Shalom ByGrace, and family of Yahweh,
This question is the biggest question facing Christians today:
42. Are We Free to Ignore God's Law if We are "Under Grace"?
As for my opinion, I can answer both yes
AND no. Not yes
OR no. What I mean is this...
I think we ought to observe the Torah even though we are free NOT to.
True, the blood of our Lord Yahushua (Jesus) can redeem all who believe in Him, but what then? What of our service to Him? How do we love Him with all our heart and strength? Good works and loving each other is very good, but when no such opportunities surround you, what then? Has your service stopped?
Consider our salvation in light of the Exodus. Israel were set free from Egypt (or sin) but because of a promise, not because of their righteousness or anything they done - just like us. There were
set free in order to serve Yahweh - just like us. Once they learned how to be obedient, they were taken to the Promised Land - just like we hope to be.
The blueprint above serves well for the Christian life. To ignore it is like saying "Israel were freed from Egypt and taken straight to the Promised Land a few days later. They were told to love one another like yourself and everything worked out fine, there were no issues". Hard to believe, right? Haven't we all met Christian's of different levels of obedience? Whether it be homosexual priests or those with idols in their house.
Israel was trained to serve through the Torah, which is also there to teach and guide us today. However, we are now
free to be willingly obedient out of love, rather than obedient only out of fear or begrudgingly.
Now, not all the Torah can be followed today. There certainly are not 613 commands to follow. The Temple isn't standing, some laws relate to one sex and there are many commandments you will keep naturally today. What then? Shall we pick and choose what we want to follow? Well, not quite. I believe the Spirit will convict us on what to keep of the Torah the more we read it and
reread it. But let's get a little more foundational...
Consider the original Covenant of Yahweh and Israel. The Covenant is detailed from Exodus 20 to 23 and is confirmed and sealed with blood. These were the conditions of the Covenant. However, after this, Israel soon fell and worshiped a Golden Calf. It seems that from then the rest of the Torah (the Levitical laws etc) were added due to this transgression (see Galatians 3:19). Israel proved they needed a "schoolmaster" Torah to lead them carefully in all their ways.
However, the Tablets of the Covenant (and likely the "book of the Covenant") was placed INSIDE the Ark of the Covenant whilst the Book of the Torah was placed OUTSIDE the Ark. Now, if these Covenant tablets of stone were to be replaced with our heart in the Renewed Covenant, wouldn't that include the Sabbath? Wouldn't it also include to love our Father with our whole heart and to honour our Father "so that it will go well" with us? It's food for thought. Seek the Spirit's conviction on this matter.
Therefore, even though we are free to NOT follow Torah, which is outside our "Ark" (that is, our heart), we are also
free to follow Torah for the purposes of training and righteous direction.
"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" ~ 2 Timothy 3:14-17.
In conclusion, rather than the Israel of old, who followed the Torah out of fear, legalism, or in attempt to attain righteousness, we are free to choose to follow it or not. Those who are called to - will. Those who aren't - won't. But ask yourself this: If our salvation and righteousness has been fulfilled for us, in the Lord Yahushua, what will you choose to do with your freedom? Will you be like the servant in Exodus 21:5 who chooses to still serve his master even though he is free not to?
As for me, I choose to follow the Torah as I am convicted by the Spirit. Not out of legalism or to attain salvation. But simply because I'm free to and as another form of expression of love for Almighty Yahweh. Surely it's better to learn and live by Torah than a Christian self-help book from a TV preacher!
Love & Shalom