The Two-Edged Sword
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. James 3:17 NASB
Unwavering – Write up your list of excuses. Go ahead. Make sure you get them all. I’ll wait.
The root behind the Greek word adiakritos is krino, a verb that means “to select, to decide, to distinguish, to judge.” Let’s start with clarifying the often-mistaken idea that we are not to judge. That’s nonsense! Every time you make a decision, you judge. You select one thing over another. You discern the best course of action. The commandment not to judge has nothing to do with deciding between competing options. The commandment not to judge is about final evaluation of a person’s spiritual condition. The reason you are not to make such a decision is simple: You don’t know! Only God knows the true scope and magnitude of a person’s walk. Therefore only He can be the final arbiter of a person’s destiny.
But that fact does not exempt you from making choices. And James wants you to know that wisdom from above entails making choices in a certain kind of way: impartially, nonjudgmentally, unwaveringly. Diakrino is to judge between. Adiakrino is to not judge between. In other words, in the New Testament this word is applied to not making distinctions between people, not showing prejudice, not being biased. Godly wisdom does not separate one person from another on any basis except the word of God. Not race, not ethnic background, not culture, not history, not economics, not social status, not group identity or personal favoritism. Nothing should separate us from the love of God and the display of this love toward others except the unwavering commitment to the truth of God’s word. Decide unwaveringly according to what God demands. “Buy the truth and do not sell it,” is the way Solomon would say it. Make no decisions except those what are firmly rooted in God’s instructions. And never compromise.
This message doesn’t play very well in our world. We are a compromised people. We compromised on Torah. We compromised on moadim. We compromised on politics. We compromised in the interactions with pagan cultures. We compromised and compromised and compromised until today we no longer know what the original even looked like. We are cubic zirconium believers who think we have diamonds in our crowns. Moreover, when any one of us realizes how compromised our faith actually is, and begins to look for diamonds in the dirt rather than cubic zirconium in the pews, we are ostracised, rejected, branded as heretics, shunned in exactly the opposite of James’ adiakrino. This process is so powerful that we even read Paul upside down. When Paul tells us not to judge concerning meat offerings, drink offerings, festival days, new moons or sabbath days,[1] Christian apologists think Paul is telling us that all those requirements are gone.[2] Tolerance is to be preferred to strict obedience. But Paul would agree with James. The only distinguishing standard is God’s word and nothing should compromise it. Paul is not telling followers of Yeshua to modify their behavior according to the cultural norms. He is telling followers not to let the culture cause you to modify your behavior. Since the time of Justin Martyr, Christians have convinced themselves that James must not be talking to them. The results are predictable. Let unity prevail – except of course, among the 32,000 denominations all claiming the truth.
So how do you decide? What is your standard? Do you accept the same code of conduct that James followed and hold to it unwaveringly? Or do you compromise just a bit?
Topical Index: unwavering, adiakrino, impartial, krino, decide, judge, James 3:17
I found this very encouraging. Thanks Skip.
so, I looked at the site you linked to in this post and instantly got confused about what I think I have been learning about the role of Torah in my life. Goes to show just how steeped I am in Greek worldview and modern christian theology. I think my main confusion centers around Jesus fulfilling the law perfectly and yet not replacing it for us.
My traditional understanding is that the law is a shadow of Christ, He came and fulfilled it perfectly and then died on my behalf fulfiling the requirements of the law and resurrecting to new life. I now rely on His work to be made right in my Father’s eyes as I will never live perfectly, and I now enjoy fellowship with the Father and the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit because I rely on Christ’s finished work to be made right in the Father’s eyes and not my own efforts. I can now freely focus on learning to live more Christlike in the power of the Holy Spirit and being made in to His image to experience deeper fulfillment in my relationship with the Father and the Son without the condemnation of being imperfect before a holy and just God. The more I walk in step with the Spirit > the more I look like Jesus > the deeper the relationship I’m able to have with God > the more I reveal to the world who God is and what it means to be His child.
I’m not sure these days what of that is or isn’t accurate and what to do about. I’ve read/listened to a ton of your stuff, skip, just downloaded Bob Gorelik’s The Essentials yesterday and purchased Frank Seekins Hebrew Word Pictures. Oh, I’ve also bought Mark Nano’s The Mystery of Romans, am almost finished with Guardian Angel, have started Ron Moseley’s A guide to the real Jesus and the original church; all in an effort to begin sorting this out.
But, alas, today I find myself as confused as ever. So Jesus hasn’t done away with any of the law by fulfiling it perfectly? Why do I need to obey aspects of the law as they are relevant to me? Some days I feel like I’m understanding all this better, but today I’m quite confused. Any help that is clear and concise without a ton of context (if that is even possible) would be really helpful. Thanks so much and I really love and appreciate this blog!!
When you drive exactly 45 mph in a zone posted for the speed limit of 45 mph, you perfectly fulfill the law. Does that mean that it no longer applies the next time you drive on that road? If the law is 45 mph, isn’t it always 45 mph until some authorized body changes it? So, when did God, the only authorized person, CHANGE the law? Doesn’t He say that honoring Shabbat is eternal, that Passover is eternal, that the instructions He gives for living are in place at least until heaven and earth pass away? When did we begin to think that Yeshua’s death on the cross FINISHED the necessity of the law of God? Does perfect compliance with the law make it no longer necessary?
It doesn’t surprise me that you are confused. The Christian church in its replacement theology version has taught that the “Law” (which is Jewish) isn’t applicable to Christians, but that position is based on a theological stance, not on Scriptural evidence. Now I know you will object, saying that all those theologian who support “Jesus fulfilled the law” views can’t all be wrong. But that isn’t the issue. The issue is their approach to the Scripture, i.e., their assumption that the early believers, including those who wrote the NT, somehow left their Jewish understanding and converted to a new religion. But all the historical evidence says otherwise (see a lot of books on my recommended reading list) AND there is no Scriptural evidence that any NT author stopped practicing Judaism after the resurrection (think of Paul and James). The Church has systematically ignored this evidence for 2000 years because it does not want to be “Jewish.”
Furthermore, if you read the usual NT passages as they were written by believing Jews, you find very different interpretations of the text. Dig into the usual claim that the law was nailed to the cross. You will discover that there is no justification for this claim. The text actually says that the certificate of debt (the result of disobedience) was removed, not the law.
Have fun.
Thanks, Skip. I think what I needed for today was the reminder that Jesus did fulfill the law perfectly and removed my certificate of debt if I will only rely on His performance and not ours to be made right in the Father’s eyes. That in no way removes the need for the law’s purpose in my life of instructing me how to live within the Father’s circle of blessing.
As a recovering addict I desperately need a Father’s instruction on how to live life well, something I missed growing up. I am incredibly grateful that I have a Father who has show me how to live life well and has even empowered my with His Spirit to live like He does.
I still don’t understand much and currently apply little, but it does help resolve within me the confusion that was causing me to waver today.
So thankful that my Heavenly Family is ok with me being in process. My earthly family doesn’t like mess, but the grace, patience, forgiveness and mercy of my Father in heaven compels me to do what it takes to become more like him and less like the world around me.
oh, one other thought. When you say replacement theology I normally think of replacing Israel with the church. But it sounds like you are also meaning replacing the Law with Jesus.
That makes a lot more sense to me. I definitely struggle with the idea of Jesus not replacing the law which ends up creating so much confusion within me.
I’m beginning to see more clearly now how Jesus’ efforts on the cross fulfilled the law, but didn’t invalidate the law making it irrelevant to me. Slowly…the Spirit leads me on…
replacement theology (supercessionism) makes two important claims: 1. the church replaced Israel as God’s chosen people because Israel refused to believe in Jesus as the Messiah and 2. the law (which is directly associated with Israel) was made null and void in the death of Jesus on the cross. Basically, the stance is anti-Semitic, in both theology and practice. It is the basis of the Crusades, the pogroms against Jews and ultimately the Holocaust. The ideas continue today, found in even the most conservative Christian scholars.
Very nicely said Skip. Costly Grace versus Cheap Grace is the key to understanding the law and the responsibility that we have as redeemed children to obey it; not because it saves us but the LORD has already saved US for HIMSELF to keep the law..
Good morning Brett
I appreciate what you’re going through. I’m in the same boat. I’m buying all the books and audio and studying everyday… Checking references and digging. It’s wonderfully exciting most days and daunting on the others. I’ve been hearing the standard Christian message for years and it never quite fit right. Now its going to take time to undo some of that. And I’ve been thinking like a Greek forever, so who knows how long that will take to shed! But I have to trust in my Lord, who has brought me this far, that there is time… Time to hit the mark.
Bless you brother. And thank you Skip for all that you’re doing here.
Waren,
It is good to see the urgency and desire to dig into God’s word on the part of so many. God would not bring you so far and not let you hit the mark. We as men and women think we need to hit the mark. It is all accomplished through His grace and then our obedience. I’m sure He has alloted the needed time for Warren. Do you remember the parable of the workers in the vineyard Matthew 20: Jesus explains the Kingdom of heaven, different workers went out at different times and received the same wages for different increments of time served. God does not determine time the same way we do. Rest assured, Warren that our Father who has began a good work in you will bring it to His completion.
Thanks Kate for your insight, kind words and faithfulness. I think I agree with your take on Matt 20 and rereading my entry, it does kinda sound like I might be on the verge of panic, eh? It reminds me of the more rebellious years that I longed for the peace that I enjoy today. My wife thinks me a bit odd that I spend so much time reading and reviewing research about this stuff, but it gives me great pleasure and a sense of intimacy with the Lord that I don’t get otherwise. It unlocks a trust and a willingness to submit to His authority over my life.
Does that make sense? I’m just in the door from working a night shift, so if I’m a bit incoherent, I trust you’ll extend the required grace 🙂
Blessings,
Warren
Warren, assuredly, you are as King David at this point in your life, a man after God’s own heart. I am in somewhat the same place as you are right now with that urgency to know more of His word and what it means to translate His grace into obedience (in my case a nonlegalistic interpretation). I was part of a legalistic church (the Worldwide Church of God) for 20 years. I then came to the saving grace of Yeshua and sojourned within evangelical churches for around 20 years. Recently, I came back to the understanding of the grace that remains in the keeping of the commandments put forth in the Torah. I am now reapproaching the Sabbath and Holy Days from a position of grace, through Yahweh’s Holy Spirit, He is working out a less legalistic approach to the goodness of Torah in my life. I am still not completely settled (yet I have a peace). I am dealing with my WWCG roots, plus the evangelical teachings I have been under for the past 20 years. I am dealing with a spouse (love that man) who is not on the same page spiritually and friends, some who are nonjudgemental of this turn in my life and others that see it their duty to turn me back to the Baptist way of worship…concerned that I have become legalistic and that I am leading my husband down the proverbial garden path and that my salvation may even be in question (this is where the Pastor is coming from). Yesterday, I was with 3 close friends and it was leading me to desire to return to their fellowship. They see that Jesus fulfilled the law and therefore there is no longer a need to keep the commandments.
Our Father has also recently blessed me with a job that I can put into action and extend His love and grace to others. This job further takes me away from previous fellowships. It is a job where I have to work every other Sabbath and that will help to remind me that it is not my “perfect” obedience that holds me right before Him, but it is His grace and mercy extended on a daily basis.
I have also been blessed with a Messianic Jewish group of believers I can meet with every other week and as able. Thank you for your communication with me. Kate
Brett, notice the time that I am writing, my clock says 4:39 A.M. -in the middle of the night. Notice also what I wrote earlier today about my personal life, never before can I remember in 60 years of marriage have I been up “doing” things. This time reading, studying, writing on e-mail. But with my husband in ICU, I will not disturb him while he is in bed by being up “doing things”. Even during the normal time of work days, it bothers him for me to spend very much time reading,writing, studying on the computer. I have been with Skip almost since his beginning of Today’s Word, I had just began at 70 years of age then, even to use a computer, and was totally intimidated by one! ( and really still am!). Some years later, when he began to allow people to comment, I wanted so much to write, but I was too self conscious to do it. Now because Skip and his supporters allow us to reply and write, ( a marvelous gift to many), but very few of us are on “the same page”. Which is a very normal God given thing! He created us all different, and our births, lives are so varied, yet he is able to bring each one of us along as we seek, keep on keeping on during the life span we are allowed. The above paragraph you wrote about ALL THE buying of BOOKS, STUDYING, in such a short time span seems more like frantic searching. When do you let your own family & those in relationship see your caring for them? Do you smile at them and say something that has meaning to their needs, or the situation they are in? Are you even aware of their needs and situation? Or you just wrapped up in your own desire to learn for yourself? I want to YELL at you Brett, to slow down and see those around you in their plights, spend some of your money helping others, do not buy too many books at one time. I know about that in old age! Who will take the books? Your say that you are a recoverying addict, do not carry that over to your “learning”. God will always be there, He is NOT going away. Life on earth is there to live. Lift up your prayers for your immediate family, and the people you run into on your path each day, and help them in practical ways that are needed for them. It takes time to do that. (You will never in this world KNOW everything & understand all). Skip may have been called by the Lord to study, teach, write; he has had most of his life opened to that, most of us have not. Yet we are just as valuable to the Kingdom of God. The Heavenly Father will so bless you, and open the doors you need; but not all at one time, less you miss the most important door!. Please receive this in agape love; the love of YESHUA HAMASHIACH. La Vaye Billings
SO beautifully stated. We are NOT all called to be Teachers, per se. However, we sure can be an encouragement to our family and friends, and SHARE the Love of Messiah. We should ALSO share these great Teachers, that Abba Yahweh, has placed across our path. I’ve learned SO much from Skip, and others that I’ve come across through Hebrew Nation Radio Online, and Hebraic Roots Network.
Ecclesiastes 12:12-14New King James Version (NKJV)
12 And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh.
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
14 For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.
Much Ahava in Yeshua HaMashiach. . . . Shirley Anne
Skip: WOW! You continue to “lift the veil” from my eyes! We appreciate you so much! The “CZ Christian” made a perfect VISUAL point: his (our former) dollar store crown that he bought himself is garbage, tho he (we) does plan to lay it at the feet of OUR MESSIAH. Putred.
Brett: I APPLAUD YOU for your determination to figure this mess out! We are right there with you, digging for the real diamonds and praying praying praying that God will wipe away false beliefs and ideas in order to KNOW HIM! Keep going!
Brett,
Thank you for your comments this morning and sharing a little of your testimony.
I affirm and amen your statement “I desperately need a Father’s instruction on how to live life well, something I missed growing up. I am incredibly grateful that I have a Father who has show me how to live life well and has even empowered my with His Spirit to live like He does.”
When I realized that I had a Abba in heaven who not only wanted to redeem and have a relationship with me, but also who wants to lovingly instruct and teach me how to live as His ransomed child, this truth overwhelmed me. Yet Torah is only realized in community of fellow believers who desire to be instructed and taught how to love God and one another.
Relationships have been my greatest joy and pain and where I struggle the most intensely. I came to know the Messiah as a young teenager and had such an incredible desire and hunger to follow Him, yet no one told me or my family about the beauty and power of Abba’s instructions. Unfortunately this had a profound impact on my life. I was never shown how to live righteously before God or others, and to this day as an older man I still struggle with relationships.
On the other hand, I was introduced to the matrix of Yeshua’s time (Roy Blizzard) and place early on in my journey and have been studying for almost thirty years. During those earlier years of studying Yeshua and His era, I had no community to learn and walk with me in the process and compounding that with serious relational issues going on with me at every level, therefore, Abba’s instructions did not become flesh for me until much, much later.
I can understand and relate to your deep desire to unlearn what you have learned from the Christian world of teachers and pastors. Please take note though: One can not remove what he has learned in one day . . . it is a journey of walking in the Spirit with Abba and one another. I hope this makes sense and not too much rambling.
Thanks again for sharing.
In His Care, Brian
A slight “compromise” on the question: “What is your standard?” The question I would ask is, “Who” is your standard? I’ll not pull myself along side the drunk in the gutter and say, “wow,” look at me, I’m a full inch longer! No, not at all.. All I need to do is compare myself with my Savior and then say, “Carl,- you have miles to go..,” but this I do know, my friends, we may judge ourselves by Him who is the Living Word and we may also judge ourselves according to the words He has spoken unto us in His Book, for He Himself has said to us- ~ He that rejects me and does not receive my words, has Him who judges him: the word which I have spoken, that shall judge him in the last day ~ (John 12:48)
‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
just to take Him at His word.
Just to rest upon His promise,
Just to know “thus saith the LORD!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMwoUoyYODI
~ Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; and since we have a great high priest over the household of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us continue to hold firmly to the hope that we confess without wavering, for the One who made the promise is faithful ~ (from Hebrews chapter 10)
Thanks for all the encouraging words. It’s refreshing to know I’m not alone in this struggle. I know I’m not alone, but it can feel that way some days when most of my social circles are content to study Christian theology and doctrine rather than scripture. The crisis of my addiction has been what God has used to break me out of mainstream Christianity and for that I can truly say I am deeply thankful for my addiction as it has been a very powerful tool in the hands of my very loving and gracious God to bring me closer to him. Bless you all!
We would love to see you back at the Shabbat group sometime.
I think a lot of our misunderstanding revolves around the word “fulfill.” The word gives some sort of finality to the Torah, like it is the end of it. Y’shua lived a spotless, Torah life and therefore is fit to be the atonement for our sin. If all is fulfilled, then there would be no unfulfilled prophecies and nothing that we would still be looking forward to see and do.
But that idea of “fulfill” contains the Greek spatial concept of a container that is filled to the brim. Greek thinking revolves around spatial metaphors. But Hebrew revolves around verbal, dynamic, relationship metaphors. What does it mean to have a “full” relationship? Does it mean that we no longer need to be in communion because there is nothing left after the “full” relationship is achieved? What if the Hebrew idea of dynamic, verbal interaction informs our thought? How does Yeshua “fulfill” the Torah then? Does it mean that Yeshua is the complete disclosure of what a full relationship to Torah looks like? Does that mean there is no reason to continue?
I think I must have worded what I meant in the wrong way. I believe in the Hebraic concept of filled up and made replete, not spatially. I was meaning to say, the problem with the word is that it is taken the Greek way and some people interpret it to mean end of Torah observance.
Skip, This afternoon, thinking you would read your personal e-mail site before this one, I wrote you a letter asking you to get that e-mail to your son Michael Moen. I know you will be leaving soon, and I really wanted him to get it ASAP.
I included our past week’s trauma, and the results of that, but since I have a few minutes, I will include some of that here for those who could have prayed for us, and would be interested. This past Tues. my Octogenarian husband who has only 30 percent of his heart working–now known for the past four months, and under the care of a well known heart group in our area, was sitting in his chair after eating breakfast listening to Christian taped music. We have a bathtub downstairs leaking and had knowledgeable people to come and look at it, and decide who to call to repair. I was busy as usual working to keep things clean. I started to walk a few steps past my husband and take some trash out. I looked at him and was stunned: he had thrown his covers off ( always freezing), was struggling with his arms and legs to try to make them work, and his eyes were rolling around in his head. I put my hands out to keep him in the chair, and pushed his head against the back of the big leather chair, his head was clamey and he could not speak. I stated very loudly to him, DO NOT move Ed, I am going to get the phone and call 911. I did returned with the phone, and called the friend to bring his wife, and COME QUICK. THEY are BIBLE believing, walking Christians, they arrived just before the ER crew, and came in and starting praying over Ed. The ER took vitals, etc. asked me all the necessary things, I told them that I wanted him at the Seton Hospital in Austin, they agreed. Our friends offered to drive me over, we had to get a few things –I took things to stay in the hospital where I have been three times recently with him. Just as the ER crew got Ed to the Helicopter at our small airport, that group took over, and called me as they got up that they were changing and taking him to Scott and White in Temple, which is truly known as the best trauma hospital. Upon arriving that group called my friends cell phone-she had given them, and over a car speaker wanted me to give them permission to allow them to a brain clot buster to dissolve any clots, but warned me it could also take his life. I was already upset that they had taken him to another hospital that I would have to learn a new system and much further from out home. I really did not understand anything then except it could take his life. I yelled with all my strength, “NO, do not give, DO NOT GIVE HIM ANY DRUGS UNTIL I GET THERE”. I then had my friend call our oldest daughter, and told her. She understood the quick necessity of what they wanted to do or it would not work after too much time. I said, that I only knew that I wanted God to be in charge of his death. She replied that it was okay, Mom, it is okay.—- Well, truly it was okay, the Scott & White Trauma Center kept him three days, and put him through every single test they give for stroke victims. They did not find one blood clot on the brain. The Chief Neurologist, Dr. Clarke spent the third day before he signed his relase to return home, with Ed walking up and down the halls, asking him questions of all kinds, and then zeroing in on his knowledge & love of golf (see my husband was an athlete, and not only played but made a living with athletics in small Christian Colleges/that became Universities). Dr. Clark was blown away with his quick recovering, my husband of sixty years, knew and told him about everything he asked him about even in the OLD Days when Ed was very young.
So he came home , has been here for a week tomorrow, the past few days were full of more Dr. appt.s with primary care Dr,. the surgeon that did his hernia surger five days before the stroke. A female from the country of Trinidad, with Kings Daughter’s Hospital in Temple, but she did the surgery at Seton where he had been before,
And after all that this week, on Thursday afternoon, I drove him back to Seton Hospital, as he had been evaluated by Austin Heart Group, and they wanted to put him in ICU at Seton, and start working with medications to try to avoid another stroke. ( They often have another one after the first). So the Dr.s sent me home yesterday for the week-end. None of the Heart group would be there over the week-end. I will return on Monday to meet with them again, and see if he can return home then.
Our daughter told me that she was so glad I made the mistake and said no to the blood clot buster on his brain, that could have taken his life. ( that is my term for it.) We are rejoicing once again for another day for Edward Billings’ to live. ONE DAY AT A TIME–THAT IS ALL WE HAVE, REALLY ONE BREATH AT A TIME, WE SO LIVE TO MAKE THE MOST OF THAT TIME. ” THAT 1950’S SONG, ” HE HAS THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD IN HIS HANDS–THE LITTLE TINY BABY— ( AND ADDED BY L.B. -THE OLD PEOPLE, TOO)
Yes, we old people too. One day at a time Sweet Yeshua, one day at a time… which is all He gives to all of us. Arnella and I are rejoicing with you for the gift of another day for Ed and you… and us! Shalom upon you both. We will lift you as one before His throne. In love, Michael and Arnella
Thank you two Michael and Arnella, so much for the above comments, they are precious to me. L.B.
And NOW to Carl Roberts, who wrote below: Once again, I read your lengthy comments Carl, I tease you about so much writing, but I KNOW that is the way you are wired now, and you like me will change to more brevity in due season! I have all these years been blessed and sometimes amused & sometimes aggravated when I actually did not have time to read & absorb all you wrote!
You, Carl, and the “other Michael (that stands alone)” & writes about movies, and characters, his great experiences that are so interesting but do nothing for me spiritually , have brought great joy to my somewhat dull life, when I have read them all these years.
Then I must ADD, that SKIP and his TECK, Patrick, keep on allowing all of us to write to all people who are on a great quest to know God’s word and our understanding of it!
Remembering “Tiny Tim’s statement, “MAY GOD BLESS US ALL!”, WITH THE LOVE OF YHWH TO EACH WH0 READS THIS. LAVAYE BILLINGS, WITH MY HUSBAND ED OF 60 years plus, WHO IS STILL IN ICU.
Thank you LaVaye, for this marvelous, living testimony of the grace of our (ever) good God. And thank you Father, for the glorious gift of another day of life! Oh, how we (all) need to be “put in touch” with our mortality and just how frail and fragile and “God-dependent” we are, even thanking Him, not only for “our daily bread,” but for our daily “breaths” as well! (When is the last time we thanked God for the ability to breath in and out?).
Paul wrote these words for us ~ But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; but for your sake it is better that I remain alive ~ (Philippians 1.23,24) Paul was a conflicted man. God, having given him “a glimpse of glory”- He knew (even if only partially!) what was waiting for him. ~Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in Heaven, not built by human hands ~ (2 Corinthians 5.1) Oh please excuse me..- but I’m thinking- “this ol’ house!” lol!
I (too) am another day older and closer to the grave today than when I was born. A morbid thought? No, not at all! – It’s a good day to die. Why? According to what is written in God’s Book of Instruction ~ to die is gain! ~ As Paul wrote, “for me to live is Christ, and to die- gain!” So whether we live or die, “we are the LORD’s!” How wonderful to belong to Him and to know (intimately) – ~the LORD is my (always good) Shepherd, – I shall not want ~ for He (who is incapable of a lie) has said to us- ~ I will never (ever) leave you, nor forsake you ~ We have the promise of His Presence, even in the valley of the shadow of death ~
~ But now The Messiah is risen from among the dead and is the firstfruits of those who sleep ~ (1 Corinthians 15.20) Firstfruits? What does this mean? There are more “fruits” to follow! ~ and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never die!” ~ O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory? (1 Corinthians 15.55)
A little side note on judgements. We once heard a Jewish Messianic rabbi teach that the Torah is not in force for the purpose of judgement (for us as believers), so that we can do the letter of it. But what it is therefore, is that we can take those commandments, rooted in faith and love, empowered by the Holy Spirit so we’re able to express spiritual truth of these commandments as a way of manifesting YHWH’s glory. Understand me well: that off course doesn’t mean that Torah is irrelevant today !! A little example. If the Torah was in force, it would be mandated for every man to wear tzitzit. You have to wear it. If you don’t, it is sin. Today, that is not in force. But what is in force is the Spirit of the Law. Wearing tzitzit will tell me that I need to remember the commandments of God. It’s not an instrument of judgement. If you walk in love, rooted in faith, empowered by the Holy Spirit, you’re demonstrating, embracing and manifesting the Spirit of the Torah, whether that commandments can be done today or not, that’s irrelevant. What people do today is taking an instruction of Torah and think they’re doing that. Taking that to judge others; I’m doing that and you’re not. But can we use Torah as an instrument of judgement or condemnation?
Torah is a unit. It is one, as God is ons (echad). Torah is not in force as an instrument of judgement, but still has relevance, even today. Why? It still defines what is right and what is wrong, what is righteous and what is unrighteous. When I hold my life up to Torah or to the teachings and life of Messiah Yeshua, I find that I’m in need of forgiveness, of God’s grace, of His redemption. It still points out my sin.
Today there is so much confusion, especially within the believers of “the Hebrew roots-movements” so to speak. We now see Hebrew-like trees, standing on Greek soil, growing really odd!! Throwing out everything that’s Jewish, also everything that’s Christian. Putting everything under the banner of idolatry. And especially judging other believers…………. it tears down precious relationships, hurting loved ones, even family. Thank you Skip for pointing out the way we should adiakrino.
You mistake the commandment. What EXACTLY does it say about tzitzit? It says that they must be attached to the CORNERS of your garment. Most of my shirts don’t have corners. Therefore, the commandment does not apply. When you suggest that every man is mandated to wear them, you mistake what the words actually say. It’s a small mistake, but with big implications, because you go on to say that if I do not wear them, I sin. When I taught about James’ letter tonight, I did not wear tzitzit. Why? Because I was wearing a T-shirt. This is an example of reading more into the text (with good intention, mind you) that it says. Torah is absolutely in force AS IT IS WRITTEN, not as we THINK it is written. Try again.
Your t-shirt does have corners. You just had them sewn together and hidden. 🙂
Thank you for the try again. I think I forgot to put quotation marks here because I was just quoting this rabbi. Nevertheless, this article troubled my mind for a while now, so I wanted to know what your thoughts were on this issue. And I absolutely agree on the tzitzit commandment by the way. Maybe I was just putting the wrong highlights of this teaching together? I just want to make a few more quotations, hopefully not putting it out of context, from this article: http://www.loveisrael.org/torah-identity_01.html (and 02, and 03) Quote:
“Man cannot keep Torah in his natural state and is condemned by it. They need to be transformed. Thanks to faith in Messiah Yeshua we can through the potential of the Holy Spirit obey the righteousness of the Torah (Ro.8:4). This lifestyle is inherently linked to the Torah. The rabbi’s today point out that without a Temple, Torah cannot be observed. But as a believer we are called to apply the word of God to our lives and fulfill the righteousness of the Torah, not in the oldness of the letter, but in the newness of the Spirit. But it is incorrect to speak about Torah observance in the sense that an individual can keep Torah law. I’m not speaking about the impossibility of Torah observance in the same way that Joshua did as I spoke of in my first article; i.e humanly impossible because of one’s “sinful nature”; but rather the impossibility today because of the fact there is no Temple. Both biblical and Rabbinical perpectives understand the Torah as a unit. This means that Torah is only observed when all of its commandments are potentially possible to be fulfilled. Hence today because there is no Temple in Jerusalem, the Torah cannot be observed in its totality and if not in totality it becomes not in force”. I could go on, but it would take to much time and space. You having the gift of putting multiple pages into one sentence, I wouldn’t dare to go on summarizing this article 😉 Please do! We (I speak personally) are so much in need of a practical guide of Torah living, how should we apply this practically to our lives (you already gave us an example).
I find quite a few difficulties with the quote.
1. I do not believe that Judaism teaches that man cannot observe Torah in the “natural state.” That idea is imported from an implicit dualism found in the later Greek Gentile Christian community – directly from Platonism – developed in the Reformation by Luther and Calvin. It makes no senses at all for Moses to implore obedience to Torah in Deuteronomy if obedience can’t be accomplished without the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.
2. It is simply not true that one cannot observe Torah in the absence of a Temple. While those commandments that involve the Temple cannot be observed, there are plenty of other ones that can.
3. “We as believers are called to apply” is once more an implicit dualism – this time between the “material-physical and the spiritual-heart.” Hebrew thought takes the position that doing Torah is a matter of choice – of the will – not a matter of spiritual application. Think of Yeshua’s parable of the two sons’ actions when asked by the father to do something.
4. No Temple does NOT mean no Torah obedience. Is this gentleman limiting Torah to sacrifice?
5. The statement about Torah as a unit is simply false. I would be interested to see what reference he could provide for the statement that biblical and rabbinic perspective demands that ALL Torah or NO Torah hinges on the ability to fulfill everything required. Actually, even historically this is nonsense. Some Torah commands are resident in Genesis. Others are added in Exodus and Deuteronomy. Are we to claim that those believers who obeyed God in Genesis were unable to fulfill Torah because they didn’t know all of it or because the Temple wasn’t yet constructed? If not having the Temple means not fulfilling Torah, then how do we account for Moses declaration. The Temple didn’t exist when he gave Torah to Israel, did it?
6. The conclusion of the argument is simply false. Read the Torah commandments. Are they set aside because we don’t have a Temple? Of course not. See point #5.
Skip,
I was reading a commentary on a Torah portion by a Jewish Rabbi, (I forgot his name, forgive me) and he made a comment on hand washing. I will never forget. He said the ritual of hand washing was not a Torah law, but rather a tradition set by the Elders. True. ( a little revelation here into why Yeshua answered the Pharisees and Torah teachers the way He did.) Yeshua never broke TORAH law and He knew the difference between Torah law and man-made rules that are taught as doctine! This is why I love studying Torah! The more I study (G-d’s way) the more I see Yeshua and why He said and did things Yahweh)
Thank you Skip, for bringing this understanding of G-d’s Word and knowing the difference between His Word and men’s doctrine!
Mathew 15 (CJB)
Then some P’rushim and Torah-teachers from Yerushalayim came to Yeshua and asked him, 2 “Why is it that your talmidim break the Tradition of the Elders? They don’t do n’tilat-yadayim before they eat!” 3 He answered, “Indeed, why do you break the command of God by your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’[a] and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say, ‘If anyone says to his father or mother, “I have promised to give to God what I might have used to help you,” 6 then he is rid of his duty to honor his father or mother.’ Thus by your tradition you make null and void the word of God! 7 You hypocrites! Yesha‘yahu was right when he prophesied about you,
8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far away from me.
9 Their worship of me is useless,
because they teach man-made rules as if they were doctrines.’”[c]
talking about wearing tzitzit…….I like this part
Women are exempt from this mitzvah and are discouraged from wearing tzitzit or a tallit.
Women are exempt from all mitzvot which carry a time contingency. Thus they are also exempt from the mitzvah of tzitzit, which is only observed during daytime hours (see The Proper Time).
The fact that women are exempt from this mitzvah demonstrates their heightened spiritual awareness, which renders it unnecessary for them to wear artificial reminders to observe the mitzvot!
chabad.org
Isn’t God awesome! The feminine mind (spirit, soul) is so different than mine.
Tzitzit-wearing women would sometimes throw a certain kind of look 😉 …. for me not wearing them. It feels as if I always have to defend myself. “Can you biblically prove, etc…..no, that’s not what the bible says, that’s what the rabbi’s teach, so that’s not for me.”
Beards ?
Yes,God is awesome! And as you said in your intoduction to your audio ” The Scriptural Role of ‘Ezer” Adam was created. Havvah was built! I have not been able to buy and listen to the audio, or the books you’ve written on the role of women, but I know from reading your TW, that God has given you a special insight into this subject. Now, if only the Church could understand…
To Strijbis Family,
I don’t know if you attend a” Messianic Congregation” or searching on-line, but I will share with you my experience…..I will not attend a “Messianic Congregation” without a Jewish Rabbi. I have seen to many “Messianic’s” who are led by Protestants who know nothing of the Torah! Yet they have all the “bells and whistles” and they almost always have a book to sell on “the end times”
I don’t mean to sound harsh, but this breaks my heart when I see this happening. I taught a Torah study group a few years ago, in our congregation and on the first session, one lady was so excited,she wanted to know “what should we wear?” I told her I did not care what she wore, she could wear 10 kippas on each one of her toes and stick her legs in the air and twirl them around if she wanted to. My point was that she had to learn what Torah said about wearing kippas, tzitzit,etc to find out why, when and IF she was to have any of this in the first place.(Now, I knew this woman personally and she understood how I was speaking to her) Bottom line, study Torah for youself, the way God set it up, I guarentee, you will “see” the answers to your questions and gain understanding.
P.S. and listen to Skip, he knows what he is talking about
Thanks for the endorsement, Robin. I am just a learner too.
I’m just giving honor to whom honor is due (Romans 13:7)
note: I didn’t mis-spell guarentee, I just have a bad habit of speaking phonetically with accent on the correct syllabes…or in other words..I’m from the South.lol