Well, yes and no. The law was under-girded by grace but that doesn't mean that obeying the law was optional. It was your obedience to the law that gave access to grace in that God knew that there was no way for men to obey perfectly. In fact there were sacrifices intended to atone for sins that you didn't even know you'd committed.
Where does it ever say: “your obedience to the law that gave access to grace”?
No one but Christ was ever “obedient to the Law”? It does not work on a percent bases, since it is all or nothing.
The atonement for sins sacrifices were very educational as a shadow of what was to come with Christ, but it did not solve anything, since all mature adult Jews did, at sometime in their life, rebellious disobedience needing to be banished or killed.
The Old Testament believers had no concept of that though. They were simply told to obey the law and did so to the best of their ability and that was it. Paul's doctrine was kept secret until Christ revealed it to Paul (Romans 16:25).
No! The Jews had plenty of examples of: their nation, Nineveh, David, Moses, Abraham and others being “saved” by grace and the prophets taught, seeking God’s Love, repenting and accepting God’s forgiveness. Any Jew, who tried to “obey” the Law would quickly realize that it was impossible, look at the extremely righteous Paul when he was Saul, and read “thou shall not covet” Ro. 7.
The “Law” gives us lots of ways to sin, which emphasizes the need for forgiveness and not a way to not sin.
Ezekiel 33:12 “Therefore, son of man, say to your people, ‘If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person’s former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person’s former wickedness will not bring condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.’
Ezk. 18: 30 “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!
Isaiah 30:15 This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it
Psalm 130:
Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;2 Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy. 3 If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
Psalm 103: 2Praise the Lord, my soul and forget not all his benefits—3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
Micah 7:18 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.
The confusion wasn't just about a change in what God required. The problem that Paul was dealing with, not just in Romans but in several of his letters, is that Christians who had been saved BEFORE God cut off Israel (i.e. Peter, James and John) were still under the law (Acts 21:20) and some of their converts where teaching that everyone else should be as well and even Peter got swept away in this misconduct to the point that Paul had to get in his face right in front of everyone because Peter didn't realize the implications of his actions.
Where and when did God “cut off Israel” since there was always a remnant?
Paul became all things to all people. Paul told people to hold to their conscience and do what they knew to be right, but not do stuff to hurt their weaker brothers and sisters.
Paul had no problem with Jewish Christians and even himself continuing to keep the Law in good conscience and to help others, but gentile follow the legalistic part of the Law was a waste, but they all kept the Moral part of the Law.
If Peter “mistakenly” followed the “Law”, Paul would have taken him aside to teach him more clearly, but Paul went directly to him in front of everyone since Peter was being hypocritical (he knew better).
Well, yes, but Paul and his ministry wasn't the original plan. The idea was that Christ would return before many of his disciples died (Matthew 16:28), set up Israel's Kingdom and preach the gospel to all nations with Christ reigning as King in Israel (Matthew 28:18-20 and elsewhere). This was what was prophesied from at least as far back as Daniel chapter 9 but it was stopped (paused) because of Israel's unbelief (Romans 9 and Jeremiah 18).
There are plenty of places where in the OT Christ was to bring salvation to both the Jews and the gentiles.
Where does it say: Paul and others were to “stop” preaching to Jews?
Your whole: “Messiah was to be an earthly King of Israel”, takes a very Jewish interpretation of prophecy. Christ taught and served both unclean Samaritans and gentile while on earth.
Why did Paul always go to the synagogue first when coming to a new town?
Why did Paul baptize some Gentiles and Jews?
Yes, the Jews were not blessed because they did not obey like the prophets promised them, so Jer. 18 kicked in, but that was happening even before the Messiah came.
So when Israel's program was ended and God turned instead to the Gentiles there was this transition period where you had two separate groups of believers. One was primarily in Jerusalem and had sold all their Earthly possessions in anticipation of Christ's imminent return and who were still under the law because the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). The other being those saved by faith only apart from the law (Romans 4:5).
No there was always to be one people:
Ro. 1: 7 To
all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ro. 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that
brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
Ro. 2: 10 but glory, honor and peace for
everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For
God does not show favoritism.
Ro. 3:1 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way! First of all,
the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.
Ro. 3:9…
Do we have any advantage?
Not at all! For we have already made the charge that
Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.
Ro. 3:22 This righteousness is given through faith in[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,
Ro. 3: 30 since there is only one God,
who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.
Ro. 4: 16 Therefore, the
promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—
not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.
Eph. 2: 14 For he himself is our peace,
who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations.
His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and
in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached
peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him
we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19 Consequently
, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but
fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him
the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And
in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
That is enough, but there is more.
