Gal 5:4 (NKJV) You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
Rom 7:4 (NKJV) Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
Are you married to the Torah or Christ? Messianic Judaism, also known as the Hebrew Root Movement, is a very popular cult that twists scripture to bring people into captivity. I have family and friends that are messianic, and I have also attended Shabbat services. I am very qualified to expose this form of apostasy. The Lord spoke to me in an audible voice and said, "Messianic Judaism is a stronghold of Satan". My wife and I both had a dream on the same night that Satan was bringing people into bondage through this form of legalism. Gal 5:4 listed above states that you are estranged from Christ and fallen from grace if you attempt to be justified by both the Law and Christ.
Many Messianic groups will tell you that they believe that they are saved by Grace alone but keep the Torah out of obedience. The same will later tell you that you must keep the seventh day, as well as dietary laws to be truly Saved. They continually contradict themselves on the issue of salvation.
A messianic Rabbi that I knew in the past was having an affair with a married lady in the congregation. A member that left his congregation was seen at a wedding eating sausage. The Rabbi stood up and turned on the fake tears and said, "Oh brother Mike is fallen"! Please let us pray that He will be restored. This same Rabbi said you are saved by grace alone but now considers a person fallen from grace for eating sausages at a wedding! However, he justified his affair with the married woman by saying her Baptist husband was oppressive because he disagreed with Torah observance. He also advised members of his cult to only marry messianic or Orthodox Jewish people. Wait a minute! You are saved by grace but it's good to marry an Orthodox Jew who does Not believe in Christ! These are examples of the contradictions they all teach.
The Apostle Paul warned against the teachings of the Judaizers of his day trying to bring people into bondage over the old covenant dietary laws, as well dictating whom they should marry. The same is true today, messianics are encouraged to marry Torah observant people and not Christians. The line is quite often blurred between Messianic and orthodox Jews. Many Messianic people will judge you over eating bacon, or catfish, however they have no problem with watching all kinds of movies on television or going to theaters. Paul referred to this as doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1=5).
1 Tim 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. 4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: 5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
Another messianic Rabbi that I knew of pulled unsuspecting people into his group by claiming he believed in Christ. He later taught them that Orthodox Jews were saved by keeping Torah. He claimed that Christ's sacrifice upon the cross did not provide atonement or salvation. He said God demonstrated his love for man-kind through his son's death but did not do away with the need for sacrifices. This guy even sacrificed a bull once. Another messianic leader that I knew of taught that Christ was really Michael the archangel come in the flesh and Not God. I could say a lot about the many heresies that these groups teach.
The mark of a cult group is that they will lower Christ from Divinity and elevate themselves. Many messianic groups are from Seventh Day Adventist backgrounds. like the leader mentioned above, they teach that Christ is Michael the archangel and Not God. The majority of messianic leaders teach that Christ is Elohim, but Not Yahweh. Elohim to them means a god, or the Son of God, but Not part of the Holy Trinity of God. The belief in the Holy Trinity is necessary for salvation. There is one God, Yahweh, revealed in three distinct persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To deny this is to be fallen from grace and held captive by legalism.
There are many similarities between the Jehovah Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, and messianic Judaism. Many messiancs refuse to call themselves Christians. They consider themselves superior to Christians and often mock them in Christian on-line groups. This arrogance does not come from God and is very carnal.