The Hebrew Roots Movement
The Hebrew Roots Movement is a contemporary global spiritual movement that advocates the return and adherence to the first century faith of Jesus Christ by seeking a better understanding of the culture, history, and religio-political backdrop of that era which led to the core differences with both the Jewish, and later, Christian communities. [1]The term “Hebrew Roots” resulted from the journey to investigate and discover the first century faith, but also to distinguish and differentiate itself from other religious organizations that may have common beliefs, which could cause identity confusion in the public eye. The premise of the Hebrew Roots movement is the belief that the Church has veered far from the true teachings and Hebrew concepts of the Bible. The movement maintains that Christianity has been indoctrinated with the culture and beliefs of Greek and Roman philosophy and that ultimately biblical Christianity, taught in churches today, has been corrupted with a pagan imitation of the New Testament gospels.
Where did the Hebrew Roots Movement (HRM) get started?
One of the earliest forms of the Hebrew Roots Movement is seen in the Ebionites, a sect the early church deemed to be a heretical group of Judaizers. They regarded Jesus as the Messiah, but also insisted on the necessity of following Jewish religious law and rites. Since the early 20th century, different religious organizations have been teaching a belief in Jesus Christ as one's personal savior and in keeping the Sabbath and the annual Feasts or Holy Days. In other words they preach Christ as Savior but you must keep laws to maintain your salvation. This is a contradiction and not a biblical definition of salvation, which is by grace alone not by our works. These include Messianic Judaism (to a very limited degree), starting in 1916 and the Sacred Name Movement (SCM) starting in 1937, and the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) in the 1930s. Aater they formed what is known today as the Hebrew Roots Movement. Thus far, the WCG has had the greatest impact among all organizations in teaching these beliefs, including obedience to much of the Old Testament law, both nationally and internationally. [2],[3]
What does the Hebrew Roots Movement teach?
It should be noted that Hebrew Roots Movement theology includes at least seven distinct core differences from Protestantism, Seventh-day Adventism, Rabbinic Judaism, and Messianic Judaism[4]
The HRM teaches that both the Old and New Testaments are held as holy books, but the Old testament takes president over the New Testament. The "Torah" (what they typically call the first five books of the Old Testament) serves as the foundation to all subsequent understanding and interpretation of Scripture. A foundational distinction of the Hebrew Roots movement is the manner in which Scripture is translated and interpreted so that later testimony or the New Testament does not conflict with Torah commandments. It is believed by those in HRM that Jesus Christ did not come to establish a new religion or to “do away” with the law, even though the New Testament clearly teaches that Jesus was "abolishing the law" just as the death of a spouse abolishes a marriage (Ephesians 2:15). They also do not believe that in the advent of the New Covenant through Jesus death on the cross, the Old covenant was made "obsolete" and with the destruction of the temple the Old Covenant would "vanish away" (Hebrews 8:13). Followers of the Hebrew Roots movement advocate a return to total Torah/Christian Torah-submission.
The Hebrew Roots Movement also teaches that Salvation derives from the belief in Jesus Christ as personal savior, not from commandment/Torah keeping; however, believers are rewarded according to their fruits, works, and obedience. Hebrew Roots followers believe that sin is breaking the written Torah (1 John 3:4), all of the purity laws such as dietary restrictions and Sabbath keeping are in the written Torah, thus it is sin to not keep Sabbath and to eat forbidden food. In the HRM the Law overwrites the Grace and the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. In other words, Law trumps Grace. It is also true, according to Hebrew Roots Movement followers, that those who are truly born of God will not continue in sin ( 1John 3:9), therefore, if you are not moved to keep Sabbath or keep dietary restrictions, you must not truly be born of God.
This movement also teaches that Old Testament and the Torah Laws teachings of the New Testament are to be obeyed by both Jews and Gentiles. This is paired with a basic lack of understanding that it is impossible to keep the Old Covenant without a tabernacle or temple. This movement relies heavily on the teaching of the law and not the grace of Christ found in the New Testament.
What are some of the basic errors in this movement’s theology and teachings?
There is a multitude of errors within the Hebrew Roots Movement ranging from their misinterpreted teaching on the Law and the Gospel to not fully understanding the salvific meaning of the atonement of Christ. Another area of concern is the movement’s insistence on keeping the Sabbath day. They follow very closely to the old Law of what is and is not keeping the Sabbath day holy. This while in thought may be good in practice this can lead to legalism and making following the laws of God and Idol over a relationship with Christ.
Another major area of concern is in the theology of the HRM and their understanding of what the Old Testament represents today with in the body of Christianity. The HRM’s emphasis on the use of the Old Testament as their guide for their religious practices and beliefs miss the entire point of the Old Testament meaning. The Old Testament is the foreshadowing which is pointing to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Everywhere we look within the Old Testament we see foreshadowing or prophecies of Christ and His coming, death, resurrection and second coming. The Hebrew Roots Movement severely negates this quintessential purpose of the Old Testament and tries to put the use of Old Testament Law over it's real purpose.
Some of the other errors in HRM is that it calls for Christians to recognize extra-biblical Jewish books, which are supposed to give fuller understanding of the Greek New Testament. In fact some within the movement go so far as to proclaim the Hebrew Scriptures are the authentic scriptures, not the Greek text. The Canon of Scripture is closed and preserved by the Lord in the Greek language. Whether Christians are from Jewish backgrounds or not, we must all recognize the authority of God's Word, as given to us in the Canon of Holy Scripture. No other books can or should be added to this Canon. We do not need extra biblical revelation to be added to God's completed Word.
One could say that this movement by its teaching could be seeking to cast doubt on the faith once delivered to the church by challenging the very Scriptures we have been given by the Lord. They claim Christians can't fully understand the Scripture until we understand the Torah. But the opposite is true. You will not understand the Old Testament (or the Torah) until you have both the New Testament and the Old Testament working together in unison. While the Old Testament is great is for pointing to the foreshadowing of the coming Messiah it is not to be our schoolmaster. We are living under the New Covenant of the New Testament.
While in theory there are aspects within the Hebrew Roots Movements teachings that certainly can be beneficial like; Seeking to explore the Jewish culture and perspective, within which most of the Bible was written. We can open and enrich our understanding of the Scriptures, adding insight and depth to many of the passages, parables and idioms. There is nothing wrong with Gentiles and Jews joining together in celebrating the feasts and enjoying a Messianic style of worship, for the purpose of learning historical representation of our Christian heritage. The Hebrew Roots Movement itself is riddled with false teachings and misrepresentations of the essentials of the Christian faith under the teachings of the New Covent of Jesus Christ which we are under today.
[1] http://houseofdavidfellowship.com/qanda.htm
[2] Religious Tolerance: The Worldwide Church of God, and various splinter groups. http://www.religioustolerance.org
[3] John Dart. 1989, April 1. Top Ratings for Schuller, 'World Tomorrow' : Two TV Ministries Rise Above Bible Belt. Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1989-04-01/local/me-920_1_world
[4] Hebrew Roots Theology: 7 Distinctive Core Differences. http://www.ourfathersfestival.net/hebrew_roots
Where did the Hebrew Roots Movement (HRM) get started?
One of the earliest forms of the Hebrew Roots Movement is seen in the Ebionites, a sect the early church deemed to be a heretical group of Judaizers. They regarded Jesus as the Messiah, but also insisted on the necessity of following Jewish religious law and rites. Since the early 20th century, different religious organizations have been teaching a belief in Jesus Christ as one's personal savior and in keeping the Sabbath and the annual Feasts or Holy Days. In other words they preach Christ as Savior but you must keep laws to maintain your salvation. This is a contradiction and not a biblical definition of salvation, which is by grace alone not by our works. These include Messianic Judaism (to a very limited degree), starting in 1916 and the Sacred Name Movement (SCM) starting in 1937, and the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) in the 1930s. Aater they formed what is known today as the Hebrew Roots Movement. Thus far, the WCG has had the greatest impact among all organizations in teaching these beliefs, including obedience to much of the Old Testament law, both nationally and internationally. [2],[3]
What does the Hebrew Roots Movement teach?
It should be noted that Hebrew Roots Movement theology includes at least seven distinct core differences from Protestantism, Seventh-day Adventism, Rabbinic Judaism, and Messianic Judaism[4]
The HRM teaches that both the Old and New Testaments are held as holy books, but the Old testament takes president over the New Testament. The "Torah" (what they typically call the first five books of the Old Testament) serves as the foundation to all subsequent understanding and interpretation of Scripture. A foundational distinction of the Hebrew Roots movement is the manner in which Scripture is translated and interpreted so that later testimony or the New Testament does not conflict with Torah commandments. It is believed by those in HRM that Jesus Christ did not come to establish a new religion or to “do away” with the law, even though the New Testament clearly teaches that Jesus was "abolishing the law" just as the death of a spouse abolishes a marriage (Ephesians 2:15). They also do not believe that in the advent of the New Covenant through Jesus death on the cross, the Old covenant was made "obsolete" and with the destruction of the temple the Old Covenant would "vanish away" (Hebrews 8:13). Followers of the Hebrew Roots movement advocate a return to total Torah/Christian Torah-submission.
The Hebrew Roots Movement also teaches that Salvation derives from the belief in Jesus Christ as personal savior, not from commandment/Torah keeping; however, believers are rewarded according to their fruits, works, and obedience. Hebrew Roots followers believe that sin is breaking the written Torah (1 John 3:4), all of the purity laws such as dietary restrictions and Sabbath keeping are in the written Torah, thus it is sin to not keep Sabbath and to eat forbidden food. In the HRM the Law overwrites the Grace and the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. In other words, Law trumps Grace. It is also true, according to Hebrew Roots Movement followers, that those who are truly born of God will not continue in sin ( 1John 3:9), therefore, if you are not moved to keep Sabbath or keep dietary restrictions, you must not truly be born of God.
This movement also teaches that Old Testament and the Torah Laws teachings of the New Testament are to be obeyed by both Jews and Gentiles. This is paired with a basic lack of understanding that it is impossible to keep the Old Covenant without a tabernacle or temple. This movement relies heavily on the teaching of the law and not the grace of Christ found in the New Testament.
What are some of the basic errors in this movement’s theology and teachings?
There is a multitude of errors within the Hebrew Roots Movement ranging from their misinterpreted teaching on the Law and the Gospel to not fully understanding the salvific meaning of the atonement of Christ. Another area of concern is the movement’s insistence on keeping the Sabbath day. They follow very closely to the old Law of what is and is not keeping the Sabbath day holy. This while in thought may be good in practice this can lead to legalism and making following the laws of God and Idol over a relationship with Christ.
Another major area of concern is in the theology of the HRM and their understanding of what the Old Testament represents today with in the body of Christianity. The HRM’s emphasis on the use of the Old Testament as their guide for their religious practices and beliefs miss the entire point of the Old Testament meaning. The Old Testament is the foreshadowing which is pointing to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Everywhere we look within the Old Testament we see foreshadowing or prophecies of Christ and His coming, death, resurrection and second coming. The Hebrew Roots Movement severely negates this quintessential purpose of the Old Testament and tries to put the use of Old Testament Law over it's real purpose.
Some of the other errors in HRM is that it calls for Christians to recognize extra-biblical Jewish books, which are supposed to give fuller understanding of the Greek New Testament. In fact some within the movement go so far as to proclaim the Hebrew Scriptures are the authentic scriptures, not the Greek text. The Canon of Scripture is closed and preserved by the Lord in the Greek language. Whether Christians are from Jewish backgrounds or not, we must all recognize the authority of God's Word, as given to us in the Canon of Holy Scripture. No other books can or should be added to this Canon. We do not need extra biblical revelation to be added to God's completed Word.
One could say that this movement by its teaching could be seeking to cast doubt on the faith once delivered to the church by challenging the very Scriptures we have been given by the Lord. They claim Christians can't fully understand the Scripture until we understand the Torah. But the opposite is true. You will not understand the Old Testament (or the Torah) until you have both the New Testament and the Old Testament working together in unison. While the Old Testament is great is for pointing to the foreshadowing of the coming Messiah it is not to be our schoolmaster. We are living under the New Covenant of the New Testament.
While in theory there are aspects within the Hebrew Roots Movements teachings that certainly can be beneficial like; Seeking to explore the Jewish culture and perspective, within which most of the Bible was written. We can open and enrich our understanding of the Scriptures, adding insight and depth to many of the passages, parables and idioms. There is nothing wrong with Gentiles and Jews joining together in celebrating the feasts and enjoying a Messianic style of worship, for the purpose of learning historical representation of our Christian heritage. The Hebrew Roots Movement itself is riddled with false teachings and misrepresentations of the essentials of the Christian faith under the teachings of the New Covent of Jesus Christ which we are under today.
[1] http://houseofdavidfellowship.com/qanda.htm
[2] Religious Tolerance: The Worldwide Church of God, and various splinter groups. http://www.religioustolerance.org
[3] John Dart. 1989, April 1. Top Ratings for Schuller, 'World Tomorrow' : Two TV Ministries Rise Above Bible Belt. Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1989-04-01/local/me-920_1_world
[4] Hebrew Roots Theology: 7 Distinctive Core Differences. http://www.ourfathersfestival.net/hebrew_roots
