Christians and the Torah

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible.

Should Christians follow the Torah (Law) of Moses and the traditions of the Jewish elders? For example, circumcision, eating only Kosher food and worshipping on the Sabbath.



Christians, the answer is NO.

In Acts 15, some Messianic Jews (Jews who follow Jesus as Messiah, Lord and Saviour) demanded that the Gentile disciples of Jesus Christ "must" also keep the Law of Moses.

This led to a great debate among the apostles of the church. So intense was the issue that they convened in Jerusalem to make a final resolution. The outcome of it was that the apostles collectively agreed that GENTILES DO NOT NEED TO KEEP THE LAW OF MOSES!

However, Gentiles are commanded instead to abstain from:

1. Things polluted by idols;
2. Sexual immorality (fornication);
3. Things that are strangled; and
4. Blood.

So, it is OK, for example, for a Christian to eat pork (non-Kosher) but he must make sure that the animal was not offered to other gods before (unless there is no choice), strangled and did not contain blood:

¹⁸ “Known to God from eternity are all His works. ¹⁹ Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, ²⁰ but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.

Acts 15:18-20

By the way, Messianic Jews today who insist that Gentile background believers must also be circumcised, eat Kosher, keep the Sabbath etc. are buying into a doctrine promoted by "Judaizers", the very same group of people who are called "Brood of vipers" by the Son of God Himself. That is, the Pharisees.

The bulk of the book of Galatians was written by St Paul against Judaizers!

So if you are a Messianic Jew reading this, please be informed that you must NOT impose the Torah on Gentile believers, and NOT judge them for not keeping the Law of Moses too.

Messianic Jews CAN continue to keep the Torah and live 100% as a Jew, but must NEVER cause division in the Body of Christ by claiming to be the only "true" Christianity or that to be saved one must keep the Law.

Indeed, I wish and I know that Messianic Jews will NOT think that their keeping of the Law of Moses will earn them salvation. Their keeping of the Torah is simply their culture, period.

Salvation is by Grace through Faith Alone!