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Torah Observance - Why Christians Do NOT Keep The 613 Commands In The Law of Moses
Jews and Christians rightly honor the Torah because it is God's holy word but its time to be honest about Torah Observance. Neither you nor I can even name all 613 commands in the Jewish Law. And even if we could, that would not save us. God doesn't tell us to be a good person to get saved or to keep the law to get saved. If we can't even name all the commands, how could we ever keep all 613 of them? Houston, we've got a problem! Scripture uses limiting language to describe the Law of Moses. This language indicates that the Law Covenant was a temporary covenant and would eventually be superceded by a better covenant. The Law had a definite ending point.Jesus said: "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John." Matthew 11:13. "Until" means up to and including John. "Until" indicates that John the Baptist marks the end of the old covenant and the beginning of the new covenant. Paul said: "Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator." Galatians 3:19. Paul tells us the Law is "till" the seed should come. The seed is Jesus Christ, the Messiah. The Law of Moses was a temporary institution whose purpose was to point to Christ. "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." Romans 10:4. According to the Bible, the Law was done away and abolished.If Torah Observance is a requirement for Christians, why does Paul describe the law as "done away?" “And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished [the law]." II Corinthians 3:13. If Torah Observance is a requirement for Christians, why does Paul say the law was "abolished?" Paul describes the Law as "abolished" because Christians no longer have to keep the Law, Romans 6:14, to be right with God. Torah Observance is never a requirement for born again Christians.
Is Torah Observance commanded in the New Testament for Christians? Absolutely Not!
Scripture contrasts the old covenant and the new covenant.Christians are never commanded in the New Testament, that Torah Observance is required. Instead, the Bible contrasts the Old and the New Covenant. The New Covenant is described as "everlasting" while the Old Covenant is described as done away with and abolished. The New Covenant Is Everlasting.1. "And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant." Psalm 105:10. Here the Psalmist speaks of the Abrahamic Covenant, not the Mosaic Covenant. The Lord Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant, God's promised seed to bless all nations of the earth. Torah Observance - Are Christians Under The Law?No - scripture is clear that Christians are not under law and therefore Torah Observance is not required for Christians.
Torah observance is not a requirement for Christians becausethe Law required us to keep ALL its precepts and we are incapable of doing that. So, Jesus perfectly kept the Law for us, in our place. When we trust Jesus Christ as our Savior, God imputes the righteousness of Christ, the perfect law-keeping of Jesus to us so its as if we perfectly kept the law. Can you get your mind around what a stunning gift God has given us?
The Torah is read from right to left. Here is a logical question about Torah Observance.Can anyone keep all 613 commandments in the Law? If you cannot, then according to James 2:10, you are defeated before you begin. "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." James 2:10 If you mess up your Torah observance one time, if you fail to keep even one of the 613 commands in the Law, its as if you’ve broken all of them. Think about it. If we are still required to keep the Law, what happens when we inevitably break the Law? There are no Levitical priests offering blood sacrifices in the Jewish Temple. The Jewish Temple was destroyed when Titus the Roman Emperor sacked Jerusalem in AD 70. Apart from the sacrifice of Jesus our Messiah, which paid for all our sins forever, if we are still under the Law, we're in deep trouble. We have no way to atone for our sins under the Law. Since there is no Levitical priesthood offering blood sacrifices and no Temple in Jerusalem in which to offer sacrifices, there is no way, under the Law, to deal with our sins. Torah observance does not work when there's no Tabernacle, no Temple and no Levitical priesthood to offer sacrifices. If we are trusting Jesus as God's acceptable sacrifice for our sins, we'll be just fine.Jesus was God's passover Lamb. The blood payment for sins which Jesus made on the Cross, as our Substitute, was accepted by God the Father. God the Father was perfectly pleased with the blood sacrifice Jesus made for our sins. Now if you want to get saved, you must be satisfied with the payment for your sins that Jesus made. Jesus' payment satisfied God. Does it satisfy you? "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us." I Corinthians 5:7b Jesus died and shed His sinless blood to pay for our sins. Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can have eternal life when we trust Jesus as our sin payment, as our Savior. If you try to keep the Law but refuse to trust Jesus, what do you do with your sins? There's no way to get rid of your sins apart from Jesus. I'd rather trust Jesus alone. Its easier and safer and its the right thing to do. Some modern Pharisees want to pick and choose which parts of the Law others must keep. They believe that Torah Observance is a requirement for gay Christians. They insist that gay Christians must comply with their unscriptural interpretation of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. Scripture is clear that picking and choosing to keep only some parts of the Law is not acceptable to God. Paul shot down the picking and choosing argument in his letter to the Galatians. "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." Galatians 3:10 If you want to be justified by law, then you've got to keep ALL of the law. The only thing God will accept is 100%, total compliance with His Law. Anything less than 100% perfect law-keeping puts you under a curse, according to Galatians 3:10. Helpful Links To Interesting InformationWhat is the purpose of Moses Law? Must Christians live under those 613 commands? Christians are not under the Law, according to the New Testament. Click Here for more information and the scripture verses which prove it. Speaking of Analogies, Here are Five More, Strong Analogies in Scripture, for Affirming Gay Partnerships.
Think about it for a moment. Who is responsible for the Jonathan and David Story receiving so much emphasis in the Bible? God is the Ultimate Author of the Bible, right? Find out why God put so much emphasis on David and Jonathan. Family Values in the Bible are so different from Traditional family values as taught by Focus On The Family that modern Christians would totally reject the "family values" practiced by Abraham and Sarah, Ruth and Boaz and many of the heroes of faith in the Old Testament.
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