B E N B O R N A G A I N . F A I T H

TORAH OBSERVANCE & HEBREW ROOTS

THE RIGHTEOUS SHALL LIVE BY FAITH 

JESUS CHRIST FULFILLED THE OLD COVENANT 

Hebrew Roots and Torah Observant folk turn Jesus into a liar by their common misinterpretation of Matthew 5:17-18, when they falsely teach that this is proof that we are "under" the law:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them BUT TO FULFILL THEM. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, NOT AN IOTA, NOT A DOT, WILL PASS from the Law until ALL IS ACCOMPLISHED."

But much more than a dot/iota HAS changed to the Mosaic Law hasn't it?
For example, we are no longer doing animal sacrifices, there is no longer a Levitical Priesthood, there is no longer a temple as Christ tore the Veil, we are no longer segregating women when they are on their menstrual cycles and we can now touch them and sit where they sat...
So then, since many aspects to the law have obviously changed, is Jesus a liar?
Absolutely Not.
He said NOTHING will change from the law, not even a DOT, until ALL is accomplished. And what was it that he came to accomplish? It was his finished work on the Cross, thus fulfilling the Law, and entering his disciples into the New Covenant, the Law of Love that Jesus himself told us fulfills ALL the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 22:40)
Teaching Christians that they are under the Mosaic Covenant is totally unbiblical and a false gospel. The 613 ordinances in the Mosaic Law are not "eternal commandments." They weren't even given until thousands of years after Adam. Jesus told us himself: "...Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you NOT that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven."
Jesus' half brother and Apostle, James, verified that we are under the New Covenant that he calls the "Law of Liberty" in James 2:12.
The Mosaic Food Laws are not eternal either, and we know this because God told Noah in Genesis 9:3 ".. Every moving thing that lives shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things."

Torah Keepers have to abandon most of the New Testament and utterly misinterpret Jesus in order to make their claims, and have created a cultish break away legalistic denomination similar to the Mormons, Jehova's Witness, and SDA who's sole weak foundations are also falsely based on wildly misinterpreting scripture and denying what Jesus came to accomplish.

WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST'S FINISHED WORK ON THE CROSS

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." -Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)

"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." -Galatians 2:16 (KJV)

The Book of Hebrews strongly warns against returning to Jewish ceremonial laws and rituals, teaching that they were temporary types and shadows pointing to Christ. The New Testament repeatedly emphasizes that Christ has fulfilled the Old Covenant, making its ceremonies obsolete.


ROMANS 13:8
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, 
FOR THE ONE WHO LOVES ANOTHER HAS FULFILLED THE LAW. 

  1. The Old Covenant Was Temporary and Inferior

    • Hebrews 8:13 – "In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away."
    • The writer of Hebrews declares that the Old Covenant, including its feasts, sacrifices, and rituals, is obsolete because Christ has fulfilled it.
  2. The Jewish Feasts and Rituals Were Shadows of Christ

    • Hebrews 10:1 – "For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near."
    • The sacrificial system, the festivals, and the priesthood were shadows pointing to Christ. Now that Christ has come, clinging to these shadows is both unnecessary and a form of spiritual regression.
  3. Jesus Is the Fulfillment of the Feasts and the True Sabbath

    • Colossians 2:16-17 – "Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ."
    • Paul explicitly warns against treating Jewish feast days, dietary laws, and Sabbaths as if they were still spiritually binding. They were symbols pointing to Christ, and to continue observing them in a religious manner denies the sufficiency of His finished work.
  4. Fasting on Yom Kippur Ignores Christ’s Completed Atonement

    • Hebrews 9:12 – "He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption."
    • Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) was a foreshadowing of Christ's perfect atonement. To continue observing it as though it were still spiritually necessary is to diminish the sufficiency of Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice.

JESUS CHANGED WHAT IT MEANS TO REST ON THE SABBATH

Jesus also told us specifically that both He and The Father WORK on the Sabbath (John 5:15-17) which is a very deliberate word to use especially when Exodus 35:2 explicitly tells the Israelites that any WORK on the Sabbath is punished with DEATH. For Jesus to tell us that both He and God the Father "WORK" on the Sabbath, literally using the word WORK, was making a HUGE statement about not keeping Sabbath the traditional way, preparing them for his New Covenant, where we find our "Sabbath rest” in JESUS alone.

"Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him (Jesus) because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God." - JOHN 5:18 (KJV)

  • The Bible tells us that Christ was a spotless lamb (1 Peter 1:19) and knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21)
  • The Bible also tells us that Jesus "BROKE" the "SABBATH" - John 5:18 
    • Breaking: Lexicon: 3089: λύω 2a-John 5:18 "Breaking Commandments, rendering them not binding
    • Sabbath: lexicon: 4521: σάββατον: sabbaton, Meaning: Sabbath)
So now we see that the Bible is telling us that Jesus BROKE the Sabbath and this was NOT A SIN.
In the New Covenant we find rest in JESUS who became our DAILY SABBATH through his finished work on the cross.
We are warned in Numbers 15:32-35 (as a type and shadow) that if we don't put our TOTAL FAITH and REST in Jesus who is our SABBATH, but instead rely on a WORKS based Salvation, then the ultimate price we'll pay is DEATH (eternal death.) This was the entire point of the Old Covenant: to point to Jesus. This is what it means to have the Law written on our hearts. This is what Jesus meant when he said he came to FULFILL the Law, not abolish it. This is why he BROKE the SABBATH as a symbol, as HE is now our SABBATH, within his New Covenant through his finished work on the cross.

RESTING ON THE SABBATH VS. RESTING IN JESUS' BLOOD



THE UNIVERSAL PRIESTHOOD IN CHRIST

Because the Levitical Priesthood no longer exists, and because of this fact, Hebrew Roots groups practice a revised and customized version of the Mosaic Law, adding and subtracting from "The Torah" and therefore create their own man made traditions. 

In Numbers 25:13 we are promised a covenant of a lasting priesthood and yet Hebrew Roots Groups claim there hasn't been a priesthood for almost 2,000 years. But they fail to understand that this issue is reconciled by Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 7:12 points to a change in the priesthood. This change is connected to the inclusion of Gentiles in the priesthood through their identification with Christ as the true high priest in the order of Melchizedek. The book of Hebrews highlights the superiority of Jesus' priesthood in comparison to the Levitical priesthood. Jesus is a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek, as mentioned in Psalm 110:4, which transcends the genealogical and tribal limitations of the Levitical priesthood. 

This change in the priesthood signifies a transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant, which is characterized by a universal priesthood that includes both Jews and Gentiles. The New Testament teaches that all believers, regardless of their ethnic background, become part of a "royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9) through their faith in Jesus Christ. This priesthood of all believers is founded on the unique and eternal priesthood of Jesus, who is the mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 9:15).

The inclusion of Gentiles in the priesthood through their identification with Christ as the true high priest in the order of Melchizedek demonstrates the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises and prophecies about the expanding scope of God's blessings to all nations. This shift from the Levitical priesthood to the universal priesthood in Christ also signifies the fulfillment and transformation of the priesthood, as the eternal nature of the Levitical priesthood is ultimately realized in the eternal priesthood of Jesus.

In this way, the change in the priesthood, as mentioned in Hebrews 7:12, can be understood as the opening up of the priesthood to all believers, including Gentiles, through their union with Christ, who is the ultimate high priest. This change reflects the broader redemptive plan of God to include both Jews and Gentiles as his people and extends the blessings of the priesthood to all nations.




THE LAW IS NOT OF FAITH

"For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith." Galatians 3:10–14