Date

5-20-2026

Degree

Master of Arts in Biblical Studies (MA)

Chair

Jeffrey Kennedy

Keywords

Paul, Torah, Nomism, Law of Christ, Halakhic

Disciplines

Religion

Abstract

This thesis examines Paul’s “Law of Christ” as a halakhic framework for Gentile inclusion in the covenant community. It argues that Paul does not reject the Torah as God’s covenant instruction, nor does he replace it with a vague or subjective ethic. Rather, Paul reorients Torah through the Christ event and applies it to Gentile believers through Spirit-empowered covenant fidelity. By analyzing key Pauline texts, especially Galatians 6:2, 1 Corinthians 9:21, 1 Corinthians 7:17–20, and related case studies involving idolatry, sexual immorality, food, and table fellowship, this study demonstrates that Paul’s instructions to Gentiles function as concrete legal and communal rulings. These rulings are best understood as a form of eschatological nomism, in which obedience remains necessary, not as a means of justification, but as the proper covenantal response of those incorporated into the people of God through Messiah. The thesis contributes to Pauline scholarship by challenging readings that frame Paul as law-free, antinomian, or detached from Jewish legal reasoning. It also clarifies how Gentile believers may participate in Israel’s covenant blessings without undergoing proselyte conversion, while still being called to a concrete pattern of obedience shaped by Torah, Christ, and the Spirit.

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