Vernon Gray (24 May 2015)
"Hebrew Roots Movement"

 

Hi folks,
 

This is a long study, but very topical in our time.

 
God Bless,

Vernon


HEBRAIC ROOTS A STUDY

By Vernon Gray

 

“He that is first in his own cause seemeth just;

but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.”

(Proverbs 18:17)

 

Introduction.

This paper is not meant to offend. It is an open, honest assessment of the Scriptures as I see them. I am open to correction because above all else in this matter, I desire truth.

Truth, that is absolute truth is a Person.

He alone is the truth, but He is also the way and without the truth and the way, we cannot have the life. Please feel free to be brutally honest with me and yourself in reading this paper.

 

Hebrew Roots Movement

There are a wide variety of groups and teachers which use the term Hebrew Roots

(or, in some cases, Jewish Roots) to describe an aspect of their ministry. They differ widely in how they apply the term. And they do not all engender the same level of concern, thus it is not accurate to speak of them as if they all belonged to one monolithic movement with a shared theology.

Some Hebrew Roots ministries honestly seem to just be convinced that not enough emphasis is made by the average Bible teacher regarding the Hebrew/Jewish background of Jesus and the culture of the first century, and the connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Thus they direct their teaching to "consciousness-raising" on this topic. They may point out in their writings how often Paul or the Gospel writers quote Old Testament passages. Or they may emphasize how difficult it is to get any sort of grip on New Testament prophecies such as the Book of Revelation without having a background in the books of Daniel and Ezekiel. This certainly is true.
 

This type of ministry is not necessarily harmful and may actually be helpful to those who enjoy detailed Bible Study.
Yet another type of Hebrew Roots ministry may encourage Christians to not only study Jewish customs of the first century (about which extra-Biblical sources of information are very scanty), but study and regularly participate in Jewish customs of the present in order to somehow be more authentically "Christian." They may even imply that this sort of study and participation will lead to "deeper spiritual understanding" which will bring one "closer to God."

Some Hebrew Roots ministries seem convinced that the material in most common Bible helps is just not detailed enough when it comes to first century customs, or understanding Jewish theology that may have affected the New Testament writers.

Thus they have embarked on their own detailed research in Jewish writings such as the Talmud in order to discover more and more information which they believe will shed light on important aspects of Christian life and belief.
  

However, this type of ministry can be misleading, as the writings of the Talmud and other Jewish literature may be as riddled at times with "non-Biblical" material as Gentile pagan sources. The speculations of the Rabbis down through the centuries are just that—speculation. They may have no more insight into exactly what was going on in Old Testament times in the ancient religion of Israel, or in the first century during the time before the destruction of the last Temple, than Protestant commentators who have equal access to the same ancient documents. This kind of problem with jumping to conclusions based on speculation may not necessarily cause great spiritual harm. But if dabbling in this sort of speculation leads to an obsession with wanting to know more and more about more and more obscure information—it can be a major distraction for a Christian.

This type of ministry can very easily distract Christians from the simplicity which is in Jesus. There is absolutely no documentation to establish that most modern Jewish customs were inspired by God, nor that they were even in place in the first century. Many customs have obviously evolved over the centuries, in the same way many Protestant and Catholic customs have evolved.

Those who are trying to avoid pagan superstitious customs in Christian settings by adopting Jewish customs may find that they are merely exchanging one set of

Man-made superstitions for another. In addition, many elements of modern Jewish ritual and thought have obvious mystical and/or occultic roots.

 

It is not surprising that a Christian might look into the Bible and see the Sabbath rest described in the Ten Commandments and conclude that it is applicable to Christians, since Jesus even said that "The Sabbath was made for man"—not just "Made for the Jews."

Most Sabbatarian Christians do not base their Sabbath observance on the customs of the Jews, but on the guidance of scripture. Thus they have very few if any "customs" or "rituals" involved in their Sabbath observance. They merely view it as a blessing from God, resting and being refreshed from their regular work on that day, and perhaps using the day for Christian fellowship and worship.

They may even develop their own "family traditions" over the years for activities they find refreshing on the Sabbath and contribute to family closeness. But these are not confused as being inspired ritual or custom necessary for properly worshipping God.

 

And there is certainly nothing wrong with Messianic Jewish believers choosing to keep the traditional customs of their families as part of their cultural heritage. (Although they may find it helpful to look into the roots of some of the customs and decide if they wish to perpetuate those which have pagan or occultic origins.) But these also should not be confused as being inspired ritual or custom necessary for properly worshipping God. The type of Hebrew Roots teaching that would insist that a variety of man-invented rituals need to be imposed on such observances in order to "get closer to God" or have "deeper spiritual understanding" is a real distraction from the simplicity that is in Jesus.

 

But the above is not the most problematic of the types of Hebrew Roots ministries.
Some Hebrew Roots ministries go beyond mere suggestion that Christians should

"try out" various religious practices and customs of the Jews, and actually teach that the only way to be authentic disciples of Jesus—whom they would refer to by the name they believe He would have used in the first century, something close to "Yahshuah"—is to become Jewish believers in Messiah. This would include adoption of most orthodox Jewish practices such as wearing prayer shawls for worship, wearing blue tassels on the bottoms of a special garment worn at all times, using the traditional Jewish "blessings" throughout the day, and, for some males, even undergoing circumcision if necessary.

All of these things are adopted in order to be more "spiritual" and to be more acceptable to God.


The Allure  

The danger of immersing yourself into the movement is that you could end up exchanging your faith for Bible knowledge. This is a poor trade because “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

Various aspects of the different branches of the Hebrew Roots movement have appeal to diverse audiences. The allure to individuals who come from a Christian Sabbatarian background may be quite different from the allure to individuals of a general Protestant or a specific Charismatic background.

We will consider the appeal to the Sabbatarian Christian first.

 

Christian Sabbatarians, particularly those from a Worldwide Church of God (WCG) and Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) background, may already have a sense of "kinship" with Judaism because of their shared belief in the observance of the weekly Sabbath.

With the breakup of the WCG and SDA in recent years, quite a few former members found themselves without any regular setting for fellowship on the Sabbath, thus many such folks ended up exploring the Messianic Jewish culture.

A large number of Messianic Jewish groups retain little of their Jewish cultural background more than a few surface family customs for the Jewish Holy Days.

They might be more accurately described as Protestants with a few Jewish customs.

 

Concerns  

Those who identify themselves with Hebrew Roots interests which promote any of the following ideas is undermining the simplicity that is in Jesus:

 

In addition, there are some Hebrew Roots ministries which become not just sources of helpful Bible Study information, but rather the central focus of all fellowship and all spiritual education for their supporters. Those which do so risk taking the focus of those supporters from the simplicity which is in Jesus, and from daily walking in the Spirit and truth, and shifting them to a constant search for more and more intellectual knowledge that is not applicable to their walk.
  

 Nuggets of Truth

 A number of principles emphasized by many Hebrew Roots ministries are absolutely true. To the extent that these principles have been ignored by "mainstream Christianity," their re-introduction into the consciousness of Christians is valuable.
  

The Church—the Body of Christ—founded by Jesus, which He promised to build, and which He promised to never leave or forsake, was indeed an outgrowth not of pagan religion, but of the religion of the Old Testament.

The moral guidelines by which Christians understand the will of God for their behavior are, for instance, based on the principles found in the Law given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Jesus and the writers of the New Testament quoted the Old Testament extensively as authoritative when seeking to establish the basis for many of their teachings.

Some facets of the historical religious system that eventually came to be called Christianity have indeed been affected over the centuries by the influence of Gentile, pagan beliefs and customs. The careful student of the Bible should be able to identify those elements of his own belief system and observances which are based clearly on the scriptures of the Old and New Testament, and those elements which are man-made additions. What he chooses to do with this understanding is certainly between him and his Lord. But he can only make informed decisions if he has accurate information

 

The New Testament was written in Greek NOT Hebrew.

Nowhere in the Bible in either Old or New Testaments is Jesus referred to as “Yashua,” and nowhere is God referred to as “Yaweh.”

In fact the name for Jesus in the original Greek is “Iesous.”

Matthew 1: 25 “And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.” (Iesous)

If we wanted to be strict about pronunciation of the Lords name we should then in fact call Him IESOUS.

But we are english speaking, and Iesous has been anglicized to “Jesus.”

One might argue that the word for a certain portion of beef is called “FILLET,” and fillet is a French word. True, but it is now also an English word which came from the time when France ruled Britain.

 

A word on the Hebrew language.

The Hebrew Roots Movement claims falsely that the original Gospels were written in Hebrew, or possibly Aramaic, and that the Greek New Testament is a mere translation and in some cases a miss-translation of the Hebrew or Aramaic originals. They have even gone so far (some of them) to conclude that Paul’s writings where he addressed the heresy they teach, were re-written by Rome and are not authentic.

Of course they cannot prove this, but it is enough to cast doubt in their adherents and justify themselves in their error.

 

The Canon of Scripture is closed and preserved by the Lord in the Greek language. Whether Christians are from Jewish backgrounds or not, we must all recognize the authority of God’s Word, as given to us in the Canon of Holy Scripture.

No other books can or should be added to this Canon.

While Catholics also add to the Canon of Scripture extra-biblical books and teach much apostasy, the same pattern is seen in the Hebrew Roots Movement as seen in Catholicism. Both add works to divine grace making the grace of Christ of no effect.

The Bible is divinely inspired by God from Genesis to Revelation, no other writings are necessary for understanding the Bible. The Holy Spirit reveals the Word to us and we do not need that any man teach us. No other authority can be accepted.

Jewish extra-biblical writings do NOT enlighten Christians as to the “hidden meanings” of Scripture. The deep things of God are shown to surrendered Christians by the Holy Spirit opening Scripture and making the Bible plain!

 

Having said that, the Hebrew language was a dead language for almost 1500 years.

Up until a century ago Hebrew was not a spoken language. Hebrew had ceased to be an everyday spoken language by around 200 AD, and survived into the medieval period only as the language of Jewish liturgy and rabbinic literature.

Ashkenazi Jewish communities generally spoke Yiddish (a combination of Hebrew and German), while Sephardic Jews spoke Ladino (a combination of Hebrew and Spanish).

Of course, Jewish communities also spoke the native language of whatever countries they were living in. Jews still used Hebrew (and Aramaic) during prayer services, but Hebrew was not used in everyday conversation.

That all changed when a man named Eliezer Ben-Yehuda made it his personal mission to revive Hebrew as a spoken language. He believed it was important for the Jewish people to have their own language if they were to have their own land.

 

In 1880 he said: “in order to have our own land and political life… we must have a Hebrew language in which we can conduct the business of life.”

Ben-Yehuda had studied Hebrew while a Yeshiva student and was naturally talented with languages. When his family moved to Palestine they decided that only Hebrew would be spoken in their home – no small task, since Hebrew was an ancient language that lacked words for modern things like “coffee” “computer” or “newspaper.”

Ben-Yehuda set about creating hundreds of new words using the roots of Biblical Hebrew words as a starting point. Eventually he published a modern dictionary of the Hebrew language that became the basis of the Hebrew language today.

Ben-Yehuda is often referred to as the father of Modern Hebrew.

 

Modern Hebrew is now the language of 5.3 million people worldwide, mainly in Israel.

Modern Hebrew is one of the two official languages of Israel (the other being Arabic), while Classical Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jewish communities around the world today. Ancient Hebrew is also the liturgical tongue of the Samaritans, while modern Hebrew or Arabic is their vernacular. As a foreign language, it is studied mostly by Jews and students of Judaism and Israel, and by archaeologists and linguists specializing in the Middle East and its civilizations, as well as by theologians, and in Christian seminaries.

Consider the following verse… “For then I will return to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent.” (Zephaniah 3:9)

The Hebrew spoken today certainly falls into this category.

 

The Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible), and most of the rest of the Hebrew Bible, is written in Classical Hebrew, and much of its present form is specifically the dialect of Biblical Hebrew that scholars believe flourished around the 6th century BC, around the time of the Babylonian exile. For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by Jews as Leshon HaKodesh (לֶשׁוֹן הֲקוֹדֶשׁ), "The Holy Language", since ancient times.

Standard Hebrew, as developed by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, was based on Mishnaic spelling and Sephardi Hebrew pronunciation.

However, the earliest speakers of Modern Hebrew had Yiddish as their native language and often brought into Hebrew idioms and literal translations from Yiddish.

The pronunciation of modern Israeli Hebrew is based mostly on the Sephardic Hebrew pronunciation. However, the language has adapted to Ashkenazi Hebrew phonology in some respects, mainly the following:

the elimination of pharyngeal articulation in the letters chet (ח) and ayin (ע) by many speakers. The conversion of (ר) /r/ from an alveolar flap [ɾ] to a voiced uvular fricative [ʁ] or uvular trill [ʀ], by most of the speakers, like in most varieties of standard German or Yiddish.

The pronunciation (by many speakers) of tzere ֵ as [eɪ] in some contexts (sifrey and teysha instead of Sephardic sifré and tésha)

The partial elimination of vocal Shva ְ (zman instead of Sephardic zĕman)

In popular speech, penultimate stress in proper names (Dvóra instead of Dĕvorá; Yehúda instead of Yĕhudá) and some other words similarly in popular speech, penultimate stress in verb forms with a second person plural suffix (katávtem "you wrote" instead of kĕtavtém).

 

In Israel, Modern Hebrew is currently taught in institutions called Ulpanim (singular: Ulpan). There are government owned as well as private Ulpanim offering online courses and face-to-face programs. It might be helpful to consider the following passage from

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 “For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.

And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;

To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.

To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.”

 

Paul tried not to do anything that would distract from his message, but respected the customs and traditions of those he was with.

As for the incident he was on trial for in Acts 24, the episode actually began in Acts 21 when Paul arrived in Jerusalem. He went to see James and all the elders. 

They informed him of the rumors being spread against him and advised him to go to the temple with some other men, join in their purification rites, and pay their expenses. 

By having him do this, they were hoping to dispel these rumors, but their plan backfired.  As soon as Paul was discovered he was mobbed and beaten and finally arrested.

Acts 24:17 is a single verse from Paul’s defense in his subsequent trial before Felix and is not an accurate representation of his beliefs.

 

Titus 1:9 – 16  “Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.

One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.

This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.

Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.”

 

Those of the Hebrew Roots belief hold strongly to the teaching that Christ's death on the cross did not end the Mosaic Covenant, but instead renewed it, expanded its message, and wrote it on the hearts of His true followers. They teach that the understanding of the New Testament can only come from a Hebrew perspective and that the teachings of the Apostle Paul are not understood clearly or taught correctly by Christian pastors today. Many affirm the existence of an original Hebrew-language New Testament and, in some cases, denigrate the existing New Testament text written in Greek. This becomes a subtle attack on the reliability of the text of our Bible. If the Greek text is unreliable and has been corrupted, as is charged by some, the Church no longer has a standard of truth.

 

 

Messianic groups share a few specific concepts in common.  

Messianic Groups emphasize that Jesus of Nazareth was a Jew, and his original apostles and disciples were Jewish. The logical conclusion they draw from this is that, in order to fully understand the life and teachings of Jesus, it is necessary to understand the Jewish culture in which He lived in the first century.

They emphasize that the authentic Christian way of life and beliefs, and the writings of the New Testament, are not an outgrowth of pagan religions, but an outgrowth of the religion of the collection of writings called by the Jews the Tanakh and by the Christians the Old Testament.

They emphasize that the New Testament is not a separate document unrelated to the Old Testament, but rather a continuation of the Old Testament, making one whole collection of writings Christians refer to as The Bible.

They emphasize that much of the New Testament, from the Gospels to the Epistles of Paul to the Book of Revelation, cannot be understood fully without realizing how much in it either directly quotes or makes clear allusions to people, places, events, ideas, and prophecies in the Old Testament.

The fundamental belief of the Hebrew Roots movement is that, according to them the Christian Church has veered far from the true teachings and Hebrew concepts of the Bible. The movement maintains that Christianity has been indoctrinated with the culture and beliefs of Greek and Roman philosophy and that ultimately Biblical Christianity, taught in Churches today, has been corrupted with a pagan imitation of the New Testament Gospels.
One of the favorite tactics used by people who can’t find support for their beliefs in the Bible is to say it isn’t translated correctly. And yet the best scholars of each generation have poured over the ancient manuscripts to give the most accurate translations possible. Also there are over 5600 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament and cross checking has shown their consistency to be over 99%.  In other words all these ancient Greek manuscripts essentially say the same thing.   For additional support there are 19,000 early manuscripts in other languages. This exceeds the manuscript base for any other ancient book by a very wide margin.

A reasonable person would conclude that for all practical purposes our New Testament is an accurate rendering of these manuscripts. 

 

Therefore the only conclusions we can draw are that either…

1) all these scholars have been mistaken in similar ways in their translation efforts, or

2) they’ve all participated in a massive conspiracy to mislead us that has spanned 2,000 years, or

3) the people who say the Bible is translated incorrectly because it doesn’t support their position are wrong.

This doesn’t even take into consideration the fact that the Bible is the Word of God, so He would have to permit it to be falsified and let 50 generations of sincere believers who trusted it be lost.  Remember, His word is all He has given us for this age.  Do these people expect us to believe He would let this happen after going to such extremes to save us?

 

The Hebrew Roots Movement hold to the teaching that Christ's death on the cross did not end the Mosaic Covenant, but instead renewed it, expanded its message, and wrote it on the hearts of His true followers. There is an emphasis on calling the New Covenant the “Newer Covenant.”

They teach that a true understanding of the New Testament can only come from a Hebrew perspective and that the teachings of the Apostle Paul are not understood clearly or taught correctly by Christian pastors today.

Many affirm the existence of an original Hebrew language New Testament and, in some cases, denigrate the existing New Testament text written in Greek.

This becomes a subtle attack on the reliability of the text of our Bible. If the Greek text is unreliable and has been corrupted, as is charged by some, the Church no longer has a standard of truth.

They often refer to themselves as "Followers of The Way". “Because of our love for Israel and the Jewish people, most believers would not want to attack a Jewish person who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.”

 

This is due to several reasons:

 

The Hebraic Roots Movement is a group that accepts Jesus as their Messiah.

The problem arises when they attempt to retain the Jewish Laws (Torah) relating to Sabbath keeping, dietary laws and such things. This can be the beginning of the Judaizing of the Christian Church as was the case in the Book of Galatians.

The influence of this movement is working its way into our Churches and our seminaries.

 

Here are a few aberrant observances required by some of these groups…

 

1Corinthians 7:18 – 20  “Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.”       

Could it be that the Hebrew Roots organizations are becoming the modern equivalent of the Judaizers who followed the Apostle Paul from city to city, spying on the NT believers' liberty in Christ and striving to pervert the Gospel and cause confusion among the Early Christians. When these Judaizers sought to draw the Christians of the Galatian Church back under the Judaic Religious System, Paul warned the Galatian Church to not give credence to their arguments for they were perverting the Gospel of Christ.

The very term “Messianic Judaism” is void of anything Christian.

Attention to Jewish tradition and culture began with Paul and our Lord.

Jesus said “Behold your house is left unto you desolate.” (Matthew 23: 38)

Would one think from this statement that Jesus was advocating that the Christian should look to the Pharisees for instruction in the Faith?

Paul too discredited the Judaizers going so far as to pronounce a curse on them or anyone else who preached any Gospel that was different from the Gospel that he preached. Paul even rebuked Peter publically for being a respecter of persons in his Jewish sympathies.

Notice Romans 10: 1, 2 “Brethern, my hearts desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. For I bear record that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.”

Nowhere in Scripture do we see that Jesus or any of the apostles recommend that we resort to the traditions of first century Jewry for training in righteousness.

Jesus said of the Pharisees, “…making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.”

 

For those genuine souls who have joined one of the Hebraic Roots Fellowships the process of indocteination is subtle and more or less follows the following pattern…

First, we are just being asked to acknowledge the "possible" superiority of the Jewish system of interpretation (midrash) in contrast to the so-called "obvious" flaws in the Protestant system of Biblical interpretation.

Next, we are asked to consider how pleasing to God it would be if we would just observe a few of the feasts of the Old Testament: They say, "After all, they were instituted by God!".

Having gone that far, it is only another inch away to have an altar of incense in your own Church, and while you're at it, why not blow a shofar to announce the beginning of the next revival? (All of these things are now and already being done by some supposedly orthodox Protestant Churches).

 

It is commonly stated by these groups…

You can make a more  faithful  and "purer" exercise of your faith, if you go all the way. Whatsoever you do, do with all of your might, right? Don't you think it would be good if you men would cover your head when you are in worship, as they do in every synagogue and in many "messianic" congregations?

And don't forget that we are already being reminded that Jesus Himself wore a prayer shawl. You do want to look like Jesus did, don't you?

Now that you have entered the realm of serious reverence and observation of the "holy", don't you think that you should honour Yeshua by His correct name?

Paul the apostle is now being called "Rabbi Paul" a title never assigned to him in the New Testament.

G-d, (they claim) is the proper spelling for the title of deity; please do not transgress by actually spelling it out like the irreverent have done in the past: how pretentious of them that they dare to pronounce the "ineffable vowel"!

“Have you heard yet what those Christian scholars have done to your Bible?

They have lied to you! They didn't tell you that your New Testament was originally written in Hebrew (not Greek): and that (of course) is why you don't really understand it! Don't worry, you will soon be able to get your own copy of the New Testament that has been reconstituted back into the Hebrew from the Greek and then retranslated back into English for you. And don't forget: Sabbath starts at sun-down on Friday.”

 

But Paul says in… Galatians 3:28  “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

One is either a Christian or a Jew…you cannot be both.

The insistence that “Y’shua” is the correct name for Jesus Christ is spurious because Paul called Him “Iesous,” His Greek name. Was Paul also wrong? Is God offended by our english language?

I think the “Sacred Name” issue is straining on a gnat and swallowing a camel.

Any reference to “law” or “commandment” is said to be a direct reference to the Torah.

This is simply not true; or at least a half truth.

Galatians 5:18  “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”

As opposed to what the Hebrew roots movement claims, the New Testament teachings of the Apostle Paul are perfectly clear and self-explanatory.

 

Colossians 2:16-17 tells us, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come but the body is of Christ.”

Romans 14:5 states, “One man esteemeth on day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.”

 We (as Gentile believers) were not grafted into the Law and Judaism but into the faith of Abraham which preceded the Law and Jewish customs (Romans 4, Romans 11:17-24, Galatians 3:15-18). The law was given because of transgressions and to be our tutor to lead us to Christ (Galatians 3:19,24,25).

Jesus fulfilled all of the requirements of the law (Matthew 5:17-20) for all time (John 19:30, Romans 5:12-21).

We were “made to die to the Law through the body of Christ” so that we might be joined to Him (Romans 7:1-6, Galatians 2:19,21) because Christ is “the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4).

You mature in Christ and please Him by the same means by which you were saved…by faith…not by following the Law.

 

 A Caution to moderate Hebrew Roots ministries:  

Those ministries which identify themselves as part of the Hebrew Roots movement, but who sincerely wish to avoid any of the excesses and deceptions of some of the others in the movement, need to perhaps consider carefully any joint efforts with other Hebrew Roots ministries whose agenda is not totally clear. If they are not careful, they could find themselves unwittingly promoting anti-Christian speakers.

 

And they also need to consider carefully joint projects with other groups which may show interest in Hebrew Roots concepts. It would appear from a number of conference speaking lists across America that Hebrew Roots interests are making strange religious bedfellows. Some within the hyper-charismatic movement, for instance, are arranging conferences which include Hebrew Roots speakers on the same schedule with representatives of the most radical edges of the Charismatic movement.

 

Galatians 3:1-4 “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain--if indeed it was in vain?”

No where in the Bible do we find Gentile believers being instructed to follow Levitical laws or Jewish customs. In fact, just the opposite. However, we do find several examples where Jewish Christians are reprimanded for trying to convince Gentile Christians to follow the Law (Acts 15, Galatians, Romans 14, Titus 1).

Those in the Hebrew Roots cult have stumbled over the Great Stumbling Block (1 Corinthians 1:23,24, Galatians 5:11). This heresy goes all the way back to the first century but like a bad penny it keeps turning up every few centuries. Beware of those who come to you professing to educate you about your Hebrew roots in order to “make you a better Christian” or to “restore your Biblical Hebrew heritage.” Question them closely concerning these heresies to prevent them from being introduced into your churches and families (as they have been introduced into mine).

 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.” (Galatians 3:28,29)

 

Romans 2:17-21 “But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself?”

1 Timothy 1:3, 6-10 “As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines…For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions. But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching.”

 

2 Peter 2:1 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.”

There are aspects of the Hebrew Roots teachings that certainly can be beneficial; this is the problem. It can be used in a negative way in order to Judaize the Body of Christ.  Seeking to explore the Jewish culture and perspective, within which most of the Bible was written, opens and enriches our understanding of the Scriptures, adding insight and depth to many of the passages, parables and idioms. There is nothing wrong with Gentiles and Jews joining together in celebrating the feasts and enjoying a Messianic style of worship. Taking part in these events and learning the way in which the Jews understood the teachings of our Lord can be a tool, giving us greater effectiveness in our approach to reach the unbelieving with the gospel.

Galatians 5:4  “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.”

 

Galatians 2:21 “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”

 

Acts 3:6 “Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.”

 

Acts 4:8 – 12   “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,

9) If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;

10 ) Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

11)  This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

12)  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

 

Philippians 2:8 – 12   “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

9)  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10)  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11)  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

12)  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

 

Even in Israel the pronunciation of certain words were different from region to region. Look at Judges 12:5  “And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay; Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.”

 

The Torah observing Christian

Some Hebrew Roots adherents advocate that the first five books of the Bible are of greater importance than any other Scripture because they came directly from the mouth of God to Moses.

How then do you explain 2Timothy 3:16, 17  “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

 

Romans 3:31  “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.”

We all agree that the law is not done away with in that it is there for our learning as an example; but we are not required to observe the law. Moreover we are not required to observe the Torah in order to be righteous before God.

Why some go back to the law

The reason why some people go back to the law is because the law gives you a measurable sense of righteousness. You can tick off from a list the laws you have kept; you can keep score on how you are doing.

Keeping the law removes all the aspects of relying on God to produces fruit in you which is dependant on the submission and the yielding of your will to God’s will.

As you obey God and walk in the Spirit you will produce fruit, but if you are relying on your ability to keep the law you are externalizing your spirituality.

This is not what God requires of the believer. Our spirituality is dependant on the Holy Spirit working on the inside, not working from the outside by keeping  to a  list  and thereby trying to be righteous before God. We are required to keep the law of Christ.

Walking in the Spirit is a more intangible thing. It keeps us in a place of humility, neediness and submission to God. There can even be an uncertainty  when we relinquish ourselves into God’s hands.

 

Are we to expose ourselves to His will completely?

Can we be naked before God and submit to His leading no matter what the consequences?

For instance, are we willing to be truthful in every word to everyone around us?

Can we be truthful even if it means losing something important to us like money?

This is walking in the Spirit.

Keeping a set of rules is much simpler and a whole lot more comforting because we can quantify our progress.

Keeping the law was required by God for Israel in the Old Covenant which was good and perfect for the purpose it was required. No one could come to God without the keeping of the law, but now that Jesus Christ has come and paid the price for our sins on the cross we are required to maintain a different path to be righteous before God. That path is to walk in the Spirit by faith and yield our heart mind and soul to the Christ within us on a daily, moment by moment basis.

The law remains good even now, but its purpose is to bring us the place where we acknowledge that we cannot keep the law in order to fully righteous before God. We need something outside of ourselves, apart from ourselves to bring us to righteousness before God.

Your righteousness should come as a result from a personal relationship with Jesus, not as a result of you keeping certain commands as it was in the Old Testament times.

When we rely on God to do a work on the inside of us, it ultimately manifests on the outside as righteousness. The law cannot do this.

The law of Chist is more precise, more exacting and more demanding than the Mosiac Law. Righteousness cannot be internalized by rule keeping, it can only be externalized by trusting the Holy Spirit to produce good fruit from within us.

 

We have the law of Christ.

The ten commandments for instance were given for the Jews to observe, and Christians are not required to observe them because the ten commandments are in fact included in the law of Christ.

Another point worth noting here is that one could keep the ten commandments and still sin. How?

There was no law in the ten commandments that are against what you harboured in your heart.

A man could look at a woman with lust, but still be keeping the ten commandments.

In the New Testament we are to bring every thought into captivity.

This goes beyond the law to not commit adultry.

How many Christians keep the Sabbath? Aside from a few fringe groups who miss the point of the Sabbath, we are instructed by Paul in Colossians 2:14 - 17 “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. ”

 

Hebrews 7:12  “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.”

DOES THE LAW REMAIN UNCHANGED FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT? NO!

A change was made in Christ who fulfilled the law perfectly.]

 

Which carries more weight, the Torah or the New Testament?

Hebrews 7:22  “By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.”

The key word in the book of Hebrews is the word is “Better” mentioned 12 times and implied several more times.

The New Testament is better in every way to the Old Testament because much of the Prophecies, Feasts and Laws were fulfilled in Christ.

 

Matthew 5:17 – 19  “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

18)  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

19)  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

 

This is true, however Heb 8: 6 - 9  tells us “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, [ the Old Testament was inadequate. It covered sin and could not wash it away.] then should no place have been sought for the second.

For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. ”

 

Hebrews 9:10, 11  “Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;”

 

Yashuah?

The name Yashuah is not derived from the Greek Aramaic or Hebrew translations.

It is a modern invention derived from the modern version of Hebrew that Eliezer

Ben-Yahuda worked on and revived in the 1800’s.

Was this the Hebrew spoken by Jesus and the Apostles? Nope. We simply do not know exactly how the language sounded.

 

I say “Thing” and “Thirty Three and a Third”

My Irish neighbour says “Ting” and “Turty Tree and a Turd.”

But my Afrikaans friend says “Fing” and “ Furty Free and a Furd.”

In 2000 years from now which pronunciation will be remembered as the correct one?

 

A caution for Bible believing Christians…Titus 1: 9 – 14  “Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:

Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.

One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.

This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;

Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.”

 

And lets not forget 2 Timothy 3:1 – 7 “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,

Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

 

If we are to pronounce Jesus’ name as “Yashua” then we must apply all Scripture just as strictly. We cannot pick and choose those issues that promote our pet prejudices.

For instance we see in…

Galatians 3:27 – 29  “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28)  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

29)  And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

 

And in Colossians 3:9 – 11  “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

10)  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

11)  Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.”

 

In Ephesians 2:11-22 Paul spoke of the unity of the Church. 

He said one purpose in sending God’s Son to die for our sins was to make “one new man out of the two.”  That means He took some who were formerly Jews and some who were formerly Gentiles and created a new race of mankind called the Church.

This is why Paul  said in Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek (gentile), slave nor free,  male nor female for we are all one in Christ Jesus.”

The Messianic and Hebraic Roots movements are creations of mankind. 

There’s an ongoing effort by some in these movements to distinguish themselves from Gentile believers,  but the above verses show that in God’s eyes they are part of the Church whether they choose to see themselves as such or not.

If you are a Christian why would you call yourself a “Messianic Jew” if there is no such thing in Christ? If there is such a thing, you cannot (or should not) call yourself a Christian.

You have to make up your mind whether you are a Christian or a “Messianic Jew.”

In straining on a gnat they have swallowed a camel.

 

Which name is it?

Some people claim that our Lord should not be referred to as "Jesus." Instead, we should only use the name "Yeshua." Some even go so far as to say that calling Him "Jesus" is blasphemous. Others go into great detail about how the name "Jesus" is unbiblical because the letter J is a modern invention and there was no letter J in Greek or Hebrew.



 Yeshua is the Hebrew name, and its English spelling is "Joshua." Iesous is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name, and its English spelling is "Jesus." Thus, the names "Joshua" and "Jesus" are essentially the same; both are English pronunciations of the Hebrew and Greek names for our Lord. (For examples of how the two names are interchangeable, see Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8 in the KJV. In both cases, the word Jesus refers to the Old Testament character Joshua.)



 Changing the language of a word does not affect the meaning of the word. We call a bound and covered set of pages a "book." In German, it becomes a buch. In Spanish, it is a libro; in French, a livre. The language changes, but the object itself does not. As Shakespeare said, "That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet" (Romeo and Juliet, II:i). In the same way, we can refer to Jesus as "Jesus," "Yeshua," or "YehSou" (Cantonese) without changing His nature. In any language, His name means "The Lord Is Salvation."



 As for the controversy over the letter J, it is much ado about nothing. It is true that the languages in which the Bible was written had no letter J. But that doesn't mean the Bible never refers to "Jerusalem." And it doesn't mean we cannot use the spelling "Jesus." If a person speaks and reads English, it is acceptable for him to spell things in an English fashion. Spellings can change even within a language: Americans write "Savior," while the British write "Saviour." The addition of a u (or its subtraction, depending on your point of view) has nothing to do with whom we're talking about. Jesus is the Savior, and He is the Saviour. Jesus and Yeshuah and Iesus are all referring to the same Person.



 The Bible nowhere commands us to only speak or write His name in Hebrew or Greek. It never even hints at such an idea. Rather, when the message of the gospel was being proclaimed on the Day of Pentecost, the apostles spoke in the languages of the "Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene" (Acts 2:9-10). In the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was made known to every language group in a way they could readily understand. Spelling did not matter.



 We refer to Him as "Jesus" because, as English-speaking people, we know of Him through English translations of the Greek New Testament. Scripture does not value one language over another, and it gives no indication that we must resort to Hebrew when addressing the Lord. The command is to "call on the name of the Lord," with the promise that we "shall be saved" (Acts 2:21; Joel 2:32). Whether we call on Him in English, Korean, Hindi, or Hebrew, the result is the same: the Lord is salvation.

Malachi 1:11.  “For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense (prayer/worship) shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering (spirit and in truth): for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.”

 

Whose name do we call out to when we want to be saved?   In whose name are we sent?  In whose name do we pray, preach, teach, and exercise divine authority?

 

Is it ...  Jeshua, Yeshua, Yeshuah, Yehshua, Yehshuah, YESHUA, YESHUAH, YEHSHUA, YEHSHUAH, Yeshouah,  Y'shua, Y'shuah, Jeshu, Yeshu, Yehoshua, Yehoshuah, YHVHShua, YHVHShuah, Yhvhshua, Yhwhshua, YHWHShua, YHWHShuah, Yhvhshuah, Yhwhshuah, Yahvehshua, Yahwehshua, Yahvehshuah, Yahwehshuah, Jahshua, Jahshuah, Jashua, Jashuah, Jahoshua, Jahoshuah, Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Yashua, Yashuah, Yahshua, Yahshuah, YAHSHUA, YAHSHUAH, YASHUA, YASHUAH, Yahushua, Yahushuah, Yahoshua, Yahoshuah, Yaohushua, YAOHUSHUA, Yaohushuah,  Iahoshua, Iahoshuah, Iahushua, or Iahushuah??

 

Matthew 28: 18-19. “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost...”

 

What name have believers been commanded to teach and baptize in? ...   The same Person whom all power in heaven and earth was given to ...  a Jewish man named JESUS! In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is the name of Jesus which is Christ, God's anointed one who came in the flesh.

Proof? ...  Then go to the Book of Acts (where the words of Jesus were being demonstrated by the apostles and early church) and you will see every baptism of the true Way was done in the name of Jesus, as was all the preaching, teaching, deliverances, healings and miracles.

 

Deuteronomy 28:10.  “And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.”

 

Still not convinced!? ...  Why is it then the name presented and exalted in the Authorized 1611 English Bible is the most attacked name in society?  Why is it the most degraded and spat upon name around the world, uttered as a malignant byword by millions, over and over again, every single day?  Why don't you hear the name of another god like Allah or Buddah being continually down graded? 

Why is not the name Yahweh being cursed, consciously or unconsciously, by the worlds masses?

Because Jesus' name is the most precious name in heaven and earth, and should be treasured above all names, as the only name behind the Person who rendered Satan powerless and broke the chains of sin and death.  It is the only name where life and death hang in the balances between whether we deny Him or confess Him.  It is the only name where freedom or bondage is in the power of praising His Name or cursing it.

 

Matthew 1:21. “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

 

Therefore,  the Name Jesus (derived from Joshua - Jehovah saves) as Christ (the Anointed One), the English name taken from the Greek (as the New Testament was written in Greek, the universal language of its day) is the hallowed name of God coming in the flesh.  The same Name exalted as the Name above every other name; as the only name whereby man can be saved; as the true and relevant name today ...  that whosoever shall call upon the name, shall find salvation and favour with his Maker.

His name is JESUS!

 

One final thought on the name of Jesus.

What is the name above all names that is blasphemed amongst men? It is not Yashua, it is “Jesus” or “Jesus Christ.”

Universally that name is used in a blasphemous way. This is no accident, the enemy knows our Lord and Saviour personally and his  influence over unregenerated men always brings them to blaspheme the name “Jesus.”

They never blaspheme the name Mohammed or Allah or Buddah or Yashua; it is always “Jesus.” I think that the reason for this is that the enemy knows that name is the only name given among men whereby they might be saved.

 

God Bless,

Vernon.

 

grayworxx@gmail.com