The Disgustingness of Legalism

I'm embarrassed that many here are forgetting Genesis 50:20, 1 Samuel 16:7, Acts 15, Romans 14, and Colossians 2:13-17, among other verses. First of all, Yeshua made a New Covenant and nailed the 613 mitzvot to the Cross (though some remain--see Acts 15, e.g.). Secondly, a holiday that Yeshua celebrated, namely Hanukkah, comes from a pagan tradition. Thirdly, your Yahushua or Yahushishi or whoever you worship in the place of Yeshua is not the Mashiach. "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,  which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ." (Galatians 1:6-7) Yeshua is clearly useless to you, since you pursue your own righteousness through Torah. "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”" (Galatians 2:21) Only non-believing Jews are still under the Old Covenant. "For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."

By the way, Sha'ul once persecuted Yeshua. Think about that if and when you persecute Sha'ul and say that Sha'ul (who became Paul) was not following Yeshua. "But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ." (Galatians 1:11-12). You are doing to both Sha'ul and ultimately Yeshua what Sha'ul once did to Yeshua.

Object as you will, but then why does Yirimiyahu prophesy the following? "“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them,[a] says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”"

You've made Yeshua quite useless, then; and I don't go after the majority to do evil. Also, many didn't believe that Yeshua was and is Mashiach.

Patricia Evans' Power-Over and Personal-Power Models In My Own Life

While I've made no claim to be perfect in or right about every matter, person, and factor in life and the afterlife, I certainly--as Shemoth cited on Twitter today--am trying to do what David did. "Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God." In his case, David was dealing with wiping out the Amalekites who had captured Ziklag. In my case, I'm dealing with people who are trying to use the Power-Over Model over me in every way that they can.

If you're one of those people, know who you are; be outraged; even want to stone me; but Yehovah is stronger than you and me alike. One or more of the following applies to you, and may Yehovah convict you for it:

1. You are a family member with some degree of seniority over me.
2. You are a person with some degree of authority over me.
3. You know that I am a Jew and a descendant of Jews, and of gentiles of Jewish descent. You may even be one of my ancestors or in at least one of the generations of at least one of them. 
4. You know that I am the descendant of Crypto Jews and do not hide that I am a bat-Anusim.
5. You know that I am a Messianic Jew and do not hide that I am Messianic.
6. You know that there is truth outside of the Written Word (the Scriptures), and that God is proven true both inside and outside of Scripture--or else He would not be Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent.
7. You know that I have Cerebral Palsy, OCD/Anxiety, MDD, ADD, and IBS.
8. You know that I am a survivor of abuse and have an otherwise-sordid--even though redeemable--family history. You may even be part of who affected or even caused the abuse and sordidness. 
9. You know that especially 1, 2, 7, and 8 can be used to try to control me. You may have even used 1, 2, 7, and 8 to try to control me (e.g., what I post--v.g.--on my Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts).
10. You hypocritically cite the Constitution--v.g., the First Amendment--and claim yourself to be a Constitutionalist and a conservative.

Firstly, let me cite Amendment Nine for you: "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." Secondly, let me cite the Scriptures (since you may, after all, claim that that's the place wherein truth lies): "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge." and "[I]f this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing;  but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God." After all, the same Scriptures say that God did not call:

1. The righteous, but the sinners.
2. The well, but the sick.
3. The wise, but the foolish.
4. The scholars, but the unlearned.

Thirdly, more from the Scriptures will I cite! "For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light." Don't play games with me, by the way--I'm not talking about Social Security numbers, home addresses, or other information that only you and certain other people need to know. I'm talking about, e.g., what was done to Vilmosz and his side of the Rusnak family, and--idem. v.q.--what we escaped from by becoming Anusim and what others may not know is in the Talmud. 

Fourthly, I'm not done helping others just because I'm done helping quite a few of you. I've done my job, and trouble will not fall on my house, and "When my father and my mother forsake me, [t]hen the Lord will take care of me." I look to an eternal reward, and I can only imagine what you look to: at least, you look to only a little reward.

I've said my shalom. Now, so to speak, the ball's in your court. You can either try to keep having Power Over me or letting G-d have power over all of us.

Are Non-Messianic Jews Legalists?

I was writing a blog entry on Valentine's Day. Then this came up.

Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki

about an hour ago near Baltimore

sees almost every day, if not every day, why Non-Messianic Jews have an excuse to laugh at us: our hypocritical, out-of-bounds legalism. For example, as much as I love Samuel Rodriguez, there is no way that I'm letting him get away with connecting Ash Wednesday to Tammuz. Even if (as his legalistic friend alleges, and he realleged) the sign of the Cross is connected to Tammuz and a costume thereof (of which I have never seen nor heard), the Church redeemed it. Ever heard of tikun-ha'olam? We don't implement it, though we have the strength given to us by Yeshua Ha'Mashiach; and then we wonder why Non-Messianic Jews find us to be hypocrites who have no real interest in tzedek.

Yo veo casi todos los días, si no todos los días, por qué Judios quién son no Judios Mesiánicos tener una excusa para reírse de nosotros: nuestra hipócrita, fuera de límites legalismo. Por ejemplo, por mucho que me encanta Samuel Rodríguez, no hay manera de que yo voy a dejar que se salga con la conexión del Miércoles de Ceniza a Tamuz. Incluso si (como su amigo legalista alega, y él re-alegó) la señal de la cruz está conectado a Tamuz y un traje del mismo (de la que nunca he visto ni oído), la Iglesia ha redimido. ¿Has oído hablar de tikún-Haolam? No lo ponemos en práctica, aunque tenemos la fuerza que Ha'Mashiach Yeshua nos da, y luego nos preguntamos por qué Judios quién son no Judios Mesiánicos encuentran que somos hipócritas que no tienen ningún interés real en tzedek.

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  James Walker I thought non-messianic Jews *are* legalists... why would they fault legalistic messianics for being legalists?
  
  Furthermore, even your NT says:
  
  Matthew 6:16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."
  
  Where does having a clergyman paint black cross on your forehead as a sign of starting a fast, and go telling your friends what you gave up for lent, fit in even with the above commandment of your messiah?
  
  Thus, I'm not following your logic either from the Judaism side, or Messianic side.

  27 minutes ago · Like
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  Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki Firstly, many Non Messianics follow the spirit of Torah as opposed to the letter--even if they do not believe in the inerrancy of Torah or the rest of Tanakh, much less in Yeshua as Masiach. In fact, Reform Judaism is very clear: "This early radicalism was mentioned in the 1885 Pittsburgh Platform, which dismisses "such Mosaic and rabbinical laws as regulate diet, priestly purity and dress" as anachronisms that only obstruct spirituality in the modern age. The platform stressed that Reform Jews must only be accepting of laws that they feel "elevate and sanctify our lives" and must reject those customs and laws that are "not adapted to the views and habits of modern civilization."" (Jewish Virtual Library)
  
  Reform Judaism continues this thinking today: " Some institutions are considered to be a product of the cultural milieu and societal norms of the ancient Near East when the Hebrew Scriptures were written down, and do not speak to our lives today. In addition, Reform Jews do not ascribe to the Mishnah and Talmud the same authority which Orthodox Jews do. While the Talmud and law codes guide the lives of Orthodox Jews, it is more accurate to say that they inform the lives of Reform Jews." (http://urj.org/ask/questions/orthodox/
  

  

  )
  
  Reform Judaism even mentions that Judaism is, or at least should not be, "frozen in time". Therefore, legalism would be--for example--following some "societal norms of the ancient Near East when the Hebrew Scriptures were written down"--giving over a slave's wife and children to his owner unless he has ear awled into a door. 
  
  Besides, Yeshua made a New Covenant, not a "Renewed Covenant". The Old Covenant remains for Non-Messianic Jews (which Karaites like yourself and others frankly get). The New Covenant and the spirit of the Old Covenant are for the Messianic Jew.
  

  
  

  Orthodoxy - URJ
  

  

  urj.org

  16 minutes ago · Like · Remove Preview
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  Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki Secondly, the intent is looked at. People who explain why they have crosses on their heads are certainly not looking for praise for doing it.

  15 minutes ago · Like
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  James Walker And how many ancient Jewish Christians rejected the Law in favor of Catholic traditions? Any sources, my friend? Ebionites or Nazarenes - they both rejected the trinity, were divided on the virgin birth, and united on the binding authority of the Torah. This is proven through documents from the 2nd century onward. Modern Messianic Jews, however, are the opposite, in most cases - being mainline evangelical protestants in beliefs and practice. How do you account for this?

  11 minutes ago · Like
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  Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki I can account for that many modern Messianic Jews heed the warnings in the Apostlic Letters--since the Apostles were writing down warnings about apostasy and legalism like that of the Ebionites and Nazarenes, which has nothing to do with Catholicism unless you consider that Non-Evangelical Catholics learned well from the Christian-in-name-only cults. By the way, Maccabees is not a part of Tanakh or Brit Chadashah.

  7 minutes ago · Like
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  James Walker It's our history, just as the German Reform movement and German holocaust a century later is part of our history

  6 minutes ago · Like
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  Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki The Reformation has nothing to do with the Holocaust. Martin Luther either fell away or was a Christian in name only.

  5 minutes ago · Like
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  James Walker where does the word legalism even appear in the NT?

  5 minutes ago · Like
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  James Walker German Jewish Reform

  5 minutes ago · Like
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  James Walker He believed Jesus is Lord, and you can't say that without having the Holy Spirit, right? So whoever calls on his shall be saved, etc.

  4 minutes ago · Like
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  Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki So, Reform Jewish children are at fault, too? I see. G-d must be a sick G-d to punish children because of Reform Judaism. Look; s*** happens; life happens; the Holocaust had nothing to do with Reform Judaism. Also, not everyone who says "L-rd, L-rd" will enter Heaven; and some who do will still have been fallen away.

  3 minutes ago · Like
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  James Walker It's a covenant, with consequences. It's basic Bible

  about a minute ago · Like
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  Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki Covenant with consequences for innocent children, like my cousin Fredi, too? I see. So, Fredi, who was Orthodox, was thrown against a fence or burned in a furnace because of what Reform Jews in Germany did. Your thinking is sick, James.

The conclusion is that Non-Messianic Jews who follow all 613 mitzvot of Torah aren't legalists, because they have to follow all 613 mitzvot; whereas Messianic Jews who follow all 613 mitzvot, if they even are really Messianic, are legalists. Again, a New--not a Renewed--Covenant was made.

PS Good luck following Torah, James. Know that having fallen away is not a nice place to be in--you're still saved, but you will lose reward--the New Testament says that.

Keeping Mitzvot Is Causing Others To Stumble? Since When?

Truth may absolutely hurt, but.... For example, a friend asked why some consider him or her to be part of the Hebrew Roots and/or Sacred Movement cults. I replied, "To be fair, I think that they're just being honest. To want to keep all 613 mitzvot (some of which are in contradistinction to the New Covenant) is one thing, but to tell others to keep Torah lest they be pagan or not living for Yehovah is another." Now, do I--for example--keep at least some of the 613 mitzvot? Yes. For example, I do try to wear my tallit every day, and I looked up (for a lack of better wordage) tallit etiquette and answers to questions that I had about wearing a tallit (Remember that my family were and are Anusim.). But am I going to tell others to wear a tallit? No.

In fact, someone bluntly told me the followi

ng after I answered his question about whether I'm Messianic, and asked if he wanted a Messianic to further support his business: "It sounds like you are asking me in good faith, with pure intentions and not just trying to pick a fight, so I will be straight with you. I have struggled with that question for a while, and have not achieved crystal clarity. To be honest, I would prefer not to sell a tallit with tzitzit. I don't see why a Christian, regardless of their enthusiasm for biblical practices, needs kosher tzitzit. However, if a Christian is really serious, really wants to keep the mitzvah of tzitzit, is willing to take the trouble to learn to tie the tzitzit and spend an hour doing it, then I don't really have any grounds to object."

So, trying to keep all 613 mitzvot, including the mitzvah l'tzitziyot, may actually even cause Non-Messianic Jews to stumble. In other words, if you're going to keep the mitzvot that are still valid under the New Covenant, don't be legalistic lest cause anyone to stumble with them.

"Hell Is Not A Jewish Concept". Or Is It? And About Legalism...

 To be fair, even Tanakh (Hadashah not included for the purposes of this discussion) indisputably and unequivocally warns of Gehenna or Gei Hinnom along with Gan 'Eden (Yesha'yahu 66:17-24, Dani'el 12:2-3). Even Talmud Bavli talks of Gei Hinnom (e.g., Gittin 57a; where, according to the Munich Codex of the Talmud, they believe that Yeshua is). Gei Hinnom is and should be no joke. As Max Lucado states, we too often make light of Gei Hinnom.


So if you continue to reject Yeshua as Mashiach, you may be among the Yehudim who are not of the remnant. Yesha'yahu 66:17-24 admonishes clearly:

“Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves,
To go to the gardens
After an idol in the midst,
Eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse,
Shall be consumed together,” says the Lord.

¹⁸ “For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. ¹⁹ I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul^[a] and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. ²⁰ Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to theLord out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. ²¹ And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites,” says the Lord.

²² “For as the new heavens and the new earth
Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord,
“So shall your descendants and your name remain.
²³ And it shall come to pass
That from one New Moon to another,
And from one Sabbath to another,
All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord.

²⁴ “And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

The same goes for (as Hadashah is included in this discussion of) those who insist that a Meshichi must be shomer Torah, "who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage" (Galatians 2:4b). When you observe Pesach, think about why you are compelled to do it: you might not actually be under chen, or grace:

"7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Do not be carried about[c] with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

"10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. 14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. 15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." (From Ivrim 7).

You can be easily condemned to Gei Hinnom for still keeping all 613 mitzvot while claiming to be under chen:

For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. ² For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. ³ But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. ⁴ For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins...

¹¹ And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. ¹⁴ For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

¹⁵ But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before,

¹⁶ “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”^[c] 17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”^[d] 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

Hold Fast Your Confession

¹⁹ Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, ²¹ and having a High Priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water...

²⁶ For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know Him who said,“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”^[e] says the Lord.^[f] And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”^[g]31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

(From Ivrim 10)

Many have fallen away, if they even had yeshu'at v'chen to begin with because they "have become estranged from Christ, [they] who attempt to be justified by law; [they] have fallen from grace." However, if you observe Pesach and the other mo'edim without compelling yourself and others to do so as a means of tzedek v'tzedekah, you're okay:

One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord;^[a] and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. ⁷ For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. ⁸ For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ For to this end Christ died and rose^[b] and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. ¹⁰ But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.^[c]