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Liberation Day
by Marc S. Handelsman
The attitude and practice Believers in Yeshua should take towards Mosaic Law is one of the most hotly debated topics in Messianic Judaism. In this article, Marc. S. Handelsman explains why he believes that it is no longer necessary for Christians and Messianic Jews to follow the Laws of the Torah. In April 1945, the U.S. Army liberated Buchenwald death camp. Most survivors were too exhausted to celebrate their liberation day. General Dwight Eisenhower, who later became President of the United States, was appalled by the horrors he witnessed. He invited a delegation of U.S. Congressmen to view evidence of Nazi atrocities against the Jews. Approximately six million Jewish men, women, and children perished at the hands of the demonic Nazi regime. Nearly two thousand years earlier another liberation day was celebrated. Jews and all mankind were liberated from bondage to the Law. The historical reality of the death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua (Jesus) lifted the burden of the Law off the backs of the Jewish people. The Bible clearly proves that Jewish and Gentile Believers in Yeshua (Jesus) are not obligated to keep the Law. In the First Century A.D., there were disputes among well-meaning believers concerning the Mosaic Law. For example, some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." (Acts 15:1, NIV) As a result of the dispute, the Council of Jerusalem convened to debate the role of the Law in the believer’s life. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are." (Acts 15:7-11, NIV) Some early Jewish believers were trying to force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs. The Apostle Paul said to Peter, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?" We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified." (Galatians 2:14-16, NIV) All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." (Galatians 3:10-11, NIV) In conclusion, there is no biblical support for Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus to continue observing the Mosaic Law. Once a Jew accepts Jesus as Messiah and Savior, he is still a Jew. Whatever people do with their "Jewishness" is between them and the Lord. Nonetheless, we must be true to God’s word, and not misinterpret it. A lot of confusion about observing the Law can be resolved if Christians read what the Bible says about it. Finally, examine the Scriptures like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, and pray that the Lord would grant you godly wisdom to understand His word. (James 1:5)Marc lives in Pittsburgh, PA and graduated with a B.A. in History from the University of South Florida and earned a Diploma in Biblical Studies at the Friends of Israel’s Institute of Biblical Studies. His testimony has positively impacted the brethren at his church. You can read more about his testimony here. Copyright 2003
- Romans 1:16, NIV |