Will the law now be repealed?

“Do we now abolish the law by faith? May that not be inferred! But we uphold the law!” With these words Paul probably counters the reproach from Jewish circles that the teaching of the righteousness of God abrogates the instructions of the Torah. Because that is not the case. The Torah is not abrogated, but fulfilled and expanded.

This statement is also interesting because it is taught in Christian churches up and down the country that the law has abated. That’s not entirely wrong, but it’s not entirely right either. Jesus himself had said:

“Only do not think that I came to dissolve 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 one iota or one horn of the Law will pass away, until all is accomplished.”
Mt 5,17-18

From today’s perspective, then, we can see two views, both of which need to be revised:

1. For Israel: The law is not simply brushed aside and declared invalid.
2. For the community today: the law is not simply set aside and declared invalid.

For both groups it is true that one has seen God’s nature and work only for oneself. Both groups have recognized important things. Both groups saw something wrong.

1. Israel recognized the law, but in the same law there is a righteousness that worked even without “following the law,” by means of faith.
2. Churches and congregations today have often declared the law to be binding on themselves (and others) even though it was never given to the nations.

Both errors are corrected when one can engage with the text of the Torah as well as Paul’s letters. It is about a different and broader view. Nothing is canceled, but existing statements are confirmed – statements that one may not have thought about before.

It is not about keeping the law

Paul also did not come to abolish the law by faith. However, this does not(!) mean that the law must now be followed after all. Rather, it’s about taking it a step further. The law makes it clear that this cannot continue (Rom 3:19-20). Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. Paul says that he upholds the law. Nothing is invalidated as if it were something wrong, but it is set in a new, liberating and broader context.

Just as the Jews had a narrow concept of God’s activity and grace, Jesus points to the outstanding fulfillment of the statements. Paul adds to this and relaxes the narrowed view anew – this time through the cross and resurrection, whereby God’s justice was fulfilled. The righteousness of God could never be achieved by works of the law.

Elsewhere:

“Therefore be it known unto you, men, brethren, that by this [Jesus die] remission [der] of sins is preached unto you; and of all things [von] which ye could not be justified in the law [des] of Moses, in this every one that believeth is justified.”
Acts 13:38-39 (Paul in Antioch)

In the Epistle to the Romans, the apostle (who was himself a Jew) explains to his fellow Jews in the church that he does not speak against the law, nor does he declare the law invalid, but recognizes from the law that God is not concerned with keeping the law. By doing so, he confirms the law, even though keeping commandments and prohibitions is not the way to salvation.

In Galatians he writes:

“But before faith came, we were kept safe under the law and shut up together for the faith that was to be revealed in the future. Therefore, the law has become our companion (Gr. paidagogos) to Christ, so that we would be justified by [Seinem] faith.
[Seit] now that faith has come, we are no longer [einem] companions; for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”

Gal 3:23-26

Is the law still the basis?

This is all in the past. Sometimes the previous statement is twisted to mean that the law should still be a companion to Christ, and therefore we should still obey the law – if we want to do it quite right. The law would then be a kind of precursor to grace. This view can be found among some super-pious people as well as in Calvinistic circles. But that is not what Paul is saying. First, Paul is speaking here exclusively to Jewish believers, explaining only to them the function of the Law for the people of Israel. But then it is also past, and nothing we should imitate. “Since now faith has come, we are no longer under one escort!” he writes unequivocally.

Surprisingly often, Christians insist on keeping the law. Probably that’s because you think in terms of absolute contrasts and right versus wrong. So in the sense: Either keep the law or become lawless. But this is black and white thinking and a hopeless mess. Paul had already stated in Romans that there are people who “by nature do what the law requires” (Rom 2:14). So it is far from being the case that people without Mosaic law are simply lawless monsters. This pitch-black image of man does not match reality. On the contrary, there are people who are neither Jewish nor Christian and are ethically blameless and full of charity in this life. Faith is not about being blameless.

For this very reason, one should learn that the gospel is good news and not simply a call to comply with legal requirements. Whoever becomes or is a Christian should not think of the world in black and white, but learn to live in grace. Those who are Jewish may recognize that the books of Moses already contain a much broader picture of God’s nature and work than what was specifically once given to Israel. One is God of the whole world. This is confirmed in the Torah, the five books of Moses.

The law is valuable, but it is neither a starting point nor a goal. It is something that came along by the way, so that “everyone’s mouth may be stopped and the whole world may come under the righteous judgment of God because out of works of the law no flesh at all will be justified in His sight. For by the law comes only knowledge of sin” (Rom 3:19-20). Elsewhere, Paul writes, “For we know that the law is spiritual” (Rom 7:14). Those who insist on the external observance of laws, therefore, fail to understand the essence of the law.

The law is not repealed

What Paul does is this: He does not abrogate the law, the Torah, but leaves these words in their own context. Furthermore, he clarifies that the law, the Torah, is much more comprehensive than just the law requirement for Israel. He who gives the law its due place does not have to abrogate the law, but can leave it standing for what it was once given.

We find this theme throughout Paul as it relates to an important controversy in the earliest churches.