We had broken the Law many ways. Those sins were held against us by the Law. That Law had writings which said we were sinners. But now He has destroyed that writing by nailing it to the cross.
I responded,
What exactly are you saying, Gary, that Messiah destroyed the Torah? I mean, it sure sounds like that's what you're saying. Is it?
Before Gary could reply, another Christian told me,
Judah, if He didn't abolish the Law of Commandments, and you are still under them in the least, then how are you going to be made righteous before God who has the power to cast both soul and body into hell? The Law is contrary to us as sinners and can only condemn us, and rightly so.
The Torah isn't for you, it's against you as one guilty of disobedience. Unless you claim to be without sin? I don't understand how anyone can have faith in Christ Jesus and say they're still under the Law. You make faith null and the promise void in doing so.
I don't say these things just to be a jerk, but to give you rest in Jesus. I know trying to live by the Law is miserable. You constantly feel unworthy and like you're not doing enough. I know what it is to try to live like that.
And in a post on Theophiles, a Christian gentile tells me that Christ came to correct the "erroneous view of the cleanliness code" in the Torah.
So there you have it. What an amazing anti-Jewish Iesus Kristo we have, who single-handedly:
- Corrected the error-filled Torah.
- Destroyed God's commandments and all that "Jewish" stuff.
- Rendered null the faith of anyone who keeps God's commandments.
- Turned keeping God's commandments -- which the Psalmist calls a joy and a delight -- into a miserable, unworthy life.
Nice.
And Christians wonder why Jews look at Christianity as a foreign, idolatrous religion!
I'm weary of doctrines pulled from a single author (in this case, Paul), with no support from the rest of Scripture. But even more dubious is the doctrine which is pulled solely from Paul that renders the rest of Scripture null, void, abolished. These are precisely the dangerous theologies we've seen plague the gentile Church for decades:
This kind of re-interpretation of Scripture is afflicting Christianity and leads to anti-Judaic doctrines, which are not only bad theology, but they have also led to anti-Jewish sentiment, even to the point of 75% of German Protestant preachers being anti-Jewish during the Nazi Holocaust.
The God-ordained grace and faith understanding the Church so proudly proclaims is now being abused, used as a tool to abolish God's standard of right and wrong, God's loving instruction to his children.
Abolished, all of it. In the name of Jesus.
Before we end, allow me to remove you from modern Christian theology for a moment and give a reality check:
And Messiah said to them,
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke 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."
Selah.
I love reality checks.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJudah,
ReplyDeleteThe only way not to be 'under the Law' is to fulfill it. When we obey our Father as Jesus did, from the heart, we don't need the Law but when we obey our flesh, we do need the Law to correct our error and return our focus on Christ.
I think the biggest problem is the language of Christianeze. I think "under the Law" envokes an image of works based salvation. I don't understand however, the statement that the Law is abolished. Even when it is fulfilled it still exits in the positive sense. It is the morality best suited for healthy and happy human beings. Whenever mankind steps away from these Laws and begins to create his own morality, the result is disasterous to the health and happiness of mankind. The alternative to God's Law is human desire and we always desire that which hurts us and hurts others. Those of us who are in Christ Jesus are to walk according to the Spirit and to say that the Spirit is in opposition to the Law is just rediculous.
I wish Christians would look to the Hebrew roots of our faith rather than to church fathers. Most of what it taught in mainstream protestant churches is myth. I know this doesn't surprise God and I, at times, truly, wonder if the faith will still exist on the earth when Jesus returns.
@Pam,
ReplyDeleteYou said,
When we obey our Father as Jesus did, from the heart, we don't need the Law but when we obey our flesh, we do need the Law to correct our error and return our focus on Christ.
Right, if we're "walking by the Spirit" if I may borrow an over-used religious phrase, we wouldn't be breaking the Torah.
Since we can never walk perfectly with God, the Torah always serves as the back-to-the-basics definition of sin. It tells us what's right and wrong. Paul says in Romans, without the Torah, we wouldn't know that coveting is a sin, for instance.
I wonder if the faith will still exist on the earth when Jesus returns.
Me too. I think it will exist, but in a form far removed from the original faith of the Nazarenes. It is apparent this is already the case with Roman Catholicism and many of its Protestant offspring.
J. Gabrielle, why did you delete your post? I thought it was good commentary and you had some good questions.
ReplyDeletePeople would do well to read Dan Juster’s book “Jewish Roots, A foundation of Biblical Theology”. If you don’t know him, you need to read his stuff. http://www.tikkunministries.org/
ReplyDeleteDan is probably the most important Messianic Rabbi in Israel. Specifically read his exposition on “Paul, Israel and the Law Ch3.”
The doctrine “we are no longer under the law but under grace” is such a convoluted idea that I would go so far as to say it is anti-Torah therefore anti-God.
Maybe it is better understood this way, quote from pg.96
“For law-breaking will no longer have dominion over you since you are not under condemnation of the law or a system of works righteousness, but under grace. What then? Are we to ‘break the Law’ because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!” (Romans 6:14,15)
Do you not know that the first believers in Yeshua (Jesus) called Him HaTorah?
Judah,
ReplyDeleteWhy do you characterize this as anti-Jewish? Obviously the law is not abolished, but the error of believing it to be abolished I suspect comes more from the freedom from condemnation that grace bring, not from any Jewish sentiment.
Pat O
@Lou,
ReplyDeleteI am familiar with Dan Juster. I will have to pick up his book, thanks for that.
The doctrine “we are no longer under the law but under grace” is such a convoluted idea that I would go so far as to say it is anti-Torah therefore anti-God.
Mmm, that is getting right down to it. I believe that if you are in rebellion against the Torah, you are not walking with God.
@Patrick,
You said,
Why do you characterize this as anti-Jewish?
Because it belittles the Jewish origin of the faith, removes the Hebraic nature of our faith in God. It's no better than Replacement Theology, which is also anti-Jewish. Please read this, Patrick:
Derek Leman on Future Israel
He writes something quite profound that applies here as much as it does to Replacement Theology:
"We see that the biblical view of Israel is not merely some hyper-literalist eschatological scheme, but is about ethics and following the moral will of God.
We see what the true legacy of Christian interpretation of the Bible really is. There is a definite line from writing Israel out of the Bible to the Christian participation in the Holocaust."
Replacement Theology was a stepping-stone for Christianity to its sad history of persecution of the Jewish people. Law Abolition Theology, which is the idea that the Torah is abolished, is at least as wrong.
Judah,
ReplyDeletecould you explain this a little more?
"I wonder if the faith will still exist on the earth when Jesus returns.
Me too. I think it will exist, but in a form far removed from the original faith of the Nazarenes. It is apparent this is already the case with Roman Catholicism and many of its Protestant offspring".
Dorla
What I mean is, by the time Messiah returns, I suspect a lot of the people that label themselves Christians would find this Sabbath-keeping, Feast-keeping, Torah-observant, Jewish revolutionary and political king -- the Lion of Judah -- to be quite foreign to the western gentile mindset, which supposes a pacifist Jesus to have abolished the Torah and established a new religion called Christianity.
ReplyDeleteIt is apparent that many parts of western Christianity have already strayed from the original faith: they've abolished the Torah, they've replaced God's Feasts with man's holidays, they've replaced God's eternal and set-apart day of rest with their own day by their own authority.
By all means Christianity is a new religion separate from the Hebrew faith, which I do not believe was Messiah's intent. I do not believe Messiah came to start a new religion.
Judah,
ReplyDeleteI also agree that Jesus did not come to start a new religion. Most modern day Christians regard the Millenial rule of Christ as hertical. They don't have a clue what the Bible really teaches and most don't want to look because they don't want to be branded a heretic.
Don't forget though that during the holocaust there were Christians who supported the Jews and suffered along side of them. Correy Ten Boom was one of them. Even today, there are Bible Christians who support Israel and honor the Jews as the Chosen People of God.
@Pam,
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. I do not mean to dismiss all the good things Christians have done or the things Christianity has contributed to the world.
Corrie Ten Boom is certainly one such righteous Christian. Her autobiography, The Hiding Place, is a favorite book of mine.
Judah,
ReplyDeleteIt is a favorite book of mine also. It was the first 'Christian book' I read after my Salvation experience. I think it has colored my faith ever since and I'm thankful because without her strong testimony in loving God's people, I might not have learned to view the Chosen people as I should either.
I wasn't critisizing you, Judah. I just don't want you to feel down about it. You know, I feel pretty alien in the church a great deal of the time also. If a person takes the time to mine scripture, most of what is unearthed does not agree with mainstream Christian teaching. I'm not sorry that I have done so but sometimes, it would be nice if I could find a group of believers with whom I could share all that God has shown me. In the meantime, I settle for gathering in the Name of Jesus and pick and sort through what I hear. God is faithful, and there is always at least, a bit of truth that blesses me. Someday, all of us will have full understanding and I look forward to that day.
Judah,
ReplyDeletethank you for explaining. Our gentile religions have turned Jesus into a "feel good feeling" where any kind of Bible reading takes about 5 minutes and our daily requirement is accomplished. And then of course we only read those portions that deal with "what I am feeling today" and "a bunch of stories I already know" plus,the first 5 books of the Bible are "so difficult to understand" and "not relevant".
This is a great topic and I could go on and on...
Dorla
Judah,
ReplyDeleteI just reposted my comment, did it not show up?
Very good post, Judah!
ReplyDeleteAre you an observant Jew? Do you eat kosher, pray with tefillin?
ReplyDeleteI'm just curious...
Also, how do you perceive the messiah? Will he be born or descend supernaturally? Will he be a merely righteous person who will gather all the jews and bring peace or will he be some supernatural superhero?
Darshan,
ReplyDeleteI believe we ought to do the best we can to keep the Torah, because it's God's detailed, hands-on instructions on how to live a righteous life.
Moshiach and his talmidim also kept the Torah as an example for us.
Shalom.