Torah and Mitzvah: Making the Message Yours’
“…the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for
salvation through faith in Christ Jesusâ€
(2 Timothy 3:15)
We believe that the Bible has an overarching message. While certainly kingdom is a major doctrine, along with covenant; promise; and salvation, perhaps it is the coming of Messiah which holds all of these together (John 5:39; Luke 24:44-47). The Messiah is Hebrew for “the Christ†(John 1:41). To make the message yours’, several biblical concepts become important.
Torah – The essential ideas behind torah are: teaching, law and direction. Torah, while often identified with the first five books, involves more than a quantity of scrolls, however. Guidance seems dominant.
Mitzvah – This Hebrew term is translated along the lines of commandment. We recognize the Jewish ceremony of Bar-Mitzvah, when a male becomes a son of the commandment in Judaism (Bat-Mitzvah for girls).
Torah and mitzvah enable the sons of God to live for Him—guided specifically by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14). Jesus, himself, seems to be using these two Jewish concepts in his final plea for his disciples in Matthew 28:20—“ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.†Make the message yours’ today. His presence is conditioned upon these two directives.
-Robert M. Housby