Thirteen principles of faith

We believers in the Messiah and His Torah are unique among other observant Jews in that we look to the Torah and Messiah and Messiah’s disciples for guidance and doctrine and theology. The rabbis of Judaism play also a role in our lives than in the lives of other Jews. Rabbinic rulings come after Messiah’s and the disciples’ halacha, their interpretation of how to live a Godly life according to the commandments.

We look at some of Judaism’s guiding principles and how we Messiah-believers relate to them. Moshe ben Maimon, better known as his Greek name, Maimonides or by his acronym Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon), formulated what became the basic statements of faith among many observant Jews.

We hold that there are three principles that each Believer should follow concerning their belief system:

1. Know what you believe.

2. Know why you believe it (be able to accurately cite Scripture to back up your stated beliefs).

3. Know how to teach your beliefs to others.

Maimonides, in his commentary on the Mishnah, compiles what he refers to as the Shloshah-Asar Ikkarim, the Thirteen Articles of Faith, compiled from Judaism’s 613 commandments found in the Torah.

Judaism’s halacha remain an essential reference point for us as we can look to Judaism to help solve issues left unresolved by Scripture.

The Thirteen Articles of Jewish faith are as follows:

Summary Statements

1. I believe with perfect faith that God is the Creator and Ruler of all things. He alone has made, does make, and will make all things.

2. I believe with perfect faith that God is One. There is no unity that is in any way like His. He alone is our God He was, He is, and He will be.

3. I believe with perfect faith that God does not have a body. physical concepts do not apply to Him. There is nothing whatsoever that resembles Him at all.

4. I believe with perfect faith that God is first and last.

5. I believe with perfect faith that it is only proper to pray to God. One may not pray to anyone or anything else.

6. I believe with perfect faith that all the words of the prophets are true.

7. I believe with perfect faith that the prophecy of Moses is absolutely true. He was the chief of all prophets, both before and after Him.

8. I believe with perfect faith that the entire Torah that we now have is that which was given to Moses.

9. I believe with perfect faith that this Torah will not be changed, and that there will never be another given by God.

10. I believe with perfect faith that God knows all of man’s deeds and thoughts. It is thus written (Psalm 33:15), “He has molded every heart together, He understands what each one does.”

11. I believe with perfect faith that God rewards those who keep His commandments, and punishes those who transgress Him.

12. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah. How long it takes, I will await His coming every day.

13. I believe with perfect faith that the dead will be brought back to life when God wills it to happen.

Maimonides refers to these thirteen principles of faith as “the fundamental truths of our religion and its very foundations.”

I believe Yeshua Ha’Nazaret is the Messiah of Israel. I believe Yeshua came to call Israel to do T’shuvah (come back to HaShem and His Torah). We as Jews believe in the return of the Messiah and await His coming everyday. We believe in Yeshua of Nazareth, honoring him as Messiah.

We believe in the unity of God, there is but ONE God, no three. Devarim / Deuteronomy 6:4-9 “Hear, O Israel: HaShem our God, HaShem is one.”

We believe that is unproper to pray to any one else but to HaShem. We pray in the merit (name) of Yeshua, not to Yeshua.

Jewish Roots: Nothing can be more Jewish than believing in Yeshua as Messiah. The culture that the Scriptures of the Tanach and Besorah Tovah were written in were totally Jewish. A full and complete understanding of the Scripture requires an understanding of the writer’s Jewishness.