Walk This Way

So close yet so far away...

Firstly,  I am realizing that the "Torah keepers" you have interacted with are PROBABLY the same ones I have blocked for their ridiculousness as they fight and squabble over every letter of the law worse than rabbinical priests who formed the very MAN-made traditions that Yahshua rebuked the Pharisees for.

Mark 7:13 KJV
Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Just like in Christianity, there are many different sects, or groups that believe loosely the same but have different interpretations of different things and some are more radical than others.   All I ask is that you please read what I have to say with an open heart.  If your relationship with Yah is as secure as you obviously feel that it is, then please just read what I have to say and then form your response, rather than reading TO respond as we as a society have unfortunately been trained in today's modern world.

My beliefs as a Torah Keeper are considered radical among most Torah keepers because I do nothing from man's tradition, constantly proving all things (by the word) and holding fast that which is good.  (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

I don't believe you are going to hell because you don't keep the feasts or Sabbath.  Scripture says let every man work out his own salvation with fear and trembling.  (Philippians 2:12)  But Torah also is specifically defined in Deuteronomy 5:33 "so that it may be well with you."

I am sure you are familiar with the concept of your body as a temple?  (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)  Have you ever looked into the actual health implications of the food Yah had deemed unclean?  (Leviticus 11)  They have more toxins, are carriers of more diseases, and are, in general, fattier than clean foods.  And for me, I don't go by what Jewish rabbis call clean because sometimes they call vitamin D3 clean because it doesn't look like pig cells under a microscope once it has been isolated.  Look at the ingredients in your milk, cheese, or yogurt next time you go by the fridge.  Isn't it interesting that UNCLEAN food would be put in the majority of the food supply in the end times?  And everyone argues Peter's dream (Acts 10) but there is a separation made by the key word COMMON (another Jewish tradition) in that passage.

Sabbath, Feasts, working with just weights, clean foods, and much, much more are all for one of three purposes (and often all three) - Loving Yah, Loving your neighbor, and being a good steward of the temple you were given.

Do you know why I love New Moons and Sabbaths and Feasts? Because they are days SET APART for Yah, the literal meaning of Holy.  Yes, I plan my meals and work around those days but if circumstances arise that I am unable, I would cook on Sabbath before I would let my family starve.  Why don't I want to cook on those days? Because it takes away from Yah.  Because we spend the whole day, from sundown to sundown, in awe of His Majesty, in Praise to the King, in study of His word and mediation on His will. 

Yah temporarily did away with the Levitical priesthood early on in the scripture following Torah (to specify, Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) because of perversions the people had done.  Also, I am no judge appointed by Yah therefore there are no stonings among our congregation.  Yahshua has assured us that He will exact judgement upon His return.

And last but not least, the names.  I don't care if you call Him Yah or God, I care that you love Him.  Yahshua or Jesus, we are still talking about the same beautiful Saviour that died for our sin, or transgressions of the law (1 John 3:4).  I say Yah because of Psalm 68:4 (please take in remembrance thag the letter J is only roughly 400 years old) and also the tetragrammaton (YHVH) that was replaced by LORD and GOD in your Bible.  I say Yah because it is His name and scripture teaches us to revere His name.  (Proverbs 18:10)  I say Yahshua because I believe that is what His mother called Him, "shua" loosely translating to "savior."  What name could be more beautiful or befitting?  Elohim essentially means "Almighty One"  (Hebrew words are actually very complex and would take me all day to fully define) and I use it because I feel like "God" with a capital G just isn't powerful enough, especially in a society riddled with "OMG!!" as a language staple.

And yes, you are correct that Passover (and all other feasts, in fact) directly correlate with the life, death, resurrection, and return of Yahshua.

So, long story short, I don't know (nor am I sure that it matters) how the keeping or not keeping of Torah effects your salvation.  I know that it effects your quality of life in a way that I never could have imagined before I chose to walk this way.  Yes, I gave up bacon and shrimp, Friday nights and Saturdays, and even lost a $45,000 salary because of it, but Yah has blessed me more abundantly than I could ever give Him credit or praise for.

Why do I do it?
Because I love Him.  Because He first loved us.  (1 John 4:19)  Condemn it if you will, but you don't know what you're missing.