Circumcision in itself is nothing, just another bit of body modification. It’s irrelevant to your salvation. Neither ritual conversion to Judaism nor ritual rejection of Judaism has any impact whatsoever on who you are in God’s Kingdom. These are merely works, whether good or bad, and, by themselves, works can never save you. What you …
Traditions are wonderful and powerful forces for creating and reinforcing the bonds of family, community, and nation. Shared experiences even bind together generations separated by centuries. For example, people have been singing hymns at church and synagogue for thousands of years. If you were to travel back in time to a first century congregation, the …
This is from a conversation I had on Google+ today, but I thought it deserved to be preserved here at American Torah. ———- Paul wrote “What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I …
Continue reading ‘What Is the Difference between Grace and Following the Law?’ »
The story of Joseph and his brothers is filled with shadows of Israel’s Messiah. In a very real sense, Joseph is a messiah as he saved both Israel and Egypt from the famine. But consider these points: He told his brothers that they would serve him. He was betrayed and sold for silver by his …
Continue reading ‘May it please our Lord, we will be servants of God’ »
The first century church dealt with a recurring conflict between missionaries to the gentiles and a group that is sometimes called “the Party of the Circumcision.” Acts 15:1 tells us that …some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” …
Continue reading ‘Does Acts 15 Say We Can Ignore God’s Law?’ »
Someone once wrote, “It is absolutely bizarre that some Christians are still under the impression that they have an obligation to abide by Jewish Law.” I completely agree. If that surprises you, then you might be operating under the same lexical error as the original writer. The problem is a confusion of terms. Most Christians …
Continue reading ‘Whose Law Is It and Why Should You Care?’ »
Someone once tried to tell me… For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. (James 2:10) Good luck trying to become righteous before God through the law…I wish you the best. This person is equating “righteous” with “saved”, which isn’t entirely wrong. It’s just irrelevant. …
James and the elders in Jerusalem told the new gentile converts not to eat meat sacrificed to idols (Acts 15 & 21). Paul told them there is nothing wrong with eating so long as you don’t do it in front of anyone who believes it’s wrong (1 Corinthians 8 & 10). And then Yeshua castigated …
Deu 28:1-2 – And it will be, if you shall listen carefully to the voice of Yahweh your God, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command you today, Yahweh your God will set you on high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come on you and …
There are at least three parts to every kingdom: the government, the nation, and the country. The government is the king and his agents, the nation is the people under the king’s authority, and the country is the physical land under the king’s control. Yeshua often spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven in seemingly contradictory …