I have heard people argue that polygamy is not specifically listed as a sin in the Bible, and it should be allowed today because certain people in the Bible had multiple wives. What does the Bible really say about this subject?
Our Messiah (quoting the Torah) said, “the two shall become one”, indicating that marriage is between two people (not three or more). He was making reference to what happened in the garden when God created one woman for Adam to be his wife. He pulled her from his side, and gave her back to him as a bride. This was God’s plan for marriage from the beginning. The unity between a man and woman in monogamy represents the love and faithfulness that God has for his people.
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Showing posts with label Torah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Torah. Show all posts
Keeping the commandments
On multiple occasions, when someone finds out that I teach that we should keep the commandments, they typically respond by saying that it is impossible to keep all of the commandments in the Bible. But is that true? Is it really impossible keep all of God’s commandments? What does the Bible say on this subject?
In Exodus 16, God gave commandments about collecting manna for six days and resting on the Sabbath, and when some of the people ignored His instructions about not gathering manna on the Sabbath, God spoke these words:
“And the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?” (Exodus 16:28)
It seems that when God gave the commandments concerning the collection of manna on the Sabbath, He expected the people to obey. Look at what He says in another place.
“Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!” (Deuteronomy 5:29)
Can you hear the longing He has for His people to obey Him?
But some will say, “The commandments are too difficult, I cannot possibly keep them all”
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In Exodus 16, God gave commandments about collecting manna for six days and resting on the Sabbath, and when some of the people ignored His instructions about not gathering manna on the Sabbath, God spoke these words:
“And the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?” (Exodus 16:28)
It seems that when God gave the commandments concerning the collection of manna on the Sabbath, He expected the people to obey. Look at what He says in another place.
“Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!” (Deuteronomy 5:29)
Can you hear the longing He has for His people to obey Him?
But some will say, “The commandments are too difficult, I cannot possibly keep them all”
Read more »
Heaven and Earth destroyed
Many christians teach that the Torah (LAW) has been ended, or partially ended, or is somehow not relevant to us as believers. Is this really true? What do the Scriptures teach us about this? What did Yeshua (Jesus) say about this?
So, according to Yeshua himself, the Torah is in full effect, and not even a tiny dot will be removed until both heaven and earth are destroyed. When will heaven and earth be destroyed? We see in Revelation that it will happen after the Messiah returns and judges the earth. THEN there will be a “new heaven and new earth”.
So, until HE returns and fulfills all things, the Torah is still active and relevant for us today. Many christian teachers have been falsely teaching that “Jesus came to end the Law”, or that the “Law was fulfilled in Jesus so we dont have to do it anymore”, but these are false teachings. We need to trust the Word of God, not the words of men. If we claim to follow Yeshua (Jesus), then we need to obey what He told us, and listen closely to His words. Yeshua taught obedience to the whole Torah as long as both heaven and earth remain.
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“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah – not until everything that must happen has happened.” (Matthew 5:17-18)
So, according to Yeshua himself, the Torah is in full effect, and not even a tiny dot will be removed until both heaven and earth are destroyed. When will heaven and earth be destroyed? We see in Revelation that it will happen after the Messiah returns and judges the earth. THEN there will be a “new heaven and new earth”.
“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” (Revelation 21:1)
So, until HE returns and fulfills all things, the Torah is still active and relevant for us today. Many christian teachers have been falsely teaching that “Jesus came to end the Law”, or that the “Law was fulfilled in Jesus so we dont have to do it anymore”, but these are false teachings. We need to trust the Word of God, not the words of men. If we claim to follow Yeshua (Jesus), then we need to obey what He told us, and listen closely to His words. Yeshua taught obedience to the whole Torah as long as both heaven and earth remain.
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A man after Gods heart
What does it mean to be a man after God’s own heart? We are told that David pleased God, and that he was a man after God’s own heart. We also recognize him as a model of what it means to be a man of faith. We know that he wrote many of the Psalms, and was considered a very good King, but are these the things that make him a man after God’s own heart? Lets examine the Scriptures to find out what was so special about David.
We know that God was not happy with Saul, which is why he was eventually replaced by David as king. But what did Saul do to displease God?
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And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will. (Acts 13:21-22)
We know that God was not happy with Saul, which is why he was eventually replaced by David as king. But what did Saul do to displease God?
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The Last Supper and our Passover
Last year I wrote an article titled "The Last
Supper Seder", which was based on the belief that the Last Supper was a Passover Seder meal. However, after a lengthy study, I have now come to a different understanding of what happened at the Last Supper.
In this post, I want to examine the instructions about Passover in the Torah, and the fulfillment of Passover by the Messiah, as well as examine the Last Supper that Yeshua ate with his disciples.
In this post, I want to examine the instructions about Passover in the Torah, and the fulfillment of Passover by the Messiah, as well as examine the Last Supper that Yeshua ate with his disciples.
Grace and Law
Popular Christianity teaches that since obedience to the Law does not earn us salvation, then we no longer need to obey the Law. But, is that really what the Bible says? Does that doctrine really line up with Scripture? Lets examine it together, and even test that theory against a real life example to see if it makes sense.
Many people accuse Paul of teaching that we no longer need to obey the Law of God, but lets examine some of his writings, and see if that is really what he is saying.
Many people like to quote that verse to conclude that since we are not justified by keeping the law, then we no longer need to keep it. Since it is only by grace that we are saved. However, lets continue reading, and see if that is the same conclusion that Paul makes.
So, we see that Paul concludes that we do NOT nullify the law, and in fact, we establish it. It seems that many people like to overlook verse 31, because it is a very obvious rebuke against the idea that grace or faith do away with the law. We see a trend of him using the phrase “Certainly not!” when he is trying to drive a point home, or rebuke an absurd idea. Lets look at some other examples of this.
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Many people accuse Paul of teaching that we no longer need to obey the Law of God, but lets examine some of his writings, and see if that is really what he is saying.
“Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20)
Many people like to quote that verse to conclude that since we are not justified by keeping the law, then we no longer need to keep it. Since it is only by grace that we are saved. However, lets continue reading, and see if that is the same conclusion that Paul makes.
“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.” (Romans 3:21-31)
So, we see that Paul concludes that we do NOT nullify the law, and in fact, we establish it. It seems that many people like to overlook verse 31, because it is a very obvious rebuke against the idea that grace or faith do away with the law. We see a trend of him using the phrase “Certainly not!” when he is trying to drive a point home, or rebuke an absurd idea. Lets look at some other examples of this.
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Understanding the Commandments
Many Christians mistakenly think that there are only ten commandments, but there are actually hundreds of commandments in the Torah. (The Rabbis teach that there are 613 commandments, but I have not yet counted them myself to find out for sure)
The Hebrew word for “commandment” is “mitzvah”, and is used in connection with hundreds of commandments throughout scripture, except what we call the “Ten Commandments”. The word that the Bible uses here is “d’varum”, which means “word, thing, or saying”, and is used to mean “the sum of that which is spoken”.
So, according to the Bible, what we call the “Ten Commandments” are actually the “Ten Sayings that sum up that which God has spoken”.
Understanding this helps to bring clarity to the scriptures. For example, when Yeshua (Jesus) quoted the “Greatest Commandment”, he quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5, and then when he gave the second greatest commandment, he quoted from Leviticus 19:18, neither of these “commandments” are listed in the “Ten Commandments”, but Yeshua said that these are the two greatest commandments, so obviously when he speaks about the commandments of God, he is referring to more than just the “Ten Commandments”.
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The Hebrew word for “commandment” is “mitzvah”, and is used in connection with hundreds of commandments throughout scripture, except what we call the “Ten Commandments”. The word that the Bible uses here is “d’varum”, which means “word, thing, or saying”, and is used to mean “the sum of that which is spoken”.
So, according to the Bible, what we call the “Ten Commandments” are actually the “Ten Sayings that sum up that which God has spoken”.
Understanding this helps to bring clarity to the scriptures. For example, when Yeshua (Jesus) quoted the “Greatest Commandment”, he quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5, and then when he gave the second greatest commandment, he quoted from Leviticus 19:18, neither of these “commandments” are listed in the “Ten Commandments”, but Yeshua said that these are the two greatest commandments, so obviously when he speaks about the commandments of God, he is referring to more than just the “Ten Commandments”.
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False Teachers
Popular Christian Theology teaches that "we no longer need to obey the commandments", but is that really what the Bible says? Is it possible that the church is being deceived by many false teachers today? What does the Bible say about false teachers? How can we know if someone is teaching false doctrines?
What happened to the Sabbath?
Something has been on my mind recently, and it concerns the way in which Christians seem to pick and choose which scriptures we will follow. I am particularly concerned with our blatant neglect and outright rejection of the Sabbath. Have we forgotten that it is one of the Ten Commandments?
The Man in the Mirror
The Torah reveals our sin to us in the same way looking into a mirror shows us our outer imperfections. When you get up in the morning, and go look in the mirror, you quickly realize that your hair needs to be brushed and your face washed. When a woman sees herself in a mirror, she decides to put on her makeup. If you were to look into a mirror and notice food stuck in your teeth, you would immediately start trying to clean it out. Mirrors are wonderful tools, because they help us see ourselves. They help us see what we look like to other people.
Righteousness that Surpasses the Pharisees
This is a scripture that has been on my mind for a while now. “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20) It keeps coming back to my mind. What did Jesus mean when he said that our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees? The Pharisees were considered the most holy and most righteous people of their day. These Pharisees were known to have the entire Tanak (Old Testament) memorized, and were also considered to have been the people with the most accurate interpretations of the Scriptures. Jesus himself even said to do what they teach. So, what does it mean for us to be more righteous than the Pharisees?
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