Defending the Gospel’s Foundations: Part 3 of 4

The Teachings and Deeds of Messiah
By Brother R Michel Lankford

 
As it is written: "If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3, NKJV)

 
Let us not forget that Yeshua the Messiah; His life, His death and His glorious physical resurrection from the dead, is the chief cornerstone of the gospel. Attached to the chief cornerstone of the four solid footings which are the Gospels truest foundation. Four solid footings of the Gospels foundations are as follows. They include:
 

• The Torah: Yahweh Almighty's Laws, Commandments, and Instructions (Genesis through Deuteronomy). Yahweh's Torah provides benefits both before and after a person is saved through Messiah.
• The Prophets: (Moses through Malachi; and John who received the Revelation).
• The Teachings and Deeds of Messiah: That is self-explanatory. They are highlighted in the gospel accounts of Matthew Mark Luke and John, the book of Acts and the Revelation.
• The Apostles 'Lives and Letters: They were the living eyewitnesses to the resurrected Messiah.

Anytime we allow any of these four footings to be undermined or town we are actually attacking the very foundations of the gospel.

 

Review: Defending the Gospels Foundations - The Torah:

Remember the 9 Key Purposes of Yahweh's Torah

· It highlights Abba-YAH's True Character (Leviticus 11:44-45; Ezekiel 36:25-27; 1 Peter 1:14-16; Ephesians 5:1; Colossians 1:9-12; Psalm 19:7-14; Psalm 119:9; cf. 2 Peter 1:4; Ephesians 2:10).

.  It concretely and definitively identifies and defines what TRUTH is, and what SOUND DOCTRINE is (Psalm 119:142,144; Psalm 119:151; Psalm 119:160; Proverbs 4:2).

· It gives YHWH’s static, permanent and unchanging definition of WHAT SIN IS (1 John 3:4; cf. Matthew 7:21-23; Daniel 9:11; Hosea 8:1; Romans 7:7); It also highlights my continuing NEED for the Redeemer.

· YHWH's Law and Commandments reveals my own heart to me. (Deuteronomy 8:2-3; Hebrews 4:12-13; James 1:19-25; John 8:34-41; Hebrews 3:13-15). In which ever areas I am not yet able to obey Abba-YAH's Commandments, then I have a living demonstration that I'm not completely set free in that area of my life. I can then clearly see that I need healing, renewal or restoration in that portion of my life.

· YHWH's Law highlights and defines the consequences for continuing in sin (Deuteronomy 24:16; Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:5-8).

· YHWH's Law highlights the benefits blessings and rewards of obeying Him (Deuteronomy 4:40; Leviticus 18:5; Psalm 19:7-14; Ezekiel 18:21-23; Joshua 1:7-8; Psalm 1:1-3; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9),

.  It Gives us a training and a working model and instructions on HOW to LOVE YHWH, (Deuteronomy 5:29; Deuteronomy 7:9; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 5:3). 18 times throughout the Whole Testament of Scripture loving YHWH the Almighty Creator is directly linked to KEEPING His Commandments. Truthfully, there is no getting around it. You simply CANNOT love YHWH the Almighty Creator, unless you learn and KEEP His Commandments.

.  It gives us training and a working model and instructions on HOW to LOVE our Neighbor as ourselves.  In other words, what does it really look like to love your neighbor as yourself? How does that function in a practical way throughout your day to day living? If you truly want to love your neighbor as yourself learning and keeping the Commandments of YHWH gives you the training on how to do that in a practical way. In fact every single Commandment that you will see in Scripture will fit into one of two columns. Keeping the commandment is intended to train you how to love YHWH more perfectly. Or, keeping the commandment is intended to train you how to love your neighbor as yourself more perfectly.

· YHWH's Law provides a reliable measurement for my growth as a believer (1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 5:1-3). When I am able to truly keep the Commandments of Yahweh Almighty, and it does not seem like a burden to me, then I don't have to guess, at that point. I KNOW that I'm growing and maturing in love toward Yahweh Almighty through Messiah, (cf. Psalm 119:9; Hebrews 5:12-14). 

Review: Defending the Gospels Foundations - The Prophets

The purpose of the prophets is to speak forth the Word of the living Almighty Yahweh (Deuteronomy 18:18-19; Numbers 12:6; Hosea 12:10). The majority of prophecies have multiple layers of fulfillment, which occur both before and after the prophet's physical lifetime.
Through the prophets we gain greater understanding of Yahweh Almighty's Character, His Laws Commandments and Instructions.
Through the prophets we receive examples of Yahweh Almighty's correction when His standards are violated.
Through the prophets we receive strong calls to repent and turn away from violating Yahweh Almighty's standards, so that Yahweh Almighty would not be required to punish us in his righteousness.
Through the prophets we receive the promise of correction, judgment and punishment, if we refuse or fail to repent from what Yahweh Almighty considers to be sin (e.g. Jeremiah; Joel 3).
Through the prophets we receive the promise of blessings, honors and rewards when we obey Yahweh Almighty's directions, (e.g. Isaiah 56:1-8).
Through the prophets, we have the writings which reveal the identity and characteristics of the TRUE Messiah. For example, there are more than 400 prophecies concerning the coming Messiah. Jesus (His Hebrew name, Yeshua), fulfills all of Them (e.g. Isaiah 7:14; Micah 5:2).

 

Through the prophets we also learn how to spot the beasts and antichrists of the sinful world:

Through Yahweh Almighty's prophets we also understand how to spot counterfeits or false prophets and antichrists (e.g. Isaiah 8:20; Deuteronomy 13:1-5; Deuteronomy 18:22; Daniel 7:24-29; cf. Matthew 7:15-20; 1 John 4:1).
Remember, the beasts and antichrists of the world will do as follows according to the prophet Daniel:
- They speak contrary to Yahweh Almighty's Laws Commandments and Instructions.
- They wear out, abuse or misuse Yahweh Almighty's people.
- They seek to twist or change Yahweh Almighty's Laws or Commandments.
- They may mislead people by performing miraculous signs and wonders, while at the same time they teach people to break or violate Yahweh Almighty's Commandments.
- They change or twist Yahweh Almighty's calendar so that people will not honor Yahweh Almighty's Appointed times Festival days, so they seek to change Yahweh's appointed times. If you look at the above verses, you will see that these things are clearly spelled out for us.
- Yahweh does not do anything unless he first reveals that to his servants the prophets (Amos 3:7). If he was at a change or abolish His Word after Messiah died, which would have been a violation of other Scriptures (Isaiah 40:8), He would have had to reveal such a monumental change to His servants the prophets before the fact. One could scour the books of prophecy from cover to cover and you will not find a single prophet that was told that the law would be done away with after Messiah died.

Part 3: Defending the Gospel’s Foundations - The Teachings and Deeds of Messiah

Many of us may remember the Christian pop culture phenomenon, WWJ D? For weeks, maybe even up to a year or two, people all over Christendom were asking, What Would Jesus Do? Christians everywhere were sporting the phrase on wristbands, hats, key chains, books, devotionals etc. It seems like every Christian bookstore was inundated with WWJ D? materials of all types and descriptions. I believe that there may have even been more than one video teaching series about it. For a while it seemed like everyone was asking, What Would Jesus Do?

From a Discipleship oriented point of view, it's kind of a shame that the phenomenon did not last, because the question is a great one, and wearing a reminder on your wrist to consider the teachings and deeds of Messiah when we are making decisions about what choices will make is a great idea from a biblical standpoint (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). After all, we are COMMANDED in the New Testament that if we claim to believe in belong to the Messiah, then we should walk in every manner in the same way that Yeshua the Messiah walked in this life (1 John 2:6). The idea and the principle are definitely biblical, and it definitely has the Heavenly Father's and Creator's support. So the question then becomes, why was this phenomenon not sustainable? Why aren't people still asking, seeking, knocking to learn, What Would Jesus Do?
Like all great ideas this one was attacked both from within and outside of the church. Outside the church, people started getting mighty uncomfortable being regularly confronted with Jesus, and questions about what he would and would not do. It started forcing more and more discussions that the sinful world didn't really want to have, so the sinful world perverted it. They started giving their own names to the bracelets like, 'We Want Jack Daniels' etc. Naturally, those seeking to be Christians did not want to be associated with such things, so once the world started perverting it, then we backed away from the issue. In one sense, the sinful world got exactly what they wanted. They caused the phenomenon to die down by corrupting it, so the question what Would Jesus Do? was not for ever in their face.
The second front that brought this phenomenon under attack actually came from the church at large. As time went on, we allowed the question What Would Jesus Do? to degenerate into a philosophical emotional question, instead of keeping it truly biblical. It seemed like one Christian talk show after another would base their discussions on their personal opinions about what Jesus would and would not do, and it would largely base their opinions on something like this, Well, I don't believe that Jesus would ever do, ______, because that's not very loving, (according to how each particular commentator defines love, or rather often mis-defined and assumed to be love), and since Jesus was very loving, He would never do that in their opinion.
More and more, Christians allowed the question What Would Jesus Do? to become a feelings based or opinions based question, instead of a truly spiritual and biblical one
As I watched this phenomenon unfold in church world, I noticed that more more Christians were debating What Would Jesus Do?; but altogether too few people were remembering to bring another key question into their debates. If we want to know what Jesus WOULD DO, we have to take a careful and deliberate biblical look at what Jesus DID DO, and you also have to take a careful and deliberate biblical look at what Jesus DID NOT DO. Why do I say this? Well, the long and short of it is that Jesus ultimately does not change:

As it is written:
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8, ESV)

If Jesus approved, honored, and  embodied and embraced a particular attitude or behavior in the past, then He would honor it again today. At the same time, if Messiah rejected, condemned and avoided a particular attitude or behavior in the past, then He would likewise reject the same again today, because Messiah, like His Father, He  does not change.

As it is written:
"My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” (1 John 2:1–6, NKJV)

 
The biblical principle is very simple. If I claim to KNOW Yahweh as my Heavenly Father, then I NEED to progressively LEARN and to KEEP Yahweh Almighty's Commandments. Likewise, if I claim to KNOW Yeshua the Messiah and Son of Yahweh, then I need to progressively Learn and then to copy the way that Messiah walked before the Almighty. If I claim to know Him,  and yet I do not choose to learn to walk in that same manner that Messiah walked before Yahweh, then I am a liar and the truth is not in me.
Like all great principles. The principle is simple to understand, but overcoming our sinful human nature so that we can consistently and persistently put this great biblical principle into practice throughout our daily lives, that is a lot more challenging. Yet it is not impossible, (Matthew 19:26; Mark 9:23; Mark 10:27).
Let’s unpack this passage a little bit. It's critical because so many people believe that learning and keeping Yahweh's Commandments is not a salvation issue, but it actually is indeed a salvation issue. Now, please do not get me wrong. Learning and obeying Yahweh's Commandments will NEVER CAUSE your salvation. Your salvation is purchased for you as a free gift through the life, death, and resurrection of Messiah. At the same time, IF indeed a new birth salvation experience has truly taken place inside you, then the RESULT AFTER salvation has truly occurred, will be that you will have an increasing desire and an increasing ability to learn and to KEEP Yahweh's Commandments. If you are not experiencing an increasing desire to learn and an increasing desire and ability to KEEP Yahweh's Commandments, then the reality is that you are probably not truly born again, because you are still bent on obeying your sinful nature. That is a hard pill for many people to swallow, but it is the TRUTH. Obeying the Almighty DOES NOT CAUSE salvation, but TRUE SALVATION WILL ALWAYS CAUSE YOU TO OBEY Yahweh.(Ezekiel 36:25-27; 2 Corinthians 13:5–6).
There is no doubt that for many Christians this will be a hard pill for us to swallow, but it is the truth according to Scripture:
Yeshua the Messiah has already defined what eternal life is:

As it is written:
"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3, NKJV)

So eternal life IS KNOWING Yahweh the Almighty Heavenly Father, and KNOWING Yeshua the Messiah, Whom Yahweh has sent, right? It's right there in red and white in your New Testament. According to the Messiah Himself, that is the definition of eternal life, and he should know if anyone does. So, if KNOWING Yahweh, and KNOWING Messiah is the definition of eternal life, then what is the BIBLICAL PROOF that I have truly come to KNOW HIM?
According to the New Testament, As it is written:

"Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” (1 John 2:3, NKJV).

The PROOF that I've truly come to know Yahweh Almighty is that I will have a growing willingness and a growing ability to learn and to KEEP Yahweh's Commandments. The PROOF that I have truly come to know Yeshua the Messiah, is that I will have a growing willingness and a growing ability to learn and to keep His Commandments.
The situation gets even more profound than this:

As it is written:
"He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (1 John 2:4, NKJV)

 
If I claim to know Yahweh Almighty, but I do not practice learning and keeping His Commandments, then I do not really know Him, and I don't really have eternal life according to Messiah (John 17:3). Likewise, if I do not practice learning and keeping Messiah's Commandments, then I do not really know the Messiah either, and if I do not truly KNOW the Messiah, then by definition I do not really have eternal life (John 17:3).
What's worse, if I claim to KNOW Him, but I do not build a lifestyle of learning and keeping His Commandments, then by biblical definition I would be a liar (1 John 2:4). Now, according to Revelation 21:8, if I am a liar, then my place is not in Yahweh's Eternal Kingdom,  but in the Lake of fire and the second death!! Last time I checked, the lake of fire and brimstone and the second death is not a definition of being a saved person!
What's more, if I claim to know Him but do not build a lifestyle of learning and KEEPING His Commandments, then not only would I be a liar, but the truth WOULD NOT be living in me at all. Now, we know that Yeshua the Messiah IS the TRUTH (John 14:6). If the truth is not living in me, then Jesus (Yeshua), who IS the truth, would not be living in me, and if Yeshua who IS the truth is not truly living in me, then I would not remotely be born-again, by any stretch of the imagination.
Beloved, I too am familiar with the modern day new Christian doctrine which commonly teaches that since we are saved by grace through faith in the Messiah, that this allegedly means that we no longer need to learn and to keep Yahweh’s Commandments after coming to faith in Messiah. I was taught the same thing in Bible College. I accepted it because I assumed that my pastors and teachers were telling me the truth. After all, they were older than me in the faith. They were supposed to know more of the Father’s Word that I did. They had more schooling then I did. They were getting paid to teach this stuff, so surely they must know what they’re talking about, or so I thought. I did not realize that my teachers were teaching me in error, and my teachers were in error largely because they were repeating the same mistake that I was making. My teachers also assumed that their teachers before them were telling them the truth, and they filtered their understanding of Scripture through what their teachers said the Scriptures meant, and not necessarily by what the text of Scripture actually SAYS. By the time that you have several generations of Christians functioning or rather dysfunctioning in this manner, then you have all kinds of false doctrine running rampant through the church.
Beloved, what the physical text of Scripture actually says and teaches is very simple and straightforward:
· Truly having Eternal Life REQUIRES that I come to KNOW Yahweh the only true God, and that I come to KNOW Yeshua the Messiah, Whom Yahweh has sent (John 17:3). So by Messiah’s own definition, if I do not KNOW Yahweh, and if I do not KNOW Yeshua the Messiah, whom Yahweh has sent, then I do not have eternal life (John 17:3).
· The PROOF that I have come to KNOW Yahweh is to learn and to KEEP His Commandments. The PROOF that I have truly come to know the Messiah is to learn and to KEEP His commandments, Who by the way, Messiah also COMMANDED me to KEEP Yahweh’s Commandments (Matthew 5:17-20). So by definition, I cannot truly learn to keep Messiah’s Commandments without also learning to keep Yahweh’s Commandments as well, because that’s what Yeshua, the Son of Yahweh has also Commanded.
· If I claim that I have come to KNOW him, but I do not keep His Commandments, then I would be fulfilling part of the biblical definition of a LIAR, and Yeshua the Messiah, Who is the Way, Who IS the TRUTH, and Who IS the life (John 14:6), would not be living in me. If the TRUTH is NOT truly living in me (1 John 2:4), then I cannot possibly be born-again by the spirit of truth.
· If I continue to fulfill the biblical definition of a liar, then not only do I not truly know Yahweh, not only do I not truly know the Messiah (1 John 2:4), not only do I not truly have eternal life, because I do not truly know Yahweh or the Messiah (John 17:3), but Scripture in the New Testament specifically says that I stand CONDEMNED as a liar, and I stand in danger of eternal death (Revelation 21:8).
 

1 John 2:6
“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”
(1 John 2:6, NKJV)

Remember these words were written after Yeshua (Jesus the Messiah), had already lived, died, resurrected, and ascended. So, we have whatever example were going to have about the way that Messiah walked, and we are told in the New Testament to copy and walk like Jesus walked. So the principal question is how did He walk through this life? We cannot copy what we don’t identify.
 

So how did Messiah walk?

His Attitude: Messiah chose and did what pleased the Father Yahweh Almighty (John 6:38; John 8:29). He loved righteousness and hated iniquity (Hebrews 1:9). His passion was to do Yahweh’s Will. He wanted that more than His food, or even His life (John 4:34; John 5:30; Matthew 26:39). He was zealous for the house of God. He was eager to defend what should be going on there, and He passionately opposed what should not be going on in God’s house (John 2:12-17). He was humble (Matthew 11:28-30; Philippians 2:5-8). He had compassion on the weak and broken (Matthew 9:46; Matthew 14:14).
His Words: Messiah spoke Yahweh Almighty; the Father’s Words (John 12:49-50; cf. John 17:8; Deuteronomy 13:1-5; Matthew 5:17-20; Luke 10:26). So Yeshua the Messiah did not speak His own words, but the words that Yahweh Almighty God gave Him.
His Deeds: He Kept Yahweh’s Commandments: 1st and foremost He abided in Yahweh Almighty God’s Love, by OBEYING and KEEPING the Father’s Commandments (John 15:10). That is why the biblically adherent believers define the proof of loving God (and thus fulfilling the Great Commandment –Matthew 22:36-40), as OBEYING and KEEPING Yahweh’s Commandments, because that is how Messiah HIMSELF has already defined what it means to abide in God’s Love. If Messiah has already defined that the proof of abiding in God’s Love is to keep the Father’s Commandments, then if Yeshua the Messiah is truly our Lord, our Master, and our Savior, we cannot redefine what it means to love God into something that contradicts what our Lord and Master has already defined. The proof that we are growing in our love toward God, is to KEEP His Commandments (1 John 5:1-3; cf. John 14:21 cf. John 15:14). Therefore, in reality, we cannot separate loving Yahweh Almighty God from keeping His Commandments, because that is how Messiah defined the proof of Loving the Father. He was a man of prayer (Mark 1:35). He was in constant communion with His Father and often got up early in the morning to talk with God. He was a man of service (Matthew 20:28; John 13:5, 13-16). He opposed the traditions of men when those traditions violated God’s Law: (Matthew 13:1-9; Mark 7:1-13). He considered disobeying God’s law in order to keep traditions of men to be VAIN worship. Messiah was the ultimate sacrifice for sin! He gave His life so that we (sinful beings would be transformed into righteous Saints of Yahweh) and we could spend an eternity living as citizens of God’s Kingdom with Him. He provided His life - the ultimate sacrifice- to provide forgiveness of and liberation from sins, as a free gift to all who will believe! (1 John 2:2). Therefore our lives also ought to be one of self-denial to uphold the principles of God’s kingdom.
So how did Jesus Walk? Messiah loved and chose what pleased the Father ahead of pleasing Himself. He sought and did the Father’s Will. He spoke the Father’s Words. He taught God’s Law. He obeyed Yahweh’s Commandments, and taught others to do the same. He was a man of prayer. He was a man of service. He opposed traditions of men, and He sacrificed Himself.
 
Brother Michel Lankford