Tag: Sabbath

A Christian Teacher Has Questions About Messianic Judaism

A Christian Teacher Has Questions About Messianic Judaism.

Reposted from a thread on our fellowship’s site.  Good overview email and a link to another blog I enjoy.

Excellent passage defending Messianic Torah observance!!

Here is an interesting passage that I already knew was a solid defense for Torah observance by the believer in Yeshua (Jesus), but, while referring to it in today’s Shabbat message, I noticed a couple words that have been there all along!  Funny how we can read verses and not SEE what is actually there.

Before we look at it, I want you to notice, this is a ‘last days’ passage.  Verse two gets quoted with the coming of Yeshua, but most never notice the context is decidedly eschatological…  End times!  Last days!  Has ‘not yet happened!!’

“[a]For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of hosts, Continue reading “Excellent passage defending Messianic Torah observance!!”

YHWH was pleased for His righteousness’ sake to…

YHWH was pleased for His righteousness’ sake to make the Torah great and glorious! Is. 42:21

Did He stop being righteous?

Did He change His mind?

Or, is the idea that He did away with His Torah a FALSE teaching that does NOT square with Scripture in the front OR the back of the Book?

Now it will come about that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.
And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us concerning His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the TORAH will go forth from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
 And He will judge between the nations,
And will  render decisions for many peoples;
And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.

 Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.  Isaiah 2:2-5

 

Got Torah?

By what standard?? Pray tell!

… I can tell you what is NOT the standard!!

The Westminster Confession of Faith is NOT the standard!!
The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith is NOT the standard!!
The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church are NOT the standard!!
The Confessions of the Lutheran Church are NOT the standard!! ….

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.         Hebrews 4:15

The author of the book of Hebrews tells us that Messiah Y’shua was without sin.  By what standard was this determination made?

the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.    I John 2:3-6

The Apostle John tells us that if we abide in the Messiah, then we will ‘walk as He walked.’  We will ‘do as He did.’  By what standard did He walk/do?

Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.  I Cor. 11:1

If we are to imitate Rav Shaul who is imitating Messiah Y’shua, by what standard do we imitate? Continue reading “By what standard?? Pray tell!”

Words I LONG to hear…

Y’shua said,

‘Whoever keeps and teaches (the Commandments), he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.’  Matthew 5:19b

We live in a time and culture that elevates all manner of men to be ‘heroes.’  We have movies about ‘super-heroes,’ toys called ‘Rescue Heroes,’ and TV shows about ‘Real Life Heroes.’  We are taught to desire to be heroic, or at least look up to those who are…  In most cases, the focus is on the ‘hero’ or his/her ‘powers’ and little if any focus is on the Creator of the Universe.

Scripture has a similar message, but goes a step further and tells us exactly HOW to be ‘heroes’…  to use that terminology, while keeping the Creator, YHWH, central in our focus.  ‘Keep and teach the commandments.’

There is an even clearer passage that I was recently reminded of that spells out for us a couple ‘titles’ we should strive for.

Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the breach, Continue reading “Words I LONG to hear…”

Protestant Hypocrisy?

A friend sent me a copy of an article from the late 1890s.  While it is very interesting and telling, a citation from the Encyclopedia Britannica (doesn’t say which edition, but I guess circa early 1890s) really shakes up the ‘sola scriptura’ idea…  But, this blog has said this before.

Here is a portion of the article:

Inconsistency of Reformers.

    Thus the reformed churches, while professing to reject tradition for the pure Word of God, were led to deny their own position, by accepting Sunday on the authority of tradition only, and tradition directly opposed to the divine Word. It was the weakness caused by thus practically denying their own position that more than any other one thing arrested the progress of the Reformation. Draper says: “Toward the close of Luther’s life it seemed as if there was no other prospect for papal power than total ruin; yet at this day out of three hundred millions of Christians more than half owe allegiance to Rome. Almost as if by enchantment the Reformation suddenly ceased to advance. Rome was not only able to check its spread, but even to gain back a portion Continue reading “Protestant Hypocrisy?”

Every word!!

Most of us know that when Yeshua/Jesus was tempted of the adversary after fasting for 40 days, the Messiah’s response was Scripture.  But do we notice every quote is from Deuteronomy?  The Covenant?

Check it out: Deuteronomy 8:3; 6:16; 6:13 and 10:20.

So, while pondering that recently, another thought occurred to me.

3 He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you  understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.  Deut. 8:3

‘Man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh!’

Churchianity constantly pits Paul against Moses, Jesus against God, Law against Gra Continue reading “Every word!!”

“I am the Way” means….

Growing up I was often pointed to Jesus/Yeshua’s statement, “I am the way, the truth and the life…”  I am not sure I ever really pondered what that means.  We are going to break this down into several posts.

“I am the way…”  From John 14:6.

Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

8 Philip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus *said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.

So, what is the ‘way’ that would be the Father’s works? Continue reading ““I am the Way” means….”