You asked

how do other new testament authors like paul discuss freedom from certain old covenant laws?

Adds the setting and its conversation across both testaments.

Galatians 5:1

“Stand firm therefore in the liberty with which Christ made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”

Paul wrote this letter to the churches in Galatia, likely in the mid-first century CE, to address a crisis. Teachers had arrived, insisting that Gentile believers needed to be circumcised and observe other Jewish laws to be true followers of Christ. Paul argues forcefully against this, stressing that salvation comes through faith in Christ alone, not through adherence to the Law.

What old 'yokes of bondage' might we unconsciously pick up again in our own lives or communities, even after experiencing freedom?

Then — the setting

Paul's letter to the Galatians was written during a crucial period in early Christianity, probably between 48-55 CE, from places like Antioch or Ephesus. The audience was primarily Gentile Christians in the Roman province of Galatia (modern-day Turkey) who were being influenced by 'Judaizers' – Jewish Christians who believed that Gentile converts needed to adopt Jewish customs, especially circumcision, to be fully part of God's people. This passage directly confronts the implications of such teaching, asserting that returning to such practices after receiving Christ undermines the freedom found in faith.

Across the Testaments

The Old Testament, specifically the Torah (the Law of Moses), established a covenant relationship between God and Israel, marked by numerous commandments and rituals. For many Jewish people, this Law was a gift, a way to live righteously before God. Paul, a devout Jew himself, reinterprets this understanding in light of Christ. While the Old Testament describes freedom from Egyptian bondage and the giving of the Law as a path to a distinct, holy life, Paul argues the New Testament demonstrates that Christ fulfills the Law's demands and provides a new, internal freedom from sin and its power, transcending ethnic and ritual boundaries for salvation. He shifts the focus from external adherence to internal transformation through faith.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Romans 7:4-6
Paul explains that believers are released from the Law to serve in the new way of the Spirit.
Acts 15:19-20
The Jerusalem Council decided Gentiles did not need to be circumcised but gave a few practical guidelines.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23
Paul speaks of becoming 'all things to all people' while remaining 'under the law of Christ'.

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