From Torah to Tradition: Where Christianity Lost the Way

Christianity, particularly in its dominant Western forms, often promotes doctrines and practices that are not only absent from Scripture but in direct contradiction to what Yahuah has commanded. Let us examine some key areas where traditional Christianity has strayed from the literal word of Yah, offering clarity through scriptural references and historical facts. The goal is not to insult individuals but to examine whether the religion created by Gentiles reflects the covenant instructions given to Israel.

1. Forgiveness Without Repentance: The Illusion of Self-Justification

In many modern Christian churches, salvation is offered through belief alone, often summarized in the phrase, "Just believe and you’re saved." This doctrine gives individuals a false sense of forgiveness without requiring the scriptural prerequisite of repentance.

Scripture Refutes This:

• Proverbs 28:13 – "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."

• Luke 13:3 – Yahusha: "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

• Acts 3:19 – "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out."
  

Forgiveness in Scripture is always conditional upon repentance, teshuvah, meaning a complete return and turning away from sin. Yet Christian doctrine often removes this requirement, granting unearned peace of mind.

2. Freedom to Disobey Yah's Laws: Lawlessness in the Name of Grace

Christianity widely teaches that the Law (Torah) was “nailed to the cross” or is “fulfilled” and therefore abolished. This has produced generations of believers who view obedience to Yah’s commandments as legalism or bondage.

Scripture Refutes This:

• Matthew 5:17-19 – Yahusha: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law... Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law."

• Romans 3:31 – Paul: "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."

• 1 John 2:4 – "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
  

Yahusha never taught a new religion. He reaffirmed the Torah and showed how to fulfill it righteously. The idea that grace cancels obedience is not found in Scripture.

3. Avoidance of Reparations: A Religion Without Justice

Historical Christianity enabled and justified some of the worst crimes against humanity, colonialism, slavery, genocide, committed by Gentile nations. Yet rarely, if ever, does modern Christianity teach that reparations or restitution are required.

Definition: Reparations are acts of making amends for a wrong, especially by paying money or otherwise helping those who have been wronged.

Scripture Requires Restitution:

• Luke 19:8-9 – Zacchaeus restored fourfold to those he wronged. Yahusha then declared salvation had come to his house.

• Exodus 22:1 – "If a man shall steal... he shall restore five oxen for an ox."

• Numbers 5:6-7 – "Then they shall confess their sin... and recompense him for his trespass."
  

A faith that permits stolen wealth, unpunished injustice, and ongoing benefit from the oppression of others without correction is not biblical.

4. Pagan Holidays Replacing Set-Apart Feasts

Christianity celebrates holidays that have no foundation in Scripture and have pagan roots, such as Christmas (linked to Sol Invictus and Saturnalia), Easter (derived from Ishtar and fertility cults), and Sunday worship (the day of the sun god). At the same time, it rejects or ignores the holy days commanded by Yahuah.

Definition: Paganism refers to religious practices outside the worship of Yahuah, often involving idol worship, nature deities, and seasonal rituals.

Scripture Commands Yah’s Feasts:

• Leviticus 23 – Lists the Feasts of Yahuah: Sabbath, Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Shavuot (Pentecost), Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles.

• Jeremiah 10:2-4 – Warns against cutting trees and decorating them, a practice mirrored in modern Christmas.

• Daniel 7:25 – A prophetic warning: "He shall speak great words against the Most High... and think to change times and laws."
  

True worship must be on Yah’s terms, not on dates and customs adapted from idol worship. Replacing the Most High’s commands with human tradition is rebellion.

  5. Selective Judgment: Christianity Dismisses the Punishment Israel Faced

Yahuah exiled, enslaved, and punished His chosen people for centuries because of their disobedience to the covenant. Yet Christianity teaches that Gentiles can receive eternal life simply by professing belief, without walking in the same obedience Yah required of Israel. This creates a double standard that is not found in Scripture.

Yah is not unjust. If He allowed the children of Israel to go through captivity, oppression, and dispersion for breaking His commandments, it is inconsistent to teach that Gentiles will be excused from judgment for doing the same or worse.

Scripture Confirms Equal Judgment: • Amos 3:2 – "You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." • Romans 2:9-11 – "Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil... For there is no respect of persons with Yah." • Ezekiel 18:30 – "Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin."

The claim that Yah would discipline His own chosen nation but not hold Gentile nations to account for the same sins turns Yah into a respecter of persons. That is false. Judgment begins with Israel but it certainly does not end there.

A Religion Made by Gentiles What Christianity became after the Roman Empire absorbed it was no longer a faith rooted in the covenants of Israel. It became a tool of empire, permitting lawlessness, denying restitution, creating false holidays, promoting self-forgiveness without repentance, and absolving nations from the very punishments Yah imposed on His own people.

Yahusha never founded a new religion. He came to redeem Israel and call all nations to submit to Yahuah’s ways, not to invent a new system.

Matthew 15:9 – "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."

To return to truth, one must return to what is written.