It's a God Thing
These are questions that are very familiar to whole Bible believers. In fact, most of us asked them the same ways before we actually read the Bible and found out what God had to say on the subjects. It takes a while to arrive at the answers because so many (even those who say they follow some or all of The Law) are simply part-Bible teachers.
If you are a whole Bible believer, sooner or later you will experience what we call the "firing squad." This is where, at a Bible study or other meeting, if we dare to speak in support of the validity of The Law as a lifestyle and discipleship method for all believers, we get shot at with rapid fire questions like these. They come fast and furious sometimes, and not really all the time as true questions but more like accusations.
They're not hiding. They're right there in front of you in black and white. All you have to do is read the Bible. All of it. Front to back, start to finish. When you get done, read it again. And again. But each time, make sure you have the intent to do what you read. If you don't intend to embrace the truth, it will bounce off your heart like water off of stone.
We're glad you asked! For a while we used the tetragrammaton (YHVH) as the closest approximation of God's actual name used in the Word, and Yahveh is just one pronunciation of it. The name we use for Jesus (Yeshua) is actually His Name. You wouldn't go around calling Him 'Bob,' if that wasn't His Name, would you? But after a while we realized that God and Jesus have many names, and the English ones are just fine for now. They also help people to understand better, and avoid confusing issues or getting people wrongly focused on supposedly 'correct' spellings and pronunciations.
Although we frequently use OT and NT for reference and ease of understanding, they really are very misleading. OT and NT are artificial in that some men put them on the Book around the third century. We think Tanakh (for the OT) is better in that it stands for the Hebrew words Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim, meaning Instruction (or Law), the Prophets, and the Writings. Jesus calls the OT by these names also (although sometimes He abbreviated to 'Moses and the Prophets'). For the NT we prefer the name Apostolic Scriptures or Writings because that's what they are. They are not the New Testament or New Covenant at all.
The first problem with this idea is that the Temple wasn't destroyed. What? You ask. There is historical proof that it was! Well, what you are thinking of is the earthly Temple, which is a copy of the Heavenly. The one in heaven is still there, and the earthly Temples (and Tabernacle) were built on its' pattern. Also, we are told by the Word that those who belong to Him are living stones in a Temple. So the 'Temple' was not really destroyed, it moved from a pattern in heaven that was copied to a tent (representative of God dwelling inside us), then copied to a building (actually two different buildings), back to a 'tent' or Tabernacle (if you will, which means 'living inside us'). The separate physical building (or tent) was only around for about 1,500 of our 6,000 year recorded history. What did we do for a relationship with God the other 4,500 years?
The second problem is that Jesus didn't institute a new system. He says that no man has seen the Father, except the Son (John 6:46, 14:7) right? Yet people say they saw God (Gen. 32:30), especially Moses, who talked with Him face to face (Exodus 33:11) when he received the Law. So it seems obvious that Jesus gave the Law. He reiterated the Law in His incarnate ministry, correcting mis-applications and mis-interpretations. Jesus came to establish the Law (Matthew 5:17-20) which He gave in the first place!
We could use another word, and frequently do. We also like to use 'Word of God' or just plain 'Word' too. However, there is no way to minimize the impact of the word Torah, or 'Law,' or 'Commandments,' because the problem is not with the word but with people. Obviously, the root of the problem with the average Christian is with obedience (in any form), so the choice of word would not help. People have problems with words because of an internal condition, not external.
No. The only thing that saves anyone is God's grace given by way of faith in God and His Son Jesus. However, faith is both trust in God and obedience. Repentance is humbly submitting to God and can be thought of as obedience. Acts 17:30 says that God commands all people everywhere to repent, so repentance is obedience to a command, too. We don't earn merit sufficient for salvation by doing good works, but believers don't sit around on their butts after they are saved either. We follow all of God's Living Oracles given to all of His people everywhere after we are saved because we love Him and want to return the love He gives us, especially the love shown in the sacrificial death of His only begotten Son Jesus the Christ.
Who says? The Bible doesn't say it, that's for sure. Deuteronomy 30:11-14 says that it isn't too hard, or far away, but it is near you, in your heart. This is quoted by Paul (Romans 10:8). We are also told that we can do "all things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).
What cannot be done is to earn salvation merit by following a few rules.
First, we submit to God in humility, begging for His grace and the application of the blood of Jesus. Then we live like He wants us to live. This has always been the way.
No. Most of the Law can still be practiced, though parts cannot. We take the position that we should try to do as much as we can, rather than look for excuses to avoid parts we may not like or that make us uncomfortable. Nowhere, in any part of the Bible, does it say that any Law has been eliminated. There are doctrines of men that go to great lengths to interpret differently, but that is a lot different than what the Bible clearly says.
This mistaken notion comes from a misunderstanding of Colossians 2:13-15. There, however, what is said to be nailed to the cross is a certificate of debt. This is a record of all the Laws we broke, not the Law itself. Jesus said that Scripture can't be broken (John 10:35). It is also said that Jesus became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21), not that He became the Law (although He is the Word of God and gave the Law at Sinai).
No and no. It is God's Law, given to all of His people. Leviticus 23 says the feasts are God's feasts. Search your Bible for 'My Sabbaths' and you'll see that not only is Jesus Lord of the Sabbath but the Sabbath is also God's.
Israel went out of Egypt a 'mixed multitude' (Exodus 12:38) which indicates there were more than physical descendants of Jacob. There are Scriptures that speak of 'other sheep' and 'foreigners' who "join themselves to the Lord" (Isaiah 56:6) and "holds fast my covenant." The new covenant is with God and involves a new heart of flesh with the Law written on it.
There aren't two bodies, there is only one body of believers. The whole Jew/Gentile thing has never been more than cultural. It certainly isn't what God intended.
For more information on this subject see Bruce's book Whole Bible Christianity especially chapter 3 titled A Whole Body.
No. The Law is God's living Word for His people. Legalism is a misuse of the Law to try and gain sufficient merit for salvation. A legal relationship can be compared to employment, where you work for wages. Work an hour, get paid an hour's worth of a wage. A grace relationship is where God gives us everything, because He loves us, and we give Him back everything we have because we love Him in return.
He loved us and gave us everything, including the blood of His only begotten Son Jesus the Messiah. We love Him back by actively seeking whatever He has to say and doing that. Legalism is a deficient system because we just cannot 'do' enough to earn salvation merit with God. Grace is a much better way to live.
Um, no he didn't. Actually, what he said is that we are not under law (Romans 6:14; Galatians 5:18). The word "law" in Greek (nomos) is without the definite article (there is no definite article in Greek) and is not capitalized. There's a big difference between "law" and "The Law." The Law, with capitals, means God's Law given through Moses. The other, lowercase version means any law. The Greek word nomos is a generic word for law in general. We are not under law because we don't have a legal relationship with God (see above section).
A similar term is "works of the Law." It is actually "works of law" (meaning any law or a legal relationship). It is not limited to what some refer to as the 'Mosaic Law' (it's God's Law, not Moses').
But what does this mean, especially in view of the new covenant where the Law is written on a new heart of flesh? In Romans 7:12 Paul also says the Law is holy, and in 7:14 the Law is spiritual. Obviously then, 'under the law' cannot mean that we ignore the Law or explain it away.
To be 'under law' (or to use works of law) is to have a legal relationship with God, as in the above mentioned employment situation. Law has always been under grace, and God has always dealt with people that way. It helps to realize that no one is ever 'under the Law' unless they put themselves there. Humans, throughout history, have been under grace. Law is under grace too. In Galatians 5:4, Paul speaks of those who seek to be "justified by the Law." This is the problem - there are some who think that if they do every Law correctly then God is required to perform in return.
Well, don't if you don't want to. But, consequences are not always immediate. For instance, illicit sex doesn't always result in immediate pregnancy or disease, but you might as well be playing Russian roulette. And you could have a disease yet not know it.
Besides, God's oracles are full of life, and doing more of His Words gives us blessings pressed down and overflowing. If you don't like that, by all means skip it.
No. Judaizing is causing others to live like a Jewish person. The Law, or Torah, is not specifically Jewish. Judaism includes Torah but does not stick with Torah only. It adds rulings from rabbis (which are not all bad, just not necessarily biblical) and frequently elevates those opinions to a place higher than God's Law. This is called Talmud or oral law. For instance, Judaism has a law against mixing meat with dairy (like a cheeseburger). There is no such law in God's Word. Judaism came up with a rule stating that Gentiles were dogs and unclean (one of the reasons God had to give Peter a vision with a sheet to get him to talk to Cornelius).
Many times in the history of Israel the Jewish people have acted hard-hearted, flint-headed, and stiff-necked to use God's description. Thankfully, there have also been lots of true God-followers too, especially the writers of the Bible. Judaism is not the goal of the Bible, and it is not the goal of The Word of God Ministries or wholebible.com either.
For more information see Bruce's book Whole Bible Christianity especially chapter 7 titled Whole Bible Objections.
What does this mean, really? That shadows are not something real? That somehow acknowledging the person of Jesus translates to ignoring God's Word?
There are shadows that are still real, like death or the shadow of God's hand or wings. This life is a shadow of the next. Does this make shadows worth ignoring?
Jesus taught the Law, followed the Law, and died because we refused to follow the Law. Is that a shadow too?
For more information see Bruce's book Whole Bible Christianity especially chapter 7 titled Whole Bible Objections.
Yes (actually no, because the text is translated incorrectly most times. But let's go with it for now). But what is a food? Is it not what God declared to be food in the Law? And isn't 'not food' what God declared to be unclean and an abomination?
Is poison hemlock (made from a plant and therefore 'clean') food? Are rocks? How about spiders or snakes? Horse? Dog? Just because we can stick it in our mouth does not mean it's food.
Jesus was talking about ceremonial handwashing, and whether the lack of it would make food unclean. He was not talking about changing God's unchanging Word (John 10:35).
For more information see Bruce's book Whole Bible Christianity especially chapter 7 titled Whole Bible Objections under the heading 'It's All Good.'
Nope. Peter himself tells us what the vision meant in Acts 10:34-35 and again in Acts 11:1-18.
34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. (Acts 10:34-35 ESV)
The point of the vision was that the artificial designation of Gentiles as 'dogs' and unclean was wrong. In nature, animals that are called 'clean' and 'unclean' by God mix together, and the unclean animals do not make the clean ones unclean. Animals are clean because of what God says about them, and unclean because of what God says. God never said that non-Jewish people were unclean. That is the point of the vision.
For more information see Bruce's book Whole Bible Christianity especially chapter 7 titled Whole Bible Objections under the heading 'It's All Good.'
Yes, Paul says we have freedom in Christ (Galatians 5:1). And yes we should avoid slavery. However, since when is God's Word slavery?
Galatians is a discussion of merit (earning right standing with God by following some rules) as opposed to grace (God loves us and gives us salvation for the asking - we love Him back by giving our life). The key section is 5:4 "You who would be justified by law." Accepting circumcision, as a means of justification (gaining right standing with God) means you have to do everything else right too. And even if we manage to do everything right, there is still the matter of the tendency to sin in our natures. The Christ would naturally be of no value to such a person, because His sacrifice can't be earned, only given.
We are either slaves to sin, or slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:16). The slavery Paul is referring to is slavery to our flesh in trying to work our way into God's favor. Freedom in Christ is obedience to God's Word. We have been set free from sin and become slaves to God.
For more information see Bruce's book Whole Bible Christianity especially chapter 7 titled Whole Bible Objections under the heading 'Freedom In Christ.'
I don't know. Is it?
Do we just say, "I've got what I want. I'm not going to give anything else I don't have to?" What kind of a loving response to God is that?
There is more to a relationship with God than salvation. Salvation is just the start. What begins in love continues in love, and love is regarding others as more important than oneself. If we regard God as more important than ourselves, then we do everything He requires or requests. Or what He even hints at. Salvation is not the end of the issue at all.
Don't know. It could be because you cannot hear. Anyone can say the name (even demons - Acts 19:15), or call Him Lord (Matthew 7:21, 22; Isaiah 45:23; Romans 14:11). Lots of people say, "Oh God" when they are having sex. So what? Just because we don't say Jesus every other word does not mean He is not present in the Torah we teach.
God and Jesus are the same. God's Words and the Words of Jesus are the same too. Jesus gave the Law at Mt. Sinai. He established it and told us to teach it.
We have been conditioned to think that if we hear the name Jesus then what is being taught must be okay. This is not true. Our words have to match His Words, and our actions must match His Words. If we preach using the name Jesus, yet deny His Word with our actions, we are like false prophets who make a sign but then tell people to follow other gods.
For more information see Bruce's book Whole Bible Christianity especially chapter 7 titled Whole Bible Objections under the heading 'I Don't Hear Jesus.'
It depends. What do you mean when you say you "lift Him up?" Most of the time when people say they "lift Him up" what they mean is they just say the name Jesus over and over. Frequently, their words "lift Him up" but their actions take Him back down.
To truly lift Jesus up, we obey everything that He says. We are not like those who merely taste the goodness of the Word of God then fall away (Hebrews 6:6).
For more information see Bruce's book Whole Bible Christianity especially chapter 7 titled Whole Bible Objections under the heading 'Lifting Jesus Up.'
No. It was stated twice, plus there are numerous examples of people living by it. How many times do you have to be told? The Law doesn't have to be restated for it to be valid. It doesn't even have to be stated once for it to apply to every living creature. The new covenant itself is the writing of the Law on a heart of flesh, sensitive to God in obedience.
For more information see Bruce's book Whole Bible Christianity especially chapter 7 titled Whole Bible Objections under the heading 'It's Not Restated.'
No. The Law is life and health to our bones (Phillipians 2:16; 1 John 1:1). The curse of the law is death, because we break it and we die.
For more information see Bruce's book Whole Bible Christianity especially chapter 7 titled Whole Bible Objections under the heading 'It's A Curse.'
There are no such designations in the Word. They are made up by men who don't want to follow what God says. Everything God says is moral.
For more information see Bruce's book Whole Bible Christianity especially chapter 7 titled Whole Bible Objections under the heading 'Only The Moral.'
Paul was a model of a Law-following Jew (Philippians 3:4-7), a Hebrew of Hebrews and a Pharisee. A quick look at the book of Acts shows Paul observing feasts (20:6,16, 24:17, 18) fasts (27:9) vows (18:18; 21:23-26) Sabbath (13:14, 42, 44, 16:13, 17:2, 18:4) circumcision (16:3) temple worship (22:17, 24:11,17,18) teaching from the Law and the Prophets (28:23) and keeping the Law (21:24, 22:3, 23:6, 24:14). He was a follower and disciple of the Christ, but remained Jewish.
And no, he never told us it was okay to ignore the Law. What he said was that the Law is holy and spiritual, but that trying to use it to earn salvation merit from God was wrong. We follow God's commands because we love Him, not because we are trying to earn anything.
For more information see Bruce's book Whole Bible Christianity especially chapter 7 titled Whole Bible Objections under the heading 'Paul Tells Us It Is Okay.'
No. Israel has always been a key part of God's plan. That hasn't changed, according to the Bible. The church has tried to horn its way in by creating all sorts of spurious, extra-biblical doctrines establishing a separate group. But there isn't one. Just look at the new covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34. See any 'church?' Or do we just see Israel and Judah? Yep, that's all we see. Look at Ephesians 4:4-6 and you'll see only one body.
Paul spends a lot of time (roughly Romans 9 through 11) speaking of being "grafted in" to Israel's olive tree. God has adopted us into an existing family, not started a new one. He loves Israel even if they don't (by and large) love Him back. He will stay faithful though others fall away. We should've been watching out for arrogance, because what was grafted in can be broken off again. Just like unbelieving natural branches.
For more information see Bruce's book Whole Bible Christianity especially chapter 3 titled A Whole Body.
The first name was sort of a tongue-in-cheek poke at the fact that the majority of what we teach will not make it into the 'mainstream' of the church (or any other organization). We are aware that we do not tickle very many ears, but we feel we are in good company because it has ever been thus with God's Word. The change to the new name was an attempt to be more specific about what we do and what we think is the most important thing. Many organizations say they teach Torah (or the Word) but in reality promote various pet doctrines such as the superiority of Judaism over other religious systems. This, unfortunately, is the case with much of the Messianic movement. We associated with some of those groups for a while, but when we realized their true focus we opted to define ourselves along more biblical lines.
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