What I Believe About Scripture

What Is "The Law"?

When most English readers see the word "law" in the New Testament, they picture a legal code — rules to follow or escape. But the original word is Torah, which in Hebrew simply means instruction or teaching. It is God's guidance for how to live in relationship with Him.

Understanding this distinction matters enormously. There is a difference between God's commandments as given in Scripture, the oral traditions developed by religious leaders over centuries, and the specific covenant conditions given at Sinai. When Yeshua (Jesus) and Paul talk about "the law," they are often speaking to very different things — and context determines which is which.

My belief is not about following random religious rules. It's about taking God's own instructions seriously — the ones He gave, in the way He meant them.

The Character of God & His Commands

One of the most important questions I've sat with is this: if God called something good, pure, holy, and life-giving — why would He abolish it?

If God's commands are eternal, good, and life-giving — this shapes how I read every passage about the law in the New Testament. I don't start from the assumption that they were done away with. I start by asking: what is actually being said here?

Did Jesus Abolish the Torah?

This is the passage I return to most often. Yeshua's own words, before anything Paul wrote, before anything else:

The word "fulfill" in this passage (Greek: plēroō) means to complete or make full — not to finish or terminate. We use it similarly when we say someone "fulfilled their duty." Yeshua was showing the deepest and truest meaning of Torah, not ending it.

In Matthew 15 and Mark 7, Yeshua's disagreement is specifically with the oral traditions of the Pharisees — the handwashing rules, the elaborate fence-laws — not with written Torah. The bread and handwashing context of Mark 7 is crucial: the discussion is about ritual purity practices, not a reclassification of animals for eating.

Understanding the First-Century World

Most of us read a first-century Jewish text through twenty-first century Western eyes — and we miss a great deal. Here are things that change how I read:

This doesn't make the New Testament confusing — it makes it richer. When I understand the world the authors lived in, the text opens up.

Paul: Misunderstood, Not Contradictory

I want to be upfront: Paul is the author most often used to argue against what I believe. I don't dismiss those passages — I've wrestled with them carefully.

When Paul says we are "not under the law," he is addressing the idea of earning justification through law-keeping — not giving permission to disregard God's commandments. He consistently defines sin using the Torah. "All things are clean" in Romans 14 is about meat sacrificed to idols and matters of conscience within an already Torah-observant community — not a blanket permission for anything.

Paul himself continued to keep Torah, observe feasts, and live as a Jew throughout his ministry (Acts 21:24, Acts 18:21). His letters, read in their original audience and situation, are consistent — not contradictory — with what Yeshua taught.

Food Laws: Clean and Unclean

Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 describe what God designated as food for His people. I believe these distinctions still matter — not as a way to earn favor, but because God made them and hasn't revoked them.

Two passages often raised against this:

I hold this belief with humility — I understand most Christians read these passages differently. But I've looked at the original contexts carefully, and this is where I stand.

Feast Days & Appointed Times

Leviticus 23 lays out what God called His "appointed times" — seasons set apart not just for ancient Israel, but declared as belonging to Him. They are not called Israel's feasts; they are called the LORD's feasts.

What makes these profound for me is how clearly they point to Yeshua. Passover — His death. Firstfruits — His resurrection. Shavuot (Pentecost) — the giving of the Spirit. The spring feasts were fulfilled at His first coming. The fall feasts — Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles — point forward to His return. Keeping these is not burdensome to me; it feels like living inside God's calendar and watching prophecy unfold in real time.

Law and Salvation Are Not the Same Thing

I want to be very clear about this, because it is where I am most often misunderstood:

I believe this fully. Salvation is not earned. No one stands righteous before God because they kept the Sabbath or avoided pork. We are saved by grace through faith in Yeshua — period.

But obedience to God's instructions flows from that relationship, not toward it. A child doesn't obey loving parents to earn their love — they obey because they are loved and because those instructions are good. Torah, for me, is the shape of a life that loves God and neighbor. It is response, not requirement for salvation.

Common Objections

These are the questions I hear most. I've tried to answer them as honestly and briefly as I can here.

What This Looks Like Practically

Theology that doesn't touch daily life is just theory. Here's what I actually do:

I'm not perfect at any of this. I'm learning. If you want to explore any of it, I'm happy to share what I've found — and to listen to what you think too.