Tackling Traditional Christian Attitudes About Torah

By Rabbi Moshe Yoseph Koniuchowsky (B'nai Yahshua Synagogue)
The following example is fictional, yet tragically not in its content. This scenario takes place with similar words uttered all across the world every Sunday morning by some misguided spiritual leader.

"Pastor Duped" makes his way to the pulpit of the First Church of The Misled, opens his notes and loudly declares: "The Law is not valid. It is ended. It is fulfilled. It was a burden. It was in our way. It was a roadblock. It caused carnality."

"Praise GOOOOOD, we are not under law (Torah), but under grace. Can I hear a loud Amen, for Christ’s love? He loved us so much that He nailed that Torah (the Law) to the cross. Therefore it has passed away and has vanished. Christians are free from that bondage. Pray for "them" Jews. They are legalists. Christ nailed all that Jewish stuff that burden, to His cross. Halleluyaaah!"

Allow me first to state my conclusion, then to backtrack, in response to what you’ve just read. Not only have most of "Your Arms to Israel" readers heard something similar to the above, but many have had it pounded and drummed into their psyche, so that it has now become part of both church thought and theology. Having heard the repetition of these half truths, mistruth and lies, we now have difficulty believing "truth," as outlined in scripture.

As we begin to delve deeply into several texts in New Covenant Scripture, it first must be clearly stated that any church that buys into this religious hogwash, has lost the ability, skills and anointing that Yahweh has bestowed upon true talmidim, to reach Jewish/Israel with the Gospel. The original design of Elohim was to empower His body to be skilled, educated, sensitive and fully equipped to carry Yahweh’s salvation to the children of Israel. If however, churches choose to absorb their preacher’s exegesis and oft times spiritualization of scripture, then the loss of the ability to rightly divide Yahweh’s Word, will always result in ineffective outreach to Jews. To put it another way, believing the religious mumbo-jumbo presented in our fictional sermon, will always result in total failure to win Jewish/Israel to Yahshua. Unfortunately, these doctrines are so widely held and believed, that Yahweh has had no choice in these last days, but to remove the apostate religious manmade church’s heart and anointing (Rom. 1:16) toward Israel, and has clearly transferred His evangelistic anointing to the modern Messianic Israel movement.

Before you take exception with that bold statement, please consider two important points. First, modern Messianic Judaism as a movement has only been in existence since about 1964. Yet in just over 30 years, more Jews, (far more Jews) have been won and saved than in 2,000 years of church futility. The modern Messianic Jewish movement is made up of approximately 500,000 Jews, with over 400 congregations worldwide, and its growth continues to be rapid. Forty congregations have been planted in Israel alone. The modern Messianic Israel movement begun in the early 1980s, is the final piece of the puzzle to unite a faithful Ephraimite remnant called out of the churches and Messianic Jews into one new man and nation called Israelites in the nation of Israel all one in Yahweh’s everlasting arms.

There is ample Biblical precedence found in Matthew 21:43 that Yahweh transferred a commission once and therefore has chosen do it again. Though first covenant Israel was called to be light and salt to all the nations of the world, their lack of obedience to Yahweh’s will (world evangelism through YHWH’s teachings, even while the Israelite nation was still in the land), caused Him to commission the messianic community (a Renewed Covenant Israel), to do a better job (Matt 21:43 and Matt. 28:20). Yahweh did not remove His favor from Israel at all. He did not replace Israel with the church. He merely took one undone assignment and transferred it to a different group of (born again) Israelites or to those who were "not a nation". Those who were "not a nation" after originally being a nation according to scripture was the Lo-Ami or Ephraim/Israel. Today Yahweh has repeated this pattern. The manmade church system has never, cannot now and will never successfully evangelize the Jews. That task has commissioned to Messianic Israel!

The manmade church sysytem has broad ineptitude, superficial love, and wrong understandings of the Torah’s eternal relationship to all Israel. When and if the church formulas were used to do evangelistic outreach in the past, it has done so in a totally incorrect and unbiblical manner in relation to the Jews. Hence, enters modern Messianic Israel, which is getting the job done for all Israel’s salvation, highlighting Zionism & Torah observance for all Israel.

The current church dilemma started with poor theology, wrong translations and blatant mistranslation of scripture. As a man thinks in his heart so is he! What you believe will determine your thinking and your thinking will determine your behavior. The church is continuing a 2,000 year old attempt to totally divorce itself from its Hebraic roots, with its propagation of an anti-Torah bias with but few exceptions.

Due to these misguided missionary efforts (how many saved Jews go to your church?), the Gospel today is hardly recognizable to Jews even though it was birthed in a Jewish womb and rocked in a Jewish cradle. It is fully understandable that if churchianity is misguided regarding Yahweh’s will for Jews and Israelites before and more importantly after salvation, most Jews and Israelites will continue to reject a church product, steeped and produced in much paganism! We must comprehend, for example, that Jews will never celebrate Easter bunnies instead of Yahweh’s beloved Passover Feast. Why should they?

There has never been a "church" presentation of the Gospel that has allowed Jews and Israelites to remain in their called state. That is the core of the problem. Let’s consider a few brief examples in the Brit Chadasha, commonly taught from an anti-Semitic perspective by men, yet written by Yahweh to affirm all Israel in their eternal relationship to the Torah. The problems lie not with the Brit Chadasha (New Covenant), but with the churches misuse of various scriptures:

Example One: Romans 10:4-Messiah is the end of the Law (Torah) for righteousness to all who believe.

Mistranslation: The Torah is ended in the life of all believers.

True Understanding: The word "end" in Greek is teleos. It is accurately translated "goal." This passage reads in the original Greek as follows: "Messiah is the goal of the Torah for righteousness to all who believe." The text does not teach the end of Torah for believers.

Comment: Jewish people will never accept a Gospel that falsely teaches the termination of its beloved Torah, its literal marriage certificate to Yahweh.

Example Two: Ephesians 2:15-18: Having abolished in His flesh the enmity that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two thus making peace.

Mistranslation: Messiah abolished the Law of Old Testament commandments in order to let believers enter Yahweh’s grace and enjoy peace with Jews.

True Understanding: This passage clearly states that the only thing abolished by Messiah’s flesh, is the enmity or hatred between Jew and non Jew, not the Torah, itself. This enmity was caused through extrabiblical traditional rabbinical commandments and ordinances, never by Yahweh who continually invited non-Israelites to sojourn and fellowship with national Israel through the Torah.

Comment: In Matthew 5:17-19, Yahshua, in the clearest possible terms, teaches that Torah will never be abolished by Himself, Rav Shaul or anyone else for that matter. Yahshua warns in Matthew 5:19 that only spiritual infants would ever teach that Torah has been annulled or abolished. This faces the Christian with two choices. Either Yahshua and Paul were in one accord, teaching by the same Spirit, (the eternality of Torah) or Rav Shaul (Paul) was "least in Elohim’s Kingdom," and directly contradicted Yahshua’s teachings, which would make most New Covenant Scripture invalid.

Example Three: Colossians 2:13-14: Having wiped out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us having nailed it to the cross.

Mistranslation: Yahshua nailed all the "written ordinances" and laws that were opposed to believers, including all parts of Torah to His cross. Therefore they no longer apply.

True Understanding: Careful examination of the text reveals that Torah was not nailed to the cross, rather Yahweh’s written list and record of all our sinfulness and indebtedness to Him were. Many of the best translations render this reading as "certificate of debt" rather than "handwritten ordinances."

Comment: Praise Yahweh that our blessed Messiah nailed our sins contained and written by Yahweh Himself on a heavenly certificate to the tree of sacrifice. This "debt certificate" was contrary to us and against us, so much so that it prevented our entry into heaven. Yahweh would never say that His Word would be abolished. Furthermore, according to Romans chapter 7, Rav Shaul reiterated over and over again that Torah is righteous, holy and good. Yahweh’s Word the psalmist tells us in Psalm 119:105 is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. It never was nor is it now contrary to our spirituality, needing to be abolished. Romans 7:14 emphasizes that the Torah is spiritual. What was emphatically and permanently nailed to the cross was our personal "debt certificate," by our personal Savior. Why would the living Torah (Yahshua) come to negate and cancel the written Torah that He gave? Is that sound thinking?

Example Four: Colossians 2:16-23: "So let no one judge you in food or in drink or regarding a festival, a new moon or Sabbaths which are a shadow of things to come but the substance is of Messiah." (Vs. 16-17).

Mistranslation: Since Messiah is the reality and goal of Torah, festivals, Sabbaths and other Old Covenant observance, these doctrines are legalism and have been replaced by the reality of Messiah. If you don’t observe Old Covenant ordinances and Feasts, don’t worry about it. Let no one judge you.

True Understanding: These verses first of all, do not teach anyone to neglect Torah feasts and the seventh day Sabbath. It simply states that no believer should judge another believer in the manner in which these laws and events are observed. Since Colossians is written to non-Jews (Ephraimite and non-Israelite believers)!

Comment: These verses presuppose that Ephraimite believers may observe these days differently. Therefore, when you do them, not if you do them, do not judge the manner of practice or method of another believer. In Colossians 2:20, Rav Shaul warns about church folks observing "worldly regulations." Is Yahweh’s Word (Torah) "worldly?" Not according to Romans 7:14. Torah is spiritual and spirit filled! In Colossians 2:21, some of the worldly regulations attached by unregenerate man to the simplicity of Torah (Colossians 2:22), is final proof that Rav Shaul is warning returning Ephraimites and non Israelite believers that when they observe Yahweh’s eternal Feasts, they must not observe them as the traditional rabbis do. Traditional rabbinical observance of Biblical festivals can be full of manmade commands as well as manmade additions.

The issue in Colossians 2:16-22 is not whether you practice, but when you practice the feasts. Rav Shaul’s rationale is not to judge the methodology of practice and not to add extrabiblical doctrines to the observance.

Example Five: Hebrews 8:13, "In that He says a New Covenant He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Mistranslation: Since the new has come through Messiah Yahshua, the Torah and Tanach (Old Covenant) is obsolete, abolished and has vanished away. It no longer has any claim on our walk with Yahweh.

True Understanding: A text taken out of context develops into a pretext. Isolating this verse can cause great harm to your spiritual health. Hebrews chapters 7, 8, and 9 all speak of the change in priesthood. The old earthly Levitical priesthood has been replaced by Messiah’s sacrifice. The heavenly Melchizedekian priesthood has made the Levitical Priesthood obsolete. (The Levitical priesthood will eventually be restored, however according to Ex. 29:9, and Ezek. 40:48).

When Rav Shaul wrote these verses, the temple on Mount Moriah still stood, along with its ongoing sacrificial system. He prophetically predicts that in 70 AD, this outdated means of atonement will totally vanish away (which is what happened). If the anti-Semitic teachings of many churches are correct and this verse refers to Torah as a whole, then Rav Shaul and Yahshua are at odds. In Matthew 5:18, Yahshua assures us that Torah will not vanish or become obsolete until a new heaven and earth are established in Revelations 22:1, at the end of this age. Furthermore according to Matt. 5:19 , if Rav Shaul erroneously taught that Torah was being replaced by the New Covenant in Hebrews 8:13, then that would make Rav Shaul a spiritually misguided member of Yahweh’s kingdom. Rav Shaul would be called "least" if he ever taught that Torah was abolished, annulled or obsolete to any other talmid! Elohim would never allow a lawless man, possessing contradictory doctrine to the Master Yahshua’s teachings to write three-fourths of the New Covenant (Matthew 7:23). "Lawless" individuals are damned and are never considered true prophets.