Mythbusting!

MYTH: The Law alone saves you.
TRUTH:

"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin." Romans 3:20

MYTH: If the Law alone doesn't save you, you don't have to keep it.
TRUTH:

"For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified." Romans 2:13

Why the contradiction? Because faith without works is a dead/nonexistent faith:

"What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."James 2:14-26

It is also the fruit of salvation:

"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments."
1 John 5:2

MYTH: The Law was only given to the Jewish people.
TRUTH: The Law was given to both the native-born, the foreigner, and the sojourner at the base of Mt. Sinai. God even explicitly gave commands for those parties to ALL keep these statutes forever, throughout their generations. You can see this repeated throughout Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

MYTH: The church replaces Israel.
TRUTH: The church is grafted IN to Israel, therefore becoming a PART of Israel:

"But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree." Romans 11:7-24

MYTH: I'd know if I was being misled by not following the Law.
TRUTH: Scripture says otherwise. It even prophesies that His Law will be forgotten by His people:

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children." Hosea 4:6

Israel was more than just the Jewish people (the Jews were of the tribe of Judah - there were 11 other tribes that were NOT Jewish), and we can see here that Israel was dispersed among the nations:

"Israel is swallowed up; They are now among the nations Like a vessel in which no one delights." Hosea 8:8

But God will gather us back:

"“In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance." Jeremiah 3:18

And my favorite passage, which shows Ephraim (representative of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, the non-Jewish tribes) uniting us with our Jewish brother Judah:

"“At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.” Thus says the LORD, “The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness—Israel, when it went to find its rest.” The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness. “Again I will build you and you will be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! Again you will take up your tambourines, And go forth to the dances of the merrymakers. “Again you will plant vineyards On the hills of Samaria; The planters will plant And will enjoy them. “For there will be a day when watchmen On the hills of Ephraim call out, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, To the LORD our God.’” For thus says the LORD, “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, And shout among the chief of the nations; Proclaim, give praise and say, ‘O LORD, save Your people, The remnant of Israel.’ “Behold, I am bringing them from the north country, And I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth, Among them the blind and the lame, The woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together; A great company, they will return here. “With weeping they will come, And by supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, On a straight path in which they will not stumble; For I am a father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.” Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, And declare in the coastlands afar off, And say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him And keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.” For the LORD has ransomed Jacob And redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he. “They will come and shout for joy on the height of Zion, And they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD— Over the grain and the new wine and the oil,And over the young of the flock and the herd; And their life will be like a watered garden,And they will never languish again. “Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance, And the young men and the old, together, For I will turn their mourning into joy And will comfort them and give them joy for their sorrow. “I will fill the soul of the priests with abundance, And My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares the LORD. Thus says the LORD, “A voice is heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; She refuses to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more.” Thus says the LORD, “Restrain your voice from weeping And your eyes from tears; For your work will be rewarded,” declares the LORD, “And they will return from the land of the enemy. “There is hope for your future,” declares the LORD, “And your children will return to their own territory. “I have surely heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, Like an untrained calf; Bring me back that I may be restored, For You are the LORD my God. ‘For after I turned back, I repented; And after I was instructed, I smote on my thigh; I was ashamed and also humiliated Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’ “Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a delightful child? Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him, I certainly still remember him; Therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him,” declares the LORD. “Set up for yourself roadmarks, Place for yourself guideposts; Direct your mind to the highway, The way by which you went. Return, O virgin of Israel, Return to these your cities. “How long will you go here and there, O faithless daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the earth— A woman will encompass a man.” Jeremiah 31:1-22