Subject: Non-Jew Wearing Tzi-Tzit Date: Fri, 19 Jun 1998 00:05:55 +0000 To: "Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
From: Wayne O'Brien To: heb_roots_chr@geocities.com Subject: Non-Jew wearing Tzi-Tzit > >Shalom Mr Chumney: > > Thank you very much for your website and especially for the Hebraic >Heritage newsgroup. I have learned much from the posts on your group, and >always look forward to checking my email for new messages. > > I'm wondering if you can "shed some light" on a question I've been working >on for some time. By background I should mention that I've kept biblical >kosher (I'll mix dairy/meat) and the Days of Unleavened Bread for the last >16 years or so. In 1985, I realized that I should also keep Sabbath and the >other Holy Days of Levitucus 23. I became a member of the Worldwide Church >of God in 1985. About 3 years ago, I also began attending a messianic >congregation in my area (Beth Israel, Lodi NJ - Jonathan Cahn is the head >pastor). I am gentile by birth, and although I was keeping the Sabbath and >other Holy Days, I did not have the understanding that comes from studying >the Jewish roots of my beliefs. Beth Israel has helped me gain a deeper >understanding of the laws I had been obeying for a number of years. Please >understand, I realize that my salvation is a gift from God... I can not >"earn" my salvation by lawkeeping (or anything I can do for that matter), I >do these things BECAUSE God has saved me, not to earn his >favor....Sorry...didn't mean to ramble there, but I wanted you to >understand my "mindset" as it were. > > My question has to do with the wearing of tzitzit. I understand that some >of the 613 commandments in Torah are not applicable today - Laws to the >Levites, temple duties, kingly obligations, and such laws. Then I come >across a law such as the one on tzitzit. A very good principle...always >seeing the fringes (hence wearing them on front and back...you see other's >fringes) to keep Gods commandments in mind should a temptation come your >way. I also understand that I have God's Holy Spirit in me....also a >reminder of God's way of life. Do you feel that the latter replaces the >former?...This is what I've been trying to understand for a while. Please >understand, this is not a "core" doctrine, it does not have any effect on >salvation....anyone wearing tzitzit is not any "better" in Gods eyes, than >the person who doesn't (Rom 10:12, Gal 3:28). But I do wish to understand >God's way of life as best as I can. I have a very simple theology >base...God designed me, he knows the way of life that would produce the >most happiness, best fruit, truest character in my life. I simply try to >follow His words the best that I can. > > I would appreciate your imput on this question. Thank you again for your >site and for the great newsgroup. > > > Your Brother In Christ > > Wayne O'Brien > >From Eddie: ************** Wayne, If you are at the place in your life and your walk with God that the Ruach HaKodesh / Holy Spirit is convicting you to wear tzi-tzit then I would do so as this is your heritage as a believer in Messiah --- as long as you are doing this as the Holy Spirit leads and not for self righteousness. Also, you need to remember that if you do choose to wear tzi-tzit that you remain sensitive to other believers who do not share the same conviction as you based upon where they are at in their walk with God. God gave the physical to understand the spiritual. Because we live in a physical world, we need physical reminders as we live our lives in a way which is pleasing to God. So, physical reminders are good and wearing tzi-tzit is a physical reminder that we are to love God and keep His commandments. However, we also have the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide and convict us to keep and follow the commandments of God. Yeshua/Jesus said that if you love me, you will keep my commandments. (John 14:15). God has put it upon my heart to wear tzi-tzit and a tallit when I speak on special occasions. I do not wear a tzi-tzit or a tallit on a daily or regular weekly basis. But, I do so knowing that this is what God has convicted me to do. I do not impose this practice upon other believers. We must always keep things in balance. It is better if we keep the commandments of God and don't wear tzi-tzit than to wear tzi-tzit and not keep the commandments of God. If we keep the commandments of God and don't wear tzi-tzit, it is better to keep the Spirit of the law than the letter of the law. But, keeping the spirit of the Torah does not negate us from the divine priviledge of keeping the letter of the Torah (in this case wear tzi-tzit) if this is what the Holy Spirit is convicting you about and you are at the point of being able and wanting to implement this in your personal walk with God. We need to keep in balance that wearing tzi-tzit in and of and by itself does not make you more holy or more righteous than another believer in Messiah. We need to keep in balance that if we choose to wear tzi-tzit we should do so with a pure Biblical heart motivation and not because we are trying to promote self-righteousness and trying to show that we are better than other believers who do not share the same conviction. Therefore, if God has put it in our heart to wear tzi-tzit, we should remember as non-Jewish believers in Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah who are embracing the Hebraic roots of our faith to not impose our personal convictions upon another believer who does not have our same convictions because of where they are at in their personal walk with God. So, yes, you have divine permission because of your Hebraic Heritage to wear tzi-tzit but we must always remember if we do so to wear the tzi-tzit with a pure heart and a Godly motive while doing so under the direction of the Ruach HaKodesh / Holy Spirit. Eddie Chumney Hebraic Heritage Ministries Int'l ************************************************************************