How Followers of Jesus Relate to God’s Instruction (Torah) Today

For many Christians, the word Torah carries a certain tension. It is often reduced to “law,” contrasted with grace, or quietly pushed into the background of the Bible as something important once, but no longer relevant now. Yet Scripture itself does not speak about the Torah this way. In fact, the Bible consistently presents the Torah as a gift—one that reveals God’s character, shapes a people, and ultimately points forward to the Messiah.

To understand how we relate to the Torah today, we must first understand what the Torah was given to do.

The Torah was given to Israel after redemption, not before it. God did not hand Israel a list of rules in Egypt and tell them to obey their way out of slavery. He rescued them first. Only after bringing them through the sea did He lead them to Sinai. “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,” He declares, before giving any commandment (Exodus 20:2). The Torah begins not with human effort, but with divine deliverance.

This matters because it frames the Torah as instruction for a redeemed people, not a system for earning salvation. In Hebrew, the word Torah does not primarily mean “law” in the modern legal sense. It means teaching, guidance, or instruction. It comes from the verb ירה (y-r-h) that means “to aim” or “to direct.” The Torah shows God’s people how to walk in alignment with His will, how to live as a covenant community reflecting His holiness and justice in the world.

The Torah addressed real people in real circumstances. Some commandments applied only in the land of Israel. Others depended on the existence of the Temple, the priesthood, or Israel’s courts. Some were directed to priests, some to kings, some to the nation as a whole. Scripture itself recognizes these distinctions, which is why even within the Bible we see faithful people applying the Torah differently depending on time, place, and calling.

This is not a flaw in the Torah; it is part of its design.

Jesus affirms this when He speaks about the Torah. He does not treat it as obsolete or mistaken. Instead, He teaches from it, lives it, and reveals its deepest intent. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets,” He says. “I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). Fulfillment does not mean erasure. It means bringing something to its intended goal.

Throughout His ministry, Jesus consistently moves people beyond surface obedience and into the heart of the Torah—toward love of God and love of neighbor. He shows that the Torah was always meant to form a people whose lives reflect God’s mercy, faithfulness, and righteousness. When asked to summarize the commandments, He does not discard them. He distills them, quoting directly from the Torah itself: “You shall love the LORD your God” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18).

The apostles continue this pattern. Paul, often misunderstood as opposing the Torah, actually speaks of it with great respect. He calls it holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12). He insists that faith does not nullify God’s instruction, but establishes it (Romans 3:31). At the same time, he recognizes that Gentile believers are not called to live as Israel lived under the Sinai covenant. Their inclusion in God’s people does not require them to become Jews, nor to take on Israel’s covenantal obligations as a nation.

This distinction is crucial. The Torah was given to Israel as part of a specific covenantal relationship. Gentile believers are brought near to that story through the Messiah, not by replacing Israel or duplicating Israel’s calling, but by being joined to God’s redemptive purposes in a new way. This is why the apostles wrestle carefully with questions of application, always seeking faithfulness to Scripture without collapsing the distinct callings of Jews and Gentiles.

Still, the Torah remains deeply instructive for all believers. It teaches us who God is. It reveals His concern for justice, care for the vulnerable, and desire for holiness in everyday life. It exposes sin not merely as rule-breaking, but as missing the mark of God’s design. It trains the conscience and shapes the imagination, forming a vision of life ordered around God’s presence.

Most importantly, the Torah points forward. Jesus teaches that Moses wrote about Him (John 5:46). Luke tells us that the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings together bear witness to the Messiah (Luke 24:44). The sacrificial system, the festivals, the priesthood, and the promises all anticipate God’s work of restoration. The Torah does not end in itself; it leads somewhere.

For followers of Jesus today, the question is not whether the Torah matters, but how we listen to it faithfully. We do not read it as outsiders looking for rules to adopt or discard at will. We read it as those who have been graciously welcomed into Israel’s story through Israel’s Messiah. We learn from it. We are corrected by it. We allow it to deepen our understanding of God’s character and sharpen our love for Him and for others.

When read in its original context, the Torah is not a burden to escape, nor a relic to ignore. It is part of God’s ongoing revelation—one that continues to teach, to point, and to lead us toward the fullness of life found in Him.