There's a common misunderstanding within Christianity that I think is worth addressing: the belief that God's law—the Torah—has been made obsolete. Many Christians have been taught that because we're saved by grace through faith, the Old Testament law no longer applies to us. But I don't think that's what the Bible actually teaches.
The Real Distinction
Here's the key point: we do not earn our salvation by obeying God's law. Our righteousness—our right standing before God—comes from faith, not from works. This has always been true.
Think about Abraham. Paul reminds us in Romans 4 that Abraham was counted as righteous because he believed God, not because he performed certain works. The same was true for David, for Moses, for every faithful person in what we call the "Old Testament." They were made right with God through faith, just as we are today.
Salvation has always been by faith. That's not what changed with Jesus. What changed is that the full reality of what we have faith in has now been revealed through Christ.
So What About the Law?
If we're not saved by keeping the law, does that mean the law is pointless? Should we ignore it? I don't think so.
When we have genuine faith in God, something happens in our hearts. We begin to love Him. And when we love someone, we want to do what pleases them. That's where God's law comes into play. It's not a ladder we climb to reach salvation—it's a response of love to the God who has already saved us.
Jesus said it this way: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15). He didn't say, "Keep my commandments so that I'll love you." Love comes first. Obedience follows as an expression of that love.
The Torah Is Good
Paul himself, who wrote so much about salvation by faith, also wrote, "So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good" (Romans 7:12). He never said the law was bad or obsolete. He said it couldn't save us—and it was never meant to. But that doesn't diminish its value.
Think about David in Psalm 119. He wrote 176 verses meditating on God's law, calling it a delight, a treasure, a lamp for his feet. He loved God's instructions because he loved God. That's the heart we should have too.
But We Can't Keep It Perfectly
Now, I understand there's a practical issue here. We can't observe the Torah perfectly today. The temple is gone. We're not living in ancient Israel. Many of the cultural and ceremonial contexts simply don't exist anymore.
But that doesn't mean we should throw out the whole thing. Instead, we should be asking, "Where can I obey? What principles can I apply?" We should be meditating on God's law, seeking to understand His heart, and striving to live according to His ways wherever we can—not to earn anything, but as an act of love and appreciation.
Love, Not Legalism
This isn't about becoming legalistic. It's not about judging others or creating burdensome rules. It's about recognizing that the God who saved us by grace has also given us instructions for life—and those instructions are good.
When we dismiss the Torah as obsolete, I think we miss out on a deeper understanding of God's character and His desires for how we should live. We don't obey to be saved. We obey because we are saved, and we want to honor the One who saved us.
The law isn't a burden to bear—it's a gift to cherish. Not because it earns us righteousness, but because it shows us the heart of the God we love.