Challenging the ongoing hatred against Torah by "Joyfully Growing in Grace"

Wendy Burgess of the Facebook page “Joyfully Growing In Grace” is still at it. No matter what biblical proofs you can present to this woman, she continues to post long, boring rants against Torah (YHWH’s Divine Instructions in Righteousness, without which we would have NO blueprint for moral, holy living!).  In an April 2015 rant on her blog, she wrote:

_______ Mere Imitators? Or "As He is in This World" . . . _______

Folks that preach Law tell us that we must 'walk as Yeshua walked', and tell us that means walking in Torah observance. Sounds plausible, until you consider that Yeshua walked in Torah observance before the Work of the Cross, the Resurrection, and His Perfect, Permanent High Priesthood, which rendered the Old Covenant Torah Law obsolete.

OUR RESPONSE:

Let’s examine exactly “how” Yeshua walked, using scriptures and footnotes from Andrew Gabriel Roth’s Aramaic English New Testament:  1 John 2: 6 He that says I am in him, is bound to walk according to his Halacha (literal reference, “walk according to his walking” and in both cases the word is halakh).

Let’s take a look at that whole passage, IN CONTEXT:  1 John 2: 3. And by this we will be sensible that we know him, if we keep his Commandments.  4. For he that says I know him, and does not keep his Commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him.  5. But he that keeps his Word, in him is the Love of Elohim truly completed: for by this we know that we are in him.  6. He that says I am in him, is bound to walk according to his halacha.  7. My beloved, I write no new commandment to you, but the old Commandment which you had from the beginning; and the old Commandment is the Word which you have heard.[1]

FOOTNOTE:

[1] “Elohim is light”, (1 John 1:5); therefore, it can be argued that at Creation when YHWH said, “Let there be light”, Genesis 1:3, that He in effect brought a part of Himself out to accomplish the creative act.  The “Word” does this same feat, Psalm 33:6; John 1:1; a few lines earlier we read the “Word of Life.”  We have also seen before the direct linguistic relationship between the Hebrew and Aramaic roots for “Light” and “Torah” such as: “Your word (davar) is a lamp to my feet, a light (aur) to my path.”  Psalm 119:105.  “For the commandment is a lamp. The teaching is a light (aur), and the way to life is the rebuke that disciplines.” Proverbs 6:23

What makes this citation in Proverbs most profound is the word mitzvah (commandment), since tradition commonly calls the revelation at Sinai the Ten Commandments when in fact the Tanakh uses davarim (words)!  Keep this in mind while considering 1 John 2:4. “He who says I know Him and does not keep His Commandments (poqadona) is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word (miltha) in him, verily is the love of Elohim perfected; hereby we know that we are in Him.” 1 John 2:4 (Lamsa).  Aramaic could not make a more forceful point. The fact is, poqadona and miltha are exceedingly close matches for their Hebrew counterparts mitzvah in Proverbs, and davar in Psalms. However, it is in this next passage that the full measure of John’s brilliance is shown: “My beloved, I do not write a new commandment to you, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard from the beginning.” 1 John 2:7 (Lamsa)  The Commandment is the Word, which comes from the beginning. We must now realize that to translate this as “his Commandments” is wrong, but “His Commandments” is correct.  “His Commandments” is the WORD which came from the very beginning of time.

Many fail to understand this truth: It is impossible for Torah to have passed away during the lifetime of the Shlichim if John himself writes about the Word they have heard from the beginning.  What else could this WORD be, except the living Torah!  John is a native Aramaic speaker and follower of Y’shua who knows that the WORD (or the Torah of YHWH) comes from the “Light”; he states that Elohim is Light and that we abide in that Light when we do His Mitzvot/Poqadona/Commandments. Furthermore, the interchanging of “Word” and “Commandment” simply does not happen in any other language except Hebrew and Aramaic, the “word that you have heard” is the Shema!

JOYFULLY GROWING IN GRACE continues:

When you hear these things, consider fully what the Work of Christ accomplished. The current and permanent High Priesthood in Christ is not of the tribe of Levi, which interceded for the people in the Old Covenant, but that Christ is of the tribe of Judah, and His Priesthood - established by God's oath on Himself - mediates the New Covenant, entered into by faith by all tribes and nations (see Ephesians 3:6-12).

OUR RESPONSE:

First of all, we need to understand that YHWH (the Father) never made that “new covenant” with the Gentiles who are now perverting His Word.  He made it with the Torah observant Houses of Israel and Judah (Jeremiah 31:31-32).  He never mentioned that Torah was to somehow abolish His Divine Instructions (Torah)...And, contrary to popular belief Yeshua, who was Himself Torah observant, never said He came to abolish the Torah; He came to abolish man-made doctrines, the rabbinical ideology which had distorted (and is still distorting) the Word of God!

Luke 4: 43 "But he (Yeshua/Jesus) said, "I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."

Luke 8: 1. And it happened after these things that Y'shua was going around in the cities and in the villages and was preaching and declaring the Kingdom of Elohim.

Acts 28: 23 "From morning till evening the Apostle Paul explained and declared the Kingdom of God and tried to convince people about Yeshua from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets."

Acts 24: 14. But this indeed I (Paul) acknowledge, that in that same doctrine of which they speak, I do serve the Elohim of my fathers, believing all the things written in Torah and in the prophets.

So, while His death, burial, and resurrection are an important part of the Good News, it's not the whole story! God isn't just in the business of "saving" people. As Creator and law giver, He is in the business of teaching us how to be good subjects in His Kingdom to come! If "Jesus abolished Torah at the cross" then why was EVERY believer completely Torah observant for one hundred years after Yeshua's death, including the Apostle Paul who was "caught" being Torah observant 29 years after Yeshua's death (Acts 21:23-24)! Was Paul a hypocrite, saying one thing and doing another; or were his teachings, perhaps, misunderstood?

YHWH reiterated FOUR TIMES IN A ROW in Numberse 15 that ALL who accept Him as their God are to do “exactly as” His people do:

Numbers 15: 13 "'Every citizen is to do these things in this way when presenting an offering made by fire as a fragrant aroma for ADONAI. 14 If a foreigner stays with you - or whoever may be with you, through all your generations - and he wants to bring an offering made by fire as a fragrant aroma for ADONAI, he is to do the same as you. 15 For this community there will be the same law for you as for the foreigner living with you; this is a permanent regulation through all your generations; the foreigner is to be treated the same way before ADONAI as yourselves. 16 The same Torah and standard of judgment will apply to both you and the foreigner living with you.'"

Please re-read the above in case you missed it: Any Torah-less non-Jew/Hebrew/Israelite who does not yet believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is an "alien"/foreigner. However, if they do wish to accept Him, then they are to do exactly as those who are already belong to Him!

"Living among" means not necessarily physically, but rather, it refers to all those who have accepted the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They MUST be Torah observant, just like the Houses of Israel and Judah were with whom God made His New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:32)!

Romans 10: 12. And in this, it discriminates neither Jews nor Gentiles. For there is one, Master YHWH, over them all, who is abundantly generous towards every one that calls on him. 13. For everyone that will call on the name of Master YHWH, will have life.

JOYFULLY GROWING IN GRACE continues:

So what place has the Old Covenant (the Law) in the era of the New Covenant?

Romans 7:4-6 says - 4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

OUR RESPONSE:

“So what place has the Old Covenant (the Law) in the era of the New Covenant?”  Well, let’s find out what Scripture tells us:

Romans 7:4. And now, my brothers, you also have become dead to Torah[1] by the body of Mashiyach; that you might be joined to another, (even) to him who arose from the dead, and might yield fruits to Elohim.  5. For while we were in the flesh, the emotions of sin which are (listed) by Torah, were active in our members that we should bear fruits to death.  6. But now we are absolved from Torah and are dead to that which held us in its grasp: that we might from now on serve in the newness of the spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.[2]

FOOTNOTES:

[1]  “Dead to Torah” refers to being dead to the penalty for sin, which is death, followed by destruction.  The believer sins (misses the mark) as anyone else does; however, those who are “in Mashiyach” have atonement in him.  From the beginning (Gen. 3:15) YHWH established a defense for His people against haSatan (the adversary).  To be “in” Mashiyach means to live a life pleasing to YHWH and NOT break Torah (see also Romans 8:1-10).  Those who think that they can repeatedly break Torah without consequence, because of Mashiyach died for them, are very deceived.  To “live in the spirit” means that the Spirit of Mashiyach is training up his followers so they can put away the carnal desires of the weak flesh, and that they are overcomers of the flesh.  See Eighteen New Testament Misconceptions #7: Died to the Torah in Appendix.

[2]  This is because faith in Mashiyach and Torah observance brings eternal life, but the consequence of sin is death.  It does not mean Torah is “released” because, with or without Mashiyach, the penalty for willful sin still remains.  If the penalty for sin remains, then Torah also remains.  The “oldness of the letter” speaks of old religious ways which do not recognize Mashiyach as bringing the Living Word of YHWH to mankind.  Y’shua brought the correct understanding of Torah which is to be written upon the heart, so we don’t continue in sin.  See also 6:12.  Some might say they have Faith and claim to be “Believers,” but if they continue in sin their faith/belief is irrelevant.

JOYFULLY GROWING IN GRACE continues:

And Galatians 2:19-21 says: 19 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

OUR RESPONSE:

Let’s take a look at that entire passage, with footnotes from the AENT:

Galatians 2: 15. For if we who have a Jewish nature[1] ourselves, and not those who are from Gentile sinners, 16. for we know that the sons of men are not made righteous by the works[2] of Torah, but by faith in Y'shua the Mashiyach (Messiah). Even we who believed in him know that it is from the faith in Mashiyach that we will be made righteous and not from the works of Torah. For from the works of Torah no flesh will be made righteous. 17. But if while we seek (while in our eyes)[3] to be made righteous by Mashiyach we still find ourselves to be sinners,[4] should (it be) therefore that Y'shua the Mashiyach is a servant of sin? Elohim forbid! (Aramaic English New Testament)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The only place in all Aramaic Renewed Covenant writings where the phrase "Jewish nature" appears. The word kyanna refers to a classification without a physical occurrence, kind of like having an image of a bird in one's mind, but not seeing the literal bird. As such, the only types of natures that are discussed are animal, human, or divine. In this lone exception however, Rav Shaul (Paul) bifurcates human nature further into Jewish and (by implication) non-Jewish.

[2] The phrase "Ma'aseh haTorah" (works of the Torah) appears first in the Dead Sea Scrolls; it is indicative of the ultra-religious halacha of the Essenes, but also refers to the halacha (religious traditions) of the Pharisees. This is NOT referencing observance of Torah in Y'shua. If the reader does not distinguish between "Torah written upon the heart", versus the "works of Torah" or being "under Torah" it would be impossible to understand the book of Galatians.

[3] In our eyes" is an Aramaic idiom meaning, "we seek."

[4] Paul's teaching will forever judge those who say they follow Mashiyach but live and teach against Torah (see 1 John 3:4 for a definition of sin). Religion uses words like "moral" (moralis 1340 CE) or "ethical" (ethikos) to establish their own standards of conduct; however, followers of Mashiyach are to live by every Word that proceeds from the Mouth of Elohim (Deuteronomy 8:4/Matthew 4:4). The Word of YHWH is absolute Truth and as such YHWH will Judge man's willful neglect of Torah.

Many Christians, for example, are taught that they "don't have" to observe Shabbat (Sabbath) on the Seventh Day because it's not part of their "moral code" and they say their "conscience" never convicted them of breaking Shabbat. This is no surprise, because, even as children, they were taught that Shabbat is not included with Scriptural principles of right and wrong conduct. They were not taught that erecting a Christmas tree is an abomination unto Mashiyach as it depicts Tammuz who was the son of Nimrod and Semiramis, the originators of the pagan trinity. They were not taught that Eostre (Easter) is morally wrong because it originated with paganism; and the list goes on. The point is that Paul defined sin very astutely, but precious few care to listen because their cultural and status quo values are projected over his teachings.  (For more see Book of Galatians explained.)

Without the Torah (what Christians call "law") we would have NO blueprint for moral, holy living! After all, what is SIN but transgression from the "law" (1 John 3:4)! How hypocritical and blasphemous to boast that "Jesus abolished the law!"

Galatians 2: 19. For by Torah I am dead, that I might live to Elohim. 20. And I am executed on a stake[1] with Mashiyach, so it is not I that live but Mashiyach lives in me; and the life I live now in the flesh in faith[2] of the Son of Elohim who loves me and give his life/soul for me. 21. And I do not frustrate the grace of Elohim, for if righteousness came by Torah, then Mashiyach died for nothing.[3] (AENT)

[1] The same Aramaic word zaqyp also means "erect, straightened, and lifted up."

[2] The faith here is two fold in Aramaic. First, it is the faith in the Son of man, Y'shua the Mashiyach, who brings eternal life. However, that eternal life is made possible because Y'shua the man was obedient to YHWH's Torah. His faith brought him life, and through him, our eternal life. So Rav Shaul says that his faith is in the Son's perfected nephesh (soul) while the perfected nephesh became that way through the faith of the Son.

[3] Torah instructs us about righteousness, but it can't make anyone righteous in itself. It is YHWH Tsidkenu (our Righteousness) who is the Spirit of YHWH in Mashiyach that purifies the spirit and soul of man. As we read and study Torah we must "hear" the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit) inside of us. YHWH gives us His Grace to turn to Him, walk in His Righteousness and observe His Torah.

JOYFULLY GROWING IN GRACE continues:

And when someone tells you that we are to walk as Jesus walked, refer them to this passage:

15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.  17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment:

>>> because as he is, so are we in this world.

OUR RESPONSE:

Even in that King James Version that Wendy Burgess seems to prefer (which is very skewed, by the way (please see Trinity is not biblical and Daniel 9 ), there is absolutely nothing to suggest that Torah was abolished at the cross!  If you “dwell in God” then you are bound to not just “love Him” but to OBEY His Rules.  If you don’t, then whom are you worshiping?

JOYFULLY GROWING IN GRACE continues:

This weekend, as the world recognizes the Crucifixion, Burial, and Resurrection of Christ Jesus, seriously consider what those events actually accomplished for you who are in Christ, and pray for open doors to share the Life that Christ purchased for us with the Lost folks you know.

An excellent teaching on Romans 7 and the reality of those in Christ being dead to Law in order to be joined to Christ so that we may bear fruit unto God can be found here: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/30334305

The entire series on Paul's letter to the Romans can be found here:  http://www.andrewfarleylive.com/series-romans2013.php  Highly Recommended!

Grace and peace to you all as you ponder tomorrow the significance of the Death of Christ on the Cross.

-JGIG

OUR RESPONSE:

“Dead to the Law” ONLY if you are blind to the “rest of the story” called “Torah” which is part of the “OLD Testament” which comprises ¾ of the Bible … the part that provides YHWH’s Divine Instructions, without which we would have NO blueprint for moral, holy living!

Please feel free to read her typical Christian ideas on the “New Testament” and what she THINKS Paul wrote … and then check out these samples as to what the Aramaic says about the Book of Romans and More about Romans.

And, oh, by the way - the ONLY time “Easter” is mentioned in the entire Bible is in the KING JAMES version in Acts 12, where he erroneously translated “Passover” as “Easter.”  There was no “Easter” before Y’shua died, which renders all of Acts 12 moot in the KJV!  Nobody in Acts 12 went to Jerusalem to celebrate “Easter”….