Law and Grace - Are They Antithetical?

Are Law and grace opposites? Are the Jews saved by obedience to the Law and those under the New Covenant saved by grace? Are there two ways of salvation? Was Torah (law) replaced by the "age of grace"?  If these questions stir in your heart the desire to understand the answers to these questions, like they do mine, then you may want to keep reading.

In the past few years I have felt compelled to understand the relationship between Law and grace.  It seems to me the modern day church has fully embraced a sort of easy believism which is devoid of obedience and offers a false gospel of freedom and assurance of salvation that does not line up with Scripture.  One of my passions over the years has been to counter this with biblical acumen whenever possible. A similar false antithesis seems to exist with works and faith. There seem to be believers who are focused on either one or the other to the extreme and to the neglect of the other. The Word of Elohim is hardly silent on this topic.

The Hebrews were redeemed first out of bondage and slavery BEFORE receiving the Law. Okay, we have a pattern here, woven throughout Scripture! Thank you Father! The pattern is never law first, then grace. Surely the Law's role in our age is to be a measuring stick to show us our need for Yeshua. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of Elohim. There is a missing element in most of today's evangelism that forgets to use the Ten Commandments, the Law to show others what Elohim's standard is so that only then, can they see their need for a Saviour. Most of the people in the world are in a burning building and no one is telling them that it is on fire much less taking the energy needed to rescue them or show them the Way to the Rescuer! But we wouldn't give people the Law or commands of Yahweh and expect them to be able to live them out without FIRST coming to faith in Yeshua and receiving the Ruach haKodesh! To present it that way, surely leads to legalism and a false sense of salvation.  That would be absurd! 

There is no salvation apart from faith demonstrated by our obedience. We are called, chosen, drawn, redeemed, saved and then given our marching orders. Why are we redeemed? So we can continue to be slaves to sin? No! (Does this sound a little Pauline?) So we can be slaves to righteousness! We are free FROM sin and death and now are free TO obey by the Spirit as we have His Word, literally Messiah Himself, living inside us and teaching us daily. There is not a separate plan of salvation for one people (the Jews) and another for the rest. By faith Avraham (Abraham), by faith Noach (Noah), by faith, by faith, by faith! But was this faith just believing some kind of head knowledge that never impacted them to the extent it showed in their actions? No! Faith apart from works is dead. Read the book of James (Ya'akov). It doesn't exist. It isn't real. Even demons "believe" but they will be in torment for eternity! Read the gospels and how many times demons identified Yeshua correctly as the Son of Elohim!

Ya'akov (James) and Yeshua's half-brother, clears the issue up quite well when he sums up chapter 2 of his missive with this declaration, "Indeed, just as the body without a spirit is dead, so too faith without actions is dead." In Hebrews we read of those of great faith. Avraham, Noach, Yitz'chak (Isaac) ....they all demonstrated their faith through their actions and it was credited to them as righteousness. We could talk about love and obedience in similar terms as 1 Yochanan (John) says that we demonstrate our love for Elohim by obedience to His commands. He says something quite radical, "The way we can be sure we know him is if we are obeying his commands. Anyone who says, 'I know him,' but isn't obeying his commands is a liar - the truth is not in him." Similarly, Yeshua said there would be many declaring they are His followers, but Yeshua will respond, "I never knew you." Yeshua is from the beginning, the Aleph Tav as Revelation says, so it cannot mean knowing in the sense of existing. To "know" means to be a follower of Yeshua and to be under His authority, not your own.

One of my favorite pictures of how law and grace interact can be seen in the ark of the covenant. Inside this wooden box overlaid with gold were the Ten Commandments written on tablets of stone, Aaron's rod that blossomed and the jar of manna. Oh, there is so much here! The ark is also a picture of our hearts and the New or Renewed Covenant can be seen as the law written on our hearts just as Jeremiah 31:31 prophesied. But what is covering this box? It is covered inside and outside with pure gold. We are to be pure on the inside as well. On the cover of the ark where the two golden cherubim with wings outstretched toward each other in the center, what is called the "mercy seat". Two in agreement, two is a witness and they are facing each other but looking down, where? Their attention is on the Word/Law.  So we have the law inside, but mercy covering. If you have the Word living in you then you also are a literal walking, talking ark of the covenant! I guess those archaeologists can stop looking for the Ark now, huh?

It's laughable to think or suggest that the mixed multitude that came out of Egypt had earned their salvation by obedience to Yahweh's commands! I mean, if we read the Book, we see the disobedience continually, the punishment and consequences of their disobedience but also the mercy and grace continually as well. There were consequences for disobedience and it was all ROOTED in their LACK OF FAITH! Why didn't they go into the Promised land and had to wander 40 years, dying in the desert? Because their lack of faith was demonstrated by their lack of action in taking the land Elohim said to take! Herein demonstrates the relationship.

The Law is good, perfect, holy. Sha'ul is clear on that in Romans. The problem isn't with the Law, it is with sinful man! Yeshua came to remedy that problem. The blood of lambs sacrificed on altars only covered sin, it didn't get rid of the problem. If we have trusted in Yeshua as Messiah and Lord and are walking (that's an action) in faith in His death as a payment for our sin, we are set free from the law of sin, the sinful nature of the flesh and now can be governed by the law of the Ruach HaKodesh, where the law is written on our hearts increasingly as He teaches us and empowers us to obey. We can as believers in Yeshua quench the Ruach and act according to the sinful nature/flesh as the sanctification process is a working (there's that action word again!) out of our salvation. This is a journey and we have choices to obey and listen to the Ruach or not.  He will NEVER tell us to do anything contrary to His Word. Please notice I didn't say we are saved by our works, we are saved unto (so we can do) the works He has called and ordained us to do! Big difference.

I'm going to say something radical sounding to some. But if we think we believe Him and His Word and our actions show otherwise, we are lying to ourselves. If we think we can fool the Creator by reciting some creed and go on living however we want to live, apart from His teaching and instruction, going our own way, then we most likely do not have the Ruach. One of the tests of knowing who is a true believer is that they have the desire to read and study the Word of Elohim and obey it (that's action oriented). This is clear from Scripture! I'm not talking about perfect obedience, as that was only demonstrated by Yeshua. What I am talking about is a desire to obey, and a life characterised by that which shows outwardly what one believes inwardly. Two is a witness, and your faith and works must agree!

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word "law"? If you are like most, it would have some negative connotation for you. Perhaps in your mind's eye, you see a judge with a gavel or worse yet, you equate law with legalism and not simple obedience. So much of our understanding of the scriptures is how we define the words in them. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word "grace"? Most likely, you have a favorable reaction and feeling about that word. It is important to recognize these things because they DO have a great impact on how we interpret scripture that contains these words. Words also evolve and change over time. What connotation the words had when they were written may be different than what it has today. More important, is the task of making sure we define law and grace as Elohim does in His Word, not as we want to define it in our own minds.

What is also critical, I think, to remember is the Word of Elohim is consistent from beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation. The "law of first mention" applies here. What this means is that how a word is initially used and defined in the Bible is critical to understanding it's use in other passages. I always note in my Bible when a word is used the first time and take notes. For example, if the word "law" was defined as evil or bad in the Tanakh, then it would continue to be so in the B'rit Hadashah (New Testament). If Yahweh's laws are seen to be holy, righteous and good in the Tanakh, then it would not be considered the opposite in the B'rit Hadashah. This law of first mention, by the way, makes it absolutely critical to study the Torah (in this case I am referring to the first 5 books of Moses) as so many words are defined in these foundational books.

Brad Scott, in his book, The Tanakh: The Dictionary of the New Testament, expounds further, "The modern church approaches the Scriptures by beginning in the New Testament, forming an understanding of those teachings, and then going back to the Tanakh to understand its meaning. This denies the plain cultural meaning of the text, and conforms the Scriptures to the ever-changing ideology of the church, rather than forming the ideology of the church based on the solid, consistent rock of Scripture. When you read the book of Acts, you see that, historically, the followers of Yeshua did not simply accept whatever new teaching they heard. They could not have tested established revelation (the Tanakh), which they knew to be true, by a new revelation which they did not know to be true."

Most of us have used the titles "Old and New Testament" for the front and back end of our Bibles. But have you ever stopped to consider what connotations the words "old" and "new" have in your mind and how these affect your interpretation of Scripture? When you hear the word "old", what comes to mind? Perhaps you think of outdated things like 8 track tapes or antique cars. Maybe you think of things that are passed, gone and lost forever. Ha, I am starting to think of myself when I hear that word! Oh my. What about the word "new"? Ah, commercials abound with the phrase "new and improved" and pretty much anything new is seen as better. Old is to be discarded in the trash and replaced with the new! Hmmmm. It seems to me that our ideas of what is old and new have impacted the way we view His Word. That is one reason I prefer not to use the titles Old and New Testament, but rather like Tanakh (which stands for Torah, Nevi'im or prophets, and K'tuvim or Writings) and B'rit Hadashah instead.

Psalm 119 is one of my most favorite chapters in the entire Word of Elohim. Why? It is a devotional on the Word using the Hebrew alphabet and over and over it expresses how I feel about His Word to me.  I LOVE the Word of Elohim!!!!! It's my life, my food, contains everything I need to know all in ONE amazing, living and active book. I admit I can't get enough of it/Him! "The sum of your Word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever." Yahweh's Word is eternal, unchangeable. Yeshua came as the Word or Torah made flesh. He was a walking, talking demonstration the Word of Elohim, because they are one in the same (John 1:1).

There are many misunderstandings among believers in Yeshua when it comes to the Law, what it means to be "under the law" or "under grace".  Sha'ul (Paul) spends a considerable amount of time expounding on this subject in Romans and other passages. The phrase "under the law" is found ten times in the New Testament. But before we even get to understanding that phrase, we have to understand the word "Law" in itself.

The English word law is translated from the Greek word "nomos". Dr. Ron Moseley in his book, Yeshua A Guide to the Real Jesus and the Original Church, explains that the Greeks had only one word for law, nomos, which "tended toward the negative and lacked the ability to convey the depth of the concept of Torah. He also agrees that in the second and third centuries, as the ekklesia (church) began drifting from their Hebrew roots, misconceptions developed concerning aspects of Yahweh's Law, the Torah. Greek philosophy (which if you have ever studied it is in marked contrast to Hebrew philosophy) played a role in this, as well as pagan ideas that infiltrated the church.

What is Torah? Many when hearing this word think of the first 5 books of the Bible and that is one definition or understanding of the word.  But the word "Torah" is much more than that. To the Hebrew mind, "the primary purpose of Torah is to teach humanity how to hit the mark in life, as opposed to committing sin, to miss the mark" (Moseley).  Torah is instruction and teaching, much like what you would think of as a parent instructing a child in the way they should live and behave. The picture here is a bulls eye, a target to aim for. Yahweh's teaching, instructions and commands are for our welfare and good! His ways are always higher (better) than our ways. Obedience brings blessing, long life and the pleasure of knowing we are walking in His ways. These blessings have not ended. Torah is a boundary for His people, all His people, for there is only One Seed from whom all of faith come. Most do not like the word "boundary" as it feels constricting. But it isn't that at all! It is LIFE and life abundantly! Think of it as a fence and you are the sheep and the fence is what keeps you alive and well, dwelling safely in your Abba's pasture.

The concept of law became more and more negative over time in our Western culture. Scott explains,""The scriptural concepts of law and bondage were reversed. Law, rather than sin, was associated with bondage. Certain cliches and phrases were adapted to express this concept of bondage. What began in Yahweh's Word in the Tanakh as light, life, righteousness, the Way, walk, truth, goodness and holiness, soon became something to be disdained, loathed and despised. It's the law!  Law and order! That's against the law! He broke the law! I fought the law and the law won! Law is no longer seen as good and righteous, but rather connotes fear and punishment. This is because the scriptural concept of law has been so twisted and redefined that it is virtually unrecognizable."

What did HaSatan do in the garden? He twisted and redefined Elohim's Word! Tampering with the Word is what destroys us as Hosea declares, "my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge". Israel didn't want to hear the Words of Yah, much less obey them. Actually the word "hear" or sh'ma, means to hear and obey. There is another word that has been redefined and diluted, with many consequences.

In the Tanakh, the law was always seen in a very positive and reverent light. Historically, this changed, seemingly around the 3rd century AD, as a heretical teacher, Marcion, taught that the entire Tanakh should be removed as well as other portions of scripture which put either the law or the Jews in a positive light. Marcion was greatly influenced by the Gnostics and taught that the G-d of the Old Testament was cruel and totally different than the one revealed in the New Testament. Moseley explains, " He was so consumed with the belief that Paul's message of G-d's grace opposed G-d's Law that he kept only an edited portion of Paul's writings that agreed with his theology. Marcion's view was so contrary to G-d's Word that Polycarp, who was a student of John, called him "the firstborn of Satan." There is much more to the story, involving Marcion being excommunicated and founding his own church, but much damage was already done to the way the Tanakh and the law was viewed. Similar to what has happened with Darwin in our age.

Obedience to Elohim's Word is not legalism. Legalism is believing you are saved apart from faith/grace and only by your works. The Law was never meant to redeem man but to sustain and prosper man.  In interpreting Sha'ul's writings we have to be careful we understand what he means when he says "law". He contrasts being under the law (of sin) with being under grace. Romans 6:14-16, "For sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness." Believers in Yeshua are dead to sin and alive to Messiah. The body of sin was crucified, not the Law! If you are not under grace, then all you have is being under the law of sin and death and are not saved and are under its (sin's) dominion. The letter of the law is the Torah without the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:17 Sha'ul concludes by saying that "where the Spirit of Yahweh is, there is liberty". What are we free from? We are not free from obedience, we are free from our bondage and slavery to sin! Yet, how often is this verse quoted out of context as saying the believer is free to do whatever he or she wants? That is not real freedom.

"For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law (the law of SIN and DEATH), but under grace."(Romans 6:16). What is the context here? Sin, not the holy, perfect Law of Elohim! Let's read the Word with discernment, not preconceived ideas of what Shaul is saying based on our ideas that Elohim's Law is bad! Here is another Scripture that is often twisted to mean you don't have to obey His Word/Laws but can now just walk in freedom doing, eating, celebrating whatever and however you want. Is that really what Paul is teaching? NO! Shaul was not anti-Law. He was anti-legalism and against those Jewish believers who taught that Gentiles could not be saved until they FIRST obeyed certain laws. He wanted to correct that. Law doesn't come first, grace by faith and then works. Shaul was a Torah observant Jew until the end.  His ministry to the Gentiles had to address Judaizers who tried to make certain Jewish customs (some man made and not even commands of Elohim) a prerequisite for salvation. He wasn't against anyone keeping the laws of Elohim (not the traditions of men) as long as it didn't distort the gospel of salvation!

Law is not bad and grace good. To believe that is a lie and does not line up with Scripture! Law and grace work together much like faith and works or love and obedience do. So, when I say that law and grace are in fact NOT antithetical, I am saying law (as in obedience to Yahweh's instructions) and grace go hand in hand. Believers need to stop throwing out the baby (Law) with the bathwater (legalism). It's way past time to separate those two out. I praise Adonai for His wonderful Truth, His Law in my heart! I will never obey perfectly, but I enjoy walking in His ways. His grace is sufficient!

How I Began My Journey Into Hebrew Roots

A few people have asked me recently how this all started and why I am embracing my Hebrew roots. What does that even mean, right? Well, even though that is a long story, I will try to at least give a background, as in the preface to a good book. By the way, I read those prefaces and introductions! I personally love the story behind the story as it explains the motivation behind the author's writing. Here is my attempt.

The first Passover I observed piqued my interest in all the Feasts of the Lord described in Leviticus 23, as the celebration was so rich in symbolism and meaning. All of the elements of a Passover Seder have deep significance and it is a wonderful telling of redemption, one in which I enjoy remembering. I love how the story of Exodus parallels our spiritual birthing process and redemption.

The Hebrews were in slavery to Pharoah which parallels our slavery and bondage to sin. I love how God not only rescues them from slavery but in the process is wooing their hearts. Not only does He want them out of Egypt, but more so I think, He wants Egypt out of them! It is only then that they will follow Him out of bondage and into the wilderness. The first three plagues were experienced by both the Egyptians and the Hebrews and then in the 4th - 10th plagues He makes a distinction between them. By the way, as a side note, Isaiah 46:10 says God "declares the end from the beginning". That was a new revelation to me! Since then, I have been looking at the beginning to help me understand the patterns that may help interpret the end of the story. Most people would never dream of reading the end of the chapter of any book to understand the end, they would go to the first chapter and keep reading. I wonder how we could even think we could possibly understand the end of His story without a firm grasp of the beginning?  It is my opinion that Adonai already told the end of the story in these books and Exodus is particularly pertinent I would think.

So, getting back to my story. Passover is a retelling of this redemption story. All the elements are there. There is baptism (crossing through the Red Sea), redemption on the other side as new creations. Then as they traveled, both the homeborn (Hebrew) and the stranger (mixed multitude that also came with them), Adonai took them and gave them His Torah, His Laws at Mt Sinai. There is the pattern. Redemption first, instructions after. Most people think of Torah negatively, but it really means instruction or teaching, not just rules and law. There at the foot of Mount Sinai they entered into covenant with Adonai, which is a picture of the Ketubah, the marriage covenant written down describing each person's part in the covenant. There is so much detail and depth here that I could write pages and pages on just this story!

I have always been interested in end time prophecy. But more so in the last few years after receiving some dreams from the Lord. I really began studying the Feasts of the Lord:  Sabbath, Passover, Firstfruits, Weeks, Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Booths (Leviticus 23) in depth initially because of my interest in prophecy. As I studied I realized that these Feasts were described as "mow'ed" which are divine appointments and rehearsals for things to come. God has a calendar! That alone was revolutionary to me!!! And He is always faithful to keep His appointments. These appointments are not for the Jews alone as He says they are not "Jewish Feasts", but they are HIS Feasts and we are invited to join in and keep that appointment. He so wants to meet with us! He reveals so much to us through these Feasts. Yeshua completely fulfilled the spring Feasts of Passover (His death), Firstfruits (His resurrection) and Weeks (Pentecost) to the very day. As the passover lambs were led into the temple for slaughtering as they had done for thousands of years, Yeshua was being slaughtered and hung on a tree. So too, I have no reason to believe that God will not keep His other appointments and completely fulfill the fall Feasts to the very day. These fall Feasts are rehearsals of things to come in the end of days. That is another book in itself!

As I studied these Feasts and Hebrew words and meanings I began celebrating all of them and it was amazing all that I was learning! I was completely enthralled with it all. Sad too that I feel I had not been taught any of the significance of these in my 25 years of going to Bible believing churches. In a way, if I am to be honest, I kinda felt jipped! I felt like a huge amount of incredibly deep and meaningful celebrations and heritage was taken away from me because I was taught these were "Jewish" celebrations. If we are grafted into the Olive Tree of Israel as Romans 11 clearly says, then we too have that heritage! Abraham is our father and we are His children, if we have given our lives in submission to Yeshua and have been redeemed by His blood.

I began to read other books related to the Feasts and the King of the Jews (see Recommended Reading list on my blog). The more I read and researched the Jewishness of Jesus and the Hebrewness of the Bible, I was astounded at how it helped me understand passages that were fuzzy to me before. I also realized and had to repent, that while I never would have considered myself a "Jew hater" by any means, I had read the Bible through "anti-semitic glasses" which I didn't even know I had on and which really hindered my understanding of the text. This is hard to describe really. On another post, I hope to give some concrete examples from biblical texts. There were several passages that I unknowingly had an anti-Jew or anti-Pharisee bias that I didn't realize and it turned the meaning of these scriptures upside down. My theological boat was rocking. But I didn't mind since Yeshua was the one doing the shaking!

I have enjoyed reading and researching the history and culture of the pre-70 AD synagogues (before the destruction of the Temple and believers started to scatter). I wanted to understand how those believers operated and what they believed before they basically split into Jews going one way and Gentile believers going another. Many factors involved here. I also came to understand that there were heretical teachers (Marcion, etc) that did a lot of damage and helped to keep the split between Jew and Gentile going. Kind of like Darwin's influence, once the damage was done, it was basically irreversible. The Roman Emporer, Constantine, also helped by officially declaring Sunday the new Sabbath in "veneration of the Sun" and the decree of the Council of Nicea was very antiSemetic indeed. Understanding the history of this time period helped me to see how the present was shaped and by whom. I didn't like what I saw. The reformation didn't go far enough...but that is another post!

In the midst of this study, I completely fell in love afresh with my very Jewish Messiah and began to feel more a part of His family as I understood His traditions and celebrations. I began celebrating the Sabbath and doing other things which I am sure has totally confused my friends (!). I am not doing them in a legalistic way, but out of love and what I feel is obedience to what He is calling me to right now. I have begun to worship and call "home" a Messianic fellowship where Jews and Gentiles worship together as one in Messiah. I LOVE IT!

What I am finding is that as I chose to walk in these ancient paths, celebrating the Feasts, Sabbaths and walking in these ways others deem "Jewish", (I consider them biblical and God's Word doesn't change) I am hearing Him speak to me more clearly than ever before. I am experiencing His presence, His peace....His Shalom! The word Shalom doesn't just mean peace, it means blessing in every area of life, fullness, wholeness, completeness. There are abundant blessings to all those who walk in His ways as they truly are higher than ours. Yeshua took the punishment for our disobedience, but didn't take away the blessings for obedience.

Recently I learned that my maiden name is an actual Hebrew word which means "proven". There are indications that on the maternal side I may have some Jewish ancestry as well. Interestingly, and yet not surprisingly, many drawn to their Hebrew roots find out that there is such ancestry previously unknown to them until they started digging. Yahweh is doing an amazing thing in our day, which is the fulfillment of prophecy. He is drawing Israel, those dispersed among the pagan nations, the 10 northern tribes if you will, back to Torah, back to Himself. He is causing those to remember who and whose they are and shed the pagan practices they have adopted as their own and return (teshuvah or repent) to Yahweh and observe the commands. I was recently asked if I was Jewish. My response? Yes, I am in my heart. Living within me is my Jewish Messiah, Yeshua. He was a Torah observant Jew and He calls me to follow Him and walk in obedience, which is the demonstration of my love for Him. An apt response considering all He has done for me. Romans 2:29 comes to mind, "but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the HEART, in the Spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not from men but from G-d."

The New Covenant in Jeremiah 31 clearly states that the law would then be written on our hearts. That filling of the Ruach HaKodesh is what gives us the desire, knowledge and power to obey His Word. The ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy will take place in its fullness when Yeshua comes again but we can experience that now as we walk in the Spirit by faith which will never contradict His Law/Word.

Okay, there is your preface! I promise the next post won't be that long :) In any case, I hope that answers a few questions!