In brotherly love I say the following:
MadDog wrote:I've always said that in order to tell a convincing lie, it is best to hide it between two truths. If you are pitting Yahweh/Yashua against Paul, then there is no contest. I would then suggest you are in dangerous waters when you are so ready to uphold Paul above or equal to Yahweh's Torah. What Paul said about circumcision and eating clean/unclean food was just enough to cast doubt on the Torah, Prophet, and Psalms AND he had signs and miracles to back him up. Remember what happend at the garden of Eden, Yahweh's one and only commandment, and both Adam and Chavah couldn't get it right and they were supposed to be "perfect." I think you know what Yashua meant by "mother, brother, sister" i.e. family.
Hopefully I will never suggest Paul as equal to or above God; however, I will defend what I believe to be baseless claims made against him. To some it might seem that I’m defending him as a divine being, but I’m not; rather, just arguing against the notion that he is somehow evil. While at the same time pointing out what I find to be flaws found in Yada's Questioning Paul.
MadDog wrote:And what is the will of my Father exactly Matthew? According to you, nothing, absolutely nothing. No circumcision, no kosher diet, not even observing the Feasts of Yahweh will do. Except for maybe studying the Torah, Prophet, and Psalms but that for sure doesn't guarantee salvation either and therefore Yahshua's sacrifice was in vain because Yahshua claimed he fulfilled the Torah, Prophet, and Psalms, didn't he? How exactly did he accomplish observing the Torah without the Ark of the Covenant? So someone is lying or just plain wrong, who could it be? Yahweh, Yahshua, Paul, and now even maybe you Matthew.
Lastly, notice that he pointed to his disciples and that he said "for whosoever" and not "and whosoever" unless that is just a bad translation which I wouldn't doubt.
We
cannot literally observe the Feasts of Yahweh, even Yahweh says a person who has touched a dead body or is away on a journey cannot celebrate the Passover but must do it at the second appointed time. If the Torah has to be kept on our part then it has to be done in accordance to the Torah, to the rules and regulation it specifies. Please note that I am taking this very literally. Verse 14 of Numbers 9 says foreigners have the same regulations as native Jews
if they reside in the Land. If we take off work for the Festival of Unleavened Bread or build tents as tabernacles during the Festival of Succoth are we literally keeping it? The answer is no obviously. I don't believe I have ever said we should not spiritually observe it or reject it; in fact I think it's great and encourage that we take off work and get together to celebrate what Yahweh has done and will do for us and have fellowship with our family and friends. They truly have memorial and educational value and we would be stupid not to spiritually observe them. But we should not think we are keeping it as per Torah said we should. We should celebrate it as a means to express our gratitude and thankfulness to Yahuweh, do it in remembrance, but we should not do it believing we are somehow earning salvation through our own sweat, blood and obedience. The Torah clearly says we cannot buy our salvation through our own means, we cannot pay a ransom for our souls. See the story regarding the 6 Cities of Refuge in Numbers 35, notably verse 31.
If a temple existed you can bet your [fill in appropriate word] that I would be making missions to Israel. I would probably even uproot myself to go live there if that was possible. But there is no temple, and I do not live in Israel for now. There is no Levitical priesthood. Does that somehow exempt me from having to literally abide by
all of the Torah? Obviously not, since we should still love God and love our neighbour, “for this sums up the Torah and the Prophets.”
Nowhere did I say to do God’s will is to do absolutely nothing. However, in a way yes we do nothing to receive salvation, because after all it is a gift freely given to us, it's something we accept, not something we earn. Through the Sabbath Law we find we cannot work for our salvation, but must simply rest in God for it. So how can we do the works/will of God? Yahshua answered that: John 6:28-29!
Numbers 9 is an interesting study in itself. If we are a follower of Yahweh through Yahshua then Passover is a thing of the past, it’s done and fulfilled, we caught it at the first opportunity. However, of course if someone (i.e. the Jews) has missed it then they better take the second opportunity not to miss it. Not that Yahshua will die again, but the Jews were unclean on account of a dead body, they had Yahshua killed. They missed the first opportunity but will get a second chance during the Time of Jacob's Trouble to recognize their Messiah. Numbers 9 being prophetic in that regard. However, if a person was in a position to accept Yahweh’s grace through Yahshua the first time (in other words while alive) but did not, then they’ve disqualified themselves from any second opporunity. And that’s a scary thought. Numbers 35:32 also highlights that someone cannot buy Yahshua's pardon and protection even if they're guilty of something (unintentionally killing the Messiah as opposed to murdering Him), but have to simply accept Yahshua's death as the thing that pardons them.
Again, you'll be hard-pressed to find me saying "we must not be circumcised." I'm taking the Torah's precepts in fact very literally in regards to circumcision. I am not employed by a Jew, no Jew has physically bought me for employment, and I am not living in the Land of Israel, therefore I do not see a command for me to get circumcised, even though I am already circumcised. However; spiritually I have had my heart circumcised, been bought and employed by a Jew, and live in His Kingdom. We can say: having taken hold of the first Passover. But I will say that if you believe being physically circumcised, apart from Yahshua, saves you then I can say quite confidently that the circumcision will be done in vain. It has no saving power in itself. And if you choose to be circumcised as a means to save yourself but then stumble at any other law then your circumcision will be worthless. And that's obvious, don't even need to read Paul (Romans 2:25), James (Jacob/James 2:10), and John (1 John 3:4).
Also, if the Torah saved, if the blood of goats and bulls, circumcision, et cetera saved, if it could cleanse one from sin - the goal of our salvation - then there would be no need for the promise of Jeremiah 31:31-34. If the work of the high priest truly worked then there would be no need for the High Priest.
MadDog wrote:Can you tell me what it takes to be "saved?" Can you point me to the right path towards Yahweh? If I don't even know 100% if I'm really saved, how am I supposed to help others? If I am wrong about Yahweh then all I'll be doing is spreading a lie and thus damning more people, including family.
Yahshua's own words: John 3:16.