Torah and the New Testament The following courses are available in the section on Torah and the New Testament. 1. Acts 15, Restoring the Tabernacle of David 2. Romans, For or Against Torah 3. Galatians, for or against Torah. 4. Was the Torah nailed to the cross?
A study in 2 Corinthians 3, Ephesians 2, and Colossians 2. And finally, Hebrews, Yeshua our Melchizedek priest. In Acts 21, 17-25, Paul is accused of not following the Torah. Was this really true? Did you know that over 25% of the book of Acts deals with this one single issue? Did Paul follow the Torah?
And did he teach others to follow the Torah? What was his response? In his letters, was Paul for or against the Torah?
We begin with the first course, Acts 15. It begins with a heated Torah debate and controversy. What should be done with all of the new non-Jewish believers in Yeshua as the Messiah? How were they to be received into the new covenant family of Yeshua?
In Acts 15 verse 1 it is written, And certain men came down from Judah and were teaching the brothers, Unless you are circumcised according to the practice of Moses, you are unable to be saved. What was Paul really arguing about with the Pharisees who were believers in Yeshua as the Messiah? The Pharisees were saying to new followers of Messiah Yeshua that if they wanted to follow the God of Israel and be members of his covenant family, then they must convert to Judaism. And as a sign of this conversion, males needed to be circumcised in their flesh.
Paul argues that in order to be a member of the covenant family of Yeshua, that you needed only to be circumcised in the heart, as it is written in Deuteronomy 10, verse 16. This ancient debate regarding how the non-Jew should express their faith in the God of Israel still manifests today. Should Christians follow the Torah? Many Orthodox Jews today say that Christians only need to follow the seven Noahide laws.
In order to understand Paul's position, his teachings on the issue in the New Testament are examined. The reason why the dispute was settled in Jerusalem is because this is what the Torah requires. as it is written in Deuteronomy 17, verses 8-10. The ruling by James and the brethren was based upon the prophecy in Amos 9-11 to restore the tabernacle of David, which entails the reunification of Ephraim and Judah. The four necessary things given to the non-Jews to observe come from the holiness laws in Leviticus chapters 17 through 20. Observance of these four things reverses the sins of Ephraim spoken of in the book of Hosea.
Now let's look at the Romans course. In this study, we will be looking at the Book of Romans from a Hebraic perspective. We begin with looking at Romans 1.17 where it is written, For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, The just shall live by faith. We will be linking this verse to Romans 2-4 and see what the Torah and the Prophets teach us about the righteousness of God and what God requires of us. Did you know?
that the concept that we are saved by grace through faith, that this concept is found in the Torah and the prophets. This is not a new concept found only in the New Testament. In traditional Christianity, Paul's letter to Rome is often quoted to try to prove the doctrine that when Yeshua died, he nailed the Torah to the cross. Some of the scriptural verses that are quoted to make this claim include Romans 3, 19-21, Romans 6, 14, Romans 7, 4, Romans 10, 4, and Romans 14, verses 5, 6, and 14. As a result, it is concluded that followers of Yeshua today do not need to keep the weekly Sabbath, the annual biblical festivals, or the dietary laws.
However, in other verses, in Romans, Paul seems to make positive statements about the Torah. For example, in Romans 2, 13, Romans 3, 31, Romans 7, 12, 14, 22, and 25, and Romans 8, verses 4 and 7. So, which is it? Is Paul for or against the Torah? How can we explain Romans from a Torah-based Hebraic perspective?
Eddie will unravel the mystery in this powerful, fascinating, insightful, comprehensive, and well-researched study. In our Galatians course, we will look at traditional Christianity and how they view that the book of Galatians teaches us that we must make a choice between whether we are going to believe in and follow Yeshua as Messiah and be led by his Holy Spirit, or we are going to follow the Torah. To understand the book of Galatians, we need a proper Hebraic background and context. The book of Galatians is not about if we should follow the Torah, but how to properly follow the Torah.
What are the choices? This course will look at that. Torah and the word of God from Genesis to Revelation are synonymous terms. In Isaiah chapter 2 verse 3 it is written, And many people shall go and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.
For out of Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. In the first century, it was a given that if you were Jewish and believed in the God of Israel, you would seek to follow his Torah. There was a rabbinical system with two main pharisaic sects, Hillel and Shammai.
The Jewish religious debates were not if you should follow the Torah, but the proper way how you follow the Torah. What about Yeshua? Many of the debates that Yeshua had with the Pharisees were disagreements on how you follow the Torah.
Yeshua gave the Torah at Mount Sinai. How do you follow Yeshua's Torah? Take this course and find out.
Next, we turn our attention to the course, Was the Torah Nailed to the Cross? As an overview to this teaching, this course will be covering Ephesians 2, 13-18, Colossians 2, 4-22, and 2 Corinthians 3. It is from these scripture passages that much of mainstream Christianity makes the claim that Paul taught that when Yeshua died on the tree, that the need to follow the Torah was nailed to the cross. Is this true or not? This teaching series will delve into this topic in depth. We begin by understanding who Paul is speaking to in Ephesians 2. Paul is speaking to those who are far off and those who are near.
Paul is speaking to the northern and the southern kingdom. Those that were far off in their exile is a reference to the northern kingdom, while those that were near is a reference to the southern kingdom. But now, in Yeshua HaMashiach, You who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ, and he came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near.
The northern and southern kingdom become one new man in Messiah Yeshua, for to make in himself of two one new man, so making peace. Ephesians 2 15. Take this course to find out more about how Yeshua makes the two into one. The last course in this subject area is Hebrews, our Melchizedek priest. The primary message of the book of Hebrews is that Yeshua is the Melchizedek priest over the kingdom of God.
This teaching explains the following. 1. What makes Yeshua's Melchizedek priesthood unique? 2. How does Yeshua's Melchizedek priesthood benefit the believer in Yeshua as the Messiah? 3. The difference between the Levitical priesthood and the Melchizedek priesthood.
What is the purpose of the book of Hebrews? The primary message of the book of Hebrews is that Yeshua is THE Melchizedek priest of the Melchizedek priesthood of the kingdom of God of Israel. Next Hebrews explains what makes Yeshua's Melchizedek priesthood unique from other Melchizedek priests in the Bible. We will look at the question what does Yeshua's Melchizedek priesthood do for the believer in Yeshua as Messiah? What is the priesthood of the new covenant?
It is the Melchizedek priesthood. It is better than and superior to the Levitical priesthood. Please note, the Levitical priesthood is not done away with, and Levitical priests will have a role to play during the millennial reign of the Messiah.
The book of Hebrews compares and contrasts Yeshua's Melchizedek priesthood from the Levitical priesthood. Why? To make the point that the Levitical priesthood could not bring believers in Yeshua to spiritual maturity, but Yeshua's Melchizedek priesthood is able to bring believers of Yeshua into spiritual maturity through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The New Covenant Is the Torah written upon our hearts? Hebrews 8.10 And through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, Yeshua's Melchizedek priesthood is able to bring the individual believer into spiritual maturity, so that Yeshua can have a bride who will dwell with him forever in the New Jerusalem.
Oh how I love your word, all the days my meditation. Oh how I love your Torah, all the days my conversation. Oh how I love your word, all the days my meditation.
Thank you.