Hebrew Roots Movement

The Hebrew Roots Movement

 The Hebrew Roots Movement is a contemporary global spiritual movement that advocates the return and adherence to the first century faith of Jesus Christ by seeking a better understanding of the culture, history, and religio-political backdrop of that era which led to the core differences with both the Jewish, and later, Christian communities.[1]The term “Hebrew Roots” resulted from the journey to investigate and discover the first century faith, but also to distinguish and differentiate itself from other religious organizations that may have common beliefs, which could cause identity confusion in the public eye.  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.

Where did the Hebrew Roots Movement (HRM) get started?
One of the earliest forms  of the Hebrew Roots Movement is seen in the Ebionites, a sect the early church deemed to be a heretical group of Judaizers. They regarded Jesus as the Messiah, but also insisted on the necessity of following Jewish religious law and rites. Since the early 20th century, different religious organizations have been teaching a belief in Jesus Christ as one's personal savior and in keeping the Sabbath and the annual Feasts or Holy Days. In other words they preach Christ as Savior but you must keep laws to maintain your salvation. This is a contradiction and not a biblical definition of salvation, which is by grace alone not by our works. These include Messianic Judaism (to a very limited degree), starting in 1916 and the Sacred Name Movement (SCM) starting in 1937, and the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) in the 1930s. Aater they formed what is known today as the Hebrew Roots Movement. Thus far, the WCG has had the greatest impact among all organizations in teaching these beliefs, including obedience to much of the Old Testament law, both nationally and internationally. [2],[3]

 What does the Hebrew Roots Movement teach?
 It should be noted that Hebrew Roots Movement theology includes at least seven distinct core differences from Protestantism, Seventh-day Adventism, Rabbinic Judaism, and Messianic Judaism[4]

 The HRM teaches that both the Old and New Testaments are held as holy books, but the Old testament takes president over the New Testament. The "Torah" (what they typically call the first five books of the Old Testament) serves as the foundation to all subsequent understanding and interpretation of Scripture. A foundational distinction of the Hebrew Roots movement is the manner in which Scripture is translated and interpreted so that later testimony or the New Testament  does not conflict with Torah commandments. It is believed by those in HRM that Jesus Christ did not come to establish a new religion or to “do away” with the law, even though the New Testament clearly teaches that Jesus was "abolishing the law" just as the death of a spouse abolishes a marriage (Ephesians 2:15).  They also do not believe that in the advent of the New Covenant through Jesus death on the cross, the Old covenant was made "obsolete" and with the destruction of the temple the Old Covenant would "vanish away"  (Hebrews 8:13).  Followers of the Hebrew Roots movement advocate a return to total Torah/Christian Torah-submission.

The Hebrew Roots Movement also teaches that Salvation derives from the belief in Jesus Christ as personal savior, not from commandment/Torah keeping; however, believers are rewarded according to their fruits, works, and obedience. Hebrew Roots followers believe that sin is breaking the written Torah (1 John 3:4), all of the purity laws such as dietary restrictions and Sabbath keeping are in the written Torah, thus it is sin to not keep Sabbath and to eat forbidden food.  In the HRM the Law overwrites the Grace and the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. In other words, Law trumps Grace. It is also true, according to Hebrew Roots Movement followers, that those who are truly born of God will not continue in sin ( 1John 3:9), therefore, if you are not moved to keep Sabbath or keep dietary restrictions, you must not truly be born of God.

This movement also teaches that Old Testament and the Torah Laws teachings of the New Testament are to be obeyed by both Jews and Gentiles. This is paired with a basic lack of understanding that it is impossible to keep the Old Covenant without a tabernacle or temple. This movement relies heavily on the teaching of the law and not the grace of Christ found in the New Testament.

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What is the Hebrew Roots Movement?

This topic continues to be of interest to me. There was a recent discussion and  a link provided for the following article. I found it informative and enlightening. Be encouraged to be discerning in all matters.

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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. Usually they prefer to be identified as "Messianic Christians." Many have come to the conclusion that God has "called" them to be Jewish and have accepted the theological position that the Torah (Old Testament law) is equally binding on Gentiles and Jews alike. They often wear articles of traditional Jewish clothing, practice Davidic dancing, and incorporate Hebrew names and phrases into their writing and conversations. Most reject the use of the name "Jesus" in favor of Yeshua or YHWH, claiming that these are the "true" names that God desires for Himself. In most cases, they elevate the Torah as the foundational teaching for the Church, which brings about the demotion of the New Testament, causing it to become secondary in importance and only to be understood in light of the Old Testament. The idea that the New Testament is faulty and relevant only in light of the Old Testament has also brought the doctrine of the Trinity under attack by many advocates of the Hebrew Roots beliefs.

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