Hello everyone! For today’s Fire & Grace Files release, I’ll be releasing an essay I wrote for another assignment in my Redemption course. The question asked was along the lines of, “If you were to encounter a ‘Torah Observant’ Christian who told you that because Jesus kept the Sabbath and the law of Moses, that it meant that all Christians should still keep the Old Testament laws, how would you counter these claims?” Below this introduction, you shall read my response.
However, first, I would like to give a brief description and introduction of what a “Torah Observant” Christian is. Simply put, a Torah Observant Christian is a Christian who believes that followers of Jesus should continue observing some or even all of the 613 laws given in the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament, to be precise). They believe this is an expression of obedience and love for God, because Jesus Himself kept God’s law perfectly.
There is a lot of division between the various Torah Observant Christians as to which laws to observe today, but some of the popular ones you will see are:
- Keeping the Sabbath on Saturday instead of Sunday
- Observing biblical feast days (Passover, Feast of Tabernacles, Pentecost, etc.)
- Following the biblical dietary laws (avoiding pork, shellfish, and other “unclean” foods)
- Wearing tzitzit (tassels) on their garments
As for me, I disagree with this, and my essay gives the reasons why I do. I feel that it’s a dangerous practice to bring oneself back under the Old Covenant laws, when we have a better Covenant (a New Covenant) in place already, due to the sacrifice that Jesus made for each and every one of us.
If I were to encounter a “Torah Observant” Christian who told me that Jesus kept the Sabbath and the law of Moses, and that that meant that all Christians should still keep the Old Testament laws, then I would have to counter these claims in the following ways.
First, I would have to start with confirming that yes, Jesus did keep with the Sabbath traditions while teaching in the synagogues. (See Luke 4:16, Luke 4:31, Mark 1:21, Mark 6:2, Luke 6:6, and Luke 13:10.) However, I would then have to argue that even though He kept the Sabbath by teaching in the Synagogues, it is also true that He stated “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.” (See Mark 2:27-28)
This shows that Jesus is telling the Pharisees that He Himself is the rest to come on the Sabbath. If we are truly in Him by faith, and He is in us, and we are walking with Him, and we are keeping the Law of Christ, then we have our rest in the Lord of the Sabbath. This is the first way in which I can refute the statement that “all Christians should still keep the Old Testament Laws”. Because why would I keep a specific day, when I can have my rest in Jesus every single day of the week? Jesus is my rest as He is the Lord of the Sabbath.
The next part that I would then work to refute would be the statement that Jesus kept the law of Moses. There were times that He kept with the law of Moses, as seen in His childhood mentioned in Luke 2:39-40, before His ministry began. However, we can see plainly that He did not always keep the law of Moses when we look at the story of the adulterous woman brought to Him to be stoned. In John 8:4-5, “They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?”Jesus ignored them until He grew weary of their continual asking about His teaching on the matter. At this point, He lifted Himself up and said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”
This was a clear contradiction to what the law of Moses required for the woman caught in the act of adultery! This is clearly spelled out in Deuteronomy 22. Clearly, according to the law of Moses, the adulterous woman (and honestly, the man who was with her) should be stoned to death. And yet, after all the Pharisees left and dropped their stones, Jesus told the woman, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” I must ask this person, “How is this following the law of Moses, and showing us as followers of Christ, that we too must follow the law of Moses?”
Not only that, but I would also have to discuss with this person Jesus’ conversation with the woman at the well, as seen in John 4:19-26, where He announces a change coming to the law of Moses under the New Testament. Under the Old Testament, men had to go to Jerusalem three times a year to worship God, but in John 4:19-26, He clearly states that this is to change. “Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.” and, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” So again, it shows that we are not going to be following or living under the law of Moses as a Christian.
Also, I would then have to ask this person what effect Christ has on their life that they feel they must follow all the laws of Moses. Do they know that there are 613 laws that must be kept, with the penalty for a lot of them being death if you’re unable to keep them? And if not death, then certainly being cursed, as it is stated in Deuteronomy 27:26. “Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.”
What about Jesus’ disciples? The ones who learned from Him directly. Surely they would know whether or not we must keep the law of Moses. Jesus commanded them to “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father; and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19-20) What did Peter, John, Matthew, Luke, etc., teach the people that they encountered? Peter himself told us to listen to Paul in his last epistle, before he was to be put to death. (See 2 Peter 3:15)
Paul spoke frequently and abundantly to Jewish Christians who were under persecution and pressure to fall back into line and follow the law of Moses, warning them against the folly of folding under that pressure. (See Hebrews, chapters 1-10.) He and the other apostles all met and discussed this very issue in Acts 15! Just how much of the Bible, the very word of God, are we going to ignore?
Finally, I would want to encourage them to pray about it and to read the Bible themselves to ensure that they knew without a doubt that this is not at all what Jesus wants us to do. I would encourage them to stand fast with Christ, and not make His atoning sacrifice of no effect for their life. The entire reason we are under a New Covenant is that Jesus fulfilled the law of Moses that generations of mankind could not. I would ask that they would double-check what God was saying about his “pleasure” at the keeping of the law in Psalm 40 & Psalm 50. I would ask that they look into the prophecy of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31-34) about the second and better covenant being promised, which was fulfilled by Jesus! And then I would ask that they don’t crucify Jesus once more, and put Him to an open shame as mentioned in Hebrews 6:6.
There are still more ways in which I could have a conversation (or argument) against this line of thinking, but I feel the ones I mentioned above are likely the strongest. These verses and arguments use things that Jesus did and said, prophecies from the Old Testament, the law of Moses itself, and even the direct disciples of Jesus to refute this line of thinking. Hopefully, they would be enough for this person to repent and to go back to allowing Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice for their sins, their salvation, their High Priest, and their Lamb of God.
As I said in my essay, I pray that everyone who feels compelled to fall into this Torah Observant doctrine will examine what the Apostles of Christ, and Christ Himself, did and said regarding this movement and doctrine. I can assure you that Jesus is enough for you.
Thank you for taking the time to read over my essay, and if you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please feel free to either leave a comment below or send me a private email.
Thank you again for reading!
God Bless you and keep you!
♥ Jess ♥
