Shalom
@Jesusfann777888,
How are you doing my brother?
From what I understand from Scriptures and witnessed in other people's experiences, you do not need to keep the commandments to be baptised with the Holy Spirit. It's a gift of Yahweh given through the Messiah to those He chooses. But one's heart must be right or they will not receive this blessing at all.
Some common misconceptions is that everyone who believes in the Messiah is born of the Holy Spirit or baptised by the Holy Spirit. That isn't true. Just as one
knows if they have been baptised in water, so too they will
know they have been baptised in the Spirit - and won't be left wondering if it happened or not. I was under this misconception for a long time, because of poor teaching, until thankfully the Father woke me up out of that position.
Now, that said, the commandments are
very important. To be clear: Obedience to Torah is not necessary for salvation, but if we are saved we should
want to be obedient. Not out of fear of damnation - but out of love and thanksgiving service to the Lord and happy to correct our paths to the righteous one!
Christianity, as it exists today, tends to write-off the OT as "for the Jews" and "we are no longer under the Law" etc. This is primarily based on misunderstanding the Apostle Paul's writings. And, to be fair, some of his words can be hard to understand - but Paul was never against Torah.
Excitingly, the Father seems to be waking up many in these last days to listen to His instructions and put them into practice, wherever we can. The fact you are asking this question may even mean He is opening your eyes to this truth too! Nevertheless, in mainstream Christianity, this subject is still taboo and anyone having a loving respect and observance of Yahweh's Torah is seen as a "legalist", "deceived", "judaizer" or being "under the law trying to be saved by works". Very sad and very unbiblical.
I encourage you to search out this matter directly in the Scriptures - not with the guidance of any man, teacher, church, Bible College or well-renowned commentary.
You have the ability within yourself to find out the truth of the matter and don't be afraid if what you discover means you are not following the majority. Majorities rarely mean safety.
But, to start you off, if the Father's Torah is no longer important for the Christian and we are free to live as we wish "under grace", then what did our Lord mean when He said:
"Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 5:19
So then, we see above that obedience to Torah is not a matter of salvation.
Salvation is by grace alone, through the atoning death and resurrection of the Messiah. BUT there will be some who will be called "the least" in the Kingdom of God and the Lord describes these people as ones who breaks the commandments and teaches other men to do so - i.e. "we're under grace! The Law no longer applies!"
Does this mean you need to obey all the Torah from today? No. It seems from what we learn in Acts 15, that we are under grace to learn it incrementally and change one step at a time.
As you read through the Scriptures, the Spirit will guide you on matters of Torah and convict you on it gently and slowly (thankfully!) Our Father is full of grace and mercy and He understands that we are all coming from different walks of life and that it will take us time to understand and implement changes. It's taken me years and it's been a fascinating adventure so far and I still have far to go - and I'm super excited for it. And I promise you, if you seek His ways truly with all your heart, soon observance of instructions like the Sabbath will be a pure joy. I look forward to greatly each week!
I wrote to someone else about this matter the other day and perhaps what I shared with him may also help you: If you have the heart to learn, adapt and try to grow in His Ways, it's comparable to the man who already succeeds in these things - even if you stumble and fall at times. But, conversely, if you are unwilling to learn, adapt and try to grow in His Ways, it's comparable to the man who has already failed - even though he hopes in grace. In summary, our heart attitude towards Torah is far more important than our adherence to it - if that makes sense.
This may raise a slew of other questions from you so feel free to ask away and I'll try and help or point you in the right direction at least
.
May our Father continue to bless you with Wisdom and insight into His Scriptures and upon the baptism of the Holy Spirit, in the name of His Son.
Love & Shalom
