Saturday, May 1, 2010

Is Galatians 3:25 in contradiction to what Yeshua says in Matthew 5:17-20?

This question basically can be answered very simply by looking at some translation issues. Lets first look at what Matthew 5:17-20 states. 17"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

It is decisively certain here that Yeshua was telling us to practice the Torah. As Christians are aware, the word used for "the Law" here is the Torah. What they're not aware of is that the Torah means the Teachings. We will look more at some issues regarding the Torah vs. Talmudic or Oral Traditions of the Jews in later writings.

Galatians 3:25 lends an interesting perspective on the Torah by Paul. According to Paul in Galatians it is stated "25Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law." Like we did with Matthew 5:17 which is often mistaken by Replacement Theologians unless taken in its exact context, we arrive at one of two conclusions about Paul. Either Paul is in direct contradiction of Yeshua's teachings and he is not to be followed (hence the Ebionites are justified in rejecting the letters of Paul), or Paul followed suit of what Yeshua's teachings actually mean and we are to follow his teachings as an extension of Torah writing.

There are a few of Pauls writings such as Romans 10:4 which have been improperly applied to state that Yeshua is the termination of the law. The correct translation of the word "end" is the goal of the law (not the exact getting rid of the law in the sense that it is no longer to be followed). We will for our sake today concentrate only on this verse in Galatians as it is one of the more commonly cited verses to the termination of the following of the Torah.

First of all, what does Paul state in Galatians 3:5-25? 5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
6Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."[a] 7Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you."[b] 9So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
10All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."[c] 11Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith."[d] 12The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them."[e] 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."[f] 14He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
The Law and the Promise 15Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed,"[g] meaning one person, who is Christ.
17What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
19What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one.
21Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
23Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ[a] that we might be justified by faith. 25Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

The entirety of this passage tells us several things. First, of all, Paul cites the Torah in this writing as authoritative of what he's trying to state. Interesting he would try to do that if he was actually trying to rid ourselves of it. Secondly it tells us that the Torah is to be followed and lived by and that our works will follow from our faith in Yeshua. I cited verses 11-12 in bold for a reason. If you notice today, Orthodox and Reformed Jews are often Atheists, and not even believers in Theism. They have taken the Torah as to something "just to do because it makes them feel good" and not something to actually LIVE by. The same thing was going on apparently during this time period before Rav Shaul ministered to these people. Thirdly that the Torah was never meant to be a salvational doctrine. Yeshua's sacrifice and blood atonement is the only salvational method that one could have received (read Leviticus 17, blood is the only salvation and atonement for sin). Lastly, it is not the Torah that is no longer to be followed. It is the mediator of the Torah that is not to be followed (hence the scribes). These are the people who are trying to put the man made Talmudic (Oral Tradition) system in place of what God had previously established within his promises. Paul mentions exactly as Yeshua does here, that the Torah is not in opposition to the newly established covenant and its promises. He mentions that the Torah has not been done away with and that it should be followed. The purpose of the Torah has changed. Because Yeshua died on the tree of life for us, we are no longer under the curse of the Torah, which is the death penalty (i.e. taken outside of the camp and stoned to death). We can still be cut off from his people though. We are no longer to perform sacrifices according to Galatians 3, because Yeshua has been put in place of that. Besides this the word used here for "the supervision" is taraa, which actually infers a plural form of the word for tutor or schoolmaster. In other words it would best be read as follows "Now that Yeshua has come, we are no longer under the schoolmasters of the law." The King James Version even utilizes the word "schoolmaster." Thus, it is important to be mindful of what Rav Shaul or Paul states here. We are not to abandon Rav Shaul's teachings. We are to apply them as it is an expansion of the Torah and as a writing intended to explain to us of the purposes of how the Torah fits into our lives now that Yeshua has come. Last point to make, if the Torah is no longer needed for today, what is sin? Sin doesn't exist today, and hence we have no need for a Messiah or Yeshua. Thus we see the final problem within the Replacement Theology and not taking the Bible as a whole to be followed.

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