I have been a Believer in Yeshua as the Messiah for nearly 30 years, and during this time I have met many Christians who have been adamant that the Torah is only for Jews.
So much so, that they not only say they do not have to obey the Torah, but that any Believer (even a Jewish one!) who does try to obey the Torah isn’t really saved.
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Now, I have written often how the Torah is NOT just for Jews, but for everyone who professes to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
From my experience, most Christians not only deny needing to obey the Torah, but are actually anti-Torah! They say that anyone who is a Gentile and wants to be obedient is “under the Law” and not really saved, or that they are being legalistic and therefor do not know Jesus.
Okay, I understand that it is so much easier not to have to do all that Torah stuff, and to give up pork chops and lobster bisque is hard for everyone. But, still and all, the Torah is direct from God, isn’t it? I mean, other than in the Torah, where else in the entire Bible do you read where it is written:
“And the Lord said to Moses,’Tell the children of Israel that the Lord, God says…'”?
What God is telling us Jews is how to be righteous in his eyes. I don’t think anyone who knows anything about God or the Bible or has any inkling of a spiritual understanding will argue that doing what the Torah says is pleasing to God, and is the path to salvation. I mean, how can anyone argue against Torah obedience leads to salvation when Yeshua lived a perfectly Torah obedient life and was resurrected into God’s presence, forever?
Isn’t that the goal?
However, this is not a message to justify my belief that the Torah is for everyone.
What I want to do is ask a very simple question:
As a Gentile Believer, even if you do not have to obey the Torah, since the Torah has God’s instructions for living a righteous life, what harm is there in trying?
This is what I have never been able to understand, and never will- it is one thing to say, “I don’t have to obey the Torah”, but another thing to actually accuse those of obeying the Torah that they are wrong!
How can doing what God said to do be wrong? God chose the Jews to be his nation of priests to the world (Exodus 19:6) and gave us the Torah so we would be able to learn what is right in God’s eyes and then teach it to the world.
That’s what priests do- they teach people how to worship God.
So, if you are a Gentile and you say you believe Yeshua (Jesus) is the son of God and the Messiah he promised to send, even though you most likely have been raised being taught the Torah is only for Jews, what harm is there in doing what God says he wants his chosen people to do?
In the world, people who do what the successful people do become successful. So, if the Jews who obey the Torah (of course, we can only obey to the best of our limited ability) are pleasing to God because we do what he wants us to do, what can be wrong about copying behavior that pleases God?
I constantly hear Christians talking about being grafted in and how they are adopted children of Abraham, but then in the same breath they deny having to do what Abraham’s kids have to do or that they need to feed off the roots of the tree they are grafted onto.
It don’t make no sense!
So, all I am asking is for those who have an open mind, who are willing to do more than just the absolute minimum when it comes to showing their worship and trust in God, to consider that since God tells us what he wants us to do in the Torah, what harm is there in trying to do more for God?
Do you really think that God will punish anyone, Gentile or Jew, for trying to be obedient to the commandments he gave?
Will trying to be obedient to God’s Torah, not to be “correct” but out of love and respect for God, cause you to lose your salvation?
How will doing what God says he wants done be anything other than righteous in his eyes?
Look, do what you want to do, and if you choose to live believing that it is wrong for a Gentile to even try to be obedient to the Torah, that’s fine. It’s your choice, but may I make this recommendation: first find in the Bible where either God or Yeshua (NOT Paul or James or any human being) says it is alright for Gentiles to reject any of God’s commandments, or where God says the Torah is ONLY for Jews.
And I am recommending this because I don’t want anyone to have to be in front of God and have to answer this question:
“Who told you that it was okay to reject my commandments?”
Thank you for being here and please comment and remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.
That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!