Law, Christ and Salvation

What you'll learn

Explain how the Mosaic Law relates to the new covenant using Acts 15, Galatians, Hebrews and Colossians
Describe the range of Hebrew Israelite views of Christ and the Holy Spirit and answer them from Scripture
Answer sacred-name arguments and the rejection of Paul calmly, from history and Scripture

Why Torah-keeping matters to them

For most camps, keeping the commandments is not an optional extra. It is the mark of a true Israelite and often presented as necessary for salvation. Members keep the seventh-day Sabbath (sometimes counted from sunset Friday), the feasts of Leviticus 23, the food laws, and the fringes with a 'ribband of blue' (Numbers 15:38). They quote 'If ye love me, keep my commandments' (John 14:15) and point out that Jesus said he came 'not to destroy the law' (Matthew 5:17).

Begin by agreeing where you can. God's law is 'holy, and just, and good' (Romans 7:12). Christians should not be lawless. The Reformed tradition teaches that the moral law, summarised in the Ten Commandments, still shows us sin and guides grateful obedience (Westminster Confession 19). The question is not whether God's law matters, but how the Mosaic covenant relates to the new covenant in Christ.

It helps to know how the Reformed tradition divides the law of Moses (you met this in Know Your Faith, Lesson 12). The Westminster Confession distinguishes the moral law, summarised in the Ten Commandments, which binds everyone always; the ceremonial law (sacrifices, priesthood, feasts, food and purity laws), which pointed forward to Christ and is fulfilled in him; and the judicial or civil law, which governed Israel as a nation and expired with that state, except for its 'general equity' (WCF 19.3-5). Some evangelicals prefer to say the whole Mosaic covenant is fulfilled in Christ and its moral norms are restated in 'the law of Christ' (1 Corinthians 9:21; Galatians 6:2). Both views agree that keeping the ceremonial law does not make anyone right with God, and both call believers to holy obedience.

Where can you honestly agree with a Torah-keeping Israelite, and what is the real question between you?Show answer

You can agree that God's law is 'holy, and just, and good' (Romans 7:12) and that Christians should not be lawless. The Reformed tradition teaches that the moral law, summarised in the Ten Commandments, still shows us our sin and guides grateful obedience (Westminster Confession 19). The real question is not whether God's law matters but how the Mosaic covenant relates to the new covenant in Christ.

the law is holy and good
Christians are not lawless
moral law still guides (WCF 19)
question is old vs new covenant

Explain the three kinds of law in Moses that the Westminster Confession distinguishes, and say what happens to each in Christ.Show answer

The moral law, summarised in the Ten Commandments, binds everyone always. The ceremonial law (sacrifices, priesthood, feasts, food and purity laws) pointed forward to Christ and is fulfilled in him. The judicial or civil law governed Israel as a nation and expired with that state, apart from its general equity (WCF 19.3-5). Some evangelicals prefer to say the whole Mosaic covenant is fulfilled and its moral norms restated in the law of Christ, but both agree ceremonial law-keeping does not justify.

moral law binds always
ceremonial law fulfilled in Christ
judicial law expired with Israel's state
ceremonial keeping does not justify

The Law fulfilled in Christ

Acts 15: when some insisted Gentile believers must be circumcised and 'keep the law of Moses' (15:5), the apostles and elders refused to lay that 'yoke' on them (15:10). They asked only for a few things that would allow table fellowship and avoid idolatry and sexual immorality (15:20, 29).

Galatians 2-5: Paul says 'by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified' (2:16). The law was a 'schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ' (3:24), and now we are no longer under that schoolmaster (3:25). Requiring circumcision as necessary for justification is 'another gospel' (1:6-9) and means 'ye are fallen from grace' (5:4).

Hebrews 8-10: God promised a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34), which makes the first 'old' and 'ready to vanish away' (8:13). The Levitical priesthood and sacrifices were 'a shadow of good things to come' (10:1), fulfilled once for all in Christ's sacrifice (10:10-14).

Colossians 2:16-17: 'Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.'

Reformed Christians disagree among themselves about the Lord's Day: many hold that the Sabbath principle continues on the first day (Westminster Confession 21.7-8), while others see the Sabbath fulfilled in Christ's rest (Hebrews 4). Both reject the idea that seventh-day observance saves or identifies the true people of God.

How do Acts 15 and Galatians show that keeping the law of Moses is not a requirement for being justified?Show answer

In Acts 15 the apostles refused to lay the 'yoke' of circumcision and the law of Moses on Gentile believers, asking only for a few things that allowed table fellowship and avoided idolatry and immorality. In Galatians Paul says no one is justified by the works of the law (2:16); the law was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, and we are no longer under it (3:24-25). Making circumcision necessary for justification is 'another gospel' and falling from grace (1:6-9; 5:4).

Acts 15 refused the yoke
law as schoolmaster to Christ
works of law do not justify
adding circumcision = another gospel

What do Hebrews 8-10 and Colossians 2:16-17 teach about sacrifices, feasts and Sabbaths, and on what do Reformed Christians agree despite differing about the Lord's Day?Show answer

Hebrews says the new covenant makes the first one old and ready to vanish, and the priesthood and sacrifices were a shadow fulfilled once for all in Christ (8:13; 10:1, 10-14). Colossians 2:16-17 says no one should judge believers over food, holy days or Sabbaths, which are a shadow whose substance is Christ. Reformed Christians differ on whether the Sabbath principle continues on the first day or is fulfilled in Christ's rest, but both reject the idea that seventh-day observance saves or marks out God's true people.

new covenant makes the old obsolete
sacrifices and Sabbaths are shadows
substance is Christ
seventh-day keeping does not save

Grace at the centre

Behind the debates about Sabbaths and food is the most important question of all: how is a sinner made right with a holy God? In many camps the answer is, in practice, 'by being an Israelite and keeping the commandments'. The Reformed answer, which is simply the apostolic answer, is that we are justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (Romans 3:21-28; Ephesians 2:8-9).

This is not a Gentile shortcut. Abraham himself 'believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness' before he was circumcised and some four hundred and thirty years before the Law came at Sinai (Romans 4:3, 10; Galatians 3:17). David rejoiced in the man 'unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity' (Romans 4:6-8; Psalm 32:1-2). Obedience matters, but it is the fruit of salvation, not its root. Gently ask: 'Have you kept the commandments perfectly? If not, what will you say to the Most High about your sin?' That question opens the door to the cross.

Example: From the Sabbath to the cross

Brother Eli: You eat pork and worship on Sunday. You're lawless. The Most High says 'keep my commandments'.

You: I agree God's law is 'holy, and just, and good' (Romans 7:12). I don't want to be lawless. Can I ask you a question about the commandments?

Brother Eli: Go ahead.

You: Have you kept them perfectly, every day, in your thoughts as well as your actions?

Brother Eli: Nobody's perfect. But I'm trying, and I keep the Sabbath.

You: I respect how seriously you take it. But if we're judged by the law, trying isn't the standard. James says whoever offends 'in one point, he is guilty of all' (James 2:10). So what will you say to the Most High about the commandments you've broken?

Brother Eli: He's merciful to Israel.

You: He is merciful. But how does he forgive without ignoring justice? Abraham was counted righteous by faith before circumcision and before Sinai (Romans 4:3, 10). God's answer is a substitute: Christ bore the curse of the law for us (Galatians 3:13). We obey because we've been forgiven, not to earn it.

Brother Eli: So the Sabbath doesn't matter to you?

You: It matters because it points to the rest only Jesus gives (Matthew 11:28; Hebrews 4). Would you read Galatians 3 with me this week?

Why is Abraham such an important example when someone says we are saved by being Israelites and keeping the commandments?Show answer

Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness before he was circumcised and about 430 years before the Law came at Sinai (Romans 4:3, 10; Galatians 3:17). That shows justification by grace through faith is not a Gentile shortcut but the way God has always saved. Obedience matters, but it is the fruit of salvation, not its root.

counted righteous before circumcision
430 years before Sinai
not a Gentile shortcut
obedience is fruit, not root

Who is Christ in the camps?

Christology varies widely, so ask. Some groups (for example IUIC, as its name suggests) confess Christ as the Messiah and Saviour, sometimes using the name 'Yahawashi' and describing him as the Most High in the flesh. Others reject the Trinity as a pagan or Roman invention. Some teach a form of oneness (the Father, Son and Spirit as modes of one person), and some deny that the Spirit is a person, describing it as a force or the power of the Most High. A few groups treat Jesus as a prophet or a Black Israelite teacher rather than God. Ben Ammi's community does not regard itself as Christian at all.

Your answers should be the same as for other anti-Trinitarian groups (you met the Trinity in Know Your Faith, Lesson 3, and the same texts in Jehovah's Witnesses, Lessons 2-3). Jesus is called God (John 1:1, 18; 20:28; Titus 2:13), shares the divine name (Philippians 2:9-11, quoting Isaiah 45:23), and is distinct from the Father (John 17:5). The Spirit speaks, can be grieved and lied to, and is called God (Acts 13:2; Ephesians 4:30; Acts 5:3-4). Salvation depends on the true Christ (John 8:24), not on the right genealogy.

Why should you ask someone what their camp believes about Christ before answering? Describe the range of views.Show answer

Christology varies widely between camps. Some, like IUIC, confess Christ as Messiah and Saviour and even as the Most High in the flesh; others reject the Trinity as pagan, teach a oneness view, or deny the Spirit is a person. A few treat Jesus as only a prophet or teacher, and Ben Ammi's community does not regard itself as Christian at all, so you must ask rather than assume.

views vary widely
some confess Christ as Saviour
some reject Trinity or the Spirit's personhood
some see Jesus as only a prophet

Which texts would you use to show that Jesus is God and that the Holy Spirit is a person?Show answer

Jesus is called God (John 1:1, 18; 20:28; Titus 2:13), shares the divine name (Philippians 2:9-11, quoting Isaiah 45:23), and is distinct from the Father (John 17:5). The Spirit speaks (Acts 13:2), can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30), can be lied to and is called God (Acts 5:3-4). These are the same answers you would give any anti-Trinitarian group, because salvation depends on the true Christ (John 8:24).

Jesus called God (John 20:28)
shares the divine name (Philippians 2)
Spirit speaks and can be grieved
salvation depends on the true Christ

The name game

Many camps insist that the 'true names' are Yahawah (the Father) and Yahawashi (the Son), and that saying 'Jesus' or 'God' honours pagan deities. You will hear arguments such as 'Jesus means Hail Zeus' or 'there was no J in 1611'.

Answer gently with facts. The letter J developed from I over centuries; English 'Jesus' comes through Latin Iesus from Greek Iesous, which is how the New Testament writers themselves, inspired by the Spirit, rendered the Hebrew Yeshua/Yehoshua. The apostles wrote 'Iesous' and 'Theos' and 'Kyrios' in Greek, so God evidently does not require Hebrew pronunciation for true worship (Acts 2:8-11 shows the gospel heard in many languages). The exact ancient pronunciation of the divine name YHWH is uncertain; scholars generally favour something like 'Yahweh'. The form 'Yahawashi' is not attested in ancient Hebrew sources. Salvation comes by calling on the person (Romans 10:13), not by a correct accent.

How would you gently answer someone who says that saying 'Jesus' calls on a pagan god and that we must say 'Yahawashi'?Show answer

The letter J developed from I over centuries, and 'Jesus' comes through Latin Iesus from Greek Iesous, which is how the inspired New Testament writers themselves rendered Yeshua. The apostles wrote 'Iesous', 'Theos' and 'Kyrios' in Greek, so God does not require Hebrew pronunciation for true worship. The exact pronunciation of YHWH is uncertain, and the form 'Yahawashi' is not found in ancient Hebrew sources; salvation comes by calling on the person, not by the right accent (Romans 10:13).

J developed from I
apostles wrote in Greek (Iesous)
'Yahawashi' not ancient
call on the person, not an accent

What about Paul?

Most One West camps accept Paul and quote him often. Some Torah-centred groups, however, call him a false apostle who abolished the Law. Answer by showing that Peter accepted Paul's letters as 'scriptures' (2 Peter 3:15-16), that the Jerusalem apostles gave him 'the right hands of fellowship' (Galatians 2:9), and that Luke's account in Acts 9, 15 and 21 shows Paul working with the Jerusalem church. Paul did not despise the Law; he 'established' it by showing its true purpose (Romans 3:31). Rejecting Paul requires rejecting Acts, Peter and much of the New Testament, which leaves the person with no stable Bible at all.

Why does rejecting Paul leave a person 'with no stable Bible at all'?Show answer

Peter accepted Paul's letters as Scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16), the Jerusalem apostles gave him the right hand of fellowship (Galatians 2:9), and Acts shows him working with the Jerusalem church. So to reject Paul you must also reject Acts, Peter and much of the New Testament. Paul did not despise the Law; he established it by showing its true purpose (Romans 3:31).

Peter called Paul's letters Scripture
apostles accepted him
Acts shows him with Jerusalem church
rejecting Paul means rejecting much of NT

In their own words

“If you don't keep the Sabbath and the commandments you are a sinner, because sin is the transgression of the law.” (1 John 3:4 (KJV); Exodus 31:16)

“Christ said he did not come to destroy the law, and not one jot or tittle will pass.” (Matthew 5:17-18)

“The Most High's name is Yahawah and his Son is Yahawashi; 'Jesus' is a Greek pagan name.” (ISUPK, GMS and IUIC teaching)

“The Trinity was invented by Rome at the Council of Nicaea in 325.” (Common camp claim, shared with other anti-Trinitarian groups)

“The feasts are 'a statute for ever in all your generations'.” (Leviticus 23:14, 21, 31, 41)

Key texts

Acts 15:5-11, 28-29: The apostolic council refused to require Gentile believers to keep the law of Moses. The decisive New Testament ruling.
Galatians 2:16; 3:23-25; 5:1-4: Justification is by faith, not works of the law; the law was a schoolmaster until Christ.
Hebrews 8:6-13; 10:1-14: The new covenant makes the old obsolete; Christ's single sacrifice fulfils what the shadows pointed to.
Colossians 2:16-17: Food laws, feasts, new moons and Sabbaths are shadows; the substance is Christ.
Matthew 5:17-18: Jesus fulfils the Law and Prophets. Use it to show fulfilment, not abolition and not continuation unchanged.
John 20:28; Titus 2:13: Christ is called God directly. Key for camps that deny his deity.

Objections and answers

Try answering each one yourself before you open the response.

“Jesus said not one jot or tittle shall pass from the law. So we must keep all of it.”Show a response

Notice the rest of the sentence: 'till all be fulfilled' (Matthew 5:18). Jesus came to 'fulfil' (5:17), which means bringing the Law to its intended goal. In the same Gospel he declares himself Lord of the Sabbath (12:8), and Mark says that by his teaching he 'purged all meats' (Mark 7:19). The Law still stands as God's Word: its moral demands reveal his character, and its sacrifices, priesthood and feasts are fulfilled in him (Hebrews 10:1). Also be consistent: nobody today keeps the whole Law, because there is no temple, altar or Levitical priesthood. Hebrews says that was God's plan, since Christ is our high priest and final sacrifice.

“Sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). If you break the Sabbath, you're sinning.”Show a response

Yes, sin is lawlessness, and none of us has kept God's law perfectly, including the Sabbath as Moses gave it (Exodus 35:3 forbids kindling a fire). That is why we need a Saviour, not a better effort. John, in the same letter, says that if we confess our sins Christ cleanses us (1 John 1:9) and that his commandment is to believe on the name of his Son and love one another (3:23). Paul tells believers not to let anyone judge them about sabbath days, because they were a shadow of Christ (Colossians 2:16-17). So the issue is which covenant we are under: the new covenant in Christ's blood, where the law is written on the heart (Hebrews 8:10).

“Calling him 'Jesus' is calling on a pagan god. His real name is Yahawashi.”Show a response

The New Testament was written in Greek, and the apostles, writing by the Spirit, called him 'Iesous', the Greek form of Yeshua. If Greek forms were pagan, the apostles themselves would be guilty. 'Jesus' simply comes through Latin into English, and the letter J was originally a form of I. Acts 2 shows God deliberately making the gospel heard in many languages. What matters is that we call on the right person: the eternal Son who became flesh, died and rose. I'm happy to use 'Yeshua' with you if it helps us talk, but let's talk about who he is, not how we pronounce him.

“The Trinity was made up at Nicaea in 325 by the Roman Empire.”Show a response

Nicaea did not invent belief in Christ's deity; it defended it against Arius, who was teaching that the Son was created. Long before 325, Christians were worshipping Jesus: John calls him God (John 1:1; 20:28), Paul applies Yahweh's texts to him (Philippians 2:10-11; Romans 10:13), and early writers like Ignatius (around AD 110) called him 'our God'. Ironically, the Roman emperor Constantine's successors often favoured the Arian side. The doctrine of the Trinity is simply the way the church summarised what Scripture says: one God, the Father is God, the Son is God, the Spirit is God, and they are distinct.

“Sunday worship came from the Pope and Constantine. The Sabbath is the seventh day and you keep the day of the sun.”Show a response

I agree the seventh-day Sabbath was God's command to Israel, and I won't pretend Christians have always handled history well. But the first Christians, who were Jews, were already gathering on the first day of the week in the New Testament, long before any emperor: Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:2 show it, and John speaks of 'the Lord's day' (Revelation 1:10). That was the day Jesus rose. More importantly, Paul says no one should judge us 'in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ' (Colossians 2:16-17). Reformed Christians differ on how the Sabbath principle carries forward, but we agree no day saves anyone. Rest is found in a person: 'Come unto me... and I will give you rest' (Matthew 11:28).

“Your 'grace' just means you can sin all you want. That's why the churches are full of fornication and pork-eating hypocrites.”Show a response

There is hypocrisy in churches, and you're right to hate it. Paul hated it too. He anticipated your exact objection: 'Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid' (Romans 6:1-2). Grace doesn't make God's law unimportant; the law is 'holy, and just, and good' (Romans 7:12), and the moral law still shows us sin and guides our obedience. The difference is the order. We don't obey in order to be accepted; we obey because we have been accepted. Obedience is the fruit of salvation, not its root. Abraham was counted righteous by faith before circumcision and centuries before Sinai (Romans 4:3, 10). And let me ask you honestly: have you kept every commandment perfectly? If not, you need grace as much as I do, and grace that truly saves always changes a life (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Written task

A Hebrew Israelite friend tells you: 'You Christians are lawless. You eat pork, worship on Sunday and call on a pagan name. The Most High says keep my commandments.' Write a 300-400 word response that agrees where you can, explains the relationship between the Mosaic covenant and the new covenant, and moves the conversation to who Christ is.

Hand this in to Mr Scott. He will look for:

Affirms the goodness of God's law and avoids presenting Christianity as lawless
Uses at least three of Acts 15, Galatians 3, Hebrews 8-10 and Colossians 2:16-17 accurately
Handles the sacred-name argument factually and without mockery
Presents the deity of Christ and personhood of the Spirit from Scripture
Notes the Reformed position on the moral law or the Lord's Day fairly