As we discussed the other day, many christians think that the term “christian,” as it was used in the New Testament, meant “follower of Christ.” Actually, it didn’t. It meant “little messiah.” It was an epithet—an insult. Peter included it in a list of terms of reproach. The term was not embraced by anybody until after the New Testament writers had all died, and christianity was being invented.
But, putting that aside, those who call themselves christians typically CLAIM to be followers of Christ. The question is, how exactly are they following Him?
You see, Messiah Yahoshua was a physical Jew, and He honored the traditions that His Father first gave to the physical Jews. Now, most christians abhor those traditions. They might not use that exact word (abhor), but that’s how they treat them—as if Messiah died on the cross to abolish His Father’s traditions (those things He still gives to His children as family identification).
Many christians even accuse those who honor the Father’s traditions of being false teachers. The belief that Messiah’s redemptive work somehow abolished His Father’s traditions is ludicrous, as we see the New Testament believers continuing to honor the Father’s traditions (Acts 18:20-21, Acts 20:6, Acts 20:16, Acts 27:9, 1 Corinthians 16:8).
Moreover, Paul taught them to the Gentile converts, and told them to keep them (1 Corinthians 11:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:15). Additionally, we know that the Father’s traditions will be observed during Messiah’s millennial reign (Ezekiel 45 & 46, Zechariah 14:16-19).
Messiah never went to “church.” In fact, there was nothing called a “church” until many centuries after His earthly ministry. The called out ones (Hebrew: qahal, Greek: ekklesia) never called themselves the “church,” or “christians.” They never heard of anything called “christianity.”
The name “church,” which is derived from the ancient goddess Circe (the daughter of the sun god), wasn’t inserted into the scriptures until over 1000 years after christianity was codified in the 4th century. It was a perversion of “ekklesia” that Roman Catholic seminary professor John Wycliffe used in his translation of the Latin Vulgate into English (1382).
Messiah never considered the first day of the week (SUNday) to be the day for rest and holy convocation (assembling together). He honored His Father’s weekly Sabbath, as did Paul and all the New Testament believers. They never attempted to change the Sabbath to another day of the week.
Messiah never celebrated christ-mass, for christianity didn’t hijack that pagan tradition until more than three centuries after Messiah’s birth; and He wasn’t born in the winter anyway, but on the Feast of Tabernacles, which is in the Fall each year.
Messiah never celebrated easter/ishtar, as that was an ancient pagan fertility ritual from Babylon. He knew what had happened in Ezekiel 8, when some priests brought the pagan “lent” (weeping for Tammuz) and “easter” (sunrise service) into the temple (they were all killed for it in Ezekiel 9).
Messiah honored His Father’s feasts, as did the New Testament believers.
Messiah never conducted an altar call, nor did He ever tell anyone that salvation is a decision man makes. He always preached belief, not a “sinner’s prayer,” as the path to salvation.
Messiah never uttered the word “jesus,” or the Greek “iesous” (Yay-Zeus), as that “name” wouldn’t be invented until long after He walked the earth.
Messiah never had “communion” with His disciples. His “last supper” was a Passover Seder.
Messiah never had membership drives asking folks to join His organization. He never passed an offering plate. He never went to Sunday school, or taught that water baptism was a profession of faith. He never had a building fund. He never belonged to any denomination.
So, again, how are christians today “following Christ”? They don’t honor the same traditions He did, and they actually “take His name in vain” by attaching Him to pagan traditions and rituals. And they care very little that His name was never “jesus,” but has always been “Yahoshua,” which means “Yah’s salvation.”
They teach that salvation is a decision that man makes, even though scripture shows that it is a path of belief and confessing Messiah before others (enduring in belief). So, the salvation that most of christianity teaches is not actually salvation, but a counterfeit of it.
Messiah was a physical Jew (yahudiy), and He IS a spiritual Jew (the real substance of the word “Jew”), and His bride, who must also be “yahudiy,” is made up of those who have been made Jews by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Romans 2:29).
Before one claims to “follow Christ,” it might be a good idea to know who He is, and what He actually did while He was here. The traditions of men that are practiced in christianity have nothing to do with “following Christ,” for they are a counterfeit of the faith He practiced.
To follow Christ, one would do what Christ did—and that would include honoring the traditions that the Father gave to physical Y’isra-el, and which He still gives to the spiritual real substance of Y’isra-el, who is Messiah’s bride—those who have received the covenant (the seal of the Holy Spirit) by grace through BELIEF in Messiah Yahoshua, which is why the apostle Paul taught the Father’s traditions to the Gentile converts and told them to “keep them.”
For more information: Why I Am No Longer a Christian