The Torah’s Singularity: An Answer to the Question About Its Applicability
The Torah of HaShem is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of HaShem is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of HaShem are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of HaShem is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of HaShem is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of HaShem are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.
Psalms 19:8-11
Audio discussion for this teaching
Introduction
- It seems the Torah observant follower of Messiah is constantly required to answer friends and family about their “crazy lifestyle” and going “back under the Law.”
- Well-meaning friends, who can’t argue against Yeshua’s own words in Matthew 5:17-19, often get Pastors or counselors to try and convince us using theological debate that our love of the Torah is a bondage that we have been freed from.
- Even in some Messianic circles, if someone is Gentile, their Torah observance is seen as problematic, and in extreme cases it is seen as a form of anti-Semitism.
- Our message of faithfulness to all the words of HaShem, as a lifestyle of a follower of Messiah, is treated as “dangerous” and a threat to many.
- For those who have learned the peace that comes from seeing the Scriptures as a unified and unifying whole – we may ask the question: Will it always be like this? The answer? We are a part of a last days movement, where HaShem is bringing all things into subjection to Him. He will restore all things, and He is starting with each of us.
- A principle argument that our detractors, both traditional Christian and Messianic, is they teach a division in the Law. But is HaShem’s righteous standard divisible?
The Christian Division
- In order to justify a division of the Law (some commandments for Christians, the rest for Jews in the “Old Covenant”), traditional Christianity developed a theory of division of the commandments. One cannot say with a straight face: “It is a sin to lie, but it is not a sin to eat pig” unless there is some sort of theological way to separate the two commandments, found in the same Law.
- The method divides the Torah commandments into these categories:
- Moral
- Ritual
- Civil
- Looking at these, it is easy to show how the “moral” commandments are retained today in the life of a believer, whereas the ritual and civil are not. During the days of the Puritans, they included the “civil” commandments as well, whereas modern Christians have great difficulties with the idea of stoning, etc.
- In more modern times, Christianity drew from some important thinking of early church fathers and developed a kind of “unity” of the commandments, all the while maintaining that some commandments are still in effect. It goes like this: “Unless you can keep the Law perfectly, you are guilty of all of it. And the purpose of the law was to point to man’s inability to keep the law, and thus show man’s need for a supernatural work and a savior. So, now that the Law’s purpose is revealed, and Jesus as satisfied its requirements for us, continuing to live by it only places one under a curse – but of course, the moral, and universal law is still in effect because it was not a part of the lesson that Jews needed to learn.”
The Messianic Division
- As we have discussed elsewhere, Messianic Judaism has several lines of thinking regarding the Torah and its commandments.
- For some congregations, the Torah has been done away with, and a nod of the head toward it are merely cultural expressions in an effort to evangelize Jewish people.
- For other congregations and groups, the Torah is in effect for Jewish people only, whether by birth or ritual conversion. The commandments apply differently to individuals depending upon their ethnic origins.
- And then there is our conviction: The Torah is the eternal word of HaShem. It is His self-revelation – His own righteous standard. Yeshua, the Messiah not only lived in perfect faithfulness to the commandments, He commanded His disciples to do so as well, and gave His disciples this test of love: “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15). We see that the obedience to all that HaShem has spoken is the life of a disciple of the Messiah – and our obedience is not the “burden of the law” – but rather an expression of our love for Him and each other.
The Definition of Sin
- What is the problem with the divisions of the Law, and categorizing the commandments in order to retain some and abolish others? The Scriptures do not permit it.
- Within the Torah, there are no “moral, ritual, civil” categories. How about the “Ten Commandments”? Is breaking the Sabbath “moral” or “ritual”? Is stealing “civil” or “moral”? Is adultery “civil” or “moral”?
- The Torah does use different words in what might appear to be categories: statutes, commandments, precepts, judgments are chukot, mitzvot, pikudim, and mishpatim respectively. However, these commandments won’t fit the “moral, ritual, civil” division – which is a theological method to annul commandments – instead, as Psalms 119 shows, these words are used to show HaShem’s purpose for His righteous standard in our lives.
- Traditional Christianity uses the “moral” versus “ritual” method to show the abolishment of certain commandments. Some in Messianic circles also use this method. They use it to show how “lying” is still a sin, but “eating shrimp” is a matter of being a good testimony to Jews. That is Wrong.
- Modern Christianity uses the “all or nothing” approach to the commandments, but not because they think the Law is unified – but instead to show how trying to keep any commandments is a curse because if you fail in one, you fail in all. While true that any disobedience is treated as sin, their point is wrong.
- 1John 2:3-6; 1John 2:3-6: The definition of knowing G-d? Keeping His commandments (some might ask “which ones?” – an absurd question if it is “all or nothing” like those same people suppose).
- “Keep His commandments” is present tense. “Commits lawlessness [anomia = against the law]” is present tense. Use of the present tense shows that believers are not sinless, but that their lives are a pattern of righteous living. When they sin, they repent!
- HaShem’s definition of sin: “sin is lawlessness.” Sin is acting against the commandments of HaShem. Period.
- The Torah itself contains commandments for dealing with disobedience. Is perfect obedience required? Of course. Is perfect obedience expected in the temporal world? Of course not – why are there offerings for sin within the Torah? Just because HaShem’s righteous standard is perfect, does not mean that it perfects us. It does not, nor was it ever intended to.
- Luke 1:5-6; Philippians 3:6b: blameless, does not mean sinless. It means that they never intentionally disobeyed G-d’s commandments, and when they did sin, they stopped and repented.
- The argument that the Torah was given simply to show man’s need for salvation is absurd. First, the Torah was never given to perfect us, it was given to show us what perfection looks like. It provides no energy for obedience. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. Examine the commandments that such a philosophy does away with: eating only clean, keeping the Sabbath. Those are the easy commandments! Not ever lying, not ever hating, etc. Those are the hard commandments! And yet in some people’s minds, those are the ones that remain! If the Torah was given simply to convince us that we could not keep it… the wrong commandments are “still in effect”!
- We do not keep the commandments in order to achieve righteousness. We do not keep the commandments in order to earn favor. We obey simply as our love response to what has been done for us. We are the people of G-d, and as His subjects, we humbly submit to Him. That is all. When we disobey Him, we repent – but our lives are not full of anomia [lawlessness].
The Commandment
- The Torah is indivisible. It is a single unit. We are not free to categorize and divide it, so as to not live by some of the commandments within it.
- Throughout the Scriptures, the Torah, the righteous standard of HaShem, is called “the Commandment.” It is singular.
- Deuteronomy 8:1: Some translations read “every commandment” – it is “kal ha-mitzvah” [all the commandment]. RASHI notes that this wording is very important. The plural grammar of the verse leads some translators to misunderstand the point: all the commandments are a single unit: The Commandment.
- The argument from silence does not apply. If it is “the Commandment” an individual is not afforded the right to determine if a commandment applies to them personally – the opposite is true: all apply to you unless the commandment explicitly applies it only to others (example: women, priests, etc.)
- Joshua 22:5: The “Torah of Moses” is often used in a pejorative sense by those who annul the commandments of HaShem. Let us be clear: the Torah is the Torah of HaShem! Moses was His faithful servant, unique among prophets, who heard His voice, and saw His form! How dare some speak against Moses in this way! Numbers 12:6-8
- 1Timothy 6:14: Paul told Timothy to keep “the Commandment” without spot, and blameless? Exactly what is “the Commandment” if not the Torah?
- Mark 7:9: Yeshua uses it to contrast “the Commandment” and man-made traditions. Why are antinomians not merely content to let others keep the commandments? Because it negates their tradition. They must put down and denigrate the Torah for their own theology to survive. For some pastors and congregational leaders, it is all about control.
- Proverbs 13:13: Those who say they love G-d’s Word, and yet attempt to annul the commandments are fooling themselves. He who fears the Commandment will be rewarded.
- Matthew 5:19: Who ever does the commandments, and teachers others, will be called great. Only a fool asks, “which ones”?
Jew and Gentile Sharing the Same Torah
- Remember, ger and gerim are those that are not native-born Israel, and yet who are still part of the covenant people Israel. They are Gentiles. Those who would separate Jew and Gentile and say that the commandments apply differently to them, are not treating the Torah as indivisible. And they are ignoring the Torah’s own instructions. As hard as some might try, you cannot force the “proselyte” or “convert to Judaism” into these passages. Ritual conversion to Judaism did not exist until the Second Century BCE, and about which the Torah gives no such instructions.
- Exodus 12:48-49; Exodus 20:8-10; Exodus 22:21-23; Exodus 23:9-12; Leviticus 16:29-31; Leviticus 17:8-10; Leviticus 17:15-16; Leviticus 18:26; 29-30; Leviticus 19:33-34; Leviticus 22:18-19; Leviticus 24:16; Leviticus 25:22; Numbers 9:14; Numbers 15:13-16; Numbers 15:25-30; Numbers 19:10-12; Deuteronomy 1:16-17; Deuteronomy 5:12-14; Deuteronomy 16:10-15; Deuteronomy 26:9-11; Deuteronomy 29:10-15; and Deuteronomy 31:12-13
- The Commandment – one Torah, for one people
Summary
- We are not free to pick and choose which commandments are valid for us today. The heart of a follower of Messiah should read, and respond: “Speak L-rd, for your servant hears!”
- Those that try to divide HaShem’s Torah into what is applicable today, or what applies to an individual are mistaken: the Torah is indivisible.
Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the Torah of HaShem, and in His Torah he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For HaShem knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Psalms 1