Over the centuries, there have been numerous ways that so-called "true believers" of Jesus have identified themselves. Creeds and statements of "I believe" as well as tie pins, necklaces, and bumper stickers are like secret handshakes between fellow members. But what is the real way to identify a disciple of Messiah?

Of course, any child of the 1970s "Jesus Movement" can tell you, "They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love." The popular camp song is derived from Yeshua's statement about His followers:

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13:35

It sounds perfect, but out of context it is without meaning or substance. Beloved, we do not know what love is, without knowing how the Almighty defines it. And He has defined it - again and again, and yet men are loathe to obey Him.

And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves G-d must love his brother also.
1John 4:21

You can never separate love from the commandments of the Almighty. Love and the revelation of G-d's righteousness (the Torah) are inseparable. Love of G-d, and love of each other are defined in the Torah. Cast it aside, and you will only think you love G-d and your brother.

By this we know that we love the children of G-d, when we love G-d and keep His commandments. For this is the love of G-d, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
1John 5:2-3

The disciples of Messiah are marked by our love for one another. Our love for one another is defined by the Torah. Without the Torah, "love" has no biblical definition.
We are a part of an eternal lamp. We ourselves are wicks that fuel the flame, revealing the Shekinah to the world around us. What is the oil that keeps our wick lit, what is our "love"? It is Torah deeds, beloved.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16

What does it mean to be in a community? What are my responsibilities in that community? How does the Torah describe this community? These are important questions to ask. As you listen to this episode, keep these questions in mind as well as the fact that, the answers are not necessarily definitive.

We also have the understanding that, the Torah is likened to light that reveals flaws in our nature, but is this the purpose for light? Is the Torah's purpose to reveal sin? Again these are questions to be explored and kept in mind as you listen to this episode.

B"H

While it is certainly understandable for Replacement Theology (aka "Supercessionism", aka "Covenant Theology") to try and substitute the Land of Israel for the ethereal "heaven"; it is nonetheless as faulty as so many of their substitutions. The Scriptures are replete with the mention of the Land of Israel as central to the redemption plan of the Almighty. Like the entire inheritance of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, these notable (and ignoble) theologians, by negating the inheritance of the Land undercut their own theologies of redemption. They may have study Bibles that include their names in the titles… but they ignore its words, to their own demise.

Behold, the days are coming, says HaShem, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah...

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says HaShem: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their G-d, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, "Know HaShem," for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says HaShem. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.

Behold, the days are coming, says HaShem, that the city shall be built for HaShem - from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. The surveyor’s line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath. And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to HaShem. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever.
Jeremiah 31:31; 33-34; 38-40

Then say to them, "Thus says HaShem G-d: 'Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land. ...Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their G-d, and they shall be My people. The nations also will know that I, HaShem, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.'"
Ezekiel 37:21; 25-28

It matters not whether you are a theologian with the name of "Ryrie" or "Sproul," or a politician with the name "Obama" or "Trump." If you seek to take the inheritance of the Land either theologically or through some dishonest "peace plan," you will fail. In the end, you are the ones that will be crushed by the Rock of Ages (Daniel 2:34-35). You've been warned: ...Do not touch My anointed ones... Psalms 105:13

In its modern usage, love is rarely spoken of in relationship to listening. 

In the Bible, love is different. It speaks of husband and wife; of parent and child; and of HaShem and His people. It is there that we learn what real love is - and it always involves listening. If we were speaking Hebrew, that might be enough to make the point - but English makes listening passive. Love is not passive, and it does not simply "go in one ear and out the other." In Hebrew, to sh'ma is to respond. It is not merely hearing – it is reacting to what is spoken. We cannot claim to love G-d, and not respond positively to what He says. To sh'ma is to hear and obey. It is why in Hebrew, the words for "hear" and "obey" is the same: sh'ma.

Followers of Messiah should not wonder if some "obscure commandment" from the "Old Testament" applies to them (there are no "obscure commandments to those who love G-d). 

If you love Me, keep My commandments. 
John 14:15

He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. 
John 14:21

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 
John 15:10

You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 
John 15:14

Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1John 2:3-4

By this we know that we love the children of G-d, when we love G-d and keep His commandments. For this is the love of G-d, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
1John 5:2-3

Do you have ears? Did you hear what the Almighty spoke? Why are you not responding in love, by obeying Him? Sh'ma!

There is profound misunderstanding in many circles concerning the issues of "clean" and "unclean" - and out of that misunderstanding comes many false theologies. The fact that Yeshua "put on flesh" and became subject to death is seen not only in His atoning work, but also in His life, both then and now. "Leprosy" is seen as the ultimate expression of the frailty of humanity – stopping just short of death. It is the "walking death" – the nearly the worst in "clean" versus "unclean" with only death itself being more defiling. And yet Yeshua identifies with the leper. He touches him. He heals him. This is the mark of Messiah: Who bravely goes to those afflicted with "death" and cares for them… and heals them.

An account in the Talmud speaks to this as well. Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, was a Third Century teacher who is said to have had an encounter with Elijah (not uncommon in the Talmud). Rabbi Joshua asks Elijah,

"When will the Messiah come?" - "Go and ask him himself," was his reply. "Where is he sitting?" - "At the entrance." "And by what sign may I recognize him?" - "He is sitting among the poor lepers [caring for them]... 

So he went to him [Messiah] and greeted him, saying, "Peace upon thee, Master and Teacher."  "Peace upon thee, O son of Levi," he replied. "When wilt thou come Master?" asked he, "Today," was his answer. On his returning to Elijah, the latter enquired, "What did he say to thee?"... "He spoke falsely to me," he rejoined, "stating that he would come today, but has not." He [Elijah] answered him, "This is what he said to thee, today, if ye will hear his voice."
 b.Sanhedrin 98a (Soncino edition)

With echoes of Psalms 95:7ff, and by extension Hebrews 4:7ff, we hear the challenge of the "Leper Messiah" - do you hear His voice? He came and sat among us, we lepers. He bound up our sores. He healed us from our "death" disease. Do you hear the "Leper Messiah"? He is coming today.

The "faith community" is not immune to the fads of the world at large. At times, the health food mindset finds a comfortable place at the table of a teacher or a ministry. Often times it is focused on fear of some ingredients, or some processes. What is surprising to me is not that some find proper eating important - what is surprising is that rarely does it go beyond the latest societal trends. How often do these teachers reach back into the "Old Testament" for their inspiration? If they do, it is for "health reasons" - not because they read the words of the Living G-d as life-giving.

Our eating should not be motivated by desire or fear. It should be an act of worship of the Creator. Whether you are a fad-dieter, fast-food eater, or a careful eater… one thing is true: if you do not eat for the Creator, you eat for yourself. The Bible teaches that thankful and joyful eating is an act of worship. It is worship of the Creator. It is taking the daily, the common - and bringing holiness to it. If it isn't food (Leviticus 11), don't eat it. If it is food, eat it with thanksgiving - thus making it a worship experience of the Almighty.

It is too bad that so many who love to quote 1Corinthians 3:16 don't relate it to Leviticus 11.

Do you not know that you are the temple of G-d and that the Spirit of G-d dwells in you?
1Corinthians 3:16

For I am HaShem your G-d. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. For I am HaShem who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your G-d. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. 'This is the law of the animals and the birds and every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth, to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.'"
Leviticus 11:44-47

Don't you think it is odd that some people that warn us against eating chicken with hormones don't bother to warn us to eat things according to the Creator's instructions? Ever wonder why?