judge, he has grace and mercy on you and dismisses the $250 fine, allowing you to walk away freely. As you make your way out of the courthouse and back to your car, you are now no longer under the penalty of Law as your transgression has been wiped clean. In light of this fact, does it mean that you can continue to intentionally blow through red lights? Do you now have a free pass to drive carelessly and continue to endanger your own life and others? [...]
very much appreciated
What about Acts 15:28-29. The gentiles (which I am) weren’t to be burdened with anything but being led by the Holy Spirit, abstaining from food sacrificed to idols, blood, meat of strangled animals and sexual immorality.
Also if you are to obey the whole law (torah) shouldn’t you be stoning people (though I guess you can quote Jesus “He who is without sin cast the first stone”), cutting off peoples hand, guaging out their eyes etc (eye for an eye).
How about the Lord writes the Laws on our hearts (conscience) and we are awakened by the Holy Spirit and love the Lord, keep short accounts with Him, repent quickly, ask God to search our hearts if there is any deception and sin and get closer to Him?
I generally like though this site. There are a lot of grace Christians out there, that if you bring out the bible or start quoting they will say you have a religious devil. I am a grace Christian, but I believe “work out your salvation with fear and trembling”, “our God is a consuming fire” and to be Holy for the Lord is Holy.
You are misunderstanding Acts 15. Those things mentioned, (food sacrificed to idols, drinking blood, meat strangled, and fornication) are all listed in Torah as things not to do…thus sins. These are the sins that were most prevalent to the pagan gentiles they were witnessing too. They are saying to start with “these things” and you will learn the rest of Moses writings on the Sabbath (verse 21).
I have teachings on my site about stoning people and what that entailed. Details…details.
http://www.new2torah.com/2012/08/stoning-our-children/
Peter, these are legitament questions. Ones I have asked myself and still hear in our small group. If asked with a heart seeking truth that’s great. They should also be answered with a humble heart. I think the folks on this site try to do that. There are answers to these type of questions. They may not be the ones we hear from the catholic/protestant faith though. The 119 teaching on stoning is good and informative. If we just keep reading the bible explains itself. For example, Peters vision. Nothing to do with animals. Blessings.