The Law of Moses?

What is the Law of Moses? And… what is the Law of Sin? What is the Law of God? Have you even pondered in these questions?

We frequently encounter expressions from esteemed theologians, such as “The law (Torah) was given by Moses” or references to “Moses’ Law,” along with numerous other phrases that attempt to echo or mimic Paul’s language when he discusses this specific concept in his epistles.

There is a distinction between Paul and others when it comes to referencing the Law. When Paul refers to the Law, he is not speaking of the commandments given by Yahweh on Sinai. Instead, he is referencing the oral traditions that developed among scholars of his time—traditions that are often regarded as authoritative alongside the Torah. This is exemplified in the common saying: “You cannot understand the Torah without the oral tradition,” which we now recognize as the Talmud. While numerous Hebrew literary works contain valuable insights that can deepen our understanding of Torah, they do not hold the same authority as the Law itself. The Law of Yahweh is perfect, and even Paul affirms this in his letters. Thus, it is important to recognize the difference between the divine Law given by Yahweh and the oral traditions that have grown around it.

We are no different today

We are no different today than these scholars; our traditions, passed down through various creeds, have become more authoritative than Yeshua’s teachings. Many of these creeds, in fact, violate the fundamental principles of Yahweh’s instructions, which were given to us so that we might understand His will.

For example, the Second Council of Nicaea (787 AD), which restored the veneration of icons, raises important questions about the relationship between church tradition and the biblical commandments—especially the Second Commandment, which in Exodus 20:4 says:

This was not the only instance where the council completely disregarded the authority of Yahweh. However, these examples are just a few among many, illustrating how the councils frequently contradicted the direct instructions that Yahweh had given to the children of Israel.

Commandment	Council/Practice	Potential Conflict
2nd: No carved images or facsimiles.	Nicaea II (787), Trullo (692).	Approval of icons and “holy” images.
4th: Keep Sabbath holy.	Laodicea (363–364), Canon 29.	Replaced Sabbath with Sunday.
1st & 2nd: No other gods/images.	Trent (1545–1563).	Veneration of saints and relics.
1st: Worship God alone.	Lateran IV (1215), Canon 21.	Confession to priests as intermediaries.

How about the Reformation?

The Reformation was a powerful corrective movement that restored several biblical truths—particularly the authority of Scripture (sola scriptura) y salvation by grace through faith (sola fide). However, many biblical scholars, theologians, and various restorationist movements argue that the Reformers stopped short of a full return to the biblical faith and practices as lived by Yeshua, the apostles, and the early church.

Summary Table: Where the Reformers Fell Short

Area	Reformers’ Position	Biblical Teaching	Missed Restoration
Sabbath	Sunday worship	7th-day (Saturday)	Yes
Idols/Images	Mixed views	No graven images or facsimiles	Partial
Feasts & Holidays	Retained pagan-based	Leviticus 23 feasts	Yes
Torah Living	Law fulfilled/ended	Law upheld by Jesus	Yes
Church Structure	Clergy-led	Body-led, elder-guided	Yes
Jewish Roots	Supersessionism	Grafted into Israel	Yes

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The Teachings of Yeshua vs. our modern practices

As you see in the next points, there are many doctrines we follow today that contradicts the teaching and principles of the Messiah.

1. Law (Torah)

• Yeshua’s Teaching: Affirmed the Torah’s ongoing validity (Matthew 5:17–19).
• Church Tradition: Often taught the Law was fulfilled and abolished.
• We need to understand that Yeshua did not come to end or abolish Torah but gave us a better understanding about it.

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2. Sabbath

• Yeshua’s Teaching: Kept and honored the 7th day Sabbath (Luke 4:16; Mark 2:27).
• Church Tradition: Sunday worship based on resurrection tradition.
• There’s no Biblical command that shows Sabbath was replaced by Sunday worship, in the contrary, first day worship was added to commemorate Yeshua’s sacrifice and resurrection, as well as the gift of the Holy Spirit.

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3. Biblical Feasts

• Yeshua’s Teaching: Celebrated Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Sukkot (John 7:2; Luke 22:15).
• Church Tradition: Easter and Christmas celebrated instead.
• There’s nothing where Yahweh’s prevent us the creation of communal celebrations, as long as they do not involve pagan custom substitutions, neither replace Yahweh’s appointed times. For example, Hanukah is not an appointed time celebration, but it honors the protection of God’s people through challenging times recounting the story of the book Esther.

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4. Prayer

• Yeshua’s Teaching: Prayed directly to the Father (Matthew 6:9).
• Church Tradition: In some traditions, prayer is directed to Mary or saints.
• Even though we are encouraged to pray for one another, we are to pray to the Father directly, bringing to Him our worship, petitions and concerns. The reason that Yeshua became our sacrificial lamb was to grant us access directly to the Father. No mediator needed, only Yeshua.

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5. Worship

• Yeshua’s Teaching: Worship in spirit and truth, not limited to temples or rituals (John 4:23–24).
• Church Tradition: Institutionalized worship with rituals and liturgies in specific buildings.
• The true meaning of Worship is to elevate Yahweh’s character for us to recognize that He is God, not us. It is also acts of service, where we humble ourselves to help others. In Hebrew, worship is not just internal admiration—it is a physical act of bowing –shachah– (שָׁחָה), a life of service -avad- (עָבַד), and praise with the lips and heart -halal- (הלל). It reflects total devotion: body, heart, and actions. In other words, in Worship you elevate Yahweh. How one elevates Yahweh, who is already the Most High Elohim? By bowing down our pride or coming to His presence in humbly admiration.

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6. Dietary Instructions

• Yeshua’s Teaching: Ate clean foods per Leviticus 11; never declared all foods clean (Acts 10:14).
• Church Tradition: Often teaches all foods are now clean.
• Lamentably the vision of Cephas (Peter) is taken out of context, using this vision to justify our unwillingness to obey the dietary laws. Cephas did not come up with this conclusion himself, even though he was hungry.

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7. Use of Images

• Yeshua’s Teaching: Honored the 2nd commandment — no carved images (Exodus 20:4–6).
• Church Tradition: Use of statues, icons, and crucifixes in worship.
• Yahweh was very clear about this, and He did not only reference carved image, but He also even included similar expression of art where draw our attention from the eternal to elemental representations of it. By His instruction, there were representations of thing in heaven in the tabernacle tent of meeting decoration, but they were only visible to the people trained to only worship Yahweh. Heaven should be reflected in our hearts, and others will be witness of what Yahweh has done in your life by the fruits of the Spirit in you.

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8. Leadership Model

• Yeshua’s Teaching: Emphasized servant leadership, not hierarchy (Matthew 23:8–11).
• Church Tradition: Hierarchical leadership (e.g., pope, bishops, pastors).
• The original model as we see throughout Torah and by Yeshua’s example, leaders were servants of the people. Not a categorized system of ranks.

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9. Tithing / Giving

• Yeshua’s Teaching: Focused on justice, mercy, and faith over ritual tithing (Matthew 23:23).
• Church Tradition: Emphasis on monetary tithing to the church.
• The offerings were intended for two purposes, to have a work force of servants in the Temple and to fulfill the needs of the community. Yahweh’s Temple economy was a self-sustained economy that not only trained the community to give, but to maintain a group of servants for the sanity and health of this community.

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10. Salvation

• Yeshua’s Teaching: Salvation by grace through faith, confirmed by obedience (John 14:15).
• Church Tradition: Often taught as grace alone without responsibility to obey.
• The law was not given for salvation, neither was required of a person to pay for atonement. Sacrifices were to demonstrate that sin has a cost, the sacrifice was not to gain favors with Yahweh, but to remember the cost of our actions. All the weight of our sins has been paid in full by Yeshua, who die for us on the cross. Still, we are never to come to the presence of Yahweh empty handed, not to gain any favor, but to maintain access to services that are necessary to supply the needs of the community of faith.

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11. Baptism

• Yeshua’s Teaching: Full immersion after repentance (Matthew 3:13–17).
• Church Tradition: Infant baptism or sprinkling common in many traditions.
• Baptism in Scripture follows conscious faith, was not an act of ignorance.

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12. God’s Name

• Yeshua’s Teaching: Revealed and honored the Father’s name (John 17:6, 26).
• Church Tradition: Replaced God’s name with titles like “Lord” or “God”.
• See more about this topic here. But I give a brief explanation here. Yahweh told Moshe (Moses) to remember His name forever, and to tell Israel to remember that this is His memorial name forever.

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13. Identity of Disciples

• Yeshua’s Teaching: Disciples known by obedience and love (John 13:35).
• Church Tradition: Identity often based on church membership or denomination.
• Our identity comes from Yahweh, our devotion to Him, and our love for one another. Not by memberships or denomination we attend.

Why are we so reluctant to fully embrace Yahweh’s will?

Simply put… because misinterpretation of Scriptures.

As Cephas (Peter) said in one of his epistles to the young congregation of new believers the following.

It is clear to Cephas that many will misinterpret Shaul’s teachings, which raises the question: what does Cephas refer to? Most of the Second Letter of Cephas was written to warn us about false prophets and teachers who will attempt to lead us astray. They will manipulate sound doctrine to deceive us, enticing us to revert to sinful desires. These false teachers distort the truth, turning us away from wholesome doctrine and into a path of deception—one that denies the sovereignty of Yeshua and fosters a life of lawlessness.

So what has we been misinterpreting from Shaul (Paul) writings?

Let’s start with the Epistle to the Galatians. This is the Epistle mostly used in a doctrine called “dispensationalism”. This doctrine states that Israel has been replaced by the “Church”, and that Yahweh has forsaken Israel because they did not received Yeshua.

The most obvious problem with this premise is that not all Israel rejected the Messiah, when Yeshua rebuke Israel for missing their day of visitation, He was referring to the religious leaders that were supposed to guide the people to Yeshua, but instead they led them away from Him. Luke 19: 41-44

But even “Christianity” began as an upset of “Judaism”, new believers in Yeshua follow all the traditions established in Mount Sinai, including Sabbath. That is why Cephas (Peter) and Yaacov (James) did not include keeping the Sabbath in the list of ABC’s traditions to follow during the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15.

Moses was preached in every city every Sabbath, so Gentiles were already attending Sabbath to listen to Torah. The expectation was that by listening to the instruction given by Yahweh to Moshe (Moses), the Gentiles would grow in their understanding of Yahweh’s traditions. But Cephas and Yaacov made it very clear to only provide the spoken word of Yahweh without putting the weight of oral traditions that were impossible to follow as Yeshua pointed out to the religious leaders of the time.

So Shaul (Paul) did exactly what was commanded to him to do with the Gentiles, and it is the theme throughout all his epistles written to the growing congregations of the Gentiles.

How do we know this?

For that the most elegant epistle that explains this is the epistle to the Galatians. The introduction of the letter is Paul introducing his ministries, how it came to be and under what authority was given.

Key Points to understand Paul’s mission

Key Important Points to consider when reading Paul arguments related to the Torah, first we need to consider Paul’s own assessment to interpret what he received from Yeshua.

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1. Paul did not jumped into conclusions with the words he received from Yeshua.

Paul recognized that the wisdom of Yahweh sometimes is hard to grasp at first glance, which is why Yahweh requires of us a life of meditation. There is a correlation between Paul’s visions and Cephas’ vision. Both of them were cautious to be certain what their visions mean, without jumping into conclusions, based in the first thought that came up to mind. (Read Act 10 for Cephas’ vision)

Galatians 1:15-17 LSB ~ But when God, who had set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might proclaim Him as good news among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus.

Why did Paul go to Arabia? Not sure, I think I have an idea but that requires entering in controversies outside what’s presented to us in the Bible, so I digress. Was he instructed by the Holy Spirit to do so?

There are no clues left behind, at least in the Bible there’s no record of this. It was a custom, and still is, for a person to go to remote places to acquire a deep understanding without the distraction of accommodations, for example Moses’ 40 days in Mount Sinai, as well as Elijah when he flew to a cave in Mount Sinai, Yeshua spending 40 day in the wilderness, as many other accounts in the Bible. As far as I understand. Some scholars speculate the reason of Paul doing so was as journey to reflection and avoid persecution caused by his original mission and problems that might have arisen with the religious leaders who commanded him to persecute “The Way”.

As a note aside, wouldn’t surprise me if the reason Paul went to Arabia was to go to Mount Sinai, if the speculation of some is correct, and Mount Sinai is not in the Sinai Peninsula but in Arabia in the region of Midian close where Jethro keep his flocks and probably where Moses saw the burning bush, where the Bible says it is:

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2. Paul make sure to become acquainted with Cephas (Peter) and Yaacov (James) Yeshua’s brother, probably to confirm that he has received divine inspiration and not his personal interpretation:

Galatians 1:18-24 LSB ~ Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. (Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying!) Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which are in Christ; but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news of the faith which he once tried to destroy.” And they were glorifying God because of me.

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3. Paul started his ministry within the ones who were already participating in bringing tHE Gospel to the Gentiles, not with the general public.

He understood the Gospel was for everyone, it is clear that Paul wanted to have evidence of what Yeshua came to fulfill when He came and that the revelation he had was accurate and in line with what has been preached. Because if the Gospel he is bringing contradicts Torah and the teachings of the disciples, his efforts to bring the truth would have been in vain.

Galatians 2:1-2 LSB ~ Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. And I went up because of a revelation, and I laid out to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, lest somehow I might be running, or had run, in vain.

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4. Now Paul knew exactly why Yeshua called him, even though many have received the Gospel, and were commissioned by Yeshua to spread it to the nations _ they were reluctant to do so.

Among the apostles there was still an issue, did they were allowed to bring the gospel to the Gentiles, in many occasions they received instructions from Yeshua wanting to bring the Gospel to the Jews first, then the Gentiles. With Paul, Yeshua had a Rabbi with full knowledge of Torah, who would easily transmit the message and prophecies from the Tanakh a bridge the gap between the prophecies and Yeshua to the Gentiles.

Galatians 2:6-10 LSB ~ But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised (for He who worked in Peter unto his apostleship to the circumcised worked in me also unto the Gentiles), and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only they asked us to remember the poor—the very thing I also was eager to do.

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Tension Among Brethren

There was a tension already among the Jewish believers of Yeshua, whom probably did not understood how they were suppose to bring the good news to the Gentiles. In those times, to be able to follow the God of Israel, one needed to abandon everything, since paganism was the law of the land. We see this in the story of Ruth, where this moabite woman left her gods and traditions to become part of Israel, as well with Hagar the prostitute.

So it seems to all the apostles, who were jewish, that the Gentiles needed to become jews in order to belong to the Kingdom of Yeshua. But it is then that we come to Acts 15, where the apostles and the leaders of the temple were arguing about this.

Cephas and Yaacov persuaded the congregation, that following Torah was not required for salvation, since salvation comes through our faith in Messiah. Also, they pointed out that Torah observance might be really difficult for Gentiles, since even Jews, who have lived under Torah for so long, broke it continuously.

From these observations, the congregation agreed to that would not be wise to force the full weight of Torah observance to the Gentiles, but at least to teach the Gentiles to follow 4 basic principles of Torah:

1. Abtain from anything dedicated to idols
2. Abtain from sexual immorality
3. Not to eat anything that has been strangled
4. Not to eat blood

These seems basic to us today, but at that time, they were asking the Gentiles to deny everything that was established as a lifestyle, and the law of the Greeco-Roman empire.

Now that we understand who Paul was and the purpose of his ministry, what’s the next step?

Now we can understand the main reason for the introduction, Paul settle the issue at hand and bring clarity of his main purpose, to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. But Paul did not just came up with a new doctrine, he was doing what Yeshua commanded to His disciples, with the proper foundations:

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1. Yeshua did not come to abolish o get rid of Torah.

Matthew 5:17-20 LSB ~ “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he 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.

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2. The Gospel is intended for everyone, not just for the Jews.

From the beginning Yahweh intended to bless the whole world, through the people of Israel.

Genesis 12:3 LSB ~ And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

However, their disobedience led to their exile from the land, domination by oppressive nations, and ultimately, their inability to see the truth of the Messiah.

Luke 19:41-42 LSB ~ And as He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He cried over it, [42] saying, “If you knew in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.

But this blindfold will be removed one day to fulfill all the promises Yahweh made with the nation of Israel, as Paul mentioned in Romans 11.

Romans 11:25-27 LSB ~ For I do not want you, brothers, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” “And this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”

This is becoming reality in front of our eyes, many Israelis are turning back to Yeshua. The thing is, that we have received this same commission from Yeshua:

Matthew 28:18-20 LSB ~ And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

And sadly, we are making the same mistake that Israel did, boasting on how Yahweh has chosen us to spread the gospel to all the nations, and trying to keep the root of our beliefs away from its original roots.

Romans 11:18-22 LSB ~ do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast against them, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right! They were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be haughty, but fear, for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.

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3. The law does not justify, even less oral tradition.

This is the first thing that was agreed in the council of Jerusalem, and the reason the council was called in session.

Galatians 2:15-16 LSB ~ “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

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4. Paul refers to the law that came down by angels (messengers), and not from Yahweh.

This obviously does not refer to the law given in Mount Sinai, which was not given through a mediator, but came directly from Yahweh., so what law Paul is referring here.

Galatians 3:19-22 LSB ~ Why the Law then? It was added because of trespasses, having been ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made. Now a mediator is not for one person only, whereas God is one. Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed be by law. But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

The reason the law has become impossible to uphold is due to numerous modifications and corruptions that have been added over time. However, the law given by Yahweh—referred to by Paul as the Law of God—is perfect. The issue is that the law was never intended to serve as a means of salvation. Instead, it was originally given to guide us in understanding what is required to live a fulfilled and righteous life.

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5. The Galatians were turning back to old traditions.

This explains what law he is referring to when writing to the Galatians:

Galatians 4:8-11 LSB ~ However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. But now, having known God, or rather having been known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you want to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you for nothing.

This comes directly from what Yahweh told the Israelites when He freed them out of the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 4:19-20 LSB ~ and lest you lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which Yahweh your God has apportioned for all the peoples under the whole heaven. But Yahweh has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, from Egypt, to be a people for His own inheritance, as today.

Paul later on will drew a parallel about this to the Gentiles of Galatia, because Torah corrupted by oral tradition became a snare back into slavery. Where the incorruptible Word of Yahweh has been tarnished with human traditions.

Here Paul is addressing and important point. You see, when we take the Law given by Yahweh and then added regulations to it, based in our opinion of “good and evil” we corrupt it. Also, when we use the Law of Yahweh with the purpose that was not intended to be, we also corrupt it, making something beautiful into something corruptible. But to the Galatians, he was imploring them to come back to their senses. Galatians were Gentiles, they were not turning back to Torah, but to the customs of the Greco-Roman empire, “worthless elemental things”. And this probably caused by the strict set of rules set by the religious leaders. As Paul addressed here.

Romans 7:11-12 LSB ~ For sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

The Law was given by Yahweh, but we have corrupted it by adding traditions that are impossible to follow, even contradicting themselves. This law full of men traditions is what Paul refers to as Moses Law. The untarnished Law given in Mount Sinai he refers as to the Law of Yahweh.

At first glance this observations are taken out of context, and what’s coming next makes things worst

Then, Paul uses this parable or “allegory” to explain the error of what the Galatians are doing:

This allegory has often led to confusion and is frequently regarded as the basis of the “doctrine of dispensation.” Paul was explicit with the Galatians, essentially saying, “Remember, this is an illustration; do not interpret it literally.” However, that is precisely the misunderstanding we have adopted.

He compares two sons and two mothers—one pair representing slavery and the other freedom and promise. The purpose of this allegory is to illustrate the distinction between relying on self-justification and trusting in righteousness that comes through faith. In this context, Paul draws a parallel between two laws: the Greco-Roman laws and the Sinaitic law. Both, when used to seek justification through our actions, are ultimately futile and lead to enslavement to sin—an enslavement for which Yeshua paid the price on the cross.

Grace should be abundant; nevertheless, that remains our challenge—we often perceive it as lacking. Similar to the Israelites in the wilderness, longing for Egypt, they found solace in their bondage because at least it guaranteed daily sustenance and familiar comfort.

As instructed by the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), Paul was not encouraging Gentiles to neglect the Torah. On the contrary, he consistently presented the Torah as a perfect guide—a map that directs us on our journey of redemption. Its purpose is not for salvation itself but to serve as a mirror for examining our hearts. We are not called to circumcise ourselves to attain salvation; if we were, then we would be obliged to adhere perfectly to the entire law, obeying every command flawlessly for the rest of our lives in order to be justified by it.

Paul did not criticize the act of circumcision itself but rather targeted the heart of the individual being circumcised—particularly those who relied on it as a means of salvation, presuming their dependence on the Torah. Circumcision holds no spiritual value in Yeshua’s eyes if it is performed to replace His redemptive love. His love is eternal; in contrast, our desires are like the waves of the sea—fleeting, ever-changing, and unpredictable. Therefore, whether you are circumcised or choose to be circumcised, if you do not believe in Yeshua’s redemptive work, you are living in an illusion. Yeshua is the only true path to Yahweh, and placing trust elsewhere diminishes that divine truth.

It is evident that Paul urges the Gentiles to embrace a life guided by Yahweh’s commandments, particularly the instruction found in Leviticus 19:18. As he eloquently emphasized:

Without Torah, Gentiles would not know what’s the difference between a freedom under the guidance of Yahweh, through the Holy Spirit, and the false freedom under unrighteous acts of selfish desires and lust.

Yeshua did a similar parallel comparison, but Yeshua gave a more complete observation. Paul purpose was to teach the Gentiles to live a life of community, Yeshua presented the two important aspects of the Torah. The first five commandments were commandment of who is Yahweh and how we should stay under His guidance and love, then the other five commandments were how to interact with others.

The final chapter of Galatians gives a clear picture of the issue he was addressing through out the letter of the Galatians, there was descent among the brethren, and with the looming threat of persecution some were trying to appease religious leaders to become Jews, while others were returning to their Greco-Roman gods, to avoid persecution.

Remember a man “Yeshua” was crucified for crossing arguments against the religious leaders, and on the other side of the coin, Rome were executing those who challenged their gods and traditions. Believers of Yeshua were not in a comfortable position, if their faith were not rooted in truth, it was easily diverted to conformity to the customs of the world.

The letter to the Galatians was addressed to a congregation full of confusion. The confusion that comes with growing pains. And this letter has been kept through the years for our benefit, because the Holy Spirit knows we will find ourselves in this same situation during our walk of redemption.

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The issues addressed in the Epistle to the Galatians serve as a recurring theme throughout all of Paul’s letters. Next time, I will focus on discussing the Epistle to the Romans. Until then,

Shalom