To everyone who follows Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,
While we all
ought to enthusiastically support deep study of the Bible, including its Jewish
cultural and linguistic roots, all such study should occur within the framework
of a Church history-based orthodoxy, and an Apostolic understanding of the
Gospel. The First Fruits of Zion with
their Torah Clubs, are not an acceptable option.
Why are groups
associated with the Hebrew Roots Movement, like the First Fruits of Zion
dangerous? Ample documentation* has demonstrated
from primary sources, in their own words, that the First Fruits of Zion
organization, and the Torah Clubs materials they publish, are replete with the
following theological errors and/or heresies:
1. A
non-Trinitarian view of God in the forms of two ancient heresies rejected by
the Early Church: Modalism and Subordinationism. Through these heresies, they deny full
personhood and/or full deity to Jesus Christ.
2.
A
foundationally flawed hermeneutic {including the use of paraphrases, “my
translation,” out-of-context quotations, and word substitutions resulting in
more palatable texts} for interpreting scripture that proclaims that all
relevant passages have been wrongly understood throughout Church History, and
in fact mean nearly the opposite of what the Church has nearly universally
taught.
3.
A
consistent hostility toward the Church which is seen as the ‘mission field’ in
need of correction to bring it back to its supposed roots as a Torah observant
movement within Judaism. They teach the
Church should never have existed.
4.
That
the books of Moses, the Torah, are more fully the words of God than other
portions of holy scripture, making them the lens through which all scripture
must be interpreted. Even Jesus Christ,
the eternal Word of God, has no authority to establish anything beyond the
Mosaic Law.
5.
That
Jesus did not fulfill the Mosaic Law, rather it is still operative and
normative for all of God’s people, Jews and Gentiles alike. That it was designed by God to be the only
rubric for holy living for all peoples, in all places, and at all times.
6.
That
there is no covenant with the Gentiles, thus all followers of Jesus Christ who
accept the Gospel must be grafted into Israel by ‘becoming a Jew’ in spirit
through Torah observance.
7.
That
on this basis true Christian discipleship requires the keeping of the Mosaic
Law, including the dietary (kosher), Sabbath, and festival provisions, which is
how Christians demonstrate their love of God as these have been redefined by
FFOZ as the true “fruit of the Spirit.”
If the tree
is diseased, so will its fruit be. Christians have already been warned against
the use of bible study materials produced by the Watchtower Tract Society (JW)
or LDS (Mormon) organizations, and would not use them even if locally 100% of
the parent organization’s theology was not being adopted. The risk that heretical teachings would gain
a foothold is simply too great. The same
danger exists when using materials published by FFOZ. If the desire is to learn about Judaism or
from Messianic Judaism, a host of materials from an orthodox point-of-view are
available for Christians to utilize. To
use that which comes from the FFOZ is an unnecessary risk, in addition,
purchases support an organization whose stated goals would harm the Church and
warp the Gospel.
In the end,
while protesting that they do not offer a works-based salvation, and claiming
that faith in Jesus is sufficient, this movement is built upon and structured
around the claim that all faithful Christians will begin observing the Law of
Moses once they become followers of Jesus, that faithful Christians will, in
essence, live like Jews. They may not outright
claim the Law of Moses as the gatekeeper to salvation and Christian
discipleship, but when you make it the gauge of genuine faithfulness you are
adding it to the Gospel message, casting dispersion upon the faith of 99% of
the world’s Christians, both past and present, and spreading doubt and division
within the Church. This movement is no
benign appreciation of the scriptures, but rather an aggressively proselytizing
misappropriation of them contrary to the established teachings of Orthodox,
Catholic, Protestant Churches, and Messianic Jewish congregations, alike.
Given this,
it is necessary to warn individual Christians and congregations against
participation in these groups, and call upon those who do so now, and
especially those who are promoting them, to repent and return to the faith our
ancestors rejoiced in as, “you are not under the law, but under grace.”
(Romans 6:12)
* For documentation, see the page on this blog with the same title.
