Conclusion: Gentile Proselytes & The Everlasting Circumcision Covenant

As we've seen the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 does not discuss "doing away" with the law of Moses. Very clearly the Genesis 17 covenant of physical circumcision for Jews remains "everlasting". Acts 15 simply addresses the reasonable question: did the church still need to circumcise gentile proselytes in accordance with Exodus 12:48? Since the baptism of Cornelius without him being circumcised in Acts 10, the answer to this question was equally clear. No.

Gentile Non-Circumcision - The Biggest Doctrinal Controversy For The First Century Church

The subject of the circumcision of gentile proselytes was the biggest doctrinal issue for the first century new testament Church because, there was a very good scriptural reason for believing that gentile proselytes should not be circumcised (Acts 10 & Galatians) and at least equally good reasons for understanding that they should (Exodus 12:48). This is also patently obvious from the huge scale of dissent within the first century church caused by this one small doctrinal dispute. The entire book of Galatians is written to address the Galatian controversy that this one (arguably small) doctrinal change had caused. Large tracts of Romans are written to address the same thing. The one recorded apostolic conference recorded in the New Testament (Acts 15) was established to address this issue. All of this controversy was simply to agree a simple change in the procedure for the admission of gentile converts that God Himself had revealed.

The Implications of The Controversy About Gentile Non-Circumcision for Us Today

By understanding the MASSIVE upheaval that this simple thing caused, it becomes entirely obvious that there is absolutely no way that the doctrines of the Sabbath, Holy Days, Clean and Unclean Meats or any other aspects of the written Torah-law can have been changed following Christ’s sacrifice, because there’s just not the same level of contentious debate recorded in the New Testament on these subjects. Those who say that Galatians is about grace instead of law, assume the two are mutually exclusive. They are not. In fact this sort of view usually implies a lack of understanding about first century Jewish Torah-law , more than 95% of which was oral tradition and 5% was written and what we have in our Bibles. Christ rejected the oral-torah law and Paul rejected the oral torah-law too. But neither rejected the written Torah-law in the first five books of our Bibles. As such, a search on the words “Sabbath”, “Holy Days”, “Clean and Unclean Meats” in the New Testament reveals nothing like the same level of debate and teaching going on in the Church at that time, regarding those subjects as that seen for the subject of the non-circumcision of gentile proselytes. Jew and Gentile alike were being taught "Moses" in the synagogues every Sabbath (Acts 13:42-43 Acts 15:21). The written Torah-law remains in force today.

So Is "the Law" Done Away?

Only Exodus 12:48 is "done away". This doctrine change was demonstrated supernaturally by God himself when Cornelius "spoke in tongues", having received God's Spirit despite being uncircumcised. The apostles reached a consensus about this during the Acts 15: conference in Jerusalem. Despite there being considerable criticism for the Oral Torah-law, which was and is an illegal addition (Deuteronomy 4:2), no other change to the written Torah-law can be proven from scripture.

As Christ said:

Matthew 5:17-19 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. NKJV

One of the last verses in the Old Testament, before the New Testament begins is: Malachi 4:4:

Malachi 4:4 "Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. NKJV

Earlier in the same book Malachi advises:

Malachi 3:6 "For I am the LORD, I do not change; NKJV

Paul himself said in Acts 24: having been arrested in the temple in a ritually purified state.

Acts 24:14 But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. NKJV

About the written Torah-law Paul wrote.

Romans 7:12 Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. NKJV

Many christian theologians believe Paul kept Nazirite vows & offered sacrifices at the temple, even after the crucifixion, so is the law really "done away with" in Galatians?