Keeping Torah!
First of all what is Torah? Torah is the name of the first five books of the Word of Yahweh (God). These are the foundational books of the Word and what the entire rest of the Word is set upon. Without them there is no foundation and just like a house built without a foundation it all falls apart pretty fast.
So why then has the "church" decided that the Old Testament, which includes those first five books, became unnecessary?
I look at our world and our country (USA) today and it is all falling apart very quickly. The day I'm writing this is our national day of prayer. Our president doesn't honor Yahweh, the majority of people, although they say they are Christian don't show the fruit of that. Our country is deep in sin, as is the rest of the world. We have no foundation in the Word. The Word has been watered down to only the New Testament and the message of grace no matter what. They say we don't have to live life according to Torah because when Yahshua died he put all of our sins - past, present and future - on the cross. Our churches teach us that we don't have to keep the law anymore because He did that. So now we are reaping what we've sown.
I believe that Yahweh created us and that He knows how we should live in order to have full, happy, healthy lives. I also believe He wanted His people to be "set-apart" from the pagans in the world. So He gave us the Torah so we would know how to live our lives to the fullest as His set apart people. Simple as that. So now that the church doesn't keep Torah not only are we not set-apart from the rest of the world but we are in just as bad shape as they are and you can't tell the difference between us.
There are approximately 613 laws in the Torah. If we were to go through those laws we would find that most of them we wouldn't think of breaking anyway. They are common sense good society, family laws. Some are dietary laws such as staying away from shellfish and pork. After studying nutrition our family doesn't eat those food items anyway because they are unhealthy foods. They are the garbage collectors of the world. I believe that Yahweh created them as good for cleaning up our world. I would no more eat pork than to go to a garbage heap and dig through it for my dinner.
Don't bear false witness against another, don't steal, don't murder, don't envy or lust - things that keep a society healthy.
Keep Yahweh first meaning He is the top priority in your life. Trust Him and Obey Him no matter what. Don't keep idols in your home or your heart - don't put anything above Him. And keep the Sabbath - when you do these things your priorities are in order and there is much less stress in your life. Don't take your brother's wife and don't commit adultery - more common sense. Go through them yourself and you'll see that they are things you do anyway.
There are two parts to the Law; the actual Law and the Sacrificial System. Most people combine the two and that's when they decide that we don't have to keep the Law anymore because Yahshua came. The truth is that the Law is there to show us that we need Yahshua's Sacrifice. He did not take away the Law, He became the Sacrifice (Sacrificial System). We don't need to sacrifice lambs and sheep on the altar because He did what He did. But without the Law there is no sin and no point for Him to be our Sacrifice. The Law shows us our sin and our great need for Him.
Let me repeat:
Mat 5:17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete.
Mat 5:18 “For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done.
Mat 5:19 “Whoever, then, breaks one of the least of these commands, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the reign of the heavens; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens.
There are many more verses in the New Testament about believers keeping the Law. It behooves a man or a woman to study this out for themselves.
The part of the Torah that is not filled with the law - the bigger part - is full of stories that will build up our faith, teach us how to live our lives and how to overcome challenges. It will teach us right from wrong, good from evil and how even we believers mess up but what to do about it to make it right. It teaches us how to act as set-apart people of the Most High Elohim.
Without it, we are lost.
The churches are fond of saying that if you are a Torah keeper that you are a legalist. That people like me are legalistic meaning that we keep the law. Hmmm....so does that make people who do not keep the law illegals? The bible talks about the man of lawlessness or a man who does not keep the law. I guess I would rather be legal than illegal, especially in matters of eternal consequences.
I hope that if this does nothing else it causes you to dig a little deeper into His Word and find out the truth for yourself.
Yahweh promises to those who Trust Him and Obey His Commands ( Law) protection during the Time of Trouble coming upon this earth. Loving Him means doing what He says to do. Love is an action word. So is Trust. So is Obey. So is Belief. James said that Faith without Works is dead. That's because Faith is an action. We are Christian Soldiers marching into war. We need the protection of our Father in Heaven. We need to be living righteous lives - right with Yahweh. We live righteous lives by keeping His Law, obeying Him and trusting Him no matter what.