On the Sea of Galilee The Branch... The Branch... Home  Israel News  Feasts of Israel  Projects  Publications  About Us  Contact Us Click to return to Bookpage Click to return to Bookpage Copyright 2009                                                                              Foreword Every now and then one picks up a book that gets under the skin, so to speak.  A book that cannot be dismissed with a 'ho-hum', a book that has to be studied and read a number of times, a book that has to be prayed over and slowly digested because of its impactful message.  Frank Selch has written just such a book in his Torah:  Mosaic Law or Divine Instructions?  That there is something seriously wrong with the state of Christianity today is evident.  The in-roads of  Islam, Buddhism, New Age spirituality, skepticism, scientific materialism, Darwinian evolutionism and many other competing faiths and philosophies have rushed in to fill the vacuum of an apnoeic ‘Christian’ West.  In his Torah:  Mosaic Law or Divine Instructions?  Frank Selch has put his diagnostic finger on the pulse of a very sick patient.  In fact, when Frank puts his finger on the carotid pulse of today's Church he finds not only a weak, thready and irregular pulse but a broken neck!  For he discovers that the nexus between the rich Hebrew foundation of the Judeo-Christian faith and the modern- day version of the Christian faith has been severely fractured.  This tragic sundering of Jews and Gentiles who are meant by G-d to be a beautifully united humanity under Lordship of Jesus the Messiah has led to a paralyzed Christianity seemingly unable to get up off its sick-bed to meet the challenges of the Twenty-First Century with the kind of assurance and irresistibility that marked the early days of apostolic Christianity.   The central thesis of Frank's book cannot be dismissed by Christians who are serious about their faith.  It is the thesis that for nearly two thousand years now, the Christian Church has swallowed the poison of a ‘Replacement Theology’, which has seen Greek philosophical thinking take the place of the rich Hebrew faith that belonged to Jesus the Messiah and his early disciples.  This global deception has caused the majority to even turn against the Jewish/Christian G-d of the Bible.  This deception, the spirit of anti-Messiah, can only be dispelled by returning to the spirit of Jesus the Messiah who came not to destroy, but to fulfill the gracious will (the Torah) of the G-d of Creation.  ........ The reader of ‘Torah’ will have some moments of uncomfortable squirming as Frank works through the practical implications of his book.  However, the eirenic spirit, in which he applies his writing to our daily living is a true reflection of the spirit of his Lord and Master.  I highly recommend Frank's latest book as an invaluable offering designed to re-invigorate our Christian faith by calling us back to a heart-love and commitment to the one true G-d and Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah.   After appealing to our heads and our hearts, Frank concludes by hoping he has touched something in us, “either a defensive raw nerve, or a heart that beats alongside mine in the desire to glorify Him Who sent His Son that we may live!”  If his message in Torah:  Mosaic Law or Divine Instructions?  gains wide acceptance, which I pray it does, we could very well find a new sense of healthy community again loyal to the Name.  Greg S.  Deuble Diploma Theological and Pastoral Studies                     Table of Contents Introduction 15 The Great Deception of Greek Wisdom 27 What then is this Law or Torah? 55 The Moral Code of the Universe 67 The Testimony and Blessings of Sinai 75 Deadly Traditions 99 The Law of Love 107 The True Halacha 131 A Few Concluding Thoughts 135 Summary 141 Introduction The word law, as it is used in the Bible, is in my view – and demonstrably so - the most inappropriate and misunderstood word in the English language.  The misunderstanding of the true meaning of the Hebrew word Torah, which is translated as law, has given rise to an utterly flawed theology concerning Christian salvation and life in general— with disastrous consequences for Christians and Jewish people alike.1   To this day there is much confusion concerning this word, many regard the ‘law’ as belonging to the Jewish People and Grace to the Christians. In part, this confusion stems from the mistranslation of some verses of John’s Gospel, viz. ‘For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus (the) Christ’ (1:15-17).  As shown in the endnote, if this verse is translated correctly, a massive change in meaning takes place. Grace and truth have never been independent of each other, nor has it been absent from the Hebrew Bible, despite the fact that many Christian teachers continue to insist that grace is something that only came with Messiah.  For instance, there cannot be the slightest doubt that Israel was saved from Egypt by the unmerited grace of G-d alone (Exod.2:23b-25; 12:1-28; Eph.2:8-9).  Yet the fullness of Grace did not come until Messiah to include the Gentiles also, in G-d’s work of redeeming the human race from the curse of Adam’s rebellion.  In the same sense, although truth (Torah) came with Moses on Sinai, Yeshua declared Himself to be the embodiment of truth.  And yet again, although the Divine Spirit acted with great power, in and through some people in the days of Moses (Nu.11:17,25,26,29; 24:2; Deut.34:9; et al), the fullness of the Spirit was not poured out until that particular Pentecost (Hebr. Shavuot) after Yeshua’s Ascension. The basis, for this claim concerning the ‘law’ presented, are the Scriptures themselves.  It is in them, that we have irrefutable evidence – as I intend to show – that the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob always desired a heart response from His people, not their legalistic observances of set rules and regulations (Prov.23:26; Mk.12:30; Lk.10:27; c/f. Deut.6:4ff.).  Therefore legalism cannot, and must never, be attributed to the teachings of the Hebrew Bible (O.T.).  Reconnecting with the tree!