Apostle Paul says when a Jew trusts in Christ Jesus, he is exempted from his obligation to serve God by the Law. His argument is that the Torah is binding only on the living Jew, and that when anyone comes to faith in Christ they share in Christ's death ("I have been crucified with Christ")... but since we are "alive from the dead" Romans 6:13, naturally, since we still need to serve God, we should have questions as to how that is to be done. According to Paul, we are "under Grace" as the new means of service to God.
Objections:
1. "Oh yeah? Does that mean you can murder? Does that mean you can commit idolatry?"
A: "Not under Law but under Grace" doesn't mean "we can sin", it means "there's a new way to serve". The result is we fulfill the righteous requirement of the Law--He writes His Law on our hearts and minds Jeremiah 31:31-34, Romans 2:13-15 Romans 2:26-27, Romans 3:31, Romans 8:4, Romans 13:8-10. Those who serve by following the laws He writes in their hearts are qualified as "doers of the Law who will be justified".
2. "'Not under Law' doesn't mean 'you don't have to obey Law', it means 'not condemned by Law--because of Jesus's sacrifice--but we still have to live by the Law."
A: Really?
i. If "not under Law" means "not condemned by Law", then what does "under Grace" mean--"condemned by Grace"? How is that a means of service?
ii. No, the Greek for "under" means "under the jurisdiction of"--in other words, we are under Grace's authority, and we obey Grace as the new means of serving God.
Paul was a Pharisee. Death exempting the Jew from service to God through the Torah was a normative Pharisaic doctrine, and it was later codified in the Talmud:
Niddah 61b
Our Rabbis taught: A garment in which kil'ayim4 was lost5 may not be sold to an idolater,6 nor may one make of it a packsaddle for an ass, but it may be made into7 a shroud for a corpse. R. Joseph observed: This8 implies that the commandments will be abolished in the Hereafter.9 Said Abaye (or as some say R. Dimi) to him: But did not R. Manni10 in the name of R. Jannai state, 'This8 was learnt only in regard to the time of the lamentations11 but for burial12 this is forbidden'?13 — The other replied: But was it not stated in connection with it, 'R. Johanan ruled: Even for burial'? And thereby R. Johanan followed his previously expressed view, for R. Johanan stated: 'What is the purport of the Scriptural text, Free14 among the dead?15 As soon as a man dies he is free from the commandments'.
A brief discussion on the matter:
In other words, even Orthodox Jews would largely agree with Paul on this point--the issue is only the understanding of Messiah, qualifying as having "died" through faith in Him, and perhaps what the means of service might be afterward.
Many more things could be said, but I'm sure this is plenty to start the conversation.
Objections:
1. "Oh yeah? Does that mean you can murder? Does that mean you can commit idolatry?"
A: "Not under Law but under Grace" doesn't mean "we can sin", it means "there's a new way to serve". The result is we fulfill the righteous requirement of the Law--He writes His Law on our hearts and minds Jeremiah 31:31-34, Romans 2:13-15 Romans 2:26-27, Romans 3:31, Romans 8:4, Romans 13:8-10. Those who serve by following the laws He writes in their hearts are qualified as "doers of the Law who will be justified".
2. "'Not under Law' doesn't mean 'you don't have to obey Law', it means 'not condemned by Law--because of Jesus's sacrifice--but we still have to live by the Law."
A: Really?
i. If "not under Law" means "not condemned by Law", then what does "under Grace" mean--"condemned by Grace"? How is that a means of service?
ii. No, the Greek for "under" means "under the jurisdiction of"--in other words, we are under Grace's authority, and we obey Grace as the new means of serving God.
Paul was a Pharisee. Death exempting the Jew from service to God through the Torah was a normative Pharisaic doctrine, and it was later codified in the Talmud:
Niddah 61b
Our Rabbis taught: A garment in which kil'ayim4 was lost5 may not be sold to an idolater,6 nor may one make of it a packsaddle for an ass, but it may be made into7 a shroud for a corpse. R. Joseph observed: This8 implies that the commandments will be abolished in the Hereafter.9 Said Abaye (or as some say R. Dimi) to him: But did not R. Manni10 in the name of R. Jannai state, 'This8 was learnt only in regard to the time of the lamentations11 but for burial12 this is forbidden'?13 — The other replied: But was it not stated in connection with it, 'R. Johanan ruled: Even for burial'? And thereby R. Johanan followed his previously expressed view, for R. Johanan stated: 'What is the purport of the Scriptural text, Free14 among the dead?15 As soon as a man dies he is free from the commandments'.
A brief discussion on the matter:
In other words, even Orthodox Jews would largely agree with Paul on this point--the issue is only the understanding of Messiah, qualifying as having "died" through faith in Him, and perhaps what the means of service might be afterward.
Many more things could be said, but I'm sure this is plenty to start the conversation.
