Sefer Hamitzvot
Sanctifying G-d's Name
Positive Commandment 9
Chabad.org
As I mentioned in yesterday's blog post and on numerous other occasions, there are many things that non-Jews can learn from Jewish tradition to help us understand the nature of God and our place as disciples of the Jewish Messiah. While there are a number of commonly applied concepts we can find and study, there are also many demarcation points as well.
The quote I posted above from today's small study of the daily digest of the teachings of Maimonides, seems to tell us that non-Jews do not have a duty to sanctify (make holy) the Name of God, or at least, for we non-Jewish disciples of the Jewish Messiah, it's not considered a mitzvah (a religious duty, an obligation to God, or an act of lovingkindness).
The lesson I read includes the responsibility of a Jew to love, fear, and sanctify the Name of God. Do none of these apply to non-Jews?
The 3rd mitzva is that we are commanded to love G-d (exalted be He), i.e. to meditate upon and closely examine His mitzvos, His commandments, and His works, in order to understand Him; and through this understanding to achieve a feeling of ecstasy. This is the goal of the commandment to love G-d.
Sefer Hamitzvot
Loving G-d
Positive Commandment 3
Chabad.org
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” -Mark 12:29-31While Jesus (Yeshua) is quoting from the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) and addressing a Jewish audience, the fact that he commanded his Jewish disciples to "go and make disciples of all nations...teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you (from Matthew 28:19-20), indicates that the command to love God applies to the rest of us as well. Also, Noahide.org states the second commandment that must be obeyed by the non-Jewish peoples of the world is to "Respect G-d and Praise Him". This doesn't seem to necessitate "love", but it does define an attitude toward God beyond simple belief.
What about fearing God?
The 4th mitzvah is that we are commanded to establish in our minds fear and dread of G‑d (exalted be He); that we not be calm and nonchalant, but be constantly concerned of imminent punishment [for misdeeds.]
The biblical source of this commandment is G‑d's statement (exalted be He), "You shall fear G‑d your Lord."
Sefer Hamitzvot
Fearing G-d
Positive Commandment 4
Chabad.org
"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him." -Luke 12:4-5
To make holy; to consecrate. Set aside for sacred or ceremonial use; To free from sin; to purify; To make acceptable or useful under religious law or practice; To endorse with religious sanction.I'd probably expand that a bit to include "to honor", "to elevate", "to treat as holy and separate". When we sanctify the Name of God, we perform acts (prayer, charity, righteous deeds) that lift up the reputation of God in our eyes and in the eyes the world. Based on what we find in the Torah and Talmud, no one would question a Jew's duty to sanctify the Name of God. But does a non-Jew, and particularly a non-Jew who has become a disciple of the Jewish Messiah, have the same duty?
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sanctify
Make holy, to reverence as holy, or to give authority to.
www.godonthe.net/dictionary/s.html
Maybe...maybe not. It depends on what translation of the Bible you're using.
The King James Bible translates 1 Peter 3:15 as:
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and [be] ready always to [give] an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fearThis seems to give us an answer that we Gentile disciples have the same, or similar duty to God as do the Jews, to sanctify or to make holy His Name. However, virtually every other Bible translation, at least in English, says something like "But in your hearts set apart (sanctify) Christ as Lord" (New International Version), specifying our duty to sanctify Christ or the Messiah, not God the Father. You can see the list of translations for the verse I'm referring to at bible.cc.
There are a number of verses in the Apostolic scriptures that talk about people being sanctified by God or His Spirit (Romans 15:16, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Jude 1:1) and that we are sanctified in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:2, 1 Corinthians 6:11), but we don't see a lot said about us specifically sanctifying or making holy the Name of God in our lives or in the lives of others as non-Jewish disciples of the Jewish Messiah.
I can't believe we aren't supposed to, or that we are somehow forbidden to, treat the Name of God as Holy. Yet it is apparent that, from a Jewish point of view, this duty rests solely in the hands of those who received the Torah from the Prophet Moses at Sinai. This may well be true if you believe that only the 7 Noahide Laws apply to all Gentiles everywhere, but did not the coming of the Messiah and the opportunity Matthew 28:19-20 affords us to become his disciples not change anything for us?
It's probably my poor scholarship that is creating the problem here from a Christian perspective, but where can we see that, as Christians or disciples of the Messiah, we have a responsibility to treat as holy and honorable, the Name of God? I hate to say it this way, but it makes "common sense" that we are supposed to revere the Name of God. After all, we know we are to love Him and to reverently fear Him. But where is the Holiness by which we are to treat Him? Didn't Jesus teach us anything about that?
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.
16 comments:
"But where is the Holiness by which we are to treat Him? Didn't Jesus teach us anything about that?"
Can you clarify what you meant by the last paragraph
Probably a poor choice of words on my part (but then again, it did provoke a response). I meant that we don't specifically see in the NT, a directive for the non-Jewish disciples of the Jewish Messiah to sanctify the Name of God. We *do* see specific commands to love and fear God, but where is the lesson from the Messiah or his Apostles for the Gentiles to also make God's Name holy?
It would seem to be "common sense" that we have a duty to perform this action, but we don't see a "challenge" to the observation of the Jewish sages (illustrated in the lessons from Chabad.org) regarding the sanctification of the Name being a mitzvah reserved to the Jewish people.
I'm bringing up this matter as a way to revisit the concept of "bilateral ecclesiology" and the idea that there is a distinctive difference of response between Jews (Messianic and otherwise) and Christians/Gentile disciples of Messiah to God. While arguments can be made that such a distinctiveness can or does exist in relation to many physical identity markers such as wearing tzitzit, laying tefillin, and the like, is there a distinction between Jews and Christian that states Jews must make the Name of God holy but Christians/Gentiles don't have to?
That one doesn't make sense to me, but on the surface, I can't find evidence in the Bible, besides a few specific translations of 1 Peter 3:15, to support it. Most translations say that Christians must sanctify the name of Christ. Is this a translation bias (and I can't read ancient Greek to find out)?
This seems an odd omission or "glitch" in the NT and I found myself curious about it morning, so I thought I'd blog about it and see how folks responded. So far benicho, you're the only one to express an interest.
Well no worries, it's an interesting concept to a lot of us out here. The OT and NT to me seem seamless (sorry for the play on words). Yeshua never spoke to the gentiles about evangelism. I say evangelism not in our modern sense of going out and preaching fire and brimstone to non-believers, but by living out the laws. I believe living out the laws is true evangelism and that you benefit spiritually and are therefore a light to the world. Why did Yeshua tell his followers to pray in private to the Father? Shouldn't we publicly displaying our righteousness in order to lift His name?
What was Gd's original intention afterall? If there was intended to be a distinct Jewish people in the garden why didn't Gd just make it so? Was Gd's original plan that man be separated, one group obeying his laws and the other groups not bothering themselves with it? I mean, isn't obeying His ordinances what really lifts up The Name?
Are there laws that you and I are following which can't be deduced into the 7 Noahide laws?
We could go a million directions with this couldn't we?
"What was Gd's original intention afterall? If there was intended to be a distinct Jewish people in the garden why didn't Gd just make it so?"
This reminds me of the argument nudists makes: if G-d wanted us to go around naked, he would have created us this way:)
Perhaps, just as with nudists, some things that G-d did LATER (like making us wear clothes), the creation of Israel as his own people was G-d's plan all along. Just as you would not want to see [most] people in the buff, you don't want to see the world without Israel. This is because Israel - seeing that the "salvation is from the Jews" according to Yeshua - is the covering of the world's shame..
Perhaps the Gentile disciples of the 1st century were asking some of these same questions. Paul's letter to the Galatians seems to indicate that they were "confused" about their responsibilities to God and how those were to be expressed. Just reading the various takes on how the NT can be viewed (see all of my book reviews for the past several months) by modern Bible scholars shows us that there's no real unity as to which direction is *the* direction in terms of understanding the Jewish Messiah.
We *do* go in a million different directions. Just look at all of the different denominations in Christianity and the various sects of Judaism. Just look at the different opinions in the Christian and Messianic blogosphere. If we have a unity in anything, it's in asking God the same question: "What does it all mean and what am we supposed to do about it?"
@Gene
I'm not making a case that gentiles and Jews should be the same. It's pretty obvious to me that the Jews' role in the Kingdom to come is substantial and distinct.
"Perhaps, just as with nudists, some things that G-d did LATER (like making us wear clothes), the creation of Israel as his own people was G-d's plan all along."
That's a tough one for us to answer given how we think in such a linear fashion. Yes, I do think that was his plan, mainly given that He exists outside of time, nothing goes unseen or unknown at any given point.
"This is because Israel - seeing that the "salvation is from the Jews" according to Yeshua - is the covering of the world's shame."
Don't all occurrences of salvation in our Bible come by way of someone with faith anyways? From Noah to Abraham came the salvation (not ultimate) of mankind. Abraham eventually led to Israel, which is how we now have obtained salvation. How many levels of pardes can you go on "salvation from the Jews"?
Just a side question: Have you ever read it as "salvation comes from the tribe of Judah"?
"Just a side question: Have you ever read it as "salvation comes from the tribe of Judah"?"
No, this is because by the time Yeshua came along (and as it is to this day) "Jews" were synonymous with all of Israel (e.g. a Benjamite Paul referring to himself as a "Jew").
Also, there are numerous indicators that Yeshua represents Israel (all tribes in one) - e.g. the reference to him and Egypt ("out of Egypt I called my son") - compare Matthew 2:15 and Hosea 11:1.
@Gene
I sort of figured, was curious if you read anything more into that however.
So what do you think about James' question:
"While arguments can be made that such a distinctiveness can or does exist in relation to many physical identity markers such as wearing tzitzit, laying tefillin, and the like, is there a distinction between Jews and Christian that states Jews must make the Name of God holy but Christians/Gentiles don't have to?"
Not trying to pigeonhole you or anything, you don't have to answer either :p
"must make the Name of God holy"
Benicho... I'll answer with a question:
What does it mean [to you, for example] to "make the Name of G-d holy"?
What does it mean [to you, for example] to "make the Name of G-d holy"?
I don't know how benicho see this Gene, but I tried to answer that question for myself in the body of the blog post, at least in part:
I'd probably expand that a bit to include "to honor", "to elevate", "to treat as holy and separate". When we sanctify the Name of God, we perform acts (prayer, charity, righteous deeds) that lift up the reputation of God in our eyes and in the eyes the world.
"What does it mean [to you, for example] to "make the Name of G-d holy"?"
So then is it acceptable that a Christian go about teaching a Jew that the laws no longer apply?
"So then is it acceptable that a Christian go about teaching a Jew that the laws no longer apply?"
Here's my take. We read in Amos 9:12 that there are indeed Gentiles that bear G-d's name. So, if they "bear G-d's name", they can defile and profane it as well (and the last two thousands years have been an ample showcase of just that).
Israel has profaned G-d's Name by engaging in various detestable practices such as idolatry, murder, profaning the Sabbath (treating it as a regular day), and various injustices committed against innocent and vulnerable people. Christians have profaned G-d's name in the similar fashion, but instead of profaning the Sabbath (for which they are not liable) they have profaned the Jewish people by treating them as any other nation and worse (which they were warned against doing).
Gene, who will *be* the nations that bear God's Name. In the end, all nations will turn against Israel, so doesn't that mean no nation, besides Israel, will bear God's Name?
I'm going out on a limb here, but is it possible that Gentile Christians/Messianic believers could be the "nations" bearing God's Name? Yeah, that's a stretch, but if we (Gentiles) are grafted in, so to speak, to the Messiah and thus to God, we have a certain responsibility to advance His purposes in this world with our lives.
It sounds like you're saying (and correct me if I'm wrong) that you believe Christians/Gentile disciples of the Messiah, *do* have a responsibility to sanctify God's Name, which of course, also makes it possible for us to profane His Name, as well.
"So, if they "bear G-d's name", they can defile and profane it as well (and the last two thousands years have been an ample showcase of just that)."
I suppose we're back to square one on this—what does a gentile believer do to hold The Name up. If we can profane it, then we must know the manner by which to hold it up.
Concerning the Sabbath..If it was set aside as a day to the Gd of Israel why would it be acceptable for gentiles to desecrate it? Are we not making it that much harder for the Jewish people by desecrating it while they reside in our nations? Furthermore, why would Christianity designate another day? If it was to be separate and distinct, what does that say? As for many laws that Gd established to distinguish Jews from pagans, why would I not follow them? I certainly don't want to be associated with pagans in the eyes of Gd.
Anyways, I appreciate your insight, I don't have the privilege often to discuss things like this with a Jew.
"I'm going out on a limb here, but is it possible that Gentile Christians/Messianic believers could be the "nations" bearing God's Name?"
Yes, and they are also the first fruits of their nations.
"It sounds like you're saying (and correct me if I'm wrong) that you believe Christians/Gentile disciples of the Messiah, *do* have a responsibility to sanctify God's Name, which of course, also makes it possible for us to profane His Name, as well."
Yes, no doubt.
"what does a gentile believer do to hold The Name up. If we can profane it, then we must know the manner by which to hold it up."
I think Gentiles "hold it up" simply by ethical behavior summed up as the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22:
"...love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
Now, the above are standards for both Jews and Gentiles However, let take the Sabbath, for example. Since Gentiles are not covenantally obligated to it, they are not being unfaithful when they do not observe the day. However, Jews who break the Sabbath do not practice "faithfulness" (one could even include "self-control" in that).
Also, notice that Galatians 5:23 (the whole chapter does anything but discourages compulsory observance of Mosaic Torah by Gentiles) ends with words "Nothing in the Torah stands against such things. (CJB)"
Interestingly, the behavior that defiles is also listed in the same chapter of Galatians:
"sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like."
I think it's enough for Gentiles who are called by G-d's Name to avoid the above to avoid profaning G-d's Name.
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