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 Inspiration, Nature and Authority of
Scripture
The Bible is made up of 66
books according to the traditional Christian reckoning, consisting of the
Tanakh (the Torah, Prophets and Writings, cf. Luke 24:44) and the
Apostolic Scriptures (the Gospels, Epistles and Revelation). All
Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, is inspired by God and
authoritative over the lives of followers of Yeshua (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
We believe that Scripture builds upon itself and cannot contradict itself.
This means that the first revelation of God in Scripture, the Torah (the
first five books of the Bible), is the foundation of the Scriptures. All
Scripture that came subsequent to the giving of the Torah must be
interpreted in light of that first revelation. The Scriptures were given
to us in the common language of man (not some unearthly language),
specifically in the languages of Hebrew and Greek. Therefore, the
Scriptures must be interpreted via the historical and grammatical method,
which is to say, the words of Scripture carry their normal meaning and
therefore our goal is to exegete the Scripture so that we discover the
meaning the original author intended and the meaning the original reader
would have understood. This, however, does not mean that the writers of
Scripture did not use literary devices such as metaphor or symbolism but
it does mean that the meaning of the Scriptures is found in the words
themselves.
While we believe the Scriptures to be the only truly authoritative
writings over believers, we do recognize the value of historic Jewish and
Christian tradition and literature. All tradition, however, must be
measured against the Scripture and anything that contradicts the Scripture
should be rejected.
God
When making theological statements about God, we take great caution and do
not wish to put God in a box. Instead, we base our beliefs on
straight-forward statements from the Bible. We believe that there is only
one true God, as the Shema states: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God,
the LORD is one!” (Deuteronomy 6:4, cf. 1 Corinthians 8:6, John 17:3). God
is a singular person (the Father), not a trinity of persons, evidenced by
the consistent use of singular personal pronouns for God in Scripture
(“I,” “Me,” “He,” “You,” etc). God has a personal name consisting of four
Hebrew letters, however we maintain the Apostolic and historic Jewish
tradition of substituting the name of God with circumlocutions (such as
"LORD" or "HaShem"). God, who has existed from all eternity, created the
universe in six literal days (Genesis 1, cf. Exodus 20:11) and is
completely sovereign over His creation. However, God's sovereignty is not
one of meticulous control. Instead, God grants a great deal of autonomy to
his creatures (both human and angelic) and this explains the existence of
evil. God is infinitely holy (Isaiah 6:3) and cannot dwell among
uncleanness, both in regards to ritual uncleanness or moral uncleanness.
God is spirit (John 4:24), is invisible and intrinsically possesses
immortality (1 Timothy 1:17, 6:16). God is all-present (Psalm 139),
all-powerful (Matthew 19:26) and all-knowing (1 Kings 8:39). God is
loving, gracious, merciful, just, truthful and faithful (Exodus 34:6); God
is our Saviour and Redeemer, historically saving the people of Israel from
Egypt and ultimately saving a vast number of Jews and Gentiles from this
present evil age, sin and death (Colossians 1:13, Galatians 1:4). God
interacts with His creation through His Holy Spirit, which is His presence
and power. The Holy Spirit is very personal but not a separate person from
God Himself.
Messiah
We believe Yeshua of Nazareth (commonly referred to as Jesus) is the
Messiah (commonly referred to as the Christ, with both “Christ” and
“Messiah” meaning “Anointed One”). Being the Messiah means Yeshua is the
anointed King of Israel, the promised son of David that is to reign over
Israel and the nations in the Messianic era (2 Samuel 7:12-16, cf. Romans
1:3, Revelation 20:4, 6). Yeshua is the son of God, meaning he was
miraculously begotten in the womb of his mother Miriam, a virgin (Luke
1:35, cf. Psalm 2:7, 2 Samuel 7:14) by God. Yeshua lived a sinless life
and, as much as a human being can, represented God to the world (John
14:9). The Messiah is the embodiment of God’s creative power and wisdom
(Colossians 1:16-17, Hebrews 1:3) and is the word of God made flesh (John
1:14).
We recognize that the Tanakh foretold of several things the Messiah was to
accomplish. Though Yeshua has not yet fulfilled many of the prophecies
concerning his role as King (though he is now King in the lives of his
followers), we believe that in his first coming he primarily came as
Prophet. As Prophet, he was ultimately rejected (though many in Israel did
repent because of his teachings) and killed. Yeshua the Messiah is the
only man to live a completely righteous life, therefore his death was
counted as atonement for the lives of God’s elect (Isaiah 53, cf. Genesis
3:15, Psalm 22). Showing favour upon his life, God raised Yeshua from the
dead to live evermore, making Yeshua the first-fruits of the resurrection
(1 Corinthians 15:20). Yeshua, as the High Priest of the priesthood
according to Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4), ascended to the heavens to present
the offering of his own blood to God in the heavenly tabernacle (Hebrews
9:12) and currently makes intercession on behalf of the elect (Hebrews
7:25, Romans 8:34). We understand Yeshua to be the second or last Adam
(Romans 5:15, 19, 1 Corinthians 15:22, 45; cf. Luke 3:38). Though the
first Adam sinned, causing his descendants to become a fallen creature,
prone to death, Yeshua, the second Adam, did not sin, causing those who
identify with his death and resurrection to be given the promise of
eternal life in the age to come via the resurrection.
The
Nature and Condition of Man
We believe that the
first man, Adam, was created from the dust of the ground, meaning man is
made up of corporeal, physical material. A human being, however, can only
live when the breath of God is imparted to him. Therefore, when God
breathed the breath of life into Adam, he became a living soul (Genesis
2:7). We believe a human being is a unified being, made up of body and
breath (spirit) and this combination causes the person to become a living
soul. Additionally, the soul of man can be understood as the person’s life
force, with that life force primarily found in the blood (Leviticus
17:11). When the breath of life is taken from a person, the person ceases
to have consciousness and returns to the dust of the earth (Psalm 146:4).
In order words, death is the end of the entire person; there is no
existence beyond death except for resurrection. That man dies, however, is
the consequence of Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God (Genesis 3:19).
Ideally, Adam and Eve should have partaken of the Tree of Life to live
forever but because of their sin they were instead banished from the
Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:22-24). Connected to this is man’s separation
from God relationally, meaning without God’s intervention to cleanse us of
sin, our sin would prevent us from having communion with God. Left to
ourselves, man’s only inclination is to sin, making mankind totally
depraved (Genesis 6:5). Without regeneration, that is, the giving of God’s
Holy Spirit to us, becoming born again, mankind would remain “dead in
their sins” (Ephesians 2:1-10, cf. John 3:3).
Salvation
Salvation can be understood as God rescuing His people from a situation in
which they would otherwise not be able to be free from. For example,
Israel’s exodus from Egypt was completely due to God’s redemptive power,
though we should note that the people of Israel had to trust in God and
actively follow His instructions in order to be rescued. Likewise, in
regards to our separation from God, inclination to sin and destiny to die,
without God’s redemptive power, we could do nothing to effect salvation.
God must first illumine people so that they can be aware of their
sinfulness and come to Him for salvation. This regeneration is
accomplished by the giving of God’s Holy Spirit, which mirrors the giving
of the breath of life in the original creation of man (cf. Genesis 2:7).
With illumined eyes, the believer can repent of sin and devote their life
to God and His ways. This salvation, however, would not be possible
without the atoning death of the Messiah, which covers the sins of those
who repent in faith. Subsequent to the Messiah’s death, Yeshua was raised
to immortality, a fate that God will grant all those identify Yeshua as
Master and Saviour. Affirming Yeshua as Master through a life of obedience
to God’s commandments is an essential aspect of salvation because it
confirms that a regenerative work of the Holy Spirit has occurred. Those
who persevere in faithfulness to God will have the hope of the
resurrection to immortality and will live forever with the Messiah, first
in the Messianic era and then in the New Jerusalem of eternity (Revelation
20:4, 22:5). Salvation is a matter of God’s grace and does not depend upon
a person’s status in life, ethnicity, or good deeds (Ephesians 2:8-10).
The salvation that followers of Yeshua experience was also experienced by
all of the faithful previous to coming of the Messiah; their salvation was
incumbent upon the Messiah’s coming, whereas those since his coming look
back at the work he accomplished. Believers in all generations, including
our own, however, look forward to the restoration of all things, where our
salvation will be made complete.
The Commandments of
God
The commandments of God are primarily found in the first five books of the
Bible which are known as the Torah. The Torah is holy, righteous, good and
spiritual (Romans 7:12, 14). The commandments of the Torah were given to
Israel as a part of the covenant God made with them at Sinai. Since this
covenant is still in place, the Jewish people still have an obligation to
keep the commandments of the Torah, including but not limited to the
Sabbath, the holidays, the kosher laws, circumcision, the wearing of
tefillin and tzitzit and affixing a mezuzah. We believe that believing
Gentiles also have an obligation to keep the commandments of the Torah but
for purposes of discipleship to the Messiah (Matthew 5:19-20, cf. Romans
3:31) though the Apostles ruled that Gentiles are not legally liable for
breaking the commandments specifically given to Israel (Acts 15). We
believe Yeshua the Messiah perfectly kept God's commandments, which is why
he perfectly reflects God Himself. Therefore when both believing Jews and
Gentiles keep the commandments, they are imitating God (cf. Ephesians
5:1). The commandments regulate human behaviour and cause those who keep
them to become different (holy), setting them apart from those who choose
not to obey God. Each commandment is expressive of God's own character
and, when kept, displays godliness in the world. According to the
Apostles, sin is defined as a transgression of the commandments of God (1
John 3:4, cf. Romans 7:7), therefore the keeping of God's commandments is
the essence of repentance.
The Covenants and the
Kingdom of God
In Genesis 9:9-11, God made a covenant with Noah and with all of his
descendants, promising that he would never again flood the whole earth to
destroy it. Later, God made a covenant with Abraham, confirmed through
Isaac and Jacob, promising that the people of Israel will dwell in the
Land of Israel forever (Genesis 17:7-8). After bringing the people of
Israel out of slavery in Egypt, God gave the Torah to Israel and made a
covenant with the nation, promising blessing if they kept His commandments
and punishment if they disobeyed His commandments (Deuteronomy 28). Sadly,
history has shown that there has never been a generation in which Israel
has been faithful to this covenant as a nation (though there is always a
remnant, cf. Romans 11:1-5). To this day, the majority of Israel is exiled
from the land of Israel and many Jewish people identify themselves as
non-religious. God, however, will see to it that His people will become
faithful. He has chosen to accomplish this through His anointed King, the
son of David promised through a covenant made with David in 2 Samuel
7:12-16. The Tanakh promises that God will make a new covenant with
Israel, one where the Torah will be written on their hearts and their sins
will be forgiven, making the entire nation faithful to God (Jeremiah
31:31-34, cf. Ezekiel 36:22-38). We believe that this new covenant will
perfectly satisfy all previous covenants God made and that this will be
fulfilled when the Messiah returns to restore the kingdom to Israel (cf.
Acts 1:6-7). The covenant made with Noah will be satisfied since there
will be peace on earth (Isaiah 2:4). The covenant made with Abraham will
be satisfied because His descendants will be in the land promised to him
and they will be blessed and be a blessing (Jeremiah 32:37-41). The
covenant made with Israel at Sinai will finally be perfectly kept by the
entire nation of Israel (Ezekiel 36:27). The covenant made with Phinehas will
be satisfied because the Aaronic priesthood will be serving again in the
rebuilt Temple (Jeremiah 33:15-18). Finally, the covenant with David will
be fulfilled because the son of David, Yeshua the Messiah, will return,
oversee the resurrection of the faithful, gather Israel and the elect of
the nations to the Land of Israel and reign as Ruler over Israel and the
nations for a thousand years (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Jeremiah 23:3-8,
Revelation 20:4-6). We believe that people can begin to experience life
under this new covenant, that is, the life of the Messianic era, now
through faith and repentance in the King; this, we believe, is the gospel
message itself (Matthew 4:17).
Israel
The Nation of Israel, comprised of the historical descendants of Jacob,
was and is God’s chosen covenant nation. Through the people of Israel, God
revealed the Scriptures and through Israel, God brought forth the Messiah.
We believe that God expects all Jewish people to repent from sin and turn
back to God in covenant faithfulness, which includes recognizing the
prophet like Moses, Yeshua of Nazareth (Deuteronomy 18:18-19), and
submitting themselves to the commandments of the Torah as interpreted by
Yeshua, the Apostles and normative Jewish tradition. We believe that being
Jewish is advantageous because the Jewish people are privileged to be the
custodians of Scripture and the only people group that have consistently
maintained a Torah-based lifestyle (Romans 3:1-2, 9:4-5). We encourage all
Jewish people to take hold of their rich heritage and become zealous for
the Torah like the Jewish followers of Yeshua of the first century CE
(Acts 21:20).
Believing Gentiles
Believing Gentiles are spiritually united with believing Jews and this
group of believers are the Messiah’s assembly, also metaphorically called
the body of the Messiah (1 Corinthians 12:27). This assembly does not
replace Israel as a nation but is simply a way Yeshua and the Apostles
referred to the community of the faithful remnant of Israel and those
elect from the nations (Matthew 16:18). By becoming a believer, a Gentile
does not become Jewish. In fact, with regard to this issue, the message of
the Apostolic Scriptures is that God has granted repentance unto life to
Gentiles in addition to Israel (Acts 11:18, cf. Acts 15:11). The Apostle
Paul taught that believing Gentiles, through their faith in Messiah, are
given citizenship in Israel and are now privileged to be participants in
the covenants of the promise (Ephesians 2:11-13). Gentile believers are
united with Jewish believers and are both spiritually blessed from the
same source (Romans 11:17). That being said, Paul also warned that the
Gentile believers should not become arrogant (Romans 11:18); Gentile
believers should be grateful that God has allowed them the privilege of
salvation and the life of faith that flows from it. Both Jewish and
Gentile believers should recognize that all authority, including halachic
authority, has been given to Yeshua (Matthew 28:18), who conferred that
authority upon his apostles (Matthew 18:18-20). Since the Apostles ruled
that Gentiles who come to faith do not have to come under the authority of
the legal Jewish community by becoming proselytes, believing Gentiles are
exempt from keeping the Torah according to the prevailing halachah of the
Jewish community. Being disciples of Yeshua the Messiah, however, means
that believing Gentiles should be pursuing the commandments of God as
expressed in the Scriptures. Since the Apostles did not envision the
Gentile believers forming a separate group apart from the Jewish community
(Acts 15:21), Gentile believers should honour long-standing Jewish
interpretations and traditions, especially in situations where there is a
mixed group of Jews and Gentiles, so long as those interpretations and
traditions do not contradict the Scriptures.
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