What we believe, and how we worship, needs to be connected to the Torah and the Prophets, and if it’s not, we need to make it connect.
Acts 24:14 I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a cult. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Torah and that is written in the Prophets.
The Scriptures, which is what they called, the Torah and the Prophets, are to be used to form doctrines, define righteousness and to correct and reprove wrong beliefs and behaviors. When you read 2 Timothy 3:15-17, I want you to pay close attention to the fact that the Scriptures i.e. the Torah and the Prophets is what they learned from as a child, which was able to make them wise for salvation through Messiah. In other words, they revealed the fact that we need to be born again, which can happen through faith in Christ.
2 Timothy 3:15-17 From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
I want you to imagine yourself back then, standing there, listening to what is being said. The teacher was probably holding up the scrolls of the Torah and the Prophets saying, “These Scriptures were given to us by the inspiration of YAH’s Spirit, the New Testament didn’t exist yet (2 Peter 1:20-21). These inspire Scriptures are to be used to teach you what to believe, what righteousness is, and to correct you if you are believing something that is wrong. When you allow the Scriptures to correct you, that’s called, repentance.
2 Peter 1:20-21 Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.
Let me give you an example.
Messiah was teaching Nicodemus about the new birth i.e. being born again. Nicodemus was having a hard time understanding what Messiah was saying, now remember, Nicodemus was a pharisee, pharisees are teachers so they’re supposed to know the Scriptures upside down and backwards, so he should have understood what Messiah was saying.
John 3:1-10 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” Jesus replied, “I assure you; no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?
Nicodemus, as a teacher of the Scriptures, should have understood what Messiah was saying about the Spirit birth experience, because it’s spoken about all throughout the Scriptures.
Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take away your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to follow My Laws and be careful to do what I tell you.
Joel 2:28 In the last days I will send My Spirit on all men. Then your sons and daughters will speak God’s Word. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see special dreams.
We have the same thing happening today within both the Jewish and Christian belief systems.
When you go to the Jews, and talk about their promised Messiah, and what the Scriptures say about Him, the Jews don’t make the connection. We can say to them the same thing that Messiah said to Nicodemus, “Are you the teacher, and do not know these things.” We can say this because their Scriptures give very detailed accounts of how to identify their promised Messiah, so they should know and accept Him.
Luke 24:27 Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the Prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
John 5:39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
In the same way, Christian pastors should know about the Feast Days, the Sabbath, clean and unclean and so on. We can say the same thing to Christian pastors, as Messiah said to Nicodemus, “Are you the teacher, and do not know these things.”
Both Jewish Rabbis and Christian pastors should be using the Scriptures i.e. the Torah and the Prophets to form their doctrines, define righteousness and correct wrong beliefs.
Mark 12:24 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.
A wrong belief such as saying, "Sunday has now replaced the Sabbath" will be corrected if you use the Scriptures for what they were intended for.
2 Timothy 3:15-17 From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
A Gentile pastor must become as a Berean, and use the Scriptures to test, and compare, what they were being taught in seminary.
Acts 17:11 The people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures, day after day, to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.
When today’s Christian pastors begin to take seriously their calling to represent YAH, and start testing and comparing what they believe with the Torah and the Prophets, they will fulfill the prophecy of Jeremiah 16:19.
Jeremiah 16:19 O Lord, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of affliction, The Gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, “Surely our fathers have inherited lies, worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
If today’s pastors would only test what they believe, and practice, they will very quicky see that everything they are calling worship, is worthless and unprofitable, because it’s all rooted in the doctrines and commandments of men, and is rooted in Babylonian sun worship, with all its attachments. This is something that is totally forbidden by YAH.
Deuteronomy 12:4-5 Do not worship the LORD your God in the way these pagan peoples worship their gods. Rather, you must seek the LORD your God at the place of worship He himself will choose from among all the tribes—the place where His name will be honored.
Deuteronomy 12:29-31 When the Lord your God goes ahead of you and destroys the nations and you drive them out and live in their land, do not fall into the trap of following their customs and worshiping their gods. Do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations worship their gods? I want to follow their example.’ You must not worship the Lord your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the Lord hates.
Matthew 15:9 Their worship is worthless, for they teach their man-made laws instead of those from God.
Mark 7:7 And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.
Today, because of the vast amount of deception in all the faiths, due to the lack of Pastors having Scripture knowledge, and the Jews unable to make the connection, it’s our personal responsibility to allow the Spirit to get our own house in order, by studying for OURSELVES so that we can present OURSELVES approved before YAH.
1 John 2:27 The anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, His anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie; just as He has taught you, remain in Him.
2 Timothy 2:15 Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.
Walking in the truth of Scripture is a lonely place to be, because you won’t be accepted by the Jews, because of Messiah, and you won’t be accepted by the Christians, because of the Torah and the prophets, and you won’t be accepted by the world because of both.
2 Timothy 3:12 Everyone who wants to live a godly life in union with Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
Amen…