SQSA Live Series: What was the meaning and importance of the Jerusalem Council?
/To read this answer on eBible.com, follow this link:
https://ebible.com/answers/22078?ori=492502
Introduction to the Series
(Listen to the MP3 of this Introduction)
The Hebrew word "shomer" means "keeper of," or “to be observant”; in the Qal stem, the root word “shamar” suggests the idea of “safeguarding.”[1] The Hebrew word "mitzvot" is the plural form of the word "mitzvah," meaning, "command”; thus, "shomer mitzvot" (say: show-mair meets-vote) means "keeper of the commands,” or more generically "Torah observant.”
Many believers—specifically Jewish believers without a formal background in Judaism, and Gentile ones who wish to identify with the Scriptures of Isra'el—have questions about what it means to be “Torah observant.” Pursuing the Torah as the Master Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ) modeled it for his followers is sometimes referred to as “halakhah,” coming from the Hebrew word “halakh” for “walk.”[2]
In Judaism, safeguarding and keeping the Torah is central to performing the will of HaShem.[3] Indeed, as properly understood from HaShem’s point of view, the whole of Torah was given to bring its followers to the "goal" of acquiring the kind of faith in HaShem that leads to placing one’s trusting faithfulness in the One and only Son of HaShem, Yeshua HaMashiach.[4] To this end, the Torah has prophesied about him since as early as the book of Genesis (3:15), and continues to speak of him until its conclusion in Revelation (22:20). In this capacity, the Torah acts like its etymological counterpart "yarah"[5] (an archery term) in that it "teaches" its adherents how to properly identify with HaShem by helping them to "reach the mark.” To be sure, one of the most common Hebrew verbs used to identify "sin" (chetah) literally means, "to miss the mark.”[6]
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[1] Brown, Driver, Briggs (BDB), shamar.
[2] Ibid, halakh.
[3] Deuteronomy 5:1.
[4] Luke 24:27, 44-47; Romans 10:4.
[5] BDB, yarah.
[6] Ibid, chatah.
*The Shomer Mitzvot series is ongoing, with content added as time permits.
NEW! JOIN TORAH TEACHER ARIEL SATURDAY EVENINGS FROM 7 PM TO 8 PM CENTRAL STANDARD TIME FOR A LIVE INTERNET STUDY FROM VARIOUS SHORT QUESTIONS AND SHORT ANSWERS
(*Link opens at Ariel's TetzeTorah.com website)
SQSA Live Series: How are we to understand the Acts 10 vision?
/To read this answer on TetzeTorah.com, follow this link:
https://tetzetorah.squarespace.com/exegeting-acts-10
SQSA Live Series: What made some animals clean and others unclean?
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https://ebible.com/answers/22066?ori=492502
SQSA Live Series: What does the Bible say about what foods we should eat (kosher)? Are there foods a Christian should avoid?
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https://ebible.com/answers/21905?ori=492502
SQSA Live Series: What are the laws referred to in Galatians 2:21 that cannot make us 'right with God'?
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https://ebible.com/answers/21866?ori=492502
SQSA Live Series: Why do many worship and do Sabbath on Sunday instead of Saturday?
/To read this answer on eBible.com, follow this link:
https://ebible.com/answers/22512
SQSA Live Series: What did God mean when he said, "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy"?
/To read this answer on eBible.com, follow this link:
https://ebible.com/answers/22486
SQSA Live Series: Why do most Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah?
/To read this answer on eBible.com, follow this link:
https://ebible.com/answers/22324?ori=492502
SQSA Live Series: What is the curse of the law?
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https://ebible.com/answers/24361?ori=492502
SQSA Live Series: What was the Old Testament way of salvation?
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https://ebible.com/answers/22026?ori=492502
SQSA Live Series: Why did God choose Israel to be His chosen people?
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https://ebible.com/answers/22387?ori=492502
SQSA Live Series: How do you fear the Lord when you love Him?
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https://ebible.com/answers/22233
SQSA Live Series: Should we still obey all the commandments even though we are gentile Christians?
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https://ebible.com/answers/22137?ori=492502
SQSA Live Series: Do Christians have to obey the Old Testament law?
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https://ebible.com/answers/21860
SQSA Live Series: What does the Bible say about Christian liberty?
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https://ebible.com/answers/22145?ori=492502
SQSA Live Series: Is the "New Perspective on Paul" biblical?
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https://ebible.com/answers/22356?ori=492502
SQSA Live Series: Why is faith without works dead?
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https://ebible.com/answers/22101?ori=492502
SQSA Live Series: What does Paul mean when he says to not let anyone judge us in regard to keeping the Sabbath?
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https://ebible.com/answers/22069?ori=492502
SQSA Live Series: What is the Feast of Tabernacles?
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https://ebible.com/answers/22227?ori=492502
SQSA Live Series: Should Christians observe the day of atonement?
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https://ebible.com/answers/22408?ori=492502