FIRST RESPONSE TO LEGALISM
Colossians 2:8-17 (NKJV) “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Messiah. 9For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. 11In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Messiah, 12buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of Yahweh, who raised Him from the dead. 13And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. 16So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Messiah.”
All I recall stating about Sabbath was that violating it is a capital crime. We all would be condemned to death if it weren’t for forgiveness found in Messiah. No one ever has nor can any fallen human ever keep the 10 commandments or the 613 laws of Torah. Paul taught that we are all condemned equally, so we can all come to Messiah equally. Torah was given to point us to Messiah and teach us His ways and standards of the Kingdom of Yahweh. Notice verse 14 above, it was the requirements of the Torah that were AGAINST US, CONTRARY TO US, that were taken away and nailed to the execution stake. The PENALTY OF ETERNAL DEATH for capital crimes was taken away. Eating kosher food is not against us, who doesn’t need to eat healthy? Sabbath is not against us, who doesn’t need more rest? Taking care of widows and orphans is not against us. The negatives of the Old Covenant were taken away. Now we don’t need to kill little animals and sprinkle their blood on the altar to obtain temporary forgiveness. We have permanent, complete forgiveness in Messiah, because His blood sacrifice for our sins was a once for all done deal!! Of course, no one gets forgiveness without repentance from sin and faith toward and in Messiah.
Those folks with resurrected/raptured immortal bodies in the future Millennial Kingdom and then on into eternity will not NEED to eat, but we can if we want to. We won’t NEED to rest, because we will live in a permanent state of rest, like our Maker! We do these things now as a shadow of the Kingdom to come. We learn to live like our Creator, our Heavenly Father. We’re learning to take on His nature, His character. Yahweh doesn’t need to eat or rest, but He rests every seventh day, because that’s Who He is. We don’t HAVE to Shabbat, we do it because that’s who we are, members of Yahweh’s family. It has always been and always will be the seal of the children of Yahweh’s family.
You recall Peter’s vision in a trance in Acts 10, where he was called to minister to Cornelius. Look at Acts 10:13-14 (NKJV) “And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”” This scene takes place several years AFTER the Acts 2 Pentecost Holy Ghost filling. Peter is still living a kosher lifestyle!! Yahshua was about to teach him that no man is unclean or unworthy to hear the Gospel of the Kingdom.
Let’s move on to Acts 15, the first Church council. Acts 15:1 (NKJV) “And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”” The bone of contention was doing Torah TO GET SAVED, legalism. Verse 5, “But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law [Torah] of Moses.”” Believing Pharisees, doesn’t that sound like the Church today? Religious spirits don’t go, just because you get saved. I discovered that with my X. Acts 15:10-12 (NKJV) “Now therefore, why do you test Yahweh by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11But we believe that through the grace of the Master Yahshua Messiah we shall be saved in the same manner as they.” 12Then all the multitude kept silent and listened . . .” Apostle James’ conclusion? Acts 15:19-21 (NKJV) “Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to Yahweh, 20but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. 21For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”
If some religious Christian needs a list of dos and don’ts, there it is in verse 20, combined with Yahshua’s words in Matthew 22:37-40 (NKJV) 37Yahshua said to him, “‘You shall love Yahweh your Mighty One with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40On these two commandments hang all the Law [Torah] and the Prophets.” So there you have it, Yahshua’s easy light yoke. Pure worship of Yahweh, moral lifestyle, kosher eating, service to Yahweh and mankind. Is that too much to ask of a disciplined one, a disciple? Does that offend your sense of grace? It really shouldn’t. It’s a simple non-religious righteous lifestyle.
You don’t have to go to synagogue and learn Torah if you don’t want to, but 5/6 of your Holy Scriptures are about Israel. There is much to learn and much to be gained by immersing yourself in the whole of Yahweh’s Word. Yahweh is so much Greater than what we learn in sun-god-day churchianity. You won’t learn it in Sunday School, Christian college, Bible school, or seminary. I know, I’ve been there, done that. The Church virtually ignores 5/6 of their Scriptures, to their detriment. Shallow, weak, pitiful. Buying land, building pretty buildings, and funding preacher retirement accounts misses the boat of Yahweh just a little, don’t you think? It helps explain why we’ve lost Amerika. Forgive me if I’ve judged you, but I’ve earned the right to judge the Church, since I’ve been a part of it for so long, expending the prime years of my life in it. The apostles say you aren’t supposed to judge me if I choose to learn Torah on Shabbat. Fair enough?
Loving Him and you,
Gene Benjamin II
February 14, 2013 CE
Comentários