WAS THE LAW NAILED TO THE CROSS (STAKE)? A common precept taught by Christian preachers and religious teachers in churches is that the Old Testament is no longer valid since the coming of the Messiah. They teach that the laws of the holy bible are irrelevant to the Christian and through the Messiah all that believe in him are saved by grace. Does Grace Do Away With The Law? The phrase commonly used is ‘The laws were nailed to the cross.’ Is this what the bible teaches us? First let us look at what the Messiah says about keeping the law. In Matthew Chapter 5 Yahshua makes a public statement to his disciples about keeping the laws clearing up any misunderstanding. “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17-19
Yahshua says in Matthew 5:17, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law…I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” Many Christian Preachers teach that in Matthew 5:17, Yahshua's fulfilling of the law is the reason why the laws are no longer valid. Let’s examine the definition of fulfill.
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ful·fill (fo͝olˈfil): Bring to completion or reality; achieve or realize (something desired, promised, or predicted). Yahshua came to magnify the law and make it honorable, not to do away with the law. Before Yahshua came, animal sacrifices were offered up for forgiveness of sin. A sinner was to offer the best animals of his herd to the priests as a sin offering to Elohim (GOD). However, our fathers were committing transgression in making the offerings in addition to the sins they were seeking to absolve. Many were offering up tainted sacrifices; animals which were not the best of their stock and not worthy sacrifices according to the requirements. In fact, even if one gave sacrifices according to the requirements, this did not always mean that the heart of the man had actually changed. Due to the lack of faith by our forefathers, this method (animal sacrifice) was no longer sufficient to atone for sin. Yahshua fulfilled the law by becoming that perfect sacrifice; that through him all who believed in him and had transgressed the law could have the perfect intercession in Yahshua thus, allowing them the ability to repent and attain salvation. Yahshua also continued to say in Matthew 5:18: “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
A jot is the dotting of the letter “I” and a tittle is the crossing of the letter “t”. Therefore, not one dotting of the “I” or one crossing of the “t” in the law shall be changed until all that is written of the Messiah in scripture is fulfilled after his Millennial Kingdom reign. Then in Matthew 5:19 he stated that anyone who breaks the least of the laws and teaches others to do so will be called the least of his kingdom. (In other words, he will not be there). If someone is teaching me to not keep the laws that ELOHIM (GOD) gave us in the Holy Bible, then according to Yahshua, they are to be called the least of his kingdom. Would following someone
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considered the least of the Kingdom of Heaven, but considered one of high esteem on earth be a better alternative then following the Messiah? How could one consider themselves to be a Christian or to be Christ-like if they don’t follow Christ? David warned us in the bible about following man’s words instead of Elohim’s words. “It is better to trust in Yah than to put confidence in man.” Psalms 118:8 Another verse commonly used to justify breaking ELOHIM (GOD)’s laws is: “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto the Messiah, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of Elohim (God) by faith in the Messiah Yahshua.” Galatians 3:24-26 At a quick glance, it could appear that the laws were in deed nailed to the cross, however this is a common misconception. Notice Paul says the singular word ‘Law’ instead of the plural word ‘Laws’. The law in which Paul was speaking of was the (animal) sacrificial laws as sin offerings. Before a person knows any of Elohim’s truth, he lives without thinking of the laws of Elohim (God). The carnal mind is at war with Elohim (Rom. 8:7). In fact, the things concerning the Spirit of Elohim (God) seem foolish to him (I Cor. 2:14). No one realizes that they are committing sin against Elohim (God) until one becomes aware of the fact that there is an existing law that defines sin. "For by the law is the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:20). Once a person realizes that the law of Elohim (God) exists, he then knows that he has committed various sins against Elohim (God), and that sin (singular) carries the death penalty (Rom 6:23). Past sins and the penalty of death can be removed by repentance, believing in and The United Congregation of Israel
being baptized in Yahshua the Messiah’s name. (This will allow the believer to receive the Holy Spirit). The Messiah came to save us from the deception of sin and the penalty for sin by showing us an example of how to keep his commandments. He served as that perfect blood sacrifice being an intermediary for our sins, wherein those who believe in him may repent and have a second chance at attaining salvation (an eternal life of righteousness). There is no better sacrifice to ELOHIM (GOD) than to repent and follow the ways of the Messiah. This is a clear example of how to love ELOHIM (GOD) and love your neighbor. Despite the clear example detailed in the bible of how Yahshua followed the law, some still scripture-pick portions of his words in order to justify transgressing the law. In Matthew Chapter 12, a certain scribe questioned the Messiah on what the greatest commandment of all was. “And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Yahshua answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our Elohim (God) is one Lord: And thou shalt love the YHWH thy Elohim (God) with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” Mark 12:28-30 Yahshua clearly states that the most important commandment of all is to love YHWH Elohim with all your heart and strength. In order to accomplish this you, must keep all of his commandments. As imperfect as we are, none of us are able to keep all of the laws all of the time. So, does that justify not keeping his laws at all? No, for that is why the Messiah stated to love Elohim (God) with all thy heart, soul, mind and strength. Understanding the rebellious nature of his children, YHWH gave Israel his only begotten son, Yahshua to be a perfect sacrifice. Through faith in his son our sins could be forgiven. So does that mean that if we have faith in the Messiah, then we no longer have to keep the laws? Paul answers that question in Romans 3:31: “Do we then make void the law through faith? Elohim (God) forbid: yea, we establish the law.”
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After reading and examining what the Messiah said about the laws, how can one justify banishing the laws? Yahshua clearly spoke of his stance on the laws and gave no indication that they where no longer necessary. Although no one is without sin, this does not give us a free pass to live daily, breaking the commandments with the thought that belief in Christ will automatically free us of our sins. The bible does not support this theory. Yahshua gave us a clear example of how to live our lives and he lived his according to the laws and commandments of the holy bible. Those who are followers of Christ and are looking to attain their salvation must follow his example by doing their best to keep the laws and commandments of the bible in spirit and in truth. One must understand the reason that the laws were written in order to discern and walk in the spirit of the law, rather than the letter of the law. The letter of the law brings death, but the Spirit of the law brings life eternal!! Â
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