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Why do you use the term UNDER it should be 'subject' to the Law? "under" means under condemnation of the law, under the penalty of death.
I follow the Torah, the Sabbath, the 7 Holy Feasts of God, clean and unclean meats. I have not eaten pig in almost 60 years.
are you aware there are bible scholars, from what I call the 40,000 flavors, now proving Paul has been very misunderstood, that He taught ALL - both Jew and gentile should obey Torah, including the Sabbath?
I can post a couple of the men if you want to understand the Truth.
here is one
Are you saying that you reject the decision of the Jerusalem council?
Acts 15:28-29
For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:
that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from
fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.
no greater burden than these essentials
Your saying that Gentiles are no longer under those four essentials?
That the four essentials have been replaced by the Torah?
I need to know by what authority are you speaking.
I asked AI to clear up the deep misunderstanding embedded in your replies.
Scripture only
1. Meaning of “under the law”
The phrase
“under the law” (ὑπὸ νόμον) in the New Testament consistently describes a
juridical state: being
subject to the Mosaic Law as a covenant, with its authority to
command, judge, condemn, and curse.
Key texts define it:
Romans 3:19
“Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.”
Here, “under the law” = those to whom the Law
speaks covenantally. This is Israel.
Galatians 3:23
“Before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.”
Galatians 4:4–5
“God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, so that He might redeem those who were under the law.”
Christ was born
under it in order to redeem those who were under it. This category is clearly
Jewish, not Gentile.
Paul defines the consequences of being under the law:
Galatians 3:10
“For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse.”
Romans 6:14
“For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
Thus, “under the law” means:
- under its jurisdiction
- under its condemnation
- under its curse
- under its authority as covenant
2. Gentiles were never “under the law”
Scripture is explicit:
Romans 2:14
“For when Gentiles who do not have the law do instinctively the things of the law…”
Ephesians 2:12
“Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise.”
Gentiles:
- did not possess the law
- were outside the covenants
- therefore could not be under the law
Paul reinforces this distinction:
Romans 9:4
“To whom belongs the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law…”
The Law—including the
ten words—was covenantally given to Israel alone.
3. The Jerusalem Council (Acts 15)
The precise question addressed:
Acts 15:1
“Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
The apostles’ conclusion:
Acts 15:10
“Why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?”
Acts 15:19
“It is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles.”
Acts 15:28
“It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials.”
The council
explicitly refused to place Gentiles under:
- circumcision
- the Mosaic Law
- its covenantal obligations
This necessarily includes the
ten words, which are inseparable from the Sinai covenant:
Exodus 34:28
“He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten words.”
4. Paul after the council
Paul teaches the same distinction everywhere:
1 Corinthians 9:20–21
“To those under the law, as under the law…
to those without law, as without law…
though not being without the law of God, but under the law of Christ.”
Two categories:
- under the law → Jews
- without law → Gentiles
Gentiles are never described as being under the Mosaic Law.
Galatians 5:18
“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”
5. Summary (Scripture-defined)
And its fulfillment is defined as love:
Romans 13:10
“Love is the fulfillment of the law.”