Torah Is The Word

Last updated on: July 28, 2023 at 5:21 pm by Gail Kryscio

0 Comments

Torah Is The Word 2023-07-28T17:21:02-04:00 Gail Kryscio

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Shalom! Welcome to Torah Is The Word.

We thank you for stopping by Torah Is The Word

The symbol of being grafted in: menorah, Star of David and Icthys

and hope you enjoy the articles we plan on sharing each week.

Torah Is The Word is a Messianic ministry dedicated to spreading Biblical, scriptural truths about practices deemed obsolete or thought to be strictly Jewish, but are designed for all of those who worship the God of Israel and have faith in Christ. These practices, which all point to Christ, include keeping of the Seventh-Day Sabbath, observance of the Feasts of the Lord (Leviticus 23) and the keeping of Biblical dietary law (Leviticus 11).

What is the Torah?

Some may be wondering what the Torah is and why or how it’s the Word. Well, the Torah is the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

In Hebrew, Torah means “instruction,” and it’s easy to see in these first books of the Old Testament, or the Tanakh as it’s known in Hebrew, that this is where we read much of God’s direct instructions to His people.

Think of Torah as an instruction manual, much like you receive along with an appliance or knockdown furniture. Torah is the instruction manual of you – your life – written by your Creator. It’s God’s instructions on how to live how He wills us to live – happily and healthy: physically, emotionally and spiritually.

When we live by His Word and keep our faith in Jesus Christ (the Word made flesh – John 1) as our Savior, we are what Paul describes in Romans 11, as “grafted in,” another topic near and dear to us at Torah Is The Word.

What does it mean to be grafted in?

One thing rarely heard taught in modern Christian churches is the Biblical concept of being “grafted in.” Many denominations eschew the idea of believers being Israel, or being part of a “spiritual Israel,” which they view as non-existent. However, the Apostle Paul has a lot to say on the subject.

In Romans 11:17, the Apostle Paul uses the agricultural metaphor of being grafted in to illustrate how Gentile believers become equal partakers with Jewish believers.

The olive tree he speaks of represents Israel, the root is Christ. The branches represent the people of Israel. Those branches broken off are those who reject Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ), while those cultivated branches that remain are Jewish believers in Yeshua. The grafted-in, wild olive branches represent Gentile believers.

In Christ, all believers are of one body, all rooted in our faith in Messiah, all (should be) producing the same fruit of that faith, all equal partakers of the promises of Israel, as Paul explains in Ephesians 2, starting with verse 11. There, he teaches that those of us once known as Gentiles, once separate from Christ, once excluded from the people of Israel, once strangers to the covenant of promise, and hopeless without God, have been brought near to all those things by the blood of Christ (v.13)

Once we put our faith in Jesus as our Savior, we are no longer Gentiles, meaning, we are no longer of the world, no longer separate from God and His promises, or excluded from the people of Israel. No, once we believe Jesus lived, died for our atonement, and was risen on the third day, we become grafted in, fellow heirs (with Israel) and partakers of God’s promises (Ephesians 3:6).

Once we understand and accept that we are grafted into Israel and that the whole Bible, Old Testament included, is relevant to us as Christians, we begin to grow and mature spiritually. With that maturity comes the Holy Spirit inspired desire to dive deeper into God’s unchanging Word (Isaiah 40:8), which often leads to Torah observance, not as a purchase of salvation, but as a fruit of the salvation and grace received through Jesus.

This article was a quick introduction to who we are. In the coming weeks, we will be diving deeper into the topics mentioned in this article. For example, the Biblical Fall Feasts of the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah), Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) are fast approaching, and we will be featuring articles on how and why we observe them. We will also be addressing other topics of Christian interest, as well.

We thank you for reading and hope you make us a regular part of your reading routine.

God Bless and Shalom!

Previous Post

April 11, 2024

It Wasn't the Last Supper - It Was Passover