The following are some questions posed to me recently, along with my answers:
Question One:
This is actually not a question, but a distortion of two verses from the NT, posted as follows: "Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a YOKE that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in SLAVERY TO TORAH." Acts 15.10; Gal 5.1
Answer:
The words "SLAVERY TO TORAH" do not exist in Acts 15:10, nor in Galatians 5:1. This is a distortion!
Three times in the Book of Revelations, we are told that the saints of God obey his commandments:
Revelation12:17
And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation14:12
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Revelation22:14
Blessed are those who do His commandments,[g] that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
Let us become like the offspring of the woman in Rev.12:17. Let us be become like the saints of Rev.14:12. And like those blessed ones who have the right to the tree of life, let us keep the commandments of YHWH and hold on steadfastly to the testimony of our Master Yeshua the Anointed One.
Finally, may we remind ourselves of the warning given by our Master in Matthew 7:21-23,
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Question Two:
Torah was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith [Gal 3.24]. So what good is Torah now?
Answer:
"What good is Torah?". I shall let King David and Paul answer you:
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Psalm 19:7-11 NIV
The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.
By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
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Romans 6:1,2a NKJV
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!
Romans 6:15
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!
Romans 7:7
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! . . .
Romans 7:12,13
. . . the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not!
Romans 9:14
What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!
Question Three:
Why would you want to keep Torah when you are not being made right to God by it?
Answer:
Please see my previous answers above.
Question Four:
Two verses are posed here.
Hebrews 8:12 says, "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.
James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. Harlode, Jesus kept the whole law, he was perfect, and walked perfectly. Harolde, can you walk the perfect walk of our Lord and Saviour? If not, remember the words of James, if you offend in JUST ONE POINT, you are GUILTY OF ALL.
Answer:
Hebrews 10:26 also says to us," if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries."
Let us remember the instruction in 2 Timothy 3:16,
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."
Yes, ALL SCRIPTURE is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness, and that includes the books of the Torah.
Question Five:
"The rich young ruler told Jesus he obeyed the Torah from his youth, putting the emphasis on his own good works. What did Jesus say to him? Jesus told him to do something that was NOT in the Torah, to sell all he had and give to the poor. You see the rich young ruler missed it. You see jesus final commandment was to love others as he loved them. In doing that, they kept all the other commandments. It's about the motive of the heart, not outward appeareance of keeping the law."
Answer, in two parts:
(1) To say that Yeshua told the rich young ruler to do something NOT in the Torah is to miss the entire point of the account. Allow me to quote the passage below:
Mark 10:17-27 NASB"As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Yeshua said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.
You know the commandments, ‘ Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”
And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” Looking at him, Yeshua felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property."
Please note carefully that it was our Master Yeshua who FIRST advised this wealthy man to keep the commandments from the Torah. It was after the man's reply that he had kept these commandments that Yeshua told him out of compassion to sell all he had and to follow him.
The point that our Master made is found in verse 23
"And Yeshua, looking around, *said to His disciples, “ How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” "
Please note that no where in the Gospels did our Master tell people to ignore the Torah nor to consider it useless. No where did Master Yeshua teach that obeying the Torah is "slavery" (!) And no where in the Gospels did our Master Yeshua ask people "Why do you still need the Torah anymore?"
(2) To say that obeying the Torah is merely an "outward appearance" of keeping of the Torah is incorrect. If you read the books of the Torah, the Writings and the Prophets, you find again and again that the people of God are taught to obey commandments from their HEARTs.
For example, we are very familiar with the Greatest Commandment, "You shall love YHWH your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might", mentioned by our Master Yeshua in Matthew 22:37-40. Let us take a closer look at how this command was first given through Moshe:
Deuteronomy 6: 4-9 NASB
“ Hear, O Israel! YHWH is our God, YHWH is one! You shall love YHWH your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be ON YOUR HEART. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
No, brother, keeping the commandments is not just an outward appearance. Keeping the commandments is an inward adherence. Commandments are kept in our hearts.
The prophet Jeremiah teaches us a well-known verse:
Jer.17:9
"The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick;Who can understand it?"
But do you know what Jeremiah writes in the very next verse?
Jer. 17:10
"I, YHWH, search the heart, I test the mind,Even to give to each man according to his ways,According to the results of his deeds."
Yes, it is the outward results of our actions, our ways and our deeds that YHWH our God will reward us. Let us keep the commandments.
From our hearts.
