Author: Steven R. Bruck
To Torah, or Not to Torah.
So many people have no idea what the Torah really is. They think it is just a bunch of laws, and to some degree that is accurate, but those laws define more than just ceremonies or rituals- they define a total way of life.
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
Recently, I was in a discussion with someone who was trying to convince me that the 10 Commandments are for everyone, but the Mosaic laws (I really think she thought they were Moses’ laws and not God’s) were only for Jews. I told her that the Big Ten were really just a condensed version of the Torah, but not all the laws God wants us to obey. I gave her examples of some Torah commandments not mentioned, at all, in the Big Ten but apply to God-fearing people, such as the Torah rules against sexual perversity within a family, homosexuality, and other penal code violations. I asked if she thought those activities are acceptable for Christians to do?
Can a Christian son sleep with his Christian Mother-in-law? Can a Christian father sleep with his Christian daughter-in-law? Can Christians be absolved from punishment if they commit acts of violence against each other (what are legally defined as torts)?
I don’t think so, do you?
These are covered in the Torah, but not mentioned at all in the Big Ten.
Here is the real scoop about the Torah- it was given by God to the Jewish people, but not JUST for the Jewish people. In Exodus 19:6, God tells Moses that the Israelites- the descendants of Abraham- will be his (God’s) nation of priests.
Now, what do priests do? Well, they do more than just run the services. Their job, overall, is to act as intermediary between the people and God, teaching the people how they are to live in accordance with the way God says we should.
God chose the descendants of Abraham to be his nation of priests; now, priests don’t serve other priests, so it is pretty obvious that the ones we Jews are to be priests to have to be the rest of the world.
Do you remember that Shaul said God made salvation available to all: to the Jew first, then to the Gentile? (Romans 1:16)
The Torah is God’s instructions on how to live a righteous life, and a righteous life leads to salvation. These instructions were given to his chosen people, chosen (I really should say “commissioned”) to be God’s Cohanim (priests) to the world, first to learn for themselves, and then to teach to the rest of humanity.
Yeah, that means Christians, too!
Now let’s talk about Yeshua and the Torah.
Yeshua was God’s anointed Messiah, and he lived a sinless life, which is why he was resurrected. According to God, the only way to be sinless was to be in 100% accordance with the Torah, so we can know, absolutely, that Yeshua lived a Torah observant life.
Christianity has stated that because Yeshua lived the Torah perfectly, anyone following him is not required to observe the Torah- in essence, Christianity says by doing something correctly, that makes it obsolete.
Does that really make any sense?
If I come to a stop sign while driving, and the person ahead of me stops completely, looks both ways twice, then slowly continues on their way, having completed the law for stop signs, can I now just go right through the intersection every time I come to a stop sign?
If someone stops at a red light and doesn’t go again until the light turns green, does that mean I can just continue driving through every red light I ever see, for the rest of my life?
You may say traffic laws aren’t like the Torah, but are they really that different? Aren’t the traffic laws created to protect us from being hurt?
Don’t the rules God gave in the Torah protect us? I am not talking about protection from being T-boned in an intersection, but protection from spending eternity in hell!
No one, no human, that is, can live 100% in accordance with the Torah, 100% of the time. That is why God created the sacrificial system: he knew we couldn’t do it right, so he gave us an escape clause to protect us from ourselves. But, when the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, that put an end (at least, until the next temple) to the sacrificial system, so now what? God’s escape clause from eternal damnation has been erased!
But wait! God sent Yeshua, the Messiah, so that through our belief in him as the Messiah, and by means of his sacrificial death, we could now find forgiveness from sin without the temple. And beyond that, Christianity tells us that Yeshua did more than make forgiveness available- he did away with the Torah!
Um… uh… hold it a minute. Shaul tells us that the Torah created sin (Romans 7:7), and Christianity says that Yeshua did away with the Torah, so doesn’t that mean there is no more sin? And if there is no more sin, then why do we need to follow any rules, ceremonies, or rituals? If there is no Torah, then there is no sin, and everyone is automatically saved without having to do anything! Hallelujah!!
What? You mean that’s not right? Are you telling me that when Yeshua did away with the Torah, which should mean there is no more sin, there is still sin? Shaul lied? God tricked us? Yeshua didn’t do away with sin?
But, but, but… if sin still exists, then the Torah is still valid, so how can Christians say the Torah is not valid for them? Are Christians automatically righteous in God’s eyes?
I don’t really need to answer that, do I?
Christians say that they don’t follow the Torah, they follow Yeshua, but Yeshua lived in accordance with the Torah and Christians don’t, so how can they say they follow him?
Here’s what it all boils down to, folks- if you REALLY want to follow Yeshua, then you need to live in accordance with the Torah, to the best of your abilities. And when you fail, as we all do, you still have Yeshua to fall back on to receive forgiveness.
On the other hand, if you choose to live according to one of the many Christian religions, all of which are composed of man-made rules, tenets, and ceremonies and (for the most part) reject God’s Torah, then I think you will have a hard time convincing God that you want to be righteous in his eyes.
Thank you for being here and please share these messages, subscribe to this ministry on my messianicmoment.com website, and also on my YouTube channel, “Like” my Messianic Moment Facebook page, and join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (but please ensure you agree to the rules to be let in).
And remember that I always welcome your comments.
That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!
Video for To Torah, or Not to Torah.
Seven Times Seventy? Not Really.
In the gospel of Matthew, Chapter 18, verses 21-22, Kefa (Peter) asks Yeshua (Jesus) if he should forgive his brother for sinning against him as many as 7 times. Yeshua answered not just 7 times, but 70 times 7 times.
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
I understand the point Yeshua wanted to make, but I think this verse is misleading. Here’s what I mean- if someone has sinned against me that many times, regardless of whether or not I forgive them, I have to be pretty stupid to keep falling for it!
In the original Star Trek TV series, there is a situation where Scotty tells Sulu:
“Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”
We are warned that if we do not forgive on earth, we will not be forgiven in heaven (Matthew 6:14); however, it should be understood that forgiving someone doesn’t mean we should automatically trust them, nor should we allow them to continue to sin against us. That is just foolish; remember that Yeshua told his disciples they should be wise as serpents, yet gentle as doves (Matthew 10:16). Continuing to place yourself in a position where people can hurt you is not being very wise.
With wisdom comes understanding, and if someone continually sins against you, you need to understand that even if they apologize every single time, their apology is empty. I learned a long time ago that people do not mean what they say, they mean what they do.
If someone continually sins against you, whether it be the same sin or a different one, their apology must be taken with more than a grain of salt- you’ll need an entire 50 lb. block of the stuff!
The way I handle this is to automatically forgive someone who sins against me because whether or not they ask for it is irrelevant. If they are truly repentant, they will ask for forgiveness and that’s a good thing; and if they never ask for forgiveness, that’s OK with me. My forgiveness of them makes me right with God, but it has no influence on their relationship with God. They need to repent of their sin and ask God for forgiveness, as well as asking me.
So, I forgive those who sin against me and, if they continue to do so, apology or not, I will put them away from me. Yes, I will continue to forgive the sins, but to prevent myself from being a fool I will put that person out of my life.
In other words, I ain’t giving them the chance to get anywhere near the point of 7 times 70.
“Turning the other cheek” is not to be taken literally, and since I have a limited number of cheeks to begin with, the smart thing for me to do is when I realize someone sinning against me won’t stop, I need to take myself out of that relationship.
So, forgive those who sin against you, and do so automatically, but do not allow someone to have the opportunity to continue to sin against you. That isn’t Godly, it’s just plain stupid.
Thank you for being here. Please share these messages with everyone you know to help this ministry grow. Subscribe to this ministry here and on my YouTube channel, as well, and join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word”, but please ensure you agree to the rules, or you cannot be allowed in.
And remember that I always welcome your comments.
That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
Video for Seven Times Seventy? Not Always.
No One Listened
No one listened to what? Who was supposed to listen to what, and when?
Well, let’s get one thing straight right now- there is a difference between hearing and listening.
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
Hearing is nothing more than physically recognizing a sound, maybe even recognizing the words, but not necessarily acting on them.
But when you listen to someone, that means not only do you recognize they are speaking, but you are paying attention, you are taking in what they say and, if what they say is edifying and helpful, you then act upon it.
To answer the question, the early leaders of the movement that accepted Yeshua as the Messiah made up of Gentiles are the people I am talking about, and what they heard was a warning from Shaul (Paul) in many of his letters, about not being drawn away from proper worship and the truth of the Messiah that Shaul had taught them by false prophets, false messiahs, and false teachings.
In fact, going through my Concordance to see how many times Shaul warned of falling prey to false teachings and prophets, there are no less than 11 times I found he warned against this.
And not warned against false teachings from outside the believing community, but also from within the congregations, themselves!
You may be thinking, “What false teachings are you talking about, Steve?”
To answer that lets first observe how those early Jewish followers of Yeshua lived and worshiped.
That is an easy thing- just think of any Jewish person you know, and that is pretty close to how the First Century Jews lived and worshiped, as well, except for the addition of modern conveniences. The early followers of Yeshua lived as he did- as Torah observant worshipers of God, recognizing that Yeshua was a human being with divine powers given to him through the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) because he was the Messiah.
The false teachings came much later and were not from any of the Jewish leaders because they had all died or been martyred, but from Gentile believers who were now leading this Jewish sect away from Judaism, for both political reasons (to avoid persecution from the Romans) and- this is my opinion- for personal reasons.
The personal reasons (again, this is what I believe) were simply that to become totally observant to the Torah, even though Shaul was taking them there a little at a time, was too much for them. The sacrifices they had to make, the changes from their previous way of life, and the pressures from outside sources (think of the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13) was more than they could take.
They didn’t want to stop believing in Yeshua, but they also didn’t want to be associated with the Jews who were being persecuted by Rome because at that time they were rebelling against the Roman rule of Judea.
So, they decided to change some things around, such as the Shabbat now was on Sunday, the leadership of this movement (now called Christianity) rejected the Moedim (Holy Days) God told us to celebrate (Leviticus 23), and actually came against the Jews by siding with Rome during the Bar Kochba rebellion in the mid-2nd Century. When the Jews were not allowed (by Rome) to live in the Holy City, the Bishop of Jerusalem was a Christian!
Once the Jewish rebellion was put down, and the temple was destroyed, Rome turned against the Christians who were doing something, in Rome’s eyes, just as bad as revolting- they were creating a new religion. By the time Constantine legalized Christianity (not that he ever really converted, himself), Christianity was now totally separated from its Jewish roots.
Hence, the false teachings that Shaul warned would take his congregations of Yeshua-following Gentiles away from proper worship, were ignored.
What was originally a sect within Judaism had mutated to a totally different religion, following nothing but man-made tenets, observing man-made holidays, praying to graven images and statues, deifying the Messiah, and rejecting almost every commandment of the father!
As far as living the way Yeshua lived? Not even close! It is a sad thing that so many Christians have been taught they should follow in the footsteps of their savior, yet their religion teaches them to ignore exactly what they should be doing- living a Torah observant life as Yeshua did.
They even stopped calling him Yeshua ha Mashiach (Yeshua, the Messiah); he was now Jesus Christ, their savior, another way to separate themselves from anything “Jewish” about him, and later to declare that Jesus is also God.
So, there you have it. They had been warned and warned, and warned, again, not to listen to false teachings or false prophets. Did they? Nah! That is why there are so many Christian denominations, nearly all of which profess to worship God and live as Yeshua did, but in truth, don’t even come close.
I pray that someday their ears will be opened, their hearts will be touched, and they will do t’shuvah, turning from their man-made drek and worshiping God the way Yeshua (and Shaul, and James, and all the other Apostles) taught them how they should.
Thank you for being here and please subscribe to both this website ministry and my Facebook page, also to my YouTube channel, and join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (but please make sure you agree to the rules, or I cannot let you in).
That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and an early Shabbat Shalom!