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POSTED 13 JUNE, 2011
What Does "Under the Law" Really Mean?--A
Further Study
by
J.K. McKee
editor@tnnonline.net
In the discussion
over the validity and relevance of the Torah for
today’s Believers in Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus
Christ), there is one particular issue that is a
cause of significant confusion and
consternation:
Is it not true
that we are not under the Law?
No responsible Bible reader can ignore or deny
what passages like Romans 6:14 communicate: “For
sin will have no dominion over you, since you
are not under law but under grace.” If we want
to be honest with what the Bible tells us, then
it is true that born again Believers are
not
under the Law.
Within a great
deal of contemporary speech and jargon employed
today, using a phrase like “under the law” is a
colloquialism akin to “according to/in
accordance with/by/defined by/via the law.” This
is something that we have all used at one point
or another. When we watch the news and see a
reporter say something like “Under the law of
the State of Texas murderers can expect to be
given the death penalty,” the usage of “under
the law” is intended to more accurately mean:
“According to the law of the State of Texas
murderers can expect to be given the death
penalty.” For some reason or another, though,
using the terminology “under the law” is a bit
more common for some modern people than
“according to the law.”
Challenges can
certainly exist when terms, phrases, or
expressions that are used in modern English (and
in particular American English) are
automatically assumed to mean the same thing in
the Bible. When we see the phrase “under the
Law” employed in the Apostolic Scriptures (New
Testament), does it mean “according to the Law”?
It is probably safe to say that “under the Law,”
meaning some kind of obedience or adherence to
the Mosaic Torah, is deeply engrained into the
minds of many Bible readers, being rather
calcified into their psyche—and this is even
found among some of the best expositors and
theologians. Only by carefully
analyzing the Biblical text can any of us get a
good feel for not only what “under the Law”
really means, but also recognizing
where it legitimately appears in the original
language. It also behooves us to be able to
fairly diagnose what the issues are which
necessitated the original Biblical use of the
phrase “under the Law.”
A significant
obstacle to be overcome as it regards the proper
meaning of “under the Law” is what it means to
our overall reading of the Scriptures. Is not
being “under the Law” intended to convey that
God’s people no longer have to obey God’s Law?
Yeshua the Messiah not only upholds the validity
of the Torah of Moses in His teachings, but He
actually assigns rewards and penalties to those
who teach obedience to it, versus those who
discount and disobey it (Matthew 5:17-19). In
contrast to this, it is commonly concluded that
when a man like the Apostle Paul taught that
Messiah followers are not to be “under the Law,”
it means that they should not be concerned with
keeping that much (if any at all) of the Torah.
If “under the Law” is interpreted as meaning
obedient to the Law, then would someone like
Paul be found to not only contradict the
Messiah—but would he also be found to merit some
kind of “least” status in the Kingdom?
I have certainly
written on the topic of what “under the Law”
really means before,[1]
providing some worthwhile answers to the various
Pauline passages, which if viewed carefully do
not stand in contradiction to Yeshua’s words
upholding the relevance of the Torah. The issue
largely pertains to what we interpret “under the
Law” to mean: being Torah obedient
or
being something else. If born again Believers
not being “under the Law” means something else,
how does it affect our reading of various verses
that are largely interpreted as meaning that
Torah obedience is a thing of past,
pre-resurrection history?
Because of how important Torah
observance is—including practices like honoring
the seventh-day Sabbath/Shabbat, the
appointed times of Leviticus 23, and eating
kosher—to the broad Messianic movement, some
further study on the issue of what “under the
Law” really means is in order. More dialogue and
consideration of what various theologians have
said is needed. More consideration for the
ancient historical setting of the passages must
be factored in. More reflection on the proper
application of the instructions issued in the
Apostolic Scriptures is doubtlessly required.
But perhaps most critical of all, what is
imperatively needed is a significant
identification of those verses that actually use
the Greek clause hupo nomon (upo
nomon)
for “under the law”—and those verses that do not
use hupo nomon, but where an English
version has used the rendering “under the law”
for some (errant) theological reason.
This further study,
of what “under the Law” really means, will
consider some of the strengths and weaknesses
today’s Messianic Believers have, especially
when a Christian family member or friend
exclaims “We’re not under the Law!” Not only
will this analysis provide some more detailed
answers to those who are skeptical of a Messianic’s Torah obedience, but it is engaged
with contemporary thought and opinion
surrounding the terminology “under the Law,” and
why “under the Law” meaning “obedient to the
Torah of Moses” is a poor conclusion. Most of
all, for the purposes of this further study, be
aware that I have used the Revised Standard
Version (RSV). You will see that the RSV
uses the phraseology “under the law” far more
frequently than a version like the New American
Standard (NASU) does, which I more commonly use.
Using the RSV for this article will enable us to
examine more Biblical passages, and consider
whether or not a rendering like “under the Law”
was chosen on linguistic, or some other grounds,
by its translators.
End of sample excerpt.
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J.K. McKee
(B.A., University of Oklahoma; M.A., Asbury
Theological Seminary) is the editor of TNN
Online (www.tnnonline.net) and is a Messianic
apologist.
He is a 2009 recipient of the Zondervan
Biblical Languages Award for Greek.
He
is author of
numerous books, dealing with a wide range of
topics that are important for today’s
Messianic Believers. He has also written many articles on
theological issues,
and is presently focusing his attention on Messianic commentaries
of various books of the Bible.
NOTES
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