We’re going to talk about something that sits right at the heart of our walk with YHWH: obedience. Not the kind of obedience that comes from fear or pressure, but the kind that flows from love—the kind Yeshua (Jesus) spoke about when He said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” – John 14:15
Yet for many believers today, obedience has become a stumbling block. Not because YHWH’s commandments are unclear, and not because they’re burdensome, but because we’ve inherited traditions that have taught us to ignore or minimize parts of His Word. And when tradition rises above Scripture, confusion always follows.
So today, we’re going to look honestly and lovingly at the stumbling blocks that keep many from fully obeying YHWH, and how Scripture clears the path.
The Two Great Commandments Were Never Meant to Replace Torah
Many Christians today say, “We only have two commandments now: love God and love your neighbor.” And yes, Yeshua did say these are the greatest commandments. But listen to His words carefully:
“On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” – Matthew 22:40
He wasn’t replacing YHWH’s Law (the Torah). He was summarizing it. Those two commandments come from the Torah.
“And you shall love YHWH your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” – Deuteronomy 6:5
“You shall not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am YHWH.” – Leviticus 19:18
Yeshua was speaking to Jewish men who already knew YHWH’s Law. They didn’t need Him to repeat every instruction—they needed Him to show them the heart behind it.
Many Christians believe that the only commandments we have to obey are the ones explicitly repeated in the New Testament. However, no New Testament author specifically said not to have sex with an animal, yet we still know we’re not to do it because it’s sexually immoral—by the definition given in the Torah.
And Scripture confirms this. Paul tells us:
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” – 2 Timothy 3:16
When Paul wrote that letter to Timothy, the only “Scripture” that existed was the Torah, Prophets, and Writings. The New Testament wasn’t written yet.
So the idea that only commandments repeated in the New Testament matter is simply not biblical.
The Torah Is Not As Big As You Think
Many believers hear the phrase “613 commandments” and immediately feel overwhelmed, as though YHWH’s instructions are an impossible mountain to climb. But that number didn’t come from Scripture—it came from a 12th‑century scholar, Maimonides, who created the first formal list. And while his work is historically valuable, many of his “commandments” include Talmudic interpretations, duplicates, or applications that go far beyond what the Torah actually says.
When we return to the source text, the picture becomes much simpler.
Some of the Maimonides’ entries expand the Torah in ways Scripture never does—like forbidding decorative human images, banning tattoos in ways the text doesn’t specify, or turning “do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk” into a universal ban on mixing meat and dairy. These additions can make the Torah feel heavier than YHWH ever intended.
But when we remove duplicates, cultural additions, and laws that require a functioning Levitical priesthood or tabernacle, we discover something surprising: The Torah is far smaller, far clearer, and far more doable than most people have ever been told.
YHWH gave His commandments to show us what love looks like—love for Him and love for our neighbour. Yeshua didn’t replace the Torah with two new commandments; He quoted directly from it. He simply revealed the heart behind it. Just as a parent’s chore list teaches a child what “helping” actually means, YHWH’s instructions teach us what “loving Him” actually looks like.
And Scripture is consistent from beginning to end:
- His commandments are not heavy (1 John 5:3).
- We can do all things through Messiah who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).
- Those who love Him keep His commandments (John 14:21).
- The saints in Revelation are described as those who keep His commandments (Revelation 12:17; 14:12).
Even the laws that require priests or a temple aren’t “gone.” We simply can’t perform them right now—just like a three‑year‑old can’t break traffic laws she’s not yet able to act upon. Not disobeying a law is the same as obeying it.
The truth is this: YHWH’s Torah is not too big, too heavy, or too complicated. It’s beautiful, practical, and entirely possible to walk out with the help of the Holy Spirit.
So the real question becomes one of the heart: Which commandments feel “too hard”—and are they truly hard, or simply inconvenient? And if obedience is one of the ways we show YHWH our love, is He not worthy of the effort?
The Torah is not a burden. It’s a gift. It’s the Father showing us how to love Him in the way He desires to be loved.
Christians Already Obey Most of the Torah Without Realizing It
There are 2 great commandments, 10 foundational commandments, and 68 how‑to instructions that teach us how to love YHWH and love others.
Out of sixty‑eight instructions found within the Ten Commandments, most Christians already obey fifty‑eight of them.
They agree we should not murder, steal, lie, commit adultery, worship idols, or mistreat others. They agree we should honor parents, care for the poor, treat workers fairly, and love our neighbor.
So the issue is not that Christians reject YHWH’s Law. The issue is that they reject ten specific instructions, and those ten become stumbling blocks.
And here’s the striking part: Eight of those ten fall under the First Great Commandment—loving YHWH.
The very commandments that teach us how to love Him are the ones most often dismissed.
The Five Most Common Stumbling Blocks
Let’s look at five of the instructions believers struggle with most and how Scripture removes the confusion. We’ll start with the biggest one first.
1. Obey YHWH’s commandments.
In the Torah:
God said: “And you shall keep My commandments, and shall do them; I am YHWH.” – Leviticus 22:31
In the NT:
God said: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” – John 14:15
Disobedience to the Law is the definition of sin (1 John 3:4). The New Testament repeatedly instructs us to repent of our sins (Matthew 4:17; Acts 2:38; 2 Peter 3:9).
Obedience to the Law is what determines the hierarchy in the Kingdom of Heaven. Those who obey the Law and teach others to obey the Law will be great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
“Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:19
Obeying YHWH’s commandments means living lives that are pleasing to Him; and when we mess up, we know to repent!
2. Do not add to or take away from the Torah.
In the Torah:
God said, “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.” – Deuteronomy 12:32
In the NT:
God said, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” – Mark 7:6-8
Yeshua followed the Law perfectly, we know this because He’s incapable of sin. To take-away from or add-to the Law is a sin; therefore, we know that Yeshua did not make any Laws void nor did He make up any new ones.
The Roman Church has added to YHWH’s Law through their traditions, and they have taken away from His Law by teaching their followers to disobey Torah.
“They profess to know God, but by their works they deny Him, being abominable and disobedient, and reprobate to every good work.” – Titus 1:6
3. Follow YHWH’s Dietary Instructions
YHWH gave instructions for how to keep His temple clean, healthy, and holy—including dietary instructions.
In the Torah:
God says, “For you are a people holy to YHWH your God, and YHWH has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. You shall not eat any abomination.” – Deuteronomy 14:2-3
In the NT:
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Peter, long after Yeshua’s resurrection, still said, “I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” (Acts 10:14)
If Yeshua had declared all animals clean, Peter would not have said that, or he would’ve been calling Yeshua a liar.
Again—this isn’t about restriction. It’s about honoring the One who bought us with a price.
4. Resting on the Seventh Day
This is one of the biggest stumbling blocks. The seventh-day Sabbath has been in place since creation.
In the Torah:
God said, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to YHWH your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days YHWH made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore YHWH blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” – Exodus 20:8-11
In the NT:
“Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.” – Luke 23:56
“And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.” – Acts 16:13
Yeshua said the Sabbath was a gift for mankind (Mark 2:27). Yet many believers dismiss the day YHWH blessed and instead keep a day established by men, which is both adding to and taking away from YHWH’s Law.
YHWH said to rest on the seventh day. Not the first day. Not any day we choose. The seventh day.
5. Keeping YHWH’s Appointed Times
The feasts of YHWH are not “Jewish holidays.” They are YHWH’s appointed times.
In the Torah:
“These are the appointed feasts of YHWH, the holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them.” – Leviticus 23:4
In the NT:
“Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.” – John 2:23
“Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?‘” – Matthew 26:17
Paul taught to keep Passover and Unleavened Bread. “Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” – 1 Corinthians 5:7-8
“When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent, but took leave of them, saying, ‘I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.’ And he sailed from Ephesus.” – Acts 18:20-21(NKJV)
Yeshua kept the Appointed Times. The disciples kept them. The early church kept them.
They are memorials of what YHWH has done in the past and prophetic shadows of what He will do in the future.
Why These Become Stumbling Blocks
Christians stumble over these commandments because they have never been taught the Torah. They don’t know what it says, so they don’t know what they’re rejecting.
Peter warned that Paul’s writings are “hard to understand” and that the ignorant twist them into lawlessness (2 Peter 3:15–17). And that is exactly what happened in early church history—traditions replaced commandments and Paul’s letters were used as justification.
But the good news is this: The stumbling blocks can be removed.
Returning to Obedience Is Returning to Love
James tells us:
“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” – James 2:10
This isn’t meant to condemn us, it’s meant to remind us that obedience is not a buffet. We don’t pick and choose. We love YHWH with our whole heart.
And here’s the beautiful truth: Most Christians are already so close. They already obey the majority of YHWH’s instructions.
All that remains is to embrace the ten they’ve been taught to ignore.
Not to earn salvation—Yeshua alone saves. But to love YHWH the way He wants to be loved.
Removing the Stumbling Blocks
- Learn His commandments
- Obey His commandments
- Do not add to or take away from His commandments
- Wear tzit‑tzits
- Follow His dietary Instructions
- Rest on the seventh day
- Keep His appointed times
- Keep His Sabbaths
- Avoid sexual impurity
- Honor covenant responsibility
These are not heavy burdens. They are invitations into deeper relationship.
A Call to Obedience
Obedience is not about legalism. It’s about love.
YHWH is calling His people back—back to His Word, back to His ways, back to the ancient paths that lead to life.
The stumbling blocks are not permanent. They can be removed. And when they are, we discover the joy, the blessing, and the intimacy that comes from walking in the commandments of our Father.
May we be a people who love Him not only with our lips, but with our lives.
YHWH bless you and keep you; YHWH make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; YHWH lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26