Perhaps if Rabbi Shaul (the apostle Paul, to you non-messianic folks) had written about Samsonite luggage, he’d be easier for people today to understand. But then, he’d still be a first-century Jewish messianic speaking in the language and context of his day, not a modern ad writer, so even then there’d probably be a lot of room for misinterpretation.
The modern “church” – by which I mean most of Christianity – believes that Rabbi Shaul taught a lot of things he never actually taught. They believe Shaul taught that Yeshua’s work on the cross completely invalidated “the law,” for example. There are so many things wrong with that alone, it could take pages and pages to explain.
I’ll try to stick to the highlights.
First off, most Christians believe “the law” means “the Old Testement” or at least “the laws of Moshe.” Yet these are anti-Judaic presumptions. One must remember that Shaul was himself a first-century Jewish messianic, writing to other first-century Jewish messianic believers, about a first-century – make that THE first-century – Jewish messiah.
Yeshua’s whole ministry was based on the Torah and in fact, as the living word of haShem, the entire Torah is considered to be the very breath of haShem. Since Yeshua and haShem are one, why would he choose to invalidate and toss out his own words? HaShem is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, right? The argument makes no sense.
Translator Daniel Stern, author of the Jewish Complete Bible, Jewish complete New Testament, and Jewish Complete New Testement Commentary said it best when he explained that “the law” is a very bad translation of Paul’s intent. That’s why, in his translation, he replaces that word with a phrase that better captures Paul’s intent.
Instead of “set free from the law,” Stern more accurately translates it “set free from the perversion of Torah that leads to legalism.” You see, the “Old Testement” was not the problem; haShem’s words in the Torah are as relevant to messianic believers and Christians as anything Yeshua said while on Earth.
What happened is that some false teachers came along who added their own thoughts and traditions to haShem’s words, using Torah to gain spiritual and political control over all Israel, by going well above the Torah itself in an attempt to control the details of everyone’s life, and then placed their own teachings in authority and importance over Torah itself.
Anytime anyone tries to overrule haShem and his word in favor of their own ideas, we are certain to fall into error. That is what Shaul taught; that is what Yeshua railed against in the Jerusalem Temple, when he overturned the tables of the moneychangers.
One final thought: If one is really seeking to be “set free from the Law,” then what they are seeking to do is to be free to worship other Gods, forget the sabbath, make graven images, kill, commit adultery, bear false witness and, well… you know the rest.
By their fruits you shall know them. Christians constantly talk about wanting to “do God’s will” or “live a God-pleasing life,” but few churches really know what that is. Here’s a hint: haShem gave a pretty detailed explanation in the Torah of exactly what that means. HaShem is not our puppet who only cheerleads us on to victory in whatever we choose to do and believe. We are responsible for our actions, even as we are under grace. If we knowingly reject Torah, we are simultaneously rejecting the one who inspired Moshe to write it down.
