Jennifer Garrett Richmond

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For Those Willing to Doubt and Challenge What You’ve Been Taught…

Devotionals · 4 minute read


Around 2009 I began an earnest spiritual journey. I felt that I may have been in error in some of my understanding of the Word of God and wanted to grow deeper in my knowledge of what the Bible said – not what I had been taught, but what the Bible truly said. I had been observing the Passover and hosting a Seder for eight years because I found the fulfillment of Christ in this holy day to be tremendously enlightening. This lead me to pursue the question of why I wasn’t keeping other Biblical holy days like Yom Kippur, Yom Teruah, and others. As I pursued this question, I found fascinating teaching in what is called the “Hebrew Roots” or Messianic movement. This is a movement of believers in Christ who return to the Hebrew roots of the gospel and most, while holding to Jesus Christ, move all the way back to the Mosaic Covenant and continue to keep all its commands – eating “Kosher,” wearing no mixed fabrics, observing Shabbat, not working on holy days, etc. They believe that Christians should be keeping the Law of with Torah and that traditional Christianity is in serious error.

This movement teaches that in 325 AD Constantine corrupted Christianity motivated by political desires and anti-Semitism, and the Christianity we know of today is still corrupted as a result. I wanted to understand this fully and not be swayed by the comforts of my life as a western, American, Christian, so I immersed myself in many hours of study on the topic. I attended a Messianic fellowship along with still attending my regular church. I read books on the topic, listened to a great many teachers and experts in the subject, began learning Hebrew, and studied the Word at length.
I’m sharing this with you because it was through prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit as I read the Word that I came to believe that followers of Christ are not bound by the Old Covenant. Constantine may very well have corrupted the church – I believe he did in many ways, but this doesn’t mean that we should be keeping the Mosaic Law. It was primarily my study in Hebrews and Galatians that helped me resolve the issue. This is one of the reasons I have loved teaching through Hebrews with you! I want you to have the same assurance I do! Jesus came to fulfill the Law. He came to bring the New Covenant. He came to obey it all because there is no way that I could. The Old Covenant was faulty. The New is perfect because Jesus is perfect.
I have many friends and even family members who follow Christ and still feel they must keep every part of the Mosaic Covenant. They do not see it as being a burden, but find great joy in trying to obey every law. They are fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. However, I believe they are in error. The example I walked you through from Hebrews 8:8 is a Scripture that those in the Hebrew Roots movement are using to teach that we should be keeping the Old Covenant still. They teach that God found fault with “them” – the Levitical priests and not with the covenant itself, and therefore if we but keep the Law (like those others didn’t) we are in God’s favor. But, as I had you read, you hopefully see that a careful rendering of the Greek and sound hermeneutics will show that this is not the point of that passage! The point is that God proclaimed through the prophet Jeremiah 1000 years before Christ that a new covenant was indeed coming…and it did! Jesus is the mediator of that new covenant.
As followers of Jesus, we should honor the Scripture that tells us to “accurately divide the Word of Truth.” We must be good students of the Word and be willing to seek God and love Him with heart, soul, mind, and strength. I know that those in the Hebrew Roots movement believe they are doing that. However, they have misinterpreted many verses to fit their paradigm namely: Constantine ruined Christianity and Jesus was a Jew who kept the Law. Therefore, Christians should too. I will continue to seek with openness the truth of God’s Word.
My journey began when I read and understood how Christ was fulfilled in the Passover. I began, as I said, observing the traditional Passover Seder every year, and I still do that to this day. However, I observe the holy day, not because I am under the Law, but because I find great power in seeing Christ in the Passover and great joy in sharing this day with others. Since 2001 I’ve lead the Seder with nearly 1,000 people – friends and family, seekers and students. The Passover holy day gives me the opportunity to point people the Jesus Christ as the complete fulfillment of the law and all the prophecies as well as the One who brought us the law to be written on our hearts. What great joy and hope I have because of Him. I pray that you will always find the truth of Jesus Christ as you continue to “rightly divide the Word of truth” and seek Him with your whole heart.
Shalom,
Jennifer

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Comments

  1. Becky Scherle says

    Thank you for sharing your journey!! I went through a similar process that led me to the same conclusion: “Jesus came to fulfill the Law. He came to bring the New Covenant. He came to obey it all because there is no way that I could. The Old Covenant was faulty. The New is perfect because Jesus is perfect.” I’m so thankful that Jesus makes up for what I lack. Thank you for using your gifts as you teach and share so that we have a better understanding of how Jesus wonderfully fulfilled the requirements of the law.

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