Majoring in Minor Things?

Some Christians take a strong aversion to any kind of commandment that is not broad and general in its scope. They view this as a curtailment of their freedom to choose and often retort with the self-defence that anyone who points out the minutae of Torah is 'legalistic'. It's important, therefore, that we get some things straight.

First, if Yahweh gives a commandment, He must have a reason. And given that He is love (1 Jn.4:8,16), whatever commandment He gives must likewise be rooted in love. Yah'shua stated that if we love Him, we will obey His commandments (Jn.14:15). And since, he says, He only ever did what His Father Yahweh told Him to (Jn.15:15), obeying His commandments is obeying Yahweh's too.

Second, a legalist is someone who tries to earn salvation through commandment-keeping. Salvation is only possible through faith in the right things (Lk.7:50; Heb.11), so there is no argument here. Obeying the commandments won't save you. We believe that salvation is by trusting in Yah'shua, and by trust alone. That includes trusting in what He did for us - securing our redemption on the Cross - and also trusting His words, and the words of His Father, and our Fatherm Yahweh. No word of Yahweh ever returns to Him void (empty) (Is.55:11). What, then, will disobeying the commandments do to you? If you persistently disobey them, even when you know what they are, refusing to repent, what does Scripture say will happen to you? You may be excluded from the Kingdom of Yahweh if your sinning is wicked enough, or make you least in the Kingdom (Mt.5:19). And if you persist in disobedience, you may lose your salvation. Don't believe in the "once saved, always saved" myth - persistent rebellion leads to spiritual divorce from Yahweh (Jer.3:1) which, in a word, means spiritual death. Obeying the commandments is a sign or proof that you are saved, because it demonstrates whether you love Him or not (James 2:14-26).

Third, the gift of free agency is not the freedom to choose whatever we want after we have chosen Yahweh and His Kingdom. Once we have chosen Him, we don't own ourselves anymore. We belong to Him - He boughtus at a high price (1 Cor.6:20; 7:23). Each time we disobey a commandment, we give Satan legal rights over some part of our life which he will exploit to the full without exception, because Satan is the ultra-legalist. That means you will be harrassed by demonic forces which will affect your relationship with both Yahweh and with others. They will modify your behaviour into becoming progressively more and more ungodly, leading to progressive separation between you, Yahweh and your nearest and dearest. Rebellion is not inconsequential nor trivial. It kills.

Fourth, don't use the "love" excuse not to be obedient, or try to excuse sin by claiming that "love covers a multitude of sins" (1 Pet.4:8 cp. Jas.5:20). Yes, love does that, but not indefinitely, and with a long-term redemptive purpose. Love and the justice of Yahweh are inseparably tied. Grace is likewise tied to justice. If you spurn grace by exploiting it as a means of justifying sin, grace will come to an end and you will be brought to judgment. Iniquity has a ripening process and may start with something tiny. Unchecked, it grows like a cancer. The 'minor' things do matter because they have a way of turning into major ones. A single domino can tumble the whole set.

Fifth, and finally, Yahweh's commandment summaries like "Love Yahweh Elohim with all your might, mind and strength" and "love your neighbour as yourself" (Mk.12:28-34) is not a licence to make love something that is just feeling-based. The Two Great Commandments are just summaries of (a) the Ten Commandments, which are themselves a summary of (b) all the 613 mitzvot or commandments. Summaries exist not to exclude the other commandments but to make plain, help us memorise, and to set priorities. Thus not commiting adultery is more important than a woman wearing a headcovering or a man wearing tzitzit. However, this does not give women or men a licence not to wear a headcovering or tzitzit - it's simply a matter of setting priorities. Thus if you see a man who is not wearing tzitzit about to commit adultery, what do you prioritise? You admonish him to remain chaste! Then you can remind him of the importance of wearing tzitzit - indeed, that's what the tzitzit are for - to remind him of the necessity of obeying Torah, including keeping chaste! The 'minor' commandments connect to, and sustain, the 'major' ones! They have a divine purpose which Yahweh considers important.

We are accused sometimes of "majoring on minors" by pointing out all the 'minor' commandments of Yahweh (that's a total misnomer, incidentally - every commandment is important). In truth, we major on everything, and if we point out 'minor' commandments sometimes it doesn't mean we have forgotten or are deprioretising the major ones. We're merely doing what Yah'shua commanded His disciples to do - exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees who were very particular about all the commandments without imitating their hypocrisy or following their man-made rules (Mt.5:17-20; Mk.7:1-13).

We afirm - and will always affirm - every commandment, beginning with the Two Great Commandments, then the Ten Commandmrnts, and then all the rest. Our first priority is the message of simple salvation - trusting in the Messiah. But we will not neglect everything else just because carnal Christians want to be disobedient. The truth is the truth and all of it has to be told. We may not always present it perfectly, and on occasion get our priorities wrong (because we are fallible), but our intent is to do right and to admonish others to do the same. We're in the Gospel 100% - we want the fullness of the Kingdom 100% - we don't want to have to hang around in the spirit world for 1,000 years and wait for the second resurrection because we didn't seek it with all our hearts the first time round. That will inevitably irk the lazy, lukewarm and rebellious, but that is not our concern. They can choose to respond or not. Thereafter our responsibility is at an end. We will do our best to patiently teach these things in truth and love even if we know we will not always succeed in that.

So, no, we do not major in minors. We major in the lot - in faith and in love.