Tuesday, July 18, 2006

What Value Torah?

2 Timothy 3:15-17 (Amplified) And how from your childhood you have had a knowledge of and been acquainted with the sacred Writings, which are able to instruct you and give you the understanding for salvation which comes through faith in Christ Jesus [through the leaning of the entire human personality on God in Christ Jesus in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness]. Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action), So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

In the above quoted scripture passage, the "sacred Writings" mentioned here refers to the Old Testament, what the Jews call the "Tanack." Included in the Tanack are the 5 books of Moses (known as the Torah), the Prophets and the Writings. So let's think about what Paul is saying to his protege Timothy here: from Timothy's childhood, he was been taught the sacred Writings, the Old Testament Scriptures. Paul here tells us that these Scriptures are able to instruct Timothy and give him understanding for the salvation that is to be found in Yeshua the Messiah. NOT the Gospel accounts of Yeshua's life, NOT John 3:16, but the Old Testament Scriptures! Just maybe all of us "New Testament Christians" ought to take another look at the Old Testament Scriptures and find out what we've been missing! Here are Yeshua's own words:

John 5:46-47 (Amplified) For if you believed and relied on Moses, you would believe and rely on Me, for he wrote about Me [personally]. But if you do not believe and trust his writings, how then will you believe and trust My teachings? [How shall you cleave to and rely on My words?]

It seems to me that there IS value in studying the Torah, in fact all of the Old Testament, and teaching it to our children, as God originally commanded in those same Scriptures.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (Amplified) Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord [the only Lord].
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being and with all your might. And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be [first] in your [own] minds and hearts; [then] You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the [minds and] hearts of your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets (forehead bands) between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and on your gates.


What else did Paul say the Scriptures were useful or profitable for? I count 5 things:
1) instruction
2) reproof and conviction of sin
3) correction of error
4) discipline in obedience
5) training in righteousness
For what purpose? Paul says, so that we may be 1) complete, 2) proficient, 3) well fitted, and 4) thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Have you taken a good look at our society lately, even the society within the context of the Christian church here in the West? Evil prospers. Wickedness is considered acceptable and even laudable. There is little or no difference in divorce rates within and without the church. Unwed women are having babies and no one even bats an eye any more. Couples are living together without the benefit of marriage and it's just par for the course. We sanction the murder of our unborn children. We stand on the brink of marriage between one man and one woman, as ordained by Almighty God in the very beginning of His creation, becoming a mockery as homosexual couples demand the right to be "married" in the eyes of the law also. Sexual perversions abound and must be tolerated unless you want to be accused of hate crimes. Even those in the highest positions of authority and responsibility in this land seem to have forgotten what honesty and integrity look like. Good is evil and evil is good. We have a whole generation of young people now who do not understand "right" or "wrong"; there are no moral absolutes left.

The Ten Commandments, what are those? Never heard of them! ~ Why shouldn't we steal if we see something we want but we can't pay for it or it belongs to someone else?~ What's wrong with cheating on our tests at school?~ Why do we need to be honest when we file our income taxes?~ We're only telling "little white lies."~ Yeah, so they gave me back too much change at the store, so what? Their loss is my gain.~ Why shouldn't I sue that business for my broken leg? Who cares if I was breaking in to steal from them and fell through their window in the process?

You know, maybe, just maybe if the Christian Church and the Jewish synagogue were still teaching the Torah, the Commandments of Almighty God, we wouldn't be in such a mess! Yes, I know that there are a lot of preachers and rabbis out there who ARE teaching God's righteous requirements for living, but if we are honest, there are an awful lot of others who are preaching to satisfy itching ears and open pocketbooks and to keep the pews filled so the church board will be happy with them. If you attend a Christian Church here in the United States, when is the last time you listened to a sermon that really convicted you of the sin in your heart & life and drew you to repentance--genuine repentance which is not just being sorry for your sin, but confessing it to the LORD and turning AWAY from it? Seems that a lot of sermons are given to topics that will make us feel good and leave the church service happy with our pastor.

Listen to what Paul says again:

Romans 7:7 (Amplified) What then do we conclude? Is the Law identical with sin? Certainly not! Nevertheless, if it had not been for the Law, I should not have recognized sin or have known its meaning. [For instance] I would not have known about covetousness [would have had no consciousness of sin or sense of guilt] if the Law had not [repeatedly] said, You shall not covet and have an evil desire [for one thing and another]. [Exod. 20:17; Deut. 5:21.]

That matches one of those 5 purposes for the Scriptures that Paul mentions in 2 Timothy 3:16. I don't know what value you place on the Old Testament Scriptures, but I can tell you with all honesty that I am finding it to be a joy & a delight and that I love God's Holy Word. About two years ago now I began to read and study the Torah each week, following the traditional weekly Parashah readings, looking at it as God's own words to ME, not just as ancient Jewish history and applicable only to the Jews. I have been continually amazed at the lessons the LORD, through His Holy Spirit, is teaching me. It has truly been a blessing beyond compare as I have grown in my faith, in maturity in spiritual understanding, and in understanding how to live righteously with God & man, walking in those good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10). As I continue to study to show myself approved, a workman that doesn't need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth, I have continued to grow in His grace and knowledge of Him. And I am finding instruction, reproof & conviction of sin, correction of error, discipline in obedience, and training in righteousness.

Psalm 119:97 Oh, how love I Your law! It is my meditation all the day. [Ps. 1:2.]

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