Why Biblical Law is For All Believers (And Not Just Jews)

I used to think that Biblical law and keeping the commandments were only expected of Jewish people, and I hear this echoed all the time. Statements like, "I don't have to do that because I'm not Jewish," "God only wants the Jewish people to keep the food laws," "Gentiles are not under the law because of Jesus," or "Those things are just for Jews," show up in my comment section all the time. If we only listen to manmade religious doctrines, this is easy to accept as truth. But if we take a look at what Scripture actually says we will find this is not the case! All believers, no matter their ancestry, are expected to keep the commandments in the Bible!

Why Biblical law is not just for Jews:

-The Bible never says this. There is nothing in the Bible about the commandments being only for Jewish people. In fact, until the New Testament Jewish people barely get a mention in Scripture. Seriously, go reread the whole thing. You will not find a phrase like that in there. There are no instructions from YHWH about limiting the gift of his word, or the expectations of keeping his commandments to Jewish people.

-The Bible expressly says Biblical law is not just for the Israelites, but also for foreigners. Exodus 12:49, "There is one Torah for the native-born and for the stranger who sojourns among you." There was no such thing as Judaism in Exodus, so this verse does not somehow mean that the Torah is only for you if you convert to Judaism or live around Jews. It's talking about people from any part of the world joining YHWH's people by serving him. No matter where you are from, the same set of commandments apply to you.

-There were no Jews present when Biblical law was given. Not a single person in Genesis through Deuteronomy (when Biblical law was given) considered themselves to be Jewish. Not one. While the tribe of Judah was present, so were eleven other tribes! We must understand that Scripture's use of Israelite is not interchangeable with the term Judaism today. There are Jews today who did have ancestors present when Biblical law was given, but many other people groups also have ancestors who were given Biblical law!

-The New Testament says there are neither Jews nor Gentiles. I really can't imagine why this statement from Galatians 3:28 would be included in Scripture if YHWH was going to hold different people groups to different standards. Recognizing this verse makes it seem rather silly to say, "God doesn't hold me to that standard because I'm a gentile"!

-The Messiah was never impressed with claims of antecedence. John the Baptist's words in Luke 3:8, "Prove by the way that you live that you have repented from sins and turned to God. Don't just say to each other, 'We're safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.' That means nothing, for I tell you that God can create children of Abraham from these very stones." The Messiah did not count relations to Abraham as some sort of extra credit or bonus. His response to those who were relying on their physical relations to Abraham was that wasn't enough, their actions should reflect that. He said that Abraham's children would do what Abraham did (John 8:39).

-Most of us don't really know where we are from. Even if you believe that Biblical law is only for those who descended physically from the Israelites who were freed from Egypt, how do you know that none of your ancestors were there? Most of us are lucky to know anything about our ancestors after the most recent five or six generations. There is simply no way of knowing for sure whether you had ancestors there or not!

Recognizing that the Living God gave one set of instructions for all people, wherever they may be from physically or whatever their religious background is, means that we should strive to honor him by keeping his commandments! Yes, we are all sinners and won't do it perfectly. But no parent would ever say that since their children won't be able to always keep their instructions perfectly, they don't expect them to bother trying. YHWH is honored by our efforts to keep his instructions, even when we fall short.

Related posts:
Why the Biblical Holidays are For All Believers
Basics of Biblical Law
Commandments or Traditions - Understanding the New Testament

Things Not Required for Sabbath Rest

How do you participate in the Sabbath day correctly? Are there certain things you have to do to do it right? When I first started keeping the Sabbath day I was bombarded with feedback about what I had to do to "do it correctly." Christians, Messianics, and Jews alike warned that there were certain steps that, if skipped, would mean that my attempts at Sabbath rest "wouldn't count."

While the Bible gives us directions about the Sabbath day, those instructions are looser and less in number than most people realize. Scripture tells us to rest, not to work, and to worship YHWH and that's really the bulk of the commandments surrounding the day of rest. But well-meaning people would tell me that if I tore any toilet paper on the Sabbath, that would wipe out any physical benefit or spiritual credit that I might have gotten if I had kept the Sabbath 'perfectly.' I'd like to point out that this is not something the Bible says! 

Like the Pharisees who accused the Messiah of breaking the Sabbath in Matthew 12, many of us have focused our attention on what other people tell us about Sabbath observance, instead of what the word of God says. Jesus didn't actually break any rules in the Bible around the Sabbath day, he only broke the rules imposed by man.

You can keep the Sabbath according to what the Bible says, without worrying that you're doing it wrong if you skip on cultural expectations of what the Sabbath day "should" look like. 

You don't have to:

-Clean your house the day before. 

-Light candles.

-Have challah bread.

-Not use electricity or shut the light off in your refrigerator.

-Recite blessings.

-Make a fancy meal.

-Tear toilet paper ahead of time.

And a whole lot of other things! If it's not in the Bible, it's not required. Note that there's not necessarily anything wrong with some of these things, but it is wrong to believe that we can only enter into YHWH's Sabbath rest when we've checked all these boxes. The gift of the Sabbath isn't about doing these things, it's about pausing to honor a commandment from the Living God! Make sure you're not telling people that it's harder than it really is or that they have to follow any instructions that aren't from the Bible.

Related posts:
What To Do on the Sabbath
Sabbath Prep and the Idol of Cleanliness
What NOT To Do on the Sabbath

Why Hanukkah is Not a Biblical Holiday

"But isn't Hanukkah in the Bible?"

"Hanukkah is in the Bible so it's a Biblical holiday."

"Jesus celebrated Hanukkah!"

"The book of Maccabees was in the Bible Jesus read so Hanukkah is a Bible holiday."

I've heard statements like this so many times recently that I want to shed some light on the fact that Hanukkah is not a Biblical holiday, and explain what that means for believers in Messiah. It's crazy how defensive and even vicious people can get about this topic! This post is to help us come to understand truths around this holiday - whether or not we choose to celebrate it. 

Why isn't Hanukkah a Biblical holiday?

The Biblical holidays are set apart times that YHWH himself created and told us to celebrate. Please read that again. The Bible holidays of Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Shavuot, Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and the Feast of Tabernacles were created and ordained by the Living God. Scripture tells us to celebrate them in Leviticus 23, and Deuteronomy 16. They come up in many places throughout the Bible. Significantly the Messiah was killed on Passover, less significantly Paul mentions that sailing was dangerous because it was after Yom Kippur (Acts 27:9). We are told to keep these holidays forever.

Why isn't Hanukkah included in the list of Biblical holidays? Because YHWH didn't tell us to celebrate it. It's not found in the Leviticus 23 list or anywhere else in Scripture.

"But Hanukkah is in the Bible!"

There is a mention of the Messiah being at the Temple during the "Feast of Dedication" in John 10:22 (most translations just say during winter). Many people in the Messianic movement have taken this as a directive to celebrate Hanukkah, but it's a pretty big jump to conclude that anything the Bible mentions is automatically ordained. Most of us recognize that just because Acts 19:28 says, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians," that's not a Biblical truth or directive for what we should say! And the Messiah being somewhere does not automatically legitimize something, or require our celebration. He spent time with sinners - that does not mean he approved of their actions! We know he attended weddings, but no one is having a holiday every year to remember the wedding where he turned water into wine.

We should also note that if you read John 10, the first thing the Messiah says is that the people there didn't believe his words. Nothing in the passage would give you the idea that he's lighting up a nine-branch hanukkiah or in agreement with everything happening there. The Bible frequently talks about Jewish customs that were manmade, and a significant portion of the Messiah's words are of him speaking against these manmade traditions. It would be surprising if he suddenly had no qualms with something religious leaders had made up. He certainly would not have put any manmade holiday on the same level as the set apart ones created by his Father.

"But the books of Maccabees were in the Bible Jesus read!"

Something that many people overlook about the book of Maccabees is that nowhere in it does YHWH say that people should celebrate Hanukkah. Even if Maccabees were or should be included in the Biblical canon, they contain no directive to create a holiday based on the events recorded. The books also contain nothing about the supposed miracle of one day's worth of oil lasting for eight days, which is what the manmade hanukkiah light is based on. 

Many believers in Messiah that celebrate Hanukkah are quick to rebuke others for celebrating Christmas...even though both holidays are "Bible based." 

I'm sick of people verbally abusing Christians who celebrate Christmas, saying that they are pagan because Christmas isn't a holiday found in the Bible, then turning around and taking part in another holiday that is also not found in Scripture. This double-standard is unfair, and a poor testimony of the work of the Messiah in our lives, and shows a lack of understanding of the word.

"But I want to celebrate the amazing story of the Maccabees!"

That's your choice, but be aware you are doing that because that's what you want to do - not because YHWH commanded it. I agree that the Maccabees story is inspirational! But something having spiritual significance doesn't automatically make it a Bible holiday. Christmas is also not a Biblical holiday, even though it is based on Bible events and has meaning to its celebrants. We could take any Bible story and turn it into our own holiday if we wanted. There could be David and Goliath Day or Water Into Wine Wednesdays. We could invent these holidays and they could be fun, meaningful, and teach Biblical truths...but that doesn't put them on par with the holidays YHWH created.

If you want to celebrate Hanukkah, that's your choice. But don't do so thinking that it's a Biblical holiday, because it's not - it's a holiday invented by man. Manmade holidays aren't always bad, but we shouldn't esteem them as highly as the Biblical holidays the Living God directed to celebrate. Hanukkah is not a holiday the Bible commands us to celebrate.

*Please note that this post is to clarify why Hanukkah is not included in the seven Biblical holidays. I realize it is a significant holiday in Judaism, with historic and spiritual meaning. I mean no disrespect to that. My goal is to teach the distinction between what Scripture says and Jewish customs. Many Jews have told me they don't want to see the Messianic movement appropriating their culture, which is why I want believers in Messiah to know the difference between Jewish culture and Biblical commandments. Blessings to all!

Related posts:
What Believers in Messiah Need to Keep in Mind about Hanukkah
Why Christmas is Not a Biblical Holiday
Why I Don't Celebrate Hanukkah

Why Christmas is Not a Biblical Holiday

"Christmas is a Biblical holiday because it's in the Bible!"

While many people intend to celebrate the Biblical events of the Messiah's birth when they celebrate Christmas, that does not make this cultural holiday Biblical.

Why isn't Christmas considered a Biblical holiday?

Biblical holidays are defined as holidays the Bible directs believers to keep or observe. These are the set apart times of Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Shavuot, Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and the Feast of Tabernacles. The Living God himself directed believers to celebrate these and gave us information on when they happen and any special instructions for the festivities.

These are the only Biblical holidays, because they are the only holidays that the Creator tells us to celebrate. Learn more about them here.

"But Christmas is in the Bible!"

Many people celebrate the events of Luke 2 and the story of the Messiah's birth on Christmas. I understand the intentions of this are good. But coming up with our own holiday to commemorate Biblical events is not something Scripture ever tells us to do, and neither is celebrating birthdays. We never see the Disciples celebrating the Messiah's birthday, and nothing in Scripture suggests we should do this. There are no instructions for Christmas, and no commands from the Messiah or any writers of the Old or New Testaments about this holiday. In truth, Christmas has no more Biblical legitimacy than Dress-Like-Your-Favorite-Bible-Character Day during Vacation Bible School. A manmade celebration of a Biblical event simply should never be as highly esteemed as the holidays created by the Living God that Scripture tells us to celebrate.

It's important to know too that the word 'Christmas' is never used in Scripture, and that many of its traditions not only have nothing to do with the Messiah or things from the Bible, but they are things Scripture tells us not to do! I'm talking about things like the traditional Christmas ham, lying to children (Santa, Elf on the shelf), bringing a tree in to decorate, and so on. Way too many people claim that Christmas celebrations are about honoring the Messiah, but then ignore much of his word for their festivities.

Again, I know that most people who celebrate Christmas sincerely want to honor the Messiah. I know that's how I felt when I celebrated it. But good intentions don't mean that this is something the Creator tells us to do. Christmas is not considered a Biblical holiday, because the Bible does not direct us to celebrate the events or to partake in the cultural festivities of this time. It's your choice to take part in this or not, but please be aware that Christmas is not one of the seven holidays the Creator instructs us to keep.

Related posts:
Five Things Every Believer Should Know About Christmas
Are Christmas Trees in the Bible?
Why I Stopped Celebrating Christmas