This is “The Inapplicability of Torah.” It is the final installment to our 3-part series within a series entitled “Where There is no Law There is no Transgression.”

Because I have so much content to cover today and I’m led to bring this series within a series to a close, I will only encourage you to, if you’ve not had the opportunity to listen to or read, Parts 1 and 2 in order to be familiar with some of what we’re going to cover today. Therefore, I will not rehash/review those installments. But rather, we will pick-up today where we left off in part-2 and bring this installment to a practical conclusion.

Our focus passage remains Romans 4:9-15, with particular attention paid to verse 15.

The Torah-Faith-Righteousness Connection

Shaul’s ultimate goal in our focus passage is to appeal to his Roman Messianic readers to choose righteousness that is derived from a trusting, obedient covenant relationship with Yehovah, and to reject the so-called righteousness that they once believed came only through their Jewishness—their oral and written Torah; their circumcision; their heritage and culture. They erroneously believed that their reliance on Torah for their justification made them favorable to Yah while their Gentile counterparts’ lack of Jewishness made them subject to Yah’s wrath and judgment. (We discuss in a series within a series this ideal of one’s eternal security resting upon one’s Jewishness. If you’ve not already read or listened to that series, I would humbly encourage you to do so if you’re so led.). And it was this erroneous belief that Shaul set out to refute in this portion of his letter.

Being Under the Law

When Torah is introduced to an individual in one form or another, violations of it, along with the prescribed punishment for violations of its commandments (I.e., the invoking of Yah’s righteous wrath) will bring that person “under the law”. That is, the one who possesses (I.e., possesses knowledge of Torah) is subject to Yah’s righteous wrath and judgment unless he or she enters into a faithful-obedient covenant relationship with Yah through a trusting faith in the Person and Ministry of Yahoshua Messiah.

Conversely, if an individual remains ignorant and devoid of any knowledge or possession of Torah, they are not subject to or “under the law.” But rather, these individuals are subject to Yah’s “natural moral laws” which any transgression thereof makes him/her subject to Yah’s wrath and judgment (Romans 1). And just as in the case of the one who is “under the law”, his or her only escape is by entering into a faithful-obedient covenant relationship with Yah through Yahoshua.

Final Work-up to our Focus Verse: An Examination of Romans 4:9-14

With that said, it’s now time to do a final work-up and examination of our focus passage of Romans 4:9-14 and a final explanation of our focus verse of Romans 4:15.

Romans 4:9-10

(9) Is this blessedness (that being the covenant blessings and promises) then for the circumcision or also for the uncircumcision? For we say, “faith was credited to Avraham as righteousness.” How then was it credited to him? Was he circumcised at the time, or not? No, he was not circumcised but uncircumcised (NET).

Shaul brings into question the truth or wisdom of one’s justification being a byproduct of one’s Jewishness, or rather, one’s circumcised, proselyte status. Was justification or the righteousness of Yah exclusive to the Jew? Or, was justification or righteousness inclusive of the non-Jews or the nations of the world?

In a sense, this verse is a continuation of the rhetorical argument the apostle posed to his Roman Messianic Jewish readers back in chapter 3. (We covered this rhetorical argument in detail in our discussion entitled “A Question of One’s Jewishness”.) And in order for us to accurately interpret and understand the point that the apostle is trying to convey here, we must take our focus passage and verse within the contextual framework of this letter, from chapter one all the way up to this passage. For what we have here before us is, in a broad sense, is a refutation of the actions and philosophy of the Judaizers or Influencers who were bent on forcing incoming believing Gentiles to convert to Judaism. And the issue that Paul had regarding this issue was not that converting to Judaism was a sin or a bad thing. But rather, the issue at hand was the religious—the spiritual—emphasis that the Judaizers/Influencers placed on a Gentile’s conversion to Judaism. As far as the Judaizers/Influencers were concerned, conversion to Judaism was a “salvific.” The coerced conversion of incoming believing Gentiles would cause those who went through with the conversion and undertook the rite of physical circumcision to place their eternal security, not in a covenant relationship with the Creator of the Universe, but rather in their pending Jewish status; what would ultimately become their Jewishness. Thus, as Shaul critically saw it, the bedrock of the Messianic Faith, which is that of a trusting faith in the Person and Ministry of Yahoshua Messiah would become null and void. Which would mean that their eternal security would be imperil.

Recall that we embarked on that series within a series entitled “A Question of One’s Jewishness” where we discussed the first-century religious Jewish mindset that held to the erroneous belief that one’s salvation and admittance into the congregation of Yisra’el was based entirely upon one’s Jewishness. And one’s Jewishness consisted of one’s Jewish heritage, biology, physical circumcised state, adherence to the written and oral laws/Torahs, and such. And last installment to this series within a series (The Role of Torah in the World) we discussed how one was deemed righteous only as a result of their adherence to Jewish sect-specific halachah—that is, adhering to a specific Jewish sect’s laws, traditions, and rules. Which meant that according to the Judaizers/Influencers of the Roman Messianic Assemblies, only those who were proselytized into their Jewish Messianic Sect through physical circumcision could (1) be admitted as members of their Messianic Assembly, and (2) be saved or be admitted into the Kingdom of Elohim. In other words: No Proselytized Gentiles Allowed. Salvation and Righteousness belonged exclusively to the religious Jew.

Evidence of this erroneous mindset is found in certain medieval midrashic writings such as Pesikta Rabbati 45 (185b). Midrash, by the way, is a genre of rabbinic literature that contains Jewish Biblical exegesis (critical interpretation of Hebrew texts), hermeneutics (interpretation of biblical passages), and compilations of homilies (rabbinic commentaries that follow a prescribed reading of a Hebrew text).

The irony in this is that Yah never made any such stipulation that one’s righteousness was derived from one’s adherence to a sect’s set of established traditions, laws, and rules; for that matter, one’s Jewishness. The fact remains that Yah reckons one righteous based solely upon his or her trusting Faith in Him. And so it is that we find here in our focus passage work-up of verses 9 and 10 Shaul making the case that no Gentile need become a proselyte in order to be forgiven their sins and to be reckoned righteous before the Creator of the Universe, which of course was contrary to first-century Jewish conventional wisdom. And to prove his point, the apostle to the Gentiles draws upon the life-example of Avraham, whom Shaul points out was deemed righteous by Yah before he was physically circumcised.

I would add to the understanding and proof of this paradigm (that is of Avraham’s faith-producing righteousness coming before his obedience), that one may view the Feasts of Yah from the perspective of a convert’s spiritual journey. Pesach is emblematic of our Master Yahoshua’s atoning sacrifice and ministry that makes our entering a faith-based covenant relationship with the Creator of the Universe possible. And then, emblematic of the 7-day long Feast of Unleavened Bread (aka Chag HaMatzot), we begin and engage in the lifelong justification process—or rather becoming saved and being made righteous–which involves developing and maintaining a trusting-faithful relationship with Yehovah. In this portion of the journey, we are being saved; we are being justified and reckoned righteous before a holy and just God. We learn what it means to trust Father and reap the spiritual benefits of being in an intimate relationship with the Creator. Then Shavuot/Pentecost, where Yah’s precious Holy Spirit (I.e., His Ruach HaKodesh) begins to inscribe His Torah on the fleshly tablets of our hearts. In this portion of the journey, we begin to walk obediently in Yah’s Ways—His Torah—His instructions in righteousness—His lively oracles. And our obedience is facilitated by the work of the Holy Spirit/Ruach HaKodesh.

So, all in all, if we view this journey from the perspective of the Feasts of Yah, we see that obedience always follow faith and being reckoned righteous, which is consistent with Avraham’s journey and experience. Like Avraham, one enters the process of being justified and saved on the basis of his or her faith in advance of being Torah observant. And this being the case, logically speaking, the covenant blessings would not be exclusive to faithful and obedient Jews, but accessible to Gentiles as well.

Romans 4:11

And he (Avraham) received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, so that he would become the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised, that they too could have righteousness credited to them (NET).

Every English translation of verse 11 has Shaul referring to Avraham’s physical circumcision as “a sign” of the covenant relationship he enjoyed with the Creator of the Universe. More so, according to Shaul, the sign or mark of the physical circumcision was intended by Yah to serve as a reminder of the ultimate covenant promise of “Avraham’s seed blessing the nations—blessing the families of the earth (Genesis/Beresheit 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14). And of course, this blessing of the families or nations of the earth is none other than the Person and Ministry of our Master Yahoshua Messiah.

Beloved: the premise of, or as commentator Tim Hegg refers to it, physical circumcision, was that it was a sign of the “essence” of the Avrahamic covenant, which is where the Original Covenant brilliantly intersects and builds upon the Renewed Covenant.

Messianic Jewish thinking attaches specific spiritual importance to physical circumcision being applied to the male organ of procreation and the promise that in Avraham’s seed (that is, the Hebrew nation and ultimately the Yahoshua Messiah) all the nations or families of the earth would be blessed. Why? Because this points directly to the promised Son of the Covenant: Yeshua HaMashiyach.

Beyond this such thinking, the act of receiving physical circumcision was intended to be an outward sign of one’s trusting Faith in the Elohim of Yisra’el. It was never meant to be a fraternal emblem of one’s Jewishness. It was meant to be an outward show of one’s trusting covenant relationship with the Elohim of Avraham, Yitschaq, and Ya’achov.

For as Shaul attempted to convey to his Roman Messianic Jewish readers, Avraham’s trusting faith came many years before he and his household received the sign and seal of physical circumcision. And for Avraham to go through the ritual of physical circumcision, it would be a sign or mark of his trusting Faith in Yah and dedication to the Way of Life that Yah instructed him to walk in. And so for us today, obedience naturally flows from a trusting faith in the Creator of the Universe, through the Person and Ministry of Yahoshua Messiah.

From Avraham’s life story we see how his trusting faith in Yah led to him receiving the covenant promises. However, when Avraham’s faith was lacking and he instead placed his trust and faith in the ways of the flesh, as brilliantly seen in the Hagar incident, the outcome was not at all consistent with the covenant promises of Yah. The outcome of Avraham’s momentary, misguided trust in the ways of the flesh, prompted Avraham to return to that legendary trusting faith in the Creator of the Universe.

So here, Shaul puts forth the understanding that since Avraham walked in faith well before he received the mark of circumcision that proved his faith producing righteousness, that he (Avraham) became the “father of faith” or the “father of the faithful.” He is the father of those physically circumcised Jews who possess a trusting faith in Yah through Yahoshua Messiah. As well as he is the father of those who have not been led to receive physical circumcision, but who have a trusting faith in Yah through Yeshua Messiah. For the fact stands that Avraham set the example of faith for his seed—both circumcised and uncircumcised—to follow. And within that paradigm of being a seed of Avraham through faith, one is reckoned righteous by the court of heaven.

Romans 4:12

And he is also the father of the circumcised, who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Avraham possessed when he was still uncircumcised (NET).

The Apostle’s emphasis here is on the pre-circumcised faith of Avraham. This is the form and intensity of faith that Yah is calling for in terms of a would-be child of His. That child being of either the circumcision (I.e., a believing orthodox Jew) or an uncircumcised believing non-Jew/Gentile.

Now, it should go without saying that Avraham did in fact become the father of the biological, cultural, orthodox and religious Jew of this world. These are those who Shaul referred to as being of the circumcision.

However, more so, Avraham is also the father of the believing, circumcised, Messianic Jew as well as the believing, uncircumcised Gentile. In short, in accordance with the covenant that Yah made with him, Avraham became the father of the faithful as well as what some would refer to as the Jewish nation, by virtue of his trusting Faith in the Creator of the Universe.

However, as much as the apostle cherished his kinsmen, he recognized that the decisive factor that Shaul is addressing here is faith. Not circumcision or sect-specific halachah.

Let us not fall for the false impression that many within and outside our Faith Communities have: That physical circumcision has for all intents and purposes been done away and replaced by circumcision of the heart. Shaul meant no such thing here. The apostle’s emphasis, rather, was on the proper, as J.K. McKee so astutely puts it, “…sequence of events in the Torah would have it—secondarily to his (I.e., Avraham’s faith) in Yah” (”Romans for the practical Messianic,” pg. 106). In other words, physical circumcision must be viewed and treated as “a subsequent and external seal of that righteous status which Avraham already possessed as Yah’s free gift; it neither created nor enhanced that righteous status” (ibn; pg. 106). (We discussed the relevance of physical circumcision to Yah’s called out ones in Part 3 of our “A Question of One’s Jewishness” series within a series.) For as in Avraham’s case, physical circumcision is meant as “an outward and visible attestation of the status of righteousness (the byproduct of a trusting faithful covenant relationship with the Creator of the Universe) which he (Avraham) already possessed” (Ibn., pg. 107). One must first enter into and remain in a trusting faithful covenant relationship with Yah, and then, if so led by Yah’s Ruach HaKodesh, receive the mark of physical circumcision as a testimony or mark of one’s faithful covenant relationship. Bottom line beloved, physical circumcision or Torah-keeping as a whole, again as in the case of Avraham, must always come after righteousness that is conferred as a result of one’s trusting faith.

Romans 4:13

For the promise to Avraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith (NET).

The covenant promises were linked exclusively to Avraham’s faith. Consequently, our being partakers and inheritors of those same covenant promises (I.e., our being heirs of the commonwealth of Yisra’el) is linked exclusively to our trusting faith in Yah through Yahoshua Messiah. To link one’s inheritance of the covenant promises to one’s halachah and or keeping of Torah/Law is to deny the truth of Scripture. For the covenant promise existed well before Torah was gifted to us at Mount Sinai. Avraham’s righteousness was inextricably linked to the Promised Son Yitschaq (aka Isaac)—His seed—his covenant promised descendants (that being the nation of Yisrael), but more so, to The Seed. The Seed that would crush the head of the serpent and bring humanity back to a true and substantive relationship with Yah and usher in Yah’s eternal Kingdom here on earth. Of this Yahoshua our Master said that “father Avraham was overjoyed to see [His] day, he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56; NET).

According to the apostle, it is the restoration of all things that were taken from us by the enemy (I.e., the covenant promises in its grandest revelation) that will be inherited by those that enter and remain in a trusting, faithful covenant relationship with the Creator of the Universe through Yahoshua Messiah:

(21) So then, no more boasting about mere mortals! For everything belongs to you, (22) whether Shaul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future. Everything belongs to you (you, being the faithful Corinthian who is in covenant with Yah), (23) and you belong to Mashiyach, and Mashiyach belongs to Yah (1 Corinthians 3; NET modified).

In other words, beloved, we who are in a trusting, faithful relationship with Yah through Yahoshua, are heirs of Avraham, who himself received the promise of inheriting the whole world. Thus, we stand to inherit everything as well. And like Avraham, this promise of inheriting the world is not achieved through sect-specific halachah, or for that matter, simple Torah-keeping. But rather, through the righteousness that comes by way of our Trusting Faith.

Many in Judaism and in sectors of our Faith Community will argue, citing passages such as Genesis/Beresheit 26:2-5, that Avraham’s obedience resulted in him receiving the blessings of the covenant promises, which may in and of itself seem contradictory to all that we’ve been talking about here as it relates to faith coming before obedience.

But the truth of the matter is this: Indeed, as the passage declares, Yitschaq received Yah’s divine protection and blessings; his seed received possession of the Land of Canaan and his descendants made as numerous as the stars; and the Messiah would come through his line because Avraham obeyed Yah and “kept Yah’s commandments, statutes and laws” (Genesis 26:5).

But let’s not be confused here. It was Avraham’s trusting faith in Yah that netted Him Yah’s righteousness and friend-status and compelled his obedience. Avraham’s faith came first, followed by his obedience.

A proper interpretation of “For the promise to Avraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law/Torah” should simply be that Yah’s instructions in righteousness were never meant or intended to save anyone. But rather, salvation and righteousness came to Avraham in accordance with his trusting faith alone, which compelled him to be obedient to Yah’s instructions; all of which pleased Yah and brought about the covenant promises which we are engrafted heirs to. For faith comes first then obedience. And so, as the half-brother of our Master so elegantly wrote, without obedience, one’s faith is dead; and without works, one’s faith is dead as well (James 2).

Romans 4:14

For if they (religious, unbelieving Jews) become heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise (that being the covenant promises) is nullified (NET).

Those who have been in our faith community any appreciable length of time would know of individuals who have placed all their spiritual eggs or marbles into Torah-keeping (both written and oral). In fact, one would rarely if ever hear a word about faith come out of their mouths. These want so much to look and act Jewish that they abandon and or avoid any talk or teaching having to do with faith. Unfortunately, this obsession and misplaced focus (that is, of Torah-Torah-Torah) nwill not lead one to righteousness nor salvation.

When Yah made the covenant promises to Avraham, He did not condition those promises on Avraham being circumcised or on him being Torah-observant. But rather, those covenant promises were made to Avraham by virtue of Yah making a unilateral promise to Avraham and to his seed. And all that Avraham would need do to receive those covenant promises was to simply trust Yah.

Conversely, and hypothetically speaking, if Yah would have commanded Avraham to be circumcised and instructed to keep His Torah and then receive the covenant blessings—which He did not—but if Yah would have orchestrated events as such, then there’d be no need for Avraham to have a trusting, faithful relationship with the Almighty in order to inherit those covenant blessings.

It’s sort of akin to one going to the store, picking up an item that you desire, going up to the counter, paying for it, and then walking out of the store with that desired item in your hands. You just completed a financial transaction: You received goods or even a service in exchange for your obedience: You followed a procedure of paying for the item(s) you wanted, and then you received the desired items.

However, if that same item you wanted was promised to be given to you or gifted to you by someone (assuming with no strings attached), all you needed to do to receive that item was to simply wait and trust that person to eventually get it to you.

If you decided to not wait to receive that item, but instead went to the store and purchased the item yourself, you would have in principle voided the promise of being given that desired item.

Let’s look at the example of Avraham again. Avraham was promised of Yah a son who would be his heir. Years passed after Yah made the promise of a son to Avraham and Avraham got antsy because he and Sarah had gone pass their childbearing years without having that promised heir or son. So what did the couple do? Well, the couple rationalized that in order to bring forth the promise of an heir/son, Sarah, who was barren at the time, would have to put forth a substitute or surrogate to bring Avraham’s heir into the world. And in Sarah offering her handmaid Hagar to Avraham for purposes of forcing the promise of an heir, Avraham shifted his Trust in Yah (I.e., he essentially voided his faith in Yah) to that of the flesh—the carnal. Avraham trusted that Hagar would successfully bear him a son and heir and through her the covenant promise of an heir would be fulfilled.

Hagar, consequently, did bear Avraham a son—Ishmael, unfortunately to much turmoil and family/household strife. But the reality is that Hagar did not bear Avraham the covenant promised heir. Abba instead had to correct Avraham’s error and get him back on track of trusting Him for the promised heir of the covenant.

You see, Yah was about doing the heavy lifting here and He alone bringing about the covenant promises to Avraham and his seed. All Avraham had to do was trust that Yah would bring about that which He’d promised. Avraham’s trust in Yah merited him Yah’s righteousness and Avraham’s trusting covenant relationship with Yah also merited Him friendship status with Yah (Genesis/Beresheit 15:6; cf. James/Ya’achov 2:23).

And it is this trusting faith in Yah—this reliance on Yah doing the heavy lifting for us—that will ultimately bring us into a justified state before Yah and ultimately entry into the Kingdom of Yah. In response to our trusting, faithful relationship with Yah, we are compelled to walk in His Ways because we love our Heavenly Father and we want to please Him. And most importantly, we are obedient because we realize it is the absolute right thing to do.

Making Sense of Romans 4:15

For Torah is a worker of wrath: Because where no instruction is, there is no transgression of Torah.

In his commentary, Andrew Gabriel Roth, editor and interpreter of the AENT, rightly interprets this verse from the perspective of where there is no Torah provision against an action, then there is no transgression. Essentially, Shaul was making here a rhetorical statement to his religious Messianic Jewish readers.

Contrary to the anti-Torah rhetoric of denominationalists who use this verse as one of their proof-passages, the apostle appears to be saying rather, that “wherever Torah is not being taught, people will do what is right in their own eyes…” Which is pretty much true. Because the world rejects Yah and His ways. And it is this unconverted human attitude that Shaul asserts makes them subject to Yah’s wrath and judgment outside the framework of Torah (Romans 1).

So, with this understanding in mind, we as Yah’s set-apart people should recognize that Torah was never meant to be OUR condemnatory instrument or weapon to beat unbelieving humanity about their heads: Not by Yah, nor by Yah’s set-apart people against others.

The religious Jew of Shaul’s day believed that by virtue of him being a steward of Yah’s oracles—Yah’s Torah—and their Jewishness, that they were justified/made righteous before a holy and righteous Elohim. And therefore they believed themselves superior to their Gentile counterparts in the eyes of Elohim. Thus, they proudly stood in judgment against and condemnation of the Gentile.

In response to this erroneous notion, Shaul, here and in other areas of this same letter, was simply pointing out to his readers that all have sinned—both Jew and Gentile alike—and have fallen short of Yah’s glorious standards of righteous living (Romans 3:23). Therefore, all who have not placed their faith/trust in the Person and Ministries of Yahoshua Messiah will be subject to Yah’s righteous wrath. Those who are so-called people of the Book (I.e., Catholics, Denominationalists, Jews, Messianics, etc.) will be judged within the framework of Torah because of their transgressions against Yah’s Torah, while those outside of any understanding of Torah will be judged outside the framework of Torah (Romans 1:18-2:6). (We discuss what this all means in our series within a series “Being Under the Law.” And if you’ve not had the opportunity to read or listen to any of those posts, we humble encourage you to do so as you are so led.)

So, we who have the mind of Messiah must keep Torah in a proper perspective. First must come faith in the Person and Ministry of Yeshua Messiah. That which flows from a Trusting Faith, as seen in the example and life of Avraham, is obedience to Yah’s instructions in righteousness—Yah’s written Torah.

You see, Yah never intended for Torah to be the instrument by which we are justified before Him. But rather, Torah serves as a decipher or identifier of sin and the penalties that are associated with incidents of sin. It applies only to Yah’s chosen ones as well as those who have knowledge or possession of it. It does not apply to those who have no knowledge of Yah and His Ways/instructions in righteousness.

Therefore, it should be clear to any with eyes to see and ears to hear that Yah’s people are held to a higher standard than people of the world. Why? Because we know better. We know Yah’s ways and His Will. We have no excuse for living outside Yah’s Ways and His Will. Thus, those who possess knowledge of Yah’s Torah who are not in a trusting, obedient covenant relationship with the Almighty through the Person and Ministry of Yeshua, are subject to the wrath of Yah; the penalties of Torah which is death and ultimately eternal separation from Yah.

So, when it comes to us having to deal with others who may not have an understanding of Torah as we do, we have to be patient, loving, and show understanding towards them. They are lacking in understanding. They’ve not entered into the journey that we have been called to. Or maybe they have entered the journey we’ve been called to, but they are not at the same place that we are in our journey. Thus, it falls to us to recognize that and be available to any who may seek our knowledge and understanding.

And so, we cannot judge or condemn folks on their keeping or lack of Torah keeping/living.

Paul’s Righteous Perspective Laid Out

Shaul attempted to put into proper perspective the realities of Torah in relation to the circumcised believing and non-believing Jew, as well as the believing and non-believing uncircumcised Gentile.

The way the apostle saw it, and I absolutely agree with his assessment, was that the believing Gentiles that had begun streaming into the Roman Messianic Assemblies would not have any true knowledge of Torah. Thus, they would not have been subject to the stipulations of Torah since they could not have possibly transgressed that which was not part of their knowledge base and life. Consequently, the Roman Judaizers/Influencers had no ground upon which to judge the so-called Gentile transgressors of Torah nor consider them common or unclean.

This hearkens back to the true meaning of the vision that the Apostle Shimon Keefa (aka Peter) had on that rooftop in Joppa just before Yahoshua sent him to witness and evangelize the Roman Centurion Cornelius. Upon entering Cornelius’ home, Keefa—Peter—tells Cornelius:

“…You know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile, yet Yah has shown me that I should call no person defiled or ritually unclean” (Acts 10:28; NET modified).

The erroneous mindset of the religious Jew towards any and all Gentiles in Shaul’s day was that they were inherently defiled and ritually unclean—violators of Torah. This of course was derived from a manipulation and misinterpretation of the Written Torah by way of their Oral Traditions and teachings. For the Oral Tradition taught that because Gentiles were inherently idolaters, they must be avoided by any and all Torah-observant Jews. (We spoke about this earlier in this post.)

But the truth of the matter is that Father Yah did not see the Gentile as such. He saw them just as He saw the Jew: sinners worthy of righteous wrath and judgment. But Yah also saw the Gentile, as He also saw the Jew: sinners worthy of saving and adopting as His beloved children. And so Abba has never been a respecter or person as the religious Jew of Shaul’s day erroneously believed (Deuteronomy/Devarim 10:17; 2 Chronicles 19:7; Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25; 1 Peter 1:17).

And so, it seems that we find here, in our focus passage, Shaul conveying to his Roman readers, that any and all thoughts of trying to clean-up the Gentiles through proselytizing them—converting them to Judaism—was fool-hearty. They (the converted, faithful, uncircumcised Gentiles) were not condemned by their Torahs, for Torah did not apply to them during their pre-conversion lives. Thus the converted Gentiles were not to be viewed, judged, nor condemned as transgressors or violators of Torah since the Torah was not known to them.

But rather, the faithless Jew stood subject to Torah because he/she were transgressors of the very instrument they condemned the Gentile with. Their lack or refusal to place their trusting faith in Yah through the Person and Ministry of Yahoshua, made them subject to Yah’s wrath and judgment.

And this was the perspective and general understanding of our focus passage and verse.

Practical Messianic Halachah Application of our Focus Passage and Verse

From a practical Messianic Halachah standpoint, our focus passage should serve as a reminder for us to keep Torah in its proper perspective in our walk in Mashiyach. To not stand in condemnation against those who may not understand Yah’s Way of life the way we do or who may despise our way of life. But rather, let us love the foreigner and those who are afar off from Yah’s Covenant promises, knowing that Yah is no respecter of person and that He is calling not just the circumcised religious Jew to salvation and a covenant relationship with the Creator of the Universe through Yahoshua our Messiah, but also the nation peoples of the world (Ephesians 2:13-17).

So then, it falls to us, as Yah’s chosen ones, to first and foremost walk in faith as the apostle so aptly counseled us to “walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Avraham possessed when he was still uncircumcised” (Romans 4:12; NET). That walking in the footsteps of the faith that Avraham possessed even before he was circumcised in short is our coming into covenant relationship with Father Yah through a trusting faith in the Person and Ministry of Yahoshua. And because of our trusting faith and our close abiding relationship with Yah, we will joyfully keep His instructions in righteousness. And in our obedience of faith we conform to the very image of our Master and we love the foreigner (I.e., those who do not possess Torah or who do not identify with our Way of Life) just as we love one another in our Faith Community (Leviticus 19:34).