Is the Hebrew Roots Movement a cult?

[crossnote]

it ain't jews.
but you've been told that.

Question: "What is the Hebrew Roots movement?"

Answer: The premise of the Hebrew Roots movement is the belief that the Church has veered far from the true teachings and Hebrew concepts of the Bible. The movement maintains that Christianity has been indoctrinated with the culture and beliefs of Greek and Roman philosophy and that ultimately biblical Christianity, taught in churches today, has been corrupted with a pagan imitation of the New Testament gospels.

Those of the Hebrew Roots belief hold to the teaching that Christ's death on the cross did not end the Mosaic Covenant, but instead renewed it, expanded its message, and wrote it on the hearts of His true followers. They teach that the understanding of the New Testament can only come from a Hebrew perspective and that the teachings of the Apostle Paul are not understood clearly or taught correctly by Christian pastors today. Many affirm the existence of an original Hebrew-language New Testament and, in some cases, denigrate the existing New Testament text written in Greek. This becomes a subtle attack on the reliability of the text of our Bible. If the Greek text is unreliable and has been corrupted, as is charged by some, the Church no longer has a standard of truth.

Although there are many different and diverse Hebrew Roots assemblies with variations in their teachings, they all adhere to a common emphasis on recovering the "original" Jewishness of Christianity. Their assumption is that the Church has lost its Jewish roots and is unaware that Jesus and His disciples were Jews living in obedience to the Torah. For the most part, those involved advocate the need for every believer to walk a Torah-observant life. This means that the ordinances of the Mosaic Covenant must be a central focus in the lifestyle of believers today as it was with the Old Testament Jews of Israel. Keeping the Torah includes keeping the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week (Saturday), celebrating the Jewish feasts and festivals, keeping the dietary laws, avoiding the "paganism" of Christianity (Christmas, Easter, etc.), and learning to understand the Scriptures from a Hebrew mindset. They teach that Gentile Christians have been grafted into Israel, and this is one reason every born-again believer in Jesus the Messiah is to participate in these observances. It is expressed that doing this is not required out of legalistic bondage, but out of a heart of love and obedience. However, they teach that to live a life that pleases God, this Torah-observant walk must be part of that life.

The Hebrew Roots assemblies are often made up of a majority of Gentiles, including Gentile rabbis.

Read more: What is the Hebrew Roots movement?

a clear working definition.

 

[eternally-gratefull]

To advance the KINGDOM of GOD!

where is this in the OT.. Can you show us this??

And in my mind, this would be incorrect in my view. It was so a people who God set aside, could eat and drink. And take care of their families. Since they were NOT allowed to work. but had to keep themselves separate (be clean)
'
And again. Since we are ALL kings and priests.. do we tithe each other??

And do we do it right?? (land clothing, food, money etc etc etc) It was NEVER just money!

 

[Bluecomet]

Things back then were called common. They put everything in a pile. There would be someone there to give you what you needed.

 

[crossnote]

No.


What kind of "Rabbi" are you thinking of here? We have our main Pastor/Rabbi/Teacher, as well as myself and another Associate Pastor.


Yes. Although we don't make a distinction for those.

I assume your shul has a Torah(Tanakh) procession?
In that procession is the b'rit chadasha (new testament) included?

 

[RickShafer]

Paul talks about not muzzling the Ox.
Offerings are a necessary part of spreading the gospel.
Tithes are the law which has been fulfilled.
So, maybe we should give more?
But if not, O.K.
Let every christian answer to God according to their conscience.

 

[SarahM777]

sure.

1. 10% of ALL we have (land food etc)
2. Given to the levites. as they were not allowed to work, make money, or own land)


so unless you give ten % of all you have to a levite, who is performing the work of God. you are not tithing according to the law

even abraham, he was not commanded, he gave a gift. and he gave of ALL he had.

the church has twisted this (as did the jews) to mean money.. and this is not according to the law.

Eternally,

There are actually three tithes under the Mosaic law. One was for the Levites,one was for the national feats in which the people were to put it aside and then during the feats they were to eat of this tithe. There is also a third tithe every third year for the poor,fatherless,widows and aliens in the land out of which the they were to feed them out of.

The tithe was NOT land nor money,but food and only food from the land or herds or flocks.

Abraham did not give the tithe of all he had it was a tithe out of the spoils of war.

[h=3][/h]

 

[KohenMatt]

sure.

1. 10% of ALL we have (land food etc)
2. Given to the levites. as they were not allowed to work, make money, or own land)


so unless you give ten % of all you have to a levite, who is performing the work of God. you are not tithing according to the law

even abraham, he was not commanded, he gave a gift. and he gave of ALL he had.

the church has twisted this (as did the jews) to mean money.. and this is not according to the law.

So if I give a minimum of 10% to my church, and am constantly serving and giving to others as the need arises, am I tithing according to the law?

 

[SarahM777]

So if I give a minimum of 10% to my church, and am constantly serving and giving to others as the need arises, am I tithing according to the law?

Nope,the tithe was NOT money. Offerings could be money WHICH WAS ABOVE AND BEYOND the tithe. The offerings should have come from the heart,the tithes were basically a TAX.

 

[KohenMatt]

I assume your shul has a Torah(Tanakh) procession?
In that procession is the b'rit chadasha (new testament) included?

We've never referred to our building as a "Shul" and I doubt very few people in our church would even know what that word means. We don't do a Torah scroll procession, but the scroll that we do have is only the Torah I believe. We only bring it out once or twice a year but don't study from it or examine it. However, we do spend a great deal of our messages and studies each week in the New Testament.

 

[RedTent]

What does this have to do with vein repetition things people call worship? I do not think you understood me at all!



You comparing apples to oranges.

Making dinner is a sign of love, But if you made the SAME stuff at exactly the same time, and served it the exact same way every time. Would it be love or duty?

Not to mention. What if you only did it once a week. and the rest of the week you did nothing?

again, I do not think you are comprehending what I am saying



Again, I do not think you understood what I was saying. Of course I know this. Loving kindness is the OT term for grace. or mercy..

But I am not talking about this. I am talking about weekly or monthly repeated things which people like to think make them more holy and God really likes. when God does not really want this, He wants our love,, And he wants us to go out and be a light in the world. This to God is pure and undefiled religion . Not repeating ritual, which were fulfilled (the symbology) By Christ.

as someone said earlier, the catholics do this, and many protestant brought alot of this with them. It does not make a person more holy or pure.. I know. I did it for years.

You are getting things awfully mixed up!! If someone did like a robot certain repeated things and thought this had to do with God, it would not work. Are you saying that someone is acting in this way? Even a doctor of psychiatry works at diagnosis, and that when he is asked to. When God suggested certain routines to the Hebrews, I don't think God had your diagnosis of routine in mind. Do you repeat the Lord's Prayer? Empty ritual?

When you say that we need to worship in truth and with our whole hearts, you have it right on. When you say that we must not take any guidance in our worship and only do as you say, I do not agree.

You are worshipping in truth. That is fine. So am I. You use no rituals, that is fine, too. I use some rituals, it is not fine that you judge me for that. I don't judge you for refusing to.

 

[crossnote]

We've never referred to our building as a "Shul" and I doubt very few people in our church would even know what that word means. We don't do a Torah scroll procession, but the scroll that we do have is only the Torah I believe. We only bring it out once or twice a year but don't study from it or examine it. However, we do spend a great deal of our messages and studies each week in the New Testament.

Sounds like your congregation is an exception to the general rule. Most have Torah procession (ot) without the nt, and their teaching/sermon is usually ot based using the nt more as a commentary.

 

[eternally-gratefull]

So if I give a minimum of 10% to my church, and am constantly serving and giving to others as the need arises, am I tithing according to the law?

Does your church have a child from levi doing Gods work?

And are you living in the land of Israel?

Thats why I asked why you are doing something not given to us. The levitical priesthood has been done away with, with it went the need to tithe.

The NT Church was never commanded to tithe.

more importantly. Is your ten % make you more spiritual or holy than a family man with 3 kids who can only afford to give 5%?

 

[SarahM777]

One other minor detail the tithe could not go up to the temple when the Mosaic law was given,they were still wandering around the desert. It wasn't built yet,so where God tells them on how the tithes were to be used it did not include the temple.

 

[SarahM777]

Does your church have a child from levi doing Gods work?

And are you living in the land of Israel?

Thats why I asked why you are doing something not given to us. The levitical priesthood has been done away with, with it went the need to tithe.

The NT Church was never commanded to tithe.

more importantly. Is your ten % make you more spiritual or holy than a family man with 3 kids who can only afford to give 5%?

UMMM I think you might see this,but with the way the tithe was set up the poor,fatherless and widows did not have to tithe.

 

[KohenMatt]

Does your church have a child from levi doing Gods work?

And are you living in the land of Israel?

Thats why I asked why you are doing something not given to us. The levitical priesthood has been done away with, with it went the need to tithe.

The NT Church was never commanded to tithe.

more importantly. Is your ten % make you more spiritual or holy than a family man with 3 kids who can only afford to give 5%?

Are you implying that I don't need to tithe at all to my church?

Is there something inheritantly wrong with tithing in the manner I've described? Am I causing damage to the Kingdom of Go or my relationship with Him if I do?

 

[eternally-gratefull]

Nope,the tithe was NOT money. Offerings could be money WHICH WAS ABOVE AND BEYOND the tithe. The offerings should have come from the heart,the tithes were basically a TAX.

exactly, Basically an income tax used to pay the levites.

 

[Shiloah]

So if I give a minimum of 10% to my church, and am constantly serving and giving to others as the need arises, am I tithing according to the law?

So it sounds like what you give to the church would be counted as both tithing and offering, Kohen?

 

[Shiloah]

Are you implying that I don't need to tithe at all to my church?

Is there something inheritantly wrong with tithing in the manner I've described? Am I causing damage to the Kingdom of Go or my relationship with Him if I do?

I think this is a good example of not knowing the difference between tithing according to the letter of the law or keeping the law in spirit. And I don't mean you, Kohen. lol.

 

[eternally-gratefull]

You are getting things awfully mixed up!! If someone did like a robot certain repeated things and thought this had to do with God, it would not work. Are you saying that someone is acting in this way? Even a doctor of psychiatry works at diagnosis, and that when he is asked to. When God suggested certain routines to the Hebrews, I don't think God had your diagnosis of routine in mind. Do you repeat the Lord's Prayer? Empty ritual?

1. No I do not repeat the lords prayer, it would become meaningless. He showed us how to pray by showing us what to ask for. He did not tell us to repeat that pray, He said pray LIKE THIS. not pray THIS. A huge difference.

2. The ritual was a symbol. Thats why God did it. What do we need to see from these rituals? Christ already fulfilled them all. So why keep doing them?

When you say that we need to worship in truth and with our whole hearts, you have it right on. When you say that we must not take any guidance in our worship and only do as you say, I do not agree.

I am not telling yuo to do as I say. I am just trying to show how Isreal, and the church have used these ritual and traditions to make themselves more holy. and destroyed the meaning of having a relationship with god.

You are worshipping in truth. That is fine. So am I. You use no rituals, that is fine, too. I use some rituals, it is not fine that you judge me for that. I don't judge you for refusing to.

I am not judging you either. Just showing you a better way to relate to God..

 

[eternally-gratefull]

UMMM I think you might see this,but with the way the tithe was set up the poor,fatherless and widows did not have to tithe.

That was not my point though, It was who was it given to and why?

and PS.. I am also just not talking abou the poor. I know many a people who have tithed because they thought it was commanded. And in doing so. could not pay ceasar. Even though he was counceled to get his affairs in order first. (He was not poor. he was considered middle class!) And ended up losing everything. Is this what God wants us to do??