Why do I being a gentile need to follow the Mossaic Law?

[Rev. Eric Culberson Jr.]

In reading the different dicussions on the site I love it because I am always looking to talk the Word over with fellow believers, and were there are disagreements I love to hear the different view points wether oe not i agree with them. And during the course of reading I have noticed that there are some Messianic Jews that add to the disussions on here ( and some are right on it), but I am wondering why would people who were gentiles by birth need to follow something that was never meant for them i.e. the Law.

Paul wrote many of his letters to refute the very fact of judiazers telling gentile believers that they had to follow the Law as well as believe in Jesus. Or even the fact that Peter and Paul had a disagreement over this very subject:

But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. 12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. 13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. 14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? 15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,

16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. 17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. 18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.

20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

It is my belief that the Law was given by God to the Jews. But Christ came for All, and fulfilled the Law so why do I have to go back to following something that has already been fullfilled? Very interested in hearing your thoughts!!

[James Pierce]

Rev Mackey,

How are you? May Adonai bless you. I'd like to address your comments with grace. If I sound harsh, or what have you, just know that I am not.

Why so many Christians cannot see that we--being Gentiles who never had the Law--are accountable to it is almost a mystery.

I am always reminded of the scriptures that states that we(Jew & Gentile), are one(unified) in Yahshua. We walk the same path for salvation, and there are no 2 ways to Yahshua. This is what I am seeing among Christian thinking. The thinking is that Jews can keep the law, but the law was never given to Gentiles, so therefore Gentiles are not commanded to follow the law.

if this is true, then what this means is this. Jewish Christians, since they are Jewish, are to keep the laws of Yahweh, while the Gentile Christians, who were never given the law, are not commanded to keep it. But is this true within scripture?

I am reminded of a verse, Exodus 12:49,"The same law shall apply to the native as to the stranger who sojourns among you." This scripture also goes with Romans 11:19,"You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." Sha'ul responded with,"quite right." What does all this mean here? It means that those of us who attach ourselves to Yisra'el, namely, be grafted into Yisra'el, this means we are to adhere to the same laws as them that are natives o f Yisra'el.

There cannot be 2 different sets of laws in the body of Yahshua. Gentiles follow these sets, and Jews follow these sets is far from being true in scripture. When a Gentile attached himself to Yisra'el, he abandoned his old practices, and coverted to his new life among new people.

But Christians don't seem to get Paul's letter to the Galatians. Oh, how I love Galatians 2:16-18 and the entire Book for how it warns against tampering with the Law as Christians.

Rev Mackey, let me give you a taste of the background setting of Galatia in the book of Galatians. This city was full of different heresies, but the main heresies were followers of Jesus that believe salvation is obtained through the law. Peter, and James dealt with this belief in Acts 15 at the council of Jerusalem. Certain men believed that you had to become a Jew(be circumsized) to be saved. Peter stated with strong conviction,"But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

Paul made many statements regarding this heresey such as,"You have been severed from Christ." The law was, and will never gain a person salvation. The main problem in Galatia was exactly that... the belief that the law justifies a person, and brings them salvation. So, now you know the backdrop, and the main problem in Galatia. You now know that Paul was not discouraging them from keeping the law. He was not telling them to stop keeping the law. He was not telling them to abandon the practice of law. He was telling them that no one is saved by the law.

Galatians 2:16-18,"nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor."

I highly agree with this scripture, because it proves my point, and belief on the law exactly. No man is saved by the law, for if this was possible, as verse 22 says,"Yahshua died for nothing." Sha'ul is a true man of Yahweh who himself kept the law. There was a rumor among the brothers in Jerusalem that Sha'ul was telling Jews to abandon the law of Moshe. Sha'ul proved to them that the rumor was false, and he took on the Nazarite vow, and offered in the Temple.(Acts 21).

This proves that Shau'ul stayed true to the law of Yahweh, and he taught Gentiles to do the same thing. I am reminded of Sha'uls blessed words when he said in 1 Cor 11:1,"Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. Yahshua was in obedience to the law, and so was Sha'ul. To imitate them both, we are to keep the law as well; not for our salvation, rather, for obedience, in proving our love and fear towards Yahweh.

And they don't seem to get Romans 7:14-25 where--as a Christian--Paul struggled with sin under the Law because he too was trying to work the Law.

Sha'ul worked the law because he was obedient to Yahshua.. as suppose to. Sha'ul was not keeping the law because he thought you could obtain salvation that way. Romans 7 main theme is the war that wages between the flesh, and the spiritual. It truly is a struggle among them that follow Yahshua, but through it all, Yahweh wants obedience to his law.

A few verses above, Romans 7:12,"So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good." The law is good for us, and it is holy, and we should treat it as such. Just because we have faith in Yahshua, does not mean we can live a life of lawlessness. The law is our moral standard for living.

The Law is the "sin generator" (Romans 5:20).

I am not going to take this literal. The reason being is because the law itself does not take on the take of "making" us sin, rather, it gives us knowledge of sin, and through that knowledge, we "do" sin. When we take part in sin(breaking Yah's law), Yah's grace towards us increases. But, we should not continue in breaking his law intentionally knowing we are under grace. You are only deceiving yourself.

It reveals sin (Romans 7:7).

Truly Rev, the law of Yahweh reveals man's sin. Sha'ul said that he would not have known sin if he had not observed the law. The law reveals sin, but the question you must ask yourself,"What is sin?" Yochanan said it best in 1 John 3:4,"Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness." Sin is the breaking of Yah's law. The very belief that "Christians are not under law", for one, misunderstands Sha'uls words, and believe in a form of lawlessness.

Gentiles are truly under the law in the sense of obedience. If you do not practice the law, then Yahshua's words will hit you. Matt 7:21-23,"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS."

So, you see, to say that you are not under the law is to believe in lawlessness, and them that practice law breaking are NOT of Yahshua. Our job as Yahweh's people are to keep his commandments, and to play our faith in Yahshua for our salvation. Shlmo said it best in Ecc 12:13,"The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person." We must keep his commands brother, and you must not be deceived by the thought of not being commanded to do it.

1 John 2:3-5,"By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; This is a great scripture. Another one is 1 John 5:3,"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. If you claim to love Yahweh, serve him, and follow him, but you continue to believe that you are not commanded, as a Gentile, to obey his law, then you are none of his. Your proof of love towards Yahweh are keeping his commands, and they are not hard to practice.

It is so sad that centuries of lawlessness within the church has plaqued the members, that they cannot see the fact that they must obey the law, otherwise they are none of Yahweh, and will be lost if they do not repent. When the word says repent, we are turning from our practicing of breaking Yah's law, and turning back to his law in full obedience to it. The only way to stop practicing sin, we must practice keeping the law. It is not about doing it perfectly, rather, it is about obedience to Yahweh in your imperfect state. Yahshua saves, not the law.

I hope that this sheds new light upon you Rev, that you are still commanded to keep Yah's law. It is utterly impossible to claim that you love, fear, and obey Yahweh & Yahshua, and you do not practice Yahweh's law. You are only deceiving yourself to your own destruction. Open your mind to new understanding of Yahweh's word, and be not afraid to be different.

When the whole world is practicing lawlessness, take the statement of Yahshua(Joshua),"As for me and my household, we shall serve Adonai." He was referring to his servanthood through the law. Shau'l said in 2 thess 2:7,"7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work." It has been at work for centuries within the church, and Yahweh is calling his people back to his law. Those that truly love him, will return(repent). Yes he said do not eat pork, shellfish, catfish, etc. Yes he said keep my Shabbat. Yes he keep my feast. Yes he said obey the whole law..... for obedience. I know that one day brother you will come around to full obedience to Yahweh, because the spirit calls you out right now to do so.

Shalom Aleichem(Peace to you)
Yaakov Ben Yahweh

[Eric M. Mackey]

So, I guess I understood you all wrong. But you clearly cited Scripture from Galatians that instructs even Jews to be justified by faith in Jesus Christ. But now you are saying, "Rev, that you are still commanded to keep Yah's law. It is utterly impossible to claim that you love, fear, and obey Yahweh & Yahshua, and you do not practice Yahweh's law. You are only deceiving yourself to your own destruction. Open your mind to new understanding of Yahweh's word, and be not afraid to be different." And you talk so authoritatively.

However, Jews and Gentiles are now instructed to achieve justification by faith in Jesus Christ. Yes, we are indebted to keep the Law. But the question is how? We keep it or establish it by faith (Romans 3:31). For Paul clearly said that "by the works of the Law is no flesh justified in His sight." Read Romans 3:19 and 20. You really need to read my books, especially the book-series on the Free Gift of Righteousness. Does grace mean anything to you? It is easy to use the word, but do you believe that we are saved by grace through or are we saved by our works?

Eric.

There are not two systems of righteousness--one for the Jew and one for the Gentile. As a matter of fact, in Romans 4 Paul goes into great detail to let the Jew know that justification is not and never was the way to achieve righteousness. Notice how he united Jews and Gentiles in Christ with Abraham. The basis is faith in Jesus Christ not working the Law.

[Eric M. Mackey]

Let me add that it is simply naive to think that Paul was not telling the Galatians to leave the Law alone totally. "You now know that Paul was not discouraging them from keeping the law. He was not telling them to stop keeping the law. He was not telling them to abandon the practice of law. He was telling them that no one is saved by the law." This is why Paul suggested the the Galatians to "walk in the Spirit." They were suppose to follow after the Spirit of God instead of trying to work the Law (Galatians 5:16-26).

Eric.

[James Pierce]

Rev,

Sha'ul never told them to leave the law alone period. Having an understanding of the background of Galatians would help in deciphering Sha'uls words. I covered that in my first response to you. There were Christians in Galatia who got caught up in legalism(i.e belief that law saves). Sha'ul said because they believed that way, and lived as such, they have been severed from Yahshua.

Sha'ul was telling followers of Yahshua in Galatia to not get caught up in that belief. Yes, we are commanded to practice the law of Yahweh, but no flesh is saved by it. The law was never meant to save, for Messiah was promised before the world began. We are saved by Yahshua, and we must obey his commands, for his teaching is from Abba.

El Baruch,
Yaakov Ben Yahweh

[Rev. Eric Culberson Jr.]

Mr. James Pierce here is the one thing if I may say without sounding disrepectful but when you say things like " Having an understanding of the background of Galatians would help in deciphering Sha'uls words. " you really come off like no one besides you studies the scriptures and has a comprehensive understanding of the background of Pauls letters but yourself. Your not the only one that understands that you must do extra biblical studies to fully appreciate the scriptures, so this is just my plea to you just because a person does not agree with you does not mean they dont study like you. I say this in love and leave this verse in love (and I know the context behind it, but the overall premise of the verse rings true in all aspects of life)

1 Cor. 8:1-3
Now let's talk about food that has been sacrificed to idols. You think that everyone should agree with your perfect knowledge. While knowledge may make us feel important, it is love that really builds up the church. Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn't really know very much. But the person who loves God is the one God knows and cares for.

[Eric M. Mackey]

Reverend,

Perhaps I am guilty of the same tone. However, I find that some people are so strong and appearing authoritative in the expression of their opinions and interpretations that they automatically put you on the defensive for both your intellectual integrity and even for your salvation. I have sense given up sharing ideas with some of them. They are too, too far away from what seems obvious in the Scriptures for me to think that I can really make a difference in what they think about the Lord's work on Calvary. I have written three books so far on the subject. .. And not even the existence or idea of them leaves an imprint in what these individuals already think.

Eric.

[James Pierce]

Eric,

How do you love Yahweh? 1 John 2:3, 1John 5:3.

[Eric M. Mackey]

What are you talking about? I love Jesus Christ dearly and deeply. I love Him with the love of God.

Eric.

[James Pierce]

Mackey,

I am sorry man. I meant the other Eric. Both your names are Eric ha ha.

[Rev. Eric Culberson Jr.]

Yes I do, why?

[James Pierce]

Why what?

[Rev. Eric Culberson Jr.]

My bad I did not toatally read the question, I guess the working at night will do that. Like the passages you put up in 1st John you love God by keeping His commandments. But this is were you and I split I believe that the words that John is writing about are the ones in which Jesus taught himself not the law like you so passionatly keep explaining. Even through the entire OT as you continualy read about Israel's falling short of loving God, is it there fault yes and no. Yes because as you continually state God did command them to do this in the law, but no because even God knew He would have to show them Hiself that's why Jesus came to show the world exactly what was meant "Love God with all you heart, mind, and soul" as evidenced in the gospel of John.

John 21:15-17
So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. [16] He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. [17] He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

Same word love in english but as we both know totally different in its original language. The same goes for commandments.

But now the why goes to why did you ask me that question?