The Law of Yehovah

The purpose of this verse list is to establish the Law of Yehovah for everyone who believes in Yehovah and His Messiah. We are to be obedient to the spirit/intent of the Law and even exceed it in the faithfulness and love that Messiah demonstrated.

“Pay attention to Me, O My people, and give ear to Me, O My nation; for a law will go forth from Me, and I will set My justice for a light of the nations. My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, and My arms will judge the nations; the coastlands will wait for Me, and for My arm they will wait expectantly.” – Isaiah 51:4-5

Table of Contents

1. The goal of the Law is Yeshua Messiah.
2. The Law is for all people.
3. Anyone can become a Hebrew.
4. The Law of God is for now and the future.
5. What is the Gospel?
6. The New Testament abolishes Jewish law, not God's Law.
7. Historical references support continued obedience to God's Law.

The goal of the Law is Yeshua Messiah.

Deuteronomy 10:12-13

12 "Now, Israel, what does Yehovah your God require from you, but to fear Yehovah your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve Yehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep Yehovah’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

13 The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. 14 For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

Matthew 11:29-30

29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Romans 10:1-5

1 Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. 2 For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. 3 For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end [1] of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 5 For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness.

[1] end: Greek τέλος (telos) meaning goal

The Law is for all people.

Exodus 12:49

The same law shall apply to the native as to the stranger who sojourns among you.

Exodus 22:21

You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 23:9

You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 23:12

Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as your stranger, may refresh themselves.

Leviticus 19:10

Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am Yehovah your God.

Leviticus 19:33-34

33 When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am Yehovah your God.

Leviticus 24:22

There shall be one standard for you; it shall be for the stranger as well as the native, for I am Yehovah your God.

Leviticus 25:35

Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his means with regard to you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a sojourner, in order that he may live with you.

Numbers 15:15-16

15 As for the assembly, [2] there shall be one statute for you and for the alien who sojourns with you, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the alien be before Yehovah. 16 There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.

[2] assembly: Greek ekklesia (ἐκκλησία) translated church in the New Covenant

Deuteronomy 16:10-14

10 Then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks (i.e. Pentecost, Shavuot) to Yehovah your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give just as Yehovah your God blesses you; 11 and you shall rejoice before Yehovah your God, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite who is in your town, and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst, in the place where Yehovah your God chooses to establish His name. 12 You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes. 13 You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths seven days after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and your wine vat; 14 and you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your towns.

Deuteronomy 26:12

When you have finished paying all the tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and to the widow, in order that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.

Ruth 1:15-17 – Foreigners choose to become Yehovah's people

15 Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. 17 “Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may Yehovah do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.”

1 Samuel 26:6 – Foreigners fought for King David.

Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” And Abishai said, "I will go down with you.”

1 Kings 8:41-43

41 Also concerning the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, when he comes from a far country for Your name’s sake 42 (for they will hear of Your great name and Your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm); when he comes and prays toward this house, 43 hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, to fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Your name.

2 Chronicles 6:32-33

32 Also concerning the foreigner who is not from Your people Israel, when he comes from a far country for Your great name’s sake and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm, when they come and pray toward this house, 33 then hear from heaven, from Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, and fear You as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Your name.

Isaiah 56:3-8

3 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to Yehovah say, “Yehovah will surely separate me from His people.” Nor let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” 4 For thus says Yehovah, “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold fast My covenant, 5 to them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off. 6 Also the foreigners who join themselves to Yehovah, to minister to Him, and to love the name of Yehovah, to be His servants, everyone who keeps from profaning the Sabbath and holds fast My covenant; 7 even those I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples. 8 The Lord Yehovah, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares, “Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered.”

Anyone can become a Hebrew.

Hebrew: עִבְרִי (Strong’s #5680) used to distinguish Israel from foreigners; the Hebrews were called περάτῃ (peratei) in Greek, meaning as one from beyond or from the other side, perhaps from beyond the Euphrates, from beyond the Jordan.

Exodus 19:5

Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine.

Numbers 15:15-16

15 As for the assembly,[3] there shall be one statute for you and for the alien who sojourns with you, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the alien be before Yehovah. 16 There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.

[3] assembly: Greek ἐκκλησία (ekklesia) translated church in the New Covenant

Psalms 22:27-28

27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to Yehovah, and all the families of the nations will worship before You. 28 For the kingdom is Yehovah’s, and He rules over the nations.

Isaiah 52:10

Yehovah has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God.

Isaiah 60:12

For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve You will perish, and the nations will be utterly ruined.

John 10:16

I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.

Acts 10:28

And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.”

 Acts 10:34-35

34 Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, 35 but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.”

Romans 2:10-14

10 but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God. 12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; 13 for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves.

Romans 2:29

But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.

Romans 11:11

I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.

Ephesians 2:13

But now in Messiah Yeshua you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah.

Ephesians 2:19-22

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints,[4] and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Messiah Yeshua Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

[4] saints: ἁγίοις (agiois), used 7 times in the First Covenant to refer to the righteous people of Israel and the earth.

Ephesians 4:3

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

Galatians 3:13-14

13 Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Law,[5] having become a curse for us. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.” 14 This was in order that in Messiah Yeshua the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

[5] The curse of the Law is not the Law itself but the punishment due to disobedience to it. Therefore, Yeshua redeemed us from the curse of the Law, not from obedience to the Law. See Deuteronomy 27-28.

The Law of God is for now and the future.

Deuteronomy 30:4-14 - The Law exists after the return of Israel.

4 If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there Yehovah your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back. 5 Yehovah your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. 6 Moreover Yehovah your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love Yehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. 7 Yehovah your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. 8 And you shall again obey Yehovah, and observe all His commandments which I command you today. 9 Then Yehovah your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for Yehovah will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers; 10 if you obey Yehovah your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to Yehovah your God with all your heart and soul. 11 For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.

Isaiah 2:3

And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of Yehovah from Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 37:24

My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them.

Zechariah 14:16

Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Yehovah of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths (i.e. Feast of Tabernacles, Feast of Sukkot).

Matthew 5:17-19

17 Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:20-22

20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ 22 “And I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; …”

Matthew 7:17-23

17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21 Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”[6]

[6] Psalm 6:8

Matthew 13:41-42

41 The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 19:16-19

16 And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” 17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Yeshua said, “You shall not commit murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; 19 “honor your father and mother; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Matthew 23:27-28

27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

Luke 16:17

But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

John 5:39-40

39 You search the Scriptures! Because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; 40 and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.

John 7:19

Did not Moses give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why do you seek to kill Me?

John 14:15

If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 

John 15:10

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

Acts 2:1

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.[7]

[7] The holy days continued into the New Covenant.

Acts 5:32

And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.

Acts 7:51-53

51 You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. 52 Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; 53 you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.

Acts 15:19-21

19 Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, 20 but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. 21 For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.

Acts 18:4-5

4 And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Yeshua was the Messiah.

Acts 20:16

For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

Romans 6:16-22

19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. 22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.

1 Corinthians 5:7-8

7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Messiah our Passover also has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore we must celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Ephesians 6:17

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

1 John 2:3-7

3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. 7 Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.

 1 John 3:24

The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. 

1 John 5:2-4

2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God: that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-- our faith.

Revelation 12:17

So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Yehovah.

Revelation 14:12

Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Yeshua.

What is the Gospel?

Is the Gospel the teaching of freedom from the Law or the teaching of the future Kingdom of God?

Isaiah 52:6-8 (cf. Romans 10:12-17)

6 Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore, in that day I am the one who is speaking, “Here I am.” 7 How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” 8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, they shout joyfully together; for they will see with their own eyes when Yehovah restores Zion.

Isaiah 33:20-22

20 Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; your eyes will see Jerusalem, an undisturbed habitation, a tent which will not be folded; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its cords be torn apart. 21 But there the majestic One, Yehovah, will be for us a place of rivers and wide canals on which no boat with oars will go, and on which no mighty ship will pass. 22 For Yehovah is our judge, Yehovah is our lawgiver, Yehovah is our king; He will save us.

Matthew 24:11-14

11 Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. 12 Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14 This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Romans 10:12-17 (cf. Isaiah 52:6-8)

12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “Whoever will call on the name of Yehovah will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” 16 However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Messiah.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 8-10

3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

James 4:12

There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy.

The New Testament abolishes Jewish law, not God's Law.

Justification comes through faith. Repentance comes through obedience to the Law.

Galatians 5:1-4

1 It was for freedom that Messiah set us free; therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Messiah will be of no benefit to you. 3 And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. 4 You have been severed from Messiah, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

Galatians 5:13-14

13 For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Romans 6:1-2

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 

Acts 2:38 (Codex Bezae M-05A)

Now Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized each of you in the name of the Lord (i.e. Yehovah) Yeshua Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 3:19

“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”

Acts 17:30-31

30 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,

31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

Acts 26:20

…but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance.

 Romans 7 12 So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good... 14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin... 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not... 22 For I joyfully concur with the Law of God in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Yeshua Messiah our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

 1 John 3:4

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 

New Testament verses have been misinterpreted.

At the Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua recites some of the Law from the First Covenant and explains it. He does this by using one Greek word: δὲ (de). For example: “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ But (δὲ) I say to you…” (Matthew 5:21-22). However, this word is not typically a contrastive conjunction. For example: “Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and (δὲ) Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers” (Matthew 1:2). In Matthew 1 alone, this word is translated and a total of 44 times. Yet, perhaps due to the dispensational antinomian theology of the Protestant translator, in Matthew 5, this word is translated but a total of 11 times, making Yeshua into a false prophet for abolishing the Law.

In John 1:17, translators again took the liberty to add but in order to create a contrastive comparative, yet no conjunction is used at all. It should be: “For the Law was given through Moses; but grace and truth came through Yeshua Messiah.” Logically, grace is not the contrast of law. Lawlessness is the contrast of law. Where there is law, there is also grace and truth; without the law, there is no possibility of being granted grace or knowing the truth.

In the First Covenant (Old Testament), the English translations use several words that are usually one word in Greek: nomos (νόμος). The primary meaning is law, but other words are ordinance and statute, which refer to the Law of Yehovah. For example: “Yehovah said to Moses and Aaron, ‘This is the ordinance (νόμος) of the Passover: no foreigner is to eat of it’” (Exodus 12:43).

However, in the New Covenant (New Testament), the Greek word nomos (νόμος) is only translated as law. Another Greek word, dogma (δόγμα) never refers to the Law of Yehovah but always to public decrees and the laws of men. In the New Covenant, dogma (δόγμα) is always translated as ordinance, statute, or decree and therefore refers to Jewish decrees or traditions of the religious leaders. The table below shows a striking difference between the Law of God and the decrees of men. This distinction of Law and decree is clear in the teaching of Yeshua, the Prophet (and Messiah) who came to teach the instructions of Yehovah.

Mark 7:6-8 (cf. Isaiah 29:13)

And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”

Ephesians 2 and Colossians 2 do not refer to the Law of God, but to the customs of the Jews, as the Greek word used is δόγμα (dogma), translated decree and ordinance. In Ephesians 2, it is clear that Yeshua abolished the dogma that separated Jews from non-Jews. Yeshua both lived and died to communicate this message.

Ephesians 2:14-15

14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the law of commandments contained in ordinances (δόγμα), so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace.

 Colossians 2

8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Messiah... 13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees (δόγμα) against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross... 16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge [about following dogmas] in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day – 17 things which are a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Messiah... 20 If you have died with Messiah to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees (δόγμα), such as, 21 “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” 22 (which all refer to things destined to perish with use) – in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? 23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

The topics of Romans 14 are vegetarianism and fast days; Paul is not writing about the Law of Yehovah at all as there is no law regarding eating vegetables or fasting on certain days.

Romans 14:1-8

1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. 2 One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. 3 The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. 7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; 8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.

Historical references support continued obedience to God's Law.

The following references are only from 1 volume of more than 10 volumes of early church writings from 100-250AD. This is not an exhaustive compilation of information regarding the Torah in early church writings but is just enough to show a clear reverence for it in the lives of early non-Jewish Christians and their interpretation of Paul, who did not write against obedience to the Law of Yehovah in the New Covenant but against the traditions and religions of men.

Christians distinguished between the Law of Yehovah and Jewish tradition.

"He does not call the law given by Moses commandments of men, but the traditions of the elders themselves which they had invented, and in upholding which they made the law of God of none effect, and were on this account also not subject to His Word. For this is what Paul says concerning these men: “For they, being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.” And how is Christ the end of the law, if He be not also the final cause of it? For He who has brought in the end has Himself also wrought the beginning; and it is He who does Himself say to Moses, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have come down to deliver them;” it being customary from the beginning with the Word of God to ascend and descend for the purpose of saving those who were in affliction."

Irenaeus. (trans. 1867). Against Heresies (Book 4, chapter 12:4). In Philip Schaff, Ante-Nicene Fathers (Vol. 1, p. 785). Retrieved from http://www.ccel.org/node/70/

Christians rejected Jewish customs but acknowledged the Law of Yehovah.

"But as to their scrupulosity concerning meats, and their superstition as respects the Sabbaths, and their boasting about circumcision, and their fancies about fasting and the new moons, which are utterly ridiculous and unworthy of notice,-I do not think that you require to learn anything from me. For, to accept some of those things which have been formed by God for the use of men as properly formed, and to reject others as useless and redundant,-how can this be lawful? And to speak falsely of God, as if He forbade us to do what is good on the Sabbath-days,-how is not this impious? And to glory in the circumcision of the flesh as a proof of election, and as if, on account of it, they were especially beloved by God,-how is it not a subject of ridicule? And as to their observing months and days, as if waiting upon* the stars and the moon, and their distributing, according to their own tendencies, the appointments of God, and the vicissitudes of the seasons, some for festivities, and others for mourning,-who would deem this a part of divine worship, and not much rather a manifestation of folly? I suppose, then, you are sufficiently convinced that the Christians properly abstain from the vanity and error common [to both Jews and Gentiles], and from the busy-body spirit and vain boasting of the Jews; but you must not hope to learn the mystery of their peculiar mode of worshipping God from any mortal."

*This seems to refer to the practice of Jews in fixing the beginning of the day, and consequently of the Sabbath, from the rising of the stars. They used to say, that when tree stars of moderate magnitude appeared, it was night; when two, it was twilight; and when only one, that day had not yet departed. It thus came to pass (according to their night-day reckoning), that whosoever engaged in work on the evening of Friday, the beginning of the Sabbath, after three stars of moderate size were visible, was held to have sinned, and had to present a trespass-offering; and so on, according to the fanciful rule described.

Mathetes. (trans. 1867). Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus (chapter 4). In Philip Shaff, Ante-Nicene Fathers (Vol. 1, p.47). Retrieved from http://www.ccel.org/node/70

Christians taught that the Ten Commandments were permanent.

"Preparing man for this life, the Lord Himself did speak in His own person to all alike the words of the Decalogue; and therefore, in like manner, do they remain permanently with us, receiving by means of His advent in the flesh, extension and increase, but not abrogation."

Irenaeus. (trans. 1867). Against Heresies (Book 4, chapter 16:4). In Philip Shaff, Ante-Nicene Fathers (Vol. 1, p. 785). Retrieved from http://www.ccel.org/node/70

Christians kept the Sabbath.

“And on the Sabbath, when prayer had been made long time on bended knee, he (Polycarp), as was his custom, got up to read; and every eye was fixed upon him. Now the lesson was the Epistles of Paul to Timothy and to Titus, in which he says what manner of man a bishop ought to be.”

Pionius. (trans. 1889). Life of Polycarp. In J. B. Lightfoot (Ed.), The Apostolic Fathers (Vol. 3.2, pp. 488-506). http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/pionius_life_of_polycarp_01_text.htm

Christians fervently defended the Sabbath.

"For the law commanded them to abstain from every servile work, that is, from all grasping after wealth which is procured by trading and by other worldly business; but it exhorted them to attend to the exercises of the soul, which consist in reflection, and to addresses of a beneficial kind for their neighbors’ benefit. And therefore the Lord reproved those who unjustly blamed Him for having healed upon the Sabbath-days. For He did not make void, but fulfilled the law, by performing the offices of the high priest, propitiating God for men, and cleansing the lepers, healing the sick, and Himself suffering death, that exiled man might go forth from condemnation, and might return without fear to his own inheritance."

Irenaeus. (trans. 1867). Against Heresies (Book 4, chapter 8:2). In Philip Shaff, The Antei-Nicene Fathers (Vol. 1, p. 785). Retrieved from http://www.holybooks.com/ante-nicene-fathers-vol-i-ix/

Christians kept Passover and unleavened bread week.

“All these (Philip and his daughters, John, Polycarp, Thraseas, Sagarius, Papirius, Melito, the bishops of Asia, et. al.) observed the fourteenth day of the Passover according to the Gospel, deviating in no respect, but following the rule of faith. And I also, Polycrates, the least of you all, do according to the tradition of my relatives, some of whom I have closely followed. For seven of my relatives were bishops; and I am the eighth. And my relatives always observed the day when the people put away the leaven.”

Eusibius. (trans. 1890). Church History (Book 5, chapter 24:6). In Arthur Cushman McGiffert, From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (Vol. 1). Philip Schaff & Henry Wace (Eds.). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Company. http://www.ccel.org/node/70

Paul kept Pentecost.

But that Paul taught with simplicity what he knew, not only to those who were [employed] with him, but to those that heard him, he does himself make manifest. For when the bishops and presbyters who came from Ephesus and the other cities adjoining had assembled in Miletus, since he was himself hastening to Jerusalem to observe Pentecost…

Irenaeus. (trans. 1867). Against Heresies (Book 3, chapter 14:2). In Philip Shaff, Ante-Nicene Fathers (Vol. 1, p. 727). Retrieved from http://www.ccel.org/node/70 

Paul taught Christians to keep Passover and Pentecost.

“Paul then, entering his house and gathering together the faithful there, speaks to them concerning the Passover and the Pentecost, reminding them of the New Covenant of the offering of bread and the cup; how that they ought most assuredly to celebrate it during the days of unleavened bread, but to hold fast the new mystery of the Passion and Resurrection. For here the Apostle plainly teaches that we ought neither to keep it outside the season of unleavened bread, as the heretics do, especially the Phrygians, nor yet on the other hand of necessity on the fourteenth day: for he said nothing about the fourteenth day, but named the days of unleavened bread, the Passover, and the Pentecost, thus ratifying the Gospel.”

Pionius. (trans. 1889). Life of Polycarp. In J. B. Lightfoot (Ed.), The Apostolic Fathers (Vol. 3.2, pp. 488-506). http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/pionius_life_of_polycarp_01_text.htm

Christians did not interpret Colossians 2:16 to mean the holy days were abolished, but that they should be kept in love and unity.

"The apostles ordained, that “we should not judge any one in respect to meat or drink, or in regard to a feast day, or the new moons, or the Sabbaths.” Whence then these contentions? Whence these schisms? We keep the feast, but in the leaven of malice and wickedness, cutting in pieces the Church of God; and we preserve what belongs to its exterior, that we may cast away these better things, faith and love. We have heard from the prophetic words that these feasts and fasts are displeasing to the Lord."

Irenaeus. (trans. 1867). The lost fragments of Irenaeus (Chapter 38). In Philip Shaff, Ante-Nicene Fathers (Vol. 1, p. 971). Retrieved from http://www.ccel.org/node/70

Christians knew the laws regarding clean meat.

"Now the law has figuratively predicted all these, delineating man by the [various] animals: whatsoever of these, says [the Scripture], have a double hoof and ruminate, it proclaims as clean; but whatsoever of them do not possess one or other of these [properties], it sets aside by themselves as unclean. Who then are the clean? Those who make their way by faith steadily towards the Father and the Son; for this is denoted by the steadiness of those which divide the hoof; and they meditate day and night upon the words of God, that they may be adorned with good works: for this is the meaning of the ruminants. The unclean, however, are those which do neither divide the hoof nor ruminate; that is, those persons who have neither faith in God, nor do meditate on His words: and such is the abomination of the Gentiles. But as to those animals which do indeed chew the cud, but have not the double hoof, and are themselves unclean, we have in them a figurative description of the Jews, who certainly have the words of God in their mouth, but who do not fix their rooted steadfastness in the Father and in the Son; wherefore they are an unstable generation. For those animals which have the hoof all in one piece easily slip; but those which have it divided are more sure-footed, their cleft hoofs succeeding each other as they advance, and the one hoof supporting the other. In like manner, too, those are unclean which have the double hoof but do not ruminate: this is plainly an indication of all heretics, and of those who do not meditate on the words of God, neither are adorned with works of righteousness; to whom also the Lord says, Why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say to you? For men of this stamp do indeed say that they believe in the Father and the Son, but they never meditate as they should upon the things of God, neither are they adorned with works of righteousness; but, as I have already observed, they have adopted the lives of swine and of dogs, giving themselves over to filthiness, to gluttony, and recklessness of all sorts. Justly, therefore, did the apostle call all such carnal and animal, — [all those, namely], who through their own unbelief and luxury do not receive the Divine Spirit, and in their various phases cast out from themselves the life-giving Word, and walk stupidly after their own lusts: the prophets, too, spoke of them as beasts of burden and wild beasts; custom likewise has viewed them in the light of cattle and irrational creatures; and the law has pronounced them unclean."

Irenaeus. (trans. 1885). Against Heresies. In Roberts, Alexander & Donaldson, James (Eds.), Ante-Nicene Fathers (Book 5, chapter 8:4). http://www.ccel.org/node/70

Christians were obedient to the Law of Yehovah even in the New Covenant.

"These things, therefore, which were given for bondage, and for a sign to them, He cancelled by the new covenant of liberty. But He has increased and widened those laws which are natural, and noble, and common to all, granting to men largely and without grudging, by means of adoption, to know God the Father, and to love Him with the whole heart, and to follow His word unswervingly, while they abstain not only from evil deeds, but even from the desire after them. But He has also increased the feeling of reverence; for sons should have more veneration than slaves, and greater love for their father."

Irenaeus. (trans. 1867). Against Heresies (Book 4, chapter 16:5). In Philip Shaff, The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (Vol. 1, p. 785). Retrieved from http://www.holybooks.com/ante-nicene-fathers-vol-i-ix/