Are you a Believer? If so, then you probably follow the Torah…or at least part of it.
Wait, what? I thought that we have grace now. What do you mean modern believers should follow the Torah? The Torah was done away with. Right?
Perhaps you don’t know what the word “Torah” means. Maybe you have never heard of it before. What is the Torah and why is it important to those who call themselves believers?
Torah is the Hebrew word that is defined as “teaching” or “instruction.” In general, Torah is also a reference to the first five books of your Scriptures – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy – collectively known as the Pentateuch. In these books are the instructions of Yahuah. But the Torah is also laid out to us in the Prophets and Writings, such as Isaiah, Daniel, Proverbs and Psalms. In fact, the Torah instructions run all throughout the Old Testament.
“For I gave you good instruction. Do not forsake my Torah.” – Proverbs 4:2
The word “Torah” is often translated as “nomos” in the Greek and “law” in the English. But the actual definition is more appropriately “teaching” or “instruction.” – (Strongs 8451). It is the “straight path” that one is to take in life.
Often in the New Testament when you see the word “law,” you could accurately replace it with “Torah.” And frequently, mainstream Christians confuse Torah as a legalistic set of laws given to us by a heavy-handed Creator. People often think that the Torah was given to Israel, only to be taken away when Yahusha the Messiah came and died. But is this the case? Was the Torah only a temporary measure and not a set of eternal instructions for us?
“That I might guard Your Torah continually, FOREVER and EVER.” – Psalms 119:44
“Your righteousness is righteousness FOREVER, and Your Torah is truth.” – Psalms 119:142
“For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one yod or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done.” – Matthew 5:18
Scripture claims that the Torah is eternal. It is Yah’s Word. It contains His instructions to all mankind of how we are to live in this fallen world. The core of Old Testament stories is about Torah observance, or more often, times when Yah’s covenant people broke it. The stories of the kings of Israel and Judah revolve around good kings who kept the Torah and evil kings who disregarded the Torah. David wrote extensively about the Torah and how it is worth more than “fine gold” (Psalm 19:10). The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are about Israel’s return to covenant behavior through the re-discovery of the Torah, which had been pushed aside.
Torah-observance is also found all throughout the New Testament. Here are but a few examples of Torah keeping in the New Testament.
- “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete.” – Matthew 5:17
Did Yahusha (Jesus) abolish the Torah? No. Rather, He fulfilled it. This does not mean that it ended. He expressed the Torah to its fullest and how we should obey the instructions, not like how the disobedient Pharisees were telling people to keep it.
- “Whoever commits sin transgresses the Torah: for sin is the transgression of the Torah.” – 1 John 3:4
What is sin? It is the breaking of the Torah (Lawlessness). Without the Torah, there can be no sin, no need for a Messiah, and no need for a gospel message. We cannot even know what sin is apart from the Torah.
- “Because this is the covenant that I shall make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahuah, giving My Torah in their mind, and I shall write them on their hearts, and I shall be their Elohim, and they shall be My people.” – Hebrews 8:10
What is the New Covenant? I can tell you what it is not – disobedience. The New Covenant is the same as the Old Covenant, except where it will be written. The Torah will be written on our hearts and minds, instead of tablets of stone. (See Jeremiah 31:31-33).
- “But Peter said, “Not at all, Master! Because I have never eaten whatever is common or unclean.” – Acts 10:14
This is years after the Messiah had been crucified and resurrected. Peter is still Torah observant. And if you read verse 28, and Acts 11:18, you find that the explanation of Peter’s vision is not really about food, but about the inclusion of gentiles being grafted into the commonwealth of Israel.
- “For not the hearers of the Torah are righteous in the sight of Elohim, but the doers of the Torah shall be declared right.” – Romans 2:13
What makes a person righteous? Obeying the instructions of Yahuah! Start keeping His commandments if you want to be righteous. You won’t be perfect. But it will show your love for the Father and for your neighbor.
- “And become doers of the Torah, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” – James 1:22
James tells us that when we hear the Torah (aka, the Word), we should do it! Otherwise we are deceiving ourselves.
- “Let everyone who names the name of Messiah depart from unrighteousness.” – 2 Timothy 2:19
If we claim to have faith in Yahusha, we need to depart from unrighteousness, which is the breaking of the Torah. No longer do we live in sin if we claim to know Messiah.
- “The circumcision is naught, and the uncircumcision is naught, but the guarding of the commands of Elohim does matter.” – 1 Corinthians 7:19
This is the Torah, folks! And it includes things like the ten commandments, the Sabbath, the festivals and feast days, and clean eating. And most of us probably keep some of these already!
You see, the commandments are all about love! When we keep them, we love Yahuah or love our neighbor. That is what the Torah is all about. Take a few minutes and read the words of Yahusha the Messiah in John 14 and 15. Love is the keeping of the Father’s Torah! He gave us good instructions, which we are to keep. And just because the Messiah came to become our High Priest, does not mean we now should disregard the commandments of the Father. It’s not about earning our salvation, but rather about obedience to the one who created us!
Paul says the Torah is set-apart, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12), spiritual (Romans 7:14) and that he delights in it (Romans 7:22). And more important, the Messiah says we express our love through that obedience to His Father’s eternal Torah.
“If you love Me, you shall guard My commands.” – John 14:15
FAITH IN MOTION 