Goal

What I would like to do in today’s installment of TMTO is to lay the ground-work or set-the table if you will in our gaining as complete an understanding of what the Apostle Shaul (aka the Apostle Paul) meant when he wrote to his Roman Messianic readers that “sin would not have dominion over them since they were not under law but under grace.” Specifically, we are looking to clarify what Shaul meant by one being “under grace” or in the Greek, “hupo nomon/nomos.”

 

Attention

Now, in part one of this series within a series, we looked at this very Pauline concept of one being “in the law” versus one being “without the law.” And we looked at this from the perspective that every person who has every sinned “without the law” (I.e., anomos) would perish without the law; and every individual who has sinned in or having or under the law (I.e., in this case en nomos) would be judged by the law (Romans 2:12). And the best way to understand what Shaul meant by one being “in the law” (I.e., en nomos) versus being “without law” (I.e., anomos) is to read or study the Romans 2:12 passage within the context of its surrounding verses (I.e., the verses before and after it). And what we found was that Shaul was simply stating that every human who has ever lived will face judgment: those who possessed Torah/Law (e.g., the Hebrews and Jews) will be judged within or by the framework of Torah, while those who’d never received Torah will be judged outside the framework of Torah. Those who never received Torah would be judged by our Holy and Righteous God through the natural laws of creation that testify of YHVH and His Ways.

 

As it relates to this essential/fundamental fact, Shaul wrote:

 

“For in it (I.e, the Gospel) the righteousness of YHVH is revealed from  faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ For the wrath of YHVH is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth (I.e., their sinful ways and insistence upon sinning finds ways and means to justify their behavior and rejection of Yah and His Ways). For what can be known about Yah is plain to them (I.e., Yah’s existence is inherently known to humanity and humans inherently know the difference between right and wrong) because YHVH has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made (I.e., Yah’s creation; nature). So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:17-20; ESV).

 

Yah will not compromise His holiness and righteousness. Therefore, He is no respecter of person (verse 2:11). All have sinned and fallen short of the glory (I.e., doxa or standards established by the Almighty) of YHVH.

 

Now, I went over this Pauline phrase of being “in Law” or “en nomos” versus being “without Law” or “anomos” in Part 1 of this discussion on being “under the law.” And those of you who listened to that post will hopefully recall that Shaul brought all this up in his letter to the Roman Messianics for a couple reasons: (1) Some of the Messianic Jews of the assembly held on to the erroneous belief that because they were of Jewish descent or heritage or conversion, they inherently received a “free pass” or “get out of jail pass” from the Almighty as it pertained to their salvation or eternal life.

 

As it turns out, many Jews of Shaul’s day (be they orthodox or messianic) believed that their culture and heritage (often referred to as their circumcision) was the basis for their salvation. Why? Because they held to the accurate understanding that YHVH entrusted them with His oracles: His Torah (Rom. 3:2). However, their understanding was flawed, for they added to this understanding of the Jew being the entrusted keepers of the oracles of Yah the erroneous understanding that Jews were therefore saved by virtue of their circumcision or cultural status in the world.

 

(2) Some of the non-Jews of the Roman Messianic assemblies believed that they could continue living as they did in their former, pagan lives because of Yah’s grace: that they could freely violate Yah’s Ways and commandments as they once did in their past lives and still be saved. Why did they believe this foolishness? Because they willfully bought into a nascent form of hyper-grace (which we’ll talk about a little bit later on in our discussion). And this perverted understanding of grace to these non-Jews of the Roman Assembly served as a license to sin or live any way they desired. To these individuals, it was so much more satisfying to live as they did before they came to Faith in Mashiyach. And it is not uncommon for some who come to knowledge of our Faith, as well as those who convert to Christianity to reject most if not all of Yah’s instructions simply because they refuse to be told what to do: be it by YHVH through His Torah/Word, or the organized Church. For these individuals pervert what Shaul meant by there being “freedom in Christ?”

 

But we who are of the True Faith once delivered–who are in a covenant relationship with the Eternal–know that that’s not the way the Eternal works. For we know that Yah does not tolerate sin, be it the unwitting or willful brand. And at some point in Yah’s set apart peoples’ journey, they must stop sinning.

 

In fact, Shaul had to get his non-Jewish audience’s attention as it relates to this subject, and he did so by asking them: “Should we [as Yah’s set apart people] continue in sin so that grace may multiply” or abound (Rom. 6:1; NET)? And the apostle answered his own question with a resounding “Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it” (6:2; NET)?

 

In other words, Yah’s grace is not a license to sin.

 

Regardless, the sinner will be judged. For “…the wages of sin  is death…” (6:23; ESV).

 

Need

So, with all that being said, I would ask you to listen or read Part 1 of “Paul on Being Under the Law” where I went into greater detail as to what Shaul meant in his use of the phrase “under the law” in Romans 2:12. And the reason I’m asking you to refer back to that post is because what we are going to find in this and in succeeding installments of this series as it relates to one “being under the law” in Romans 6:14-15; 1 Corinthians 9:20; Galatians 3:23; 4:4-5, 21; and 5:18 than in 2:12 is different than the meaning of one being “in the Law” or “being without the Law” in Romans 2:12.

 

It is important that you have full understanding of this phrase “under the Law” or “in the Law” because it is one of Shaul’s hard to understand concepts that many twist and pervert to their own destruction. And if we fail to grasp contextually, historically, culturally, etc., what the Apostle is actually saying in many of his challenging passages, we will not be prepared to provide an accurate explanation for the hope that we have in Mashiyach and as Yah’s covenant people (1 Pet. 3:15).

 

And why are we doing this whole study of Paul on Being Under the Law in the first place. Again, it is included in the list of writings and teachings that is challenging or difficult to understand and have been twisted in many cases by Orthodox Christianity to mean something contrary to its original meaning.

 

The other reason we’re doing this, among so many other reasons, is to prepare each of us to be in a position to give every man, woman or child an answer to their questions regarding why we do what we do and believe what we believe.

 

Satisfaction

So then: By the time we complete this series within a series on “Being Under the Law,” you will have an understanding of not just the Pauline concept of one who finds him/herself “under the law,” but a better understanding of how the concepts of grace and sin-consciousness ties into one being “under grace” (hupo karis) or “under the law” (hupo nomos).

 

I can tell you at this juncture that the true understanding of one being “under the law” is different than the orthodox Christian understanding of being “under the law.”

 

You see, the orthodox understanding of one being “under the law” carries with it significant anti-Law/anti-Torah sentiments. But we will, in our discussions over the next few posts, discover that the true understanding of one being “under the law” really has nothing to do with Torah-keeping by Yah’s covenant people. Instead, the phrase is intricately linked to Torah’s treatment of the “sin issue.”

 

So let’s begin our examination of the phrase “under the Law” by first discussing the relationship that exists between Yah’s Torah, Yah’s grace, and sin.

Putting Our Focus Passage into its Proper Context 

In order that we arrive at the most accurate or likely understanding of what it means for one to be “under the law,” we must examine the phrase within its proper context. And within its proper context I mean we must attempt to interpret the phrase based upon its use within the verse that its mentioned (our focus passage) in relation to the content that is written in the surrounding verses and chapters.

 

As I previously mentioned, there are at least 7-places in Shaul’s writings where he uses  the phrase “under the law” (depending upon which English translation you’re using). And each mention of the phrase must be examined within the particular context in which it is recorded.

 

Mention #1 of “Under the Law”

 

Now, we discussed the first mention of the phrase in Part 1 of this series within a series. Recall that it is found in Romans 2:12 and that it has to do with one being judged by the Almighty either within or outside the “framework” of the Law or Torah. In fact, we just reviewed this in our opening discussion.

 

An Overview of the Surrounding Passages

 

Moving on to the 2nd iteration of “under the Law,” which is found in 6:14-15, I want to first conduct an overview of the surrounding verses of this passage so as to lay the ground work for a proper and accurate contextual understanding of “under the Law” in this passage.

 

Promises Made by Yah

 

In 5:1-11, Shaul writes about the promises Yah’s covenant people may claim as a result of them being justified through Yahoshua HaMashiyach: that is Yah’s covenant people are immensely blessed and deemed righteous before a holy (I.e., qodosh) and righteous Elohim through the atoning sacrifice of Yeshua HaMashiyach.

 

The promises Yah’s people are entitled to receive as a result of their entering into a covenant relationship with Him through the agency of Yeshua include the following:

 

(1) Shalom with YHVH as a result of their trusting faith (vs. 1).

 

(2) Access to Yah’s grace (I.e., Yah’s unmerited favor along with the spiritual resources to walk out their Faith as Yah requires; despite them dwelling in such an evil and perverted  world (vs. 2).

 

(3) Endurance that comes about as a result of our knowledge of the hope that dwells in us. Therefore, we rejoice in the midst of our sufferings, knowing that the arrows and slings that life may throw at us produces endurance and character (vs. 3-4; cf. Luke 21:19; Jas. 1:3). Master instructed His disciples to “…rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is their reward in heaven…” (Mat. 5:12).

 

(4) Character, which the KJV interprets as experience; the ASV approvedness; the DRA trial (vs. 4). This experience or character of course leads to “…the crown of life which Yeshua promised them that love Him” (Jas. 1:2). 

 

(5) Hope (I.e., “elpis” or expectation) which is intricately tied to the Ruach HaKodesh (I.e., the Holy Spirit) that works with the spirits and within the souls and bodies of Yah’s set-apart people (vss. 4-6).

 

(6) Salvation from Yah’s wrath, which we addressed in Part 1 of this series within a series (ref. Rom. 1:18). This salvation comes exclusively to those who have been justified by Yahoshua’s blood (vs. 9).

 

(7) Most importantly in my opinion, Reconciliation with Yah (vss. 10-11). You see, prior to Yahoshua’s sacrifice that came about as a result of Yah’s loving grace that He lavished upon us, we were as enemies of YHVH. With Yeshua’s sacrifice we receive the promise of reconciliation with the Creator of the Universe that was lost in the Garden of Eden.

 

Torah-Sin-Justification in Comparison Between Adam and Yeshua

 

In 5:12-21, Shaul compares and contrasts Adam and Yeshua as it relates to the issues of Torah, justification and sin.

 

Within these verses we learn that sin came to humankind through Adam and death came as a result of sin. Therefore, from the time of Adam up through the time that Torah was gifted unto us at Sinai, every soul that ever lived up to that time sinned. And despite the claims of some that believe that sin could not have existed prior to the Sinai Revelation and the gifting of Torah to us (since Torah defines what sin is as mentioned by Yochanan in 1 Joh. 3:4), I see Shaul pushing back somewhat on such thinking. For the truth of the matter is that we find in Genesis 26:5 mention that Avraham followed Yah’s “laws.” So Torah existed prior to it being codified by the pen of Moshe at Sinai. Furthermore, death, the manifested byproduct of sin, reigned over all of humankind from Adam to Moshe. Thus, sin absolutely, positively reigned supreme within humanity before the Sinai Revelation (vss. 12-14).

 

Some of the confusion surrounding the absence of Torah and thus there being no sin up to the time of the Sinai Revelation seems to be related to 5:13 which reads:

 

“For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law…”

 

Many have misinterpreted and misrepresented this passage to help foster an erroneous belief that sin could not have existed within humanity from Creation to the Sinai Revelation since Torah, which was given to us at Sinai, had not been written. And this is based in turn on the understanding that Torah defines sin, which is the transgression of Torah.

 

Now, I don’t want to spend time delving into this issue at this point in our series as it will take us away from our focus which is to lay the groundwork for understanding what Shaul meant by one “being under the Law/Torah.” But suffice to say, any understanding of 5:13-17 must be weighed from the perspective that these verses were added to Shaul’s original manuscript by an unnamed scribe or translator. For this is evident in some English translations such as the KJV, which added parentheses to those words and verses not found by their translators in the oldest existing manuscripts at the time the KJV was being translated and edited.

 

Certainly a lot can be said about these 5-verses of chapter 5, but at this point we’ll bypass them and possibly revisit them in upcoming installments of our overall Paul and Hebrew Roots Series.

 

The Giving of Torah Most Pivotal Juncture in all of Human History

 

The point Shaul seems to be making in verse 13 of chapter 5, at least in part, was that the giving of Torah by YHVH was one of the most pivotal junctures in all of human history. For it was through Torah that YHVH officially codified what constitutes sin. And within that same document, Father provided a process for dealing with that sin (that being the Levitical Laws). And that process for dealing with sin would stand as the only means given to us by the Eternal for positively dealing with humanity’s sin issue until such time Mashiyach would come and execute the once and for all Plan of Salvation, Redemption and Restoration.

 

Sin Must Be Dealt With

 

Remember in Part 1 of this Paul on Being Under the Law series we talked about Shaul making the case that all rational humans have no excuse for sinning since all humans inherently know the difference between right and wrong. It doesn’t matter whether or not one has knowledge of or embraces Torah (that being those that live within or without the framework of Torah), all humans are and will be held accountable for their sins.

 

At least one Messianic Torah teacher I came across in my research for this post suggested that those who live their lives outside the framework of Torah operate in or live out their days as if they were in a slumber or daze (Tim Hegg). These are inherently aware that YHVH exists and they know the difference between right and wrong. However, these have essentially deluded themselves into a false sense of security that the life they’re living is somehow okay and all will somehow work out in their favor. I guess still others recognize the sinful life they live is not okay with the Creator of the Universe and they’ve settled within themselves that they will “burn in hell” for all eternity.

 

Indeed, it is what it is. Every rational human who has ever lived knows which side their bread is buttered and they know at some point there’s got to be some form of reckoning with their Creator, despite the stories they’ve told themselves to the contrary.

 

Torah’s arrival on the human-scene served to definitively spotlight and identify sin and then provide a Yah-directed means for dealing with sin.

 

Adam Brought Sin Into the World While Yeshua Brought Righteousness and Salvation Into the World

 

Then in verses 15-18 Shaul makes one of the most poignant contrasting observations in the whole of the Apostolic writings regarding the role Adam and Yahoshua Messiah respectively played in the existence of sin in the world. For Shaul notes:

 

“Through one man’s disobedience (that being Adam), many became sinners, but through the obedience of the one (that being Yahoshua HaMashiyach) many are made righteous (vs. 19).”

 

So what we see unpacked here as we close our chapter 5 and move on into chapter 6 is an in-depth treatment on the sin issue by Shaul, no doubt in response to either a question that was posed to him related to certain members of the Roman Assembly acting on their erroneous belief that it was okay for them to live a life a sin as they lived in their pre-covenant lives.

 

A Question of Yah’s People Living Their Lives as They So Choose

 

Moving on now to chapter 6, we find Shaul commenting on the foolishness and existential dangers associated with his readers choosing to live or return to the sinful life of their former pre-covenant lives while hanging on to their present profession of Faith in Messiah. Seems this issue came to Shaul’s attention either through a report sent to him by an assembly member or someone in the know of the happenings in and around the assemblies. Or Shaul was simply responding to a question sent to him from an assembly member or two.

 

Now these Roman syncretizers (as I choose to call them) who sought to live double lives: a portion of their life in the True Faith once delivered; and the other portion of their lives as they formerly lived it in sin. These deluded individuals believed  they could legitimately get away with such foolishness, and they seemed to cite Yah’s grace as their license to continue living in their sin despite professing, adopting and supposedly walking out the True Faith once delivered (6:1, 14,15).

 

Calling Out the Ridiculousness of Syncretizing One’s Faith

 

In looking at this thing from a fundamental, spiritually-sensible or pragmatic-perspective, Shaul appears to take these hyper-grace proponents (or syncretizers) to task by informing them of their spiritual responsibilities as the redeemed of Mashiyach. For the truth of the matter, according to Shaul, was that every one of them should be dead or entirely unresponsive to the tugs and pulls of their former or past lives of sin. So as redeemed of the Most High, they should be functioning/living as though they were new creatures or beings that were naturally and diametrically opposed to sin in every form (6:2-4). In fact, according to the apostle, his readers must be like (that is, imitate) his and their Master Yahoshua in every aspect of their redeemed lives (6:5). The apostle further asserted that the Roman Messianics’ old sinful existence must be put to death as their Master Yahoshua was once put to death. And if they did this very thing, they would no longer be slaves to sin (6:6-7). That is, they would have no desire for the paganistic and sinful things that made-up their former lives.

 

Yah’s People Vicariously Raised From the Dead with Messiah

 

And because Shaul’s Roman readers were vicariously raised with Mashiyach from the dead, the sin that would naturally lead to their death would no longer have authority over them. In other words, Yeshua having been raised from the dead by His Father’s powerful Ruach HaKodesh, viewed His Roman Messianic readers as also having been raised from the dead with His Son. And just as Yahoshua was raised from the dead to begin a new existence in the service of His Father without the natural impediments of His former human existence, Shaul’s readers, upon transitioning into covenant relationship with the Almighty, were also raised/resurrected to a new life of service and worship of YHVH. In that newness of life that each Roman Messianic should have experienced, Shaul attempted to reason with them that their old existence should no longer be a part of them; it should be alien to them; foreign to them; they should be dead to that previous existence.

 

Additionally, like their Master Yeshua Messiah, they would live forever more for the glory of YHVH (6:8-10).

 

And of course, by extension, all that Shaul wrote regarding his Roman Messianic readers being dead to sin, by extension, fully applies to each and every one of us, even today. For you and I must become dead to sin AND alive to YHVH in Mashiyach Yahoshua our Master (6:11). For each of us who have willfully given ourselves over to the Creator of the Universe–to serve and worship Him alone–have entered into a legally-binding covenant relationship with the Eternal. That covenant relationship excludes all other endeavors, spiritual relationship, lifestyles and such. In fact, we are not our own person, nor do we belong to or answer to any created entity–be that entity human or angelic or demigod in nature. Thus, when the question arises of us engaging in sinful acts or lifestyles that are not of our Father in Heaven; that is not in alignment with the katuba (that is the marriage agreement we entered into when we entered into the covenant relationship with YHVH–just like our ancient Hebrew ancestors did back in the day–we enter into a marriage agreement with our New Master and that marriage agreement does not in any way, form or fashion make provisions or allowances for syncretism, period. We, like the Roman Messianics who Shaul addressed this letter to, are no longer slaves to our former masters of sin and the things and beings of this world; but slaves of the Holy and Righteous Creator of the Universe.

 

The Irony of Paul’s Teachings on Willfully Sinning

 

And you know the irony in this dangerous, nasty business of syncretizing the True Faith once delivered with pagan-based, sin-filled lifestyles that so many justify through a perverted understanding of grace is the very thing we see transpiring in much of today’s denominational Christianity. And of course, the primary reason members of denominational Christianity give for trading a Yeshua-centric-covenant-relationship-based life for that of living anyway the so-called believer chooses to live their life is because the sinful heart and mind of man and the controlling interests of organized religion decided to give in to their anti-semitic sensibilities and reject Torah. They rejected Torah because it was linked to Jews and Judaism. They also rejected Torah because they wanted to continue living the life of sin they enjoyed in their former lives: they want to continue eating whatever they desired; keeping the holidays they desired and enjoyed keeping; worshiping for a couple-three hours each Day of the Sun. They wanted to live life the way that was pleasing to them. Thus the leaders of these organizations have led generations down a path towards destruction. And they were able to justify their satanic-inspired action through their twisting of Yah’s grace.

 

The Foundation of our Covenant Life

 

Friends, this is the foundation of our covenant life and relationship with the Eternal. As Yah’s set-apart people, we are compelled to live our lives as though we are dead to sin. We are, instead, to be as new creatures–new beings–walking  out our Faith as though the world about us has no true part or hold on us. We are to conform to the splitting image of Yeshua our Master.

 

The apostle drives this whole discussion of being dead to sin home by instructing his Messianic readers to not allow sin to have any foothold in their lives; to not give into sinful desires; to not allow sinful passions to reign or have dominion over their lives (6:12). In fact, Yah’s set-apart people, according to Shaul, must not permit any members of their bodies to become instruments of evil or unrighteousness that would lead them to sin. What was it that Master instructed His followers to do related to allowing the members of their bodies to be instruments of sin?

 

“Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away….And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out (exaireo–that is, root it out)…” (Mat. 18:7-9).

 

 

Sin Consciousness: An Essential Principle

 

 Here in our text, Shaul was essentially echoing the very principles of “sin-consciousness” that Master Yahoshua taught His disciples several years prior to this teaching he was giving to the Messianic Assemblies in Rome. (And we’re going to get into this issue of sin-consciousness in our next installment to this series. Understanding this principle of “sin consciousness” is important to understanding what Shaul meant by one being “under the Law/Torah.”)

 

So Shaul exhorts his readers to present themselves to Yah as those who have been resurrected to a new life; a new existence, with their whole bodies being instruments of righteousness for Yah’s glory (6:13; cf. Colossians 3:5; 1 Peter 2:24).

 

Then the apostle informs the Roman Messianics that sin no longer has mastery or dominion over them, as they are no longer “under the law” but “under grace“. And thus, we’ve arrived at our focus passage of 6:14-15:

 

You Are Not Under Law But Under Grace: Viewed Through Untethered Scriptural Soundbite

 

“For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means” (Romans 6:14-15; ESV)!

 

I think you would all agree that if we read this passage as a scriptural sound-bite, untethered from its surrounding verses, we just might get the wrong impression of what Shaul was attempting to convey to the Assembly of Roman Messianics. And unfortunately, orthodox Christianity has for the most part interpreted this passage in a way that sheds a negative light on the Law or Torah. These go so far as to suggest that those individuals who claim Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, but keep Torah in any way, have effectively fallen from grace. In other words, any born again believer or Christian who keeps Torah or even select portions of Torah are committing sin because in their keeping of Torah, they are denying and rejecting God’s grace in their lives. Therefore, according to orthodox thinking, Torah is a bad thing that was nailed to the cross along with Jesus and it is to be viewed on par with that of sin. 

 

Somehow, according to orthodox Christianity, Torah or the Law makes one susceptible to sin (imagine that if you will). Thus, Torah and Grace have become enemies; they are viewed as being diametrically opposed to one another.

 

Orthodoxy Not in Alignment With Scriptural Authority and Understanding

 

But does orthodox-fundamental Christianity align itself with Scripture as it relates to the relevancy of the Law or Torah in the life of Yah’s covenant people? And the answer to this loaded question is a resounding no. For we’ve seen throughout this series on Paul and Hebrew Roots that the apostle constantly taught and wrote in complete support of Yah’s people keeping and walking out Torah in their day-to-day lives. And this of course remains true, despite Shaul’s extensive teachings and writings on Yah’s grace and the renewed covenant. Yes, according to the wrongly accused Apostle Paul, Torah and Grace work hand-in-hand with the other; not the other way around such as orthodoxy has taught for so many centuries. For it is here in our focus passage that the writings of Shaul have been grossly twisted/perverted to the detriment of countless numbers of the faithful.

 

This is NOT About Choosing Grace Over Torah

 

My friends, what we have here [with hupo nomon/nomos and hupo karis] is not about one having to choose between keeping Torah versus embracing Yah’s grace. Such thinking is a lie from the pit of hades itself. And this is why we are here today, in part, discussing this phrase: we are here to set the record straight and vindicate the Apostle from the slanders that have been foisted upon him over the centuries by the Church Triumphant as being anti-Torah and hyper-grace. So we intend to clarify what the apostle meant by one being “hupo nomon/nomos” or “under [the] Law/Torah.” We already should know what it means to be under grace. And we should already know that being under [Yah’s] grace does not give anyone who belongs to YHVH a pass on keeping Yah’s Torah in Spirit and in Truth. For among so many other things, Yah’s grace provides Yah’s people the wherewithal to victoriously walkout His Torah in the midst of an “unbelieving and perverted generation” (Matthew 17:17).

 

A Comparison and Constrasting of Two Mutually Exclusive Concepts

 

When we contextually analyze this passage, while resisting any and all denominational influences that might sully our understanding of the passage, we see introduced here into our discussion a contrasting and comparison between two different spiritual concepts: (1) an individual who is under [the] law (that is hupo nomon/nomos), and (2) an individual who is under grace (that is, “hupo karis”: Yah’s goodwill; favor; gift; benefaction). In this context, the two concepts are indeed mutually exclusive. In other words: within the confines of this passage of Scripture there are two classes of individuals in existence today: One who is “under the Law/Torah” or one who is “under grace.”

 

Now, we can argue for days that there are a number of other classes or groups that individuals fall under as it relates to spiritual matters these days. But what we’re talking about here contextually is specifically a contrasting or comparison between those who are “under Torah” and those who are “under grace.” And we find that the apostle is quite clear here in what he is saying to the Roman Messianics: “You [Roman Messianics] are NOT “under the Law” but you are “under grace.” And frankly, this is where orthodoxy has tragically fallen into the trap described by the Apostle Peter in his second epistle (3:15-16):

 

15And account that the longsuffering of our Master is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest (that is twist or pervert), as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

Orthodoxy’s Advancement of the Hyper-Grace Concept

You see, orthodoxy has foolishly wrested (I.e., twisted) the apostle’s writings, such as this one we’re discussing here today, in order that they may advance their perverted hyper-grace doctrine among their adherents.

Now the premise of their hyper-grace doctrine is that one is saved simply by saying the “sinner’s prayer” and inviting Jesus Christ into one’s heart to be their Lord and Savior. Once that is done, the convert is free to live as he or she chooses because from that point moving forward in the life of the believer, he or she is saved by grace. Period. There’s no need to keep the Creator’s instructions/laws/commandments because Jesus kept the Law in the believer’s stead perfectly because the depraved human soul is inherently incapable of keeping Yah’s impossible to keep Torah/Law.

Interestingly, orthodoxy completely dismisses the purpose and work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer that makes the impossible very possible. Sure, keeping Torah with a heart and mind that is acceptable to the Almighty is extremely difficult for most people to achieve. And Father recognized this from the very beginning and made provision for this challenging reality by gifting His set-apart people His Ruach HaKodesh that makes keeping Torah and resisting sin perfectly, just like His Son did, a very real possibility.

Unfortunately the Church Triumphant can’t see or reconcile this simple Truth for a variety of reasons that we won’t go into here today. As they see it, any who would even think about keeping the Creator’s instructions is essentially committing sin in their eyes, again, wresting/perverting/twisting the apostle’s writings and alleging that those who would keep the Creator’s instructions in righteousness have fallen from grace (Gal. 5:4).

And of course the church’s grace-perversion doctrine is inherently designed to completely cancel out the crucial role that Torah is suppose o play in the hearts and minds of their followers.

But again, so we are clear, as it relates to our focus passage, the apostle is NOT writing about the conflict that orthodoxy has erroneously created between Torah and Grace. Shaul is not even making a distinction between the applicability of Torah in the lives of Yah’s people versus the universal application of Yah’s grace that is extended to Yah’s people through Yahoshua HaMashiyach.

The Role Torah Plays in the Life of Yah’s People

You see, in order to gain a true understanding of what the apostle meant by one being “under the Law” in this and in similar passages, we must first gain an understanding of the role Torah plays in defining and addressing the issue of “sin.” It is virtually impossible for one to fully grasp what Shaul meant by one being “under the Law/Torah” without understanding the purpose of Torah; the relationship that exists between Torah and sin; and Yah’s Plan of Salvation, Restoration and Redemption through our Master Yahoshua HaMashiyach.

Now, I wouldn’t dare go so far as to say that Orthodox-Fundamentalists-Evangelicals haven’t figured out the relationship that exists between Torah, sin and the Plan of Salvation, Redemption and Restoration. For I believe they have at least a baseline understanding of the relationship. I think, however, the problem that exist with their understanding is a doctrinal one or a religious one: They’ve chosen to reject the fundamental covenant lifestyle and relationship that Father requires of all His children and replace that lifestyle and relationship with their perverted/twisted version of “grace” because it best suits their organizational purposes and goals.

Christianity Finally Starting to Come to Terms With Their Erroneous Stance on Grace

Interestingly, fundamentalist and evangelical organizations and teachers are beginning to recognize the inherent dangers associated with the church’s gross emphasis on grace today. According to GotQuestions.org:

 

The termhyper-gracehas been used to describe a new wave of teaching that emphasizes the grace of God to the exclusion of other vital teachings such as repentance and confession of sin. Hyper-grace teachers maintain that all sin, past, present, and future, has already been forgiven, so there is no need for a believer to ever confess it. Hyper-grace teaching says that, when God looks at us, He sees only a holy and righteous people. The conclusion of hyper-grace teaching is that we are not bound by Jesus’ teaching, even as we are not under the Law; that believers are not responsible for their sin; and that anyone who disagrees is a pharisaical legalist. In short, hyper-grace teachers “pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality” (Jude 1:4) and flirt withantinomianism.   (https://www.gotquestions.org/hyper-grace.html)

 

Is this hyper-grace perversion that gotquestions.org described not the very thing that Shaul was attempting to squash in the Roman Assemblies: the grace of Yah being used as a license for his readers to live lives of sin despite their profession of Faith in Messiah? It is.

 

There Are No Free Lunches

 

As I’ve said many times on this program: There are truly no free lunches. Someone has to pay for one’s supposed free lunch. And to think that the hyper-grace of today’s Christianity is all about getting for one’s self that free lunch of eternal life with having no responsibility whatsoever–no vested skin in the game, so to speak–but instead living as one sees fit is not in the least biblical. A covenant relationship, which we’ve all been called into, requires both parties to agree to the terms of the katuba or the marriage agreement: If we give ourselves completely over to the Eternal and do as He commands and we image Him in the world through our living the Way He requires His set-apart people to live, He will in turn be our God and in the process, we will be His people and receive all the promises He gave to His chosen ones–both in this life as well as in the world tomorrow (reference Exo. 19:5-6). Six

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The True Faith is not a One-Side Thing

 

This thing that Yah put into operation–the Renewed Covenant and the Plan of Salvation–is not a one-sided thing where Yah removes all responsibility for establishing and maintaining covenant relationship from His people. As we saw brilliantly illustrated in Exodus 19, Yah requires His would-be set-apart people to “obey His voice and keep His covenant.” Nothing has changed from that time, even up to today, despite the hyper-grace foolishness that the church has foisted upon a blind and ignorant world. There’s always a price that must be paid on both sides of the covenant relationship: Yah will be our God–our “all-in-all.” He puts in the work of redeeming us; protecting and delivering us from the evil one; cleaning us up so that we may walk before Him uprightly and perfectly; teaching us His Ways and dwelling with us.

 

We, on the other hand, must fulfill our end of the covenant by obeying Him and keeping the tenets of the covenant. We have to die to self and become His slave as we are no longer beholden to our former masters. So we have to obey His house-rules which is essentially His Torah and we must worship Him and Him alone in Spirit and in Truth.

 

We Receive Salvation as a Side-Benefit of Entering into Covenant Relationship

 

As a benefit of the true covenant relationship we enter into with the Almighty, we receive His free gift of eternal life-of salvation. We cannot earn that gift. Our keeping covenant with the Eternal, contrary to the lies that have been spread about our Faith Community by the church, is not a futile attempt to purchase our salvation. We keep Yah’s Torah and image Him in the world because Yah commanded us to do so. And we do these things because we love our Father and we want to please Him; and because it’s just the right thing to do.

 

Unfortunately, the church has yet to recognize this crucial reality.

 

The Moving Parts of YHVH’s Grace

 

All of this my friends is part and parcel of YHVH’s grace. His grace has many moving parts. In fact, Yah’s grace entails so much more than Yah extending salvation to any who would accept the atoning sacrifice of Yahoshua. It’s also Yah opening the door to His human creation having a true and substantive relationship with Him through the ministry of His Wonderful Son–our older brother–Yahoshua Messiah. This is about Yah not abandoning His human creation to damnation or turning His back on it. It’s about creating a way for that relationship when there was no other true, righteous and holy means to do so.

 

The Intersection of Grace and the Law/Torah

 

So where does Yah’s grace and Torah intersect? Yah’s grace meets Torah at the place where Yah’s Ruach haKodesh provides the means by which Yah’s people may embrace and walk out His way of life–His Torah–despite them existing in a perverse and wicked generation and world. It should be of no surprise to anyone to learn that Yah’s grace extends beyond Yahoshua and His sacrifice. In fact, second only to Yahoshua and His divine ministry, Yah’s gifting of Torah to His covenant people was one of the greatest iterations of grace to ever be lavished upon humanity. You see, the Eternal could have simply abandoned His human creation to face complete and certain destruction at the hands of the fallen ones. But He didn’t. For He aimed to redeem humanity from the clutches of the evil ones through His plan of salvation, restoration and redemption. And the first place He established that plan was back in the Garden when He prophetically announced the work of Mashiyach to Adam, Eve and the serpent (Gen. 3:15). And from there, He established a lineage of humans–Enoch-Noah-Avraham-Yishak-Yisrael-Moshe-the judges and prophets-through whom He would entrust His Word–His Ways–His Torah. And Torah would be the means by which humanity could begin to establish a relationship with Him until such time that Yah’s Right Arm (I.e., Yahoshua) would come and permanently remove the veil–the wall–that beforehand blocked and hindered such a true covenant relationship.

 

Torah Remains Relevant For Yah’s People Today

 

Torah remains a requirement for all Yah’s people to embrace and walk out today. But like our ancient Hebrew cousins experienced throughout their lifetime, our hardened hearts get in the way and hinder our ability to have a true and substantive relationship with the Creator of the Universe. And Yah recognized from the beginning that the problem associated with His set-apart people not being able to keep Torah to the extent He requires of them is not the Torah itself. For Torah is perfect, holy, spiritual; it is good (Rom. 7:12, 14, 16; 1 Tim. 1:8). The problem, in fact, is the hardened hearts of Yah’s human creation.

 

The Heart of Man is the Problem

 

First and foremost, the heart of humans is inherently deceitful. Secondarily, the human heart is desperately sick or evil (Jeremiah 17:9). And the one thing that must be understood about our heavenly Father is that He searches every heart and tests every mind or soul to determine whether they are true to the calling He has put forth to them. Unfortunately, our ancient Hebrew cousins possessed such deceitful and sick hearts that caused them to break covenant with the Almighty on a recurring basis. And Yah made note of this when He stated the following to Moshe:

 

And YHVH heard your words, when you spoke to me. And YHVH said to me, “I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear Me and to keep all My commandments, that it might go well with them and their descendants forever” (Deuteronomy 5:28-29; ESV)!

 

The Bad Heart of Man is Universal

 

Yah recognized from the beginning that this poor heart condition wasn’t just limited to the Israelites. In fact, this heart condition was typical of all peoples of the world. And in Yah’s immense wisdom, He provided or embedded within His renewed covenant, the wherewithal for any who would be called His child to possess a heart that would be conducive to having that true and substantive relationship with Him.

 

Ezekiel 11:19; Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10 (The Renewed Covenant)

 

Thus, it is through Yah’s grace that He incorporated into His renewed covenant “fixes” that would address the very faults inherent in humanity that make any covenant relationship with the Him a very real possibility:

 

• A purpose and will that is in alignment with that of YHVH
• A spirit that is loving towards YHVH and towards one’s fellow man
• Replacing the naturally stony heart of humans with one that is pliable and loving and obedient to the Will and Instructions of YHVH
• Yah’s Torah will no longer be written on tablets of stone or other mediums. Instead, YHVH will write His Torah on the hearts and into the minds of His children. Torah-living will not be second nature in Yah’s people, but become their only nature.
• And because Yah’s people will live out their lives the way YHVH always intended for them to live it, they will become true children/people of YHVH, and YHVH will be their Elohim.

 

Again, this is Yah’s Grace in action.

 

Nowhere do we see any mention of Torah being eliminated or done away with in the lives of YHVH’s children. We will become like our Master Yahoshua who is the splitting image of His Father. And we know that Yeshua was the walking-talking Torah. What then, does that say about our lives and our amazing future in Yahoshua?

 

 

Torah and grace work hand-in-hand. And grace does not exclude or negate the need for Torah. And despite the black-eye that orthodoxy has given Torah as a result of grossly misunderstood Pauline verses such as our focus-passage here, Shaul was in no way disavowing or rejecting Torah at the expense of grace. In fact, what we will find out in our next installment of this series, that one who finds themselves “under Torah” or “hupo nomon/nomos is in a bad place NOT because they keep Torah or walk in covenant relationship with the Almighty. We will instead learn that being “under Torah” is something completely different than keeping or walking out Torah. It is a condition that leads to one’s condemnation.

 

Until next time, may you be most blessed fellow saints in Training.

 

Shalom