To the Christian community in Venango County, February 2023
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, as men and women
called by God and entrusted with the responsibility to shepherd the sheep and
protect the flock, it is our responsibility to shout out a warning when
dangerous individuals, groups, or ideas affect our communities and churches.
This is sadly the case with regards to the spread here
locally of Torah Clubs sponsored by the First Fruits of Zion.
While we enthusiastically support deep study of the Bible,
including its Jewish cultural and linguistic roots, all such study should occur
within the framework of a Church history-based orthodoxy, and an apostolic
understanding of the Gospel.
Why do groups associated with the Hebrew Roots Movement, in
general, like the First Fruits of Zion, in particular, fail this test? Our accompanying documentation will
demonstrate from primary sources, in their own words, that the First
Fruits of Zion organization, and the Torah Clubs materials they publish, are
replete with the following theological errors and/or heresies:
1.
A non-Trinitarian view of God in the forms of
two ancient heresies rejected by the Early Church: Modalism and
Subordinationism.
2.
A substandard hermeneutic {including the use of
paraphrases and word substitutions resulting in more palatable texts} for
interpreting scripture that contends that all relevant passages have been
wrongly understood throughout Church History, and in fact mean nearly the
opposite of what the Church has always taught.
3.
A hostility toward the Church which is seen as
the ‘mission field’ in need of correction to bring it back to its supposed
roots as a Torah observant movement within Judaism.
4.
That the books of Moses, the Torah, are more
fully the words of God than other portions of holy scripture, making them the
lens through which all scripture must be interpreted. Even Jesus Christ, the eternal Word of God, has
no authority to establish anything beyond the Mosaic Law.
5.
That Jesus did not fulfill the Mosaic Law,
rather it is still operative and normative for all of God’s people, Jews and
Gentiles alike.
6.
That there is no covenant with the Gentiles,
thus all followers of Jesus Christ accepting the Gospel must be grafted into
Israel by ‘becoming a Jew’ in spirit, and in Torah observance.
7.
That on this basis true Christian discipleship
requires the keeping of the Mosaic Law, including the dietary (kosher),
Sabbath, and festival provisions, which is how Christians demonstrate their
love of God.
If the tree is diseased, so will its fruit be. We would warn against the use of bible study materials
produced by the Watchtower Tract Society (JW) or LDS (Mormon) organizations,
even if locally 100% of the parent organization’s theology was not being
adopted. The risk that heretical
teachings would gain a foothold is simply too great. If the desire is to learn from Judaism or
Messianic Judaism, a host of materials from an orthodox point-of-view are
available for Christians to use in our churches, to use that which comes from
the FFOZ is an unnecessary risk, plus a union with an organization whose stated
goals would harm the Church and warp the Gospel.
In the end, while protesting that they do not offer a
works-based salvation, and claiming that faith in Jesus is sufficient, this movement
is built upon and structured around the claim that all faithful Christians will
begin observing the Law of Moses once they become followers of Jesus, that faithful
Christians will, in essence, live like Jews.
They may not outright claim the Law of Moses as the gatekeeper to salvation
and Christian discipleship, but when you make it the gauge of genuine faithfulness
you are adding it to the Gospel message, casting dispersion upon the faith of
99% of the world’s Christians, both past and present, and spreading doubt and
division within the Church. This movement
is no benign appreciation of the scriptures, but rather an aggressively proselytizing
misappropriation of them contrary to the established teachings of Orthodox,
Catholic, and Protestant Churches alike.
Given this, our duty requires that we warn our congregations
against participation in these groups, and call upon those who do so now, and
especially those who are promoting them, to repent and return to the faith our
ancestors rejoiced in as, “you are not under the law, but under grace.”
(Romans 6:12)
By unanimous affirmation of the Franklin Christian Ministerium,
Rev. Shawn Clerkin, Vicar/Pastor, St. John’s Episcopal Church/Grace Lutheran Church, Franklin
Deacon David Betz, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Franklin
Rev. Dr. Darrell L. Greenawalt, Christ United Methodist
Church, Franklin
Rev. Larry A. Myers, Polk Presbyterian Church
Rev. Eric Phillips, Redeemer Anglican Church, Franklin
Pastor Randy Powell, First Baptist Church of Franklin
Pastor Chad Troup, Fox Street Church of God
An Examination of the unorthodox beliefs of the First Fruits of Zion, their Torah Clubs, and the Hebrew Roots Movement in general - by the Franklin Christian Ministerium - our 10,000+ word primary source documentation of what the Torah Clubs and FFOZ believe and teach.
I have found many of your statements to be false. Ffoz encourages members to remain in their individual churches. The do not say you must follow the 613 laws. There are many other misstatements. Please go back and check out your post carefully
ReplyDeleteHaving spent hundreds of hours reading a vast amount of things published by FFOZ, I stand by our assertions. Each statement is fully back-up by our detailed primary source document, and spelled-out in my six hour seminar.
Deletehttps://pastorpowellsponderings.blogspot.com/p/the-dangers-of-first-fruits-of-zion-and.html
These criticisms of FFoZ/Torah Club are not only a little goofy but outright false too. And it's rich having both an Episcopal and United Methodist reverend sign off of your inaccurate, minimally-researched-if-at-all blog post when their "orthodoxy" now affirms/supports sexual immorality.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should examine the wolves you're joining hands with before criticizing and condemning a group you didn't even bother to dialogue with before casting them out.
No wonder the western church is so sick. The Lord rebuke you.
Wow, there's a lot of anger in that post. I fully intend to stand before God and answer for how I fulfilled my ordination vows, protecting the Gospel as it was handed down to us is a part of that promise...Each of our contentions about FFOZ is back-up by extensive primary source quotations published by FFOZ themselves. Including videos in the seminar where its leaders gleefully mock the Church, disdain the traditional Gospel, and embrace that they've rejected orthodoxy...In the end, I'll stick with those who affirm the Trinity and the sufficiency of the work of Jesus upon the Cross, something that FFOZ's teaching cannot do...If you had read further, you would have learned that we attempted to dialogue with local Torah Club leaders, but were rebuffed, they had no interest in what any pastor in the area had to say except for the 1% who were willing to join them in abandoning orthodoxy.
Deletehttps://pastorpowellsponderings.blogspot.com/p/the-dangers-of-first-fruits-of-zion-and.html
Randy, Please look at what most all churches preach. First they tell us the law has been “done away with” and then talk about sins! According to 1 John 3:4 “Sin is the transgression of the law” According to Romans 5:13 “Sin is not imputed when there is no law”! Also 4:15!
ReplyDeleteThat's a misunderstanding of what the orthodox (i.e historic and biblical) doctrine is with respect to the Law of Moses. That Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses and established the New Covenant is a bedrock belief of the Gospel. However, this in no way refutes the moral principles of the Law as given by God both before and after Sinai. If you read the post about the Reformation Era credal statements you will see that our ancestors in the faith understood this quite well. The aspects of the Law given to Israel to set them apart from their neighbors are no longer necessary when God is sending the Gospel to call a new people by faith, this new gathering of God's people is to be known by the Fruit of the Spirit, not ceremonial laws.
DeleteFulfill means to perfevtly interpret/teach Torah (God’s instructions to Jews/humanity). It DOES NOT mean do away with/abolish. Consider seeking education under a messianic rabbi and move away from making bible fit incorrect orthodox “doctrine.” Christ and the apostles never taught doctrine…
ReplyDeleteYeshua taught/lived the Torah PERFECTLY - He fulfilled Torah :-)
DeleteThat Jesus fulfilled the Law means what the Word of God says Jesus did with respect to the Law of Moses. This is a topic that concerned Paul (Galatians primarily, but elsewhere too) and the writer of Hebrews, both of whom go into much detail as to how Jesus was the perfect and last sacrifice needed under the Mosaic Law...Absolutely Jesus perfectly fulfilled Torah (God's Law), it was the only way that he could be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. The central question with which orthodox Christianity disagrees profoundly with FFOZ (and the Judaizers the Early Church faced) is how that Mosaic Law is related to the New Covenant that Jesus established in his blood. They claim that the Law given at Sinai to Israel is for all time and all peoples, the Church has never believed this...I'm totally baffled by the claim that Jesus and his disciples didn't teach doctrine. Jesus taught a massive amount of theological truth to his followers, and they in turn taught those truths to others.
DeleteThe church never believed this? Who are you describing as the church? The church, as in the Gentile Catholic Church? FFOZ teaches that Gentiles are not obligated to keep the Mosaic Law. They teach a theology of Divine Invitation. What you described in your assessment of their teaching is that they teach a theology which sound like One Law Theology which they do not. Have you read D. Thomas Lancaster’s book “The Epistle to the Galatians”? You know they emphasis Gal 5:3 that if you (as in Gentiles - because they’re the target audience) become circumcised (ie a proselyte) you are obligated to keep the whole Law. And thus the opposite is also true, if you do not become circumcised then you are not obligated to keep the whole Law. They teach the Trinity but the Trinity as maintained by the church doesn’t mean it’s a perfect theology. It was formulated in the 4th century. For example the eternal Son of God. John 1:1 doesn’t say in the beginning was the Son. Rather in the beginning was the Word. And the Word became flesh… and who was that in the flesh, the Son. As as far as subordination, that comes directly from the mouth of Jesus himself and as such Paul affirms that in 1 Cor 15:28. The difference though with the Deity side of the Son, “God was in Christ reconciling the world until Himself.” “Believe not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?” This Jesus said to Phillip, his disciple. Most eternal Son passages are there because when Christ ascended to the Father (who exists outside of time), Christ there also exists outside of time and is therefore there at the Beginning, during the Present, and at the End al simultaneously because he is there in the olam haba, or as the Greeks say it, the apeiron. I suggest reading Russell Reddens’s book “The Timeless Age of God.” It’s hard for FFOZ to teach modalism which says the Father and the Son are the same “person” and yet subordination at the same time because that’s an oxymoron. I sincerely don’t believe you understand their teachings well. They used to be in error when the taught One Law theology but have since repented of that error. I’ve been familiar with their teachings for approximately 15-20 years. You misrepresent them in my personal opinion.
DeleteYou do know martin luther was a loyal anti-semite - goal to remove scripture from original Hebraic/Jewish origin…
ReplyDeleteAntisemitism was the great failing of Martin Luther's life, the sin that he failed utilize God's grace to conquer. That's a well established historical truth, but at the same time it does not invalidate the Protestant Reformation (if that is your purpose in attacking Luther) anymore than David's adultery invalidates the power of the Psalms he wrote.
DeleteWhy are toy so intent on attacking FFOZ? Why not preach what you believe as truth? Your anger convinces me to consider their teaching. I hope they don’t respond to your false accusations.
ReplyDeleteJoyce, I'm not angry, I'm passionate about the traditional, apostolic, and biblical Gospel. When it is being undermined by a group targeting the Church, the proper response (especially from a minister called to serve the local church) is to rise up to defend it...Lastly, the accusations are not false, read the dozens of primary source quotations in the seminar and supporting documents, the words published by FFOZ are self-convicting.
DeleteWow, Randy, you have certainly stirred up the ire of those with connections to this FFOZ movement. I'm sorry about that, but I'm grateful for your faithful witness to the authentic Gospel, and for you taking to task the heresies (and there are many) of FFOZ, ranging from Pelagianism to Gnosticism. This reactionary movement is rife with self-righteousness, anti-ecclesial prejudice, and the worst sort of culture-warriorism. Nicely done in calling it out!
ReplyDeleteI agree. It is clear these are folks from the movement.
DeleteI am relatively new to all of this. I’ve encountered many sorts of religious extremism. Sadly this is a human problem and not a God problem. As far as teaching Jesus, anyone, even demons who say his name have power. (I doubt any demons are getting saved ) However Randy has a point. We can’t go back and start killing lambs, so to say. Jesus was the lamb, who died for us. The Jewish system n laws are now null n void. Do we dishonor him by worshiping others and stealing and killing n screwing our neighbours just because of „Grace“. No, Paul the apostle made that clear. A legalistic system of this feast day or sabbath and this and that is a no go post Jesus. We need to share the gospel, full stop. This is generic for Jew and Gentile alike. Nobody gets to heaven without Jesus‘s saving merit from Adam until whenever Jesus comes to set things right. However how He comes is also irrelevant, No church name or acknowledgment of a codex will help. Knowing Him will!. The question is Do you know Jesus? He’s God, he’s human, he died for you. Believe, be baptized and then Tell the world. Anything else is a complete waste of time. Like seriously people get over it!
ReplyDeleteThe writers of the teaching materials of the church has let it's members down by teaching them only the milk of the word. The foreshadowing of the coming of our messiah in the old testament is rich in truths that most believers never hear. This is why they are joining these groups. If churches would teach the deeper meat of the word there wouldn't be a problem. I have a friend whose husband is a Southern Baptist pastor and didn't know what the word Yesua meant. I love the church and believe that it is what Jesus died for,however I believe that not teaching about the Jewish perspective of the feast and other Jewish traditions and how they relate to the new testament teaching is doing a disservice to believers.I am a saved by grace through faith alone christian.
ReplyDelete