Month: October 2026

Podcast Episode: The Remnant, the Narrow Way, and the New Covenant in Messiah

Podcast Episode: The Remnant, the Narrow Way, and the New Covenant in Messiah

Pip: There is a road, apparently, and it is narrow — and according to cj’s recent writing at The Way of the Rabbi, most of us are on the other one.

Mara: The posts this episode cover a lot of ground: what a remnant actually is, what the New Covenant asks of the people in it, and what faithful obedience looks like across both Testaments. Let’s start with the remnant itself, and what it costs to be counted in it.

The Remnant, the Narrow Way, and the New Covenant

Pip: The post opens with a deceptively simple question: what does a remnant look like? And the answer the text gives is uncomfortable — eight people. Out of the whole of humanity, eight. That is the frame the rest of the argument builds on.

Mara: The post draws the line between Noah’s favor and his family’s salvation directly. Setting up the theological stakes, it quotes Paul’s letter to the Romans: “So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.”

Pip: So grace is doing the choosing — but the post is quick to say that does not let us off the hook. Yahweh says “I have kept for Myself,” but the post insists our decisions are still in the equation. The remnant is small because obedience is chosen, not automatic.

Mara: And the post works through what disobedience costs, concretely. Lot’s wife was told to flee and turned back. Ham made it onto the ark and was later cursed. The post reads those as object lessons — surviving the judgment does not guarantee faithfulness inside it.

Pip: The wide road is well-traveled for a reason. It requires nothing.

Mara: The post then turns to Romans 11 on the olive tree — the broken branches and the grafted-in wild shoots — and quotes it at length. “Do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you.” The kindness of God, the post argues, is covenantal. You continue in it, or you are cut off.

Mara: What that means practically is that the New Covenant is not new in content — it is the same covenant, now written on hearts, with the Holy Spirit as the guide on the narrow road. Gentile believers are not joining a new thing; they are being grafted into Israel.

Pip: The post closes by pointing to a companion piece on faith — Understanding Faith: Beyond Belief and Action — for readers who want to follow the thread on what active faith actually looks like. The invitation at the end is direct: choose the remnant, choose the narrow way, choose the covenant.

Mara: And the weight of that choice, the post says, extends beyond the individual — “perhaps by implication, the eternity of your family depends on it.”

Pip: Which brings us back to Noah, and why the post opened there at all.

Pip: Eight people. One ark. The math of a remnant has never been comfortable reading.

Mara: But the post is less interested in the numbers than in the question underneath them — what does it mean to walk in the kindness of God, and to keep walking? That question does not close here.

Read the post in its entirety here: The Remnant, the Narrow Way, and the New Covenant in Messiah

The Remnant, the Narrow Way, and the New Covenant in Messiah

The Remnant, the Narrow Way, and the New Covenant in Messiah

“On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark” (Genesis 7:13)

What does a remnant look like? To answer that we first need to know what the word remnant means. According to Dictionary.com it is: a remaining, usually small part, quantity, number, or the like . . . a surviving trace or vestige, as of a former era. In the narrative of Noah and the Ark a remnant was eight people. Along with pairs of animals of every kind, seven pairs of clean and one pair of unclean. A remnant is very small.

What did Noah have that the other people did not? Was it Noah alone that secured his family? The narrative indicates that it was Noah and that because of Noah his family was also saved. So then was the remnant one?

“So Yahweh said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ BUT Noah found favor in the eyes of Yahweh.” Genesis 6:7-8

Yahoshua said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37). To be fair in this reference He was speaking primarily of preparedness. However, one cannot help but wonder if also there isn’t a deeper meaning being revealed between the lines. Yahoshua, is our Ark of Salvation. It is through Him that we find Favor in the eyes of the Father. Not of our own works but simply through the work of the Messiah. Much like Noah’s family. It was Noah who found favor in the eye’s of Yahweh, and it was Noah’s family that chose to listen. They chose obedience in following their father.

For a hundred years Noah and his family built the Ark and the people scoffed. Had they listened, would they have been counted in the remnant? Had they chosen to fear Yahweh and turn from their wickedness, would they have been counted worthy of the remnant? I only ask the question, I do not have an answer given the absolute corruption of the time. Much like Sodom and Gomorrah, was Lot righteous or was it because of Abraham that Lot and his family were spared? And in that, it wasn’t all of Lot’s family for his son’s-in-law scoffed at him and he fled with only his wife and two daughters. Lot’s wife didn’t even make it because she turned back.

Yahoshua, is revealed not only as the Anointed One, but as the Son of Elohim. His obedience even to death on a tree. Paul writes to the Philippians, “And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a tree.” Of which I remind you, was not deserved, but rather He exchanged His life, His righteousness, His favor for our life, our sins, our condemnation.

Even still, it seems that only a remnant will be saved, because only a remnant chooses obedience. But some will quote Pauls letter to the Romans. They will point out it isn’t by works but by grace. Let’s look at the passage so many like to point to . . .

“I ask, then, has God rejected His people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3“Adonai, they have killed Your prophets, they have demolished Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” (Romans 11:1-6)

Yahweh says, “I have kept for Myself . . .” He is the author and finisher of faith, but does that remove us and our decisions from the equation? Absolutely NOT! We are still faced with a choice to follow or not to follow. We are still faced with the fork in the road, in one direction there is a wide easy road with many a traveler on it. And in the other direction, a narrow path, with only a few travelers. You see there is still a choice, obedience or not, walking in the spirit or walking in the flesh.

The choice Lot’s wife made to disobey the instruction of fleeing Sodom, she turned back and was turned to a pillar of salt. She chose disobedience. Even Noah’s son who made it on the Ark was later cursed. He wasn’t honoring, he wasn’t obedient. He chose dishonor and suffered for it not only Ham but his descendants. “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.” (Genesis 9:25)

The remnant which is small is based on obedience to the instructions of Elohim. As Paul writes to the Romans of broken branches and grafted in branches it is those who choose to walk in the kindness of Elohim; which is to say, to walk in covenant. Everything is by covenant, hence the term New Covenant. Which is only new in the sense that it is now written on our hearts and on our minds. And we are given a helper, the Holy Spirit, to help us walk it out. To guid us on the narrow road.

“17But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 

21For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you. 22Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.” (Romans 11:17-23)

What then does it mean to walk in His kindness? To not be proud, but fear? How often is it written, “the Fear of Adonai is the beginning of wisdom”? Job which is believed by some to predate all of scripture, meaning that it was written even before Moses records Elohim’s Torah. His instruction to His people, of which, as we just read, we are grafted into as gentile believers, or re-grafted in as natural branches by faith. Faith being active, for more on that read this post here: Understanding Faith: Beyond Belief and Action. (Note: Some Rabbinic traditions attribute Job to Moses.)

Regardless of when it was written or who wrote it, it is an ancient writing. A writing in which the author attributes Job to saying, “Behold, the fear of Adonai, that is wisdom and to turn away from evil is understanding.” (Job 28:28) Turning from evil is a choice, fearing Elohim, is also a choice and it is required.

It is required of the remnant of Israel and it is required of those who would choose to be grafted into Israel. There is only one covenant and it is made with Israel, for Israel, and the only way to become a part of it is to join with Israel. The New Covenant remnant. It is no longer a nation, as we define a nation today it is a people of God that choose Yahweh’s instruction, fear, reverence, and the turning from the wickedness of this present age.

There is a second exodus spoken of in Scripture when Elohim will gather His people, both the natural branches that walk in His kindness by Faith, and those foreigners, gentile believers. Who by Faith choose to honor the Father by living in the fruit of the Spirit and not the acts of the flesh.

Will you choose the remnant? Will you choose the narrow way? Will you choose to enter the new covenant? These are the questions only you can answer, choose wisely, as eternity, your eternity and perhaps by implication, the eternity of your family depends on it.

You are loved,

cj

Podcast Episode: Samhain, Halloween and the Church: Testing Tradition by Scripture

Podcast Episode: Samhain, Halloween and the Church: Testing Tradition by Scripture

Pip: Every October, the church faces the same annual identity crisis: candy corn, carved pumpkins, and a theological question nobody quite wants to answer out loud. cj, writing for The Way of the Rabbi, decided to answer it anyway.

Mara: This episode follows that argument — where Halloween’s roots lead when you trace them through Scripture, and what the Bible actually says about borrowing from pagan tradition.

Pip: Let’s start with Samhain, All Saints Day, and the case for testing everything against the text.

Samhain, Halloween and the Church: Testing Tradition by Scripture

Mara: The central tension here is straightforward: when the church adopts a cultural practice to reach people, is it being missional — or is it assimilating into something Scripture explicitly warns against?

Pip: The post opens with the Berean standard as its benchmark, and then drops this from Acts 17:11: “Now the people here in Berea were of nobler character than the ones in Thessalonica; they early welcomed the message, checking the Tanakh every day to see if the things Paul was saying were true.”

Mara: The upshot is that no tradition — not even one sanctioned by a church council — gets a pass from that test. The post is asking readers to apply that same standard to Halloween itself.

Pip: And when you do apply it, the historical record gets uncomfortable fast. All Saints Day was originally a May festival, moved by papal decree to October 31st specifically to overlay the Celtic observance of Samhain — the night pagans believed the veil between the living and dead grew thin.

Mara: The post is direct about what Scripture says in response. Deuteronomy 12:30 reads: “be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, ‘How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.'”

Pip: So the argument isn’t “Halloween is spooky, therefore bad.” It’s that the mechanism — coopting a pagan observance to make it Christian — has no scriptural warrant, and the text runs the other direction entirely.

Mara: Paul’s instruction to the Thessalonians reinforces it: “Abstain from every form of evil.” The post also points out that Scripture already provides harvest celebrations — the biblical feasts — so the need to borrow from outside isn’t obvious to begin with.

Pip: There’s a prayer request quoted in the post that stops the argument cold — someone writing that they want to leave Halloween behind and finding it genuinely hard to do. That’s not a theological abstraction.

Mara: Right. The post draws a parallel to 2 Chronicles 30, where Hezekiah called Israel back to Passover and the people laughed the couriers out of town. The suggestion is that the dynamic inside the modern church isn’t entirely different.

Pip: Tradition is a powerful current, and ridicule is apparently a timeless crowd management tool.

Mara: The post closes by redirecting toward the biblical feasts — Passover, First Fruits, Pentecost — as the framework already given for marking death, resurrection, and the Spirit. The argument is that the replacement was already there.

Mara: The thread running through all of this is a single question: who gets to define the terms of worship — inherited tradition, or the text itself?

Pip: Apparently that question gets asked every October, and every October most people are busy buying candy. Next time, we’ll see what else is on the table.

Read the post in its entirety here: Samhain, Halloween and the Church: Testing Tradition by Scripture

Samhain, Halloween and the Church: Testing Tradition by Scripture

Samhain, Halloween and the Church: Testing Tradition by Scripture

“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, since you know that we will be judged more severely.” James 3:1

There are so many ‘teachers’ out there today it is hard to believe that this verse even exists. Then again, perhaps that’s why the verse is there in the first place, to warn us. Who are you listening to? Who are you allowing to influence your understanding of Scripture? According to James that circle should be very, very, small. In my writing to you it isn’t my goal to teach you but to encourage you, to encourage you to search the Scriptures daily to see whether or not what you are being taught is true. To be Berean, and to meditate on the Word, in order to absorb it into every fiber of your being.

Acts 17:11 “Now the people here in Berea were of nobler character than the ones in Thessalonica; they early welcomed the message, checking the Tanakh (Scriptures) every day to see if the things Paul was saying were true.”

Psalm 1:1-3 “How blessed are those who reject the advice of the wicked, don’t stand on the way of sinners or sit where scoffers sit! Their delight is in Adonai’s Instruction; on His Torah they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams – they bear their fruit in season, their leaves never wither, everything they do succeeds.”

We are on the doorstep of a once prominent Catholic/Christian holiday called All Saints Day. It was established to celebrate and acknowledge saints and martyrs. Originally, it was a festival decreed by the Pope back in 609AD but in the month of May. Later through various Papal decrees it was moved to the Celtic day of Samhain October 31-November 1st in order to Christianize a pagan holiday. Samhain, in pagan tradition and belief is the time of year the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest and therefore marks the crossing of souls into the afterlife. 

Sounds like a good idea right? Honoring saints and martyrs of Christendom, while attempting to convert pagans by co-opting their holiday. But tradition and reason aside what does the Bible say, you know, Scripture, the Torah, the Tanakh, and what have the writers of the new Testament have to say? The answer may surprise many because many ‘Teachers’ teach that you can redeem pagan things and practices. 

Unfortunately, there is no evidence of this found in Scripture. Actually, the opposite is true. Those who follow Yahweh are called to separate themselves from the worldly culture or  pagan practices and influences that surround them. Lest they fall into the temptation of practicing such things. John in his writing of Revelation says, “Come out of her my people.” Speaking of Mystery Babylon, but why? He explains; “She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.” What happens if we ignore the warning? “so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.” Revelation 18 goes into greater detail, detail you should understand.

We are called to avoid evil. Paul writes to the Thessalonians, “Abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:22)

Deuteronomy 12:30 – “be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.” This is in reference to assimilating into or allowing pagan influences into the practice of Worshiping Yahweh. 

Deuteronomy 18:9 – “When you enter the land the Adonai your Elohim is giving you, do not imitate the detestable customs of those nations.” 

I am not sure how much clearer things can be spelled out. God is not honored by His people when they practice any culture other than the one He gave them. Does this mean we cannot have or celebrate culture? Absolutely not! However, it does call us to question motive and tradition. We are called to be separate from not unmistakably conformed to worldly practices and traditions. 

What about harvest festivals? Well, traditionally in Scripture there already are Feasts, in which we are called, to a celebration of the harvest. In fact there are Feasts within Scripture to honor the death and resurrection of our Messiah Yahoshua. It is not Easter, but Passover. The ultimate martyr and victor over sin and death. His resurrection was on First Fruits, which is celebrated and marked by a priest waving a sheaf of the first barley harvest. Pentecost, the day we remember the giving of the Holy Spirit, also lines up with the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.

Why does the church try so hard to manipulate God’s instruction for its own traditions? We cannot make things clean or unclean of ourselves of which God Himself has already declared to be true. If you are planning or perhaps already have started your celebration of Halloween or All-Saints-Day, it is my desire that you look into Scripture for your answer. Not the tradition of man, even that of the Pope. Be careful, be diligent, be purposeful, in your walk with Elohim. You cannot be a follower of Yahoshua (Jesus) and not obey His instruction. Yahoshua, is the Word made flesh. 

When coming out of mans tradition and an assimilation into pagan culture one can find it challenging. Especially, when the church you attend is throwing a harvest festival with non-scary costumes of Hollywood, and folklore demigods. A prayer request I came across on a prayer platform read: “I want to stop with the horror and Halloween stuff and I’m having a very hard time doing so. My 12-year-old niece is the same. It’s my fault.” This request grabbed my heart. For so long I was part of that culture of compromise and now that my eyes have been open I see the snare set by the enemy so many willingly walk into and then find it hard to get out.

When stepping out of pagan culture whether you are there intentionally or not is difficult at best. In 2 Chronicles 30 there is a history lesson to be learned. Hezekiah, the King of Judah, was a man who sought God and His ways. He realized that they should have been celebrating the Passover and so he sent out a decree to the tribes of Israel saying:

“O people of Israel, return to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that He may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to Yahweh Elohim of their fathers, so that He made them a desolation, as you see. 8 Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to Yahweh and come to His sanctuary, which He has consecrated forever, and serve Yahweh your God, that His fierce anger may turn away from you. 9 For if you return to Yahweh, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For Yahweh your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away His face from you, if you return to Him.” 

But the people for the most part were stuck in their ways. The response to King Hezekiah’s decree was one of doubt and ridicule, in fact it says that most of the people laughed. 2 Chronicles 30:10 says: “So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them.” The church is the same today. Pastors will teach compromise in the spirit of outreach. But that is never prescribed as an avenue of outreach. But what is, is unity, one heart, one mind and the people desired what was being blessed. Besides the ‘Pastor’ of the church will ridicule you, even laugh at you for wanting to honor God the way He instructed us through His Word. The way Yahoshua taught. Not mans traditions but the Fathers instructions. 

There is so much more I could write and perhaps I will write on this but unfortunately most have already stopped reading at this point. Our attention spans have grown short and few desire to read. Rather choosing to be entertained by two minute videos on TicToc that mainly rot one’s brain. 

Wake up Church! Time is ticking away, you are not promised tomorrow so live for Messiah today!  “Come out of her My People!”

You are loved,

cj