If your life is
not in jeopardy for what you believe, you’re probably on the wrong side!
“Indeed, all who want to live a godly life united with the
Messiah Yeshua will be persecuted.” (2Tim 3:12)
It is what you actually believe that determines how you walk out your faith,
“but avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, quarrels and fights
about the Torah; because they are worthless and futile.” (Titus 3:9)
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Please Note: Absolutely nothing on this website should be taken as anti-Church. I am not anti-anything or anyone. I am only pro-Torah and pro-Truth (see “Philosophy”), but sometimes the Truth upsets our long-held beliefs. I know it certainly upset mine! For example, see “Why Isn’t My Theology Consistent Throughout the Website?”
Developing a
Systematic Messianic Theology
“The purpose of careful theological formulations is not to put barriers in the way of people who are seeking salvation, but to define clearly the truths upon which genuine [Biblical] faith rests, so that people will not be misled by false doctrines.” [Bowman]
[Explanations of rabbinic citations are HERE]
Summary Statement of Faith of the
Center for Messianic Learning
I stand by these basic Biblical truths:
God
I believe in only one true and living God as declared in the Sh’ma (Deut 6:4), Who is Echad (one, a compound unity), and Who eternally, simultaneously, and distinctly (though indivisibly) exists as God the Father (Abba), God the Son (HaBen Yeshua), and God the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) (Isa 48:16-17, Gen 1:1-2, Exod 3:6, Prov 30:4, Eph 4:4-6). [See also here]
Yeshua HaMashiach
I believe in Messiah Yeshua’s deity (Isa 9:6, John 1:1-4,10-14), His virgin birth (Isa 7:14), His sinless life, His atoning death (Isa 53, Ps 22), His bodily resurrection, His ascension, and His future return in power and glory to rule the world from the throne of his ancestor David. [See also here]
The Bible
I believe that the whole Bible is but a single unit, consisting of both the TaNaKh (the Torak, Nevi'im, and Kieuvim, or so-called “Hebrew Scriptures”) and the Ketuvei Shalichim (Apostolic Scriptures), and that it is the one and only inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God (Ps 119:89, Prov 30:5-6, 2Tim 3:16-17). No other writings are authoritative for the Believer in Yeshua HaMashiach (Deut 12:32; Prov 30:6). I believe the only two pages in the entire Bible which are not inspired by God are the one that says “Old Testament” and the one that says “New Testament.” [See also here]
Torah
Though God progressively revealed His will to mankind from Gan Eden to the end of the Apostolic Age (i.e., the death of the Shliach (Apostle) Yochanan (John), ca 90 C.E.), I believe that He has now, and has always had, but one Torah (divine instruction) (Exod 24:4) for all people of all time (Num 15:16), and that it is the singular standard of righteousness by which all mankind will be judged.
Talmud
I believe the Scriptures when they say that Moshe RabbeinuMoses our teacher “wrote down all the words of ADONAI” (Exod 24:4). According to Jewish tradition, after Moshe appointed the first 70 Elders of Israel, when a question of Torah arose that Moshe had not previously explained, and the Elders asked him for further explanation, what he explained to them became the “Oral Tradition” or “Oral Torah” and was eventually compiled as the Mishnah, which in Jewish jurisprudence is the equivalent to “case law” in American jurisprudence. I therefore believe that the writings of the Sages (Talmud, Mishnah, etc.), while valuable for our understanding and application of the Torah to our daily walk, do not constitute a “Second Torah” or “Oral Torah,” and that they were not divinely inspired but are the product of men. They therefore do not have the authority of Torah (Prov 30:6, Deut 12:32). See “Takanot.”
Israel
I believe in God’s eternal covenant with Avraham, Yitz’chak (Isaac), and Ya'akov (Jacob), and with Ya'akov’s descendants forever. I therefore unconditionally stand with and support the Jewish people and the State of Israel, and hold fast to the Biblical heritage of our forefathers. [See also here]
The Holy Community
I insist that the “Body of Messiah” is composed of both Jews and Non-Jews who have received Yeshua the Messiah as the Promised Redeemer. The “middle wall of partition” has been broken down and now we worship the God of Israel together (1Cor 12:13; Eph 2:13-14, John 17:20-21; Gal 3:28-29), united as one Holy and Called-Out People in Messiah Yeshua. I categorically reject any and all teaching that “the Church” has replaced Israel in God’s plan or covenants. However, I believe that Jews and non-Jews serve different roles within the Body of Messiah, just as the Priests and Levites served different roles, or as elders and deacons serve different roles, or as men and women serve different roles in God’s economy. [See also here]
Conversion
I recognize that all Jewish people-- physical descendants of Avraham (Abraham) through Yitz'chak (Isaac) and Ya'akov (Jacob), whether through the mother’s or the father’s bloodline-- who place their faith in Israel’s Messiah Yeshua continue to be Jewish according to the Scriptures (Rom 2:28-29). Gentiles who place their faith in Yeshua are “grafted into” the Jewish olive tree of faith (Rom 11:17-25), becoming adopted sons and daughters of Avraham (Gal 3:28-29) and full and equal citizens of the Commonwealth of Israel, partaking equally with the natural-born children of Avraham, Yitz'chak, and Ya'akov in the Torah, the Covenants, and the Land of Israel, as well as in the in the rights and responsibilities of that citizenship. I therefore specifically reject the idea taught by some that it is beneficial in any way for non-Jewish people to submit to any formal “conversion process” to become full partakers in the Commonwealth of Israel. Furthermore, I hold that any such “conversion process” for the concerns of salvation is totally contrary to the clear teaching of the Scriptures, and only serves to rebuild and re-affirm the “middle wall of partition” between Jew and Gentile. I agree, however, that “conversion” is beneficial for unifying mixed (Jewish and non-Jewish) marriages or as qualification for becoming a citizen of the State of Israel. [See also here]
Moadim
I observe and celebrate the Holy Days which are the “appointed times of ADONAI” given by God to Israel, with their fulfillment in and through Messiah Yeshua. I believe that true “Biblical Judaism,” the faith of first century Messianic Believers which I seek to practice, acknowledges the continuity of faith in the one true God, revealed throughout the Scriptures, and ultimately manifested in God’s Son, Yeshua the Messiah. I believe that salvation has always been “by faith,” and that works of law, or righteous acts, have never saved anyone (Gen 15:6; Rom 4:2-6; Eph 2:8-9; Heb 11:6, 39). I believe that the Scriptures clearly teach that the seventh day Shabbat is the day that God has established as the weekly day for Him to meet with His people (Exod 20:8-11; Ex 31:14-16; Ex 35:2; Lev 23:3; Deut 5:12-15; Matt 12:8). Messiah Himself honored the seventh-day Shabbat (Luke 4:16; Luke 4:31; Luke 6:6; Luke 13:10), and the Apostles expected the Messianic Believers to continue honoring Shabbat (Acts 15:21; Heb 4:9). I believe that Sunday worship (honoring Sol Invictus, the Roman sun god), “Christmas” (which is the Roman feast Saturnalia, honoring the Roman god Saturn), and “Easter” (the pagan feast of the Babylonian fertility goddess Ishtar, who is also known as Astarte, Venus, Diana, Aphrodite, and several other names) are totally pagan in origin and totally inappropriate to be observed by anyone who claims to follow Yeshua HaMashiach. Yeshua was born on the first day of Sukkot, was crucified on Pesach (Passover), and resurrected on Firstfruits. HaShem has sanctified these days as His designated times. To replace them with pagan holidays is to spit in the face of the Almighty! [See also here]
Future
I further believe that the Messianic Restoration Movement is the beginning of the fulfillment of the Biblical prophecies concerning the Restoration of Israel that will be completely fulfilled in the Messianic Age, when HaMelech Yeshua HaMashiach will reign physically on earth from His throne in Jerusalem, and that it is also the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecies in Zech 6 and Zech 9 concerning the Gentiles who will worship alongside the Jews in the Temple of HaShem (see especially Zech 8:20-23), which will also be completely fulfilled in the Messianic Age. [See also here]
For another summary of my beliefs, please refer to What I Believe: the Basics. For complete information about my beliefs, read everything in the Theology section.
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