Most of our friends and family have observed the changes our family has made over the last few years, and some of them have wondered what is up. Changes like not celebrating holidays, observing the Sabbath, and not eating pork. Just to mention the most obvious ones. Some have boldly asked questions, others have wondered if we are a part of a cult, and some have just whispered behind our backs. To be honest, I totally understand. I think I would wonder if I saw my friend or family making such changes.
So, why are we making these changes? The easy answer is to say we are Torah Observant. But the truth is I don’t like that answer because that phrase means different things to different people. So, I would rather call ourselves whole Bible Scholars. A few years ago, God lead me to begin teaching our children from the Bible as their primary textbook. Little did I know, this would change our lives so drastically. For the last few years, we as a family, have worked through the Bible over and over. We read it, we study it, we write it, and lastly we apply it. We literally spend hours a day in God’s Word. We feel very privileged to be able to spend so much time in the Word.
As I began teaching our children from both the new and old testament they had a lot of questions. Some challenged me and Jeremy. Some made us uncomfortable. Questions like, “If God gave these laws to His people, why don’t we observe them today?” “If there is a blessing in obeying this law, why wouldn’t we want that blessing?” “Aren’t we the children of God, according to these verses?” To be honest, I did not have the answers, but was challenged to find them. I grew up in the church, and knew that salvation was found only in Jesus Christ. My kids recognized this truth too, but they kept saying isn’t part of the gift that we through his grace and strength can live a better life now. They would say things like, “if we truly love Him we will obey Him.” Wait, that is the words I use to tell them to be obedient to me and the new testament commands. How can it be that they are now applying it to the old testament? Wasn’t the old testament laws done away with?
Well, long story short, I began doing a lot of research, praying, studying, and more praying. I began to realize that at the very least there was blessing and benefit to obeying God’s laws. So, we stopped celebrating pagan rooted holidays, we started eating clean foods, we started down a new path.
Here are some questions you may have:
Do you believe obeying the law is part of salvation?
No, we don’t salvation is found in Christ alone. In fact we believe that to understand and follow God’s Word one must first believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Without Christ and the Holy Spirit it is impossible to please God.
Are you a part of a congregation like Hebrew Roots, Messianic Believers, Sacred Name, Torah Observant, etc.?
No, we have not found a congregation that believes like we do that meets together near where we live. Also, we have found that many of these groups have false teaching in them, so therefore we hope to at some point, along with other similar minded people plant a church.
Do you go to church?
Yes, we do attend a wonderful church that is not Torah Observant, but does teach the whole Bible. We have met with the pastors of our church, and explained our beliefs. They like any good church leader asked us many questions, and have been very loving and understanding.
So, to bring this to a close. We believe God in his love gave his people rules for a better life now. These rules (laws) not only benefit the people who obey them, but they also show that without a Savior it is impossible to please God and be in fellowship with him. Therefore, He sent a savior. His Son. Jesus came as a man, a Jewish man. He lived a life as a Jew, and he obeyed all the laws and never sinned. Sin is anything one says, thinks, or does that breaks God’s law. Jesus never ever broke any of God’s laws, if He did he would not have been able to pay the price for our sin. Jesus did not change the Law but fulfilled it. You see without Him we could never be with God. After Christ came and lived a perfect live on earth, He chose to be killed and die a sinless life to pay for all the sins of man. Then He rose again, to show that He is God and has the power to conquer death and sin. Now, we sinners can have that same power to over come sin. All we must do is believe that Jesus is God, that he did live and die a perfect sacrifice for our sin. We must confess our sin, and turn from our wicked ways. Often in church, we forget to teach the part about turning from our wicked ways. But , you see if you truly believe Jesus is the Messiah and make Him Lord or your life, than you will have the Holy Spirit come and live in you. The Holy Spirit will then guide you to a life of obedience through Christ’s power in you. So, if you take Jesus as your Messiah then you have the power to over come sin within you. Remember sin is anything we think, say, or do that breaks God’s law. God’s law is found in the whole Bible. It did not change, because God does not change. He is the same, today, yesterday, and tomorrow.
When we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
-Romans 5:6-8
Am I saying that if you don’t obey God’s laws you are living in sin. Yep, and so am I. We are sinners, flawed and imperfect. But, that is OK, because there is a Savior who takes our place. We, none of us, are innocent, but we are forgiven. Choosing to obey His law allows us to have the best life now. See each of the laws God gave His people was and is to help them put Him first in their lives. Each and every rule He gave allowed them to obey the ten commandments. These ten commandments are the foundation to a solid relationship with God. When we obey His commands we put Him first in everything. We put Him and His people above ourselves. What a great gift of love he gave us to show us how to live. And even greater gift is the gift of His son whom through His grace makes it possible for us to obey Him. We can not do anything apart from Christ.
Through this post I have included links to scripture that I believe will help you understand our view. I would encourage you to go back and read each scripture and if you have time read it in context. We have found it best to whenever possible read a complete book of the Bible at one time. This allows us to understand it more fully. I would especially recommend reading Johns three letters in one sitting.
If you want to understand further our view of scripture here is a few links to some teachings we agree with. I will say that I have not listened to all the teachings at this website, so I can not say that we agree with everything found on this site, just the links below. I will continue to post about our beliefs and understanding of scripture here under the category Torah Teachings.
Hey! I agree with you on this. I believe our beliefs are very similar. I’m new to this but since I’ve begun reading about Torah observant it just makes so much sense. I’m happy to meet you. I haven’t found many that I could relate to in this way.
ktmom12 has written:
Dori,
How wonderful that you have begun this journey. YHVH is so kind to us in leading us to Truth if we seek Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. I am hoping to start a series of posts about the fall feasts soon. I am so excited for them this year.
We are Bible believing, scripture only people. We love to learn about the Hebrew roots of our faith. We believe it is important to not add or subtract from the Divine Word of God. The compiled scriptures that agree with one another and have no contradiction is the 66 books of what is commonly referred to as the Christian Bible, or the Holy Bible.
These writings were originally written by men inspired by God. They were written in the language of the writers and readers of the original documents. Many of the original documents have been lost, but God’s Word is eternal and remains. Therefore, it is important to us to study, learn, and consider the culture, history, and language of the original writers of the scriptures.
In our studies we have learned that the true name of God is Yehovah, and His son, our Messiah, is named Yeshua. Therefore, as you read our posts we will use the Hebrew names of God and our Messiah.
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We are Bible believing, scripture only people. We love to learn about the Hebrew roots of our faith. We believe it is important to not add or subtract from the Divine Word of God. The compiled scriptures that agree with one another and have no contradiction is the 66 books of what is commonly referred to as the Christian Bible, or the Holy Bible.
Hey! I agree with you on this. I believe our beliefs are very similar. I’m new to this but since I’ve begun reading about Torah observant it just makes so much sense. I’m happy to meet you. I haven’t found many that I could relate to in this way.
Dori,
How wonderful that you have begun this journey. YHVH is so kind to us in leading us to Truth if we seek Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. I am hoping to start a series of posts about the fall feasts soon. I am so excited for them this year.