The Dangers of the Tora Keeping/Sacred Name/ Hebrew Roots Movement by John P. Hansen INTRODUCTION Hey everyone: for all you Eschatology buffs out there, here is a little something to challenge your thinking. Based on Matthew 24 already being fulfilled and other passages. Enjoy. Yours in Christ, John CHAPTER 1 The church of God is true Israel and Christians are Gods true Jews today. That Physical Israel is equal to the gentiles today and like the Gentiles, must believe on Jesus in order to be saved! The signs of Matthew 24 prophecies the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. When the Christians there saw the signs, they fled the city starting about 67 AD and were saved from that destruction. Physical Israel was replaced by the Spiritual church of God and Jews by blood were replaced by Jews of faith (Christians). Jesus taught that God would take His blessings away from fleshly Israel who rejected Christ and give it to the Gentiles. Jesus clearly taught the Gentile believers would replace Jewish non-believers a. Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. (Matthew 21:43) b. When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. (Matthew 21:45) The Bible clearly teaches that Gods true Jews today are Christians: a. For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. (Romans 2:28-29) b. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God [Christians]. (Galatians 6:15-16) c. for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, (Philippians 3:3) The Parable of the Landowner: Israel replaced by the Church of God/Christians: 1. Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, They will respect my son. But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance. They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers? They said to Him, He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons. Jesus said to them, Did you never read in the Scriptures, THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES? Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust. When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet. (Matthew 21:33-46) 2. It is crystal clear that the Jews, as a nation, were going to be replaced by something new, the church of God. Replacement Theology vs the Hebrew Roots movement REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY is Satanic and WRONG and too many churchs are wrong to teach or think it will or has. Born again believers are ONLY grafted into, they are not the chosen people, only Israel is chosen. Jews who accept Yeshua are now Messianic. They are still Jewish and born again believers. The church NEVER has and never will replace the Torah or Gods words in the Old Testament. (from RM). No doubt some of you are confused... What is this thing some call Replacement Theology? Plain and simple - it is the teaching of the New Testament which clearly shows that the church has replaced National Israel and that the church is now the covenant people of God. The church is made up of all the redeemed (saved - the elect) from every nation and every race who have ever lived and those of us who are alive today and it also includes all those who will be redeemed and maybe havent even been born yet. The word church as rendered in the New Testament of the Holy Bible comes from the Greek term ekklesia which is formed from two Greek works meaning an assembly and called out ones. The church is the called out ones of God. Called out from what? Called out from the world by God to live as His people under the authority of Jesus Christ (see Ephesians 1:22-23). So is this thing our responder has labeled Replacement Theology Satanic and Wrong? First, let me say, I do not like the term Replacement Theology. During this message I will define some of the terms that I am writing about here, in the hope of helping some of you to be less confused. I will be telling you more about several terms: 1) Replacement Theology, 2) Christian Zionism. 3) the church, 4) the Jew, 5) the elect, 6) fulfillment theology. I understand what the Christian Zionists and many dispensationalists mean by the term Replacement Theology, but I prefer to call it fulfillment theology because Christ has fulfilled all His promises to the Jews and Gentiles alike in Christ and in His Body the church. I shared many Biblical proofs of that in Part 1 of this message about the church being the true Israel of God. So, I wont repeat all those verses again, which apparently our responder didnt read or doesnt believe. Here are only a few verses to refresh our thinking on this subject: “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” (Rom 2:28, 29). “For they are not all Israel which are of Israel... but the children of the promise are counted for the seed” (Rom 9:6, . Its important that we understand a few things. First, the term Replacement theology is a political insult made by Christian Zionists to mock what the church has taught for 2000 years. Why do they do that? Well first and foremost, dont go looking to Christian Zionism for profound theology. You wont find it. Adherents to it can act very similar to the way a cult would operate and they pick their few special verses and all else is opinion and referral to extra biblical literature and some name calling. Why do they do that? Well it is hard to defend false doctrine using the Bible alone. It just doesnt seem to work out to well. Those into Christian Zionism seem to hold solidly to the idea that anyone who would disagree with them is evil. Why? Well since the Bible (to them) teaches that ethnic Jews are Gods Chosen Race, anyone who attacks their idea of Israel attacks their God, and by implication anyone who doesnt defend Israel is Gods enemy. Christian Zionists demand that the rest of us believe that the promises made to Abrahams descendants belong only to National Israel. Many Christian Zionists believe that the people of National Israel remain part of the chosen people of God, along with the so-called in grafted Gentile Christians (this is known as dual-covenant theology). This position has the added effect of turning Christian Zionists into supporters of Jewish Zionism. Question: For those of you who believe the obvious truth that the church today is the Israel of God, the so-called labeled doctrine known as Replacement Theology, can you elaborate what it is about the belief that makes it heretical? If it is heretical, that would make for an awful lot of heretics throughout church history, who most Christians have historically regarded as heroes of the faith. From their writings, I think I can show that Justin Martyr, Martin Luther, and George Mueller (just to name a few) held to concepts which today would be commonly called Replacement Theology. God does not have a special plan for National Israel. All the promises He made have been fulfilled in Christ and His church. The true Israel of God are those of us who are IN CHRIST. The true children of Abraham are those who are of the Promise (the saved, the elect). I know this is a tough subject and most Christians are afraid to talk about it and/or discuss it. But why are we so afraid of causing offense to our Jewish friends on this matter? We should respect their feelings, but we cannot allow Bible truth to be governed by their feelings. And moreover, why do we give any more consideration to the feeling of Jews and Christian Zionists than we do to Muslims, Hindus, wiccans, etc.? Do we feel that our Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to God and eternal life or dont we? Thus, if Judaism will not result in the salvation of a person from an eternity in the lake of fire, then what profit is there in it? In what way is it superior to satanism or witchcraft or Islam? But wait, you say John, dont Jews and Christians worship the same God, so isnt your comparison to Muslims, Hindus and wiccans wrong? My answer: NO WE DONT WORSHIP THE SAME GOD! The only way that you worship God is in spirit and in truth (see John 4:22-24), which means that God can only be worshiped in the manner that He tells us to. When Christ spoke those words to the Samaritan woman, he was summarizing the commandments given to the Jews, where God commanded that their worship of Him not emulate the practices of pagan religions, so Christ did not give a new revelation in this regards: it is integral to Judaism. And what did God say in John 14:6? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. In this dispensation, the only way to worship God is to acknowledge Jesus Christ as God and worship the Father through Him with the Holy Spirit as the Intercessor. When that knowledge was revealed to the Jews, most of them rejected it. As such, since they refuse to worship Jesus the Christ as God, then they are not worshiping the true God. Christians that pretend otherwise, quite frankly, are either dual covenant theologists or are giving their assent to what they know to be a lie. The New Testament, especially the books of Hebrews and Romans, state repeatedly that there is no profit to the religion of the Jews without Christ. Ah, you say, but Christianity came from Judaism and so we have to respect it and cling to it. No we dont. We need to share Christ with the lost Jews, just like we would share Christ with any other lost person. If we dont, shame on us. In conclusion: Jews rejected the Stone, Christ built His church to take on the role that the Jews rejected. By virtue of the church doing what the Jews would not do, their entering the Promised Land when the Jews forbeared as their forefathers did when they left Egypt and as a result all save Joshua and Caleb died in the wilderness (a remnant that pretty much could represent our Messianic Jewish brothers of today), the church clearly assumed the role that was originally intended for Israel, and in real spiritual terms has replaced Israel. The church is now the vehicle by which Gods Will is done and His Presence made known upon the earth. Claiming otherwise is to deny the entirety of the New Testament. CHAPTER 3 Torah Keeping vs The 66 books of the Holy Bible This is an email from (Torah Class) sent by Richard. You may also find the following link interesting: torahclass/old-testament-studies/39-old-testament-studies-joshua/304-lesson-16-chapter11 First let me say that I believe the Word of God is made up of 66 books and we call the entire collection of those sacred books - the Holy Bible. Since our responder Richard has brought up the Torah, I will have to add another definition to the words I have already defined for us in yesterdays message. To·rah ˈtōrə,ˈtô-,tôˈrä/ noun (in Judaism) the law of God as revealed to Moses and recorded in the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures (the Pentateuch). This is what the modern day Judaizers are using when they form their doctrines. These Judaizers are often times Messianic Christians and part of those in the Torah Keeper movement, which is often made up of those who once went by the name Christian, but now have become part of the Hebrew Roots movement (aka the Torah Keeper movement). In the Hebrew Roots assemblies we often see that they are made up of a majority of Gentiles, including Gentile rabbis. I guess you could say that those assemblies are made of of people who once associated in Christian churches, but now have left them to be part of the Torah Keeper movement. Usually they prefer to be identified as Messianic Christians. Many have come to the conclusion that God has called them to be Jewish and have accepted the theological position that the Torah (Old Testament law) is equally binding on Gentiles and Jews alike. They often wear articles of traditional Jewish clothing, practice Davidic dancing, and incorporate Hebrew names and phrases into their writing and conversations. Messianic Chrstians often reject the wonderful name of JESUS in favor of Yeshua or YHWH, claiming that these are the true names that God desires for Himself. Yeshua is the Hebrew name for the Lord. It means Yahweh [the Lord] is Salvation. The English spelling of Yeshua is Joshua. However, when translated from Hebrew into the Greek language, the name Yeshua becomes Iēsous. The English spelling for Iēsous is “Jesus.” Basically, what this means is Joshua and Jesus are the same name. One is translated from Hebrew into English, the other from Greek into English. It is also interesting to note, the names Joshua and Isaiah are essentially the same names as Yeshua in Hebrew. They mean Savior and the salvation of the Lord. GotQuestions.org gives this practical illustration: In German, our English word for book is buch. In Spanish, it becomes a libro; in French, a livre. The language changes, but the object itself does not. In the same way, we can refer to Jesus as “Jesus,” “Yeshua,” or “YehSou” (Cantonese), without changing His nature. In any language, His name means “the Lord is Salvation.” Those who argue and insist we CALL JESUS by Yeshua, are concerning themselves with trivial, non-essential matters. English speakers call him Jesus, with a J that sounds like gee. Portuguese speakers call him Jesus, but with a J that sounds like sjeh, and Spanish speakers call him Jesus, with a J that sounds like hey. Which one of these pronunciations is the correct one? All of them, of course, in their own language. The Bible doesnt give preeminence to one language (or translation) over another. We are not commanded to call upon the name of the Lord in Hebrew only. Acts 2:21 says, But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. God knows who calls upon his name, whether they do so in English, Portuguese, Spanish, or Hebrew. He is still the same Lord and Savior. One big problem that is apparent in the Messianic Christian Torah Keeping groups is their attack on the Word of God. In my book that makes them have attributes of a Cult. In most cases, they elevate the Torah as the foundational teaching for their groups (assemblies), which brings about the demotion of the New Testament, causing it to become secondary in importance and only to be understood in light of the Old Testament. The idea that the New Testament is faulty and relevant only in light of the Old Testament has also brought the doctrine of the Trinity under attack by many advocates of the Hebrew Roots beliefs. As opposed to what the Hebrew Roots movement claims, the New Testament teachings of the Apostle Paul are perfectly clear and self-explanatory. Colossians 2:16,17 says, Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day – things which are a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. Romans 14:5 states, One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. Scripture clearly indicates that these issues are a matter of personal choice. These verses and many others give clear evidence that the Mosaic Covenant laws and ordinances have ended. Continuing to teach that the Old Covenant is still in effect in spite of what the New Testament teaches, or twisting the New Testament to agree with the Hebrew Roots beliefs, is false teaching. These Torah Law Keepers minimize what Jesus did at the Cross. Many (not all) Law Keepers believe that Jesus died for past sins, not that there is grace for all sin. That’s one reason it’s so important for them to follow the instructions about how to live. They fall into the trap of the externals, when Jesus constantly pointed to and stressed the internals. The Law in effect becomes an idol to them. Torah keeping Law Keepers rely on the Law for sanctification, having it take the place of the Holy Spirit, Who enables believers to become more and more a reflection of Jesus, being part of the living Body of Christ. Law Keepers see the Holy Spirit as the One Who enables the believer to keep the Torah, not as the One Who progressively changes (sanctifies) the believer from the inside out (1 Corinthians 1:2, 1 Corinthians 6:11, 1 Thessalonians 5:19-24, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17, Hebrews 10:29, 1 Peter 1:2). Torah keeping Law Keepers consistently say, This is how Y’shua worshipped!, yet they dismiss the radical change in worship and practice in the New Testament Church (Body of Christ) after Jesus accomplished what He came to do! They do not recognize the Cross as being a definite dividing line in history, delineating the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Again this feature of their faith makes them cult like in my book. It is also important to note that Torah Keeping Law Keepers rarely refer to the Epistles, unless they’re trying to discredit them or trying to convince you that they say something that they just don’t, in context, and in view of the Cross, they say Isn’t it interesting that the Epistles are where guidance, instruction, and correction of the fledgling Church occur, as well as the establishing of sound doctrine and warnings against false doctrine? Others in the Torah Keeping Law keeping community feel it necessary to throw Paul (the writer of the bulk of the Epistles) under the bus altogether, saying that it was he who established christianity (small c), not Jesus. Torah Keeping Messianic Christians come up with twisted explanations and fall into false teaching. They falsely believe that legalism is the only method possible for a person to resist a sinful lifestyle. There assembly Pastors, Ministers, and Reverends ignore the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit in the born-again believer. The Apostle Paul taught that legalism is doomed to failure. Submitting to the guidance of the Holy Spirit actually fulfills the requirements of the Law. Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. We are not to put on the yoke of legalistic bondage. Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. American radio preacher, Donald Grey Barnhouse, once said: It was a tragic hour when the reformation churches wrote the Ten Commandments into their creeds and catechisms and sought to bring Gentile believers into bondage to Jewish law, which was never intended either for the Gentile nations or for the church. This problem has existed from the beginning of the church when the Apostle Paul struggled to keep believers from falling back under the Old Testament laws. Judaizers, legalists of the day, tried to make the Gentile believers keep the Jewish commandments of circumcision, the law (Ten Commandments), dietary commandments, and the observance of special days; but the Apostle Paul taught that we are no longer under the law but under grace. Churches, pastors, and Torah Keepers who preach justification by keeping the law are blaspheming God. Their justification by legalism and works is a statement to God that Jesus Christ died in vain. Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness [comes] through the law, then Christ died in vain. Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Galatians 5:2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Scripture clearly tells us to live our lives by the leading of the indwelling Holy Spirit, not by keeping our eyes on the law (Ten Commandments) or on a list of rules. We are to walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh. Galatians 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. I will conclude todays message with this verse from: Ephesians 2:8-9 King James Version (KJV) 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. The Christian Gospel of Salvation is by Grace Through Faith. Amen! CHAPTER 4 What is the Hebrews Roots movement teaching? More feedback..Here are additional responses I have received on my messages: Statement # 1 from CJ of Pahrump, Nevada Why havent I heard about the Hebrew Roots movement? Statement # 2 from RM of Sparks, Nevada This is an email from (Torah Class) sent by Richard. You may also find the following link interesting: torahclass/old-testament-studies/39-old-testament-studies-joshua/305-lesson-17-chapter12-13 Hi everyone and especially you CJ. First, As a rule, this spreading wave of false doctrine known as the Hebrew Roots movement is not being addressed by the church. This is probably due to several reasons: 1) There is a fear of appearing anti-Semitic 2) The depth of the movements doctrinal heresies is not generally known 3) There is within the organized churches a reluctance to address false doctrine and/or appear critical of anything or anyone. The Torah keeping Hebrew Roots movement usually hides their beliefs and presents itself as simply seeking to educate Christians concerning their Jewish heritage. As they become acclimated to the Jewish orientation the more aberrant doctrines are slowly introduced. Some of the warning signs to look for as the aberrant doctrines are brought out into the open... 1) All Christians must adhere to a kosher diet 2) The Sabbath can only be observed on Saturdays 3) The Jewish festivals and holidays must still be observed today The root of their symptomatic heresies is hermeneutic (having to do with the methodology used to interpret scripture) in nature. The Protestant Reformers used a grammatical-literal hermeneutic when interpreting scripture. In other words, it means what it says unless there is a significant reason to believe otherwise. This Hebrew Roots Torah keeping movement uses a grammatical-historical hermeneutic with a twist. Their underlying assumptions when approaching any scripture are: Whatever God has ever commanded of those who seek Him (i.e., the Jews, their ancestors, their descendants, and Christians) is still in effect today (including the Levitical law) Many Hebrew Roots groups teach that Gentile followers of Christ were grafted into the Jews which they interpret to mean that Gentiles must assume Jewish customs if they really want to mature and please God Yet another type of Hebrew Roots ministry may encourage Christians to not only study Jewish customs of the first century (about which extra-Biblical sources of information are very scanty), but study and regularly participate in Jewish customs of the present in order to somehow be more authentically Christian. They may even imply that this sort of study and participation will lead to deeper spiritual understanding which will bring one closer to God. It is my opinion that the approach of this type of ministry can very easily distract Christians from the simplicity which is in Jesus. There is absolutely no documentation to establish that most modern Jewish customs were inspired by God, nor that they were even in place in the first century. Many customs have obviously evolved over the centuries, in the same way many Protestant and Catholic customs have evolved. Those who are trying to avoid pagan superstitious customs in Christian settings by adopting Jewish customs may find that they are merely exchanging one set of man-made superstitions for another. In addition, many elements of modern Jewish ritual and thought have obvious mystical and/or occultic roots. Some Hebrew Roots ministries go beyond mere suggestion that Christians should try out various religious practices and customs of the Jews, and actually teach that the only way to be authentic disciples of Jesus—whom they would refer to by the name they believe He would have used in the first century, something close to Yahshuah—is to become Jewish believers in Messiah. This would include adoption of most orthodox Jewish practices such as wearing prayer shawls for worship, wearing blue tassels on the bottoms of a special garment worn at all times, using the traditional Jewish blessings throughout the day, and, for some males, even undergoing circumcision if necessary. All of these things are adopted in order to be more spiritual and to be more acceptable to God. It is my opinion that the approach of this type of ministry is completely distracting from the simplicity that is in Christ, and leads away from true spiritual faith and practice rather than toward it. There is another type of Hebrew Roots ministry which has begun to develop out of the last type mentioned above. This ministry poses as one which offers to help Christians explore the Hebrew roots of Jesus and the Hebrew roots of the New Testament Faith. But under this benign surface its goal is to totally undermine the faith of believers in both Jesus and the New Testament. One type of this branch of the Hebrew Roots movement downplays the role of Jesus in salvation, implying strongly that He was just a good Jewish Rabbi of the first century rather than the unique Son of God. And they teach that the New Testament, while containing some inspirational material, is unreliable as the written Word of God. But beyond this branch is one even more radical, which attempts to draw Christians to such conclusions that: The New Testament was a forgery of the Roman Catholic Church; The Apostle Paul sought to undermine the teachings of Jesus, and created a false religion; Jesus of Nazareth didnt exist at all—or, even worse, represents not the Son of God but Satan the Devil himself. It is my opinion that the approaches described above are not just distracting to Christians, but are in fact Anti-Christ. Is. 9:16. For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. Messianic Christians or converted Jews who affect a Jewish demeanour or compromise Christian doctrine to appeal to the Jewish mindset are surrendering the precious pearl of Jesus Christ who alone leads to salvation. The ecumenical approach does not lead Jews to Jesus Christ, but patronizes their religion of dead works, and results in the Christians acceptance of religion on Jewish terms. OK, this is getting longer than I planned on. Let me start to wrap this up by giving you another statement of mine. This is my opinion based on Scripture. The great tribulation that Jesus told of in Matthew 24 was the fall of Jerusalem and the Jewish state and the end of the Old Testament Jewish Religion. History points to A.D. 70 as the period of time when this happened. For detailed information on the destruction of Jerusalem you can read Josephus history, along with many other sources. Gods Jews today are the circumcised in heart. For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God (Romans 2:28, 29). Abrahams seed are those who know Christ in reality! There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christs then are ye Abrahams seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:28,29). His Name is Wonderful!! ... Or is it??: Have you found eternal salvation through the lovely name of our Lord Jesus Christ? Have you found true deliverance from your old sinful past, the world and its pleasures, in this most precious name? What about the reality of the peace of God, and the assurance nothing can separate us from the love of God? Have you seen lives changed, miracles wrought, families restored, and others responding towards God, at the preaching of this Name above every other name? What if someone came along and said this Name you have been saved and set free by is not the correct name at all but a misnomer? What if someone came along and said the wonderful name of your Saviour was a corrupt Greek name, derived from a false god called Zeus? How would you react? What would you response be? Well my Brothers and Sisters Beware!!! This is exactly what is happening in some spheres of Christendom today, through sources of the Hebrew Roots / Messianic / Sacred Name Movement, as it attempts to validate itself into the Body of Christ. Titus 1:14. Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. The name Jesus Christ is known world wide and synonymous with Christianity. That is a historical fact. The believer in Christ is not called to law, but to freedom in Jesus. And for those who still need further proof, Paul provides it in Galatians 2: But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before [them] all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? We [who are] Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Galatians 2:11-16 To suggest that any Gentile believer who follows Jesus must be placed under Old Testament law is nothing but bondage, and its a bondage that the Bible speaks against not only in the verses quoted here, but in many other places as well. Regarding the freedom we have in Christ, let me leave you with this verse from the Master himself: If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. John 8:36
Posted on: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 03:23:38 +0000
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