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The Hebrew Roots Movement, Part 2 

The Hebrew Roots Movement, Part 2 

July 17, 2025 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - False Gospel, Galatians 1:8-9, Judaizers

As mentioned in part 1, many people say that HRM proclaims a false gospel that is essentially the same as the false gospel of the Judaizers who sought to lead the believers in Galatia astray (Gal 1:6-9; 2:16; 3:1; 5:4).  

Dr. Tim Chaffey, with Answers in Genesis—which holds to a mild form of Lordship Salvation—writes this (see here) about the HRM view of salvation:  

I think many HRM adherents sincerely believe this and do trust in Christ for salvation. However, their frequent harsh condemnations of those who do not practice the law give the impression that they are inconsistent on this matter. That is, how can one claim that the keeping of the law is not required for salvation and then state that those who do not follow the law are pagans and stand condemned?  

Chaffey is being too kind. HRM people are not simply inconsistent. They believe that keeping the OT Law is required in order to gain entrance into Christ’s kingdom. They might say that it takes faith in Christ (Yeshua) plus observance of the Law to gain entrance to Christ’s kingdom. They would not say that it just takes faith in Yeshua.  

As cited in part 1, Dr. Joseph Nally said that HRM “is a modern-day Galatian heresy, a works-righteousness religion, and another gospel (Gal. 1:8-9). It twists and turns certain texts of inspired Scripture to puzzle, confuse and cloud the hearts of those that embrace this movement” (see here).  

It was difficult to find information directly from HRM sources. The most informational website I could find in my research is called hebrewroots.info. Here is an excerpt from their page on what the HRM is:

First and foremost we believe in Jesus (Y’shua) of Nazareth as the Messiah of Israel and that he is the God of Israel. He is our Lord, Savior, and King. He died on the cross for the sins of the world and was resurrected from the dead on the third day. Jesus (Y’shua) lived his life as our model, so we have a perfect example to follow in living, thinking, speaking, and loving. 
 

Second, we believe that God commands all who love him to obey his commandments (Old and New Testaments). 
[1 John 5:3 | John 14:15,21 NLT | Matthew 5:19 NLT] 
 

Third, we clearly recognize that our salvation comes by faith in Jesus (Y’shua). We do not obey God’s Laws and Commandments TO BE SAVED, we seek to do them because we love God, BECAUSE WE ARE SAVED. No one who is saved keeps on violating the Laws of God. If they say they are a disciple of Jesus (Y’shua) and continue violating God’s Laws, John says they are a liar [1 John 3:3-7].
(bolding added)

The HRM is a form of works salvation. 

The HRM not only proclaims a false gospel. It also proclaims a false view of sanctification. It believes that sanctification is achieved by diligent observance of the Law of Moses. GotQuestions.Org (see here) says that according to the HRM… 

Keeping the Torah includes keeping the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week (Saturday), celebrating the Jewish feasts and festivals, keeping the dietary laws, avoiding the “paganism” of Christianity (Christmas, Easter, etc.), and learning to understand the Scriptures from a Hebrew mindset…

This is precisely the opposite of what the Tanakh and the NT teach. The OT believer recognized that focusing on the commandments results in sin, not holiness. David said that God doesn’t desire sacrifices, but a broken and contrite heart (Ps 51:16-17). See Paul’s comments on his early Christian experience in Rom 7:13-25.  

We are to focus on Christ, the Commander, not on His commandments. Legalism does not produce holiness. See Galatians 5 (esp. Gal 5:4, 14).  

Galatians makes it clear that we are not to keep “days and months and seasons and years” (Gal 4:10).  

The Hebrew Roots Movement is dangerous. It teaches a false gospel and a false method of sanctification. It is essentially a revival of the teachings of the first-century Judaizers whom Paul refuted in Galatians. 

Stay away from the HRM. It can cause believers to lose assurance of everlasting life and to cease being overcomers. Paul feared that he had labored in vain over the Galatians because if they fell in with the Judaizers, they would no longer be pleasing to God and would themselves be promoting a false gospel.  

Keep grace in focus.  

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Bob_W

by Bob Wilkin

Bob Wilkin (ThM, PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary) is the Founder and Executive Director of Grace Evangelical Society and co-host of Grace in Focus Radio. He lives in Highland Village, TX with his wife, Sharon. His latest books are Faith Alone in One Hundred Verses and Turn and Live: The Power of Repentance.

If you wish to ask a question about a given blog, email us your question at ges@faithalone.org.

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