People, take heed: False teachings lurk around every corner, and the Messianic faith has no shortage! Among the worst of these teachings is the idea that that Gentiles don't have to follow Torah....

Among those who are teaching the lie that Christians don't have to bother with Torah (or with certain parts of Torah), is Boaz Michael, head of Messianic organization First Fruits of Zion. Michael, who used to adhere to the tenets of "same God, same rules" recently "did an about face" and decided Gentiles do not need to be Torah observant.

According to one of his blogs, Michael (and some of his hangers-on such as "rabbi" Derek Leman who absolutely INSISTS that Noah ate pork and other nonsense!) now imparts that Gentiles are not obligated to bother with "certain ceremonial aspects of the Torah in the same manner as Jewish people: namely the circumcision, the Sabbath, the festivals, and the Levitical dietary laws."

More specifically, Michael's message states: "However, we concede that Gentile believers are not obligated to circumcision, Sabbath, and dietary laws in the same way that Jewish believers are. What does that mean? Is FFOZ teaching that the Sabbaths and dietary laws are not for Gentiles? Not at all. The word "obligate" means "to bind legally or morally." I offer the definition here because some of our Gentile readers might misunderstand the meaning and assume that those aspects of Torah do not apply to them. The Torah's holy days and the diet are relevant for all of God's people, but they are not mandated for all of God's people."

Double talk that is totally against Scripture - take a look; this is YHWH Himself speaking to Israel:

Numbers 15: 13 "'Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when he brings an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. 14 For the generations to come, whenever an alien or anyone else living among you presents an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, he must do exactly as you do. 15 The community is to have the same rules for you and for the alien living among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the alien shall be the same before the LORD: 16 The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the alien living among you.'"

Please re-read the above in case you missed it: Any Torah-less non-Jew/Hebrew/Israelite who does not yet believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is an "alien"/foreigner. However, if they do wish to accept Him, then they are to do exactly as those who are already belong to Him!

"Living among" means not necessarily physically, but rather, it refers to all those who have accepted the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They MUST be Torah observant, just like the Houses of Israel and Judah were with whom God made His New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:32). Same God, same rules! YHWH Himself said so FOUR times in the passage above! It is mind-boggling that anyone could possibly misunderstand, misread or "read into" this....

Romans 10: 12. And in this, it discriminates neither Jews nor Gentiles. For there is one, Master YHWH, over them all, who is abundantly generous towards every one that calls on him. 13. For everyone that will call on the name of Master YHWH, will have life.

And take a look at this passage that speaks not to just "the Jews" but to all humanity!

Ecclesiastes 12: 13 Here is the final conclusion, now that you have heard everything: fear God, and keep his mitzvot; this is what being human is all about. 14 For God will bring to judgment everything we do, including every secret, whether good or bad. [Here is the final conclusion, now that you have heard everything: fear God, and keep his mitzvot; this is what being human is all about.]

The bottom line: If Christians don't have to obey YHWH's "forever" commands that can only be found in Torah, from where will they get their divine guidance?

Please check out the following article which is a response to those who insist Christians don't need to bother with Torah...

Stephen was falsely accused of teaching that the law is no longer valid.

Acts 6: 11. Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God." 12. So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13. They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us."

Stephen says:

Acts 7: 38 "This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us."

Congregation: "Ekklesia" translated as: CHURCH.

Wait...where was the church? In the WILDERNESS and at MOUNT SINAI!

Ekklesia means: "An assembly of human beings for a specific purpose."

This is the word used to describe "The Church" in the New Testament. The Hebrew equivalent for ekklesia is: Qehelah. (Spellings can vary.) Qehelah is defined as: "A gathering called for a specific purpose."

There is absolutely no warrant from any scholarly linguistic interpretation for inconsistently translating ekklesia as "church" in some places and as "congregation" in others.

Stephen is not referring to the "congregation" in the wilderness. He speaks of the ekklesia; "the called out gathering." This word is exactly the same called out gathering referred to in letters to the Ephesians, the Corinthians, and the Romans.

Deuteronomy 29: 9-15. Starting with verse 9...Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do. 10. All of you are standing today in the presence of the Lord your God—your leaders and chief men, your elders and officials, and all the other men of Israel, 11. together with your children and your wives, and the aliens living in your camps who chop your wood and carry your water. 12. You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, a covenant the Lord is making with you this day and sealing with an oath, 13. to confirm you this day as his people, that he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 14. I am making this covenant, with its oath, not only with you 15. who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God but also with those who are not here today.

The "mainstream" definition of "THE CHURCH" (defining it as being limited to the new, gentile converts from the first century onward) is clearly not the Bible’s definition of "THE CHURCH" (which it defines as those receiving the written law from Moses, and all believers, PERIOD). Therefore, it is only biblically consistent, if you consider yourself "the Church," to understand that you were PART of that group that was receiving the Torah in the desert, As this is what the bible defines as "THE CHURCH."

When you use the BIBLE’S definition of what “THE CHURCH” is, you see that the church is simply the assembly of BELIEVERS throughout the history of the planet. SO....there cannot be two different requirements for two different groups of people, as the group receiving it is the entire mixture of anyone who wants it.

This completely contradicts the FFOZ position without exception. It is literally impossible to reconcile their theology and consistently use bible definitions as the BIBLE defines them. If you add Exodus 12:49, Leviticus 24:22, and Numbers 15:29 that REPEATEDLY states that there is one law for the native born and one for the stranger (convert), what can they say? Nothing.

The First Fruits of Zion assertions do NOT hold water!