Do Gentiles have to obey the Law?

I hear this question often and, from what I’ve seen, it’s an area of interest to be debated among current and even former members in the Messianic Movement. I’ve heard people argue for every position and I’ve found myself intrigued that there is even such an argument. I’d like to weigh in on the issue but, first, would like to make some general observations.

–Those who argue that Gentiles have to come “under the Law” don’t seem to understand Law the way I see it presented in Scripture

–Those who argue that Gentiles aren’t expected to obey the Law are arguing from a position that it’s “special and reserved for the Jews” and are being exclusive. (I admit, this position being linked to by Gentiles for why they don’t have to observe the Law is always something that catches me off guard–very few things will have people shouting, “I don’t have to do it–see, so and so says I’m not special enough. So there!”)

–Those who talk about *only* the Spirit of the Law being in effect seem to be missing the importance I see God applying to the actual acts He outlines

–Those who are focused *only* on the Letter of the Law are legalistic and oppressive

–And. . . most groups that have been around awhile have created their own hedges and infused their own culture and don’t seem to know the difference anymore

I’m just not satisfied with any of these positions.

First of all, God’s Torah and the Law it contains are a gift to man. They are God providing the “instruction manual” for His creation that I’ve heard so many Christians who come from the “Torah isn’t for you” camp bemoan not having when they have tough choices to face that they know are impacted by moral issues.

Second, God says that it is for the Israelite and the Sojourner among you (or the proselyte depending on your translation). Paul explains to the non-Jews in his letter to the Romans that they have been grafted into the trunk of Israel. Those more focused on the cultural aspect of things might argue that this makes non-Jews Jews, others seem to take this as some sort of doctrine of “replacement” despite the ending warnings to those grafted on, but Paul is definitely explaining that the believer who has been brought in–even without circumcision of the flesh–has been circumcised in the heart and is part of that great Tree of God’s Nation, Israel. It seems this would qualified as “the Israelite and the Sojourner among you”.

Third, Paul’s “warnings” about “going under the Law” seem to speak more to the attitude and less to the application–since he admonishes the believers in every place to put off the sin man and begin to live in a way that fully expresses God’s Law. And if we view God’s Law as something “to be gone under” then we aren’t approaching it the way that God lays it out and presents it. This is what I want to focus on.

God’s Law contains His instructions for His creation about how to love God, love your neighbor, and love yourself. I can say this with confidence because Yeshua stated, in his answer about the two greatest commands which He summed up with these words, “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:20) What He is saying is if you want to follow the Law and the Prophets you will be doing these things and if you do these things you will be fulfilling all of the Law and the Prophets. To this I say, “Amen!”

There are different parts to the Law. There are the aspects of Priestly worship in the Temple that I see as teaching us how to love God. The way I would explain the purpose of the sacrificial system is that every sacrifice is part of the big picture of what Yeshua has done. No one sacrifice can give a full and complete picture, but as you put them together you start to see an amazing picture that I see Paul trying here and there to sort through. The author of Hebrews even takes a stab at some aspects of this. Ultimately, though, it wasn’t the shed blood of any animal that truly covered the Israelites sins or preserved them for another year. It was their obedience to participate in a very kinesthetic act of sacrifice that over time would give them a better understanding of what was ultimately needed to remove their sins. When the sacrificial system is relegated to “a temporary way that animal blood could ‘hold them over’ while they waited for Messiah” OR “the way that those Jews got cleansed, but not for non-Jews” there is a grave misunderstanding of the purpose and it is not what I see expressed in the writings of the ancient sages as they spoke about Messiah and what they were learning from the sacrificial system.

Even today when there is no sacrificial system, because there is no standing Temple, I believe there is a lot to learn about what Yeshua has done for us by studying this–and by participating in the Feasts and Festivals. And there is still plenty of room for free will offerings as well as love offerings and the portions that we are told are to be set aside for the poor and needy, the widow and the orphan. I’ve always been intrigued by traditions that argue for the Priesthood of all believers but wants to learn nothing about the expectations of the Priesthood. This is how to love God. And this is why John can say that we love Him because He first loved us! (1 John 4:19)

Then there is the aspect of loving your neighbor. This is, by far, the largest portion of the Law (outside of the Priestly duties). Over and over God states through Moses that the rules and commands being given are so that they can be a holy community and will live at peace with one another. I cannot understand any argument that suggests ancient Israel needed instruction in how to be good neighbors but we modern believers don’t need to rely on those rules. Do we have some intuitive ability provided by the Holy Spirit to just *be* good neighbors with no instruction at all? Is this why churches have split and people have left the fold because of having been wronged and injured by either their fellow believer or, in many cases, those who hold the position and title of clergy?

Among the “good neighbor” portions of Torah you will find such “offensive” and “unnecessary” instructions as “if your bull is known to get out, build a better fence–you will be held accountable if they gore,” (the precursor to our modern day dog bite laws); “If you have an oozing wound do not spit on anyone,” (honestly, you can tell me all day long I’m not “under the Law” but if you spit on me while you have an oozing wound you are not convincing me I’m still clean and don’t need to bathe and wash my clothes!); “If you are entrusted with something by your neighbor and it goes lost or stolen on your watch, you’re responsible for it,” ; and such wretched and outdated regulations as, “If you are caught with stolen property you have to repay 3 times what you stole.” Who would argue we haven’t evolved above needing such instruction? ME–that’s who!

One of the things I do when someone is trying to explore whether living out God’s Law applies to us today is present to them an outline of all of the “rules” they have been told don’t apply. Even setting aside the Priesthood of all Believers and the sacrificial system as it relates to Yeshua, I suggest going through the Laws and marking only those that apply to them. For everyone living today without a standing Temple that would leave off the laws for the Levite and the Priest in the Temple. For most people it would leave off those covering animal husbandry and farming. Everyone is either a male or a female so they can ignore those intended for each group specifically that they are not a part of. In the end it always comes down to . . . taste buds.

Which brings me to the third category I see present in the two greatest commands–love yourself. This is how I look at the kosher laws presented in Scripture, and at the sexual laws (though it is true that this is also about loving your neighbor–and what love really is and isn’t), and a few others. When I feed my body what God says is food I am loving myself. When I care for myself the way God teaches I am loving myself. If God says that certain things are not food for me then I accept that. He loves me so much and has proven how trustworthy He is over and over and over again. If He says X isn’t food for me, I don’t need a ton of science to convince me (even though it’s out there). I trust Him and love myself enough to not eat what He says to not eat.

And, ultimately, this is what I think is missing from the greater argument going on. If the Law is a burden to you then you are misunderstanding it. Yeshua explained that His yoke is light and easy to carry (Matthew 11:30). He was not saying this because He was removing things from needing to be done! He was explaining this as part of being The Prophet sent to be like Moses–the one who would teach everyone how to understand God’s Law even more clearly than Moses was able. In Deuteronomy 18:15 Moses tells the people, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.” And Peter explains to the crowds in Acts 3 that this is what God has done with Yeshua.

If you read the Law and see it as anything other than a light and easy burden then you are misunderstanding what is being asked–or, rather, you are not reading it as the Spirit Man you have become because of Yeshua. The flesh does not want to be restrained. The flesh is where we focus when our taste buds are the stopping point in our willingness to embrace all of the other amazing instructions in Torah. And if your taste buds are where you cannot comply then set even that aside for a moment and embrace what you can see is good. Your taste buds might just be brought into agreement in time.

So my answer to the question, “Do Gentiles have to obey the Law?” is this . . . NO ONE has to obey the Law. Yet ALL are called to obey it. When you see it as loving instruction from a loving God to the creation that He loved so much He sent Yeshua to teach and redeem us you begin to see the value in following His instructions. I do not ever want to be “free” from doing the things God says are good. I do not ever want to argue that Lawlessness is the best way to show my faith in Messiah–the one who came as promised in the Law. I do not ever want to present to the world a faith that I argue was taught by the one who had to do nothing to violate God’s Torah in order for Him to be the true Messiah. If the One that I follow did away with the Torah then I am lost–and so is the world with me. That is not good news.