Is the Torah Applicable to Christians?

To answer that question, one must understand exactly what the 'Torah' is.

Simply put, the Torah is the first five books of the Bible; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These five books constitute the teachings of God to His chosen people, the Hebrews. The word Torah means ‘teaching’ in Hebrew. Recorded in the Torah is the creation of earth and the history of mankind, the election of the Hebrews as God’s chosen people and His instructions to them. This includes what is known as the Mosaic Law, which is the law God gave to Moses to give to God’s chosen. It begins with the Ten Commandments in the book of Exodus and continues through the book of Deuteronomy.

The Ten Commandments are central to our relationship with God.  They make God’s will known. The rest of the Mosaic Law is instruction regarding worship of God and daily living according to His will. Interspersed within the law are God’s promises (covenant) to those who strive to live according to His good and perfect will (by observing and keeping the Torah teachings).

Among those who accept ‘Yeshua ben Yoseph’, that is Jesus, the son of Joseph of Nazareth, as being Israel’s promised “deliverer” or ‘Mashiach’ (Messiah), is a belief that the ‘old covenant’ has either been done away with and/or does not apply to those who are not of Hebrew descent (Jewish). This is a mistaken belief based upon a lack of knowledge and/or understanding of what Torah is and what Christ taught. 

Additionally, the epistles of the Apostle Paul are often misunderstood due to a lack of knowledge regarding the origin and development of rabbinic Judaism. When these two factors are taken in together, it is relatively easy to see how and why so many do not feel that the Ten Commandments or any of God’s “old covenant” laws are applicable to “Christians” today.

Under King Cyrus, the captive inhabitants of Judah were allowed to return to Jerusalem. Amid great opposition, the temple was rebuilt upon the original foundation stones and some years later, the wall surrounding Jerusalem was also restored. During this time, there was a sense of apathy among the returnees toward God and the observance and keeping of the Torah. Even the high priests were found to be forsaking the law and taking advantage of their position. Thus God sent the prophets Ezra, Nehemiah, Micah, and Zechariah to bring the people back to God. For it was feared among the prophets that if the people failed to strictly observe the Torah, they would once again lose the land that God had promised to their forefathers. The hope among the “Judeans” at that time was a return to the Davidic Monarchy they had previously enjoyed. But such was not forth coming. In fact, the times of the prophets came to an end, just as it was prophesized by Amos, the shepherd and farmer. (See Amos 8:11-12)

Four hundred years passed without a word from God. During that time of great silence, the priests came up with “oral traditions” giving the scribal interpretation of the law; these were regarded as stemming from Moses, just as much as the written law was.

The first words of the Mishna Pirkey-Avot (Talmud) are:

“Moshe [Moses] received the Torah from Sinai and handed it down to Y’hoshua [Joshua] and Y’hoshua to the Elders, and the Elders to the Prophets; and the Prophets handed it down to the Men of the Great Synagogue. They said three things: be deliberate in judging, raise up many talmidim [disciples], and make a fence around the Torah.”
(Avot 1:1)

This is how it was in the time of John the Baptist, which explains why John called those who came to be baptized a “brood of vipers”  (Luke 3:7) and what Jesus meant when he said, "So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word [law] of God”  (Matthew 15:6b).

Christ came to FULFILL the law.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to FULFILL them” (Matthew 5:17, emphasis added).

Christ made it clear that God’s Law was for all eternity;

“It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.” (Luke 16:17)

The “disciple whom Jesus loved” wonderfully illustrates how Jesus fulfills the law in the following passage from his ‘gospel’ account;

“From [the fullness of Christ] we have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17)

What is the grace that John is talking about? It is the forgiveness of sins. For as the Apostle Paul wrote;

“For God has done what the law could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for and as a sin offering, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:3-4)

What couldn’t the law do? It couldn’t make us right with God. Why not? Because no one, except Christ Himself, could perfectly keep ALL the law, ALL the time. (See Romans 3:10-18; 23.)

So then, what was the purpose of the law if no one could keep it? The law lets us know when we are going against God. (“Be holy, for I am holy.” – Leviticus 19:2 et al.) To go against God is to sin. Through the law comes knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20).

But isn’t the Law only for God’s chosen people? Initially, yes, it was given directly to God’s people and not to the world (see Psalm 147:19-20). God’s people were to be a light to the nations. They were to be an example to all people and were to draw others to God through their faithful observance of the Law (see Isaiah 42:6; 49:6; 51:4). Unfortunately, the exact opposite happened. God’s people failed to keep the law and fell out of favor with God. What did God do? He kept His promise. He warned them that if they failed to keep His commandments, they would lose all that He had given them. And He went even a step further.

“I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ to a nation that did not call upon my name.

“I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; a people who provoke me to my face continually…

“Behold, it is written before me: ‘I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their bosom both your iniquities and your father’s iniquities together, says the Lord;

“As the new wine is found in the cluster, and they say, ‘Do not destroy it,’ so I will do for my servants’ sake, and not destroy them all. I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah possessors of my mountains; my chosen shall possess it, and my servants will dwell there.”
(Isaiah 65:1-3; 6-9)

Paul wrote much the same in his letter to the Romans when he said;

“So I ask, did they [the Jews] stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles [non-Jews], so as to make Israel jealous.”
(Romans 11:11)

So the purpose of the law is to make known to all who desire salvation – that is, to be made right with God – what is unacceptable to God. Since no one can live in such a manner and since Israel rejected God’s Son, salvation became available to all. Even though in the past only Israel had God’s favor, now the entire world has the opportunity to know God and be reconciled to God through His Son, the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ. His name is Yeshua (Joshua) in Hebrew, Iesous in Greek, and Jesus in English. Jesus fulfills the law by paying the penalty for disobedience to the law.

“For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law…”  (Romans 2:12)

You see that? It is possible to sin, to go against God, without being under the Law! And those who sin without the law will also perish without the law. Why?

“For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law unto themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 2:13-16)

Those without God’s law, who by nature do what God’s law requires, show that the work of the law is written in their hearts!

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God 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. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:18-20)

Is the Torah applicable to Christians? From what we’ve just looked at, God’s law is applicable to EVERYONE! Whether it is the written Torah law or the law of God’s nature written upon the hearts of men, it is alive and is applicable to everyone – past, present and future. But it is not the keeping and/or observing of the law that makes us right with God. It is our trusting that Jesus IS the Son of God and that through His death and resurrection we are made right with God. What we do on top of that determines our heavenly reward. But our salvation has already been secured by Christ’s atoning death upon the cross. Belief in that and that alone is where our salvation lies. All else is religion, and religion has yet to save a single soul. Only faith in Christ can do that.

After my initial posting of this article, it was brought to my attention that I had failed to make clear the distinction between strict legalistic observance of the Torah (law) and keeping the spirit of the law in ones’ heart. I apologize to those whom I confused. I had wrongly assumed that everyone who reads what I write, checks it against what is written in the Bible – and, in so doing, digs deeper into the Word and learns even more.

So let me share a bit of the letter of James with you, wherein he is addressing the sin of partiality…

If you really fulfill the royal law, according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” said also, “Do not kill.” If you do not commit adultery but do kill, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy; yet mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:8-13 RSV)

Did you catch what James is saying here? He gives the example of showing partiality, but his point applies across the board and is not limited to the example he gives.

When I asked if the Torah is applicable to Christians today, I was not speaking of strict, legalistic observance of the commandments. Rather, I’m talking about the spirit (purpose) of the law. The commandments of God are not some arbitrary rules to see who is who is doing their part and who is not. God’s commandments are for our well-being. He gives them to us to guide us and keep us from harm. They show us his heart and his love for us. Just as any good parent that lays down rules for their children for their own protection and so that they learn what is good and right and proper. It is done so that they may understand in their heart, not just so the parent can punish them if they step out of line.

“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34 RSV)

This is what Paul is talking about in his letter to the Romans, when he writes…

All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. (Romans 2:12-16 RSV)

What does Paul mean when he says, “God judges the secrets of men”? That means that God will judge us by what is in our heart. We can say and do a lot of good things, but it is what is in our heart that truly matters to God.

That is why Paul goes on to say…

But if you call yourself a Jew and rely upon the law and boast of your relation to God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed in the law, and if you are sure that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth — you then who teach others, will you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (Romans 2:17-24 RSV)

ANYONE who boasts that they uphold the law (such as, I’ve never murdered anyone, I tithe religiously, I keep the Sabbath,’ etc.), are simply boasting of their works. There is absolutely nothing anyone can do, to earn God’s favor (see Romans 3:20). Why? Because God looks at and judges us by our HEART. We can say and do all sorts of good things, but if our heart is not in the right place, it matters not.

“Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.’" (Matthew 7:21-23 RSV)

When Jesus was asked, “which is the great commandment in the law?” he answered,

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:34-40 RSV)

Think about it. If you love God completely with all your being, what kind of effect is that going to have on everything you think, say, and do? And if you love everyone as yourself, what room is there for anything else?

Imagine for a moment, what the world would be like, if everyone loved God with all their heart and loved each other as much as their self. It would be utopia, would it not? That is what the kingdom of God is like. That is heaven. And as long as the kingdom of heaven is in your heart, you will live as one with God and with one another. No longer are you observing laws, because you know and understand what it is to be a child of God. Your heart is full of love – God’s love! You no longer need to be told what is right and wrong because you have stepped out of the darkness and into the light.

Hallelujah!