Should we observe the law given to Moses?

The scriptures teach us that in Jesus Christ no one can be saved by the works of the law, but only by faith (with his works). The works of the law (circumcision/weekly Sabbath/tithing...) are not directly condemned by the Lord, but not only can they not save anyone in Jesus Christ, but the Lord condemns all Gentiles (people of the nations/non-Jews) who cling to them and want to be justified by them; this is what Paul said to the Galatians (Galatians 3:6-14) (the Galatians were Greeks and therefore Gentiles).

Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty from which Christ hath made us free, and submit no more to the yoke of bondage. 2 Behold, I say to you, Paul, that if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And moreover I testify to every man that is circumcised, that he is obliged to fulfil the whole law. 4 For Christ is of no use to you all, who want to be justified by the law, and you have fallen from grace. 5 But we hope in the spirit to be justified by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor foreskin has any effect, but faith working through love.

Romans 3:27 We conclude, then, that a man is justified by faith, without the works of the law. 28 Is [God] the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? 

The condition of salvation is the same for the Jew and the Gentile, but what most people do not understand is that there is a difference between the Jew and the Gentile, although both are justified by faith alone and not by the works of the law. Indeed the Lord came first to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles; and the Jews who converted to the Lord kept the law. When salvation was later offered to the Gentiles, some Jews wanted to impose the law on them, saying that they would not be saved unless they practised the works of the law given to Moses, but the apostles opposed this by the will of God:

Acts 15:1 Now there were some who came from Judea, teaching the brethren, saying: Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you can`t be saved. 2 When therefore a great contention and dispute arose between Paul and Barnabas and them, it was determined that Paul and Barnabas and some of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders, to deal with the matter. 3 Being therefore sent forth by the assembly, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles; and they gave great joy to all the brothers. 4 When they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the assembly, and the apostles and elders, and told all the things which God had done through them. 5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees, who believed, rose up, saying that the Gentiles should be circumcised, and that they should keep the law of Moses. 6 Then the apostles and the elders gathered together to consider the matter. 7 When there was much contention, Peter stood up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that God chose me from among us long ago, that the Gentiles might hear the word of the gospel from me, and believe. 8 God, who knows the ways, testified to them, giving them the Holy Spirit as well as to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore, why do you tempt God, putting on the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that we shall be saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, even as they. 

It was acceptable for the Jews of the apostles' time, being under the law before the coming of Jesus Christ, to keep the law, though not justified by it, but it is unacceptable for us (Gentiles) to want to put ourselves under the yoke of the law, so Paul says that if we have been called as free men (Gentiles), we are to remain free and not be yoked to the law, but if the slave (Jew according to the flesh) on the other hand can be set free then let him become free from the law, however this was not an obligation for the Jews who were under the law before they came to Christ:

1 Corinthians 7:17 But let every man behave according to the gift which he hath received of God, every man as the Lord hath called him: and so I command in all the churches. 18 Is anyone called while he is circumcised? let him not take off his foreskin. If anyone is called in the foreskin, let him not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing, and the foreskin is also nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. 20 Let every man keep the same condition in which he was when he was called. 21 If you are called while you are a slave, do not be troubled; but if you can be set free, use it instead: 22 For he who is called to our Lord while he is a slave is the Lord's freedman; and he who is called while he is free is Christ's slave. 23 You were bought with a price; do not become the slaves of men. 24 [My] brethren, let every man keep the same condition towards God as he was when he was called.

We understand that neither the Jew nor the Gentile can be saved by the works of the law, but only by faith with its works (for faith without works is dead). The scriptures teach us that the whole law is fulfilled in these two commandments: You shall love your God with all your being, and you shall love your neighbour as yourself; and to understand these two commandments in depth so that you can put them into practice I invite you to read the other teachings I share on this website.

Many people think that there are confusions in the scriptures (apart from the fact that the translations are not perfect), especially concerning the practice of the law given to Moses; because of the fact that Paul taught not to practice the works of the law, and at the same time he practiced them himself; but there is an explanation for this and I will try to give it to you with the help of the Lord.

Paul knew perfectly well that the works of the law cannot save anyone; however, at that time the new covenant was (as the name implies) brand new, and the Jews who had previously been under the law had not understood this change. When salvation by faith was manifested to the Gentiles, it is evident that the condition of salvation was the same for the Jews as for the Gentiles, which means that if the Gentiles were saved without the law, the Jews could also be saved without the law; that is why it is written that no one will be justified by the works of the law, but that all will be justified by faith

All the ordinances of the law (carnal ordinances) were a shadow of the spiritual things that were to come, that is, the things that pertain to the new covenant (Colossians 2:16-23) (Hebrews 10). The new covenant is totally spiritual, which means that the Law of this covenant is spiritual, and therefore it does not consist of carnal ordinances like the old covenant (Romans 7:14). No work of the law can justify the believer and therefore none is saving.

Why then did Paul himself practice the works of the law? Why did he practice carnal acts that do not save? The answer is very simple: he did it to apply the spiritual Law of Christ which is CHARITY. It was out of charity that Paul did all these things, in order to win the Jews and not to scandalise them. That is why he says:

1 Corinthians 9:19 For though I am at liberty to all, yet I have made myself subservient to all, that I might win more people. 20 And I made myself to be to the Jews as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to those who are under the Law, as if I were under the Law, that I might gain those who are under the Law; 21 To those who are without the Law, as if I were without the Law (though I am not without the Law as to God, but I am under the Law of Christ), that I might gain those who are without the Law 22 I have made myself as weak to the weak, that I might gain the weak; I have made myself all things to all, that I might save some.

So Paul took it upon himself, even though he knew that these things could not save anyone in themselves, to win hearts, to save as many as possible, for he knew that many Jews were scandalized to see a Jew who was not circumcised or who did not practice the law given to Moses, and we know that Paul was a Jew. However, he did not give in to the demands of the Jews to impose the law on the Gentiles, so that he would not be a stumbling block or a scandal to the Gentiles by imposing on them a yoke that was not theirs; therefore he circumcised Timothy who had a Jewish mother:

Acts 16:3 [Therefore] Paul desired him to go with him; and taking him with him, he circumcised him, because of the Jews that were in those places: for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

But he refused to subject Titus to circumcision and did not yield to the Jews who wanted to impose it on him:

Galatians 2:3 Nor did they compel Titus, who was with me, to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4 And this was because of the false brethren who had crept into [the church], and had smuggled in to spy out our liberty, which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us back into bondage. 5 And we did not give in to them in any way, not even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain among you. 

It was therefore in order not to scandalise the Jews and to win them for Christ that Paul submitted to the law as a Jew, knowing that the law could not save him, but he acted in charity, for he himself says that if we are a stumbling block or a scandal to a brother, we do not act in charity (Romans 14:13-21)

1 Corinthians 8:9 But beware lest this liberty which you have be a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you, who have knowledge, sitting at table in the temple of idols, will not the conscience of him who is weak be led to eat things sacrificed to the idol? 11 And so your brother who is weak, for whom Christ died, will perish through your knowledge. 12 But when you do this to your brothers, and hurt their conscience, which is weak, you are sinning against Christ. 13 Therefore, if meat offends my brother, I will never eat flesh, so as not to offend my brother.

Romans 14:22 Have you faith? have faith in yourself before God. For blessed is he that condemns not himself in that which he approves. 23 But he that scruples of it is condemned if he eateth of it, because he eateth not in faith: and whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

These passages teach us that if we are an occasion of fall or scandal for our brothers who are weak in the faith, then we do not act according to charity, because if a brother is scandalized to see another brother eating sacrificial meat (for example), being weak in the faith and not having sufficient knowledge, he risks turning away from the faith (being scandalized in himself) ; And if the brother who is weak in faith and who is aware of the idol, eats sacrificial meat, thus going against his conviction, his conscience being defiled, he commits a sin, and thus the brother who ate it without being aware of the idol, and who thus incited the other brother to eat it, who was aware of the idol, thus became an occasion of fall for his brother who was weak, and made him fall into sin.

The law given to Moses was therefore never useful for salvation in Jesus Christ, and no carnal ordinance can save the believer, but only faith with its works can save us: faith and charity. Not only can the law not save anyone, but it was never given for the Gentiles, so being from the Gentiles, we do not have to submit to the works of the law, nor do we have to give in to those who want to impose it on us:

Acts 21:20 But when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Brother, thou seest how many thousands of the Jews have believed, and they are all zealous for the law. 21 Now they have been told that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise the children, nor to keep the customs. 22 What then should be done? The multitude will certainly be gathered together; for they will hear that you have come. 24 Take them with you, and purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses, that they may have their heads shaved, and that all may know that there is nothing of all that they have heard of you, but that you continue in the law. 25 But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have determined and written to them that they should observe nothing of the kind, but only that they should keep themselves from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from fornication. 26 Then Paul, having taken these men, and having purified himself with them, entered into the temple the next day, declaring the length of the days in which the purification would be completed, and when the offering would be presented for each of them.

Paul also never practiced the works of the law to please God, except out of charity, so as not to scandalise the Jews; which means that he did it before the Jews so as not to be scandalised, but he did not practice the works of the law when he was with the Gentiles, or alone, because they are useless for salvation. So let us understand that there is no contradiction in Paul's life and teaching, but it is simply that most people do not understand the meaning of the scriptures. It is useless to practice the works of the law while being a gentile, or alone, or in the presence of gentiles, and it is foolish to condemn those who do not practice the works of the law; on the contrary, it is the gentiles who want to please God by practicing the works of the law that are condemnable.

Therefore, whether Jew or Gentile, no one will be justified by the works of the law given to Moses, but only by faith (with his works):

Acts 13:37 But he whom God raised up saw no corruption. 38 Know therefore, brethren, that through him is preached to you the remission of sins; 39 and that through him all who believe are justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Galatians 3:17 This I say then, that as for the covenant which was before confirmed by God in Christ, the law which came four hundred and thirty years after, cannot annul it, to abolish the promise. 18 For if the inheritance is by the Law, it is not by the promise; and God gave it to Abraham by the promise. 19 What then is the purpose of the Law? it was added for the sake of transgressions, until the seed came to which the promise was made.

To conclude I will take a passage whose meaning is twisted by many believers, and I will try to explain it:

Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the Prophets: I am not come to destroy them, but to fulfil them. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall not pass, till all things be done. 19 He then who has broken one of these little commandments, and has taught men so, will be held the least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who has done and taught them will be held great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

In this passage, which many people use to say that we are to do the works of the law given to Moses, the Lord teaches that we are to do the Law and teach others to do the same; however, we must understand what Law He is talking about here. He is talking about the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets, and he differentiates between this Law and the Law practiced by the Scribes and Pharisees, saying that the righteousness of this Law surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisees. What Law is he talking about? It's very simple, Jesus is talking about charity, and he himself says:

Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second, like this one, is: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.

This is why, after Jesus assures us in Matthew 5 that nothing will disappear from the Law until heaven and earth pass away, he gives us a glimpse of the Law he is actually talking about: 

(Matthew 5:21-42)

Matthew 5:43 You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, and bless those who curse you, and do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you. 45 That you may be the children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and sends his rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love [only] those who love you, what reward will you have? Do not the sinners themselves do the same? 47 And if you show hospitality only to your brothers, what do you do more? 48 Be perfect therefore, as your Father in heaven is perfect.

This is the Law that Jesus spoke of, and of which not a single letter will disappear until heaven and earth have passed away. This Law is summed up in faith and charity, which consists not only in loving God with all your being and your neighbour as yourself, but also in loving your enemies.

Colossians 3:14 [be clothed] with love, which is the bond of perfection.

Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor foreskin has any effect, but faith working through love.