https://linktr.ee/humbledisciple, https://humbledisciple.wordpress.com/, https://m.youtube.com/@humbledisciple

HumbleDisciple, Melbourne (2026)

02/06/2026

I've heard many people say the Torah was only given to the Jews. Fair enough. Let's follow that thought for a moment.

If the Torah was only for the Jews, why do so many Gentile believers celebrate being "free from the Law"? Free from what exactly? How can someone be released from an obligation they never had? The argument seems to shift depending on what point is being made.

When someone points to the Sabbath, the dietary instructions, or the appointed times, suddenly we're told, "That was only for Israel." But when the discussion turns to freedom from the Law, many of the same people rejoice as though they personally escaped from it. I've never been able to make sense of that.

And the common response is that the "moral laws" still apply while the "ceremonial laws" do not. But where does Scripture ever divide the Torah that way? The Torah never labels some commandments moral and others ceremonial. That's a later theological framework brought to the text, not one drawn from it.

And if we're going to say large portions of Scripture were only written to Jews, then consistency becomes a problem.

Yeshua said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." James wrote to the twelve tribes scattered abroad. Peter addressed the diaspora. Much of the Bible was written in a Hebrew context to a people called Israel.

So where do we draw the line?

Why do we gladly claim the promises, the blessings, the comfort, the salvation, the covenant language, and the Messiah of Israel, but then suddenly declare that God's instructions are for somebody else?

Why is "You shall not murder" still for us?
Why is "Honor your father and mother" still for us?
Why are teachings on giving and generosity still for us?
But the Sabbath is only for the Jews?
The appointed times are only for the Jews?
The dietary instructions are only for the Jews?

Scripture says there was "one law" for the native-born and the sojourner among Israel (Exodus 12:49; Numbers 15:15-16). Gentiles who joined themselves to the God of Israel were not given a different standard.

Even in the New Covenant, the promise is not that God's Law disappears. The promise is that it will be written on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33).

And Paul says, "Do we then nullify the Torah through faithfulness? May it never be! On the contrary, we uphold the Torah" (Romans 3:31).

James calls it "the Torah that gives freedom" (James 2:12). That's an interesting phrase. Not freedom from God's Law. Freedom found in it.

01/06/2026

Who here has been called a "Judaizer" simply for keeping God's Torah? Keeping the Sabbath. Avoiding unclean foods. Observing Yehovah's Appointed Times instead of Easter and Christmas.

I have (just again today on one of the posts). And I know many of you have too. But have you ever stopped and asked what a Judaizer actually was?

In Galatians 2:14, Paul rebuked Peter, not for obeying God's Torah, but for withdrawing from Gentile believers because of pressure from certain men. Peter's actions created a division that God Himself had torn down. In many ways, it was the very issue addressed through Peter's vision in Acts 10.

A Biblical Judaizer was not someone who obeyed God's commandments. A Judaizer was someone insisting that Gentiles must become Jews in order to be fully accepted. It was the teaching that human requirements and conversion were necessary additions to God's promise.

The accusation had nothing to do with keeping the Torah itself. Yet today the word is often used very differently.

Someone starts keeping the Sabbath, eating according to Scripture, or celebrating the feasts that God Himself appointed, and suddenly they are branded a "Judaizer."
But following commandments that came from God is not Judaizing.

If anything, the irony is that many who make the accusation have no problem elevating church traditions above God's instructions, expecting believers to conform to customs that Scripture never commands.

Yeshua never condemned God's Torah. He condemned man-made traditions that nullified God's commandments. He kept the Torah perfectly. He taught His disciples to do the will of His Father. And He called us to walk as He walked.

So if keeping God's commandments earns me the label "Judaizer," I can live with that.

But according to Scripture, a Judaizer was never someone obeying God. It was someone adding human requirements to what God had already established.

31/05/2026

Labels can be useful, but sometimes they get in the way.

Some think I'm Muslim because I follow the biblical dietary instructions. Others assume I'm a Seventh-day Adventist because I keep the Sabbath. Some think I'm Jewish because I study the Torah. Others assume I'm a Christian because I believe Yeshua is the Messiah.

At the end of the day, I'm simply trying to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
My journey has been one of crossing over, leaving behind traditions, assumptions, and things I once accepted without question, and learning to follow Yehovah through His Word.

That's one reason I appreciate the meaning of the word "Hebrew" so much. One who has crossed over.

I'm not looking for a denomination. I'm not trying to fit into a movement. I simply want to follow Yehovah, walk in the footsteps of His Messiah, and let the Scriptures shape what I believe and how I live.

31/05/2026

I struggled with this verse in the past. Not because it was difficult to understand. Because it was difficult to explain away.

The book of Hebrews spends chapter after chapter showing what has changed. The Levitical priesthood changed. The sacrificial system changed. The earthly sanctuary pointed to a greater reality. Hebrews is not afraid to tell us when something has reached its fulfillment.

Yet when the writer arrives at the Sabbath, he doesn't say it ended. He doesn't say it was replaced. He doesn't say it became Sunday. He says it remains. Remains. Not remained. Not used to exist. Not fulfilled away. Remains. Something cannot remain if it has ceased to exist.

I was told Hebrews proves the Sabbath was replaced by Jesus. That the rest is now purely spiritual. But the more I read the chapter, the more that explanation felt forced. The author never says the Sabbath ended. He never says it was abolished. He says it remains. Not because the weekly Sabbath is the final destination, but because it points forward to a greater rest still ahead.

What struck me even more was who this promise is for. "There remains, therefore, a Sabbath rest for the people of God." Not for the world in general. For the people of God. The people who hear His voice. The people who trust Him. The people who refuse to harden their hearts. The people who are pressing toward the Kingdom.

Hebrews is using the Sabbath as a picture of something even greater.

The weekly Sabbath reminds us that our work is not our salvation. Every seventh day we stop striving, stop chasing, stop producing, and remember that everything comes from Yehovah. And every Sabbath points beyond itself. Back to creation, where God rested. Forward to the Kingdom, where His people will finally enter the fullness of that rest.

That's why the Sabbath appears everywhere in Scripture. It begins in Genesis before there was a Jew. It is written into the covenant at Sinai. The prophets see it in the age to come. Yeshua kept it. The apostles kept it. Revelation describes a people who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Yeshua.

One story. One God. One people. One consistent witness from beginning to end.

Hebrews 4:9 is a promise:
Apromise that the gift given at creation still stands.
A promise that the weekly Sabbath still points somewhere.
A promise that after all the wandering, striving, suffering, and waiting...

there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

PS: Many comments say, "Jesus is now our Sabbath rest," so before you feel compelled making that same comment, note, I agree that our rest is found in Messiah.

The question is whether Scripture says that because Messiah is our rest, the Sabbath no longer matters. Hebrews never says that.

The author doesn't conclude, "The Sabbath has ended." He concludes, "There remains, therefore, a Sabbath rest for the people of God."

Messiah and the Sabbath are not competitors. The Sabbath points to Him. It reminds us weekly that salvation is not by our works and points forward to the greater rest still ahead.

That's why I find it difficult to believe the Sabbath was abolished. Yeshua spoke of His followers caring about the Sabbath long after His resurrection (Matthew 24:20). Isaiah sees all flesh worshipping before Yehovah from Sabbath to Sabbath in the age to come (Isaiah 66:23).

The Sabbath points to Messiah. But pointing to something greater is not the same as disappearing because of it.

30/05/2026

I don't know about you, but by the time Friday evening comes around, I'm usually ready for Shabbat. Not because life is terrible. Just because life is busy.

There is always another job to do, another problem to solve, another message to answer, another thing demanding attention. The weeks seem to move faster every year.

And then Shabbat arrives. The same seventh day that Yehovah blessed at creation. The same appointment He gave mankind long before most of the debates we have about it today. And every week I'm reminded what a gift it really is.

A whole day where I can stop chasing things.
A whole day where I can put aside the endless to-do list and spend time with family, open the Scriptures, pray, worship, reflect, and simply enjoy what Yehovah has already provided.
It's strange when you think about it.

The Creator of heaven and earth could have asked for anything. Instead, He gave us a day of rest.
A day to pause.
A day to reconnect.
A day to remember who He is and who we are.
The older I get, the more I appreciate the wisdom behind it.

Abba knew exactly what we would need. He knew we would live in a world that glorifies busyness. A world that measures people by productivity. A world that constantly tells us to keep going, keep striving, keep working.

Yet every seventh day He reminds us that we are more than what we produce.
For twenty-four hours the race can wait.
The emails can wait.
The projects can wait.
The worries can wait.

And somehow, after years of keeping Shabbat, it still amazes me how refreshing that is. What a beautiful gift Yehovah has given us.

I pray your Sabbath is filled with peace, rest, joy, fellowship, and time spent in His presence.

Shabbat Shalom.

29/05/2026

One thing I’ve noticed over the years is how often theological discussions get reduced to a few familiar prooftexts.

Someone mentions the Sabbath, the feasts, or Torah observance, and within minutes the same passages appear. 1 Tim 4. Rom 14. Rom 10:4. Gal 3:10-25. Acts 15. Acts 20:7. 1 Cor 16:2. Col 2:14-17. Sometimes people just say, “Read Galatians,” as though that settles everything.

They’re often presented as if nobody on the other side has ever read them before.

But can I ask a genuine question?

Do you really think those of us who came to Torah observance have never wrestled with those passages?

I came out of mainstream Christianity myself. I attended Sunday church for years. I defended the same interpretations many people are defending now. I quoted those verses too. None of them were new to me when I began this journey.

What changed was not that I suddenly discovered different verses. What changed was that I started slowing down and reading those verses more carefully in their context, alongside the rest of Scripture.

That’s an important distinction.

Because many people quote these passages as though they are a mic-drop moment that ends the conversation. But I’ve read them. I’ve wrestled with them. And I’m not alone in that. Many believers I’ve met spent months, sometimes years, studying these things carefully because the conclusions they eventually reached came at a cost.

Some lost friendships. Some walked away from churches they had been part of for decades. Some lost entire communities. A few found like-minded believers nearby. Many didn’t. This path can be surprisingly lonely at times.

Do you really think people walk away from familiar churches, longstanding relationships, and deeply rooted traditions because they casually read a verse or two and wanted to be different?

Or is it possible that many of us examined the same passages you’re quoting, prayed through them, studied them in context, compared them with passages like Jer 31:33, Mat 5:17-19, Rom 3:31, Rom 7:12, Eze 36:26-27, and Isa 2:2-3, and eventually arrived at a different conclusion than the one we once defended ourselves?

Many mainstream Christian doctrines create real tensions within Scripture, and those tensions are not resolved by repeating a few familiar prooftexts.

You may disagree with the conclusions I’ve reached. That’s fair. But please don’t assume I haven’t read the verses you’re quoting. Most of us used to teach those same interpretations too.

28/05/2026

Lately I’ve been sitting with something that doesn’t quite leave me alone.

I keep seeing some Messianic Jewish teachers telling Gentile believers that the Seven Noahide Laws are enough for them. Almost like there are two circles around God’s covenant. One closer. One further away.

And I understand why it sounds appealing at first. The Noahide Laws are good. They speak against idolatry, murder, sexual immorality, theft, blasphemy, cruelty, injustice. Nobody who loves Scripture would argue against those things.

But the more I read the Bible, the harder it becomes for me to believe that Gentiles in Messiah were only ever meant to stand at the edge of the covenant.

Because the story of Scripture keeps moving in the opposite direction. Not away from Israel. Toward it.

Paul says Gentile believers are grafted into the olive tree of Israel. Not planted beside it. Not given a separate tree. Grafted in. Brought near. Made partakers. And that changes the picture completely.

It means the goal was never a “minimum requirement” faith. Not a reduced version of walking with God. Not a smaller portion of obedience handed to the nations while Israel carries the rest.

When Yehovah calls people to Himself, He brings them into covenant life.

That does not mean every command applies identically to every person in every circumstance. Scripture itself shows different responsibilities for priests, kings, women, men, those in the land, and those serving at the Temple. But the direction of the covenant is always toward deeper participation in God’s ways, not toward keeping the nations at a distance with a reduced faith.

Yes, salvation is by grace through faith. Completely. We do not earn redemption through Torah observance. But Scripture never presents grace as freedom from God’s ways.

If anything, grace is what finally teaches us to walk in them.

Even Abraham, long before Sinai, is described as obeying God’s commandments, statutes, and laws. And Yeshua Himself said He did not come to abolish the Torah but to fulfill it, establish it, and teach it rightly.

So I can’t help feeling uneasy when Torah gets reduced to seven laws for Gentiles. Because it feels smaller than the story God has been telling from the beginning.

The covenant was never about standing near the family of God. It was always about being brought in.

27/05/2026

In the wilderness, not everyone carried the Ark. Some carried curtains. Some carried poles. Some carried boards, pillars, pegs, and the countless pieces that held everything together. The Kohathites had one responsibility. The Gershonites another. The Merarites another. The priests another. Different assignments. Different burdens. Different callings. Yet none of them could look at another and say, “My role matters more.”

Because without the curtains, there was no Tabernacle to cover. Without the boards, there was no structure to stand. Without the pegs, even the curtains would not remain in place. Every part mattered.

It is easy to look at someone else’s gift and wonder why yours seems smaller. Easy to notice the teacher, the speaker, the leader, the person everyone knows. Easy to think God’s Kingdom is built on the visible things.

But reading Numbers 4 tells a different story. Yehovah counted every Levite, not just the priests, not just the leaders.. every servant. Every name mattered because every person had purpose.

The same pattern appears when Yeshua begins calling disciples: Fishermen, tax collectors, ordinary people. He was not gathering celebrities. He was building a body.

As Paul later wrote: “For just as we have many parts in one body... so we who are many are one body in Messiah.” (Romans 12:4-5 TLV)

Some teach.
Some encourage.
Some disciple.
Some open their homes.
Some pray quietly.
Some serve behind the scenes where almost nobody notices.

Remeber: the Kingdom does not run on recognition. It runs on faithfulness. The person faithfully carrying what Yehovah placed in their hands may be doing work every bit as important as the person standing in front of a congregation.

Maybe the question isn’t: “Why wasn’t I given that role?”

Maybe the better question is: “Am I faithfully carrying the one He gave me?”

26/05/2026

When people hear “the Law,” they immediately think: burden, bo***ge, curse. But that is not how Scripture speaks about it.

Read chapters like Deuteronomy 29 carefully.

The curse was never the Torah itself. The curse was what came upon Israel when they broke covenant. This matters more than many realize.

The blessings came through obedience. The curses came through rebellion. The Torah was the path set before them. Life and death were the outcomes attached to how they responded to it. This should change everything. If the Torah itself was inherently a curse, then what exactly was the blessing side of Deuteronomy talking about?

How can the same thing be described throughout Scripture as wisdom, light, truth, freedom, delight, righteousness, and life, only to suddenly become a toxic burden later?

David said: “Oh how I love Your Torah.” Psalm 119 is not written like a man chained to slavery. It reads like a man who found treasure.

So when Paul speaks about “the curse of the law” in Galatians, many people read it backwards. The curse is not that God gave instruction. The curse is the condemnation that falls on the lawbreaker.

That is why Messiah redeems us from the curse. Not by making sin irrelevant. Not by declaring God’s standards bad. But by taking upon Himself the penalty that stood against us.

And remember: Yeshua said He came not to do His own will, but the will of His Father. Yet many now speak as though the Son was sent to undo the very instructions through which the Father revealed His will in the first place.

And this is where the tension appears in modern theology. Many believers speak as though obedience itself is the problem. Really? The problem was never God’s commandments. The problem was the human heart.

That is exactly why the New Covenant promise is not: “I will abolish My Torah.” It is: “I will write My Torah on their hearts.” (Jer 31:33.)

Think about this for a moment: God spent thousands of years teaching His people something He secretly intended to discard later?

Maybe the issue is not that the Torah is a burden. Maybe the burden is what happens when people spend years being taught to see God’s instructions as the enemy.

25/05/2026

January 2019 was a turning point for me. For the first time, I was confronted with the idea of Torah observance.

As someone attending a Sunday church with a Baptist background, I didn't receive it well. I pushed back, I called it legalism and the people teaching it Pharisees. Sound familiar?

Yet at the same time, I couldn't shake the question: what if they're right? More than defending my position, I wanted to know the truth, not the traditions I had inherited, but His truth.

And as I began searching the Scriptures for myself, I slowly realized that what I had always been taught did not always align with what the text actually says. I was made aware of contracitions that I never realized before, despite reading some of the passages many times before.

I prayed constantly, asking Yehovah to teach me and correct me wherever I was wrong.

I also listened to different perspectives. I spent time learning from Torah-observant ministries like 119 Ministries ~ Test Everything, Passion For Truth, and others. But I tried not to simply accept what anyone said. I opened my Bible and compared everything against the Scriptures for myself.

And something unexpected happened.

The more I searched, the more things began to fit together. Passages that seemed contradicting suddenly made sense. Tensions I could never resolve started finding their place. I was learning to let Scripture speak for itself and it dawned on me that I had to let go of what I thought I knew about Scriptures and to become willing... willing to learn, willing to be corrected, willing to follow wherever His Word leads.

The reason I chose 1 John 2:6 for this image is simple. In the end, discipleship is not about admiring the Messiah from a distance. It is about following Him. One step at a time. Learning to walk the way He walked.

I encourage you to do the same, keep seeking, keep praying, and keep testing everything against Scripture. Yehovah is faithful to guide those who genuinely desire His truth.

In brotherly love, Tin

HumbleDisciple

02/06/2026

01/06/2026

31/05/2026

31/05/2026

30/05/2026

29/05/2026

28/05/2026

27/05/2026

26/05/2026

25/05/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Place Of Worship

Shortcuts

Share

Category