Many call themselves “New Testament Churches” and say they have no use for the Old Testament. But what Bible did the writers of their New Testament quote from, refer to, and base their teachings on? It is time to rethink some critically important fundamentals!       

Picking up a Bible, the first thing you notice is that it is divided into two parts, an Old Testament and a New Testament. Because of the very names given to these two sections it seems that the Bible has an obsolete first part, bestowed with the title “Old,” which has been totally supplanted with a second part called “New.”

Most students of the Scriptures have been taught that what is found in the Old Testament is not actually intended for them but is only for Jews, while the New Testament is off limits to Jews and is approved only for Christian use.

Still, no one can explain why Christian Bible publishers continue to bind the Old and New Testament Scriptures into a single volume, as they have done for centuries. If the Old has been obsolete for 2,000 years, then why not just drop it? Clearly something fundamentally important has kept these two testaments together for 2,000 years.

A Website describes the popular understanding this way: “The Bible is mainly divided into the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament contains books relating to the old covenant between Yahweh and Israel . The New Testament contains books and letters relating to the new covenant between Yahweh and the New Israel, the Church.”

Tertullian, 2nd century “father of the Roman church,” was the first to use the terms vetus testamentum or old testament and novum testamentum or new testament. He also introduced the term Trinity to the church vocabulary – nearly 200 years into the New Testament. But it is the regrettable use of the terms “old” and “new” (testaments) that has resulted in the most serious consequences.

The most far-reaching of them all is that two separate religions and faiths have ostensibly grown out of the same book – both worshiping the same Heavenly Father! But the Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4 expresses that the Father is of one mind and understanding, a characteristic the Son shares, John 17:11, 22.

Many would have us believe that Yahweh made a huge misstep in requiring Israel to obey Old Testament teachings, only to correct that error in the New Testament by requiring just faith alone.

Yahweh never intended that the Old Testament and New Testament present two completely different worship modes and requirements creating two different options for salvation. This was never how it was with the early Assembly as guided by the Apostles. Yahweh never wanted his Bible to be divided into two different belief systems for two distinct groups of worshipers.

We are going to see that despite some administrative changes, the Old Testament and New Testament agree on a single salvation plan for all people. Further, we will see how the writers of the New Testament looked to the writings of the Old Testament as the basis of Truth, and how the disciples, and even Yahshua Himself, based their teachings and practices on what is found in the Old Testament, the only Bible they had. When they used the term “Scriptures” they meant the Old Testament. There were no other Scriptures in existence.

The viability of the Old Testament is one of the most significant truths you will ever learn about proper, Biblical worship. Its implications are enormous. It means that if Old Testament truths are still in full force and effect, then what Israel was told to observe remains largely unchanged and therefore applies to today’s Believers as well. It means nothing less than that the foundation for our beliefs and practices must rest in the Old Testament – which even our own Savior called “the Scriptures.”

Paul Dynamites a Myth

Over the centuries the popular notion has developed that there exists two different paths to salvation for two different groups of people in two conflicting sections of the Bible. This myth has caused two different religions to spring from the same book. Paul categorically refutes this in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: For you are all one in Messiah Yahshua.”

Here is the champion of Christianity – none other than the Apostle Paul himself – refuting a fundamental Christian belief! Here is the supposed founder of modern church teaching telling us that there is no basic difference between the Jew and the gentile. All are united in Yahshua. So how does that work in everyday reality?

Most Bible believers see it this way:  the Old Testament is useful and edifying in relating Yahweh’s actions with Israel – so long as it stays focused exclusively on Israel . It has some good history and individual lessons and examples that can also be nice for us to know.  But for them it doesn’t have the same level of authority or relevance for the believer as does the New Testament.

This means that anyone in the Old Testament era was at a great disadvantage just because they lived at a different time. It means in essence that they were second-rate believers; their salvation, if indeed they had it, was inferior because they did not know New Testament truth.

We need not go beyond Hebrews 11 in the New Testament to see the error in this thinking. Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and David will have exalted positions in the Kingdom – probably much higher than you and I and anyone else holding the New Testament, except Yahshua. And all that any of those patriarchs had to go by was the Old Testament. There they will be – sitting in high positions of authority in Yahweh’s government nevertheless.

Can we say, then, that the Old Testament is of inferior quality or has less merit than the New Testament?  Remember, it was the only Bible possessed of the patriarchs who will rule in the Kingdom of Yahweh .

One Truth and Only One Way to the Kingdom

Paul has something else to say about mistaken notions concerning the Old Testament.

First, from Galatians 3:28 we learn that salvation is not exclusive to any one race or group. In Yahweh’s eyes believing Jews and believing Gentiles are on equal footing. This is true no matter your perspective. Verse 29 says you are the seed of Abraham if you are Yahshua’s and therefore have the salvation promise.

And neither is there a difference when it comes to the avenue leading to life everlasting. There is only one truth and one way to salvation. In Ephesians 4:5 Paul confirms that there is “one faith, one hope, one baptism,” not two truths, one for the ancient Jew and the other for the modern Christian.

In Jude 3, Yahshua’s brother tells us we must return to the original faith once given to the saints. And what is that? Ephesians  2:20says that faith is built on the Apostles and prophets, or in other words it encompasses both Old Testament and New Testament.

In Revelation 14:12 that true faith is defined by those who keep the commandments and have faith in Yahshua. In Revelation 3:8 it also means those who have not denied His Name.

These are also truths taught fundamentally in the Old Testament.

The fact is, the “church” does not replace Israel but joins with it through the taking hold of the covenant promise that Yahweh proclaimed for all His people. We learn in Romans 11:1-2 that Yahweh did not discard Israel and start over with the New Testament. Israel is still key to His salvation plan, Romans 11:26. All who seek everlasting life must be grafted into the Israelite promise,Romans 11:17 clearly teaches.

In Yahweh’s master plan the Old Testament was never the special Bible for just Jews or Israel but was and is intended for all who seek Him. The same goes for the New Testament. If the Scriptures recognize that there is no difference between Jews and the “church,” then the Feasts, Sabbaths, and laws cannot be exclusively for Jews, Israel or restricted to any other particular people.

John wrote, “Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you have heard from the beginning,” 1John 2:7.

Our Savior’s Bible Was Also the Old Testament

This is consistent with what we find in New Testament practice. The Savior and His followers all kept what was heard from the beginning, meaning the Old Testament instructions and commands. They recognized the continuity between Old Testament command and New Testament performance by observing the seventh-day Sabbath, annual Feasts, and laws Israel kept.

Yahshua Himself kept them, and commanded us to follow what He did, Revelation 2:26. He knew the basis of New Testament faith rests in the Old Testament. He said in John 5:46-47: “For had you believed Moses, you would have believed Me: for he wrote of Me. But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe My words?”

By Paul’s crystal clear statement on equality, ordinances given to Israel must also be observed by everyone, or else there is only favoritism and no equality. Jew and Gentile must follow the same Truth, because there is only one Truth. Notice that this fact is brought out later in His letter, where Paul tells the Galatians, “But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all…Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise” (Gal. 4:26, 28).

Jerusalem as the capital of the Israelite nation is “mother” to all those seeking Yahweh, including the Galatian gentiles in the New Testament to whom Paul was writing. Furthermore, Paul says the covenant promise we are under was shared by the Old Testament patriarch Isaac. Both peoples are part of the covenant.

Already we are seeing proof that Old Testament promises apply in the New Testament.

Most people are unaware that the Old Testament contains teachings on a number of what are considered New Testament doctrines. For example,

• Grace, as an Old Testament concept, is found in Exodus 34:6-7.
• There is justice and mercy in Micah 6:8, which our Savior Himself refers to in Matthew. 23:23.
• Moses had the Holy Spirit in Numbers 11, and he gave it to 70 elders.
• David had the Spirit in Psalm 51.
• Circumcision of the heart is found in Deuteronomy 30:6 and Jeremiah 4:4.
• The “Gospel” was preached to the Israelite, we learn from Hebrews 4:2, as well as to Abraham, Galatians 3:8.
• Yahweh has no pleasure in sacrifices, but says obedience is better, Hebrews 10:6.

In the New Testament, whenever Yahshua and the apostles referred to the “scriptures,” they were in nearly every case referring to the Law, the Prophets and the Writings that make up the Old Testament.

They taught from them and about them; they used the Old Testament to support their position and make their points; they relied on Old Testament prophecies and used its teachings.

Yahshua even confounded Satan by quoting the Old Testament (Matt. 4:7-10).  Why didn’t Satan say to Him, “Why are you quoting that outdated and dead book?” Even the Adversary knew the Old Testament was alive!

In short, the Old Testament was not only the textbook of the New Testament patriarchs, but also their guide to living the life acceptable to Yahweh.

This begs the quintessential question: Why would New Testament, Spirit-inspired teachers and writers, including Yahshua Himself as the greatest among them, refer hundreds of times in their teachings to a collection of writings known as the Old Testament that was either obsolete or very soon to be obsolete?

And why would Yahweh  – for 2,000 years – delude millions of New Testament people by inspiring the direct quoting of 300 Old Testament passages that were obsolete?

In fact, one in every 22.5 verses of the New Testament is a direct quotation from the Old Testament. The New Testament refers to “Moses” no fewer than 80 times, and it mentions the Sabbath 60 times, despite modern attempts to say keeping the Sabbath is unnecessary. These solid facts contradict the idea that the Old Testament had no influence after Yahshua walked this earth.

If you take only Scriptural references or allusions into consideration, the numbers are much higher. Roger Nicole in his book, Revelation and the Bible says one estimate is that there there are as many as 1,640 allusions to the Old Testament in the New Testament, while another estimate he says totals 4,105 passages referring to Old Testament Scripture (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1958).  As high as 1 out of every 10 verses in the New Testament is either a direct citation of or an allusion to the Old Testament

If the Old Testament has been dead for 2,000 years, why did Yahweh inspire it to be quoted, referenced thousands of times, and included in the same Bible with the New Testament?

It is only natural that Yahweh would inspire the use of the Old Testament because the Old Testament was just as alive and central to truth when Paul preached it as it is today. Paul even told Timothy: “But continue in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing of whom you have learned them; And that from a child you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Messiah Yahshua” (see Rev. 12:17). Further Paul wrote, “All scripture is given by inspiration of Elohim, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of Elohim may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2Tim. 3:14-17).

Yahweh doesn’t inspire “all Scripture” only to rescind two-thirds of it later on. Hebrews 8 explains that it was not the fault of the Old Covenant but of disobedient Israel that caused Yahweh to open up the covenant promise to others. Yahshua echoed that same truth in his parable of those who would not come to the wedding supper, so he invites anyone traveling by to come in.

Paul Observed the Old Testament’s Teachings

Let’s look at some instances of direct reliance on the Old Testament by believers living in the early New Testament era.

When Paul commended the New Testament Bereans for diligently searching the scriptures to see whether what he was preaching to them was true (Acts 17:11), he referred to their study of what we call the Old Testament: “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

But to them it was not the “Old Testament.” As far as the Bereans were concerned, they were merely searching Yahweh’s Word, which included the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets, to confirm that what they were hearing from the New Testament apostles was true.

Remember, the Old Testament was the only Bible they had. It was the foundation of their faith and belief, and Paul even applauded them for double-checking with the Old Testament first before believing anything they read in the New Testament writings!

All of which screams one especially important fact: the New Testament does not contradict the Old Testament.

Why did not Paul say, “Listen people, don’t bother with those old writings that are now out of date. Just read my letters and do what they say and forget that Old Testament. I am all the Bible you need now.” He knew that teaching such a thing, which churches everywhere do believe and teach today, would be an enormous falsehood. He himself based Truth on the Old Testament Scriptures.

Note how Paul supported and taught the law and the Old Testament:

• In Acts 24:14 Paul adamantly confirmed that he believed “all things which are written in the law and in the prophets” (Old Testament).
• To prove that he lived “in observance of the law,” Paul agreed to undertake a ritual purification at the temple, at which time he proved that he kept the law (Acts 21:24-26).  Born a Benjaminite, he was instructed by Gamaliel “according to the perfect manner of the law,” Acts 22:3.
• In diametric opposition to what most clerics teach today, Paul said he was not against Old Testament teachings and did nothing to violate them, Acts 28:17.
• As a matter of fact, Paul taught the people about Yahshua from morning to night “out of the law of Moses and out of the prophets,” (Old Testament) Acts 28:23.
• In Acts 25:8 Paul maintained that he never broke any laws of the Jews or the temple.

All the books of the Old Testament except Esther, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon are quoted in the New Testament.

That Old Testament that is used only occasionally for a children’s Bible lesson or for reading of an infrequent Psalm or Proverb is a lot more important than most people think. Yahshua, the apostles, and the earliest converts relied on the Old Testament as the basis for their teachings. They constantly alluded to it and defined their faith in light of what it said.

Once you have all the facts, then you are prepared to make informed, correct choices. People urgently need this truth about the Old Testament so that their worship can be corrected and aligned with the same Truth the prophets, Apostles, and Yahshua the Messiah followed. Sadly, most don’t want the truth of the matter. They love darkness rather than light (John 3:19) for fear of what they might discover that could alter their beliefs and impact their lifestyle. They are comfortable and satisfied in their traditional beliefs no matter how erroneous.

Yahshua Taught Old Testament Precepts

Yahshua made many references to the Old Testament and its laws. He even directly commanded us to study the Old Testament, the only Bible in existence:  “Search the Scriptures; for in them think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me,”John 5:39.

It is very important that in Matthew 23:2-3 Yahshua said the Scribes and Pharisees had the authority of the Old Testament commands when it came to teaching what you must observe. “Moses seat” is a euphemism for the Old Testament and its laws. The authority to obey Old Testament commands and laws comes right from Yahshua’s own mouth!

Let’s just look at a few of the many Old Testament truths that Yahshua taught:

• In Matthew 22:37-40 Yahshua referred to a fundamental precept in the Old Testament on which to base His teaching about the law: love Yahweh and love your neighbor, which He quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5; 10:12; 30:6 and Leviticus 19:18;
• Yahshua deferred to the Old Testament in matters of divorce (Matt. 19:8);
• Yahshua deferred to the Old Testament in matters of the law (Matt. 5), saying that not even the smallest part of the law would be done away until heaven and earth themselves pass away, verse 18.
• Yahshua deferred to the Old Testament regarding salvation (Luke 16:29). In this reference Yahshua was telling the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. He ended it by saying, verse 31, that if they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, then it won’t matter to them even if one rose from the dead (meaning Himself). His lesson is clear – if they are not grounded in Yahweh’s laws and have no concern for the prophets’ warnings about sin, then Yahshua will have no influence them either. They won’t listen to Him, because His message is virtually the same as the Old Testament message brought by Moses and the prophets.

Some might argue, yes, but this was before Yahshua’s death changed everything and switched the focus from the Old Testament system to the New Testament.  However, many years after Yahshua was come and gone Stephen launched into a speech before the Sanhedrin that highlighted Yahweh’s covenant with Abraham and how Moses was born to fulfill that covenant, and how the plan was continually obstructed by the people who refused to obey and listen to the prophets, Acts 7. And now he says you are doing the same thing as you kill Yahshua and disobey the law (Acts 7:51-53).  Why would Stephen use the Old Testament as the context for their present rebellion unless it were still alive and in force?

Once Heretical Teachings Now Accepted

Was it the Roman Church that decided from the Scriptures themselves to throw out the Old Testament? Not on your life. There were many dark forces at work early on to derail True Worship, not the least of which were influential heretics like Marcion. Marcion was a second century teacher formally declared a heretic by the Roman church in 144 CE. Influenced by Gnosticism, Marcion taught that Yahweh of the Old Testament was an entirely different Mighty One from Yahweh of the New. Up until then, the traditional Church had considered the Old Testament to be sacred and assumed that Christianity was a fulfillment or continuation of Judaism. Hence they condemned doctrines that proclaimed such things.

Marcion’s rejection of that idea affected many different doctrines and beliefs. For more than 100 years Christians had been using the Old Testament as Christian Scripture, and even the most sacred documents of Christians referred to and relied heavily on, the Old Testament. The solution for Marcion was to completely reject the Old Testament and establish a canon that de-emphasized Christianity’s Old Testament and Jewish roots as much as possible.

For Marcion and others, the Old Testament Creator of the world was obsessed with law, while the New Testament Mighty One redeemed the world and was characterized by love and grace. Marcion not only threw out the entire Old Testament but also any New Testament books that seemed to him to emphasize law or good works at the expense of grace. Paul, with his perceived focus on grace, was by far Marcion’s favorite Apostle.

At the time, Marcion’s views disclaiming the Old Testament were not very influential. Amazing, isn’t it, that the essence of the teachings of a man who was pronounced a heretic by the early New Testament Assembly are today universally believed and tacitly applied to modern doctrine. Those teachings include emasculating the Old Testament and redefining grace as a replacement for obedience.

It is a sad commentary that so many have been deceived into thinking that the Old Testament is only for Jews, when in actuality it forms the very foundation for what is taught in the New Testament.

The New Testament categorically endorses Old Testament law. For instance, sin is clearly defined in the New Testament as transgression of Yahweh’s law (1John 3:4; Rom. 7:7). Throughout the New Testament the believer’s perpetual moral duty is that of love, and yet love is defined by the New Testament in terms of Yahweh’s law (Matt. 22:40; Rom. 13:10; 1John 5:2-3). Consequently the New Testament message and its morality are squarely founded on the operation of Yahweh’s law.

Both Old and New testaments teach Yahweh’s people to live by every word from His mouth, for Yahweh does not alter the words of His covenant. Every one of His ordinances, we are taught, is everlasting. Accordingly, Yahshua emphatically taught inMatthew 5:17-18 that His coming did not in the least abrogate one jot or tittle of Old Testament law. According to His own teaching, even the minor specifics of the law were to be observed — as a measure of our standing with Yahweh.

Paul maintained that every Old Testament Scripture has moral authority for the New Testament believer, and James in chapter 2 said that not one point of the law was to be violated.

We see both Old and New testaments coming together in a prophecy of Malachi 4:5-6: “Behold, I will send you Eliyah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of Yahweh: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”

What does he mean? In Genesis 18:19 it means to teach children the statutes of Yahweh. It means that before the return of Yahshua, there will be a remnant who will turn back to the original truths of the Bible and restore them in their worship and lives. They will be keeping His laws, commandments, and ordinances, just as they did in the early New Testament assembly. Yahweh’s Restoration Ministry seeks to do just that.

Yahshua the Messiah magnified the law, not abolished it. As we have seen, He taught it and showed us its greater significance in our spiritual development.

Oftentimes the people who are introduced in the New Testament as blessed or favored by Yahweh are character-ized as obedient to His law — for instance, Elisabeth, Zacharias, Joseph, and Miriam (Luke 1:6; 2:21-24, 27, 39). During his ministry on earth Yahshua often appealed to the law of Elohim to bolster His teaching (John 8:17), vindicate His behavior (Matt. 12:5), answer His questioners (Luke 10:26), indict His opponents (John 7:19), and give concrete identity to the will of Yahweh for men (Matt. 19:17).

In all of these ways without elaborate introductions or explanations for departing from a general principle or perspective – the New Testament simply assumes the standing authority of every command of Yahweh found in the Old Testament. If the Old Testament law were invalidated by Yahshua, the preceding examples would be incredibly contradictory.

The New Testament writers used Old Testament quotations in their sermons, in their histories, in their letters, and in their prayers. They used them when addressing Jews or Gentiles, assemblies or individuals, friends or rivals, new converts or seasoned believers. They used them for argumentation and augmentation, for illustration, for instruction, for documentation, for prophecy, and for reproof. They used them in times of stress and in deep contemplation, in liberty and in prison, at home and abroad. They were always ready to defer to the impregnable authority of the “law and the prophets.”

The “Old” Testament is indeed “older” than the New, but so is a foundation older than the structure that rests on it. The Old Testament Scriptures establish a basis for the New Testament, providing legitimacy and giving it meaning and structure. It does the same for the True Worshiper who realizes that his faith is no different from the faith of the Apostles and Messiah Yahshua.

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Through the centuries Protestants have erroneously assumed that this book eradicated all Old Testament laws, even though Paul contradicts that notion in the book itself and in other books he wrote to other assemblies. To understand this letter correctly it is paramount that we know the reason that Paul was writing to these people of central Turkey known as the Galatians.

When we read New Testament letters like Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, and Galatians, we are reading personal mail. There was a reason Paul wrote each of these letters and it was primarily to resolve problems endemic to the respective groups.

Why Not Tell the Other Assemblies Also?

A key question that must be asked before we delve into the book is: if Paul were in the process of abolishing all Old Testament law in his epistle to the Galatians, why did he not inform the other assemblies of this monumental, history-making disclosure? Why in his other letters like Hebrews and Romans does he contradict the notion that the law is obsolete?

In passages like Romans 3:31 he gives 100 percent support for the law: “Do we then make void the law through faith? Elohim forbid: yea, we establish the law.” He writes in Hebrews 8 that the law is to be in our hearts. And in Acts 24:14 he offers this plain and clear position statement: “But this I confess unto you, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the Elohim of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets.”

Some of his statements had been mistaken by Jews in his day and thought to be heretical, yet he assured them (and us) that he was not against the law or prophets (Old Testament). On the contrary, he was a lawkeeper himself. In Acts 25:7-8 he stood before those falsely accusing him, “And when he was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove. While he answered for himself, ‘Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all.’”

In Acts 21:24 Paul was told to prove to the doubting Jews that he was still law observant by taking part in purification rites: “Them take, and purify yourself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning you, are nothing; but that you yourself also walk orderly, and keep the law.”

Truth Comes with Obedience

Some may ask, how can we presume to know the truth of Galatians if clerics have been debating the book for centuries? One advantage the True Worshiper has is that he comes properly prepared. Psalm 111:10 says, “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments.” Those who are obedient to His laws will have a proper understanding of Yahweh’s Word, while the reverse is also true: those who snub His commandments will be misled when it comes to His truths.

Paradoxically, those who argue against obedience are arguing against proper understanding itself and therefore are working at cross purposes to truth, according to Psalm 111:10. His Spirit teaches us of His ways, Ezekiel 36:26-27. If you truly desire to know truth you need His Spirit, and that means obedience to the law because the Spirit is given specifically to those who obey, Acts 5:32. If you want to understand the Scriptures correctly, seek out a teacher who obeys the commandments and you will be much more likely to hear the truth. The requirement of a true prophet is to teach Yahweh’s commandments, according to Deuteronomy 13. Proper teaching does not reject the law either; on the contrary, the law is central to right instruction.

Five Problematic Areas in the Epistle

Let’s focus on the controversial passages in the Book of Galatians. There are five areas in Galatians that are usually used in an effort say that the law is no longer necessary under the New Covenant.

Notice first in 1:11-12 that Paul authenticates his own teachings by explaining that they were given not by man but by Yahshua Himself. Some reject his writings as uninspired, but here the apostle himself verifies their authenticity, which is something you don’t find in other books of the Bible — self-certification! For him to believe it was necessary to authenticate His letter Paul must have anticipated some misconceptions about what he was teaching.

We come to the first area of contention in chapter 2.

Galatians 2:16: “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Yahshua the Messiah, even we have believed in Yahshua the Messiah, that we might be justified by the faith of Messiah, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” This verse seems to contradict what Paul says about justification and the law inRomans 2:13: “For not the hearers of the law are just before Elohim, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” Is Paul confused or is the translation vague?

An understanding of the Greek clears up the mystery and sets forth a remarkable truth that corrects mainstream doctrine. An understanding of the Greek helps: “A man is not justified by (Greek ek — out of) works of law but [ean me, except] through faith in Messiah.” The Greek Emphatic Diaglott literally reads, “And knowing that a man is not justified by works of law, except on account of Faith of Messiah Yahshua.”

This verse goes to the whole issue of whether one can be justified by works. Paul says it can’t be done outside the context of faith in Yahshua. As important as works are to salvation, they must go hand-in-hand with faith. Far from negating works, Paul confirms them. It is our works that will determine our judgment and rewards, Revelation 22:12.

2:17-18: “But if, while we seek to be justified by Messiah, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Messiah the minister of sin? Elohim forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.” Once we commit our lives to Yahweh we must not return to sin. But if we do sin it is not Yahshua advocating it, Paul says. Note that in Paul’s discussion sin is still possible. In 1John 3:4 sin is defined as the transgression of the law — so the law is obviously still in effect. Romans 7:7 says we would not know sin except by the law.

Verse 19: “For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto Elohim.” By being law-observant, we are dead to the law, meaning free from the law’s penalties through obedience. Paul is simply saying that if I am a law-abiding citizen I have no fear of going to jail for such violations as stealing or killing. Being law abiding I don’t fall under that punishment. Note that this condition of being “dead to the law” comes “through the law” itself and not from an abolished law.

Verse 20: “I am impaled with Messiah: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Messiah lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of Elohim, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Yahshua living in us brings about true righteousness of character and conduct as we put to death our old ways of sinful lawlessness.

This is not a vicarious “righteousness of Messiah” imputed to us. The traditional, mainstream claim is that Yahshua kept the law for you because you can’t keep it yourself. That notion contradicts the many Scriptures in the New Testament that command us to obey the laws of Yahweh. The Dake Annotated Reference Bible (KJV) lists some 1,050 commands and laws operating in the New Testament. Yahshua died for us but He doesn’t live for us, He lives in us. With Him in us, we can obey.

Chapter 3’s Puzzling Passages

Gal. 3:10: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” This is an indictment of the Jews of Paul’s day who were keeping the law solely for justification purposes, including sacrifices and circumcision. Following a lot of do’s and don’ts cannot lead to justification apart from Yahshua. The law by itself cannot justify you. Without faith in Yahshua seeking justification by law alone is futile (v. 11).

12: “And the law is not of faith: but, the man that does them shall live in them.” The Twentieth Century New Testament (TCNT)translates the passage: “But the Law is not based on faith; no, its words are —‘Those who practice these precepts will find Life through them.’”

13-14: “Messiah has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Yahshua the Messiah; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” The TCNT renders it clearer than the King James, “[Messiah] ransomed us from the curse pronounced in the law…” Yahshua paid the death penalty that the law imposes for disobedience (“the curse”), and He opened the way through the New Covenant for gentiles to have the covenant blessings as well.

15: “Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannuls, or adds thereto.” Paul explains that once even a human covenant is made, you can’t add to it or take from it. You can’t pile on more requirements beyond what you agreed to. This is what the Jews were trying to do in Galatia with their added, man-made ritual law.

16-18: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He says not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to your seed, which is Messiah. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of Yahweh in Messiah, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but Elohim gave it to Abraham by promise.” Yahweh made a covenant with Abraham that involved Abraham’s seed, referring to Yahshua. And that covenant did not originate from the law but by special promise.                                                                       

19: “Wherefore then serves the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.” The traditional view says that the law that was added was the whole package of Old Testament laws, including the Ten Commandments. Yahshua came to end those laws, many believe, except perhaps those repeated in the New Testament.

The word “added” here does not mean to add a new  arrangement as it does in verse 15 (Greek word epidiatassomai). “Added” in verse 19 (prosthemi) means to put alongside or join with. Why is this significant?

In verse 29 Paul says that the covenant made with Abraham was a promise that did not hinge on the law, or else it would be by works — something Abraham could possibly achieve on his own. Abraham was already law-observant, and that is one reason Yahweh chose to make a covenant with him, Genesis 26:5. Now when Yahweh extended the covenant to Israel the law was placed alongside the covenant as central to the covenant’s conditions (Deut. 4:31).

Israel was not obedient as Abraham and therefore they needed the details of the law included in their covenant with Yahweh. The law served as a guide for them to ensure that they knew what transgression was and what Yahweh expected.

3:21-25: “Is the law then against the promises of Yahweh? Yahweh forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture has concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Yahshua the Messiah might be given to them that believe.  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Messiah, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”

The Old Covenant is superseded today by the New Covenant, Hebrews 9, but that does not mean the laws are replaced also. The law is not the covenant; the law represents only the terms of the covenant. The terms of the New Covenant still involve obedience to the law, with the law written in our hearts and minds just as it was supposed to be with Israel, Hebrews 8:10; Deuteronomy 6:6;30:11-14. The trouble was, Israel’s hearts were hard and they resisted obedience as some do today.

“Schoolmaster” in Greek is paidagogos and refers to a trustworthy slave who had charge of the boys in a family, guiding them in their formative years into making right choices. Once the youths matured they would make their own decisions guided by what they had been taught in childhood and therefore no longer needed a schoolmaster constantly prodding them. The law is our guide in the same way. Once mature in Messiah we no longer need the constant reminding of the law, having already learned what constitutes obedience to Yahweh through His laws.

The prophet Ezekiel foretold a time when the stony heart would be taken from people and a soft heart would replace it so that “they may walk in My statutes and keep my ordinances, and do them,” 11:19-20.

Putting the law in a soft, pliable heart results in an obedient believer. Many today have stony, rebellious hearts, refusing to acknowledge that the law is still in effect in the New Testament. They don’t accept that the law is the standard that measures their behavior today and that will judge them tomorrow.

After confirming the necessity of the law coupled with faith, Paul zeroes in on a new aspect of the Galatian problem.

Backsliding into Paganism

In Galatians chapter 4 Paul addresses another issue problematic with the people themselves. The name Galatia comes from the people who lived there, formerly Gauls who migrated from northwest Europe. The people who made up the various tribes were called Galli by the Romans and Galatai or Keltoi by the Greeks, terms meaning barbarian. It is from the Greek Keltoi that Celt is derived.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia says under “Origin of the Name ‘Galatia,’: “The name was introduced into Asia after 278-277 BC, when a large body of migrating Gauls (Galatai in Greek) crossed over from Europe at the invitation of Nikomedes, king of Bithynia…The Galatai soon adopted the country religion, alongside of their own; the latter they retained at least as late as the 2nd century after [Messiah], but it was politically important for them to maintain and exercise the powers of the old priesthood…” “Galatia,” p. 1154.

The Gauls, who came from France and Belgium, were of the Celtic religion. Their high priests were the Druids. These were Babylonian pagans in every sense, who contributed heavily to the modern holiday of Christmas with its fertility rites and tree worship, as well as Halloween and other heathen observances that are so much a part of our culture today.

4:3: “Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.” “Children” equates to those ignorant of Yahweh. Paul is dealing with a people here who had come out of a past steeped in spiritual blindness and falsity.

He portrays these Galatians by reminding them in verse 8 that they previously did not know Yahweh and in ignorance they had served idols. Then in verse 9 he asks, “But now, after that you have known Elohim, or rather are known of Elohim, how turn you again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto you desire again to be in bondage?” They had a problem with slipping back to their old idolatry.

In verses 10-11 he says, “You observe days, and months and times and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain.” Many think Paul was reproving them for keeping the Biblical Feasts here. But the context proves that they were actually leaving the Biblical worship they had recently been taught and going back to their former, pagan worship. The only thing these former pagans could possibly go back to was their old false gods. They were certainly not “turning again” to Biblical Feasts that they never knew before.

The Book of Galatians is instruction not just to the people of Galatia, but a warning against the pagan rites that are alive and well today. It deals with two problems: the people’s desire to return to their pagan past as well as the influence of certain Jews who were trying to get the new converts to convert to Judaism before they could enter the faith of Yahshua. This latter issue is addressed again in chapter 5.

In 5:1-6 the concern was physical circumcision as practiced by the traditional Jews: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Messiah has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if you be circumcised, Messiah shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Messiah is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; you are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Yahshua Messiah neither circumcision avails any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which works by love.”

Here again we see how the issue of works alone as symbolized by physical circumcision contrasts with faith in Yahshua and how faith puts life and meaning into works. Without Yahshua one is obligated to do all the law, including the whole system of animal sacrifices, which Yahshua replaced by the death sacrifice of Himself.

Paul: Champion of Lawkeeping

Popular teaching sees Paul as the titleholder in bringing a new, law-less religion to the New Testament. As we have seen, the Book of Galatians has been mistaught and grossly distorted to make it appear that Paul was anti-law. Paul explicitly said he did not do away with the law but taught it and followed it, Acts 28:23. Yet, people still don’t believe him.

Paul was first of all a Jew, a Pharisee, and if there was anyone who upheld to the law standard as no other, he was the one. This is a man who adhered to the law so much that he:

• circumcised Timothy in Acts 16:3;
• went regularly to the synagogue on the Sabbath where the law was being taught, Acts 17:2;
• said in verse 21 that he must by all means keep the Feast of Tabernacles, an Old Testament law;
• rushed to Jerusalem in Acts 20:16 to observe the Feast of Weeks, another Old Testament law;
• said plainly in Acts 21:24 that he kept the law, and he proved it by purifying himself with the Jews at the Temple.

This is the same man who told the Roman governor Festus that he “had done nothing against the Torah to which the Jews hold, nor against the temple, Acts 25:8.

Yes, the very one who in Acts 28:17 said he had done nothing against the customs of his fathers, and in verse 23 proceeded to teach the law of Moses from morning to evening.

Paul upheld the law because he believed that the “commandment is holy, just, and good,” and said so in Romans 7:12 — maintaining in verse 1 that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives.

How can anyone say that this Apostle was out to destroy the law? We find contradiction after contradiction to that false belief all through Paul’s letters. We find instead one of the most powerful orators and most influential of Apostles upholding the law in every book he wrote, including the Book of Galatians.

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