This Is Torah Faith
This Is Torah Faith
Who We Are
We are an independent group of people who desire to know and understand God’s
Word. Our goal is to restore the Hebraic history and culture to the Bible. We do this
through a detailed study of the Old Testament, especially the Torah, from a traditional
Hebraic perspective. We then apply that learning to our Messiah and the New
Testament to build our faith, enrich our spiritual lives, and deepen our personal
relationship with the Lord.
Our mission is: 1) to restore the relevancy and relationship of the Older Testament
to our understanding of the Newer Testament, 2) to help bridge the gap that developed
between Judaism and Christianity, 3) to respect, bless, and support Israel, 4) to restore
the essence and spirit of the true Messianic movement of the first century, and 5) to
study and teach the Word of God in an authentic and scholarly way
Our method is simple. We post our teachings and invite anyone who is interested
to take advantage of them. We also record and post our in-person meetings (without
major editing so you hear questions and responses).
You might ask...
Do we teach the New Testament as well as the Old Testament?
Yes we do! We believe the New Testament can be better understood with a good
knowledge of the Old Testament. About 50% (or more) of the New Testament is made
up of Old Testament quotes. There are subtle references to the Old Testament that
pose theological questions that can only be answered by knowing the Old Testament.
Why do we love and support Israel?
The land of Israel was given to the Israelites, God’s chosen people. The modern church
has not replaced Israel as the chosen people, but has joined Israel. Paul explains this
relationship in Romans 11 and Galatians 3.
How do we study the Bible?
We prefer to study the Bible verse by verse, then to study patterns and processes those
verses teach. Our studies are exegetical, taking our learning from the verses and not
reading anything into them. We study the Word in the historical and cultural context in
which it was written, and when meaningful, bring in language and other resources.
Do we require Believers to become Jewish?
No. While we approach the Bible from a historic Hebraic perspective, we do not
advocate non-Jews trying to become Jews. Likewise, we do not expect Jewish Believers
to become Gentiles. Judaism has many traditions that can be meaningful to non-Jews if
we take the time to study and learn about them. Becoming a Believer in Jesus or
Yeshua does not change one’s birth race.
Why do we use Yeshua and Jesus when referring to the same person?
Jesus is the english version of Yeshua. When the Bible was translated into various
languages, through various stages, Jesus developed as the Anglo-Saxon English name.
Our Messiah was born Jewish of Jewish parents in a Jewish culture and His given Hebrew name is Yeshua. For the sake of communicating the truth we often interchange the
English and Hebrew names. However, we prefer to use Yeshua.
Because we stress the importance of the Old Testament, are we part of the
Hebrew Roots or Messianic movements?
We are independent of any group or denomination. Some of our beliefs and teachings
may agree with some of the teachings from these two groups, but we are not affiliated
with them or any denomination. We choose to let the Bible speak for itself, through
itself. We choose to refer to ourselves as Torah Faith Believers. We Believe in salvation
though faith in our Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus), but understand the relevance of the Older
Testament to that faith.
Do we believe the Law can save a person?
The Torah, the Teaching and Instruction, is a guideline for righteous living. The Law was
never intended to be a means of salvation. The Law defines sin, gives us guidelines for
righteous living, tells us about the nature and character of God, what He likes and what
He does not like. The Law gives us principles for living the redeemed life. There is only
one way to be saved and that is through believing in Yeshua the Messiah.
Speaking of the Law, is it still valid?
According to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, the Torah (and the rest of the
Older Testament) will remain in effect until the new heaven and earth come to being.
One of the Jewish commentators said the issue for all Jews is how to interpret Torah in
light of their current situation. The same is true for Believers today. It is not a matter
of doing away with the Torah, but rather learning how to make it real and relevant to
our faith today.
What do we do with the traditional Christian holidays?
First of all, we understand the traditions and need to celebrate things like the birth of
our Messiah and remember His death and resurrection. Second, we also recognize that
Christmas and Easter are man-made and developed out of an attempt to blend pagan
practices with Jewish and Christian practices. We believe we should be thankful for
Messiah’s birth because His birth brought our Messiah to us. Yeshua was not born on
December 25 th . We prefer to celebrate the Seven Feasts of Israel because included in
those feasts we have the Passover (death), Unleavened Bread (burial) and First Fruits
(resurrection) of our Lord. As for His birth, we do not know the day, so we use
Hanukkah (the light of the world) as a time to symbolically remember His birth.
What do we believe about Sabbath and Sunday Worship?
First, there is only one Sabbath, and that is Saturday. Sabbath begins at sundown
Friday and continues until sundown Saturday. It is the seventh day of the week. In
about 350 A.D. the Roman church designated Sunday as the “Lord’s day.” At that time,
Saturday observance was outlawed for Christians. Second, worship is good anytime.
People gathering for Sunday Worship should be aware that Sunday is not the Sabbath
and does not replace the seventh day Sabbath. We partner with a church that has
supported the Torah Study group, and while they gather to worship on Sunday, a
number also meet to study Torah with us. Sunday teachings are Torah based.
Why do we maintain a relationship with the church?
Some groups advocate total abandonment of the church, but we do not. We see the
church as people who have been saved through Messiah, but in need of discovering their
Torah Faith. Part of our purpose and goals is to bridge the gap between the two by
prayerful, loving teaching and then letting the Holy Spirit work through the Word. We
are willing to take the Torah to them, where they are, and build upward.
To understand us better, we invite you to take advantage of our free teachings, articles,
and other information. We are here for you.
We are an independent group of people who desire to know and understand God’s
Word. Our goal is to restore the Hebraic history and culture to the Bible. We do this
through a detailed study of the Old Testament, especially the Torah, from a traditional
Hebraic perspective. We then apply that learning to our Messiah and the New
Testament to build our faith, enrich our spiritual lives, and deepen our personal
relationship with the Lord.
Our mission is: 1) to restore the relevancy and relationship of the Older Testament
to our understanding of the Newer Testament, 2) to help bridge the gap that developed
between Judaism and Christianity, 3) to respect, bless, and support Israel, 4) to restore
the essence and spirit of the true Messianic movement of the first century, and 5) to
study and teach the Word of God in an authentic and scholarly way
Our method is simple. We post our teachings and invite anyone who is interested
to take advantage of them. We also record and post our in-person meetings (without
major editing so you hear questions and responses).
You might ask...
Do we teach the New Testament as well as the Old Testament?
Yes we do! We believe the New Testament can be better understood with a good
knowledge of the Old Testament. About 50% (or more) of the New Testament is made
up of Old Testament quotes. There are subtle references to the Old Testament that
pose theological questions that can only be answered by knowing the Old Testament.
Why do we love and support Israel?
The land of Israel was given to the Israelites, God’s chosen people. The modern church
has not replaced Israel as the chosen people, but has joined Israel. Paul explains this
relationship in Romans 11 and Galatians 3.
How do we study the Bible?
We prefer to study the Bible verse by verse, then to study patterns and processes those
verses teach. Our studies are exegetical, taking our learning from the verses and not
reading anything into them. We study the Word in the historical and cultural context in
which it was written, and when meaningful, bring in language and other resources.
Do we require Believers to become Jewish?
No. While we approach the Bible from a historic Hebraic perspective, we do not
advocate non-Jews trying to become Jews. Likewise, we do not expect Jewish Believers
to become Gentiles. Judaism has many traditions that can be meaningful to non-Jews if
we take the time to study and learn about them. Becoming a Believer in Jesus or
Yeshua does not change one’s birth race.
Why do we use Yeshua and Jesus when referring to the same person?
Jesus is the english version of Yeshua. When the Bible was translated into various
languages, through various stages, Jesus developed as the Anglo-Saxon English name.
Our Messiah was born Jewish of Jewish parents in a Jewish culture and His given Hebrew name is Yeshua. For the sake of communicating the truth we often interchange the
English and Hebrew names. However, we prefer to use Yeshua.
Because we stress the importance of the Old Testament, are we part of the
Hebrew Roots or Messianic movements?
We are independent of any group or denomination. Some of our beliefs and teachings
may agree with some of the teachings from these two groups, but we are not affiliated
with them or any denomination. We choose to let the Bible speak for itself, through
itself. We choose to refer to ourselves as Torah Faith Believers. We Believe in salvation
though faith in our Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus), but understand the relevance of the Older
Testament to that faith.
Do we believe the Law can save a person?
The Torah, the Teaching and Instruction, is a guideline for righteous living. The Law was
never intended to be a means of salvation. The Law defines sin, gives us guidelines for
righteous living, tells us about the nature and character of God, what He likes and what
He does not like. The Law gives us principles for living the redeemed life. There is only
one way to be saved and that is through believing in Yeshua the Messiah.
Speaking of the Law, is it still valid?
According to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, the Torah (and the rest of the
Older Testament) will remain in effect until the new heaven and earth come to being.
One of the Jewish commentators said the issue for all Jews is how to interpret Torah in
light of their current situation. The same is true for Believers today. It is not a matter
of doing away with the Torah, but rather learning how to make it real and relevant to
our faith today.
What do we do with the traditional Christian holidays?
First of all, we understand the traditions and need to celebrate things like the birth of
our Messiah and remember His death and resurrection. Second, we also recognize that
Christmas and Easter are man-made and developed out of an attempt to blend pagan
practices with Jewish and Christian practices. We believe we should be thankful for
Messiah’s birth because His birth brought our Messiah to us. Yeshua was not born on
December 25 th . We prefer to celebrate the Seven Feasts of Israel because included in
those feasts we have the Passover (death), Unleavened Bread (burial) and First Fruits
(resurrection) of our Lord. As for His birth, we do not know the day, so we use
Hanukkah (the light of the world) as a time to symbolically remember His birth.
What do we believe about Sabbath and Sunday Worship?
First, there is only one Sabbath, and that is Saturday. Sabbath begins at sundown
Friday and continues until sundown Saturday. It is the seventh day of the week. In
about 350 A.D. the Roman church designated Sunday as the “Lord’s day.” At that time,
Saturday observance was outlawed for Christians. Second, worship is good anytime.
People gathering for Sunday Worship should be aware that Sunday is not the Sabbath
and does not replace the seventh day Sabbath. We partner with a church that has
supported the Torah Study group, and while they gather to worship on Sunday, a
number also meet to study Torah with us. Sunday teachings are Torah based.
Why do we maintain a relationship with the church?
Some groups advocate total abandonment of the church, but we do not. We see the
church as people who have been saved through Messiah, but in need of discovering their
Torah Faith. Part of our purpose and goals is to bridge the gap between the two by
prayerful, loving teaching and then letting the Holy Spirit work through the Word. We
are willing to take the Torah to them, where they are, and build upward.
To understand us better, we invite you to take advantage of our free teachings, articles,
and other information. We are here for you.