We have sometimes heard good folks that
say they want the “Abraham kind of faith,” the kind of faith that existed “before
the Law was given.” They will sometimes quote, “And he (Abraham) believed in
the LORD (YHWH), and He counted it to him for
righteousness,” from Genesis 15:6. This verse is again quoted in Romans 4:3 and
Galatians 3:6. It is indeed proof of a doctrine which is called “Justification
by Faith.” It is 100% scriptural! We have no problem with that. Philippians 3:9
also confirms this doctrine.
However, it is also
assumed that this is all that was required of Abraham, and all that is required
of us. The assumption is that Torah is no longer relevant to people of faith.
Habakkuk 2:4b is often quoted to prove this concept: “The just shall live by
his faith.” However, if we live by our faith, shouldn’t this affect
how we live our lives? Does this mean we can do whatever we want to do? Of
course not! If we truly live by our faith, we are going to be obedient to the
precepts of our faith. In much the same way, a child shows respect and love for
his parents when he obeys his mom and dad.
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Abraham was told that his descendants would be numerous, like the stars of the heavens. (Bereisheet [Genesis]15:5) |
When we get to Genesis
chapter 17, we discover that Abraham and all the men of his household were
circumcised when Abe was 99 years old! It’s no big deal for a baby to get
circumcised. We went to one b’rit milah (ritual circumcision) where the baby didn’t even
cry! Amazing! It isn’t always that easy. We have been to other circumcisions in
which the babies’ cries were quite loud. It can be very uncomfortable. In fact,
I got circumcised as a baby, and I couldn’t walk for a full year!
For a man, circumcision is a major ordeal, especially back in the
days when the only anesthesia was some kosher wine! And the older the man is,
the greater the ordeal! Abraham wasn’t a man who believed in “greasy grace.”
That is, he didn’t believe that grace and faith were all that was needed. How
many of us fellows would agree to circumcision as an adult without some major,
heavy-duty anesthesia? Circumcision was (and is) the sign of the covenant
between God and His people.[1]
In Genesis 26:3-5, we
read about a commandment and a promise from God, to Isaac, the son of Abraham:
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you;
for to you, and to your descendants, I will give all these countries,
[2]
and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father; 4and I will make your seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and
will give to your seed all these countries; and in your seed shall all the nations
of the earth be blessed; 5because Abraham obeyed
me, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and
my laws.
Does this
sound like someone who was “before the Law”? Does this sound like someone who
was ignorant of God’s commandments? The Hebrew word for “charge” is mishmeret, which means “charge or watch.” The word
for “commandments” is mitz-vot. Although Jews
today sometimes use the term mitzvot to mean “good deeds,” it literally
does mean “commandments,” as it is translated in most Bibles. The word for
“statutes” is chukot, which also means “ordin-ances.” Finally, the word that is translated “laws”
is tarot, from which we get the word torah. Although “Torah” is
commonly translated as “Law,” it more literally means “Instructions.”
It is obvious that Abraham’s faith was demonstrated
by his actions. However, I can hear some objections: “Yes, that might be true,
but it can’t have anything to do with keeping the commandments such as those
given by Moses.” Well, actually… YES, it does! In Deuteronomy 11:1, we read the
instructions given by Moses to the Israelites, saying, “Therefore you shall love the LORD (YHWH) your God, and keep His charge,
and His statutes, and His judgments, and His commandments,
always.” That sounds real close to what YHWH said to Isaac, don’t you think?
I don’t believe for a
minute that Abraham was ignorant of God’s instructions. The Sabbath, which is
the seventh day of the week, is Shabbat. It was sanctified and blessed in
Genesis 2:1-3, long before there were any Jews! The concept of the Sabbath
wasn’t an “invention” of Moses! It preceded Moses by about 2500 years! Also,
Noah was aware of clean and unclean animals, as we learn in Genesis 7:2.
Abraham was aware of what sexual perversion was, as we learn from the accounts
of
The primary difference between Genesis 26:5 and Deuteronomy 11:1
is this: In Deuteronomy 11:1, Moses connects loving God with keeping the
commandments. Interestingly, Yeshua does the same thing! In Yochanan (John)
In 1 John 2:4 & 6, we read, “He that says, ‘I know Him,’ and
keeps not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in
him… He that says he abides in Him ought also to walk, even as He walked.”
Pretty harsh words, but I’m just the messenger. If you say that you know
Yeshua, but don’t obey His commandments, you are a liar. OUCH! Also, if we
abide in Him, we should walk even as He walked. I don’t think this will
surprise too many of our readers, but Yeshua never changed religions; He remained
a Torah-observant Jew. And if we are His talmidim (disciples), we ought
also to walk as He walked. By the way, the “religion” of Yeshua and his
disciples was Judaism! I don’t for a minute believe we ought to practice our
faith as instructed by the rabbis. We should take instruction from a different
Rabbi: Rabbi Yeshua!
Yeshua’s
brother Ya’akov[3]
wrote, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22You see that faith was working with his works, and by works
faith was perfected. 23And the Scripture was fulfilled which
says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,’ and
he was called the Friend of God. 24You see then that by
works a man is justified, and not by faith alone.” [4] Then a couple of verses later, we read, “For
just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is
dead.” Can a dead faith save anyone?
I’m
not putting down faith for works, nor am I putting down works in favor of
faith. What I am saying is that both are vital. Regretfully, very early on in
Christianity, the Christians sought to bring about a larger separation between
Christianity and Judaism. Thereafter, the primary emphasis was on faith,
creeds, and doctrine. What you believed was much more important than
what you did. Those who departed from a “creed” were subjected to trials
of heresy.
In
Judaism, there was the opposite approach. Jews in response to Christianity also
sought to further the division between Jews and Christians. One of the ways of
doing this was to put an inordinate emphasis on “works.” What you actually did
was far more important than what you believed. A religious Jew is
someone who observes the mitzvot (commandments). He could be an atheist, but if
he observes the mitzvot, he is considered “religious.” I have a friend who is a
Polish Jew. He is also a survivor of the Holocaust. He attends synagogue
regularly, eats kosher, observes Shabbat, and lives a Jewishly
observant lifestyle. Yet he proclaims to be an atheist! One day I asked him,
“Harry, why do you do all these things, and yet you claim to be an atheist?” He
responded, “Because I am a Jew.” Interesting answer! And in religious circles,
he is accepted as a religious Jew, because he observes the mitzvot.
In Messianic Judaism, we need a proper balance. Both
works and faith are important. Neither should be at the expense of the
other.