Law&Grace - Define Law for me

This is a test.  What does law refer to in the book of Romans? 
If I was asked by my professor to define a law, I would ask, which law?  There are many laws - the law of gravity, the law of motion, laws of thermodynamics and laws of exponents just to name a few.
I grew up believing that I was not under the law but rather grace.  I can say that I still believe this but would like to define the word law.  I believe that when I accept Jesus that I am no longer under the law of sin & death or sin = death.
I do believe though that I am under the law (teaching/instruction) of God.
I start my study in Romans 6:14 which clearly states that this is referring to sin as the law -
For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
Man have I heard that so many times and thank the Lord because I need grace because all have fallen short.
I do recognize that I had taken this verse with the mindset that I was not held to the standards of the Old Testament because of grace and this is where my question lies.
Yes, I understand that the temple is gone.  I understand that I am not in Jerusalem and I understand that I am not welcome in a synagogue but on the feast days and the commandments I do believe that they are for me.  For one, the Bible will never contradict itself.  If it says that I am free from the law in chapter 6 and chapter 7 v 12 says, So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good, I would say that I should define law in each specific reference.
More examples: 7:22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war and making me a prisoner of the law of sin...v25b So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
We then see a new law presented in ch8.  v2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.  This is the good stuff...v3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he  condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the spirit. v7 the sinful mind is hostile to God.  It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.
Quite a few laws and quite a few meanings.  This verse just told me that the spirit of life in Christ Jesus enables me to submit to God's law.  A revelation to me was that this law - God's law, the word law is translated from the hebrew word meaning instructions.  We can look at this two ways.  As a child I did not like instructions, rules and guidelines but as I matured I began to see that when I new the instructions I was able to win.  God's law, God's instruction enables us to be that set apart people that are holy and useful to him.  It enables us to win the race. 
Paul goes on to state to the Romans in ch15 v 4 For everything that was written in the past (Old Testament) was written to teach us so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures (Old Testament) we might have hope.  v8 For I tell you that Christ has becoume a servant of the Jews on behalf of God's truth to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles (that's me) may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people."  Then to sum it up Paul tells us in Romans 15:16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.  Paul defines his ministry in v.18b as leading the Gentiles to obey God. 

Sharing with those who do not understand - Acts 8

"Do you understand what

Stephens defense is my creed! Acts 7

It is refreshing to see how Stephen, just as Paul, Peter and our Jesus defend themselves to the Jewish leaders of the day by saying how they have kept the law and not broken one word. Their defense is not grace but rather that they are obedient to Gods law.

How to worship our God/Feast of Dedication celebrated by Jesus!

John 4:21-24
Jesus declared, Believe me, woman a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain or in Jerusalem.  You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is through the Jews.  Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.
Then later in John Jesus is celebrating the Feast of Dedication (John 10:22-43) and He was being questioned. 

Romans

19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.




Righteousness Through Faith

21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

27Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. 29Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

As I sat down with a friend yesterday we both agreed that we grew up with the idea that we are not under the law but rather we have grace.  As I studied the scriptures this year I used a translator (interlinear) to find the origial Hebrew meaning of some words.  The word law in many cases throughout scripture is referring to the first 5 books of the Old Testament.  What I was surprised to find was that in some chapters sometimes law would refer to the scriptures and a few verses later be referring to another law. 
Just as in science we refer to the law of relativity or gravity, we have to in the scripture define the  law we are referring to.  There are quite a few.  You could say that this is a translation glitch.  Some versions of our Bible are clearer than others.  I studied Romans in King James, New Century and NIV versions.  I find in Romans a law of sin and death or sin = death.  Romans is where we have to be very careful that each time we see the word law we get to the root of the word and define whether it is referring to scripture, sin, geneology or other law.
The reason I began to question this is because I found that Jesus refers a law in Matthew when He says in 5:17&18: "Do not thin that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroe of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.  Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
This drives me to understand what commands He is referring to.  Does the sermon on the mount take the place of the scriptures and the prophets?  Let's be careful in considering this because Jesus sounds pretty detailed in these verses.  In fact, in all the gospels He refers to the scriptures (keep in mind the only scriptures of His day are the OT).
Matthew 23:23 Jesus corrects the Pharisees and makes it clear that obedience is more than deeds but a heart issue.  Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give tenth of your spices, mint, dill and cumin.  But you neglected the more important matters of the law- justice, mercy and faithfulness.  *You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
He goes on with a great analogy of cleaning the outside of the cup without cleaning the inside.  Once again just as David writes to us about - the law has always been a heart issue.  David says,  write your word on my heart that I might not sin against You.  He knew that the law kept Him set apart but that God wanted His heart and his deeds. 
How could David love this law so much and yet we despise being under a law.  This is where defining law comes in handy.  What does Jesus say about the law?
In Mark Jesus says, "You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on the traditions of men.He then answers the question we all have in Luke 10:25-27 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life? What is written in the Law?  He replied. "How do you read it?" So, it is safe to say that the law when referring to scripture is good and necessary. 
To confirm this
 

Sukkot was the very first festival of God that I ever celebrated.  Last year (2009), we were invited to a "camping trip" with special speakers.  We loaded up the whole family and headed to the lake.  Now, this was the first time that I had by choice celebrated Sukkot but I did remember a time when my parents invited us to dinner and we ate out on their backyard deck(2005).  My dad told the kids to gather sticks and he began to place them through the lattice over our heads.  We then ate and blessed God and looked through our Sukkah to see the stars.  It was a fun night with not alot of meaning for us.  The only reason that it was special was because not only was my dad grilling and preparing supper but my mom was full force into the preparation.  My dad makes dinner look easy.  He is a natural born chef and can cook up some award winning recipes.  My mom, more or less, fulfills her duty as wife and mother; so when she is excited to be preparing and serving it gets your attention.  My mother has one great passion and that is the scripture.  That night she was putting it into action and it thrilled her.  We just all observed and enjoyed the good food.  As I look back now I am so thankful for this memory with my mother and father.  This was just before they moved to the other side of the earth.  When they returned for a visit it just happen to be Sukkot 2009.As if our home was not temporary enough for them they were journeying to a lake in Dallas for Sukkot, with or without us.  I had missed them so we decided, Corey decided, to join them.  When we got there we did not want to leave.  In fact, the kids stayed.  Yes, M.K. who was the only one not home schooling skipped school and stayed at the lake to celebrate with my parents.  Corey and I came to get clothes and food and headed back to the lake.  To my surprise, a lady from New Braunfels was sharing on "being the bride of Christ" - my favorite subject!! This got my attention.  For me, the question arose - what does the bride of Christ look like?  After celebrating Sukkot last year I was convinced that I will always celebrate this day. I was even more convinced after I read the scriptures of the priest and prophet, Zechariah.  Zechariah 14 tells us that our Lord will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem... the Lord will be King over the whole earth.  v16 Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.
Our celebrations now are obedience and just a shadow of how things will be with our Father.  It is a sweet picture.  It is an answer to prayer, to discover this truth in my Bible.  My children are getting a clear picture of what they are holding out for.  Especially for the girls, I had asked God to give them a picture in their minds of how the bride would feast with her King.  This is worth living for.
Now, this year, we will be in Jerusalem for Sukkot 2010!  All of my guide books say that this is the time to visit.  Everyone is out of their home and in a Sukkah!
I have given you my journey through Sukkot by backyard grilling and camping at the lake, so here is the specific instruction:
First, let me restate Galatians 3:29.  If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
FYI - I love being an heir.  Study this verse out.  What is an Heir?  What is the promise?  This is worth your time.
Next, Leviticus 23:39-44.  v41 Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year.  This is to be a lasting ordinance. v42 Live in booths for seven days.  This is to remember that those who obeyed God in Egypt were saved.  They came out a mixed multitude.  Anyone who believed the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were saved and began their journey to the promised land. 
This is a great foundational truth for us to know as believers.  This is an amazing miracle that our children love and must know to understand the God they choose to believe in.
On the holiday of Sukkot, we are commanded to dwell in temporary shelters or booths, as the Israelites did in the desert after the Exodus. The commandment to "dwell" in a sukkah can be fulfilled by simply eating all of one's meals there. However, some people study the scriptures and even sleep in the sukkah. This is what we are hoping to experience in Jerusalem.
Sukkot is a seven-day fall festival which takes place on the 15th of Tishri and commemorates the sukkot (Hebrew for booths or tabernacles) where Israel lived in the wilderness after the Exodus.
Building a Sukkah is a memorable and fun family experience. Children of every age can help just as we did that first celebration.
On Sukkot, we are commanded to use Arbat HaMinim, the four species, to "rejoice before God." The Four Species are: 1) Etrog (lemon-like citrus fruit) 2) Lulav (palm branch) 3) Hadas (myrtle branch) 4) Arava (willow branch). The three branches are bound together and referred to collectively as the lulav.
With the Four Species in hand, we say a blessing and wave the species in six directions (east, south, west, north, up and down) to symbolize that God is everywhere!  As we did this at the lake we truly felt different from this world.  I am sure we looked different too.  For us this celebration takes us into the scriptures where it tells us that we are just passing through.  This world is our temporary dwelling.  Do not get too comfortable!
Our family started this day by watching a film on Netflix about Italy.  They have some cool traditions.  Once again I found myself considering our traditions that we were passing on to our children.  I am interested in our German heritage.  I also love Texas and am proud to be a Texan but lately I have been thinking about being an American.  What a great country that would allow us to have freedom to worship in our own way.  I don't know if this will always be the case.  While it is, I want to examine my identity.  As an American, Texan with ancestors from Germany I want to remember that when I accepted Jesus Christ, I took on the identity as a child of God.  I was adopted.  I must take up the traditions and customs that are important to Him.  Rather than spend the summer tracing my family tree online I am going to grasp tightly my Bible and maybe head down to the little German town of New Braunfels for some river time.  Join me!