04-29-2009, 01:57 PM
Hi All,
Some of you here know me . . . JGIG stands for Joyfully Growing in Grace.
I receive a mom's digest for moms of many young children (it has been a tremendous blessing in so many ways!), and over the years have noticed not only the increase in posts about Feast and Sabbath keeping, but also a move from "this is what we do in our family" to "these are commandments of God, they are forever, and they are not optional".
I ignored it at first, not having the time to really investigate where these teachings were coming from, but as God sometimes does, He would not let me rest about it until I committed time to evaluating from Scripture and from the resources the moms recommended what was being taught by these women.
The results have been astounding.
As I and some other moms on the digest became more and more curious (and concerned) about the "Law Keepers'" teachings, and attempted to post questions and Scriptures refuting mandatory Law-keeping, the sole moderator (now understood to be in the Law "camp") on the digest began to let the "Law" posters posts through, and withhold posts with dissenting voices.
So the research began. I've compiled much of it on a blog, a "where the rubber meets the road" account of what I began to see, and how the Law keeping teachings fall short of a contextual reading of the whole of Scripture.
I have purposed not to deal with individual teachers, unless truly relevant to a post, as there are MANY different false teachers with MANY different false teachings. I joke that the HRM is a lot like chili: You can go to 20 different friends and family members for chili recipes, and they will all be a little different. There are some ingredients that are consistent, like beans, tomatoes, and chili peppers, but the rest of the ingredients can vary from recipe to recipe. There are some ingredients in the HRM that are consistent, like mandatory Feast and Sabbath keeping, the concept of a "Renewed" Covenant rather than THE New Covenant, etc. Beyond that, there are great and varying degrees of "observance" in the HRM belief system, influenced by different teachers, sects, and cults through time.
My goal has been to present teachings and concepts from the Hebrew Roots/Messianic Movements that cross my path, and then measure them according to Scripture and actual historical information.
As I've had discourse with those in the HRM, Messianic Judaism, and those who are Jewish who are Christians, this is my observation:
Those who are in the HRM or consider themselves to be "in" Messianic Judaism by and large ascribe to and teach mandatory Torah observance. I've been accused of "lumping" those who are Torah "pursuant" together, so let me clarify a few things . . .
From the Feasts and Sabbaths to the dietary laws, things like Niddah (look it up) and as many other edicts of the Mosaic Law that they "feel" are "keepable" today - these are the things that those in the HRM are pursuant of. I know of one family where ALL the male members of the immediate family were circumcised to adhere to Torah, from the husband to the youngest. (I have nothing against circumcision, by the way, we have three sons, all circumcised.)
There is a Netzarim sect of Law "keepers" that would fall into this category. The Netzarim consider themselves to be "true" to a first century belief system. I would characterize them as being close to the Judaizers Paul refers to in the book of Galatians. Those in the Netzarim claim to hold "only to Scripture" as they follow the "ancient path", but if you spend enough time in discourse with them, there is rabbinic influence with which they bolster their belief system. Which leads to . . .
There are those in the HR/MJ movements who also ascribe to some practices in Judaism, relying on Jewish rabbis for "special insight" and "hidden knowledge" that can be gained from a "Hebraic mindset". Much of their interpretation of Scripture is filtered through Talmudic influence. The Talmud is not only unmistakably against Jesus Christ, but is also influenced by the Kabbalah and Gematria, both rooted in Gnosticism and the Occult .
On the other hand, those who are Jewish who are Christians have no problem taking on the "label" of Christian, as they are followers of Jesus Christ. Many continue in the traditions of their heritage of Feast and Sabbath keeping - but not because they think they are still commanded to do so. Christian Jews understand that they are under the New Covenant, not the Old Covenant. They have freedom from the Law of Moses and are now under the Law of Christ. These are folks who I have found to be a great resource for showing how the Law points to Christ, and how the Law is fulfilled in Christ. For them the Gospel takes on an even more profound meaning!
Please don't misinterpret any of what I've written as anti-Semitism. False doctrine is false doctrine no matter its source. Evaluating the doctrines of the HR/MJ movements (and there are some doozies!) is not anti-Semitic, it is discernment.
As I did research on the HRM, I found lots of info. It was extremely time consuming, and because the HRM is so diverse in its beliefs, overwhelming. I wanted for my blog to be a resource for general research (I link to several other sources of information), to break the HRM down into core issues that disqualify it as a valid belief system.
My intent is that JGIG be a place where Christians who have had this movement cross their paths might have a place to go, to really get them to think about the teachings that they're encountering. I have a complete Statement of Faith page at Joyfully Growing In Grace, so you can know where I'm coming from.
So that's a little about me and why I'm here.
Greetings to Vic, Sheep Wrecked, LindaR, and a few others I know. See ya 'round!
Grace and peace,
Some of you here know me . . . JGIG stands for Joyfully Growing in Grace.
I receive a mom's digest for moms of many young children (it has been a tremendous blessing in so many ways!), and over the years have noticed not only the increase in posts about Feast and Sabbath keeping, but also a move from "this is what we do in our family" to "these are commandments of God, they are forever, and they are not optional".
I ignored it at first, not having the time to really investigate where these teachings were coming from, but as God sometimes does, He would not let me rest about it until I committed time to evaluating from Scripture and from the resources the moms recommended what was being taught by these women.
The results have been astounding.
As I and some other moms on the digest became more and more curious (and concerned) about the "Law Keepers'" teachings, and attempted to post questions and Scriptures refuting mandatory Law-keeping, the sole moderator (now understood to be in the Law "camp") on the digest began to let the "Law" posters posts through, and withhold posts with dissenting voices.
So the research began. I've compiled much of it on a blog, a "where the rubber meets the road" account of what I began to see, and how the Law keeping teachings fall short of a contextual reading of the whole of Scripture.
I have purposed not to deal with individual teachers, unless truly relevant to a post, as there are MANY different false teachers with MANY different false teachings. I joke that the HRM is a lot like chili: You can go to 20 different friends and family members for chili recipes, and they will all be a little different. There are some ingredients that are consistent, like beans, tomatoes, and chili peppers, but the rest of the ingredients can vary from recipe to recipe. There are some ingredients in the HRM that are consistent, like mandatory Feast and Sabbath keeping, the concept of a "Renewed" Covenant rather than THE New Covenant, etc. Beyond that, there are great and varying degrees of "observance" in the HRM belief system, influenced by different teachers, sects, and cults through time.
My goal has been to present teachings and concepts from the Hebrew Roots/Messianic Movements that cross my path, and then measure them according to Scripture and actual historical information.
As I've had discourse with those in the HRM, Messianic Judaism, and those who are Jewish who are Christians, this is my observation:
Those who are in the HRM or consider themselves to be "in" Messianic Judaism by and large ascribe to and teach mandatory Torah observance. I've been accused of "lumping" those who are Torah "pursuant" together, so let me clarify a few things . . .
From the Feasts and Sabbaths to the dietary laws, things like Niddah (look it up) and as many other edicts of the Mosaic Law that they "feel" are "keepable" today - these are the things that those in the HRM are pursuant of. I know of one family where ALL the male members of the immediate family were circumcised to adhere to Torah, from the husband to the youngest. (I have nothing against circumcision, by the way, we have three sons, all circumcised.)
There is a Netzarim sect of Law "keepers" that would fall into this category. The Netzarim consider themselves to be "true" to a first century belief system. I would characterize them as being close to the Judaizers Paul refers to in the book of Galatians. Those in the Netzarim claim to hold "only to Scripture" as they follow the "ancient path", but if you spend enough time in discourse with them, there is rabbinic influence with which they bolster their belief system. Which leads to . . .
There are those in the HR/MJ movements who also ascribe to some practices in Judaism, relying on Jewish rabbis for "special insight" and "hidden knowledge" that can be gained from a "Hebraic mindset". Much of their interpretation of Scripture is filtered through Talmudic influence. The Talmud is not only unmistakably against Jesus Christ, but is also influenced by the Kabbalah and Gematria, both rooted in Gnosticism and the Occult .
On the other hand, those who are Jewish who are Christians have no problem taking on the "label" of Christian, as they are followers of Jesus Christ. Many continue in the traditions of their heritage of Feast and Sabbath keeping - but not because they think they are still commanded to do so. Christian Jews understand that they are under the New Covenant, not the Old Covenant. They have freedom from the Law of Moses and are now under the Law of Christ. These are folks who I have found to be a great resource for showing how the Law points to Christ, and how the Law is fulfilled in Christ. For them the Gospel takes on an even more profound meaning!
Please don't misinterpret any of what I've written as anti-Semitism. False doctrine is false doctrine no matter its source. Evaluating the doctrines of the HR/MJ movements (and there are some doozies!) is not anti-Semitic, it is discernment.
As I did research on the HRM, I found lots of info. It was extremely time consuming, and because the HRM is so diverse in its beliefs, overwhelming. I wanted for my blog to be a resource for general research (I link to several other sources of information), to break the HRM down into core issues that disqualify it as a valid belief system.
My intent is that JGIG be a place where Christians who have had this movement cross their paths might have a place to go, to really get them to think about the teachings that they're encountering. I have a complete Statement of Faith page at Joyfully Growing In Grace, so you can know where I'm coming from.
So that's a little about me and why I'm here.
Greetings to Vic, Sheep Wrecked, LindaR, and a few others I know. See ya 'round!
Grace and peace,
and think you do a great job!
I'm looking forward to reading your posts.![[Image: BouncingBobXMEETcau252Dvi.gif]](http://i427.photobucket.com/albums/pp353/princessofheaven33/BouncingBobXMEETcau252Dvi.gif)
is going to want that emoticon too!
