Should Gentile Christians obey Torah, and if they don’t, is it a sin?
On Facebook, I enjoy following some particular Christian ministries that post scripture and Biblical pictures, but one day I came across one of their posts that I thought was an odd match. It started off with the passage from Matthew 5:19-20: “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven”, then below it posted the picture that I have shown below:
Being that a similar conversation was on my lips earlier with my wife, I decided to chime in on the post:
“You know, I agree with you on most everything I’ve seen you post on here so far. I also love your pictures! However, I believe your pairing of the picture below with Matthew 5:19-20 is off. For instance, 1 John was written to mature Christians, most likely Gentiles, as I understand, whereas Matthew was not only written to Jewish converts, but also in the context of realizing that righteousness is not possible by works, but only by the Grace of God through Jesus Christ. However, if you were to try to go in through works, then you’d have to be better than those who are following it to the T (which is still impossible). But I think a big part should be recognized in verse 18 where Jesus said, ‘…until heaven and earth disappear, even the smallest detail of God’s Law will remain until its purpose is achieved.’ According to the Apostle Paul, the Law was only meant as a nanny for the Jews to raise them up until the Messiah arrived. So according to Paul, its purpose has been achieved.
I honestly hate it when people take Scripture out of context to make an argument. On that note, I also continue to hear Pastors/ministries (and here) talk about how all Christians must still follow the Torah. Here’s the thing with that though:
- Jesus fulfilled the Law (also mentioned in the context of this Matthew passage above), and so now, Jews who have accepted Jesus are no longer under the Law (the old covenant), but the New Covenant. Therefore, the only ones still under the old Law are the Jews of today who reject Jesus Christ as the Messiah.
- When Paul and Barnabas visited the Apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 15), Peter and James declared that Gentile Christians need not be bound by the yoke of the Law (Torah), since they never had it to begin with, but instead told them to “abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood”. They would then receive discipleship from among the Jewish converts, as they expected that all would worship together.
Now, since Christ, God has written the Law on our hearts, so Gentile Christians know right from wrong, good from bad, and how to live for God through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, but they were never required to follow the Torah. So if Gentile Christians were never required to follow the Torah, then how can it be a sin if they don’t obey it?
Also, the Bible doesn’t say that it’s a sin not to obey the Torah, but that those who sin, break it. I’m interested in learning what translation you’re reading from that tells us it’s a sin not to obey the Law that Jesus has fulfilled.”
What are your thoughts on this? Do you think Gentile Christians are required to follow the Torah (Law of Moses)? What about Jewish converts (known today mostly as Messianic Jews)? Please explain also your reasons for why you believe this.
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