Hi redeemed2014,
Lots of questions!
But why suppose the law is "forced" upon anyone?
Rather, it is a privilege and JOY to partake in the covenants (Eph. 2:12).
What covenants? Abrahamic, Mosaic, and New Covenants! (ALL of which have associated Torah we should obey).
I don't have time right now to answer everything on your mind....
Can you explain where you think these questions lead you?
Then we can take it from there.
Especially, why assume we are now "in the age of grace"?
After all, the same word for grace (Gr. "charis") appears likewise in the LXX (e.g., Ex. 33:13) where Moses perceived God's grace.
And what is Moses' response to this grace? To seek to know God and His ways (Ex. 33:13).
And where did God's ways come to be written? The written Torah of Moses (1 Ki. 2:3).
So there you have it: GRACE and TORAH, hand-in-hand.
God graciously credited righteousness to our father Abraham by faith (Rom. 4:3), but Abraham ALSO obeyed Torah available to him (Ge. 26:5).
Likewise, we (like our father Abraham) are righteous by faith, but we ALSO seek to grow in faithful obedience to the Torah of the covenants in which we participate.
Remember, the same "Torah" passes straight into the New Covenant (see "Torah", Jer. 31:33).
blessings...
BibleGuy