Logo for India

My son is involved in starting a new ministry in India.  He asked for my help in designing a logo for what he wants to call Broken Vessels.  Using 2 Cor
This is the beginning of the picture I am going to use.

Believe Is An Action Verb

Another insightful devotional from our friend Kyle

What do YOU believe?  (Give me 10 minutes of your time and I will tell you – smile)

  

“The computer system is going to crash when the year 2,000 comes”

(What did you believe about Y2K?)

 

05 / 11 / 13

(Comments in parentheses and emphasis within Scriptures are mine.)

 

THIS WEEK’S THOUGHTS:

 

Believing is an action word!  Just like when our Father says to “Keep the Sabbath day Holy”.  We Gentiles generally think of the words “believe” or “keep” as passive, or merely mental assertions.  In the Hebrew language, though, they are action words.  To “Keep” the Sabbath day Holy actually means:  to set aside as holy, to protect and to guard as holy.  In the same respect, the word believe is an action word!  EVERYONE believes SOMETHING about God, and that belief will cause them to act, react, speak, reason, and think in response to that belief.

 

A couple of weeks ago, we studied about what Yeshua (Jesus) said about how we are to believe in the Father.  Some of those verses were:

 

“And Yeshua (Jesus) cried out and said, ‘He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me.’” (John 12:44) 

 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”  (John 5:24)

 

This verse should make people stop and think because many people cling to “Jesus”, yet want little to do with the Father.  “But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.”  (John 15:21)  When we separate the Father and the Son, we will develop ideas and doctrines which will cause persecution of those truly dedicated to the Father (while living by faith in His Salvation – His Son).   

 

It is clear that we are to believe in YHVH (The Father who loved us so much that HE saved us by sending His Son, Yeshua (Whose Name means “YHVH saves”)).  What do you believe about Him … the giver of the gift?

 

LET US STUDY “BELIEVE” FOR A MOMENT:

 

I was always taught that Romans 11:20 meant that the Jews did not believe, but we Gentiles are saved by faith:

 

“Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief^G570, but you stand by your faith^G4102. Do not be conceited, but fear;”

 

Let us look at both “Unbelief” (# G570) and “Faith” (# G4102) and we will find that:

 

Unbelief = Faithlessness = disobedience

Belief = faithful = obedient

 

We can clearly see that these are action words!  If you TRULY believe in YHVH (and what HE did to save us), then you would be faithful to obey Him!

The opposite is true … if you do not obey His eternal Laws, then you are unfaithful and are showing that you do not truly believe.

 

UNBELIEF (# G570)

 

Faithlessness, that is, (negatively) disbelief, disobedience: - unbelief.

 

FAITH (# G4102)

 

Synonym (other words that mean the same): observance, keeping; godliness; reverence of God;

 

Antonym (words that mean the opposite): disobedience; violation; unbelief, faithlessness; ungodliness, departure from the truth;

 

WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A BETTER TRANSLATION OF ROMANS 11:20?

 

“Those in the desert were broken off because they did not obey (proving that they truly did not believe in God), but you are obeying (which proves that you do believe and have His Spirit).  Do not be conceited and become boastful, but be fearful” – KHV (Kyle Humphrey Version – smile – I did not change the original words, but simply did what ALL our Bibles do, translated the Greek to English)

 

I have often said, “Give me 10 minutes with anybody, and I can tell what/who they love.  The same is true with what people believe.  If someone says that they believe in God, yet do not obey Him, their actions prove that either they are babes in the Lord, or their words of acclamation are false.  For example, if someone has been calling themselves a believer for years and years , and is still living a life of disregard for the Father’s Laws as given to Moses, well…

 

“The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;” (1 John 2:4)

 

“They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”  (Titus 1:16)

 

These people are saying, “I believe in God!”, yet they are proving that they do not actually believe because they are disobeying Him (Like they did in the desert!).  This makes Matthew 7:21 and 23 come to life:

 

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter … ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”'  

 

LET US LOOK AT SOME EXAMPLES:

 

-         I am planning on pouring cement one afternoon on a job.  I turn on the weather report and they are calling for rain early that afternoon.  Do I believe them, or don’t I?  I check the radar myself and examine the facts.  I find that I do not believe the report, but feel that it will rain later tonight.  So, I pour the cement.  I acted upon my belief!  I “know” the weatherman and have trusted in him in the past, but occasionally I do NOT believe in him.

-         Many today are examining their faith in the government and its ability to fix the economy and take care of us.  What do you believe?  If you believe in the government’s claims, then you will most likely be spending your money as in years past … if you do not have “faith” in the government, then your actions will probably be different. 

-         What do you believe about the educational system?  Do you believe that the schools have anti-Christ agendas;  that drugs / sex / and language are out of control in the schools;  Do you believe that our children know nothing when they are born and we parents are going to be held responsible for what they learn and absorb (That God is going to hold the parents  accountable)?  If this is your belief, then your actions would most likely be to pull your children out of this system and either put them in a Christian school or homeschool them.  If you believe that the schools are not that bad, or that you can correct the damage done at school when they get home, or that God really won’t hold you responsible for what they are exposed to at school, then your actions will most likely be to leave them in the public school system.  You see, whatever we believe will affect the way we act.

 

Okay … now with the topic of concern:  What do you believe about God?

 

-         I believe that there will be many “Christians” in the end being sent away because they did not truly believe what God said about His Laws being eternal.  I preach repentance to those I love.  Do you believe God when He says that to eat unclean meat is detestable to Him? … Do you believe God when He said that He desires obedient children? … Do you believe God when His Son says to obey His Father’s teachings?

-         I believe that neither Paul, nor anyone else, not even the Messiah, has changed the Father’s Laws.  He even says in Matthew 5:18 … “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”  (Oh, look over there, I still see the heavens and the earth!)  I understand that if Paul changed the Laws, then he would have been a false prophet … I understand that if someone comes preaching that he is the Messiah, yet does not  obey the Laws of YHVH and teaches others to do the same, then he is NOT the Messiah.  How do I react to this belief?  I am practicing obedience to the Laws as YHVH has laid them out, all the while trusting in HIS Salvation.  (Then I find that this is what my Savior taught, as well:  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.”  (Matthew 23:23)

 

We will all stand before YHVH and give an account for what we did in this life - “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.”  (Romans 14:12)  Will this account that we give be based on our belief that ‘Jesus did away with those old laws’?  OR will our account be based on our belief that our faith led us to obey as best as we could all of His eternal laws (just like His Son did), yet trust in His Salvation?  

Done For Hire

My first oil portrait done for hire is finished.  My daughter who just started driving bus asked me to do her portrait for hire.  So here is the photos along with the finished product.

Learning on Sabbath

Gal 2:3 But not even Titus who was with me, though a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.

Gal 2:4 But as for the false brothers, sneakingly brought in, who sneaked in to spy out our freedom which we have in Messiah יהושע in order to enslave us,

Gal 2:5 to these we did not yield in subjection, not even for an hour, so that the truth of the Good News remains with you.

After the Gentile converts abandon the ways of other dieties, specifically that of sun god worship they would attend the local synagogue to be taught the Yahweh's instructions for His set apart people, the Law of Moses. 
Act 15:21 "For from ancient generations Mosheh has, in every city, those proclaiming him – being read in the congregations every Sabbath.

The way in which James made it easy for new converts is very similar to what we do today.  We preach and teach of the good news of salvation through faith by grace.  We commit and trust in the Word of Elohim  as all that is necessary for our salvation.  Applying the Word to our lives through obedience to that Word.  In this way a new believer is able to seek out the way of Elohim and begin to walk in it.  The way in which we walk is one that has already been established and with meeting together in Assembly there is encouragement for growth and bearing fruit.

Mat 23:1 Then יהושע spoke to the crowds and to His taught ones,

Mat 23:2 saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Mosheh.

Mat 23:3 "Therefore, whatever they say to you to guard, guard and do. But do not do according to their works, for they say, and do not do.

There are many who teach Acts 15 speaks against the Law of Elohim.  They teach James as only speaking to appease the Jews.  These teachers fail to take into account the entire context and skip over verse 21 (given above) and also 16: where Paul actually circumcises Timothy.

Act 16:1 And he came to Derbe and Lustra. And see, a certain taught one was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Yehuḏite woman who believed – but his father was Greek –

Act 16:2 who was well spoken of by the brothers who were at Lustra and Ikonion.

Act 16:3 Sha’ul wished to have this one go with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Yehuḏim who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was Greek.

Act 16:4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the regulations to keep, which were decided by the emissaries and elders at Yerushalayim. Act 16:5 Then, indeed, the assemblies were strengthened in the belief, and increased in number every day.

 

If the Law was done away with why would Timothy then be circumcised?  It would have been extremely awkward to have Timothy with them and express the teaching from James concerning the Gentiles learning the Law of Moses in their local assemblies but still not practicing the Law himself.  Timothy must have believed he was ready to submit outwardly to what he was already believing inwardly in his circumcised heart.  What we need to find out in our study of Galatians is why Timothy was circumcised but Titus was not.  Why is there this difference?  The difference lies in what was being taught.  Remember, at the beginning of our study a false gospel was entering into the assembly.  What was offered to Titus was not the physical offered through faith representing what had already happened in the heart but a false circumcision into a false teaching of requiring circumcision for salvation.  Even the patriarch Abraham was 99 years old before he became circumcised.  We could use baptism or immersion as an example.  Most of us would understand immersion as an important requirement for believers but not as a means for salvation.  It is an outward testimony of what has already taken place inwardly of the death of self.  The same can be said of circumcision.  The difficulty Paul is addressing is others were saying it had to be done as a means of salvation.  If Titus had been compelled to be circumcised by this group of false teachers He would have been agreeing to the false teaching of works to obtain salvation.  Our actions should be the result of what has taken place within our hearts.  This group of false teachers and their teachings are spelled out in the dead sea scrolls.

Alive in Messiah

Well, one of my daughters came to me a few weeks ago asking to be baptized.  The girls have also been asking to go back to a park we went to last year during Tabernacles.  As we had an appointment in that area we had a combined trip to the park and then to the Minnesota River for the immersing of my 3 oldest daughters still at home.  The river goes through the park and has a water fall.  However, we went to a secluded county park a little bit further west and north for the baptism.

this is looking downstream from our baptism spot.

This shot is looking upstream.

Mat 28:18 And יהושע came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Mat 28:19 "Therefore, go and make taught ones of all the nations, immersing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Set-apart Spirit,

Mat 28:20 teaching them to guard all that I have commanded you. And see, I am with you always, until the end of the age." Amĕn.


 Abigail professing faith in Yahshua HaMashiac and His atoning work on the stake for forgiveness of sins.  Emersion is representing death to our flesh

Rom 6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were immersed into Messiah יהושע were immersed into His death?

Rom 6:4 We were therefore buried with Him through immersion into death, that as Messiah was raised from the dead by the esteem of the Father, so also we should walk in newness of life.

Rom 6:5 For if we have come to be grown together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also of the resurrection,

Rom 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was impaled with Him, so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, to serve sin no longer.

Rom 6:7 For he who has died has been made right from sin.

Rom 6:8 And if we died with Messiah, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

Rom 6:9 knowing that Messiah, having been raised from the dead, dies no more – death no longer rules over Him.

Rom 6:10 For in that He died, He died to sin once for all; but in that He lives, He lives to Elohim.

Rom 6:11 So you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to Elohim in Messiah יהושע our Master.

Rom 6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, to obey it in its desires,

Rom 6:13 neither present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to Elohim as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to Elohim.

 Joanna, professing her faith in the atoning work of Messiah Yahshua.  Believing in faith to a newness of life in Him who shed His blood in our place. 

Rom 12:1 I call upon you, therefore, brothers, through the compassion of Elohim, to present your bodies a living offering – set-apart, well-pleasing to Elohim – your reasonable worship.

Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you prove what is that good and well-pleasing and perfect desire of Elohim.

Rom 12:3 For I say, through the favour which has been given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he should think, but to think soberly, as Elohim has given to each a measure of belief.

Eph 2:8 For by favour you have been saved, through belief, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of Elohim,

Eph 2:9 it is not by works, so that no one should boast.

Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah יהושע unto good works, which Elohim prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

 Charisa is the one who originally came to me with the request for Baptism and then we asked the other two and they whole heartedly desired to follow the command of Elohim.

 Oh what joy we have in being obedient to the commands of our Master and Savior.

 More upstream shots of the Minnesota River.
Being here in the river and looking at the beauty around us we are reminded as we die to selves and arise to new life in Messiah, He plants us where He desires us to be.  We can flourish only as we remain in Him

Psa 1:1 Blessed is the man who shall not walk in the counsel of the wrong, And shall not stand in the path of sinners, And shall not sit in the seat of scoffers,

Psa 1:2 But his delight is in the Torah of יהוה, And he meditates in His Torah day and night.

Psa 1:3 For he shall be as a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That yields its fruit in its season, And whose leaf does not wither, And whatever he does prospers.

 When we went back to the van to change into dry clothes we saw a wild grape vine.  It reminds us we can do nothing good in and of ourselves.  We must cling to the vine in order to be fruitful.  All our being and life comes through Him who gave His life for us.

Joh 15:1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener.

Joh 15:2 "Every branch in Me that bears no fruit He takes away. And every branch that bears fruit He prunes, so that it bears more fruit.

Joh 15:3 "You are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you.

Joh 15:4 "Stay in Me, and I stay in you. As the branch is unable to bear fruit of itself, unless it stays in the vine, so neither you, unless you stay in Me.

Joh 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who stays in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit. Because without Me you are able to do naught!

Joh 15:6 "If anyone does not stay in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up. And they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

Joh 15:7 "If you stay in Me, and My Words stay in you, you shall ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.

Joh 15:8 "In this My Father is esteemed, that you bear much fruit, and you shall be My taught ones.

Joh 15:9 "As the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you. Stay in My love.

Joh 15:10 "If you guard My commands, you shall stay in My love,¹ even as I have guarded My Father’s commands and stay in His love. Footnote: 1See 14:15.

Joh 15:11 "These words I have spoken to you, so that My joy might be in you, and that your joy might be complete.

Joh 15:12 "This is My command, that you love one another, as I have loved you.1 Footnote: 1See 13:34, 15:17.

Joh 15:13 "No one has greater love than this: that one should lay down his life for his friends.

Joh 15:14 "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

Gal 2 and Acts 15

If we are looking at Galations 2 through the eyes of the entire Scripture we cannot find Paul teaching against circumcision or even the Law of Elohim.  Paul is trying to teach Galatians about false doctrine and the false gospel that has crept into the church.  Let us head back to Antioch or the church in Galatia for a moment

Act 14:26 and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been committed to the favour of Elohim for the work which they had completed.

Act 14:27 And having arrived, and having gathered together the assembly, they related all that Elohim had done with them, and that He had opened the door of belief to the gentiles.

Act 14:28 And they remained there a long time with the taught ones.

While they were here teaching some men from Judea came with a different gospel for the people of Galatia

Act 15:1 And certain men came down from Yehuḏah and were teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised, according to the practice of Mosheh, you are unable to be saved."

We find the problem here is not "should the Law be observed in the life of the believer" but is that of using the Law as an aid to our salvation.  If we use the Law as an aid to salvation, salvation is no longer by faith but through works or legalism.  What a big difference here in observing the Law because of our faith and wanting to be obedient to demonstrate love for Messiah over using the law as a means of grace.

Paul and Barnabus head to Jerusalem to bring the matter to the council there.  While going to Jerusalem they meet another group who are believers and they understand the true gospel.  The true Gospel being that of salvation through faith by grace alone.  However, they still hold to the fact that a believer should also be observing the law out of obedience.
Act 15:5 And some of the believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees, rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the Torah of Mosheh.


It is after the above two positions are given that Peter offers his view on the matter. 

Act 15:7 And when there had been much dispute, Kĕpha rose up and said to them, "Men, brothers, you know that a good while ago Elohim chose among us, that by my mouth the gentiles should hear the word of the Good News and believe.

Act 15:8 "And Elohim, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Set-apart Spirit, as also to us,

Act 15:9 and made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by belief.

Act 15:10 "Now then, why do you try Elohim by putting a yoke on the neck of the taught ones which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

Act 15:11 "But through the favour of the Master יהושע Messiah we trust to be saved, in the same way as they." Peter is establishing the fact of salvation by faith and there is no difference here between the Jew or the Gentile as relating to salvation.  Paul is teaching the same thing in Galations chapter 2 and 3.  Peter's argument is no one can bear the heavy burden of keeping the law of Moses in order to be saved.  That is what the Jews had been trying to do since Sanai and have failed miserably.  All have fallen short and because of this there is the need for Elohim's favor or grace through our faith.  The council agrees the Gentiles have been given the Spirit through their faith and they will begin to learn and practice Yahweh's law after faith has been established as that is the work of the Spirit.

Eze 36:26 "And I shall give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. And I shall take the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I shall give you a heart of flesh,

Eze 36:27 and put My Spirit within you¹. And I shall cause you to walk in My laws and guard My right-rulings and shall do them. Footnote: 1See 11:19-20, 37:6-14, 39:29.

Joh 14:16 "And I shall ask the Father, and He shall give you another Helper, to stay with you forever –

Joh 14:17
the Spirit of the Truth, whom the world is unable to receive, because it does not see Him or know Him. But you know Him, for He stays with you and shall be in you.
Joh 14:26
"But the Helper, the Set-apart Spirit, whom the Father shall send in My Name, He shall teach you all, and remind you of all that I said to you.   (16:13; 17:17)
Psa 119:142
Your righteousness is righteousness forever, And Your Torah is truth.

Jer 31:31 "See, the days are coming," declares יהוה, "when I shall make a new covenant with the house of Yisra’ĕl and with the house of Yehuḏah¹, Footnote: 1See Heb. 8:8-12, Heb. 10:16-17.

Jer 31:32 not like the covenant I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Mitsrayim, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them," declares יהוה.

Jer 31:33 "For this is the covenant I shall make with the house of Yisra’ĕl after those days, declares יהוה: I shall put My Torah in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts. And I shall be their Elohim, and they shall be My people.  

This leaves us then with v.5 of Acts 15

Act 15:5 And some of the believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees, rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the Torah of Mosheh."

These believing Pharisees were trying to make the point that Gentile converts should still be told "following the Law of Elohim was still a part of being a believer in Messiah.  Most believers today would also agree with following the 10 or perhaps 9 commandments (most don't hold to the 7th day Sabbath).  These Pharisees were not legalizers.  They were true believers and had true faith.  So James then addresses their concerns.  He states it is clear that peoples of all nations would come to Messiah in faith.  He also makes it clear that heavy expectations should not be placed upon these new believers. 

Act 15:19 "Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the gentiles who are turning to Elohim,

Act 15:20 but that we write to them to abstain from the defilements of idols, and from whoring, and from what is strangled, and from blood.¹ Footnote: 1See v.29.

Act 15:21 "For from ancient generations Mosheh has, in every city, those proclaiming him – being read in the congregations every Sabbath."James finds it extremely important to set the new believers on a straight path away from cultic temple and sun worship.  They are told to leave all of their previous life of idolatry behind them.  The two ways of life are incompatable.

Deu 6:13 "Fear יהוה your Elohim and serve Him, and swear by His Name.

Deu 6:14 "Do not go after other mighty ones, the mighty ones of the peoples who are all around you,

Deu 6:15 for יהוה your Elohim is a jealous Ěl in your midst, lest the displeasure of יהוה your Elohim burn against you, then He shall destroy you from the face of the earth. 


After salvation the Gentiles can then attend their local synagogue and learn the law every Sabbath.  Paul addresses the same problem in Galatians 4

Gal 4:8 But then, indeed, not knowing Elohim, you served those which by nature are not mighty ones.

Gal 4:9 But now after you have known Elohim, or rather are known by Elohim, how do you turn again to the weak and poor elementary matters,¹ to which you wish to be enslaved again? Footnote: 1See v.3, Col. 2:8 & 20. 

James makes it very clear to instruct the Gentiles to recognize there are no other gods.  There is only one true God and it is to Him we are to yield our entire lives, heart, soul and mind.  We cannot be divided in our loyalties.  We cannot hold to our past gods and Elohim at the same time.  We must leave forsake our past to follow Messiah through faith in his atoning sacrifice and press on to good works through faith

Eph 2:8 For by favour you have been saved, through belief, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of Elohim,

Eph 2:9 it is not by works, so that no one should boast.

Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah יהושע unto good works, which Elohim prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.  

 
  

Heading toward Gal 2

We have found that Paul refers to the doctrine or extra biblical teachings of men as being a different gospel in chapter 1.  It is what Paul is talking about throughout the book of Galatians.   So, in Chapter 2, what doctrine is it that is a bondage?  We know Yahshua was not teaching against the Law of Moses as He appealed to it and used it to establish a firm foundation of exposing error.  We know of Steven being falsely accused and Paul leaving the Pharisee doctrine and living his life based upon faith in Messiah.  Paul is teaching the same things as Messiah in that he exposes the error of adding to the Word of Elohim.  Let's take a closer look at some of Paul's teachings.

1Ti 1:8 And we know that the Torah is good if one uses it legitimately,

Rom 3:20 Therefore by works of Torah no flesh shall be declared right before Him, for by the Torah is the knowledge of sin.¹ Footnote: 1Ex. 20:20, Rom. 4:15, Rom. 7:7.

Rom 3:21 But now, apart from the Torah, a righteousness of Elohim has been revealed, being witnessed by the Torah and the Prophets, Rom 3:22 and the righteousness of Elohim is through belief in יהושע Messiah to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference,

 

1Jn 3:4 Everyone doing sin also does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

If Paul is indeed teaching against the law, then he is teaching lawlessness.  He cannot be teaching against the very thing that sets us apart and gives us the definition of what sin is.  This is the very reason Peter tells us to be careful as Paul's teachings are very deep and difficult to understand.  What else did Paul have to say?

Rom 3:31 Do we then nullify the Torah through the belief? Let it not be! On the contrary, we establish the Torah

Rom 7:12 So that the Torah truly is set-apart, and the command set-apart, and righteous, and good.

Rom 7:14 For we know that the Torah is Spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin

Rom 7:22 For I delight in the Torah of Elohim¹ according to the inward man

The problem in today's church and belief concerning Torah observance seems to focus around just a few verses found in Gal 2

Gal 2:3 But not even Titus who was with me, though a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.

Gal 2:4 But as for the false brothers, sneakingly brought in, who sneaked in to spy out our freedom which we have in Messiah יהושע in order to enslave us,
It revolves around the issue of circumcision.  What other passages refer to this?
Gen 17:7 "And I shall establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be Elohim to you and your seed after you.
Gen 17:13 "He who is born in your house, and he who is bought with your silver, has to be circumcised. So shall My covenant be in your flesh, for an everlasting covenant.
This is an outward expression of the covenant
It also has an inward expression
Deu 10:16 "And you shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and harden your neck no more.
Deu 30:6 "And יהוה your Elohim shall circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed, to love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being, so that you might live,
Jer 4:4 "Circumcise yourselves unto יהוה, and take away the foreskins of your hearts, you men of Yehuḏah and inhabitants of Yerushalayim, lest My wrath come forth like fire and burn, with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds."
Is there a principle we are missing in today's churchianity?  What do we see from these Scripture passages?  Why are not all Jews who practice the Law of Moses, saved?  The principle is this:  Our circumcision must first of all take place in the heart.  Otherwise we are being motivated in following the Law for the wrong reasons. 
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the Torah of Elohim¹ according to the inward man, Footnote: 1Ps. 119:16.
Psa 119:16 I delight¹ myself in Your laws; I do not forget Your word. Footnote: 1See also vv. 24, 35, 47, 70, 77, 92, 143, 174, Rom. 7:22.

First inward obedience.  Salvation by faith.  The Jews wrongly thought by following the Law outwardly they could inherit eternal life.  Their focus was on the outward obedience without the more important inward faith in Elohim's Word.  It is the inward faith which produces the true desire to observe, keep or guard Abba El's commands out of love for Him.

1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim and guard His commands.

1Jn 5:3 For this is the love for Elohim, that we guard His commands,¹ and His commands are not heavy, Footnote: 1See 5:2, 2 John v. 6, John 14:15.

How is our love for Elohim shown?  Does mainstream churchianity teach this?  What do you believe to be true?  What you have been taught or what the Word of Elohim says?  Is Paul actually teaching against circumcision in ch. 2?  We will have to look at some more Scriture to find out the truth next time.