Where are the True Believers?
Part One - How did we get here?
As believers in YHWH, the creator of heaven and earth, and His son, Yeshua, our Messiah, what are we called to do? Who are we called to be? Scripture is filled with urgent warnings against adopting the ways of the nations. We are commanded to inhabit this world without being shaped by it. What do these passages mean for the life of a true believer? We must ask ourselves: Is He our first love?
How did we get here?
The Foundational Era
During the days of the apostles, Christianity had not yet emerged as a distinct religion separate from Judaism. A straightforward reading of the New Testament from a Jewish perspective indicates that the first-century church did not seek to establish a new denomination. Did the apostles continue to follow the Torah after Yeshua’s resurrection? Yes, they did. The disciples of Yeshua viewed themselves as part of the people of Israel. The writings of the apostles suggest that believers were a sect within the broader Jewish faith. After all, Yeshua was a Jewish teacher of the Torah, and He instructed His disciples to observe the Torah, encouraging them to follow His example.
Here we need to fast-forward through church history to get us up to speed. Here is a quick overview:
Let’s start in the book of Acts – Gentile Inclusion into the church.
66AD – The Jewish War gave rise to anti-Semitism.
Gentile expulsion from the synagogue.
89AD – 96AD – The Domitian Persecution.
The 2nd Century – By the time the second century began, anti-Jewish sentiment was so high in the church that most Gentile disciples of Yeshua no longer wanted to be identified with the Jews at all.
132AD – The Bar Kokhba Revolt
By this time Rome made no distinction between Jews and Gentiles believers practicing the Jewish faith. In order to survive the Gentile believers needed to disassociate from Judaism.
Late 1st century – 8th century – The Church Fathers – Godly men who served YHWH with the best of their ability. Unfortunately, by this time in history, they had misunderstandings when it came to Torah and the Jewish People.
Constantine and Nicea – “Let us have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish rabble” Constantine – Council of Nicea (325 CE)
Council of Nicea (325 CE) – Roman Christian Practice emerges observing the resurrection every year on the Sunday that followed Passover.
Chrysostom emerges in the late fourth century
476CE – 800CE The Dark Ages – The church turned violent toward the Jewish people. Christians burned Synagogues and holy books and put whole communities to death.
1500’s – The Reformation
Each of these historical timepoints needs attention of it’s own, so I hope to come back and touch on each of these in the future. The Reformation spring boarded Christianity to where it is today.
By Grace Alone
While the world is full of true believers scattered throughout the earth, many have gone the way of the nations. Even worse many play both sides of the fence as if Yeshua’s atoning sacrifice is a revolving door in and out of the world, but many continue to go right back into it. The sad reality is many choose to stay there and have become their own judge.
In those days there was no sovereign in Yisra’ĕl – everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
How can we claim that we do not have a sovereign in Israel when, in fact, we do—Yeshua the Messiah? Why then do you continue to do what is right in your own eyes, making the path to righteousness seem easy, relaxed, and casual?
The believer’s way of life has evolved through many paths. One of these paths has been shaped by centuries of Protestant doctrine dating back to the time of the Reformation. Other paths have emerged from the flesh, fear of death, and Christianity. While an extensive discussion could be written on these subjects, let us summarize a few key points.
Sola Gratia (By Grace Alone)
The third of five theological doctrines of the Protestant Reformation “The Five Solae”. Sola Gratia invites with it a set of difficulties that have lead us to the “Cheap Grace” life we are now wading through. The primary definition of sola gratia is that salvation comes by God’s grace alone and not because of any merit on the part of the believer. You may ask how can a Christian be a Christian without this foundational concept? I mean the drastic idea of saying some people do not need YHWH’s grace seems ridiculous and down right heresy doesn’t it? Where did this concept of ‘sola gratia’ come from? Anyone who has studied the Reformation understands the critical role of indulgences, acts of penance, the reverence for relics, and various ‘works’ believed to lessen one’s duration in purgatory.
These practices were pivotal in shaping beliefs and sparked profound discussions about faith and salvation. In 1517, Martin Luther, a respected professor of moral theology at the University of Wittenberg in Germany, boldly presented his ninety-five theses. These powerful arguments directly confronted the Catholic Church’s misuse of indulgences—letters from the Pope that claimed to reduce one’s temporal punishment in Purgatory for Venial (minor) sins. By challenging this practice, Luther sought to restore genuine faith and highlight the importance of personal repentance over institutional gains.
Venial sin, in Roman Catholic theology, a sin that is relatively slight or that is committed without full reflection or consent. While a venial sin weakens the sinner’s union with God, it is not a deliberate turning away from God and so does not wholly block the inflow of sanctifying grace.
Britannica.com
Luther perceived the practice of granting indulgences in his time as a profound corruption of its intended purpose. What once served as a means of spiritual guidance had deteriorated into a mere financial transaction, which falsely promised immediate salvation for those in purgatory and offered forgiveness of sins for the living. This exploitation was shamelessly perpetrated by certain church officials, who used it as a tool to amass wealth for lavish construction projects, undermining the true essence of faith.
This was the start to sola gratia (By Grace Alone). God’s grace cannot be purchased by doing good works or viewing relics or giving money to the church. Luther believed that indulgences led Christians to skip true repentance and real sorrow for their sins. People thought they could avoid these feelings by buying an indulgence. He argued that this reliance on indulgences stopped Christians from helping the poor and performing other acts of kindness. Many began to think that indulgence certificates were more spiritually important than their genuine moral duties. The strong response and widespread outrage regarding these abuses during the Reformation ultimately put an end to the sale of indulgences, a significant issue that was thoroughly examined at the Council of Trent. Catholics and Protestants may differ on justification, but they agree on one crucial point: salvation comes solely from God’s grace. This shared belief highlights the transformative power of grace across both traditions.
Legalism or Grace
However, without grace, this viewpoint can easily be interpreted as a legalistic understanding of salvation. True legalism changes the natural path of faith by claiming that following certain commandments—whether a few or all—is how a person earns salvation. This view makes obeying these commandments a requirement for eternal life. If keeping the Torah were truly necessary for salvation, we would all inevitably fall short, as it is stated in Romans 3:23: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
The Torah was never designed to serve as a means for an individual to earn their salvation; rather, it was meant to guide moral conduct and spiritual growth. Legalism insists, “I must obey YHWH to be saved,” suggesting that one’s actions are the sole basis for salvation. Grace changes how we see things. It suggests, “I obey because I am saved.” This means our obedience comes from the grace we have already received. It helps us build a deeper and more genuine relationship with our Creator.
We see this example when YHWH gave Israel the Torah on Mount Sinai, they were already a redeemed people. “Saved by Grace” as it were.
The Downfall of Man’s Grace
The downfall of ‘Man’s’ grace, is that we relinquish YHWH’s grace with a cheap grace of our own. A grace that we create in our own minds that we bestow upon ourselves. This grace is the revolving door we mentioned earlier, the grace of man that keeps him locked in his own theological maze of rights, wrong’s, convictions, and freedoms. Why ‘freedom’ you ask. The cheap grace of man contributes to fleshly freedoms that we bestow upon ourselves as a perception of YHWH’s ‘come as you are’ celebration. No matter the lifestyle, the entertainment, the SIN. Man’s grace in reality says “this is what YHWH thinks about me and what I do and He is okay with this.” After all when I came to Christ all things were made new and He loves me as I am. No matter the sinner or the sin.
This then entitles men to have freedom to remain as they are, but in fact no one remains as they are. We are going two ways and only two ways.
We are growing closer to our creator and conforming to His ways.
We are drifting away from Him, subtlety while unknowingly conforming to the ways of this world.
“This is what we mean by cheap grace, the grace which amounts to the justification of sin without the justification of the repentant sinner who departs from sin and from whom sin departs. Cheap grace is not the kind of forgiveness of sin which frees us from the toils of sin. Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves.
Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Yeshua Messiah, living and incarnate.”
The Cost of Discipleship - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
True discipleship means adherence to Messiah and because Yeshua is the object of that adherence, it must take the form of discipleship. Discipleship without Yeshua Messiah is a way of our own choosing. It may be the easy way, relaxed, the live your best life now way, but He will ultimately reject it.
He that walks on slippery places is liable to fall at any moment and when he does fall it will be without warning. You need nothing more than your own weight to be thrown down.
How absurd we as a people abuse this grace! We are like a man walking a tight rope over a dark abyss. To fall into this dark abyss means despair and separation from YHWH. Yet we only keep our balance with our own mental security that everything we do it okay, but is it? If your heart and flesh desires the things of this world, and you believer entertain your flesh continually drifting farther and farther from the shore. You are like the blind leading the blind. Examine yourselves!
The Torah, this newly discovered truth has become a crutch to many. Notice I said has become a crutch to many. The Torah itself is the word of YHWH and His son Yeshua the word made flesh. It’s beautiful, holy, and give us life if we walk in it. You who testify that you walk in it and yet walk very little are more wretched than before this awakening. How dangerous of us to hold the truth over all other believers and denominations, but live the way we do?
You ‘Torah Follower’ claim to have now received the truth of YHWH’s Word after being misguided most of your life by inheriting Christian Protestant doctrine, that says Yeshua canceled the Law and we are no longer under the Law. Yes, Yeshua did ‘not’ come to cancel or change the Law (Torah). Why then do you still persist in the ways of this world while clinging to this newly found truth. You claim to hold the ‘truth’ but you have changed very little in your heart which is then seen on the outside. Yeshua said “ First clean the inside of the dish and then the outside will be clean as well.” But instead of cleaning the inside we strut around like a peacock with our colorful feathers for all to see. We know very little and really have no desire to walk in the fullness of His Word, because ‘our’ intellect tells us we’ve arrived and our flesh hates it.
Blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside of them becomes clean too. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you are like whitewashed tombs which outwardly indeed look well, but inside are filled with dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you too outwardly indeed appear righteous to men, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness."
We are so quick to criticize the Pharisee’s be we have become just like them!
Explaining Torah
Here is an example of what I mean. One day a believer from another denomination comes to you and says:
Stranger – “Hey there, so I heard you follow the Torah, keep the Sabbath, eat clean food, ETC”
You – “Yes! I do follow the Torah and keep the Sabbath, eat clean food, ETC”
Stranger – “That’s amazing, I’ve always wonder why Yeshua said I did not cancel the Law. So I know some people do a couple things different then the way I grew up in church, can you tell me about what commandments you follow?”
You – Sure, it was so amazing to finally have my eyes open to the truth. Did you know we have been lied to by the church and much of what we learned was just inherited theology that has been passed down. I started keeping the Sabbath on Saturday, not Sunday. I now wear Zit Zit (tassels) on the four corners of my clothes, that’s in the book of Numbers chapter 15, my family observes the Biblical Feast days, like Passover, Sukkot, Feast of Trumpets and we stopped observing pagan holidays like Christmas and Easter. We starting following the dietary laws, so we no longer eat pork, lobster, etc.
Stranger – Wow, that’s great. So I know I learned that there are 613 commandments in the Law, but a lot of those cannot be observed for different reasons. A friend of mine told me the other day that only 100 – 200 commandments are still applicable today, but gentiles could only follow a little over a hundred of them? I’m not sure about all of that, but in either case that’s a lot of commandments. So what other commandments do you keep?
You – Well, let me think. We occasionally recite the Shema and on Passover there are specific commandments about removing leaven from your house things like that.
Stranger – I mean I want to walk in Torah like you, what other commandments can I start keeping so I can walk in His ways.
You – Hmm. I really don’t know off the top of my head. I could send you some information if you give me your email address.
Stranger – That would be great. So you and your family believes the Torah is relevant for today and keeps Torah, but you’ve only listed a handful of commandments. Obviously, the Ten Commandments too, but that’s all you do out of over a hundred commandments? There must be something else your doing?
You – (Like a dear in head lights) Ummmmmm – yeah I mean we believe in keeping Torah and we do our best, but were all on a journey.
Stranger – Okay, well it was nice talking with you. Have a nice day!
You – You as well. Shalom!
Now, I know I’m being a little facetious, but the reality is we know very little and have very little knowledge about the application of this newly found truth we claim to live by. All of us our guilty of this in one way or another. In our minds we hold this great truth that all must know! However, our hearts remain as they were when we did attend church on Sunday, observe Christmas, eat ham on Easter.
We have taken the watered down cheap grace message of the church we left and now use the Torah as our get out of hell free card. We abuse the Torah the same way the main stream church abuses grace. Most live in grey areas because we’re afraid of rejection, uncomfortable and constrained to really walking in His ways and continue in the ways of this world. If we love the world, the love of the Father is not in us. We will talk more about this in part two.
What is this danger you ask?
In reality, the truth we must face, brothers and sisters, is that passivity has taken over. Our spiritual journey has become passive. We accept our relationship with the Messiah and our convictions as they are, without resisting or examining ourselves. You hold your beliefs, and I hold mine. Many of us show little willingness to change unless it serves our own desires. Only then do we feel righteous indignation, burning to make a change because it makes us feel good.
Anything to bring you closer to conformity to Messiah and less conformed to this world is met by Mr. Constraint who then tells you life is to constraining. However, when it’s time to watch that movie or listen to that song, eat the food, hang with the crowd, or wear the revealing clothing you are met by Sister Openness who leads you to your self-righteous life that you deem as the ‘Set-Apart’.
You tell all that the Ark will float, but are not willing to pay the price for the ticket fair. You say to everyone around you ‘All Aboard’ but in a moment the ship cast sail and you O righteous one are left standing on the shore the water rising fast with no one to save you in your hour of distress.
Does this concern you? Does your children seeing you live this type of life concern you? They will follow your example, yes they will follow your example. Will you remain as you are until you hear the blast of that shofar and in a moment you will wonder why did I not change? Do you fear the day of YHWH or do you think by some cheap grace, it will be overlooked. Examine your-selves, examine your life, turn away from spiritual passivity, stop waiting for a direct commandment that says, “Do not jump off a cliff” and continue to jump and risk your life because you cannot find it in the Torah. A Torah that you know very little about and even when there are direct commandments you still don’t follow them. No, let us not add to scripture but let us wake up and remove the worldly contamination from our lives.
Clean and undefiled religion before the Elohim and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world
Let us all come to this realization and turn towards our Savior Yeshua Messiah. HalleluYah
“You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt becomes tasteless, how shall it be seasoned? For it is no longer of any use but to be thrown out and to be trodden down by men.”
