Yes, Paul changed everything…
Or did he?

Walk into any mainstream Christian church (there are 40,000 or more denominations) and ask this question:
“Are we supposed to keep the commandments of God?”
The explanation that follows will lead you to believe that the law is done away with, and that we are no longer required to follow “The Law.”
Next question:
Can you show me this is true using scripture?
Your church leader (pastor, minister, preacher, reverend, clergyman, priest, chaplain, vicar, bishop, pope, etc) will use the writings of Paul to explain his position on this topic.
He will not use direct quotes of Yehova, because Yehova gave His commands and said they are forever.
He will not use direct quotes of Messiah, because He teaches what the Father taught.  Messiah tells us that the lawless will not be in His kingdom.
Your religious leader will only be able to explain his doctrine using the written words of Paul.

This should be your next question:
Can you show me in scripture where Paul was given the authority to change the things that God and Messiah said are forever?

This is normally the point where your church leader will start pointing to his fancy degrees and certifications on his office wall.
He’ll start saying words like dispensation and Jesus-era.
But he will not be able to show you what you’ve requested.
If you stick to your guns instead of giving up and agreeing with him, be prepared to be shunned and avoided in church, and to be unfriended and blocked on Facebook.

But here is what you must keep in mind:
Your question will not be answered properly. The scriptures do not support mainstream church doctrine.
Church leaders will make a very compelling case to explain what they believe is true, but they can only use the writings of Paul to do so. And they can only do so using bits and pieces of Paul’s writings.

That gives us several options to consider:
1. Paul is a false prophet.
2. Paul was given authority to change scripture.
3. Paul’s writings are misunderstood.

#1 – Paul is a false prophet.
Deuteronomy 13:1-6 gives us the test of a false prophet:
“Whatever I command you, you must take care to do—you are not to add to it or take away from it.
² “Suppose a prophet or a dreamer of dreams rises up among you and gives you a sign or wonder, ³ and the sign or wonder he spoke to you comes true, while saying, ‘Let’s follow other gods’—that you have not known, and—‘Let’s serve them!’  ⁴ You must not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams—for Adonai your God is testing you, to find out whether you love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁵ Adonai your God you will follow and Him you will fear. His mitzvot [commands] you will keep, to His voice you will listen, Him you will serve and to Him you will cling. ⁶ That prophet or dreamer of dreams must be put to death! For he has spoken falsehood against Adonai your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to entice you from the way Adonai your God commanded you to walk. So you will purge the evil from your midst.

If we believe Paul’s writings are saying we should not follow the instructions of Yehova, then we have to reject him as a false prophet.
Did you catch those words above?  for Adonai your God is testing you, to find out whether you love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
This is important!!

#2 Paul was given authority to change scripture
I’ve tried searching scripture for anything that would support this idea, but I can’t find it.  In fact, I find quite the opposite:
Deuteronomy 4:2
You must not add to the word that I am commanding you or take away from it—in order to keep the mitzvot [commands] of Adonai your God that I am commanding you. 

Deuteronomy 12:32
 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.”

 Proverbs 30:5-6
⁵ Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
⁶ Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

These scriptures (and many more like them) tell us that no man is able to add to or take away from the words of Yehova.

Again, does Paul have the authority to change the words of scripture?
Matthew 28:18
¹⁸ And Yeshua Messiah came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”
If Messiah has ALL of the authority, that means Paul has none of the authority.

John 1 tells us that Messiah is the word become flesh.
Hebrews 13:8 tells us this:
⁸ Yeshua the Messiah is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

If the word is Messiah, and Messiah never changes, then the word never changes.
This means that Paul changed nothing…

#3 Paul’s writings are misunderstood
Ok, now we are getting somewhere…
My study of scripture tells me this third scenario is what has happened.
Did you know we are warned against making this mistake?
2Peter 3:14-17
¹⁴ Therefore, loved ones, while you are looking for these things, make every effort to be found in shalom, spotless and blameless before Him. ¹⁵ Bear in mind that the patience of our Lord means salvation—just as our dearly loved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom given to him. ¹⁶ He speaks about these matters in all of his letters. Some things in them are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist (as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures)—to their own destruction.
¹⁷ Since you already know all this, loved ones, be on your guard so that you are not led astray by the error of the lawless and lose your sure footing.

Do not follow the error of the lawless!!
It will result in our destruction!

Here is the thing:
Mainstream doctrine teaches that Paul changed theology. This is where the idea that “The Law” is done away with…
Absolutely no where in scripture do we find that Paul was tasked with changing doctrine.
So what is Paul talking about then?

Paul teaches that we are NOT to follow the law in order to earn or achieve salvation. I agree with him… We are not to try this!!
Paul was not, however, teaching us to not follow the law.
There is a big difference.

Let’s look at this using a father and son as an example.
If a father teaches his son to not buy his girlfriend flowers and gifts in order to manipulate her feelings and actions, that doesn’t mean he is teaching his son to never buy her gifts.

It is all about the reason. It is about the heart.
Giving flowers and gifts to show someone you care for them is a wonderful thing.  Giving a girlfriend flowers and gifts to convince her to get naked is a bad thing.

Do I believe we should keep the commandments in the Torah (Old Testament Law)?
Yes, I believe this is true doctrine.
Do I think we should do so legalistically, in order to “earn” salvation?
Absolutely not!!

Why do I think we should do our best to keep His commands?
Our Messiah says that is how He will know if we love Him.

John 14:15 
“If you love Me, you shall keep My commands.”
John 14:21
“He who possesses My commands and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I shall love him and manifest Myself to him.”
John 15:10
“If you keep My commands, you shall stay in My love, even as I have kept My Father’s commands and stay in His love.

Let’s end with this warning of Messiah:
Matthew 7:21-23
²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, and drive out demons in Your name, and perform many miracles in Your name?’ ²³ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’”

In hand writing the bible, I am currently working through the book of Exodus. This is a famous story. Even people who have no interest in scripture are aware of this story. Most view this as a “big win” for the people of Yehova.
What often gets overlooked is the devastation inflicted upon Mitsrayim, or Egypt in English.

Their food sources as well as their health were affected by the plagues.  They suffered greatly, as opposed to being irritated and annoyed by the plagues.
In the end, they suffered beyond measure, when all of their first born perished.
We see this prediction in Exodus 11:6
⁶ There will be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, the likes of which has never been before nor will ever be again.

And we see it happen in Exodus 12:30
³⁰ Then Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was loud wailing in Egypt. For there was not a house where someone was not dead.

Throughout history, humankind has suffered many disasters.
But if we are to believe scripture, there will never be such heartbreak and suffering as occurred in Egypt on the night of the Passover.

Continuing on, we see in Exodus 14 the famous “Parting of the Red Sea,” the escape of the Hebrews, and the destruction of Pharaoh and his army.  Again, many deaths were suffered by Egypt in this following event.

I describe the events of Exodus as bittersweet.
The sweetness is realized in that the Hebrew nation, the people of Israel, were freed from slavery. Not only were they freed, but the end result is this:
Exodus 14:31
³¹ When Israel saw the great work that Elohim did over the Egyptians, the people feared Elohim, and they believed in Elohim and in His servant Moses.
The bitterness is realized in the extreme sadness because of the losses incurred by Egypt.  Even if they are considered the “bad guys” in this story, they suffered greatly.

We could say that the freedom of the people of Yehova came at a very high  price.
In fact, we do not have to say it.  In Exodus 15, the people of Israel rejoiced in their escape and freedom, singing songs which included this:
Exodus 15:16
Fear and dread will fall on them;
By the greatness of Your arm
They will be as still as a stone,
Till Your people pass over, O Lord,
Till the people pass over
Whom You have purchased.

The people recognized they had been “purchased”.
And the details of the story show us that the cost was very high.

Does any of this ring a bell, or bring another story to mind?
Is this story a shadow of things to come?

Romans 5:8
⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Messiah died for us.

Hebrews 2:9
⁹ But we see One who was made for a little while lower than the angels—namely, Yeshua. He is now crowned with glory and honor, because of the death He suffered so that, by the grace of God, He might taste death for everyone.

Matthew 20:28
“…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

We have been bought.  Our ransom has been paid.  And make no mistake, the cost was very high — the suffering and death of our Messiah.

1Corinthians 6:20
²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Do we recognize “just how expensive” we are?
Do we realize just how priceless we are?
We were purchased, not with money, but through great suffering, to the point of death, by God in the flesh. Yeshua Messiah died a horrible death, but it could not hold Him.  He overcame death, such that WE might live.

Psalms 100:3-4
3Know that יהוה, He is Elohim; He has made us, and we are His – His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His Name.

If we belong to Him, this is no small matter.
We are to be surrendered to Him in all things.
We no longer belong to ourselves.  We belong to Him.
We are to recognize the value of the price that was paid, such that we experience changes in who we are and how we live our lives.

Does your heart belong to the One who bought you?
Do you hear Him?
Do you follow His instructions?

John 14:15 
“If you love Me, you shall keep My commands.”

John 14:21
“He who possesses My commands and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I shall love him and manifest Myself to him.”

John 15:10
“If you keep My commands, you shall stay in My love, even as I have kept My Father’s commands and stay in His love.

Men will tell you this does mean what it sounds like.
Men will teach you to NOT KEEP the commands.
Did those men suffer a horrible death on your behalf?
No, they did not, they have not, and they most likely will not.

Messiah said this about the Law of the Old Testament, the Torah:
Matthew 5:18
 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
Has heaven and earth passed away? Has everything in scripture happened and been fulfilled?  No, it has not.

Messiah goes on to say this in Matthew 5:20 —
Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Men, our pastors and ministers and preachers and whatever you want to call them — they teach AGAINST what Messiah said.
They use bits and pieces of Paul’s writings to say that our Savior is a liar and to ignore the things He said.

Yes, that is a harsh criticism, but it is true, and your eternity is at stake. Will you follow the teachings of men, or will you follow the words of the One who purchased and paid your ransom against death?

John 10:27-28
²⁷ My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life! They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 

 

Exodus 31:12-17 
12And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying, 13And you, speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘My Sabbaths you are to guard, by all means, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, to know that I, יהוה, am setting you apart. 14‘And you shall guard the Sabbath, for it is set-apart to you. Everyone who profanes it shall certainly be put to death, for anyone who does work on it, that being shall be cut off from among his people. 15‘Six days work is done, and on the seventh is a Sabbath of rest, set-apart to יהוה. Everyone doing work on the Sabbath day shall certainly be put to death. 16‘And the children of Yisra’ĕl shall guard the Sabbath, to perform the Sabbath throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant. 17‘Between Me and the children of Yisra’ĕl it is a sign forever. For in six days יהוה made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ ”

Not only is the Sabbath set apart and holy [H6942 qadash ~ to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified, be separate], but it is a sign between Yahweh and us, His people.  Why? What is the reason for this?
“to know that I, יהוה, am setting you apart.”
The Sabbath is the way that Yah separates us from the world.
To reject His sign is not a good thing. It is very unwise.

With regard to verses 14-15, we could fill many books with the thoughts of man on what it means to work or not work on the Sabbath. Here is what I get out of these verses:
1. We are to keep the Shabbat, because it is set apart for us.
2. Whoever profanes it shall die
3. Whoever works on Shabbat will be cut off from the people
4. We are to work six days and rest on Shabbat, the seventh day.
5. Whoever works on Shabbat will be put to death.

#1 is quite clear. Yah established the Sabbath in Genesis and He made it holy. It is not just a command given in “the law”, the Torah instructions. It is a concept from the very beginning, and it is highly important to Yahweh. He includes it as one of His appointed times (moedim) in Leviticus 23. It is listed along with the feast days as important to Him.

#2 We see in Numbers 15:30-35 that a man defiantly broke the Sabbath. His punishment was death.  Hmmm, who wants some of that? Not me.

#3 What does it mean to be “cut off from the people”? Cut off is [H3772 karath — to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant] We see from this definition that it is bad to be cut off. It means to be destroyed, eliminated, killed.

#4 Scripture says to work six days and rest on the seventh. This does not match our work culture, which typically works five days and is off work for two. My wife and I own a cafe, and as a result, we have been working six days a week for eleven years!! Way before we learned Torah.
Can modern day employment or operating a business be compared to the “work” of these people back in the day? Their work was to care for livestock, care for children/wives, maintain their dwelling, obtain water, move as directed by Yah. I don’t know if our modern situation can be considered equivalent. Either way, Tracy and I work six days and honor Shabbat on the seventh day.

#5 In their Torah community, offenders were put to death. We are now in exile. We are not living within the community of Yahweh. We are scattered among the nations, and we are subject to the laws of the nations. If I took a member of my Torah fellowship outside and stoned him to death for working on Shabbat, things would not go well for me. I believe this was enforced when Israel was not scattered, and lived in community, under the kingship of Yah. Scripture says there will be a second exodus, greater than the first (Jeremiah 16, among other references). I think there will be another time, before the end when all is fulfilled, that the people of Yahweh will be gathered and placed into community. I have no doubt that Yah’s instructions will be implemented in that community.

When I was in school, I loved test day.  Most did not, but I absolutely loved taking tests.  Why?  Academics was a strength for me, so I typically performed really well on tests. Perfect scores were not out of the ordinary.
Sometimes, if I was unsure of an answer, I could close my eyes and see the page in the book, or see my notes — in my mind — and read them in my mind, then answer the question correctly.  It was like cheating, without cheating.
But in general, I usually knew the stuff…

But what about adulthood?  How many adults like tests?  Some professions require them from time to time, but for the most part, adults don’t take tests…

Except they do.
Every.Single.Day

Way back in ancient times, Yahuah gave a test:
Deuteronomy 13:4-5
…do not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for יהוה your Elohim is trying you to know whether you love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being. “Walk after יהוה your Elohim and fear Him, and guard His commands and obey His voice, and serve Him and cling to Him.

Here is the New King James Version:
…for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁴ You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.

Was this “test of loving God” only for Moses and the people with him at the time, or is it for all people, throughout all time?  Many will say that was just part of the commands given to ancient Israel, and do not apply today.

What if it does still apply today?
How would we know?
I’m guessing that at some point in time during the Era of Messiah on this earth, or in the writings of the Apostles who learned directly from Messiah, this test would be given to us yet again.
Do we see that in scripture, or are these ‘ancient’ words from Deuteronomy truly old and forgotten?

Here are three direct quotes of our Yeshua Messiah:

Here is what I’ve come to realize about the writings of Paul:

~~~~1. Peter warns us to not follow the lawless, as a result of misunderstanding Paul’s writings, along with the rest of the scriptures.
Peter is absolutely right. Some of Paul’s writings are hard to understand. How do we come to a proper understanding of his writings?
By understanding the rest of the scriptures. At the time this was written, that meant the Torah, the Prophets, and the other OT writers.
Peter specifies in his warning: DO NOT LOOSE YOUR SURE FOOTING BY FOLLOWING THE LAWLESS!!

2Peter 3:14-17
14 Therefore, loved ones, while you are looking for these things, make every effort to be found in shalom, spotless and blameless before Him. 15 Bear in mind that the patience of our Lord means salvation—just as our dearly loved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom given to him. 16 He speaks about these matters in all of his letters. Some things in them are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist (as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures)—to their own destruction.
17 Since you already know all this, loved ones, be on your guard so that you are not led astray by the error of the lawless and lose your sure footing.

~~~~2. It is important to understand the reason for Paul’s letters.
Was Paul tasked with creating new doctrine?
No, he was not.
He was simply a teacher of what had already been taught.
Here is what Paul was doing:
Various churches had specific problems.
Paul wrote letters to them about those specific issues.
If we go to the middle of Romans, and start reading some verses, we can quickly develop conclusions that are WAY OFF BASE and COMPLETELY WRONG.
Even worse, if we start developing doctrine from Paul’s writings, then we seriously run into problems.
He is not creating or changing doctrine.
He is addressing specific issues.
Within the context of those issues, the bits and pieces of his writings used individually or by chapters loses that context. We need to realize the whole book of Romans is addressing a problem.
The whole book of Galatians is addressing a problem.

We can’t take Galatians 5 and create doctrine with it.
Well, we can, and the church does, but we are warned against it, with our destruction being the result of doing so…

Most of mainstream doctrine these days is supported by the writings of Paul.
If we ask pastors if we should keep the commandments of the Old Testament, they will refer to Paul to explain why we “should” not.
So try this: try to support mainstream lawless doctrine using the direct quotes of Messiah, or the direct quotes of Yahweh. You won’t be able to do it.
Why not?
Because the words of Messiah and of Yahweh do not support mainstream Christian doctrine. Only the words of Paul can be used to do so, and that is done in violation of the warning Peter gave us.

~~~~3. Paul must have been suffering from multiple personalities, if we are to use his writings to declare the Torah instructions are no longer valid.
Why?
Because you can only support this doctrine with portions of his writings. The other portions of his writings fully uphold, support, and teach the Torah is applicable today!!
So which Paul do you follow?
Paul #1 or Paul #2?
If you wonder how this could be, go back and read points 1 and 2 above.

Acts 24:14 – “But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the Elohim of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. 

Acts 25:8 – while he answered for himself, “Neither against the Law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all.”

Acts 18:21 – but took leave of them, saying, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, Yahweh willing.” And he sailed from Ephesus.

Romans 7:25 – I thank Yahweh–through Yahushua the Messiah our Master! So then, with the mind I myself serve the Law of Yahweh, but with the flesh the Law of sin.

~~~~4. Here is my biggest problem with mainstream Christian doctrine that says the Torah instructions are no longer applicable.
It requires you to value the words of Paul over the words of Yahweh or the words of Yeshua Messiah.
The two are in conflict (not really, but the way mainstream Christianity teaches Paul, the two are in conflict).
So——– do you follow Yeshua Messiah?
Or do you follow Paul?
You have to choose one or the other, because you can’t have both.

And if you get it wrong, it’s going to go really bad for you on judgement day. Why do I say this? Because scripture says so.

Again from 2Peter’s warning:
Some things in them are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist (as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures)—to their own destruction.
17 Since you already know all this, loved ones, be on your guard so that you are not led astray by the error of the lawless and lose your sure footing.

Failing to heed this warning will result in your destruction.
If you follow the error of the lawless, you will lose your sure footing.

Also, we have Messiah’s words:
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, and drive out demons in Your name, and perform many miracles in Your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’”

Did you catch that?
Depart from Me.
I never knew you.
Who?
Those who follow Torah?
Nope.
“you workers of lawlessness”

So, I ask you this…
Will you follow your misunderstood Paul?
Or will you follow Messiah?
Your choice. I’ve made my choice.

Be sure to choose well. Eternity is at stake.
Destruction.
I never knew you.
Depart from Me.

People will many times just end up saying this:
“There is no way millions of Christians have gotten this wrong for many centuries and many generations.”

Well, scripture says exactly that has happened.
Jeremiah 16:19-20 (speaking about end times, during the restoration of the house of Israel):
19 Adonai, my strength, my stronghold,
my refuge in the day of affliction,
to You will the nations come
from the ends of the earth and say:
“Our fathers have inherited nothing
but lies, futility and useless things.”
20 Will man make gods for himself?
Yet they are not gods.

We are told in scripture (THEREFORE, THIS IS TRUE) that a time will come, in end times, that the Gentiles will realize they have been taught nothing but lies. And I think we are there now…

Well, there’s that…
So yes, it is possible for generations over centuries have gotten this wrong. The bible says so.

Mainstream Christians will discuss religion with Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, other denominations…
No problems.
Mainstream Christians will discuss religion with atheists or even Satan worshippers, with no problems.

However, if someone mentions keeping the commandments of Yahweh, the gloves come off.
They get downright mean and hostile.

Reminds me of these:
Mark 13:13
And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

Matthew 10:22
²² And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

Luke 21:17
¹⁷ And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.

John 15:18-19
¹⁸ “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

John 15:21
“But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.”

Matthew 5:10-12
“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

These are all direct quotes of Yeshua Messiah.

Why is this? Why will a Christian discuss religion with just about anyone, but want to fight with those who follow Torah?
Bring up keeping the commandments of Yahweh, and get ready to be blasted. Get ready to be hated.

Why the hostility?
I simply hear His voice and listen to His voice.
John 10:27
^“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

They get hostile because Messiah in scripture said this, and I believe it:

John 14:15
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

John 14:21
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me.”

John 15:10
“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”

The Jesus they follow “did away with the commandments.”
I follow Yeshua Messiah, who is referred to as Jesus in English bibles, but they are not one and the same.

Yeshua Messiah says to keep the commandments of Yahweh.
Jesus of mainstream church did away with the commandments.

The test of a false prophet in Deuteronomy 13 tells us that “Jesus” of the mainstream body is a false prophet.

Let that sink in…
If this is confusing to you, pray about it.
Pray for those who believe in mainstream doctrine that teaches lawlessness.

We are warned many times in scripture that lawlessness will result in our destruction. 

Do I have every single thing figured out?
No, probably not.

Do I have every single thing 100% correct?
I doubt it.  But I study and pray and try.

But, I’ve got this going for me:
I may not be a smart man, but I know what love is…

John 14:15
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

John 14:21
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me.”

John 15:10
“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “

My fellow Torah observant friends seem to understand and like my blog posts here.  However, my mainstream Christian friends don’t seem to understand where I’m coming from.
I certainly understand this, having spent over thirty years in the mainstream Christian culture…
As soon as anyone mentions “keeping the law” of the Old Testament, mainstreamers get uncomfortable, and sometimes defensive.  They put up a shield. Not all, but in general, they seem to think there is something harmful about the Old Testament Law.  The idea of keeping the commandments causes some to get hostile!!

So, with that in mind, am I a legalistic freak?
I will answer with a simple no.
I do not keep the commands of the Old Testament in order to ‘achieve’ salvation.
It is not possible for us to earn salvation, as salvation is a precious gift that comes by faith.

Ephesian 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves—it is the gift of Yahuah. ⁹ It is not based on deeds, so that no one may boast.

1Timothy 1:9
He has saved us and called us with a holy calling—not because of our deeds but because of His own purpose and grace.

Mark 10:27 (speaking of being saved)
²⁷ Looking at them, Yeshua said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God!”

Acts 4:12 (in reference to Yeshua Messiah)
¹² There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved!”

Psalm  62:2-3
My soul, wait in stillness, only for Elohim—
from Him comes my salvation.
³ He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress—I will never be moved.

I could list many, many more scriptures that refer to our salvation.
No need, though.
Salvation is a gift from the One we worship, follow, and serve.
It is not something we can do for ourselves, no matter how much effort we might make.

Romans 6:23
 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of Yahuah is eternal life in Yeshua Messiah our Lord.

Messiah overcame the wages of sin, which are death. He died without having committed sin in order to do so, even though He was not deserving of this fate.  He did so on our behalf, as we are not capable of overcoming the wages of sin.

I believe and love the gospel message.  I believe in, love, and follow Yeshuah Messiah, our Savior.

So why then, after thirty plus years of church, have I decided to part ways with ‘the church’ and follow the commands of the Torah?
“Because you are a legalistic freak, right?”
Well, no, that is not why.

It is quite simple, really. This is a direct quote of Messiah:
Luke 6:46-49
⁴⁶ “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? ⁴⁷ Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: ⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. ⁴⁹ But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

This direct quote of Messiah indicates that we must do something.
He who does something [the things that He says to do] will have a strong foundation that will not fall.
Those who do not do something [the things that He says to do] will suffer much ruin.

But how do we define “what we must do”?
This is where things get tricky.
We can walk into any church in the land and ask this question of church leaders.
Typically, we learn from them what they think we should do.
Not what we must do, but what we should do.

They typically will throw in some (not all) of the ten commandments, along with some man-made traditions like not dancing, or not drinking alcohol, not playing music, that women can’t wear pants, etc.  Various denominations will have a slightly different list of things, rules, guidelines…
But are their lists required behavior, or are they merely suggested?
Is everything on their list of scripture, or made up by men?
I guess you’d have to check out 40,000 plus denominations to figure that out.  I’m not going to…  Instead, I’d like to look to scripture.
Most pastors will say we should avoid sin.
What is sin, according to scripture?
1John 3:4 [ESV]
⁴ Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 
1John 3:4 [TLV]
⁴ Everyone practicing sin also practices lawlessness—indeed, sin is lawlessness.
1John 3:4 [NKJV]
⁴ Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.
1John 3:4 [CJB]
Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah — indeed, sin is violation of Torah.

The New Testament defines “sin” as a violation of the law.

I’ve heard many Christians state that they are “Just Sinners Saved By Grace.” Yes, we are sinners saved by grace, but these people use this statement to justify remaining in sin.  Why give up sin when we can just claim to be a sinner, and claim that we are saved by grace?
The grace just keeps coming, right?
Never ending, free-refills, take-all-you-want grace, right?

Well, I’d suggest reading Hebrews 10:26-31, which addresses the issue of continued sin:
²⁶ For if we keep on sinning willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but only a terrifying expectation of judgment and a fury of fire about to devour the enemies of God.  ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the Torah of Moses dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more severe do you think the punishment will be for the one who has trampled Ben-Elohim [Son of God] underfoot, and has regarded as unholy the blood of the covenant by which he was made holy, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know the One who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “Elohim will judge His people.”  ³¹ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Scripture clearly tells us that continued, willful sin will result in “a terrifying expectation of judgment” [that’s not good] and “a fury of fire” [also not good!!]. This bit of scripture tells us that if we willfully continue to sin, that “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.”
Do you understand the significance of this warning?
If we learn the truth of the gospel, but continue in sin, our Savior will no longer be our Savior!! He will still be Messiah, but for those who continue in willful sin, He becomes Judge and not Savior. His sacrifice no longer remains for us.
This is BAD!!  I can’t convey in words how serious this is.  This warning should shake you to your core.  This should cause you to investigate, self-evaluate, to repent, and to pray!
If this bit of scripture does not cause you to stop in your tracks, and take stock of your behaviors and habits, then I don’t know what will.
If you find yourself claiming to be “just a sinner saved by grace” you may want to consider this warning in Hebrews. You may want to consider repenting of whatever sin you allow to remain in your life.

Am I saying this bit of scripture requires us to be perfect?
No, I am not saying that.
We have an intercessor for sin:
1John 2:1-2
My children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Intercessor with the Father—the righteous Messiah Yeshua. ² He is the atonement for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the whole world.

Ahhhh…. back to the warm fuzzy stuff.
Much better, right?
Well, not so fast.
Let’s continue reading 1John 2:3-6
³ Now we know that we have come to know Him by this—if we keep His commandments. ⁴ The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God is truly made perfect. We know that we are in Him by this— ⁶ whoever claims to abide in Him must walk just as He walked.

OK, we are beginning to get to some scripture that explains why I keep the commandments…
This little “test” in 1John Chapter 2 tells us whether we know Messiah or not. It doesn’t matter if we “think” we know Him.  It doesn’t matter if we “claim” to know Him.  What matters is if we can pass this test.
It says we must keep the commandments, otherwise, we are just a liar and do not know Him.
This part is particularly revealing m — and still part of ‘the test’:
“We know that we are in Him by this— ⁶ whoever claims to abide in Him must walk just as He walked.”

This verse, which is scripture inspired by God, tells us that we know we are in Messiah if we walk just as He walked.
Not if we walk a little bit like Him, but JUST as He walked.
What does that look like?
Well, He put the Father’s will before His own will.
He kept and honored the biblical Sabbath.
He kept the dietary laws, eating only clean foods and avoiding unclean foods.
He kept the Torah instructions, without fail (although we may not do so perfectly, we are to try).
He called out false teaching, without candy coating anything.
He observed the moedim [appointed times] set apart by Yahuah to be holy and sanctified.  What does this mean?  He celebrated the feast days given to us in Torah [Pesach, Feast of Unleavened Breads, First Fruits, Shavuot, Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur-Atonement, and Sukkot, Feast of Tabernacles]  , instead of celebrating man-made holidays, many of which are established of pagan origins. [Christmas, Easter, Halloween, etc].
Messiah loved the Father and loved His neighbor.
Messiah set about accomplishing the will of the Father. Always.

These things are what Messiah did.  To walk as He walked, we would do the same things, which our churches have not taught to us. In fact, churches often teach us NOT to do these things. How does that happen?

Should ‘walking just as He walked’ be a mystery to us.
Should it be difficult for us to figure out how to do this?
Actually, it is quite simple. Scripture makes it very easy for us.
Messiah Himself told us what to do:

John 14:15
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

John 14:21
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me.”

John 15:10
“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “

“Really, Jesus wants us to keep the commandments? That isn’t what my pastor told me.  That isn’t what my church teaches.”

Are you going to listen to your Messiah, the only One who can save you for all eternity?
Or are you going to listen to a guy who says the things he was taught in college, things taught to him by other men?

“Well, he does have a nice, fancy, framed diploma on the wall in his office.  It looks pretty official and authoritative…  I’ll bet that diploma cost close to $100,000 with all that goes into it…”

Well, how much authority does SCRIPTURE say your pastor has?
Matthew 28:18
And Yeshua came up to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
Well, if ALL authority is given to Messiah, then that leaves none for your pastor, right?
Don’t get me wrong… There is nothing wrong with men teaching the Word to others.  However, if what they are teachings defies the very things that came out of Yeshua Messiah’s mouth, then you have to choose whom you will follow:
“But as for me and my household, we will worship Elohim!”

“But why would you think the ‘commands’ mentioned by Messiah are the Old Testament commands?”

Well, let’s take a look at who the book of Revelation considers to be the saved, the elect, the saints, those of the kingdom:
Revelation 14:12
“Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

Hmmm, can’t get around that now, can we?  That is pretty specific.  The commandments of God.
Messiah also let’s us know who will be in His kingdom, in Revelation 22:14.
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

Is there anywhere else where Messiah says to keep the commandments?
Matthew 5:18
 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

In this verse, Messiah tells us that not a single penstroke of the law (Torah) will change until heaven and earth pass away, when all is fulfilled.

Continuing on in Matthew 5:20 —
Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Messiah tells us we should not break the commandments, nor teach others to.
And he encourages us to keep the commands, and to teach others to do so.

“Yes, but my pastor says we are saved by faith, and that works are legalism.”
Well that’s just great for your pastor.  Has he ever read the book of James?  Faith without works is dead.  Are you going to follow your pastor, or are you going to follow Messiah [I believe we already asked this question up above, right?]

“Well, I asked my pastor about these things, and he said there is no way that millions upon millions of people throughout numerous generations have all gotten this wrong.”

I looked in scripture where it says to do what everyone else has done if you want to be saved.  I couldn’t find that part…
I found this instead, telling us not to do what everyone else is doing, another direct quote of Messiah:
Matthew 7:13-15
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.¹⁴ Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

“My pastor says the law has been done away with… He said Messiah fulfilled it so I don’t have to.”
Again, that’s just great for your pastor, if that is what he chooses to believe and live out.  He will one day take a knee before Messiah and account for his actions.
But what about you?

Earlier in this post, we looked at the test of us knowing Him in 1John Chapter 2. Did Messiah ever say anything about knowing us?
Yes, He did.

Matthew 7:21-23
²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Did you catch that?
“I never knew you.”
Is that what you want Messiah to tell you one day?
How does something like this happen?
“depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”

If ignoring and rejecting the law causes Messiah to not know us, then why do churches teach us to ignore and reject the law of Torah?
That is a great question.  Thankfully, scripture answers it for us:
Jeremiah 16:19
¹⁹ O Lord, my strength and my fortress,
My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
²⁰ Will a man make gods for himself,
Which are not gods?

“Yeah, but that’s old. Is there anything in the New Testament that tells us such things?”
[If you are thinking this, please go back up to the top of this study and begin again.  Practically every scripture I’ve quoted is from the New Testament].
The mainstream doctrine that teaches the Torah, the Old Testament Law, is fulfilled and done away with, is developed using what [choose one]:
1. The direct quotes of Messiah
2. The direct quotes of God
3. Things written by the Prophets
4. The writings of Paul

If you are not sure of the answer, go ask some of these questions to your church leaders.  I promise you they will not be able to support church doctrine and the things they believe and teach with the words of Messiah, the words of God, or the words of the Prophets.  They will support their doctrine using the writings of Paul. If you don’t believe me, try it!!!

“Are you saying that Paul was not an Apostle? Are you saying that Paul was a false teacher?”

No, that is not what I am saying. Paul was called into service on the road to Damascus.  He was spiritually blind [and was stricken blind supernaturally], but then he was healed.  He became spiritually sighted, and he became a great Apostle and teacher.

“If that’s the case, then how can pastors use Paul’s writings to create false doctrine?”

That is a great question. Can you believe we are warned in scripture to NOT do this?
2Peter 3:14-17
¹⁴ Therefore, loved ones, while you are looking for these things, make every effort to be found in shalom (peace), spotless and blameless before Him. ¹⁵ Bear in mind that the patience of our Lord means salvation—just as our dearly loved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom given to him. ¹⁶ He speaks about these matters in all of his letters. Some things in them are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist (as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures)—to their own destruction.
¹⁷ Since you already know all this, loved ones, be on your guard so that you are not led astray by the error of the lawless and lose your sure footing. 

Yes, there it is.  We are told that some of Paul’s writings are difficult to understand.  We are told NOT to twist them, along with the rest of the scriptures.
Doing so will result in our destruction!!
And just in case we weren’t quite sure, Peter reiterates in verse 17.
He says not to loose our sure footing by following who? The lawless.
Following the lawless will result in our destruction.
Not good, eh? And who are the lawless?
Anyone who teaches we are not to obey the commandments of God, the Torah, the Law.  Which more than likely includes your pastor.  [Refer back to Matthew 5:20 where Messiah says to keep the commandments and to not break them, and to teach the same].

“Yes, but I’ve been taught to respect my pastor. He is the expert. He is the educated religious leader.  He knows more than me.”
Did Messiah speak to the educated religious leaders of His time?
Did He show them respect because of their education and position within the church? Or did Messiah call them out for false teaching?
He called them hypocrites.
He called them a pit of vipers.
He called them white washed tombs (pretty on the outside, dead on the inside).
He told them they were going to hell.
He told them that the people they taught are going to hell, because of the things they taught!!
Don’t believe me?
Read Matthew 23. All of it.

You’ll notice this direct quote of Messiah says to pick up your cross and follow Him. It does not say to follow your pastor:
Matthew 16:24-25
²⁴ Then Yeshua Messiah said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. ²⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

John 10:27
^“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”
Messiah says that those who are His hear His voice, that He knows them, and that they follow Him.
Are you mistakenly following the things you’ve been taught all of your life, instead of following the things that Messiah said?

I know the things I’m showing you here are not in line with what we’ve always been taught. I had to let go of what I thought I knew.
Why was I willing to do so?
Because I want to know my Savior.
The one in scripture, not the one that is falsely taught in our churches.
Again, if this statement is shocking and unbelievable, refer to Jeremiah 16 again:
Jeremiah 16:19
¹⁹ O Lord, my strength and my fortress,
My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
²⁰ Will a man make gods for himself,
Which are not gods?

What is the result of these generations of lies?
Man will make up their own gods, except they are not gods.
In other words, the Jesus that did away with the Law is a made up god and does not exist.
The Messiah described in scripture is the real deal.
In direct quotes, many of which I have listed in this teaching, He tells us to keep the Torah commandments.

Are you going to follow your pastor’s made up god, or are you going to follow the Messiah described in scripture.
The made up god cannot save you, as Jeremiah states, for he is not a god.
There is but one who can save you.
John 14:6
⁶ Yeshua said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life! No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Do you know Him?
Do you hear His voice?
Do you follow what He says to do?
Or do you reject Him in favor of what your pastor teaches?

So, to answer the question…
Am I a legalistic freak?
No.
I do not obey to be legalistic.
I do not obey to try to earn salvation.
I simply obey the commandments because Messiah told me to.
He says that is how He will know if we love Him.
I think we want Him to know that, right?

John 14:15
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

John 14:21
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me.”

John 15:10
“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “

 If we don’t do it, He says He will not know who we are.
²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

 

During thirty plus years in mainstream churches, people always understood where I went to church.
Baptist, Evangelical, Methodist, Non-Deonominational, etc…
Any of those words describe a church organization/system, and people get it.

Over the last several years, I have deviated from the established organizations.  I have studied scripture, instead of listening to men tell me what they think scripture says.
There is a very big difference.

In our church culture today, men (and women) go to college, Seminary, and they learn what other men think scripture says.
Then they graduate and look for a job teaching men and women the things that other men and women taught them.
The big problem with this idea is *if* there are any errors in the curriculum at the schools…
What are the chances of that happening? According to Jeremiah, the chances are 100%.

Jeremiah 16:19-20
¹⁹ O Lord, my strength and my fortress,
My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
²⁰ Will a man make gods for himself,
Which are not gods?

This bit of prophecy is speaking about end times, when the scattered ten tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel will be restored.
Believe it or not, we are living in that time!! It is happening before our very eyes.

If that is true, then what about Jeremiah’s statement?
He tells us that we will realize we have been taught nothing but worthless, unprofitable lies.
It does not say some lies will cause confusion, but God will sort it all out and everyone will be OK.
Nope, it says nothing good will come from those lies (no salvation!!).

Furthermore, verse 20 tells us what will come to be as a result of these lies…
Men will make up their own deity.  Except their made up deities will not be gods, and therefore, will not have the power to save you!
Yikes!!
Has that happened in our churches?

Well, what does Ezekiel say about it?
Ezekiel 22:26-29
Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. ²⁷ Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain. ²⁸ Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord had not spoken. ²⁹ The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger.

Double Yikes!! That isn’t good, is it?

If I’m correct about these things, then Messiah would have mentioned it, right? In His final words to us, Messiah tells us who is in His kingdom and who is not in His kingdom.
Check this out:

Revelation 22:14-15
¹⁴ Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

There are some major problems with this.
1. With regard to verse 14, churches teach that Jesus did away with ‘the Law’, the Torah instructions which Yahuah (God) said were forever, for all generations, never ending, and a perpetual covenant.
2. If we are to take Messiah’s final warning to us seriously (and I think we should), then we have to study scripture to determine what he means by those who love and practice a lie.

Refer again to Jeremiah 16:19
Everything we’ve been taught is a lie.
Triple Yikes!!

Can this possibly be true?
Check out 1John 2:3-6

The Test of Knowing Him

³ Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴ He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. ⁶ He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

The translators even gave this bit of scripture a title:  “The Test of Knowing Him”
Knowing who?
Messiah, of course.

DO YOU PASS THIS TEST?
Do you keep the commandments of God, given in Torah?
Do you have the truth in you, or are you a liar?
Do you walk as He walked?
That would be:
-Keeping Torah instructions, the Law.
-Honoring and keeping the Sabbath, as it is described in scripture
-Honoring and keeping the moedim, the feast days, of the Father, as they are given and commanded in Leviticus 23
-Doing the will of the Father, as opposed to His own will.
-Eating only clean foods as described in scripture, and avoiding unclean foods

I could go on and on, but that is enough.
Again, am I right about these things? Or am I just confused?
Here are some words from Messiah:
Matthew 7:21-23
²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Messiah says that if we want to enter His kingdom, we must do the will of His Father in heaven.  He was very specific about this.  He didn’t say we must do His own will.  We must abide in the will of the Father.  Where do we find that?  The Torah.  The first five books of the bible.  The Father gave His instructions and told us to follow these instructions forever, for all generations.
We see in Matthew 7 that Messiah is reiterating this concept.
If you want to be in His kingdom, you must follow the will of the Father.  No questions asked.

But people will say…
But I went to church every Sunday.
But I own a bible.
But I went to the men’s/women’s study on Thursday nights.
But I volunteered in the children’s program.
But I help clean the church on Saturdays.
And on and on and on…

And what will Messiah say?
He will say to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”

That will be a sad day, when people who loved and practiced a lie are told to go away by Messiah Himself.
And there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.

So, getting back to the original question.
What Religion Am I?
What Religion Are You?
Believe it or not, Yeshua Messiah is not interested in what religion we are.  That is a bunch of garbage to Him.
There is only one truth, and that truth is scripture.  All of it, not bits and pieces of it.  One whole truth, from front to back.
There are over 40,000 Christian denominations in existence.
If there is but one truth, then at least 39,999 of these are wrong, and that is assuming one of them got it right.
Should we join a church organization?
Should we label ourselves with a denomination (or go generic with non-denominational)?
I am obviously not an expert on 40,000 different organizations.
I cannot speak about all of these groups.
Here is what I can do:
I can say what scripture says.
I can read the direct quotes of Yahuah, our Creator.
I can read the direct quotes of Yeshua Messiah, our Savior.
If a church organization teaches something contrary to what scripture says, then they are not a group to join.

Men and women have pondered the purpose of man and the purpose of mankind all throughout time. There is a never ending supply of commentary on this subject – in libraries, online, in entertainment, in media, in our colleges, and on and on and on.
But we don’t have to ponder such things.
God already told us what the purpose of man is, via the wisest man to ever live.

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14
9 And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs. 10 The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars[b] are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd. 12 And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh. 
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
14 For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.

The whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commands.
We obey out of reverence for Him.
We do not obey to try to earn anything.
Salvation is a gift, so that no man should boast.

Messiah said this:
“If you love me you will keep my commandments.”
Our obedience to His word is how He knows if we love Him or not.
We obey for love of our Savior, just as He told us to do.

Men have been teaching the Word for thousands of years.
In Matthew 23, Messiah shows us what He thought of the educated religious leaders of His time.
He told them they are going to hell, and the people they have taught are going to hell as a result of their teaching. Messiah rebuked men for teaching their own ideas and deviating from the things that God taught.
Wow. That is serious!! This is a scathing accusation.

Matthew 23:13
13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”

Fast forward to 2017.
Having studied the very words of Messiah in great detail over the last year, and understanding His warnings, I believe He would say the same things to our educated religious leaders today.
Are men today teaching what they learned from other men in college, or are they teaching the true words of our Creator and our Savior?
They reject the words of God and the words of Messiah, and instead, teach what other men teach.
Yes, that statement will offend many.
But time is short, and I’m more concerned with truth than not being offensive.

Yes, I believe Messiah would say the same thing to them today, the same thing He told the educated religious leaders of His time.
In fact, He already has, in various warnings in scripture (some of these are direct quotes of Messiah).
Here are a couple:
Matthew 7:21-23
Revelation 22:14-15
John 14:15
John 15:10
Matthew 5:17-19
Revelation 14:12
Hebrews 10:26-31
1John 2:3-6
2Peter 3:14-17

And there are many more.

If what I am presenting sounds confusing, or impossible, or preposterous, try this:
Get a red letter bible and read nothing but the words of Messiah.
Compare what He says to mainstream church doctrine.
You will find they do not match.
Then you have to make a decision…
Don’t take my word for it.
I’m a knucklehead.
Read the words of Messiah and see what He says.
That, my friend, you can believe.

So, what religion am I?
I’ll answer with none of the above…

Here is the gist of my meme…
1. In Matthew 23, Messiah gave a scathing rebuke to the educated religious leaders of His time. He did so because they taught the traditions of men instead of the Word of God.
2. Fast forward to 2017 — we have men who go to college where they learn what other men think the bible says. They then go out and teach in churches, teaching the things they learned from other men in college.
3. Through intent study of scripture, I have learned that the Word of God is different than what men teach about the Word of God in churches.
4. I’ve shed the things I was taught for thirty plus years in churches. Instead, I read scripture, believe what it says, and do my best to obey it.

 

I try to share what I’ve learned in scripture with those in the mainstream…
Most tend to get a little bit hostile towards the idea of keeping “the law.” I realize this is because we’ve all been taught for many generations that the law is no longer applicable and has been done away with…

However, most mainstream Christians:
1. Say we should not murder, even though that is part of the law.
2. Say we should not commit adultery, even though that is part of the law.
3. Say we should not lie, even though that is part of the law.
4. Say we should not gossip, hit people, say mean things, borrow things and not return them, say cuss words, cut people off in the parking lot, scream at people, fail to forgive others, hold grudges, hate people, seek revenge, and on and on and on.

Church people have their own list of rules.  They don’t mind keeping a bunch of rules, as long as the rules don’t ‘belong’ to the Old Testament God.

Let’s take a quick look at this…
For one, why are culturally accepted rules ok, but Yahuah’s rules are not ok?
I think we can agree that ‘breaking the rules’ [whichever set of rules we adopt] is considered to be sin.
But what does the bible consider to be sin? It would be pretty simple if scripture defined sin for us.
It does…
“What, what? The bible defines sin?”
Yes, it does…

1John 3:4 [in various translations – no favoritism]
⁴ Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (KJV)
⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. (NIV)
⁴ Everyone practicing sin also practices lawlessness—indeed, sin is lawlessness. (TLV)
⁴ Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah — indeed, sin is violation of Torah. (CJB)

Oh boy…
Now what?
I think we should develop our ‘church rules’ based on the definition given in the bible. Violating the Torah, violating ‘the law’, however you want to state it:  this is sin.

But we have an intercessor.  Yeshuah Messiah forgives us of our sin, if we have faith in Him, if we follow Him.

Have you heard His voice?
Do we follow the law, the Torah, avoid sin — in order to earn our salvation? No, we do not. That is not possible.
Salvation is a gift so that no man should boast.

We simply follow the Torah, the law, avoid sin — because our Messiah tells us that is what we are to do.
If you follow Messiah, then you do what He says.

And what does He say?

John 14:15
 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

John 14:21
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me.” [apparently Messiah thinks this is important, because He said it again]

John 15:10
“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. ”  [Messiah must think this is VERY important – He said it a third time]

1John 2:3-6 is a section of scripture titled “The Test of Knowing Him” 
³ Now we know that we have come to know Him by this—if we keep His commandments. ⁴ The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God is truly made perfect. We know that we are in Him by this— ⁶ whoever claims to abide in Him must walk just as He walked.

Wow, if we say we know Him and do not follow the Torah instructions, then we are a liar.
Wow!!! Not my words, but scripture.

OK, back to our Savior.
Did He say this type of thing anywhere else? Or was He just ‘off his game’ that one day when He was speaking with John?

Matthew 5:17-19
¹⁷ “Do not think that I came to abolish the Torah or the Prophets! I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. ¹⁸ Amen, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or serif shall ever pass away from the Torah until all things come to pass. ¹⁹ Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever keeps and teaches them, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Did Messiah say anything like this anywhere else?
Matthew 7:21-23
²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, and drive out demons in Your name, and perform many miracles in Your name?’ ²³ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’”

What about His final words in Revelation 22.  What are His VERY LAST words to us??

Revelation 22:14-15
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

In His final words, He tells us who is in His kingdom:
Those who do His commandments.
And He says who is not in His kingdom:
Those who love and practice a lie [refer back to The Test of Knowing Him in 1John 2 if you need to know what this “lie” is that keeps us out of His kingdom].

Basically, this is not a difficult concept.
Listen to your Messiah.
Hear His words.
Follow Him.
Obey Him.

LOVE HIM!!

I’ve showed these ideas in scripture to quite  a few people.  They agreed, it is simple and makes sense.
But then, they go and ask their pastors about it.
Then I get a call or a message that goes something like this:

“I checked with some Seminary trained experts, and they set me straight.  The things you showed me [direct quotes of Messiah, mind you] do not mean what they seem to mean.  Please don’t talk to me about these things again.”

My next thoughts go something like this:
“Really??  You are going to reject the very words of your Messiah in favor of what your pastor thinks?  You will take the word of a man, who was taught what to think by other men, over your Messiah and Savior?”

To be honest, pastors can make a pretty compelling argument against the law using the writings of Paul. There is just one problem, though.
We are warned not to do this.
In scripture.
By an apostle.
Yep.
We are told specifically not to make this mistake, otherwise it will result in our destruction.

2Peter 3:14-17
¹⁴ Therefore, loved ones, while you are looking for these things, make every effort to be found in shalom, spotless and blameless before Him. ¹⁵ Bear in mind that the patience of our Lord means salvation—just as our dearly loved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom given to him. ¹⁶ He speaks about these matters in all of his letters. Some things in them are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist (as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures)—to their own destruction.
¹⁷ Since you already know all this, loved ones, be on your guard so that you are not led astray by the error of the lawless and lose your sure footing. 

Just as Revelation 22 are Messiah’s final words (and therefore, probably His most important) to us, 2Peter 3 are Peters final words to us.
People tend to say their most important things when they know it will be their last.

One last thought from me…
We do not keep ‘the law’ to earn salvation. We do not practice legalism.  We do it out of love.
Love for who? Messiah, and our neighbor.
Love God, love your neighbor.  Both are quotes from the Torah.

Please pray on these things…