Thank you for the article and for the continuing discussions about this important and exciting topic: the place of Torah in the life of a Christian!  Before going any further, I’d like take care of a few housekeeping issues:

1. It is absolutely not my intention to cause any confusion or division between you and your family (or your pastor or church.) I’ve written this letter precisely because the topic is so misunderstood, and can therefore be very controversial because it (usually) challenges many traditional beliefs, opinions, and principles of New Testament theology.
2. You are still under the authority of your parents and therefore you need to process this entire subject with your parents; and your family’s pastor if they feel that is necessary. I encourage you to let them (all) read this reply to stimulate a deeper conversation.
3. I’m not trying to “prove” I am right, nor am I saying my position is correct beyond any shadow of doubt. In fact, I’m still working through a number of my own very important questions. Yes, I believe what I say is correct in my heart, mind and spirit or I wouldn’t take time for such a lengthy response. As it is, I can only offer my personal perspective on the topic based on what I’ve learned over the past few months of relatively in-depth study, along with scriptural and historical information to support my perspective.
4. The most important aspect of this topic is not anyone’s opinion or belief, but what God’s word actually says and truly means. There is only one truth. In that regard, I applaud you for being like the Bereans who “…received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
5. With the exception of quoted scripture, I have personally written this entire response specifically for you. I’ve not copied from any website nor used rationale (reasoning, stories, examples, etc.) from any other source. I did ask our rabbi to review my response in case I had made any factual, scriptural, or theological errors. He agreed and found no problems with this response. (Though he did have several of his own concerns about the article in question.)

Next, based on my personal experience regarding this topic (the place of Torah in the life of a Christian) I find many people immediately jump to misinformed conclusions and prejudiced judgment – just as I did the first time I encountered this topic. The first reaction is always the same, and it’s usually voiced with a mixture of contempt and disbelief: “So you’re a Jew ?!?!?” After that comes a barrage of well intended but equally misinformed and increasingly condescending remarks such as:

• You know we’re not under the law, right ?!?!?
• You realize all those food laws were for health reasons that don’t apply anymore, right ?!?!?
• You understand you can’t work for your salvation, right ?!?!?
• You know we’re saved by grace, right ?!?!?

So I’d like to clearly state “for the record” the core principles of my faith, each grounded firmly in the entire Word of God, so there can be no doubt about my position as a believer:

1. My name is written in the Lamb’s book of life (i.e. I am saved) by the blood of Christ, through grace not works lest I should boast in my salvation. (Revelation 21:22-27, Ephesians 2:8-10)
2. I believe in the one true God, who exists as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19, and many others)
3. I accept all scripture as God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)
4. I accept the authority of scripture over the teachings and/or the traditions of man. (Isaiah 29:13, Matthew 15:3-9)
5. I accept the Jews (Hebrews, children of Israel, seed of Abraham, etc.) are God’s elect and set-apart people. (Jeremiah 32:37-42)
6. I accept that salvation is of the Jews (John 4:22) from God through Christ (John 6:44, John 14:16)
7. I accept that anyone who confesses faith in Christ, in spirit and truth, becomes a co-heir of his covenants and promises as a seed of Abraham and is a therefore a “Jew” in the purest scriptural sense of the word. (Galatians 3:29)
8. As one of God’s set-apart people, I choose to learn and walk in obedience to the scriptures for both identity and operation as best I am able, not to be saved but precisely because I am saved. (1 Peter 1:13-16, John 14:21-24)

Finally, I’d like to lay a foundation for the rest of my response by addressing (what I feel to be) several very important aspects of my faith walk, based on my confessions of faith above, and my personal observation and discovery. I don’t have enough time or space to fully discuss these topics, nor do I claim to have exhaustive knowledge on these topics. Nevertheless I’ll do my best to provide sufficient information on the most salient points on each topic to help clarify my positions and keep the conversation going.

Websites

As I mentioned, this topic can be controversial, and controversial topics spread like wildfire on the internet. If you decide to look deeper into this topic, I’ve provided some reliable links at the end of this letter to get you started. In my opinion, books are always the best place to start – regardless of the subject – because by the very nature of being published they have more credibility than the completely open internet. Books also provide one an opportunity to think, reason, and research in a relatively focused and peaceful environment.

Please be very careful searching online for information – any information, not just this information. The internet is a wonderful and amazing resource. At the same time, it is a complete free-for-all in regard to information and opinion. Simply searching for keywords and phrases you find in this letter will return both good and bad websites, and its very hard to discern between the two without a solid foundation to work from. This is no different from searching for anything related to Christianity; you will find everything from local churches to militant anti-Christian websites proclaiming Christianity to be an ancient cult for mindless sheeple. So again I strongly encourage you to seek out proven, qualified resources first – and preferably begin with real books. You can always dig deeper online once you have a solid base to work from.

True Names

One’s true name doesn’t change in another language or culture. “Aliya” is your name. Whether you’re in America, China, Argentina, or standing on Mars, your true name is still “Aliya.” Yes, the language of the culture you’re in may have a general equivalent of your name, or a different pronunciation of your name, but your one true name never changes. Those who love and respect you will at least try to address you by your one true name, not a nickname or transliteration, even if they don’t really recognize it or understand it. (Incidentally, do you know what your name means in Hebrew? Aliya is a short form of “Aliyah” (all-ee-yah) which means to ascend or go up, usually in terms of going up before the Lord. Moses ascended Mount Sinai – made “aliyah” – to receive the Word of the Lord!)

Likewise, Jesus has a true name, and that name is more accurately rendered “Yeshua” in the original Hebrew. There are other possible renderings of his name as well, but the name “Jesus” is clearly not his true name, being rather a transliteration that happened over time, and between several languages and cultural contexts. Out of honor and respect, I prefer to use and pronounce his name as accurately as I’m able – Yeshua – just as I prefer to use and pronounce your name accurately. So while it may sound a little strange at first, that’s why I use the name Yeshua unless it makes more sense in context not to do so. For simplicities sake, I’ll use the “common” names for most other persons and places.

On this topic, I’d like to point out that God did not change Saul’s name to “Paul” as a result of his Damascus road experience. When you read the account in Acts 9, you will see his name is rendered as “Saul” (a transliteration of his true name “Shaul”) both before and after his conversion experience. In fact it isn’t until Acts 13:9 that we read, “Then Saul, who is also called Paul…” after which he is referred to as Paul. That’s ALL the Bible has to say about his name; no reason, no explanation, nothing. Many theologians agree the reason for having two names is because Shaul was both a Jewish citizen and a Roman citizen. In context of his Jewish story, his Jewish name is used. As the story context changes to his missions to the Gentiles throughout the Roman world, his Roman name is used. However, the idea that “God changed Paul’s name to show his new identity in Christ” is widely taught without any scriptural basis whatsoever and – although unwittingly – promotes a heretical teaching known as “replacement theology.”

I bring this up for one purpose: to demonstrate how a lack of solid cultural, historical, and scriptural knowledge can so easily creep in and affect theology. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case. Similar false teaching happens in pulpits and classrooms every week, with many other parts of scripture, and is accepted without question because most people simply do not study the scriptures for themselves or keep their leadership accountable God’s true word.

The New & Old Testaments

The concept of “Old Testament” and “New Testament” was first introduced around AD130-140 by a man named Marcion. Drawing almost exclusively from Paul’s writings, Marcion decided that Jesus was essentially a “new God” who defeated and replaced the “old God” of the Jews; and as such the Jew’s had also been replaced by believers in Christ as “God’s chosen people.” Marcion also decided that believers in Christ needed their own set of specific writings to base their faith and teachings upon, just as the Jews had Torah. These two ideas led him to label the Jewish Torah (i.e. the law, prophets, and writings) as the “Old Testament” and Paul’s writings as the “New Testament.” (Marcion’s “New Testament” only included 10 letters from Paul and Marcion’s own edited version of the Gospel of Luke – nothing else.)

At the time, Marcion’s teachings were beyond controversial and he was excommunicated and labeled a heretic by the greatest Christian leaders at the time (Justin, Clement, Tertullian, Origen, Hippolytus, and Polycarp). However, these same leaders did agree that believers in Christ would benefit from having a specific, approved, set of writings to base their faith upon. That decision paved the way for the canonization of scripture that we now call the Bible. And even though the theological leaders of the time unanimously opposed Marcion’s teachings, two of his heretical concepts had already taken root: replacement theology and the separation of scripture (NT/OT). In summary, the Torah never speaks of a “New Testament” only of a “renewed covenant”, which may sound similar but is very different. Since most people still refer to the Old Testament and New Testament, I’ll use the terms OT and NT to clarify which portion of scripture I’m referring to.

What is the Law?

The word “law” found throughout scripture is almost always a mistranslation of the word and/or concept being discussed. The actual and original Hebrew word is almost always “Torah” which is more accurately translated: instruction (teachings, precepts, etc.) Also, there are many aspects of Torah that cannot be communicated through the single word “law.” We have a similar issue with the word “love.” For instance, you can “love” your dad and you can “love” pizza. Is the same word used? Yes. Does it have the same meaning? No. Likewise, it can be very challenging to discern and interpret the true referential and contextual meaning of the word “law” especially in the NT. For the purposes of this discussion, I’ll use the correct word “Torah” unless “law” is specifically correct or helps clarify the point better.

What is Sin?

The word “sin” found in scripture is actually an archery term which means “to miss the mark” or more accurately, to hit anything except the bulls-eye. From time immemorial in Judaism, the bulls-eye has been God’s perfect Torah. Anything that falls short of Torah “misses the mark” and is “sin.”  The most accurate translation of the concept of “sin” is literally “Torah-less-ness.”

Okay, let’s move on to my most important topic “the church” – and this is a long one…

Jet Tour of the Judeo-Christian Faith

Yeshua died around 33AD. Roman armies destroyed the second temple of Jerusalem in 70AD, just as Yeshua prophesied in Mark 13:2 and elsewhere. What happened after that is absolutely critical to understanding the “Judeo-Christian” faith.

Up until this time (70AD) virtually all “believers” who came to faith in Yeshua as the prophesied Jewish Messiah were Jewish. “The scriptures” were Jewish (Torah). Yeshua was Jewish. The disciples were Jewish. Paul was Jewish. The 3000 people who came to faith at Pentecost – commonly referred to as the “birth of the church” – were all devout Jews (Acts 2:5). These were quite literally the first “Messianic Jews” – that is to say those who “obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Yeshua.” (Rev. 12:7, 14:12)

For Jews, there was no “separation of church and state” because life and faith absolutely could not be separated. Jewishness quite literally permeated absolutely every aspect of one’s existence. To say these people knew Torah and fully understood their faith would be a gross understatement. These people knew exactly who they were and exactly who Messiah was. They also fully understood the coming of Messiah did not change their identity (i.e. replacement theology) rather it finally completed and irrevocably established their identity throughout all generations and eternity to come, just as God had promised in his Torah. (This was a very, very big deal and therefore the reason for so much controversy at the time.)

Let’s use the analogy of a house: the written Torah was both the foundation of Judaism (i.e. “the law”) and the blueprint of what Judaism would ultimately become when Messiah came (i.e. “the prophets”). Remember, it was all there in black-n-white, written down, passed down, and taught everyday for thousands of years. The Jews knew what they had been given (the foundation) and they had a vision of what was promised in Messiah (the blueprints) for ages upon ages. But they did not yet have a house, so to speak. One might say they were living in temporary dwellings, and the Jews understood this clearly. This is what Yeshua spoke about in Matthew 13:17 when he said, “For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” Likewise, when Yeshua said “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” the Jews understood exactly what he meant. He did not come to bulldoze the foundation and burn the blueprints. To do that would have made him a false prophet. Rather, as “the Word (Torah) made flesh” he came to complete the construction project (i.e. “to fulfill Torah”) – on the existing foundation and exactly as the blueprints specified – so that all mankind could come and abide in the house of God forever.

By 70AD when the temple was destroyed, Jewish believers in Yeshua were still a small fraction of the total Jewish population; and by this time, the “good news” was also going out to the Gentiles (i.e. anyone who is not specifically Jewish by birth or conversion). Many Gentiles were now coming to faith in Yeshua, as the Messiah of Israel, which as we’ve already established was simply the fulfillment of Judaism. However, these Gentiles from other languages and cultures did not fully understand Judaism, that is to say Torah and the Jewish Messiah. To continue the house analogy, we might say they were coming in from the backdoor. They were definitely in the house and had every right to live there, but they really had no idea where the house came from, how it was built, what it was built upon, or what anything around them truly meant in the grand scheme of things.

At about this same time, as more and more Gentiles were coming into Judaism through faith in the Messiah, the Jewish believers were beginning to wrestle with practical questions about what it meant “to be a Jew”. Many reasoned – quite logically – that Gentiles needed to complete the traditional, established process of conversion to Judaism. Although this process had been established primarily by “rules of men” and not strictly from Torah, it had been around for a long, long time and was accepted by all without question. (This process was commonly referred to as “circumcision” even though physical (male) circumcision was only one part of the entire process.) So the position of continuing the full, ritualistic process was actually quite logical when you think about it from the Jewish perspective – it was all they had ever known. On the other hand we have Peter, James and Paul who by direct revelation had been shown that Gentiles were accepted into the kingdom (i.e. “seed of Abraham”, i.e. Judaism) purely upon confession of true faith in Yeshua the Messiah.

You must understand the perspective of “faith alone” was a radical, radical concept for “all the other Jews” to deal with. Within a few years of mankind, the long expected Messiah had come, lived, walked, talked, taught, healed, died, rose again, lived more, taught some more, and then ascended to heaven promising to come again just as he had departed. Now, a few “counter cultural revolutionaries” who walked and talked with Yeshua have decided that anyone can “be a Jew” without approval by the established Jewish authorities – who not only killed Yeshua but were actively targeting those who follow him for persecution. As you can see this was an intense and volatile situation, and most modern believers have no concept of the magnitude and complexity of what was all was going on during this time.

Nevertheless, everything finally came to a head with the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:19-20, where James famously declared, “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.” He then restates the same in a letter to these Gentiles (Acts 15:29) also adding, “If you do this, you will do well. Farewell.”

Unfortunately, most teachers and preachers stop at verse 20 and use this passage support their position that Gentile believers (or Jews for that matter) are no longer subject to “the law” but simply need to follow a few simple guidelines; and even these are really just for personal benefit, not really any requirement of God. In reality, that is absolutely, categorically NOT what James is saying. And to that point, the most critical portion of this scripture is the verse almost everyone leaves out, Acts 15:21: “For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

In fact, it’s only when one truly understands the context of the culture, the events occurring during these times, and the 100% Torah observant perspective of the Jerusalem Council, that one can truly understand what James was really saying, which I’ll attempt to paraphrase…

“Clearly God has accepted the Gentiles by faith in Messiah, no question about that. They are now co-heirs in the covenant promises as the seed of Abraham, meaning they are in fact Jews just like the rest of us. However, they know absolutely nothing about what it means to BE a Jew. They don’t know the covenants, they don’t know the feasts, they don’t know any of God’s instruction for living day-to-day as his set apart and chosen people. So to keep things simple for them, let’s start with the basics: eat Kosher, get away from idolatry, and avoid immorality. After all, we can’t dump the entire Torah on them, not to mention all the other rules and regulations we’ve come up ourselves over the long years since Moses came down from the mountain! And you know what…that’s okay, because the Torah is taught in the synagogues of every city on every Sabbath. So as they begin attending synagogue, which obviously they will do as “Jews” like us, they’re naturally going to start picking up all the rest of this stuff as they go along. And we’ll be there to help them along the way.”

It seemed that everything was falling neatly into place. Then something unexpected and catastrophic (to the Jews, but not of course to God’s plan) happened: in 70AD the temple of Jerusalem was destroyed, and everything began to change. Not only was the temple destroyed, most of Jerusalem was destroyed, as were the other leading Jewish cities in the land of Israel. In the years that followed, the scale of genocide against the Jewish people was beyond description as they were purged from the land of Israel. The few who did survive escaped with two things: the clothes on their backs and every Torah scroll they could find.

For centuries, most Christian theologians have characterized this entire chain of events as “God’s judgment on the Jews for rejecting Jesus as the Messiah.” And maybe it was. However, they continue this line of reasoning, just as Marcion did, by claiming this also ended the authority of “the law” over man and instituted a new covenant of “salvation through grace, by faith in Christ alone.” And this too is a perfectly reasonable conclusion from a purely NT perspective. There’s only one problem: those conclusions don’t align with God’s word in scripture, specifically the only scripture that existed at the time – Torah. And that can mean only one thing: God changed.

Really…God changed? That is a scary thought! Fortunately, it is not true as we see by God’s own testimony about Himself in Numbers 23:19, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind.” And again in James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” For if God were to change on even one thing, he could change on anything. What if he were to change his mind again? What if he decided that faith in Christ is no longer good enough for salvation? Or maybe he just doesn’t like you, or me, and therefore blots our name out of the Lamb’s book of Life? Or maybe gravity no longer pulls thing down but pushes things up? As you can see, the idea of God changing is an extremely dangerous and completely unscriptural theology.

So how can it all fit together so that God does not change, and yet we understand what happened and why? In my opinion, the events that took place in first century Israel were not evidence of God creating a completely “new covenant” or replacing Israel with the “New Testament church” but were in fact part of God’s perfect and eternal plan for all mankind, and one of the most critical junctures in the history of the Judeo-Christian faith. Unfortunately, I cannot answer the question of “why” God did this, I can only observe what happened, study the scriptures, and walk in faith and obedience to his Word, trusting that someday all things will be revealed in God’s perfect timing.

When the Jews were driven out of the promise land (70AD and after) they took the one thing that mattered most with them: the Torah. This left the Gentile “Christians” with practically nothing beyond a handful of letters, possibly a few Torah scrolls (which they knew little about), and probably some oral teachings they had picked up on in the few years they had together with the Jews. The chasm was fixed in time with both parties on opposite sides The Jews had Torah but no one to preach faith in Messiah, and Gentile believers had Messiah but no one to teach them Torah. Two separate paths, very closely aligned at first but not quite parallel. And over the past 2000 years, the distance between those paths widened, and widened, and widened. Today, Judaism and Christianity are at best seen as distant relations, and at worst considered completely separate religions. However, this too was somehow part of God perfect, miraculous, and eternal plan, as the prophecy of re-unification is found throughout scripture. One of my favorite examples of this is Revelation 12:17, “Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring – those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”

Personally, I believe we are entering the end times, and that prophecy is now being fulfilled by the movement of modern Christians who are choosing to learn and walk in obedience to Torah, and devout Jews who are once again coming to faith in Yeshau Ha Mashiach – Jesus the Messiah. As the sages teach, “we will add faith to their knowledge, and they will add knowledge to our faith.”

Finally, I return to Yeshua’s own words in Matthew 5, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

From my study of the scriptures and the Hebraic context and foundations of the Christian faith, and the Holy Spirit within me leading me into understanding, I personally believe this is what Yeshua was actually saying (again, my paraphrasing…)

“In the beginning was the Word (Torah) and Torah was with God, and Torah was God. Torah is eternal. God first gave Torah in written form to guide and protect his set-apart people. But words only go so far. So in me, God has become the Torah made flesh to live Torah to 100% perfection and thereby qualify as the one perfect and acceptable sacrifice to permanently atone for the sin of man. As such Torah not only remains, by my life and teaching Torah has now become everything it was ever meant to be. When I’m gone, I’ll send you a helper, the Holy Spirit, through whose power my set-apart people (that means you) will finally be able to walk in truth and spirit, word and deed, faith and faithfulness, belief and action – that is the completeness of Torah just as I have done. Yes, if you want to get all technical about things, faith in me is all that is required for salvation. But that’s only part of me, part of Torah, and part of why I’ve come. I’ve come so you may have life and life abundantly both now and forever; and for that you will walk in obedience to Torah, that is obedience to me and my words, just as I’ve said from the beginning. After all, disobedience is how sin entered the picture in the first place. Why even consider repeating that mistake? Listen, it’s really simple: whoever doesn’t follow Torah and tells others that Torah doesn’t matter, shall be called least in my kingdom. Are they still saved? Sure, that’s covered by my blood. But is that really loving me? Listen, this isn’t hard and it isn’t about obligation or sacrifice. I don’t desire sacrifice, I desire obedience – that’s all I have ever asked for – and that’s how I will know those who truly love me because they obey my commandments, they obey my Torah! Those are the ones I’m looking for. Those are the ones I will call faithful and true. Those are the ones who are really, really seeking my kingdom and my righteousness. If you do that, and encourage others to do the same, you will be called great in my kingdom and I will personally welcome you into eternity with open arms, a big smile, and the words you have longed to hear – the only ones that truly matter: “Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

Whew!!! Now that you understand where I am coming from, and why, we can move on to the article in question…

Response to the Article: A Matter of Law

It’s always refreshing to see a pastor go on record supporting the entirety of God’s word. Clearly the author is writing from a “New Testament perspective” but that’s not necessarily bad or wrong. However, understanding the author’s core theology is critical to understanding what the author is saying, what he is not saying, and why, so that I can provide a qualified response to his article.

In general (and according to his seven point list) the author seems to have a generally positive opinion of a person’s choice to walk in obedience to Torah, on which point I agree with him. However, it’s not entirely clear if he is saying believers today should continue observing Torah, or if he’s saying Messiah followed Torah and therefore through faith in Messiah, believers get the benefit of his obedience without having to do anything themselves. If that’s the case, I don’t see that aligning with scripture.

Now let’s work through each of the author’s seven summary points…

1. The law is a schoolmaster bringing us unto Christ, and it is also a shadow of the coming Christ.

The word “schoolmaster” is unfortunate and inaccurate, and reflects a common NT perspective on the law. This is basically the “whack-a-mole” concept we talked about, where God sits in heaven with a big ruler (“the law”) waiting for people to mess up so he can punish them. That does not align with the eternally just, righteous, unchanging, and loving God of the Bible.

Most people derive this concept from Galatians 3:24, in which we find the Greek word “Paidogogos.” That word is in fact not “schoolmaster.” Rather, it is a person who is given the specific responsibility of daily teaching, training, protecting, and caring for a child. It’s basically a nanny, tutor, and bodyguard all wrapped up in one person. See how very different the true meaning of the word is from “schoolmaster”?

In ancient Hebrew/Aramaic languages, words are extremely important. That is why the accuracy of the Hebraic Torah hasn’t changed at all over thousands of years. Unfortunately, each new version of the English Bible is loaded with attempts to re-interpret words, phrases, and concepts to be more “readable and relevant.” But this translation-of-a-translation-of-a-translation style of writing is much like the telephone game; where an initial phrase is passed secretly from person to person all throughout a room. By the time it gets to the last person, the words and meaning have substantially changed. This is one of the big problems of relying solely on modern English translations of the Bible; not to mention the increasingly liberal and “politically correct” wording that completely destroys absolutely critical aspects of God’s nature, his people, and scripture as a whole. I believe there are more accurate, though not as common, English translations available such as “The Scriptures” from the Institute for Scriptural Research. (There are others, but this version has been very helpful to me.) However there is really no substitute for working back to the original languages and cultural/historical context to find true meaning.

As for “bringing us unto Christ” and “a shadow of the coming Christ” those are true phrases, but actually ask more questions than they answer. Can you tell me what the author really meant by either of those phrases? Probably not. You can tell me what they mean to you, but not what the author specifically means. Therefore you can’t really know to what degree you agree or disagree with his position. This sort intangibility feeds the fires of relativistic theology that says, “I think the Bible means this, you think the Bible means that, as long as we just love God it really doesn’t matter.” That is not, and has never been, the way God works. His Word is very specific, very concrete, and leaves very little room for opinion or conjecture. Read Eph 4:14 and remember: Man is increasingly relative and wishy-washy; but God and His Word are steadfast and eternally consistent.

2. Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law, not destroy it.

No argument here, but once again the statement begs the question: what does that really mean?!?!?

I touched on this in my introduction, but it’s worth going back to. The word rendered “fulfill” here is the Greek word “play-ro’o.” One of the most common uses of the word at that time was to describe fishing nets that are crammed to capacity with fish. The concept represented by the word is something that is literally achieving the maximum results it was designed to do, and doing so without failure. So what Yeshua was saying is this, “I am the Word of God – literally the Torah made flesh. As such, I’m the only one who can walk in perfection and completion of Torah. And since that’s true, after I’ve gone, those who believe in me will be empowered by my Holy Spirit (Ruach Ha Kodesh) to do exactly what I’ve done by walking in the fullness of my Torah just like I did.”

All the time I hear people carelessly quoting from Jeremiah and Hebrews, “I will put my laws (Torah) in their minds and write them (Torah) on their hearts.” Most NT Christians trumpet this scripture to excuse or rationalize something they did or did not do in relation to their walk of faith or the Word of God. “God knows my heart” they say. But that is absolutely NOT what the verse is saying. The question isn’t does God know a person’s heart, he does. (So let us be very careful about throwing that phrase around carelessly.) The real question is if God’s “law” is written on a person’s heart, shouldn’t they naturally be thinking, feeling, believing, saying and doing exactly what the “law” of God says? In other words, shouldn’t everything in a believer’s life be consistent with the Torah of God?

Think about it: Which “law” is being referenced in these scriptures? Of course, there’s only one answer because there is only one “law” and only one word translated as “law”: Torah. And where is Torah being written? On the hearts and minds of believers. Now if God’s entire Torah is written – literally “permanently etched” as if carved onto a tablet of stone – a person’s heart and mind (as it says in both the OT and NT) then why don’t “believers” follow Torah completely?

I suggest the reason is that this particular prophecy has not been fulfilled yet – at least not completely. Let’s read the Jeremiah 31:31-34 scripture reference entirely…

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Virtually all Jewish and Christian theologians agree this is a prophecy about Messiah, but most of them miss the conditions of this prophecy:

1. The word “new” (in “new covenant”) is an incorrect translation of the Hebrew word “chadash” which literally means renewed. It is the same word used to describe the “new” moon. Obviously the moon isn’t “new” each month, it is “renewed” each month. This is in direct opposition to those who teach the “old” covenant has passed away and been replaced with a “new” covenant.
2. This promise is specifically with the seed of Abraham (“house of Israel and house of Judah”) so if you’re not a “Jew” you’re not part of this promise. (Whooops…there’s something to think about for those who carelessly quote this scripture.)
3. The “law” (Torah) is being put “within them” so that they don’t mess-up anymore. This does not mean people will be robots. We are humans, and no matter how hard we try we cannot be fish. Likewise, with Torah written on our hearts and mind, living outside of Torah will be as impossible as living like a fish. Rather obviously, this is not the case with humanity today, even with the most devout Jews or Christians. Thankfully God has given us a renewed heart in the meantime, through the shed blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit bearing witness within us, and that is what keeps us inclined toward obedience to God. Even so, it’s still very clear we must work at our faith every day – so I do not see this scripture as being completely fulfilled yet (again, this is a personal opinion.)
4. “They shall no longer teach one another…” There’s a church on every corner and new Bible studies and commentaries are always hot sellers. Apparently this part of the verse has not come to pass yet either.

3. For believers, the law is fulfilled through faith in Christ Jesus, providing he or she is walking uprightly in Christ.

Well yes, true…but again this is a tricky point because it begs deeper questions. What meaning does he attach to the word “fulfill”? What does he mean “walking upright in Christ”? Without having the author define these terms, I really can’t provide a fully informed response, but I’ll try anyway…

Let’s work through this logically: Who is Christ? Christ is the “Word made flesh.” (John 1:14) What is the “Word”? That is Torah (the true Hebrew/Aramaic term used in the scriptures). What is Torah? “In the beginning was Torah, and Torah was with God, and Torah was God.” (John 1:1) So quite clearly, Christ = Torah = God, in different forms. And Christ himself said “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” So when the author says “walking uprightly in Christ” he is absolutely correct, because this is making the exact same statement as “walking uprightly in Torah.” In the purest sense, a follower of Christ is a follower of Torah.

So the next question is: Does this believer’s life (word and deed, hands and heart) show evidence of their proclaimed faith? Because according to the verses in Jeremiah and Hebrews (the “law” written on our hearts) a ‘true believer’ should be naturally inclined toward following Torah, and be incapable of breaking Torah without specifically intending to do so. Yeshua himself follows this up in John 14:15 when he says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (And similar statements in several other verses.)

Want proof? Consider this: Take just about anyone who is truly seeking to walk in faith with Christ, and not been confused by seminary theology. Let them read the Torah, then watch them respond, “Hmmm…that’s interesting. I didn’t know that’s actually what the bible says. Maybe I should be doing that.” I’ve seen this happen again and again, and I personally believe that is the Holy Spirit bearing witness to a true believer’s natural inclination to follow Torah, or we might say “walking uprightly in Christ.”

Now whether or not said believer chooses to obey the spirit’s prompting is another matter entirely. Unfortunately it is my conviction that when believers begin truly studying scripture, they quickly discover aspects of their faith (i.e. what they believe and have always been taught) does not entirely line up with the entirety of scripture. Most people take the question to their pastor or Sunday School teacher, and receive a variety of response that usually culminate in a sentiment like this: “Listen, the point is Christ died for your sins and that’s really all that matters. Don’t get all hung up in the OT, or apparent contradictions with the NT. When the rubber meets the road, the OT is just ancient history and has no relevance to your walk of faith. As for Paul and his teachings, the answer is simple: the law has been dealt with and you are now free in Christ. Trust me, I’ve been to (some seminary or studied under so-and-so) and as long as you have the ABC’s (admit, believe, confess) you’re good to go.”

In my experience, vast majority of people who hear this explanation accept it without further question and go on with life – regardless of what their heart bears witness to – and this includes the very pastors and teachers who once had the same questions themselves!!! Fortunately, there is always a remnant who cannot accept this answer and choose to determine for themselves what the truth really is. And fortunately, there are those who “obey the Torah, and teach others to do so” as Yeshua himself said. But woe to those who “do not obey Torah and teach others to do the same” as written in James 3:1, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”

4. But, well over 90% of the world still lives under the curse of the law.

You know what they say, “over 83% of all statistics are made up.” I say this tongue-in-cheek of course. Regardless of the exact number, I have no doubt the vast majority of the world’s population is not (currently) destined for eternity in Heaven. Beyond the numbers, I think we agree in principle but I’d prefer to have a better idea of his specific definition of “the curse of the law” to work with. Nevertheless, again I’ll try to respond…

Do we live in a “free country”? Yes. Really? Are you totally free? No. Total freedom is the absence of law, which is defined as “anarchy.” American’s are “free” precisely because we have laws governing our country, and these laws are (presumably) to “guide and protect us.” (Sound familiar?) Do you walk around everyday complaining about the “burden of the law”? No. Rather, you enjoy “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” precisely because the law is there. Incidentally, do you know what the word “liberty” means? It means, “freedom from arbitrary or despotic control.” In America, we do not have total freedom we have liberty which is the freedom to make right choices.

What happens if you make the wrong choices? If you speed? If you steal? If you murder? You are then subject to the consequence of your choice to act in “lawlessness” and you suffer the “curse” of the law. Now let’s say you are caught speeding and have to pay a fine. You appear in court and find the amount is more than you can pay, so you are sentenced to 30 days in jail. But just before the judge lowers the gavel, someone walks in the courtroom and pays your fine in full. The judge proclaims you “free to go.” What exactly are you “free” to go and do? Are you free from the consequence (curse) of the law? Not exactly. You’ve been freed from judgment of that particular violation. However, when you leave the court and get in your car, has the law gone away? No. In fact, if you’re smart, you’ll be very careful to observe the law from that point forward to avoid ever having to go to court again. You might even be more conscious of other laws that you had previously not paid much attention to because you now know what is at stake: your freedom…the very freedom that is guaranteed and protect by the law you broke!

Here’s the problem: When pastors and teachers tell people they are “free from the law” or even “free from the curse of the law” they do not fully explain what that means in terms of the entirety of scripture. That leaves a lot of room for interpretation and most people make the same decision about God’s law that they make about the laws of our country: “I will generally follow the laws I understand and agree with, at least most of the time, unless I have a specific reason not to do so, in which case God will understand because he knows my heart. Besides even if I I’m caught and go to court, Christ has already written a blank check to cover every violation I could ever commit. So no worries, I’m free and no longer have any reason to follow the law.”

I submit that anyone who has that mindset toward their walk of faith, and teaches the same to others, gives evidence by their very heart and actions that they do not love Christ, because they are not following his commandments. Is such a person really “saved”? That’s a question for God and God alone. Personally I believe in walking as far away from the “edge of sin” as possible; not trying to test God by seeing how close I can get to the edge without falling over. For me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

5. God’s commandments have spiritual as well as physical ramifications.

Absolutely true – and in this case God defines the word “ramifications” for us in scripture as “blessings and curses” as found in Deut 11:26, “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.” And again in Deut 30:19, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Did God say we would be his set apart people? Yes. Did God provide a set of teachings for how his set apart people should live? Yes. Are there blessings for following the teachings? Yes. Are there consequences for not following the teachings? Yes. To demonstrate this, let’s consider an example built upon God’s natural law of gravity.

Gravity keeps us safely planted here on Earth. Without gravity, we would fly off into space. Let’s call this the “blessing” of gravity. But, if a person walks up to the edge of a canyon and jumps off, gravity takes over and that person will fall to his/her death. Let’s call this the “curse” of gravity. God made gravity, so did God kill that person? Certainly not. That person chose to act contrary to one of God’s natural – or physical – laws, and suffered physical consequences as a result.

Likewise, just as we are both physical and spiritual, Torah is physical and spiritual and the same principles apply in a spiritual sense. If we walk in obedience to God’s teaching for his set-apart people, we walk in his blessings. If we are not obedient to God’s teaching for his set-apart people, we miss the blessings (at best) and suffer the curses (at worst.) Focusing solely on the physical aspect – i.e. I ate a bunch of bacon-wrapped shrimp and God didn’t strike me dead, so obviously “the law” isn’t in effect anymore – completely misses the spiritual part of the equation. More important still, the blessing is only promised for obedience as written in James 1:22-25, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”

So how is it that so many people – good people, faithful Christians – can be walking outside of Torah and apparently not suffering any consequences, or even walking in apparent blessing? That is a great question and I really don’t have an answer other than this: I see the same thing with people walking completely in sin as well. Some seem abundantly blessed while others seem terribly cursed, regardless of their faith walk. I don’t know why, I simply accept that God’s ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9) and God causes the sun to rise and the rain to fall on the evil and the good (Matthew 5:45).

But the next question is even more important: Then why should we bother walking in Torah at all? Another great question and we can find the answer in 1 Samuel 15:22-23, “Samuel said, ‘Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD (Torah) he has also rejected you from being king.’ ” Therefore believers in Messiah should walk in Torah to demonstrate our obedience and love for God, our gratefulness for the blood of Christ shed on our behalf, and an earnest desire to be identified as God’s set-apart people.

6. God’s laws are always perfect science.

Agreed 100%. God is the creator of the heavens and the earth and everything in them. However, I really have no idea what the author’s point might be so I have no other response to offer.

7. Those who obey will reap the benefits

True, but once again I’m not sure where he’s going. As we read in Deuteronomy above, the coin has two sides: blessings and curses. Most NT believers choose to leave out the “curses” part, or the “physical and spiritual” part; but the last time I checked those were still in the Bible.

Conclusion:

You commented as follows regarding the article in question…

I agree, that certainly appears to be the author’s position. And as I have hopefully communicated through this letter, such theology – while heading the right direction – is not complete and does not fully align with scripture. In short, it still “misses the mark” set by God. The same God who said “do not murder” and “do not lie” also said “do not eat pork” and “observe my feasts throughout all generations” and “keep my Sabbath forever.” As we read in Malachi 3:6, “I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.”

If God desires obedience not sacrifice, and calls us to be Holy as He is Holy, and He never changes, I simply do not understand why a believer in the Messiah of Israel and King of the Jews, who called heaven and earth as eternal witnesses to his enduring Word, would not seek to walk in obedience to the Torah of God to the greatest extent possible, just as Yeshua himself did and called others to do.

When I hear phrases like “you don’t have to follow the law” or “so you can’t eat pork” I now realize such a person simply has incomplete and/or incorrect information regarding to the character of God, the history of his set-apart people, and the scripture He gave us. So I simply try my best to shed light in dark places and trust the Holy Spirit to bear witness to the truth of God.

In summary God said “be holy as I am holy” and fortunately the Father gave us the Torah to do that, the lamb of God (Messiah) who takes away the Torah-less-ness (sin) of the world, and the Holy Sprit who guides his set-apart people into all truth. And there is only one truth: Torah – which is the completeness of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit from everlasting to everlasting.

Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

1 John 5:3 “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.”

Baruch HaShem! (Praise the Lord!)

Your brother in Christ,

Kevin Lynam

Ps: Additional Resources

If you’d like to learn more about this walk, here are several websites I can personally vouch for:

• MySarShalom.com (our messianic synagogue in Lewisville)
• hrabbimarksdrash.blogspot.com (our pastor/rabbi’s blog)
• Hebrew4Christians.com (learn the language of scripture)
• ffoz.org (First Fruits of Zion, messianic book publisher)

And here are a few books I’ve personally read that provide excellent foundations for this walk:

• Restoration
• Jesus the Jewish Theologian
• Paul the Jewish Theologian
• Biblically Kosher