Myths about Unity

I have been working on this post for months. Literally. I would start it, and then I would put it away. 🙂 However, with the biblical feast days coming soon and so much division, both in Christianity and in Messianic and Hebrew Roots circles, I just couldn’t keep quiet any more.

There are terrible consequences when a believer goes out on the Internet and gets bad teaching, or listens to a false teacher, or attends a church or congregation that teaches only half truths.

There are terrible consequences when someone denies that Yeshua is the Messiah.

There are terrible consequences when someone willfully disobeys the Torah and chases after the commandments of men.

There are also eternal blessings when we lay down the lies inherited from our ancestors and become a disciple of Yeshua of Nazareth. It seems like each and every one of us has lies to discover and renounce, so we must each be humble before Him.

I don’t want to cause more fighting by adding more words to an already charged discussion.

Here’s what I’m going to do instead. I’m going to explain how I see this issue and how I myself strive to live, no matter what others do. I invite you to listen in and prayerfully consider my words.

Didn’t Yeshua pray that we would all be one?

This is only a half truth. Let’s look at the entire quote:

“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me” (John 17:6-8).

So first of all, let’s establish that Yeshua didn’t come with a new message that was different than what YHVH had already spoken. The “law of Christ” must be the same as “the law of YHVH” — or He wouldn’t be the Messiah!

“Forever, YHVH, Your word is settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89).

“The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever” (Psalm 119:160).

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

“‘But the word of YHVH endures forever.’ Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you” (1 Peter 1:25).

So we see that Yeshua and His Father are one, speaking the same word, united in all things. Let’s continue with Yeshua’s prayer:

“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth” (John 17:9-21).

The only correct way to quote Yeshua is to say, “That they may be one as We are.” Our unity is only because of the Word of God, which is truth. Anything that is added to the Word, or taken away from the Word, ruins true unity.

Following a crowd to do evil

The Torah clearly tells us not to follow the crowd when the crowd starts to do what is wrong.

“You shall not follow a crowd to do evil” (Exodus 23:2).

Let’s get honest for a second and define what evil is. The place to start is at the beginning, where the serpent deceived the woman with part truth, part lie, appealing to her flesh, her lusts, and her pride (1 John 2:16).

“And out of the ground YHVH God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:9).

I believe that the knowledge of evil that filled the world caused them to turn en masse from their Creator, so that they began to worship the creature instead, violently following the lusts of their hearts.

“Then YHVH saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).

Sadly, the evil followed Noah’s sons onto the ark, so that after the Flood, it started all over again in the tower of Babylon (Genesis 11).

This evil is comprised of these things:

1. Forsaking the commands of God;
2. Following idolatry;
3. Seeking sensuality and fornication;
4. A desire for secret knowledge, something mystical that makes us feel god-like.

Here are just a few examples from Scripture (but there are many, many more):

“So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of YHVH. They forgot YHVH their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs” (Judges 3:7).

“Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, ‘What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day?'” (Nehemiah 13:17).

“But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality” (Revelation 2:14).

“Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women?” (Nehemiah 13:27).

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting” (Romans 1:28).

“Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Messiah” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:1-2).

(See also Romans 1:18-32.)

So these issues are the ones that should divide us. Why? Because we are not to follow a crowd to do these evil things.

Sadly, the Deceiver doesn’t make evil obvious. Rather, he mixes truth with deception, and of course, he appeals to our lusts and flesh. Scripture says that even our own hearts are deceptively evil and cannot be trusted (Jeremiah 17:9).

I think that’s why we need others who will spur us on to love and good works. Yes, I said that we need leadership, and that’s a very biblical concept that we shouldn’t shy away from (Hebrews 13:17).

Sadly, false teachers come in among us, too (2 Peter 2:1). Whether it’s a teacher telling us that we don’t really need to obey all those “old” laws, or it’s someone making us question whether Yeshua really is the Messiah, we must constantly be like the Bereans and compare everything to the Scriptures, to see if the things we are hearing are really so (Acts 17:11).

Leadership isn’t the problem; false teachers are the problem. If we have false teachers over us, it’s because we’ve comfortably stayed in our seats. The fault is our own.

We have all gone astray.

Every group claims to be telling you the truth. Even I claim to be telling you the truth! However, I think the real truth is that we have all gone astray, and we’ve all inherited lies (Jeremiah 16:19), and we all have things from which we need to repent. That’s where the love and patience and care for each other come in. We need to help each other, exhorting and encouraging and bearing with one another.

We need godly local leaders who fit the qualifications of Scripture (such as 1 Timothy 3). We are not to be arrogant or presumptuous against our leaders (Deuteronomy 17:12; Deuteronomy 18:22; 1 Timothy 5:19).

However, we also need to compare what they say with what the Bible says, and to follow orderly and biblical methods when we find concerns (1 Timothy 5:17-20).

But let’s not deceive ourselves. No one has it just right. Someday Messiah will return, and I’m sure He’ll fix our broken world. However, to just trust a Church because they have thousands of years of “experience” in teaching a particular doctrine is just silly. Both the Scriptures and history teach that we have all gone astray.

The house of Judah went astray, even losing any copy of the Torah at all for a period of time. Though they are the caretakers of the written Torah (Romans 9), they have added much to it, borrowing from the Canaanites, the Babylonians, the Greeks, and the Romans.

“For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law” (2 Chronicles 15:3; see also 2 Kings 22).

“For My people are foolish, they have not known Me. They are silly children, and they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge” (Jeremiah 4:22).

“You have wearied YHVH with your words; Yet you say, ‘In what way have we wearied Him?’ In that you say, ‘Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of YHVH, and He delights in them” (Malachi 2:17).

(See also Matthew 23 and Romans 2:17-29.)

The Northern House of Israel also went astray, sent into dispersion for several thousands of years, lost to all ancestry and mingling with the nations, following the pagans into gross idolatry. Maybe some of them are my ancestors. Maybe my ancestors were the pagans they married.

“When you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and act corruptly and make a carved image in the form of anything, and do evil in the sight of YHVH your God to provoke Him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not prolong your days in it, but will be utterly destroyed. And YHVH will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where YHVH will drive you. And there you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell” (Deuteronomy 4:25-28).

“So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of YHVH. They forgot YHVH their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs” (Judges 3:7).

(See also Hosea, especially chapter 7.)

The early believers in Yeshua had false prophets come in among them, with false Messiahs abounding, false wisdom of the heathen being taught as knowledge (known as gnosticism), and the throwing off of the Torah of YHVH in favor of the traditions and customs of the pagan religious of Rome, Greece, and the Barbarians. Many denominations have inherited these lies, including the ones I’ve been a part of.

Many great men have arisen, who were concerned about the corruption of the state Church and who bravely “protested” and separated themselves from evil. However, they often (like us) only saw a piece of the evil, blind to other things that were against Scripture. I’d venture a guess that someday, people will say this about me, too.

Sometimes unity corrupts the next generation.

There are a lot of denominations. I haven’t counted, but I’ve heard others say there are up to 20,000. However accurate the number is, it’s true that people just don’t get along.

But sometimes people separate because if they continue fellowshiping with others who are denying the Word of Truth (the written Scriptures preserved for us), then they will be helping others continue to do wrong.

In fact, I think this is probably how many denominations throughout the past 2000 years started.

I would do the same thing. If I couldn’t find a place to fellowship (and knowing that we are not to forsake the assemblying of ourselves together, as Leviticus 23:3 and Hebrews 10:24-25 say), then I would hope to find a new congregation to assemble with.

“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

The point of gathering together is to stir up love and good works. These “good” works must be good in the eyes of our Creator, not in our own eyes. It’s not just the “love.” We need a place to gather where we can be “exhorting” one another, or calling others to action, comforting, encouraging, strengthening, instructing, and teaching.

I think most denominations do try to instruct and teach, and even to comfort and encourage and call to action. However, are they teaching Scripture, or are they teaching the commandments of men?

One danger I think often about is that if we take our children to a congregation where half truths are taught, or the words of men are placed on the same level as the Word of the Creator, then our children will be trained up and encouraged to follow a dangerous path — a way they might not depart from when they are old! At the least, they can make bad friends, or marry someone with a different belief, which means that our grandchildren will not be taught in truth.

“Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits‘” (1 Corinthians 15:33).

“Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren” (Deuteronomy 4:9).

This is serious stuff!

Sometimes division is just practical.

Sometimes other congregations have the same desire for truth as we do. In true sincerity, they believe that our interpretation of Scripture is wrong, so they cannot fellowship with us!

Don’t be offended when this happens! Rejoice that someone else is searching the Scriptures daily, to see if what you believe is true. Allow the Spirit of God to work in their hearts — and keep your own heart humble, lest they are right and maybe you were wrong after all.

The reason for separate congregations in these cases is practical. Maybe another congregation celebrates holidays on different days, for instance. Maybe they can back their view with Scripture (and maybe they can’t), but either way, it just becomes impractical to have meetings that work for everyone’s conscience. It’s okay! Love each other — but humbly hold fast to Scripture and politely just meet separately.

It’s okay.

Maybe we should all set aside our differences and worship together.

I guess it depends on what that difference is. If it’s something that denigrates the authority of the written Word of God, evidenced by idolatry, sexual immorality, and mystical so-called knowledge, I can’t be a part of it.

First, the right thing to do is to graciously and gently confront the evil. This is the very definition of loving my neighbor as myself!

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am YHVH” (Leviticus 19:17-18).

Sometimes people just don’t know that something is wrong, which is why we shouldn’t rush in with anger and both barrels blazing. The things I disagree with or are passionate about become my teaching to-do list, not to argue with others over, but as a sign that I’m to do something about that topic in the world. Gentleness. Graciousness. With mercy. As I would want to be treated.

Sometimes I should stay out of battles that aren’t mine. Is this a dear friend, a brother or sister in my local congregation, or someone I have been personally teaching? Then I should probably speak up, out of love and concern for them. Is this a stranger on Facebook? Maybe I should keep my nose in my own business! Is this a leader that could deceive someone I love? Maybe I should quietly and peacefully warn and instruct my friend, without slandering or humiliating anyone else publicly. There are exceptions, of course (see the tiny letter of 3 John, for instance).

But if the crowd decides to go after evil? Then I must separate.

I must separate from those who tell us we don’t need to obey God’s commands.

“But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from YHVH your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which YHVH your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst” (Deuteronomy 13:5).

“Depart from me, you evildoers, for I will keep the commandments of my God!” (Psalm 119:115).

I must separate from those who say that Yeshua is not the Messiah.

“Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of [Yeshua the Messiah] does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Messiah has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds” (2 John 9–11).

I must separate from those who mix good things with idolatry.

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Messiah with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“I will dwell in them
And walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people” (quotations from Leviticus 26:12,Jeremiah 32:38, and Ezekiel 37:27).

Therefore

“Come out from among them
And be separate, says YHVH.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you” (quoted from Isaiah 52:11 and Ezekiel 20:34, 41).

“I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says YHVH Almighty” (quoted from 2 Samuel 7:14).

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 6:14—7:1)

I must separate from those who teach mystery wisdom that is in addition to what the Scriptures plainly teach, following after Gnosticism, kabbalah, and “secrets.”

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:1-2).

(Learn more at http://www.setapartpeople.com/the-quest-for-qabalah.) 

And — this one is tough — we must separate from divisive people who just like to get others riled up.

It seems like these are the same ones who tend to start out conversations with “we should all get along” or “if you believe that, you are causing disunity.” In other words, they want to go along with the crowd, and if you won’t go with them, you’re going to hear about it!

“If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Master Yeshua the Messiah, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself” (1 Timothy 6:3–5).

“Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them” (Romans 16:17).

Can we really know truth until the Messiah returns?

Not perfectly, I suppose, because our hearts are deceptive. However, I think that the more we unite with others who will purpose in their hearts to do right no matter what, based upon the teaching given to us in the written Scriptures, then we can have access to the checks and balances that keep our doctrine true. We can hold fast to sound doctrine!

Paul seemed to think it was possible, when he wrote this to young Timothy:

“But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Messiah Yeshua who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Master Yeshua the Messiah’s appearing” (1 Timothy 6:11-14).

I think this is possible when we are each spending our time in the written pages of our Bibles, so that we know God’s mind.

“Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the Torah of YHVH,
And in His Torah he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2).

Isn’t Judah to be the authority over all Israel until Messiah returns?

Judah was indeed given the place of guarding the Torah until the Messiah came.

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh (Messiah) comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people” (Genesis 49:10).

However, this does not mean that they ever have the right to add to it or take away from it.

“Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it” (Deuteronomy 12:32).

“[Yeshua] answered and said to [the Jewish Pharisees and scribes], ‘Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:

“This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Isaiah 29:13).

‘For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men — the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.’

He said to them, ‘All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.

‘For Moses said, “Honor your father and your mother”; and, “He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.”

‘But you say, “If a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban’—” (that is, a gift to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do‘” (Mark 6:6-13).

Sadly, many in Judah also do not recognize that Yeshua the Messiah has already come, nor that all authority was given to Him, the Lion of Judah.

“YHVH your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear… I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him” (Deuteronomy 18:15, 18-19).

[Yeshua said], “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works” (John 14:10).

“And Yeshua came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you‘” (Matthew 28:18-20).

Whether it is the authority of the rabbis, the authority of the disciples of Yeshua going out and teaching the gospel to all the nations, or the authority of Yeshua our Messiah Himself — all authority is subject to our Creator and to His Word.

We must not resolve to submit to the authority of congregational leadership — no matter how much we like or respect them — who speak something against the commands of YHVH, adding to them or subtracting from them.

You’ll probably hear that you’re not “submissive” to authority if you go against the crowd. It’s okay.

“Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison… And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, ‘Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!’ But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men‘” (Acts 5:17-18, 27-29)

“So then each of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).

“They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead” (1 Peter 4:5).

If I don’t agree with others, that must mean that I’m judgmental and hateful.

It might mean that, but if that’s how you’re acting, you’re not being obedient to the Torah or to your Master Yeshua. 🙂

However, you can disagree and be a nice person, without participating with them in their worship of YHVH.

“I have hated the assembly of evildoers, And will not sit with the wicked” (Psalm 26:5).

We are to hate their assembly, but that does not give us permission to be hateful to people.

“If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:8).

“Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men” (Titus 3:1-2).

Why should we be so humble and gentle? Because we’ve been wrong before, too! 

We’re to be kind and loving, as God is kind and loving to us.

“For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.

“But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

“This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

“But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless. Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned” (Titus 3:3-11).

So how do we fix this?

There is only one way! We must each work to be “united” with our Heavenly Father and His Words. The closer we get to Him, the closer we will get to each other.

If each of us would work to obey Him, to repent of our stubborn rebellion and to turn our hearts back to His written commands — not adding to, not taking away — then we would also draw closer together.

So how do we do that?

First we should recognize that each of us has a little bit of truth, and sadly, we may still have a little bit of error. Our goal is to aim for Scripture alone, rejecting anything that does not hit that mark.

Christianity has Scripture with a little bit of lawlessness and pagan customs thrown in. Prophecy says this will change (Isaiah 2:3; Romans 9:25-26; Revelation 14:12).

Judaism has Scripture with a few pagan customs thrown in, while mostly rejecting Yeshua the Messiah. Prophecy says this will change (Zechariah 12:10).

In the meantime, let’s aim for the mark of being obedient disciples of Yeshua. Let’s go for humility and graciousness, with all purity and cleanness — and unity can take care of itself.

All Scripture in this blog post taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.