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I want very much to be Torah observant, but my wife has done everything in her power to sabotage me. She insists that, because "Jesus died" we don't have to do anything but "believe." Plus, she insists the Biblical Feasts were only for the Jews, and has decided - over my protests - to continue Christmas and Easter.
Do you have any suggestions as to what I could possibly say to her to convince her that she's not pleasing God with her rebellious behavior?
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There isn't really much we can do about people who insist "Jesus" has abolished all of His Father's original divine instructions, without which we would have NO blueprint for moral, holy living. All we can do is to pray for them. Maybe you could copy and paste the following questions and comments to carry around in your wallet to present to those who wish to reject God's Torah:
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QUESTION for doubters: Isn't all the Torah mean just "the Jews"?
ANSWER: No. Anyone who believes in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - whose Name is YHWH (Yahweh) - must be Torah observant. He does not have different rules for His natural and adopted children!
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.'"
Alien means "anyone" besides His Chosen who wishes to believe in YHWH...Those who think God's "forever" commands were only for the Jews, need to be reminded that Cain and Abel offered sin sacrifices and Noah knew the difference between "clean and unclean" - and they weren't Jews! NOBODY was Jewish until after God made His covenant with Isaac, yet EVERYBODY was Torah observant. Those who weren't, were called pagan/heathens and God's hand was not upon them.
Our Savior Yeshua, who was seventh day Sabbath and Feast keeping, kosher Jew, said the following:
Matthew 5: 17 Don't think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. 18 Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah - not until everything that must happen has happened. 19 So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot (words/commands) and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and P'rushim, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Has everything happened that must happen? Have heaven and Earth passed away yet? Since when does the word "complete" (or "fulfill) mean "abolished"? Why would God abolish His own original divine teachings, many of which were to last forever? Did Jesus come to make a liar out of YHWH (Yahweh), God the Father?
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QUESTION: So you think being kosher and keeping God's Divine commandments are only for "the Jews," please answer this: Were Cain and Abel Jews? How about Noah?
ANSWER: Cain and Abel offered sin sacrifices (Gen. 4) and Noah knew the difference between "clean and unclean" (Gen. 6) - and they were not Jews! Nobody was "Jewish" until after God made His covenant with Isaac, yet everybody up until then and through the end of the First Century, was Torah observant. Those who weren't, were called pagan/heathens and God's hand was not upon them.
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QUESTION: Who was Yeshua (Jesus) and what did he supposedly "abolish"?
ANSWER: He was our Final SIN Sacrifice who came to do the will of the Father and to show us in person how it was to be done! He did not replace the "Father" nor come to abolish His Father's divine Law! He even prayed to the Father (Matthew 26). He abolished the need for man to slaughter innocent animals to atone for sin. That is all He abolished!
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QUESTION: When was Yeshua born?
ANSWER: The first day of the Feast of Sukkot - which falls in the September/October timeframe on our Gregorian calendars. (See http://therefinersfire.org/feasts3.htm) He was not born in December - which is a lie - as is "Santa Claus" which is the first lie we tell our children. Lying is a SIN! First of all, God never told us to celebrate the birth of his Son; secondly, would YOU want YOUR birthday to be celebrated on another day in another month? And may people start calling you by another name other than the one you were given? May we put a date other than the actual date on your tombstone when you die?
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QUESTION: When did Yeshua die and when was He resurrected?
ANSWER: On Nisan 14 (Exodus 12) - The Biblical Feast of Passover, which falls in the March/April timeframe. He did NOT die on "Easter Sunday." He rose exactly three days later at the end of a Shabbat/Saturday evening, not on Sunday. (See http://therefinersfire.org/resurrection1.htm)
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QUESTION: What does God think about Christmas and Easter and man's traditions?
ANSWER: He hates them. Check out just a couple of examples, including about "Christmas" trees - and remember "the nations" are the Torah-less Gentiles:
Jeremiah 10: 2 This is what the LORD says: "Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them. 3 For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. 4 They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. 5 Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk.
Colossians 2: 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
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QUESTION: Where in the Scriptures does God tell us to ignore the original, seventh day Sabbath - the day He Himself blessed and made holy (Genesis 2:1-2)?
You won't find anything in the Scriptures that references the changing of the Sabbath to Sunday. It's no secret that Jew haters like Constantine and Tertullian "adjusted" Yeshua's teachings and the writings of the Apostles; but, no matter who instituted Sunday worship, in Yeshua's time, both Jews and Gentiles alike, regularly attended the synagogue for worship on the seventh day!
And the fact that interested Gentiles in Antioch requested further instruction of Paul "on the next Sabbath" is irrefutable evidence that no separate Sunday (1st day) meetings were being held there by those early Christians: The Gentiles were willing to wait an entire week, till the next Saturday, for a meeting because they knew that Paul and his companions did not normally meet for worship on a Sunday. Acts 13:42-44 tells us that, on the next Sabbath (Saturday) almost the whole city arrived for the meeting.
Some insist that Acts 20:7 reveals Sunday worship, but this is not true. Fact is, Jewish believers in Yeshua continued meeting at synagogue (or the Temple) for Sabbath. Common practice would be havdallah - meeting in homes after sundown on Saturday to continue discussions and praise from the Sabbath, which explains Paul "preaching until midnight" in Acts 20:7. The first day of the week for Jews (like Paul) began at sundown at the end of the Sabbath - Saturday evening - not "Sunday."
Furthermore, the fact is, neither the Father nor the Son has ever claimed the first day as His own in any higher sense than He has each or any of the other laboring days. Neither of them has ever placed any blessing upon it, or attached any sanctity to it. The Bible tells us God expressly reserved the seventh day to Himself, placing His blessing upon it, and claimed it as His holy day. (Genesis 2:1-3.) Moses told Israel in the wilderness of Sin of the sixth day of the week, "Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord." Exodus 16:23. (Please see Sabbath Truth and The True Sabbath Day.)
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QUESTION: Isn't it funny how "the Law" is nailed to the Cross except for when an offering is taken up? Do you feel guilty if you're not tithing 10 percent? And, if you fall behind, do you do your best to be caught up? Why? Isn't tithing also just an "Old Testament" thing meant only for "the Jews?"
Do you believe in the Ten Commandments? Why? Are they not "OT" and as such, "nailed to the Cross"? And what about the 4th Commandment to keep the Sabbath? This meant, keeping the SEVENTH DAY SABBATH...when was the SEVENTH DAY ever abolished? And if it's okay to believe in the Ten Commandments, don't you have to follow all the Commandments? After all, if you keep one, you have to keep them all or you are found guilty of breaking God's commandments - or so Christians claim, because they have no clue about God's Torah....
In order to consider ourselves true believers, we need to start reading Scripture for what it says, not what we THINK it says. We need to get into the Bible and verify against Scripture EVERYTHING we see, read or hear, and do our best to shed all the man-made "religions" and "religious stuff" we learned in our churches.
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SOME FINAL THOUGHTS: God's hand is surely not upon people who have twisted His Word and changed His Son's Name along with the dates of His birth, death and resurrection, and come up with their own man-made "holidays" to honor Him! If you worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then stop insisting he's abolished His Torah - which is our ONLY blueprint for moral, holy living! Those who don't wish to obey God do not have the right to say they belong to Him. If you really believe in "Jesus" then you would want to walk as He walked, and stop making up your own rules.
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