Myth: The Law has been 'done away with'

Q. You hear that the Law has been "done away with" all the time. What "Law" are those people talking about? I get confused when some say "only Rabbi laws" were done away with or when some say "God never changes." What does this mean?

A.You have several questions here so let's try to take each one and try to clarify it. When people say the Law has been done away with, they mean the Torah or the "old" testament laws. They don't really believe that but that is what they say. There is not one person who says they believe in the L-rd that really believes that the Law has been done away with. What they are really saying is the laws that they don't like, or don't want to obey are done away with.So, their basic premise is inaccurate and it gets worse from there.

When people say that to me I say, "Then I can lie, cheat my neighbor, commit adultery, be a homosexual, have idols if I want?" They will say "No, we aren't to do those things." Then I say, "then you don't really believe the Law has been done away with, just some of them." They will have to say yes, then ask them which ones. You will get all sorts of answers because they just make it up. What they really mean is the Jewish sounding laws like Sabbath, festivals, not eating pork and so on. If the Law has been done away with for Christians, how do they know what sin is? They don't, then they have to define it for themselves. One denomination says dancing is sin, another doesn't. One denomination thinks make-up or jewelry is sin, another doesn't. One denomination thinks not going to church is sin, and so on. If people are "set free from the Law" then why were preachers so mad at Clinton? If they hold him accountable for adultery, then why aren't they accountable for breaking the Sabbath? They both are in the same set of commandments. If people are set free from the Law, why do those same preachers teach tithing? No wonder you are confused. The answer is this. The Law, or Torah, means instruction. G-d has never changed about this. These laws apply as much today as ever. The 1st century believers kept the Torah, and taught it to all believers, Jew and Gentile (1Cor 11.1-2, 2 Thes 2.15, 3.6, ...look up the word "paradosis") It was G-d's standard for living. The part of the law we are set free from as a believer is the part that condemns us . By faith, we have passed into life, but we still have to obey. People who teach that the law has been done away do not know the L-rd or the scriptures and should do something else for living.

You are right, G-d never changes and His Word never changes. We are not to add to...or take away from it, and that is exactly what Christian "Theology" (if you want to call it that) teaches. It cannot be defended nor should one listen to anyone that tells you that the law has been done away with. That is a mark of a false prophet according to Deut. 13. When one becomes a believer, you obey the L-rd. To find out how to obey Him, you study the Scriptures, all of it. When Paul said that the scriptures were inspired and profitable for teaching(Hebrew word Torah), for reproof, for correction and for training, he was talking about the Torah.

THe preachers who teach that would never have been listened to in the 1st century, and shouldn't be today. When they brought charges against Stephen in Acts 6.13-14, they brought false charges saying that Stephen was not keeping the Torah, exactly what is taught today. This tells you he was Torah observant. This has completely turned around in Christian theology. What was deemed a false testimony in Acts is now what is taught as true today. The Law has not been done away with and Yeshua said so in Mt. 5.17-19 and that should be enough for anyone.