Re: age of accountability -- Mosaic Board

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Date Posted: 20:41:02 09/12/06 Tue
Author: Rabbi Stanley
Subject: Re: age of accountability
In reply to: Coleen 's message, "age of accountability" on 17:42:57 08/23/06 Wed

Shalom Coleen,
Sorry it�s taken so long to get back to you, I�ve been very busy and unable to get some time so I can answer fully.
I�m glad you enjoy the Mosaic Board and I hope you use it often.
You should keep the Sabbath. Everyone should regardless if they are Jewish or not. It is a Commandment to all. Those who break it are committing a sin unto death.
To understand which laws a Gentile is to follow, we first have to understand �Law�. The word �Law� in the Old and New testaments can mean different things. It could be speaking of just the Ten Commandments or the Torah (first 5 books of Moses) or it could be speaking of the entire Old Testament. It could also be used to be speaking about the entire Bible. Another way it�s used is to mean the Oral Torah (The Mishna) or any combination of all of these. So if you ask me point blank do Gentiles have to follow the Law? My answer is �Absolutely!� We also have to understand that there were laws that were only for when you were in HaAretz (The Land� Israel). There are also laws that the Gentiles don�t necessarily have to follow�. but�. they should follow them! All Gentiles have to follow the Noadic Laws. The Jews didn�t even exist then so there�s no excuse for anyone to say, �oh those are Jewish laws�. That is a cop out. I see that a lot in Gentile Christians. I call them, �Lazy Christians�. They say things like �we are set free from the Law�. They are ignorant. Not only must they follow G-d�s laws they are silly to not WANT to follow them. I look at it this way� If tomorrow I was told by my city officials that no one had to follow the law any longer� I would not want to leave my house. People would be running red lights crashing into each other and getting killed. So why do some ignorant Gentiles think it�s a good thing to abolish G-d�s laws which are so much more superior then any laws man could come up with? It�s really absurd if you look at it without the glasses of Gentile theology. �I�m free from the Law, I�m free from the Law�, whatever you say buddy. Yeshua was clear, He did not abolish the Law. Gentiles have abolished it, they�ve gotten rid of it. That�s what abolish means. Then they say �Yeah, yeah but He fulfilled it!!!!� as if that means He really did abolish it after all. The Church is becoming aware of this as a whole too. 30 years ago I didn�t hear a peep from them about the law, they all thought it was abolished. I could count the number of Messianics in this country on one hand. Now it�s in just about every conversation I have with Gentiles. Just like you they�re saying, �hey wait a minute, there�s a lot of stuff in the Bible about the Law and there�s things in the New Testament that sound like we�re still supposed to be following it�. They read where Paul says, �I love the Law�. Or �I wouldn�t change one iota (yud) of the Law�. But then they get confused when they read things like �we are freed from the Law�. People don�t know how to reconcile these differences because they aren�t looking at it from a Jewish standpoint. They are trying to see it from 1500 years of pagan theology that crept into the church and it doesn�t make any sense that way.
So, what does it mean when he says �I�m free from the Law�? Well, Paul didn�t have the luxury of the word �legalism� in his day. Legalism existed, but the word didn�t. So every time he tried to express his thoughts about legalism, he wrote �law� because that was the word available. So very simply, when you see the word Law� being used negatively, he�s talking about �legalism�. When it�s positive, it�s �law�.
Why did Paul say so many negative things about legalism? I�ll tell you why. IT was just beginning in his day. Many stupid people think that Jews were saved by the law (works) until Jesus came, then we were all saved by grace through faith. Not true. No Jew before Yeshua�s time EVER thought one was saved by the Law. Why? Because the Torah says that Abraham was saved by FAITH! No Jew thought we were saved by works or the Law. But at Yeshua�s time, there were a couple smaller schools that started to teach this. We read about them in extra-biblical writings. We find that these small groups were introducing a new �teaching�. The teaching was saying that one could be saved by works. Paul saw this and recognized that it could be the death of Judaism. Guess what? He was right. Jews today believe that they can be saved by works! So why should we follow the law if we are saved by grace? Because we are saved by grace but we walk by the Law. That means Salvation and works have nothing to do with each other. We are saved by grace PERIOD. But after we get saved we then have to walk a holy life and we do that by following G-d's laws and precepts. It doesn�t mean we bail on the Law, we follow it. In Hebrew it�s called �Halacha�. It means �The way to walk�. Make the separation in your mind that Salvation and Halacha are 2 different things and you�ll have no problem understanding Scripture. If you don�t make that difference, you�ll run around in circles like the vast majority of Christendom. If you understand what I�m saying, you will be able to understand when Paul says, �I love the Law� and then understand what he means when he says �I�m free from the Law (legalism)�.
There are other things you�ve touched on in your question that I want to address, but I�ll have to do it next time.
Shalom in Him,
Rabbi Stanley

>i would like to thank you for clarifying to me that
>the sabbath starts on Friday at sunset and ends
>Saturday at sunset. I am seeking truth by reading my
>bible and trusting in God. I feel strongly that he
>wants me to observe the sabbath. Maybe I am being
>prepared for something I don't know. This seems to be
>the only forum I have come accross that welcomes
>questions such as mine.
>
>Even though I am a gentile i believe in God and Jesus
>and I follow the ten comandments. The ten
>conmandments are also for the gentiles. Romans
>2:12God will punish the Gentiles when they sin, even
>though they never had God's written law. And he will
>punish the Jews when they sin, for they do have the
>law. 13For it is merely knowing the law that brings
>God's approval. Those who obey the law will be
>declared right in God's sight. 14Even when Gentiles,
>who do not have God's written law, instinctively
>follow what the law says, they show that in their
>hearts they know right from wrong. 15They demonstrate
>that God's law is written within them, for their own
>consciences either accuse them or tell them they are
>doing what is right. Romans 2:28 goes on to say For
>you are not a true Jew just because you were born of
>Jewish parents or because you have gone through the
>Jewish ceremony of circumcision. 29 No, a true Jew is
>one whose heart is right with God. And true
>circumcision is not a cutting of the body but a change
>of heart produced by God's spirit. Whoever has that
>kind of change seeks praise from God, not from people.
>
>Now I know that the Jews are God's chosen people, but
>salvation was also given to us gentiles through Jesus
>Christ. We are also required to follows God's laws are
>we not? I want to follow his law of observing the
>sabbath. Acts 28:28 "Therefore let it be known to
>you that the salvation of God has been sent to the
>Gentiles, and they will hear it!"
>
>Coleen

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Replies:

What is the age of accountability? -- Coleen, 19:19:24 09/15/06 Fri

Re: What is the age of accountability? -- Rabbi Stanley, 23:16:25 10/17/06 Tue