Obedience to Jesus is a great thing. But, obedience to what?

Galatians 5:1-5, “1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.”

Paul’s Galatians letter has a very pointed context. The “yoke of bondage” in Galatians 5:1 is directly referencing the Mosaic law. So is “the law of sin and death” in Romans 8:2.

Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

Who else besides the Jews in the first century were in bondage to the Mosaic law? Nobody.

A key verse in Galatians is 5:11, “And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.”

Paul absolutely knew that the Mosaic covenant was fulfilled, laid aside, done away with, abrogated, cancelled, and ended on the cross in AD 31 for those who were under it, which was exclusively the Jews.

By the way, the tearing of Israel’s temple veil from top to bottom at the very moment of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is a certain giveaway that the Mosaic covenant ended right then and there.

Nobody today is under this “yoke of bondage” (Mosaic covenant and law), so one must seriously consider “the problem” that somebody needs to be saved out from today. Nobody today has a law problem. And the only persons who were ever under the Mosaic covenant and law was nationalistic Israel that we see in the Bible, even as the Mosaic covenant and law was fulfilled, done away with, and ended on the cross in AD 31.

Paul knew “the law” was the Mosaic law. This is easily shown in Roman’s 8:2-3, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from 👉the law of sin and death.👈 3 For what 👉the law could not do,👈 in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:”

The Mosaic covenant and law began in ca. 1500 BC at Mount Sinai with Moses, and there’s no splitting the Mosaic covenant and law into various laws. It’s one entire covenant and law, and when Israel’s old covenant ends, this is the exact moment when their new covenant begins, which ending and beginning took place on the cross in AD 31.

For a Jew, the law was the schoolmaster UNTIL Jesus came.

Galatians 3:24-25, “24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”

Paul also calls the Ten Commandments the ministry of death in 2 Corinthians 3:7, “But if the ministration of death, 👉written and engraven in stones,👈 was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:”

It’s also called the ministry of condemnation in verse 9, “For if 👉the ministration of condemnation👈 be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 11 For if that 👉which is done away was glorious,👈 much more that which remaineth is glorious.”

The flesh (sinful nature) in somebody LOVES the law! It becomes a way to measure one’s behavior, as in “I’m doing good today and I feel great” and “I’m screwing up today, but I’ll try harder”. Somebody who loves performance with the law can’t fathom a walk in the Holy Spirit. A walk in the Holy Spirit speaks towards intimacy of relationship with Jesus, and this is not about “do not handle, do not touch, do not taste”.

Paul says in Colossians that these rules and codes do well for making somebody APPEAR wise in the worship of their self will, in fake humility, and in abasing one’s body. But these rules and codes can do NOTHING when it comes to the flesh that has an insatiable appetite. The rules and codes FEED the flesh in somebody.

A walk in the Holy Spirit is about intimacy of relationship with Jesus, like Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus.

Colossians 2:20-23, “20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not; 22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body: not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.”

The law of the Spirit of life in Jesus is what a true Christian is under. And nobody at all today is under the Mosaic covenant and law that was done away with on the cross in AD 31. Again, the only nation that ever had the law was Israel, which law began in ca. 1500 BC at Mount Sinai with Moses and ended in AD 31.

Paul knew that if somebody was wanting to obey the least of the precepts in the law, this person was then obligated to go about obeying the WHOLE of the law. There was no picking and choosing. And to break the least of the precepts in the law then means this person is branded a lawbreaker under the whole of the law. It is a perpetual cycle of trying to perform the best you can and screwing up. There’s a good reason that Paul called the law “the ministry of death” and “the ministry of condemnation”.

Galatians 5:2-4, “2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.”

James 2:10, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

Galatians 5:18, “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”

Paul says in Romans 6:14, “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”

Later in 2 Corinthians 3, Paul says, “14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in 👉the reading of the old testament; [covenant] 👈 which vail is done away in Christ. 15 But even unto this day, [2000 years ago] 👉 when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.👈 16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.”

“The reading of the old covenant” and “when Moses is read” absolutely means the observing and wanting to be obedient to the Mosaic law.

Paul knew that a veil was upon somebody’s heart when they wanted to go about reading and trying to obey Moses. Paul was set free from the law, so he knew better.

And I already mentioned Galatians 5:11, “And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.”

If Paul was “preaching circumcision” (which means the Mosaic law), he would be buddy buddy with those who went about preaching and obeying the Mosaic law. But he was getting persecuted instead of being buddy buddy! Why? Paul knew that if he was preaching the Mosaic law, there would be no persecution from the law lovers, for he would be “speaking their language” and everything would be just fine. But Paul preached the cross! And the law lovers knew the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was radically scandalous!

Then there’s Hebrews 7:12, “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.”

Then there’s Hebrews 7:18-19, “18 For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. 19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.”

Also Hebrews 10:8-10, “8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; 9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. 👉He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.👈 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Also Colossians 2:14, “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

There’s a lot more teaching in the New Testament that shows that obedience is about a walk in the Holy Spirit, which is about intimacy of relationship with Jesus in, by, and through God the Holy Spirit dwelling in you.