This article addresses the clause “under the Law” (Grk. hupo nomon), how it is used, and what it means in its appropriate context in view of what both the Tanach and Apostolic Scriptures tell us about the significance of God’s Torah.
Torah Helper Study
In theory, most evangelical conservative Christians claim to honor the Bible as if all of it is the inspired, inerrant Word of the Lord. However, in practice, the same cannot often be said, especially when it comes to many Christians’ attitude concerning their approach to the Law of Moses, or the Torah (Genesis-Deuteronomy).
J.K. McKee of Messianic Apologetics discusses the huge significance of the prophecies of Micah 4:1-3 and Isaiah 2:2-4, which both anticipate how the masses from the nations of Planet Earth will stream to Zion in the Last Days to be instructed by Moses’ Teaching.
One area that receives some discussion, in various parts of the Messianic movement, is whether or not the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)—which we usually refer to as the Torah—should ever be called the Law. A statement that can be heard from time to time in our Messianic faith community, is: The Torah is teaching. The Torah is not the law. It is said that Torah just means Teaching or Instruction, and should never be referred to by the term law.
Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “A Messianic Evolution?,” as we review some of the difficult things that have been witnessed throughout the Messianic movement of the past three decades.
Torah observance is much more than just Shabbat, the festivals, and kosher. A great number of ethical and moral issues/commandments become significantly conscious to the Torah reader. Likewise, a person has to encounter a world going not only back some 3,300 years to the time of the Exodus, but multiplied millennia to the Creation of the cosmos itself. The questions and the controversies that the first five books of the Bible present to us, not just as students of God’s Word, but specifically as Messianic Believers—are quite significant. Many people do not know what to do when the social norms of the ancient period are different than those of today, and are often at a loss when reading the Torah. Not infrequently, such issues are just avoided or outright ignored in Messianic Torah study.
Perhaps the most shocking trend present today in the Messianic movement, is witnessing a return of many evangelical Believers to the foundations of our faith. This is best exemplified by many individuals studying the Torah on a consistent basis. The Torah is the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, also commonly called the Law of Moses or Pentateuch.
How do you respond to the view of some that Millennial Kingdom worldwide Torah practices, such as the remembrance of the seventh-day Sabbath or Feast of Tabernacles—should not be breaking into the present time?
Are non-Jewish Believers who are anticipating these things by keeping them, holding to an “overly-realized eschatology”?
What is the problem with holding to a low theology of sin (hamartology), and how do we see this problem fixed?
What is your position on women in ministry? Should Messianic women be allowed to be teachers, pastors/rabbis, or occupy positions of leadership?
