Christian questionnaire answers....
Christian questionnaire answers....
Do your responses to our Christian questionnaire line up with Scripture? Check it out....
QUESTION 1: Do you love God with all your heart, mind and soul?
Scriptural response:
Of course the answer from ALL believers should have been a resounding "YES!" But did you know that, while loving God is a "gut feeling", it's also a Bible command?
Deuteronomy 6: 4 "Sh'ma, Yisra'el! ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI echad [Hear, Isra'el! ADONAI our God, ADONAI is one]; 5 and you are to love ADONAI your God with all your heart, all your being and all your resources. (CJB)
Deuteronomy 11: 1 "Therefore, you are to love ADONAI your God and always obey his commission, regulations, rulings and mitzvot. (CJB)
Luke 10: 27. And he answered and said to him, to love Master YHWH (most likely pronounced Yah-way)your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself. (AENT)
Matthew 22: 37. And Y'shua (Jesus) said to him, that "You should love Master YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might and with all your mind." (AENT)
Note that loving ADONAI our God includes "always obeying his commission, regulations, rulings and mitzvot (words/commands)." How many are actually doing that? Are you?
QUESTION 2: If so, what do you DO to show you love Him?
Scriptural response:
Scripture actually shows us how to love, respect and fear Him:
Deuteronomy 10: 12 "So now, Isra'el, all that ADONAI your God asks from you is to fear ADONAI your God, follow all his ways, love him and serve ADONAI your God with all your heart and all your being; 13 to obey, for your own good, the mitzvot and regulations of ADONAI which I am giving you today. (CJB)
Deuteronomy 13: 1 "If a prophet or someone who gets messages while dreaming arises among you and he gives you a sign or wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder comes about as he predicted when he said, 'Let's follow other gods, which you have not known; and let us serve them,' 3 you are not to listen to what that prophet or dreamer says. For ADONAI your God is testing you, in order to find out whether you really do love ADONAI your God with all your heart and being. 4 You are to follow ADONAI your God, fear him, obey his mitzvot, listen to what he says, serve him and cling to him; (CJB)
Deuteronomy 30: 6 Then ADONAI your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your children, so that you will love ADONAI your God with all your heart and all your being, and thus you will live. 7 ADONAI your God will put all these curses on your enemies, on those who hated and persecuted you; 8 but you will return and pay attention to what ADONAI says and obey all his mitzvot which I am giving you today. (CJB)
Joshua 22: 5 Only take great care to obey the mitzvah and the Torah which Moshe the servant of ADONAI gave you - to love ADONAI your God, follow all his ways, observe his mitzvot, cling to him, and serve him with all your heart and being." (CJB)
John 14: 11. Believe that I am in my Father and my Father is in me; otherwise believe even because of the works. 12. Amen, amen I say to you that whoever believes in me, these works that I do, he will do also, and more than these he will do because I go to the Father. 13. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do for you that the Father might be glorified by His Son. 14. And if you ask of me, in my name, I will do it! 15. If you love me, keep my Commandments. (AENT)
1 John 2: 3. And by this we will be sensible that we know him, if we keep his Commandments. 4. For he that says I know him, and does not keep his Commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him. 5. But he that keeps his Word, in him is the Love of Elohim truly completed: for by this we know that we are in him. 6. He that says I am in him, is bound to walk according to his halacha. 7. My beloved, I write no new commandment to you, but the old Commandment which you had from the beginning; and the old Commandment is the Word which you have heard.[1] (AENT)
Note John 14:15 and 1 John 2:3-6 wherein both Y'shua and John tell us to keep His Commandments? This refers to His Torah (Divine Instructions in Righteousness, without which, we would have NO blueprint for moral,holy living!). This doesn't mean just the Ten Commandments which are a summation of His "do's" and "don'ts"; or the "two" which some insist are all we need to bother with....You'll see further explanation as you continue reading below.
QUESTION 3: Are you living a holy/set apart life? How do you know?
Scriptural response:
Many truly believe themselves to be living holy lives - and many are! What we need to ask ourselves is this: "How we KNOW what constitutes a holy, set apart life?" The answer can be found only in the Bible, which - contrary to the opinions of all other "religions" - is the ONLY God-breathed entity we have (2 Peter 3:15, 1 Peter 1:3-25; 2 Timothy 3:16):
1 John 2: 3. And by this we will be sensible that we know him, if we keep his Commandments. 4. For he that says I know him, and does not keep his Commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him. 5. But he that keeps his Word, in him is the Love of Elohim truly completed: for by this we know that we are in him. 6. He that says I am in him, is bound to walk according to his halacha. 7. My beloved, I write no new commandment to you, but the old Commandment which you had from the beginning; and the old Commandment is the Word which you have heard.[1] (AENT)
Footnote from the AENT:
[1] "Elohim is light", (1 John 1:5); therefore, it can be argued that at Creation when YHWH (the Name of our Creator as given to Moshe/Moses in Exodus 3:13-15) said, "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3) that He in effect brought a part of Himself out to accomplish the creative act. The "Word" does this same feat, Psalm 33:6; John 1:1; a few lines earlier we read the "Word of Life." We have also seen before the direct linguistic relationship between the Hebrew and Aramaic roots for "Light" and "Torah" such as: "Your word (davar) is a lamp to my feet, a light (aur) to my path." Psalm 119:105. "For the commandment is a lamp. The teaching is a light (aur), and the way to life is the rebuke that disciplines." (Proverbs 6:23)
What makes this citation in Proverbs most profound is the word mitzvah (commandment), since tradition commonly calls the revelation at Sinai the Ten Commandments when in fact the Tanakh uses davarim (words)! Keep this in mind while considering 1 John 2:4. "He who says I know Him and does not keep His Commandments (poqadona) is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word (miltha) in him, verily is the love of Elohim perfected; hereby we know that we are in Him." (1 John 2:4 (Lamsa)).
Aramaic could not make a more forceful point. The fact is, poqadona and miltha are exceedingly close matches for their Hebrew counterparts mitzvah in Proverbs, and davar in Psalms. However, it is in this next passage that the full measure of John's brilliance is shown: "My beloved, I do not write a new commandment to you, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard from the beginning." (1 John 2:7 - (Lamsa)) The Commandment is the Word, which comes from the beginning.
We must now realize that to translate this as "his Commandments" is wrong, but "His Commandments" is correct. "His Commandments" is the WORD which came from the very beginning of time. Many fail to understand this truth: It is impossible for Torah to have passed away during the lifetime of the Shlichim/Apostles if John himself writes about the Word they have heard from the beginning. What else could this WORD be, except the living Torah!
John is a native Aramaic speaker and follower of Y'shua who knows that the WORD (or the Torah of YHWH) comes from the "Light"; he states that Elohim is Light and that we abide in that Light when we do His Mitzvot/Poqadona/Commandments. Furthermore, the interchanging of "Word" and "Commandment" simply does not happen in any other language except Hebrew and Aramaic; the "word that you have heard" is the Shema!
QUESTION 4: Since most Christians believe that the "Old Testament" was only for the Jews, are only Jews expected to live holy lives? Show scriptural proof that Torah was "only for the Jews."
Scriptural response:
There are no scriptures to show that Torah was "only for the Jews."
Those who believe God's "forever" commands were only for the Jews, need to be reminded that Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden for disobeying YHWH's command; that Cain and Abel offered sin sacrifices; and Noah knew the difference between "clean and unclean" - and none of them were Jews!
There were no Jews until our third Patriarch, Jacob, had one of his 12 sons whom he named Yehudah [Judah] who became the Tribe of Judah, where the word "Jew" comes from. But yet, EVERYONE up until that time (except, of course, the pagans and heathens who were believers in other gods) was Torah observant!) Yes, YHWH ordered the Tribe of Yehudah to guard/preserve the Torah (Genesis 49:10, Micah 4:2) but that didn't mean it was only for "the Jews":
Genesis 49: 10 The scepter will not pass from Y'hudah, nor the ruler's staff from between his legs, until he comes to whom [obedience] belongs; and it is he whom the peoples will obey.
Micah 4: 2 Many Gentiles will go and say, "Come, let's go up to the mountain of ADONAI, to the house of the God of Ya'akov! He will teach us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths." For out of Tziyon will go forth Torah, the word of ADONAI from Yerushalayim.
Does the above in any way allude to the idea that Gentiles could ignore YHWH's Torah? Please read and re-read it until you can see exactly what Micah said. And let's not forget that YHWH caused our Mashiyach (Messiah) to be born into the Tribe of Judah. Yes, this makes them "special" - in the same way that it made Miryam (Mary) special because she was chosen to carry and give birth to YHWH's Son....
Scripture tells us that ALL who accept YHWH as their Elohim and Y'shua as His divine Messiah MUST be holy. They MUST do "exactly" as HIS people do. YHWH repeats this four times in a row in Numbers 15:
Numbers 15: 13 "'Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when he brings an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. 14 For the generations to come, whenever an alien or anyone else living among you presents an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, he must do exactly as you do. 15 The community is to have the same rules for you and for the alien living among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the alien shall be the same before the LORD: 16 The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the alien living among you.'"
Please re-read the above in case you missed it: Any Torah-less non-Jew/Hebrew/Israelite who does not yet believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is an "alien"/foreigner. However, if they do wish to accept Him, then they are to do exactly as those who are already belong to Him!
"Living among" means not necessarily physically, but rather, it refers to all those who have accepted the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They MUST be Torah observant, just like the Houses of Israel and Judah were with whom God made His New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:32)!
Romans 10: 12. <And in this, it discriminates neither Jews nor Gentiles. For there is one, Master YHWH, over them all, who is abundantly generous towards every one that calls on him. 13. For everyone that will call on the name of Master YHWH, will have life.
QUESTION 5: In your own words, explain what "the law" is and what "under the law" means.
Scriptural response:
Plain and simple: Greek versions of the Bible have mistranslated TORAH (Divine Instructions) into "law." When YHWH gives us DIVINE guidance, it's for a reason; not up for negotiation! "Legalism" is when one expects salvation from keeping "the Law". It can also be when we impose our personal habits/customs upon someone else for our own personal gratification or reasons.
YHWH never said that "works" save us! However, He expects us to OBEY His do's and don't's....Just look at what has happened to our world because we keep refusing His Divine Instructions! Decadence, weirdness, evil and all manner of perversion are considered "normal" today because most don't know YHWH or His Word! Christianity has totally perverted and confused the difference between "legalism" and "obedience!"
"Legalism" or being "under the law" is NOT what we are doing when we obey YHWH's Divine Instructions! We "keep the law" (properly referred to as Torah), out of love and obedience and reverence.
In order to explain the erroneous "under the law" idea, let's turn to the Book of Galatians - specifically, Galatians 3 and 4 - and employ some Bible hermeneutics, simply allowing Scripture to explain Scripture:
Galatians 3:23. But before faith came, Torah[1] was guarding[2] us while we were confined from the faith about to be revealed. 24. Torah was therefore a tutor for us, going towards the Mashiyach that we, by faith, might be made righteous. 25. But since faith came, we are no longer under tutors.[3] 26. For you are all the children of Elohim by faith in Y'shua the Mashiyach. 27. For those who have been immersed in Mashiyach have been clothed[4] with Mashiyach. 28. For there is neither Jew nor Aramean, nor slave nor free, nor male nor female, but you are all one in Y'shua the Mashiyach. 29. And if you are of the Mashiyach then you are seeds of Awraham and inheritors by the promise. (AENT)
[1] In this regard "Torah" can be compared with any righteous values a soul voluntarily imposes upon himself. However, as a spiritual relationship is established with YHWH and His Messiah, a soul is elevated to much higher levels of spiritual awareness and accountability. Therefore, it is a complete farce when someone claims to follow Messiah, but willfully violates Torah according to their denominational authorities. See Matthew 7:23.
[2] Most Greek translations have "kept in (ward) under the law" which is indicative of popular anti-Torah theology. However, many fail to understand that without the Torah of YHWH, there would be no Standard with which to prove Mashiyach, therefore NO Mashiyach.
[3] In the most ancient manuscripts in the Peshitta, taraa is 'tutors'; however, it was translated as the singular 'tutor' in Greek. Although the word taraa has the same spelling for both singular and plural, there are times such as here, when the grammar of the sentence does not directly reveal whether it is singular or plural. To correct this problem, the earliest scribes of the Peshitta inserted two dot plural markers called a syame above such words, as in this case.
A Greek redactor could easily miss these and mistake a singular word for a plural, or vice versa. Aramaic texts are unanimous for when the syames appear, making these readings highly reliable. That being so, what we have here is the true tutor, Torah, being contrasted against false tutors, the Pharisees, who put their oral tradition above the written code of Moses and the Prophets. Such is a common refrain of Y'shua as well in places such as Matthew 15. Unfortunately, this passage was twisted into a "proof text" by anti-Torah Christians who wanted to distance themselves from the Faith of Avraham, Yitzak and Ya'akov.
[4] That is, as a garment wraps a person inside, which is a very common idiom in both Hebrew and Aramaic. Paul uses it elsewhere in Ephesians when talking about putting on the armor of Elohim and the breastplate of righteousness. A very similar idiomatic usage, "clothed with zeal like a cloak", is found in Isaiah 59:17.
Also, let's take a look at Galatians 4:
Galatians 4: 1. But I say that for a period of time the heir is a child, no different from the servants, even though he is the Master over all of them; 2. However, he is under guardians and stewards of the house until the time which his Father has set. 3. Even so with us, when we were young, we acted as if subject to the elements of this world. 4. But when therefore the fullness of time had come, Elohim sent His Son who was born of a woman, and was subject to Torah, 5. To redeem those who are under Torah[1] that we might receive adoption as sons. (AENT)
[1] First, it is important to note that the word was never "law", as YHWH's Divine Instructions for Holy living are called TORAH. "Law" has a very negative connotation. Notice the difference between being "subject to Torah" or being "under Torah". The lack of discernment between these two has propelled many into anti-Torah lifestyles. Torah is to be written upon the heart by the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit) by Grace; it is by Grace that a person refrains from sin, as they become subject to the Word of YHWH. It is by Grace that a person comes to know and accept the Redemptive work of Y'shua Mashiyach. However, the correct response to Y'shua is to live a life subject to Torah (instruction in righteousness).
Being "under the torah" is to be under the authority of any religious regime that postures itself as authorities on YHWH or His Word, yet the reality is that they totally go AGAINST His Word. For example, the Word of YHWH instructs that we are to REST on Shabbat (which is the SEVENTH Day of the week which, on our Gregorian calendars, falls on Saturday. But some religious authorities teach that a person must attend a service on Sunday or during the week to discharge their obligation. Those who are under religious authority are "under the law" which is a much different thing than being transformed into the image of Elohim, according to Mashiyach Y'shua.
QUESTION 6: Find a scripture commanding us to celebrate the Messiah's birth and that this holiday should be called "Christmas."
Scriptural response:
There are no scriptures commanding believers to celebrate the birth of Messiah, period. Christmas is a man-made "holy day" that has nothing, whatsoever to do with the birth of Messiah, as he was born on the first day of Sukkot/Tabernacles and circumcised on the 8th day.
QUESTION 7: Provide scripture showing the Seventh Day Sabbath was changed to Sunday.
Scriptural response:
The simple answer is there are no Scriptures even suggesting the Sabbath was changed to Sunday! You can, of course, worship any day you like, but the commanded Sabbath REST has always been the 7th day (Saturday).
YHWH's commanded Seventh Day has always been a "sign" between Him and those who are His, and there is no scripture to suggest that would change upon the death of His Messiah.
Ezekiel 20: 11 I gave them my laws and showed them my rulings; if a person obeys them, he will have life through them. 12 I gave them my shabbats as a sign between me and them, so that they would know that I, ADONAI, am the one who makes them holy.
Exodus 20: 8 "Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for God. 9 You have six days to labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Shabbat for ADONAI your God. On it, you are not to do any kind of work -not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property. 11 For in six days, ADONAI made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why ADONAI blessed the day, Shabbat, and separated it for himself.
Isaiah 56: 2 Happy is the person who does this, anyone who grasps it firmly, who keeps Shabbat and does not profane it, and keeps himself from doing any evil. 3 A foreigner joining ADONAI should not say, "ADONAI will separate me from his people"; likewise the eunuch should not say, "I am only a dried-up tree." 4 For here is what ADONAI says: "As for the eunuchs who keep my Shabbats, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant: 5 in my house, within my walls, I will give them power and a name greater than sons and daughters; I will give him an everlasting name that will not be cut off.
6 "And the foreigners who join themselves to ADONAI to serve him, to love the name of ADONAI, and to be his workers, all who keep Shabbat and do not profane it, and hold fast to my covenant, 7 I will bring them to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples."
Isaiah 58: 13 If you hold back your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call Shabbat a delight, ADONAI'S holy day, worth honoring; then honor it by not doing your usual things or pursuing your interests or speaking about them. 14 If you do, you will find delight in ADONAI - I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Ya'akov, for the mouth of ADONAI has spoken."
Isaiah 66: 23 And it shall be that from one New Moon to another New Moon and from one Sabbath to another Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before Me, says the Lord.
Jeremiah 17: 21 Here is what ADONAI says: "If you value your lives, don't carry anything on Shabbat or bring it in through the gates of Yerushalayim; 22 don't carry anything out of your houses on Shabbat; and don't do any work. Instead, make Shabbat a holy day. I ordered your ancestors to do this, 23 but they neither listened nor paid attention; rather, they stiffened their necks, so that they wouldn't have to hear or receive instruction. 24 However, if you will pay careful heed to me," says ADONAI "and carry nothing through the gates of this city on Shabbat, but instead make Shabbat a day which is holy and not for doing work;
Many have cited Acts 20:7 as supposed proof that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday because "Paul taught on Sunday." They don't realize they have confused the Havdallah (end of Shabbat) services with Paul's continuing to teach through sunset (end of Shabbat), on into the "first day." Someone wrote to challenge us on this, saying: "Paul did not keep the 7th day Sabbath because he was teaching Christians. When the 'Sabbath day' is mentioned in Acts, it is the Christian Sabbath day - Sunday! See Acts 20:7 for proof."
No it isn't! Let's read this in context! Acts 20:7 says "And on the first day of the week, when we assembled to break bread, Paul spoke with them, because he was to depart the next day; and he continued his discussion till midnight." (AENT)
Since "Jesus" was a Jew who taught only from the Tanach - the "Old Testament" - the earliest "Christians" were taught by him to observe HIS Sabbath, which was the 7th day. A study of early Christian writers reveals that Sunday observance of a Sabbath was a second century invention, not around in Paul's time. No, we can be sure that when Acts mentions the "Sabbath day", it is the 7th day and not Sunday.
Let's discuss the "Sunday" allegation:
First, Acts 20 in no way suggests the Sabbath was somehow changed to Sunday. Second, the scripture itself explains that Paul was departing the next day, which is why they were meeting on Sunday. Third, there is a traditional Jewish ceremony after sunset on the seventh day Shabbat known as havdalah. The havdalah is an intentional observation of the separation between Shabbat and the first day of the week. Though the Shabbat ends at sunset, the fellowship often continues far into the night, which by definition of the Hebrew day it has become the "1st day of the week". So Acts 20:7 simply records that the Apostles met in a continuation from the 7th day Sabbath.
For those who really wish to believe a 1st day Sabbath was condoned and expected by Paul, then please explain 1 Corinthians 16:2. Here Paul is explaining to the Corinthians: "On each first day of the week, let every one of you lay aside and preserve at home what he is able; that there may be no collections when I come."
The fact that here, Paul is telling the Corinthians to WORK on the 1st day and make preparations for his visit, most certainly means that he did not see the 1st day of the week as a "day of rest" and he decidedly did not consider the 1st day of the week a "Sabbath" day!
Some attempt to use Matthew 12:8 which says "For the Master of the Shabbat is the Son of man" (AENT) and conclude that "it doesn't matter what day you keep as Shabbat." First, this scripture does not answer the question as it does not demonstrate that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday. Second, the scripture says that the Messiah is the Master of Shabbat, which means that the Messiah is the REASON for Shabbat; not that he is the REPLACEMENT for Shabbat! The 7th Day Shabbat is a "forever" command, see Exodus 31:16-17.
And finally, some suggest that since "Jesus" rose on a Sunday, that changed the observance of the Sabbath to Sunday. All we really know about the resurrection from the Gospels is that the tomb was found empty on a Sunday morning. No Scripture actually states the time of the resurrection, so it very well might have been in the last hours of the 7th day Shabbat, or after sunset of the Shabbat, so the Hebrew day had become the 1st day of the week - or it could have been moments before the first person (Mary) arrived. Also there are no Scriptures attesting that when the Messiah rose, the Shabbat would change! If it were supposed to change, then why would YHWH have said that observance of His Shabbat is forever?
Now that you know a Sunday Sabbath is not Scriptural, would you like to know the real reason Christians observe Sunday as the Sabbath? It is this: It was dictated as such by Constantine the Great in 321 CE who said:
"On the Venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain-sowing or for vine-planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost--Given the 7th day of March, [321 CE]."
In the nearly 1700 years since, the "Sunday Sabbath" has become very entrenched, such that it seems like the 7th Day Sabbath really was somehow "changed"! But as as been shown here, it has not.
QUESTION 8: Provide scripture to show there are only two commandments.
Scriptural response:
The only scripture you can cite is Matthew 22:37-39 where Y'shua says "You should love Master YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might and with all your mind" and "You should love your neighbor as yourself." But if you read Matthew 22 carefully, it does not say "there are only two commandments!" Y'shua was only answering the question posed to him which was "Which commandment is the 'greatest'?" He was not saying the commandments had been done away with, leaving only two! Read on:
YHWH wasn't "cursing" man when He gave man rules to live by! (God doesn't do anything without good reason - and, as a matter of fact, God Himself didn't number those "613" commandments; MAN did!) These commandments taught man right from wrong and how to obey God and worship Him properly. Most of the "613" commands were for the priests of that day; some were only for men; some only for women (i.e., to sleep outside the camp whenever they had their periods - which made sense since in those days women had no way to keep clean during their menstrual cycle).
The main ones that were meant for everyone, were the ones God eventually consolidated into the Ten Commandments - which all pointed back to the Torah. Yet, many Christians today believe they only have to bother with TWO Commandments (love God and love your neighbor as yourself) without ever connecting the fact that those two "hang" on Torah!
Matthew 22: 36. "Teacher, which Commandment in Torah is the greatest?" 37. And Y'shua said to him, that "You should love Master YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might and with all your mind." 38. This is the first and the greatest Commandment. 39. And the second is like it. That "You should love your neighbor as yourself." 40. On these two commandments hang Torah and the prophets.
Note, they HANG on Torah. It doesn't say they REPLACED the Torah! Most Christians don't mind adhering to the Ten Commandments (even though they don't bother to keep even the Fourth Commandment concerning the seventh-day Sabbath) which are part of Torah, as well. Man has always liked to "pick and choose" when it comes to God's Word, but it's time to realize that seventh-day Sabbath command, along with His seven Biblical feasts were NEVER abolished - on the cross, or anywhere else! There were parts of Torah that God said would endure FOREVER - and the Seventh Day Sabbath and the Biblical Feasts are among them....
If you are still having a hard time trying to understand exactly what Torah is and is not, please read our short articles entitles Torah, the condensed version and Simple Torah.
QUESTION 9: Provide scripture to show why His seven Feasts/Appointed Times wouldn't apply to Christians.
Scriptural response:
As we saw above, Numbers 15:13-16 show that ALL who accept YHWH as their God are to OBEY Him. No exceptions...Same God, same rules! Consequently, Christians are not exempt from keeping their "dates"/Appointed Times with YHWH.
Since there are no Scriptures negating the commanded Feasts/Appointed Times, it begs the question "Why don't Christians keep them?"
Christianity already observes a Passover which came from Pesach; a "Pentecost" which came from the Feast of Weeks and Shavuot. The other feasts are ignored. The answer lies in the early authorities of "the Church" such as Constantine who was mentioned above. Here is another:
"The festivals of the pitiful and miserable Jews are soon to march upon us one after the other and in quick succession: the feast of Trumpets, the feast of Tabernacles, the fasts. There are many in our ranks who say they think as we do. Yet some of these are going to watch the festivals and others will join the Jews in keeping their feasts and observing their fasts. I wish to drive this perverse custom from the Church right now." (From John Chrysostom, Homily 1 in Adversus Judaeos, c386 CE.)
In the 1600+ years since these awful words were penned, is it any wonder why Christianity has completely forgotten why their religious obsrvances are so far away from Scripture?
QUESTION 10: Find scripture that says God's Divine Instructions in Righteousness (Torah) were ever negated.
Scriptural response:
There are no Scriptures saying Torah was negated! Some will attempt to cite Paul, but they do so only because they do not understand Paul's writings. (See the next question.)
Many Christians, in order to show Torah observant believers the "error of their ways," gleefully and with undertones of sarcasm bring up the fact that "no one can keep those old 613 commandments." Fact is, hardly any of these Christians realize what the 613 commandments were, in the first place, nor that no one (including Y'shua) has ever kept them all - because most were for the priests; some were only for men while others only for women; some were only for a certain point in time; some for Nazirite vows, and 200+ related to the Temple which is not standing!
However, there were some "forever" commands...and last time we checked, "forever" hasn't ended yet....
In fact, we know that in the end of time, only those keeping Torah will be in Heaven! It's not that Torah is required for salvation; no - only faith in Y'shua is required for salvation. It's that Torah-keeping is a condition of that faith! It's true! See Revelation! With whom is the dragon at war? "And the dragon was enraged against the woman; and he went to make war upon the remnant of her seed who keep the Commandments of Elohim and have the testimony of Y'shua." (Revelation 12:17, AENT)
If you are going to accept Y'shua as your savior, you must also obey Him! And to obey Him is to keep His Torah. See question 1! Indeed, Y'shua tells us that He wants no part of us if we rejected His Words! "I know your works, that you are neither hot, nor cold; I would desire that you would be either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to vomit you from my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16, AENT)
QUESTION 11: Do you adhere to the commands of YHWH/The Father and the teachings of Jesus, or do you constantly quote from the writings of Paul to show that God's Divine Instructions in Righteousness have been abolished?
Scriptural response:
Let's be honest: Christianity is based upon the writings of Paul, which are misunderstood. Most Christians will always refer you to "Paul wrote"...But the bottom line is: (1) Paul was a mere man, trying to explain Y'shua and Torah; and (2) contrary to popular belief, he never spoke against YHWH's Torah or the things that Y'shua taught.
Acts 24: 14. But this indeed I acknowledge, that in that same doctrine of which they speak, I do serve the Elohim of my fathers, believing all the things written in Torah and in the prophets. (AENT)
Peter warned us that people would misinterpret/misunderstand the writings of the Apostle Paul:
2 Peter 3: 15. And account the long suffering of Master YHWH to be redemption; as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom conferred on him, wrote to you; 16. as also in all his letters speaking in them of these things in which there is something difficult to be understood; (and) which they who are ignorant and unstable pervert, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. (AENT)
It's rather shocking that Peter writes of how Paul's letters had already been turned into a Torahless fiasco, even in Peter's day! Certainly it was not the Pharisees who were renouncing Torah Observance, but the humanist, pagan and materialist, "modernists" who operated under "Christian" labels.
The scriptures of Rabbi Sha'ul (Apostle Paul) whose native tongue was Hebrew, have been mistranslated or misunderstood since the advent of the "church age." This is because people are viewing his teachings through a "Greek" as opposed to a "Hebrew" mindset. Paul never went against Y'shua's teachings, nor did he forsake the Torah. The following article shows that Paul's declarations have either been misunderstood, mistranslated, or wrongly interpreted - not to mention, used by some Gentile churches as an excuse to negate God's Torah and thus continue the age-old, anti-Semitic stance against the Jews.
Many people tend to forget that Paul was a Jew whose teachings NEVER contradicted Torah (God's original teachings/instructions). If he had, he would have rendered Scripture contradictory.
Acts 21:15-21 - which was written after Paul had written the Galatians - clearly reveals Paul was Torah observant. It is commonly misunderstood that Paul's teachings - especially the idea that Paul said in Galatians, "if one is led by the Spirit, he or she is not under law..." - that the authority of the law has been abolished for believers in Y'shua and that the Torah has been superseded. Many people are confusing legalism (man's requirements) with Torah observance.
When Paul speaks of being "under the law" or the "works of the law", he is speaking against legalism, and not against the Torah. There is no Hebrew word for the concept of "legalism" or "legalist" so Paul was hindered in his attempt to explain to the Gentiles that legalism was not what God intended. Paul was not teaching against Torah observance by believers of Y'shua; rather, he was being careful in his language to make it clear that Torah was not given by God to be used in a legalistic manner.
Some people insist that there is no explicit text in the New Testament that commands us to "walk in Torah" or in any way continue to adhere to any of the commands of the old covenant. However, Romans 3:31 clearly says: 31 Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law....
QUESTION 12: If the law was nailed to the tree/cross, how can it now be in your heart?
Scriptural response:
Please think and pray long and hard about this question, because YHWH's Divine Instructions were NOT what was "nailed to the cross." The certificate of our debt/sin was!
Colossians 2: 12. And you have been buried with him by immersion; and by it you have risen with him while you believed in the power of Elohim who raised him from the dead. 13. And you who were dead in your sins and by the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has resurrected with him; and he has forgiven us all our sins: 14. and, by his mandates, he blotted out the handwriting of our debts which (handwriting) existed against us, and took (it) from the midst and affixed (it) to his stake. (AENT)
Y'shua wiped away the documented opinions of men (bill of charges) against us and took them from our midst....He never, ever suggested His death would abolish His Father's Divine Instructions in Righteousness. EVER!
The Torah is holy, righteous and good. To suddenly have it "nailed to the cross" would mean that the things of God were originally evil, something to be done away with.
If the above whetted your appetite for more "meat" then please read our article entitled, Tired of "milk" and desirous of "something deeper?"