Because it may appear that I have been picking on Christianity lately, I thought it might be a nice change to spread my concerns out a little bit… :>)
Please understand that I am NOT pursuing a position of some kind of a finger pointing prophet. It is not my intention to just be critical. I do love those who love The Name and serve MESSIAH as Savior and Master, whether they are traditional Christians or traditional Messianics! I was a traditionalist for nearly thirty years myself. However, now that I am pursuing a more biblical Christianity, and having more contact with folks in the various expressions of Messianic Judaism, I find it fascinating that the same types of “traditionalism” exist among Messianics just as it exists in traditional Christianity!
When YHWH began to open my eyes to the traditions of Christianity which are the result of additions to & or subtractions from HIS Word, I was amazed! At first I didn’t want to believe that it was such a big deal. But as I studied HIS Word I realized that practices derived from additions / subtractions were the VERY REASONS that HE finally expelled Israel & Judah from HIS Land!!! That’s HUGE! As you read through the Prophets, you will see that THE most prominent accusation that each Prophet has is that Israel & Judah had forsaken HIS Commandments, Law, Statutes and Ordinances. And as a result, they became involved in various forms of idolatry, sexual immorality, paganism, etc. The Prophet’s message is simply calling them back to HIS Torah, HIS Commandments!
What is so hard about believing what YHWH has said and sticking with that??? What is it that drives us against submitting to HIS Word alone? Why do we think that we can add a little bit here, subtract a little bit there, and HE will be fine with it? It appears that the Mishnah of Judaism is similar to the Commentaries of Christianity! (See article “Which Law Do You Follow?”)
Well when we finally admitted that we were guilty of placing more emphasis on what our pastors/teachers were saying than we were on what GOD says, we began to distance ourselves from non-biblical traditions. Our Messianic acquaintances via the internet and even locally were thrilled to hear that we had “seen the light” and were more than willing to lend us a hand as we struggled with the aftermath of our decision. We were very appreciative and welcomed their input, understanding that we were the “new kids on the block” and had much to learn. However, we soon learned that what many of them wanted to teach us was not so much what the Scriptures have to say, but what their sages, rabbis and Messianic teachers, (whose teachings are found in the Jewish Mishnah) had to say…
We attended Messianic meetings, read books by Messianic authors and watched lengthy video teachings by Messianic teachers. The fellowship here even hosted a Messianic seminar in hopes of gaining a better understanding of their theology and practices. It all helped us realize that non-biblical practices are not unique to traditional Christianity. That was kind of discouraging…
I hope to address more in upcoming articles, but here are a couple of examples of their continued traditional beliefs that we could NOT substantiate in the Scriptures:
Grafted Into Israel Or Messiah
Citing Romans 11:17-18, I’ve been told that “we gentiles are grafted into Israel”
“And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18do not boast against the branches.”
My response is that it says “among them,” not “into them.”
Please notice that it says that we “were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root” not that they are the root.
I believe that we (believing Jews and believing Gentiles) comprise “the two” that Paul mentions in Ephesians 2:15 “…so as to create in Himself one new man from the two…”,
Please notice that it says “in Himself”, not “in Israel.” (Please read Ephesians 2 taking note of the number of times “in Christ, in Him, in Himself, through Him, etc. is stated.)
This conversation typically digresses to the suggestion that I must be “anti-Semitic” because, they say, I “must have some gentile aversion to Jews and still carry some Greco/Roman perspective that causes me not to see the truth.” I am not anti-Semitic. I AM however, anti-Anything that is NOT according to the Scriptures, and cannot find that “gentiles are grafted into Israel” in the Scriptures! It is also too close to the anti-Torah traditions of Judaism that YESHUA and Paul were constantly contending with in the Scriptures. (See Matthew 15, Acts 15, Galatians, etc) Though traditional Christianity has mistaken these texts to mean that YESHUA and Paul are referring to The Law (Torah) of GOD, I am regularly blessed to hear from Christians who are waking up to the fact that these scriptures are referring to the non-Torah traditions of Judaism (additions to / subtractions from The Law of GOD), such as their prescribed hand washing techniques and mandatory circumcising of gentile believers to become a part of Judah in order for them to be truly saved.
Four Cup Seder
Another Messianic tradition dogmatically practiced is the four cup Seder ceremony of Passover. It is even being practiced by President Obama in The White House, according to a recent article in NY Times. But does that make it biblical? Though it is a beautiful ritual full of history, blessings and lots of interaction, it cannot be found in the Scriptures. In fact according to research by Joshua Kulp of the Schechter Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, “Emerging methods in the study of rabbinic literature now enable greater precision in dating the individual components of the Passover Seder and Haggadah. These approaches, both textual and socio-historical, have led to a near consensus among scholars that the Passover Seder as described in rabbinic literature did not yet exist during the Second Temple period. Hence, cautious scholars no longer seek to find direct parallels between the last supper as described in the Gospels and the rabbinic seder.” His paper goes on to substantiate that the various rituals in the Seder actually came from Greco/Romanism! :>) Isn’t that interesting?
So, it appears that there are certain practices among those who profess to follow MESSIAH YESHUA, in both Messianic and Christian circles, that are not biblical and therefore must be left behind. I pray that both would reconsider these examples mentioned in light of the Scriptures and commit to only those that are sanctified in/through those Scriptures. In YESHUA…
