This is what the New covenant is all about. Our Messiah sent us the Holy Spirit to enable us to walk out the Torah. Ezekiel 36: "26 A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances."
The born again believer lives this out as He turns to the Lord and follows the lead of the Spirit. As Phil. 2:13 says, "He is in us both to make us willing and to make us able." That's the Good News.
The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. I first heard that through Chuck Missler’s teachings
This is a really thoughtful and serious treatment of the text, and I appreciate how carefully you’re trying to honor Jesus’ own words and avoid turning Acts 15 into a slogan. From a Catholic perspective, a lot of what you’re emphasizing actually resonates, even if we might frame it a bit differently. The Church has always insisted that Jesus does not oppose the Father, nor does the New Covenant replace the Old as if God changed His mind. The Catechism is very clear that the Old Law is holy, spiritual, and good, and that it prepares for and finds its fulfillment in Christ. Catholics would strongly agree that the problem was never God’s instruction itself, but the human tendency to turn law into self-justification. In that sense, your distinction between Torah-as-ladder and Torah-as-light maps closely onto how Catholic theology distinguishes between law as pedagogue and grace as the power that actually heals and elevates the human person.
What an outstanding article. Hit the nail on the head! The New Covenant did not replace the old. Through the teachings of Yeshua, it has been clarified and opened up to everyone that would join themselves to the one Messiah. From Matthew 5 to Acts 15, Romans 10 and Ephesians 2. Yeshua came to open the Kingdom to all, and gave us the instructions to live that Kingdom lifestyle.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for this wonderful post!!!!! I have tried to articulate these same points but you did it better.
I suspect it also helps, that you are not me; "familiarity breeds contempt", and a prophet is welcome everywhere except in his own home and among his own people. I am going to print out a few copies (giving you full credit) and share them with others.
Oh I feel your pain, that idiom is so true! Many a men’s group has called me crazy 😜, share and let me know what you see happening 🙏 I will pray for your efforts!
Thank you Sergio, you have blessed me (and obviously many others) with your insight. It was no accident that I was guided to your Substack the other week in my increasingly frustrating attempts to reconcile Jeremiah 31, Acts 15, Matthew 5, and others. You have done it so succinctly and eloquently. I'm still ploughing through this and would be most grateful if I could ask a question or two if I'm at a loss. Blessings
YUP! 100%! many of us who have been Sabbatarians for decades have run into such objections for so long that we might tend to take it all as granted understandings. it's very good to remind ourselves of the truth of this matter on occasion, and you did such a wonderful job in this study.
Objection two: “But Acts 15 only gave four requirements…” — i never understood the non-thinking of this silly objection. someone actually brought this up one time in our congregation, to which i immediately questioned, “so then, theft & murder are A-OK now?” 😳🙄🤪
then on the other side of the equation, i'm largely now convinced that much of the Sabbatarian crowd doesn't really “get” the New Covenant. some/many appear to desire to take part in physical sacrifices when they start up again, claiming that they will be occurring during Yahshua's millennial reign... which might be true, but i'm certainly not taking part in any such sacrifices until Jesus returns and explains why and is in charge of it.
there are teachers out there far more versed in the scriptures than i will ever be who appear to even reject Christ as being BOTH our King AND High Priest — they are teaching that when He returns, He won't ever be allowed to go into the most holy room of the temple.
that is extra comical to me, seeing how i remain convinced that the “YHWH” of the OT, whose presence was in the tabernacle & temple, is none other than Jesus Christ, Yahshua Messiah — for no man has ever heard the voice of the Father nor seen Him... that the Father has thus far only been revealed through His Son.
so for those who see it this way who object to God's laws still being valid, why would Jesus ever speak against His own laws that He gave His children, Israel? heck, even for those who believe “YHWH” of the OT is the Father (or a “trinity”) should consider how Yahshua would speak against His Father's laws, over which They are both of the same mind & Spirit?
perhaps at least two psychological factors are at play: 1. normalcy bias; 2. cognitive dissonance.
i don't know, but one thing i know for certain: everyone will be very surprised about all sorts of things in these last days leading up to and including Jesus' return.
Great article, thanks for your hard work to unpack this. I had already come around to Jews continuing to observe Torah while seeing the Law in light of Jesus. You went a step beyond to Gentiles observing Torah as well, which was pretty convicting.
It's interesting, one of the things in the argument for Gentiles not being under the Mosaic Law was the council recommending the 4 commandments, which sounds like the Noahic covenant. This creates a nice and tidy differentiation: Jews are responsible to Torah, Gentiles are under the Noahic covenant because it is for all people. Your comment about the 4 being a starting point for beginning to learn Torah makes a lot of sense. I have started to think about the Noahic covenant as a response to objectification of people (they saw the women and took them) leading to dehumanization and violence. At the same time God committed to being involved with mankind and not consign them to the chaos of their own making, He also set a standard for human dignity. That became the starting point for the Abrahamic covenant for blessing the nations. Almost like now that we have stopped objectifying we can continue the work of healing and restoration. So back to the council, it seems more likely that the 4 commandments (even if they do imply Noahic covenant) are setting the proper stage for shared dignity and relationship between Jew and Gentile, not an exhaustive requirement for Gentiles.
One thing your comment helped me see again is how quick we as humans are to categorize and label everything into neat systems. And sure — the “Noahic for Gentiles / Mosaic for Jews” framework can feel tidy and internally consistent. But Acts 15 doesn’t read like a permanent two-track covenant chart. It reads like simple wisdom for building very real unity: establishing basic dignity and clean separation from idolatry so Jew and Gentile can actually share covenant life together… and then grow from there.
I really appreciate your Noahic framing as dignity/anti-objectification. That’s the kind of covenant lens that keeps Torah from turning into cold legalism — it’s about making humans human again, and communities holy again.
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment, Michael!
This is what the New covenant is all about. Our Messiah sent us the Holy Spirit to enable us to walk out the Torah. Ezekiel 36: "26 A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances."
The born again believer lives this out as He turns to the Lord and follows the lead of the Spirit. As Phil. 2:13 says, "He is in us both to make us willing and to make us able." That's the Good News.
The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. I first heard that through Chuck Missler’s teachings
amen!
This is a really thoughtful and serious treatment of the text, and I appreciate how carefully you’re trying to honor Jesus’ own words and avoid turning Acts 15 into a slogan. From a Catholic perspective, a lot of what you’re emphasizing actually resonates, even if we might frame it a bit differently. The Church has always insisted that Jesus does not oppose the Father, nor does the New Covenant replace the Old as if God changed His mind. The Catechism is very clear that the Old Law is holy, spiritual, and good, and that it prepares for and finds its fulfillment in Christ. Catholics would strongly agree that the problem was never God’s instruction itself, but the human tendency to turn law into self-justification. In that sense, your distinction between Torah-as-ladder and Torah-as-light maps closely onto how Catholic theology distinguishes between law as pedagogue and grace as the power that actually heals and elevates the human person.
What an outstanding article. Hit the nail on the head! The New Covenant did not replace the old. Through the teachings of Yeshua, it has been clarified and opened up to everyone that would join themselves to the one Messiah. From Matthew 5 to Acts 15, Romans 10 and Ephesians 2. Yeshua came to open the Kingdom to all, and gave us the instructions to live that Kingdom lifestyle.
Thank you Sergio for being obedient to our King!
Amen 👊👊👊
THANK YOU SO MUCH for this wonderful post!!!!! I have tried to articulate these same points but you did it better.
I suspect it also helps, that you are not me; "familiarity breeds contempt", and a prophet is welcome everywhere except in his own home and among his own people. I am going to print out a few copies (giving you full credit) and share them with others.
Oh how we need reform in the seminaries!
Oh I feel your pain, that idiom is so true! Many a men’s group has called me crazy 😜, share and let me know what you see happening 🙏 I will pray for your efforts!
Thank you Sergio, you have blessed me (and obviously many others) with your insight. It was no accident that I was guided to your Substack the other week in my increasingly frustrating attempts to reconcile Jeremiah 31, Acts 15, Matthew 5, and others. You have done it so succinctly and eloquently. I'm still ploughing through this and would be most grateful if I could ask a question or two if I'm at a loss. Blessings
Always available and thank you for your kind words. 🙏
This has been one of your finest pieces of work in my estimation. You exquisitely lay things out so that there's no room to question.
This should have a tremendous impact but there's always going to be someone who will want to sit on you unfortunately.
For me and my house we love what you have written. Thanks My Brother!
Would love to crosspost this on my end. Are you still ok with that?
Always! and thank you! The more we can share, the more I pray it opens hearts!
I'm... Finding nothing to correct. I thought you promised controversy!
I jest. Good work.
The ones with ‘cemetery school’ degrees (said with a 😜)
You know, I have a master's from seminary. I guess I did it right to avoid indoctrination. I attended LU, too! 😬
You are gem! Need more free thinkers in that world, I stole that line from Leonard Ravenhill by the way. 😜
I appreciate that.
I'm waiting for pastors to critique. 😉
You mean the (cough) ‘the professionals’ (cough) to critique, not the pastors…
I hope you're waiting for a while. You have solid biblical evidence for your position, down to refuting the steelman opposition.
Strength in numbers!
YUP! 100%! many of us who have been Sabbatarians for decades have run into such objections for so long that we might tend to take it all as granted understandings. it's very good to remind ourselves of the truth of this matter on occasion, and you did such a wonderful job in this study.
Objection two: “But Acts 15 only gave four requirements…” — i never understood the non-thinking of this silly objection. someone actually brought this up one time in our congregation, to which i immediately questioned, “so then, theft & murder are A-OK now?” 😳🙄🤪
then on the other side of the equation, i'm largely now convinced that much of the Sabbatarian crowd doesn't really “get” the New Covenant. some/many appear to desire to take part in physical sacrifices when they start up again, claiming that they will be occurring during Yahshua's millennial reign... which might be true, but i'm certainly not taking part in any such sacrifices until Jesus returns and explains why and is in charge of it.
there are teachers out there far more versed in the scriptures than i will ever be who appear to even reject Christ as being BOTH our King AND High Priest — they are teaching that when He returns, He won't ever be allowed to go into the most holy room of the temple.
that is extra comical to me, seeing how i remain convinced that the “YHWH” of the OT, whose presence was in the tabernacle & temple, is none other than Jesus Christ, Yahshua Messiah — for no man has ever heard the voice of the Father nor seen Him... that the Father has thus far only been revealed through His Son.
so for those who see it this way who object to God's laws still being valid, why would Jesus ever speak against His own laws that He gave His children, Israel? heck, even for those who believe “YHWH” of the OT is the Father (or a “trinity”) should consider how Yahshua would speak against His Father's laws, over which They are both of the same mind & Spirit?
perhaps at least two psychological factors are at play: 1. normalcy bias; 2. cognitive dissonance.
i don't know, but one thing i know for certain: everyone will be very surprised about all sorts of things in these last days leading up to and including Jesus' return.
Godbless... 🙏🏼😎❤️♾️
Amen!
Thank you for this. So many people use Acts 15 to refute my decision to focus on Torah obedience. I hope to use your writings to show them the way.
Stand strong and be that light Brian!
Great article, thanks for your hard work to unpack this. I had already come around to Jews continuing to observe Torah while seeing the Law in light of Jesus. You went a step beyond to Gentiles observing Torah as well, which was pretty convicting.
It's interesting, one of the things in the argument for Gentiles not being under the Mosaic Law was the council recommending the 4 commandments, which sounds like the Noahic covenant. This creates a nice and tidy differentiation: Jews are responsible to Torah, Gentiles are under the Noahic covenant because it is for all people. Your comment about the 4 being a starting point for beginning to learn Torah makes a lot of sense. I have started to think about the Noahic covenant as a response to objectification of people (they saw the women and took them) leading to dehumanization and violence. At the same time God committed to being involved with mankind and not consign them to the chaos of their own making, He also set a standard for human dignity. That became the starting point for the Abrahamic covenant for blessing the nations. Almost like now that we have stopped objectifying we can continue the work of healing and restoration. So back to the council, it seems more likely that the 4 commandments (even if they do imply Noahic covenant) are setting the proper stage for shared dignity and relationship between Jew and Gentile, not an exhaustive requirement for Gentiles.
That’s a great explanation, Michael.
One thing your comment helped me see again is how quick we as humans are to categorize and label everything into neat systems. And sure — the “Noahic for Gentiles / Mosaic for Jews” framework can feel tidy and internally consistent. But Acts 15 doesn’t read like a permanent two-track covenant chart. It reads like simple wisdom for building very real unity: establishing basic dignity and clean separation from idolatry so Jew and Gentile can actually share covenant life together… and then grow from there.
I really appreciate your Noahic framing as dignity/anti-objectification. That’s the kind of covenant lens that keeps Torah from turning into cold legalism — it’s about making humans human again, and communities holy again.
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment, Michael!