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A
Messianic Perspective
"There is nothing new under the sun" – Ecclesiastes 1:9.
Biblical Interpretation –
God’s Word is consistent and harmonious
Our
perspective of the Bible determines how we interpret the Bible. A
translator’s perspective determines how he translates, and thus
steers a reader’s interpretation.
We
submit a perspective of one unified Book of Instruction – Genesis to
Revelation, from our Eternal Holy Creator. Its message is messianic
from creation to the New Earth. The Torah (Pentateuch) is the
foundational Word of God. The Prophets build upon the Torah with
examples, applications, and clarifications. The Psalms exalt the
Torah as glorious and beloved. Finally, the Apostles give further
application and clarification, especially showing Yeshua to be the
promised Messiah. With this perspective, we find all Scripture to be
harmonious, without one portion superseding another. We further find
God to be unchanging, all people to be judged equitably by their
creator, salvation in all ages to be always by grace through faith
that produces fruit, and one continuum of the church and its
ordinances from Torah.
“All
Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness”
– 2 Timothy 3:16.
“These
(Bereans) were more noble . . . in that they received the word with
all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether
those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of
honorable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few” –Acts
17:11-12.
At
the time of these writings, “Scripture” referred to the Tanach
– the
Hebrew Bible;
the Apostolic Writings were neither complete nor yet referred to as
Holy “Scripture.”
Modern
dispensational dogma, that part of the Bible is a “New Testament”
which supersedes an “Old Testament”, leads to interpreting the
Apostles words as new doctrine, with little regard for seeking older
Biblical origins, backgrounds, and settings. Such dogma guides many
translators, and thus their translations further solidify modern
interpretations. The term “New Testament” was not applied to the
Apostolic Writings until the Middle Ages. The New Covenant is
defined in Jeremiah 31, not later by the Apostles.
__________________________
Yahweh Elohim –
The Eternal God of Grace and Judgment
In the Tanach (Torah,
Prophets, and Holy Writings),
the memorial Name of God – Yahweh, indicates His eternal nature. It
is used when representing the Eternal as the Gracious-Merciful One.
The name Elohim is used to represent the Almighty in His attributes
of creator and judge of His creation.
“Yahweh
declares, ‘I will surely have mercy on him’ ” – Jeremiah
31:20.
“Elohim
saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good” –
Genesis 1:31.
“Elohim
is a righteous judge, and a God Who has indignation every day” –
Psalm 7:11.
The names are often used
together – Yahweh Elohim (commonly translated “LORD God”), referring
to the Creator Who is gracious and merciful in judging His creation.
When man had reached his fill of corruption, then Elohim – God Who
judges His creation, destroyed them; but Yahweh – God Who is
gracious and merciful, granted grace to Noah.
“Yahweh
Elohim made the earth and heavens” – Genesis 2:4 .
“Elohim
said . . . ‘I am about to destroy them’ ” – Genesis 6:13.
“Noah
found grace in the eyes of Yahweh” – Genesis 6:8.
Our God has not changed
from a strict law-dealing judge into a merciful savior. Rather, we
may find in Him both attributes working in harmony, in the past,
present, and future. He does not change. God has defined sin and
righteousness, condemnation and salvation, from Adam until now, in
similar terms.
Men died because of their
sin from Adam to Moses, and men die because of their sin since the
crucifixion of Yeshua.
“I,
Yahweh, do not change” – Malachi 3:6.
“Yahweh
Elohim is a sun and shield; Yahweh gives grace and glory” –
Psalm 84:11.
“Sin
is (present tense in the Apostles time) the transgression of
Torah” – 1 John 3:4.
“Death
reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned in
the likeness of the offense of Adam” – Romans 5:14.
God’s people – of all
generations – are saved from their sins by the grace of Yahweh.
Yeshua (Jesus) was so named because He represented the grace of
Yahweh to save His people from their sins. The name “Yeshua” means
Yahweh is Salvation.
“You
shall call His name ‘Yeshua’, for He shall save His people from
their sins”
–
Matthew 1:21.
Elohim judged the earth
once by water, in Noah’s day, and Elohim will judge the earth again,
by fire, in the Messianic era. Sinners of our time should not think
that God has changed since the time of Sodom and Gomorrah, for God
will yet judge the nations.
“Elohim
said (v.8) . . . never again shall the water become a flood
to destroy all flesh” – Genesis 9:15.
“By
His Word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire,
kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men” – 2
Peter 3:7 (see also v.12).
Yeshua
said, “It will be more tolerable for the land Sodom and Gomorrah
in the day of judgment than for you” – Matthew 11:24. “He
condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by
reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who
would live ungodly thereafter” – 2 Peter 2:6.
God’s Name “Yahweh” is
also used relating to judgment of the enemy, when it is a matter of
grace toward His own people. Nations fell when Yahweh gave the land
of Canaan to Israel, and the nations of the world will fall when
Yeshua returns to reign over the world with His chosen people.
“May
Yahweh, the Judge, judge between the sons of Israel and the sons of
Ammon”
– Judges
11:27.
Torah –
God’s Instruction to man (commonly translated “Law”)
Adam
walked with Yahweh Elohim in the Garden of Eden, and was given
instruction (Torah) concerning God’s designed way of life, and
concerning “good and evil”. But, through temptation by haSatan, man
fell into sin, failing to put God’s Word above his own perceptions.
Adam lost his spiritual life, and his offspring would be born
spiritually dead. Adam lost Paradise, and we lost holiness: we
cannot comprehend the magnitude of the loss.
“When
the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a
delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one
wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her
husband with her, and he ate”
–
Genesis 3:6.
Adam lost his spiritual life on that day: “But from the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day
that you eat from it you will surely die” –
Genesis
2:17. He lost his physical life on that millennial day – 930 years
later.
“When
Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of
a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him
Seth”
–
Genesis
5:3.
“Behold,
I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me”
–
Psalm
51:5.
“And
you were dead in your trespasses and sins”
–
Ephesians 2:1.
God
maintained a righteous line (that does not mean sinless),
essentially through a priesthood of the firstborn. Adam lived almost
until Noah, who later picked up the priestly line and carried it
through the Great Flood. Noah’s life overlapped Abraham’s. Abraham
lived through the dispersion of nations from Babel, and then God
called him to begin the establishment of a people and place from
which to disseminate His instruction to the nations.
Adam –
AM (Anno Mundi / Year of the World) 1- 930
Noah –
AM 1056 - (Great Flood at 1656) - 2006
Abraham
– AM 1948 - (Dispersion from Babel at 1996) - 2123
The
commandments were needed to define sin and righteousness, because
fallen man had gotten so far away from understanding how to love
Yahweh and neighbor.
“Why
the Law then? It was added because of transgressions” –
Galatians 3:19.
“Through
the Law comes the knowledge of sin” – Romans 3:20.
“So
then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and
good. Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for
me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be
shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so
that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful” –
Rom 7:12-13.
God’s
instruction would now come in writing, because man had strayed so
far from the way. Moses was chosen to receive the five books called
“Torah”, though the term can refer to all of God’s instruction from
Adam’s time, including the Prophets and Holy Writings. We would see
Yeshua’s words as Torah also, though we are primarily using the term
for the Books of Moses.
God’s
instruction through Adam and the priestly line, through Moses and
the Prophets, and through Yeshua and His Apostles, are not
essentially different – not contradictory. This is not to deny
changes for differing situations, such as changes in marriage rules
as the population increased and man physically degenerated.
“The
Torah shall go forth from Zion, and the Word of Yahweh from
Jerusalem”
–
Isaiah 2:3, Micah 4:2.
Salvation
From
this perspective, we understand that a salvation by grace, through
faith in Yeshua that produces Torah observance (good works), applies
to people of every age, from Adam to Abraham to Moses to David to
Paul and to us. Some looked forward and some look back to the
offering of Messiah as redeemer.
The
ancient Biblical character Job said, “As for me, I know that my
redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth”
– Job 19:25.
The
Apostle Paul said to gentile converts, “For by grace you have
been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift
of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we
are His workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua for good works, which
God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” –
Ephesians 2:8-10.
Animal
offerings never took away sin. Properly performed, sin offerings
displayed repentance and faith in the Messiah – either prophetically
or as a memorial of the crucifixion and resurrection. Such
ordinances display valid spiritual truths, whether before or after
the crucifixion, and were always pictorial.
“The
Torah has a shadow . . .
For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away
sins”
– Hebrews 10:1-4.
Faith of
some sort is the basis for every action. A professed faith in
Messiah that produces no obedience to God is not real faith.
“As
the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead”
– James 2:26.
The Church
Through
a covenant with Abraham, God promised His people a redeemer, and a
restoration to Paradise. When Abraham’s descendants were enslaved in
Egypt, God delivered them, along with a multitude from the nations.
God called this remnant of Abraham and the nations His church. It
was set to be a light to the whole world. The faithless would be
continually weeded out, and others brought in to the faith.
“I
will establish My covenant between Me and you (Abraham) and your
descendants after you throughout their generations for an
everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after
you”
– Genesis 17:7.
“The
whole assembly of the congregation of Israel”
– Exodus 12:6.
“This
is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness” – Acts 7:38.
“I
will also make you a light of the nations, so that My Salvation may
reach to the end of the earth” – Isaiah 49:6; compare Matthew
22:37-39.
“Some
of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were
grafted in among them . . .
they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith”
– Romans 11:17, 20.
The term “church” did not
originate in Apostolic times. It is a translation of (Gr.)
ekklesia, which in turn is a translation, from the Septuagint,
of (Heb.) qehal. The word qehal is commonly used in
the Torah, sometimes translated “congregation”. This qehal is
referred to in Acts as the “church in the wilderness”.
God did
not forsake His covenant with Abraham to start a new religion called
Christianity. Paul said that gentile believers are partakers of the
Abrahamic Covenant. Yeshua said that He would build-up His church
(which had long existed), and that the doors of death would never
swallow it up – it will never die out, or need to be replaced.
“Therefore
remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are
called ‘Uncircumcision‘ by the so-called ‘Circumcision,’ which is
performed in the flesh by human hands-- remember that you were at
that time separate from Messiah, excluded from the commonwealth of
Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope
and without God in the world. But now in Messiah Yeshua you who
formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah”
–
Ephesians 2:11-13.
“I
will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it”
–
Matthew 16:18
The Ordinances of the
Church
God gave
this church Torah (instruction): “love Yahweh and love your
neighbor.” The instruction was subsequently presented on two tablets
of stone: five commandments showing how to love Yahweh, and five
showing how to love one’s neighbor.
“You
shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
and with all your strength. And you shall love your neighbor as
yourself”
–
Deuteronomy 6:5 & Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:37-39.
Moses
then wrote out 613 mitzvot, detailing how to fulfill the Ten
Commandments.
The 613
mitzvot are Biblically divided into three groups: judgments,
ordinances and statutes. The judgments are the generally understood
moral laws; the ordinances are performances that display spiritual
truths; and the statutes are rules for holiness with basis not
inherently obvious. These were all given to the church for
perpetuity.
Heb.
mishpatim (judgments), edot (ordinances), and huqqot
(statutes): note that these are inconsistently translated in many
Bibles .
Yahweh redeemed ancient
Israelites by a promised savior through faith, as they portrayed
with the prophetic Passover, and Yahweh redeems us by Yeshua through
faith, as we portray in remembrance with the Passover. Noah,
Abraham, Job, and David were saved by grace through faith, and are
used as examples throughout the Apostolic writings. Animal offerings
never took away sin: they were prophetic pictures, demonstrating
faith in a promised savior. The fulfilled pictures – like the
Passover – have not lost their validity in showing us meaning
concerning the crucifixion of Yeshua; and the yet-to-be fulfilled
pictures – like the Last Trump of the Day of Trumpeting – have not
lost their validity in portraying the future return of Messiah.
“The
Torah . . . has a picture of things to come” . . . “It is
impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” –
Hebrews 10:1-4.
See
article
FEASTS and HOLY DAYS .
The Holy Sabbath
Part of loving Yahweh is
remembering to keep the Sabbath holy, as He declared from creation.
One of
the mitzvot, showing an aspect of keeping the Sabbath holy,
instructs the church to assemble (Leviticus 23:3) for worship on the
Seventh day of the week (that is a specific day, not just one day
out of seven).
See
article
SABBATH is MESSIANIC
.
_______________________
Paul’s Affirmation
Long after the
crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Yeshua, the Apostle Paul
affirmed his Torah observance. When falsely accused of teaching
change from the Torah, he took a nazarite vow to show otherwise. At
the completion of its time (a minimum of thirty days), he fulfilled
the Torah (Numbers 6), shaving his head and bringing the required
animal offerings to the Holy Temple!
“
20 And when they heard it they began glorifying God;
and they said to him, ‘You see, brother, how many thousands there
are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all
zealous for the Law; 21 and they have been told about
you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles
to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor
to walk according to the customs. 22 What, then, is to be
done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23
"Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who are under
a vow; 24 take them and purify yourself along with them,
and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads; and all
will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been
told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the
Law . . . 26 Then Paul took the men, and the
next day, purifying himself along with them, went into the temple
giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until
the sacrifice was offered for each one of them” – Acts 21:20-26.
(Regarding verse 25 – see Acts 15 below.)
Common
Objections Addressed
“He who turns away his ear from listening to the Torah, even his
prayer is an abomination” – Proverbs 28:9.
Matthew 5:17-20 –
“Christ fulfilled the law”
“17 "Do
not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not
come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 "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. 19
"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. 20 "For I say to you
that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Yeshua came to “build up”
the Torah – to perfectly perform and teach the mitzvot*.
Unless our righteousness
exceeds great personal attempts to “build up” the Torah – unless we
have Yeshua’s righteousness imputed to us through faith, we will not
enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
*Yeshua fulfilled all Torah commandments that applied to Him.
Commandments exclusively concerning women did not apply, and
commandments and prophecies concerning His second coming as King (Mashiach
ben David) did not apply to His first coming as suffering
servant (Machiach ben Yosef).
Yeshua did not come to
“tear down” the Torah or the Prophets. Performing a mitzvot does not
abolish it: being truthful does not abolish the commandment against
lying.
Any believer who “tears
down” the Torah, by practicing and teaching contrary to its least
commandments, will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
One cannot practice and teach against its greatest commandments and
be a real believer.
Not one of the smallest
parts of the Torah will “pass away” or even change, until all of it
is accomplished – when Yeshua returns and the present heavens and
earth are “passed away”.
Not one “yod” will pass away: yod is the smallest letter, also the
number ten – this could be translated: “not one of the ten will pass
away”.
Not one small part of a letter will pass away – removing a small
overhang on a Hebrew letter changes the letter, and thus the meaning
of its word.
From ancient Hebrew and Greek texts of Matthew:
[Build up] Heb. l’hashalom – to make complete, whole,
prosperous. Gr. plaroo – to make full, complete, build up.
[Tear down] Heb. l’hafer – to break, violate, annul. Gr.
kataluo – to destroy, overthrow, empty, tear down.
This is the same word used in Matthew 26:61 and 27:40, referring to
“tear down” the Temple, which yeshua said He would “raise up”.
[Pass away] Heb. tbtl – ?. Gr.
Parerchomai – pass away.
Matthew 23:1-4 – “Jews
placed heavy burdens”
“1 Then Yeshua spoke
to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: ‘The
scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of
Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and
observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things
and do not do them. 4 They tie up heavy burdens and lay
them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move
them with so much as a finger.’ ”
The “seat of Moses” is
the Sanhedrin, the seat of halachic judgment. This refers to
the court seventy-one judges of the Holy Temple, who made rulings
concerning how people should walk (halach) to fulfill Torah,
and who made civil and criminal judgments. In the first century AD,
it was made up of “scribes and Pharisees”, some of whom purchased
their positions – “seated themselves”, contrary to prescribed order.
“16 Yahweh therefore
said to Moses, ‘Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel,
whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and
bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand
there with you. 17 Then I will come down and speak with
you there, and I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will
put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with
you, so that you will not bear it all alone’ ” – Numbers 11.
Yeshua did not fault
their teachings, “all that they tell you do and observe”, but He
faulted their hypocritical behavior, “do
not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do
them”
“10
You shall do according to the terms of the verdict which they
declare to you from that place which Yahweh chooses; and you shall
be careful to observe according to all that they teach you. 11
According to the terms of the law which they teach you, and
according to the verdict which they tell you, you shall do; you
shall not turn aside from the word which they declare to you, to the
right or the left. 12 The man who acts presumptuously by
not listening to the priest who stands there to serve Yahweh your
God, nor to the judge, that man shall die”
– Deut 17:10-12.
In matters of civil and criminal
judgment, they put unbearable burdens upon those whom they found
liable, but they would not grant relief for the oppressed. This is a
matter frequently condemned by God through the prophets.
“9
Thus has Yahweh of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice
kindness and compassion each to his brother; 10 and do
not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and
do not devise evil in your hearts against one another’
” – Zechariah 7:9-10.
“2
The godly person has perished from the land, and there is no upright
person among men. All of them lie in wait for bloodshed; each of
them hunts the other with a net. 3 Concerning evil, both
hands do it well. The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe, and
a great man speaks the desire of his soul; so they weave it together”
– Micah 7:2-3.
It should be noted that Torah
observance is never to be considered a burden.
“8 And you shall again
obey Yahweh, and observe all His commandments (mitzvot) which I
command you today. 9 Then Yahweh your God will prosper
you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of
your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of
your ground, for Yahweh will again rejoice over you for good, just
as He rejoiced over your fathers; 10 if you obey Yahweh
your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written
in this book of the Torah, if you turn to Yahweh your God with all
your heart and soul. 11 For this commandment which I
command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of
reach” – Deuteronomy 30:8-11.
“For this is the love of God,
that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not
burdensome” – 1 John 5:3.
Acts 15 – “The four
laws for gentiles”
“1
Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren,
‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you
cannot be saved.’ 2 And when Paul and Barnabas had great
dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul
and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to
the apostles and elders concerning this issue. . . . 19
‘Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are
turning to God from among the Gentiles, 20 but that we
write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols
and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.
21 For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those
who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.’
”
Through a parable, Yeshua
foretold that He would remove the authority of the Sanhedrin.
“ ‘40 When the lord
therefore of the vineyard comes, what will he do unto those
husbandmen?’ 41 They say unto him, ‘He will miserably
destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other
husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons’.
42 Yeshua said to them, ‘Did you never read in the
scriptures, “The stone which the builders rejected, the same is
become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is
marvellous in our eyes?” 43 Therefore say I to you, The
kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a company
bringing forth the fruits thereof’ ” – Matthew 21:40-43.
Yeshua specifically gave authority
for making halachic judgments to His apostles. Binding and
loosing is halachic judgment – judging what is disallowed and what
is allowed, in order to be Torah observant.
“19 I will give you
the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth
shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth
shall have been loosed in heaven” – Matthew 16:19.
In Acts 15, we see the
Apostles convening in Jerusalem, in order to make halachic
judgments for new converts from idolatry. It was determined that
such new converts should repent of their gross idolatries, and learn
Torah in the synagogues every Sabbath. This was in contrast to the
doctrine of the “circumcision” – a Jewish group that tried to make
total Torah observance a requirement prior to acceptance of a
gentile convert (their meaning of circumcision representing
observance of all of Torah).
There is no separate set
of commandments for gentiles. Israel was given instruction (Torah)
in order to be a light to the nations – to teach them to the world.
“The Torah will go forth from Zion, and the Word of Yahweh from
Jerusalem. And He will judge the nations . . .” – Isaiah 2:3-4.
“And I will appoint you . . . as a light to the nations” –
Isaiah 42:6.
This is a refutation of
attempts to equate these apostolic rulings with the so-called
Noachide Laws, which some perceive as a group of laws that are
applicable to all men, in contrast to their view of Mosaic Laws.
Noachide Laws are defined as
prohibitions against idolatry, blasphemy, murder, adultery, and
robbery, the positive command to establish courts of justice, and a
seventh commandment, given to Noah, forbidding the eating of flesh
cut from a living animal (Genesis 9:4).
Galatians – “Legalism”
This book should be
viewed with the same perspective as the other Scriptures noted
herein. Paul is teaching against the doctrine of salvation by works
– self-righteousness (see Matthew 5 above). He does not teach
antinomianism – tearing down the Torah. Rather, he says that by
faith we establish the Torah!
“Do we then nullify the Torah through faith? May it never be! On
the contrary, we establish the Torah” – Romans 3:31.
Many commentators (even
some translators) use the prejudicial terms “legalism” and
“Judaizers”. These words never appear in the text. “Legalism” is
commonly misapplied to Torah-observance, while “Judaizers” is
commonly used to promote Christianity as a separate new religion.
In contrast,
“lawlessness” is condemned throughout the Bible.
“Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness, for sin
is lawlessness” – 1 John 3:4.
Colossians 2 –
“Feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths”
“16
Therefore let no one condemn you in regard to food or drink or in
respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day-- 17
things which are a shadow of what is to come; the substance being
Messiah.”
Here is an explanatory
paraphrase:
“Do not let anyone – Jew
or Gentile – condemn you Gentile believers for Torah observance.
Torah observance includes keeping God’s statutes (kashrut –
food regulations). It also includes celebrating God’s ordinances –
the Feasts, Biblical calendar, and Sabbath days. These observances
are prophetic shadow-pictures of Yeshua; and Messiah Himself, who
gave us this instruction, is the body casting the shadow.”
One popular translation
reads: “for not celebrating certain holy days”, adding a
negative to the Holy Writ. Another refers to “mere shadows”,
denigrating God’s holy ordinances. Such translating adds to the
general confusion.
See commentary on all of chapter 2 at end of this
article.
Romans 10 – “Christ is
the end of the Law”
“1
Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for
their salvation. 2 For I testify about them that they
have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. 3
For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish
their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of
God. 4 For Messiah is the goal of the law, for
righteousness to everyone who believes.”
Again, we are dealing
with the doctrine of salvation by works – establishing one’s own
righteousness. This is not in accordance with Torah, which teaches
salvation by grace through faith. The very goal of the Torah is
Messiah, and faith in Him, to impute righteousness to everyone who
believes.
Romans 14 – “All days
alike”
“Now accept the one
who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on
his opinions. 2 One person has faith that he may eat all
things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. 3 The
one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not
eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats,
for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge the
servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he
will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 One
person regards one day above another, another regards every day
alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. 6
He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats,
does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats
not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. 7
For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;
8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we
die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the
Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again,
that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. 10
But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you
regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the
judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written, "AS I LIVE,
SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL
GIVE PRAISE TO GOD." 12 So then each one of us will give
an account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not
judge one another anymore, but rather determine this-- not to put an
obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way. 14 I
know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in
itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is
unclean. 15 For if because of food your brother is hurt,
you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with
your food him for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not
let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; 17
for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who in
this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.
19 So then we pursue the things which make for peace and
the building up of one another. 20 Do not tear down the
work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but
they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. 21
It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by
which your brother stumbles. 22 The faith which you have,
have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not
condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts
is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and
whatever is not from faith is sin.”
Firstly, this passage
does not concern God’s commandments; the duty to perform of God’s
commandments is not subject to personal whim. There was no argument
in Apostolic days for eating things which God did not give for food
(unkosher), or for the day set aside for worship to be changed from
Sabbath to Sunday, much less making these all a matter of personal
choice.
Secondly, it does not
concern halachic judgments that are the domain of the judges;
God demands that we follow these (Exodus 22:8, Matthew 23:2-3).
Examples of halachic judgments are (1) determining the starting day
of each month (and thus the Festival days), and (2) pronouncing
penalties for criminal acts. These are not subject to personal whim.
The passage concerns
matters of personal judgment. The issues have not changed much from
then until now.
Some – who are weak in
the faith, not being very familiar with God’s Word – are vegetarians
based upon their religious understandings. It is not a sin to eat
meat, and it is not a sin to refrain from eating meat (excepting the
Passover Lamb); we should not condemn anyone for doing things that
God does not condemn. Some were concerned about eating meats from
the market place, meats that might have been previously used in idol
worship (1 Corinthians 10:25-29). Some people fast on various days
for various reasons, some eat every day; (excepting Yom
haKippurim / the Day of the Atonements – the only commanded fast
day) fast days are a matter of personal decision, and they are not a
basis for condemning anyone.
Some say that the Sabbath
is a preferred day to engage in marital intimacy, some say that
Sabbath is not a day to seek such personal pleasure, and still
others say that every day is the same in that regard. There are no
commandments concerning this issue, and Paul is saying that we
should not condemn anyone for doing things that God does not
condemn. Some say that marriages should be performed only on certain
days of the week (like Tuesdays and Thursdays), and only in certain
seasons of the year (not from Nisan 15 to Sivan 6 when reflecting
upon counting the omer, or not from Tammuz 17 to Av 9 when
commemorating the destruction of the Temple, or not from Elul 1 to
Tishrei 10 during the days of repentance).
The issue is neither
observing God’s commandments, nor following halachic judgments. The
issue is condemning others for their personal decisions that are
properly within their realm.
Mark 7:18-19 –
“Jesus declared all foods clean”
And He said to them,
"Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand
that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him;
because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is
eliminated, thus purging all foods?"
The statement is simply
making a point of the obvious: whatever dirt is consumed with food
is known to be eliminated by the digestive system.
The last clause is often
mistranslated “Thus He declared all foods clean”. The
Greek text does not say that “He declared” anything. In addition, a
declaration changing kashrut laws would be inconsistent with
the subject of the passage, which is eating things without washing:
“the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands”
– v.3-4. Peter did not know about any such supposed ‘change’ after
spending years with Yeshua: “I
have never eaten anything unholy and unclean”
– Acts 10:14.
The Pharisees here
were not pressing kashrut statutes upon Yeshua, which He
would now abolish (before His crucifixion, no less?). The problem
was that some Pharisees sought to publicly find fault with Yeshua,
by putting their customs ahead of Biblical judgments. While hand
washing is good, making it a requirement above providing necessary
food was simply looking for an excuse to condemn Yeshua – which
condemnation falls under the category of murder
(See commentary
Y2-33 on Leviticus 13).
Acts 10 – Peter’s
vision of Unclean Animals
“9 On the next day, as
they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on
the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. 10 But he
became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making
preparations, he fell into a trance; 11 and he saw the
sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered
by four corners to the ground, 12 and there were in it
all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth
and birds of the air. 13 A voice came to him, ‘Get up,
Peter, kill and eat!’ 14 But Peter said, ‘By no means,
Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.’ 15
Again a voice came to him a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no
longer consider unholy.’ 16 This happened three times,
and immediately the object was taken up into the sky. 17
Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision
which he had seen might be . . .”
No food was present
here, and Peter ate nothing: it was a perplexing vision. Peter,
having spent years with Yeshua, still knew of no change in
kashrut statutes. Jews generally saw gentiles as unclean like
pigs. God presented a parable-type vision to tell Peter not to avoid
gentiles whom He had cleansed.
“28 And
he said to them, ‘You yourselves know how it is disallowed for a man
who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet
God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.
29 That is why I came without even raising any objection
when I was sent for. So I ask for what reason you have sent for me’
” – v.28-29.
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