Galatians — "Paul Abolished the Law"
Paul writes in Galatians that we are not justified by works of the law, the law was a tutor that is no longer needed, and if you try to keep the law you've fallen from grace. How much clearer can it be?
Paul opposes Torah as the mechanism of salvation — not Torah as a way of life. He himself took vows, kept feasts, and declared he lived in observance of the law (Acts 21:24). The man they cite against Torah was Torah-observant his entire life.
The Full Picture
Galatians is probably the most-cited book in the argument that Paul abolished the Torah. But this reading depends on ripping Paul's words out of their context — both the historical situation he was addressing and his own life as a Torah-observant Jew. When you read Galatians carefully, Paul is making a precise theological argument about how a person is made right with God. He is not making a blanket statement that God's instruction has been cancelled.
The Situation in Galatia
Understanding what was happening in Galatia is essential. Teachers had come into the community telling Gentile believers that they must be circumcised to be saved (Galatians 1:6-7, 6:12-13). Paul calls this "a different gospel" — not because circumcision is evil, but because these teachers were making it a prerequisite for salvation. Titus, a Greek, was with Paul and was "not compelled to be circumcised" (Galatians 2:3) — the issue was compulsion as a salvation requirement.
Paul's entire argument in Galatians is forged in response to this specific error: the claim that performing Torah commands earns you a right standing before God. Every sharp statement in the letter must be read through this lens.
"Works of the Law" — A Precise Target
The phrase Paul uses is erga nomou — "works of the law." This refers to performing Torah commands as a mechanism for earning justification. Paul is not saying, "Don't obey God's commands." He is saying, "Obedience to commands is not the basis on which God declares you righteous."
This is Paul's own distinction. In the same body of letters, he writes:
Do we then abolish the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law. (Romans 3:31)
Paul explicitly denies that his teaching about faith-based justification overthrows Torah. If Galatians meant "Torah is abolished," Romans 3:31 would be incoherent. But Paul is consistent: faith is the mechanism of justification, and Torah is the instruction for how the justified should live. These are not in conflict.
"Cursed Is Everyone Under the Law"
For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse, for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO DO THEM." (Galatians 3:10)
Paul is quoting Deuteronomy 27:26 — the covenant curses. His argument is simple: no one has perfectly kept the entire Torah. Therefore, anyone who depends on perfect Torah performance as their basis for justification stands condemned by their own failures. The "curse" is the penalty for breaking Torah as outlined in Deuteronomy 28 — it is not Torah itself.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE." (Galatians 3:13)
Yeshua redeems us from the curse — the consequence of our failure. He does not redeem us from the instruction. A governor can pardon a prisoner from the penalty of the law without abolishing the law itself. That is precisely what Paul describes.
The Paidagogos — Guardian, Not Obstacle
Therefore the Law has become our tutor unto Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. (Galatians 3:24-25)
The paidagogos in the ancient world was not a teacher. He was a household slave who escorted children to school and supervised their conduct. His job was to bring the child safely to the teacher. Once the child arrives, the escort's supervisory role is fulfilled — but the child does not then reject everything the guardian taught him or burn down the school. (For a detailed examination of this metaphor, see our deep dive on Galatians 3:24-25.)
Paul's point: Torah's role as the escort bringing us to Messiah is complete. We have arrived at faith. But arriving at faith does not mean abandoning the instruction of God. It means we now follow it as mature sons rather than supervised children. The relationship to Torah changes in character — from external constraint to willing obedience — not in substance.
"Fallen from Grace"
You have been severed from Christ, you who are being justified by law; you have fallen from grace! (Galatians 5:4)
This verse is devastating to the abolition reading — when read in context. Paul is not talking about a believer who keeps the Sabbath out of love for God. He is talking about people who are being told that circumcision is required for salvation (Galatians 5:2-3). "Fallen from grace" means abandoning the grace mechanism and returning to a works-based salvation system. It is about the basis of justification, not about the believer's daily walk.
A person who keeps Torah because they love God and want to obey Him has not "fallen from grace." A person who keeps Torah because they believe it earns them salvation has rejected the gospel. Paul is addressing the second group.
Paul's Own Life Contradicts the Abolition Reading
If Paul believed Torah was abolished, his own behavior is inexplicable:
- Acts 18:18 — Paul took a Nazirite vow, a Torah practice (Numbers 6).
- Acts 20:16 — Paul hurried to be in Jerusalem for Pentecost (Shavuot), one of the commanded feasts.
- Acts 21:23-24 — James told Paul to pay for four men's vow offerings to prove to everyone that "you yourself also live in observance of the law." Paul did it.
- Acts 23:6 — Paul declared before the Sanhedrin, "I am a Pharisee" — present tense, not past tense.
- Acts 28:17 — Paul told the Jewish leaders in Rome, "I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors."
The abolition reading of Galatians requires Paul to be a deliberate hypocrite — publicly teaching that Torah is abolished while privately keeping it, taking vows under it, paying for sacrifices, and claiming under oath that he lives in obedience to it. That is not a serious reading of the man or the text.
What Paul Actually Argues
The argument of Galatians, stated plainly: You are not saved by performing Torah. You are saved by faith in Messiah. This is true, and it is the gospel. But Paul never takes the next step that modern readers want to attribute to him — he never says, "And therefore, stop obeying God's instructions." He says the opposite: "We uphold the law" (Romans 3:31). He lived the opposite. And 2 Peter 3:16 warns us that people twist Paul's letters "to their own destruction." Yeshua Himself said the same: "I have not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets" (Matthew 5:17).
Paul opposes Torah as a salvation mechanism. He never opposes Torah as God's instruction for how the redeemed should live. His own life proves it.