What does it mean to be under the law?? It seems like Paul talks about it a lot in his epistles and it is very confusing, it He talking about the law of the Pharisees?? Also what does it mean when it says that Messiah has redeemed us from the curse of the law??
When one converted to Judaism they made themselves subject to the Law of Moses. There were/are no options to it.
Paul was fighting against the idea that gentiles must convert to Judaism to become followers of Yeshua. There was no need for official ritual conversion here. The gentiles now were welcome to come under the Banner of the God of Israel without becoming Jewish. They are adopted as sons and daughters into the Family of God and become members of the commonwealth of Israel.
The only requirements for the gentile, especially in the beginning of their walk of faith, would be those found in Acts 15. The Lord would lead them into the other laws as they grew and learned Moses in the synagogues.
Mat. 5:17-19 tells us that the Law has not been abolished. It is alive and well. We're also told that those who do and teach the Law will be called great in the kingdom of heaven and those who do not and who teach others not to observe the Law will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. So we understand that obeying the Law does not buy us salvation.
We are saved either way.
Grace + Faith = Salvation (it's always been this way)
Faith + Grace + Torah = Obedience (again, it's always been this way)
Salvation + Obedience = greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven
Salvation by Faith through Grace alone = least in the Kingdom of Heaven
Gentiles have been given an invitation to gain an even deeper relationship with God as they obey his standard of right-living as gentiles who trust God's Messiah. His standard of right, holy living is found in the Torah as given to Moses and also in the words of Yeshua as found in the gospels and (I believe) the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Revelation.
Check out Deut 28 for the blessings and cursings of the law.
What Paul meant when he said that Yeshua had redeemed us from the curse of the Law is that ultimately the curse of the Law was death and eternal separation from God. Gentiles were outside of the law, on the wrong side of the fence for the most part before Yeshua came and opened up the way for all mankind. (Don't forget that there were always proselytes and God-fearers who obeyed Torah and joined themselves to God's people throughout time.)
(Remember also that the larger portion of Paul's audience were gentiles and never subject to the Law to begin with. Those subject to the Law were the Israelites, later known as the Jews.)
I've been speaking on the premise that the person obeying or not obeying Torah is a believer as it was to believers in Yeshua (Jew and mostly gentile) that Paul was speaking.
