The standard they wanted to keep was the Law. Paul was telling them that they could be justified before God by keeping it. So, keep the Law. Keep all of it, but if you dont, youre in trouble. It is the doers of the Law who are justified before God. He tells them that the Gentiles who didn't have the Law according to the knowledge of the Jews were instinctively keeping the Law (v. 14) and will be judged accordingly. How much more the Jews?
Paul was showing the self-righteous Jews who judged the Gentiles that they were not able to keep a perfect standard. They were hypocrites. This is why Paul tells us in the very next chapter, in Romans 3:28, that we are justified by faith apart from the works of the Law--which includes the Law of loving God (Deut. 6:5), and loving your neighbor (Lev. 19:18). No one is able to keep the Law. If you fail even once, then you become guilty of it all.
James 2:10, For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. Gal. 3:10, 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 perform them.
The Jews (and anyone else) can be justified before God by keeping the Law, but he or she has to be perfect. A person cant fail even once--ever. But since all fail, that is why we have the gospel that tells us Jesus kept the Law perfectly (1 Pet. 2:22), and that we can be justified before God by faith in Him (Romans 4:3, 5; 5:1; John 1:12; 3:16).
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You can squirm all you want.
Torah has been the standard of righteousness from the beginning, and will remain so to the end.
There is not one word in all of the scriptures that says otherwise.
You appear to be a part of the confusion club that failed to grasp the difference between Torah’s love from Yehova, and the Takanot and Ma’assim of the Pharisees. (the “burden that could not be borne”)
A costly error, to be sure. Matthew 7 leaves no room for doubt. Neither does John’s first epistle. “Believing on Him” is living as he lived, and as he said.
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