The Heretical Hebrew Roots Movement

Dear saints, 

I'd like to talk to you today about the Hebrew Roots Movement (HRM) that has become very popular around the world these days. This may sound like a good thing on the surface, for Christians to go back to our Hebrew roots, since Jesus was Hebrew, the entire New Testament was written by Jews, and the Church in the first century was comprised of Jewish believers in Jesus for the first ten years, until the Gentile household of Cornelius got saved (Ac 10). 

However, the Hebrew Roots Movement is not a good thing. It's a heretical movement with the same roots as Church of God (Seventh Day), the heretical SDA Church, and the Millerites of the 1800's, as well as the Judaizers of the first century, whose false gospel the very first Church Council rejected in the first century, and which Paul always preached against. 

This is connected in with lots of false teachings, including keeping Torah (i.e., following Jewish dietary laws, keeping the Jewish Sabbath on Saturdays, keeping the Jewish feasts, etc). That is going back to the law, following Jewish customs, which the cross set us free from, and if any Gentile does this, they have made the cross of no affect, alienated themselves from Christ, and fallen away from grace (Gal 5:4). The Word of God clearly says that all foods are clean (Mk 7:19; Ac 10:15; 11:9; Rom 14:20).

The people in the Hebrew Roots Movement believe that the reason the Father is angry with the lukewarm church and the reason it is lukewarm is that they are not properly keeping Torah and not keeping the Jewish Sabbath. 

As I mentioned, the first Church Council convened in the first century to address the Judaizers' heresy and decided against it (Acts 15). The apostle Paul also soundly condemned it once and for all in his epistles under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Here are some examples of what he wrote:

"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed." (Gal 1:6-9)

"But it was because of the false brethren who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you." (Gal 2:4-5) 

"How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?" (Gal 2:14b)

"For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.' Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because 'the righteous will live by faith.' The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, 'The person who does these things will live by them.'" (Gal 3:10-12; cf., Rom 10:5)

That means that if a Gentile wants to go back to observing the law and Jewish customs, they have to obey the whole law.

"You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?" (Gal 3:1-3)

"But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you." (Gal 4:9-11)

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 'A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.' I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty." (Gal 5:1-10)

"'Are you so dull?' [Jesus] asked. 'Don't you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn't go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.' (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)" (Mar 7:18-19)

"The voice spoke to him a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.'" (Act 10:15)

"Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble." (Rom 14:20)

Hebrew Roots Movement vs. Messianic Jews

The Hebrew Roots Movement is not the same as the Messianic Jewish church. The Messianic Jews are actually Jewish people who have come to believe in Jesus their Messiah. They love the Jewish people and are winning them to the Lord. But the Hebrew Roots Movement is made up of Gentile believers adopting Jewish customs that were never meant for non-Jews. By doing the things they are doing, like processing the Torah in their services, or in one case wrapping a fallen minister in the Torah, they are alienating and offending Jews unnecessarily. 

There is a Messianic Jewish man named Tov Rose, who wrote an article, in which he linked to the following paper that goes into the history of the Hebrew Roots movement.

I just read up to page 41 or so of this paper, and may finish it later. But page 33 is key. This is the history of the modern Hebrew Roots Movement, which has its roots in cults like the Worldwide Church of God led by heretic Herbert Armstrong. In other words, the Hebrew Roots Movement is essentially a new brand name for the Herbert Armstrong cult, known as Worldwide Church of God, which was closely related with the Millerites and the SDA. After Armstrong's death in 1996, the elders of the Worldwide Church of God repented and formed Grace Communion International (GCI), at which time they publicly confessed that they had been wrong to preach that message. 

The Hebrew Roots Movement is synonymous with the Two House of Israel Movement and the One Law Theology, which states that "there is one law for both the native born and the sojourner" (Google AI). This is essentially replacement theology, which teaches that the Gentile Church is made up of the lost tribes of Israel and that it is Israel. It teaches that the Jews in Palestine are not Israel and not the true heirs of the land, but that we Gentile believers are.

Article (One Law Two Sticks)

Is HRM a Cult or Not?

I hold to the broad definition of a cult that I learned in Bible school in the late 1980's and early 1990's. A cult is any group claiming to be Christian that does not hold to the sound doctrines of the faith as taught in the Bible and upheld by the Church for centuries. The heretical Hebrew Roots Movement meets this criterion, and shares the same historical and doctrinal roots as other cults, as I have already discussed and proven from Scripture; therefore, it is a cult, in my opinion. 

Closing Words

In conclusion, the Hebrew Roots movement is actually a false or heretical movement, not one that is true to God's Word. It preaches another gospel, which has already been condemned by Scripture. Beware of this false gospel! And if you have already been caught up in it, then repent and come out of it, so that you may be saved, since you are putting yourself under the law. Please share this with those whom you love that are caught up in this false movement. I hope they will prayerfully consider what I and Tov Rose have written, and be set free from their bondage in Jesus' mighty name.

Please do not attack me for sharing this information with you. As Paul wrote: "Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them." (Gal 4:16-17)

Attribution notice: Scripture taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. 

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, I recommend The Eth Cepher "Bible"?, Scripture Alone, By Grace Alone, By Faith Alone, Christ Alone, Seventh Day Adventist Heresies, Christian Sabbath is Sunday, not Saturday, Famous Christian Sabbath Observers, Keeping Sundays Holy - Part I, Keeping Sundays Holy - Part II, The Lord's Day, The Origin of the Sabbath, The Spirit of the Law, and The Spirit's Law of Life. You may access more of my articles on the Main Directory of this blog, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.