The Messiah did not call people to build a religion around Him; He called them to walk with Him, love the Father, and bear fruit through obedience.

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The Messiah instructed His disciples to go into the world and teach His message and His Way. He did not instruct them to build elaborate buildings at enormous cost, establish a multitude of wealthy religious institutions, create denominations with differing doctrines, accumulate sacred objects, emblems and traditions, require mandatory financial contributions, or blend pagan and witchcraft customs into the worship of the Father. These are characteristics that developed over time and are not found in His teachings.

Historically, great wealth and religious power were associated with the temple system and with religious leaders who imposed strict obligations on the people. These were among the practices and attitudes that the Messiah repeatedly challenged. He consistently condemned the pharisees for placing tradition, status, and outward religious observance above obedience to the Father and genuine love, justice, compassion, and faithfulness toward others.

The Messiah stated in Matthew 23:23:

Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you tithe the mint and the anise and the cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Torah: the right-ruling and the compassion and the belief. These need to have been done, without neglecting the others.

The Messiah did not condemn obedience to the Father's instructions; rather, He condemned a religious system where outward practices were performed while the deeper matters of the Father's will—justice, mercy, compassion, and faithfulness—were neglected. True obedience requires both faithfulness to the Father's commands and a heart transformed by love for Him and for others.

Today, there is a risk that some religious denominations operate more as institutions or businesses than as communities of followers of the Messiahs Way. When organisational interests, wealth, or human traditions become the focus, they can obscure the simplicity of the Messiah's message and hinder people from entering the Father's Kingdom. The Messiah spoke strongly against such behaviour:

Matthew 23:13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the reign of the heavens before men, for you do not go in, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.  14 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you eat up widows’ houses, and for a show make long prayers. Because of this you shall receive greater judgment.

The Messiah's message was remarkably simple. It was founded on the commandments first given in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, and reaffirmed by Him in Matthew 22:37–39:

Matthew 22:37 And Yahusha said to him, “ ‘You shall love Yahuah your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your mind.’ 38 “This is the first and great command. 39 “And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’

These two commandments summarise the foundation of the Father's instruction and the Messiah's teaching.
Many sincere people are committed to denominations and doctrinal systems, and many perform generous acts of kindness and service that reflect genuine compassion. Such works are commendable and should characterise all believers. Nevertheless, good works alone are not the measure by which the Father judges the heart. The Scriptures repeatedly emphasise that true worship requires humility, obedience, and a sincere relationship with the Father through the Messiah, rather than reliance on religious tradition, institutional identity, or outward appearance.

The Messiah made it clear that outward religious works are not, by themselves, evidence of a right relationship with Him. In Matthew 7:22–23, He said:

Matthew 7:22 “Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name?’  23 “And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!’.

The issue was not that these people had failed to perform religious works, but that they lacked a genuine relationship with the Messiah and continued to practise lawlessness. Their works did not compensate for their failure to know Him and walk in obedience to the Father's will.

The Messiah reinforced this teaching in John 15, where He described Himself as the true vine and His followers as the branches. He taught that a branch cannot bear fruit unless it remains in the vine:

John 15:4 “Stay in Me, and I stay in you. As the branch is unable to bear fruit of itself, unless it stays in the vine, so neither you, unless you stay in Me.  5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who stays in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit. Because without Me you are able to do naught!  6 “If anyone does not stay in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up. And they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

The fruit that the Messiah spoke of is the natural result of remaining in Him. Just as a healthy branch bears fruit because it is connected to the vine, genuine faith produces obedience, love, righteousness, and good works because the believer abides in the Messiah. The fruit does not create the relationship; it demonstrates that the relationship is real. This same principle is reinforced in James 2:20:

James 2:20 But do you wish to know, O foolish man, that the belief without the works is dead?

James is not teaching that works can replace faith or that a person can earn salvation through their actions. Rather, he is teaching that genuine faith cannot remain barren. A living relationship with the Father through the Messiah will naturally produce obedience, mercy, love, and righteous actions. Faith that produces no change in a person's heart and conduct is not the faith demonstrated throughout Scripture.

Therefore, good works, generosity, and acts of compassion cannot save a person apart from faith in the Messiah. Equally, a profession of faith that produces no obedience, no love for the Father, and no love for one's neighbour is incomplete. Faith and obedience belong together. Faith is the root; obedience and good works are the fruit.

For this reason, the greatest commandments remain unchanged: to love Yahuah with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbour as ourselves. Those who place their faith in the Messiah will seek to live according to these commandments, not to earn the Father's favour, but because they have come to know Him, have been transformed by His Spirit, and desire to walk in His Way.

They will seek to follow the example of the Messiah, who lived in complete reverence and obedience to the Father and upheld the Father's instructions. This includes honouring the Sabbath and observing the Feasts appointed by the Father, not as a means of earning salvation, but as an expression of love, faithfulness, and obedience to Him.

Without a relationship with, and faith in, the Messiah, there is no reconciliation with the Father, no forgiveness of sin, and no hope of eternal life. However, genuine faith is never merely an intellectual belief or a verbal confession. True faith produces a transformed heart that desires to obey the Father, abide in the Messiah, receive the teaching of the Set-apart Spirit, and walk in the same path of faithfulness and obedience that the Messiah demonstrated.

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Web page last updated 18 July 2026

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