What does it mean to obey the letter and not the law?

Answer 1

This is a deep topic but one I believe I can share in a cliff note version. We keep the law (i.e. we don't murder, we don't steal, we serve God only, we don't make idols, etc. These are commands but part of Torah/law) but we don't believe in doing so we earn salvation. Those rebuked for keeping the letter in the Apostolic writings (NT) were doing so believing that keeping Torah brought about salvation. We see an example of this in Acts 15, when it was brought to Paul by either Jews or Yehoshua (Jesus) believing Jews that circumcision was necessary for salvation. It isn't, it never was, but many believed that in that day and from that position came the letter to the gentiles from the Jerusalem council. Remember, the letter without the Spirit is dead. The letter alone does nothing.

When Torah was given at Sinai, within it was a command to keep those instructions on the heart. Israel was supposed to do this and did not. The new covenant as prophecied in Jer. 31:31-34 and repeated in Hebrews 8 differs from Sinai in that the law (Torah) will be written on the minds and hearts of those who are part of the covenant. So where it was once letter alone and on stone, it is not letter with Spirit and written where God commanded we keep it in the first place.

I was typing at the same time as the person who wrote the above answer. :-) I'll add an everyday practical example: To follow the letter of the law but not the actual law means to follow exactly what the law says, but not to follow the full intent of the law. For example, your mom tells you not to eat another cookie before bed. You don't eat a cookie, but you eat some candy, even though you know that probably your mom wouldn't want you to have any sugar before bed.

So the "letter of the law" would be to not eat cookies, but the intent of the "law" would be not to eat sugary foods. So you follow the letter of the law by not eating cookies, but still are breaking the meaning of the law.