A “Rubber Meets the Road” Belief Audit

By Brother Michel Lankford

We NEED a Wake-Up Call, and a Faith Audit

Has it ever happened to you? You are in a deep and peaceful summer slumber. You are dreaming a vivid dream. You are in bed. It’s around midnight. You are warm, content and comfortable. Suddenly in a split second, you are violently awakened with a loud thunder crash that booms so fiercely that it rattles your windows, you bounce slightly off the bed; your heart skips a beat, your breath skips of breath; and you are so completely startled awake, that you almost start peeing, before you become fully conscious that you are still in bed. You quite literally feel like you just went from 0 to 60 mph, in 1.5 seconds, or less. It’s happened to me quite a few times. When it does, I’m usually up the rest of the night.

Has it ever happened to you? Has the Holy Spirit ever grabbed you by the shirt collar so to speak, and so radically stopped you short of what you were doing so suddenly; that it noticeably startled you, and so profoundly shocked you that it fundamentally changed the course of your life? That’s happened to me also, but not as often as that summer storm. The spiritual and emotional effect was about the same as that summer storm, and the spiritual impact is eternal.

Even when I was a traditional Christian, I was a committed and devout one. I was extremely active and dedicated. At the time, I had been a believer in Christ for 20 years. I had been highly active in ministry in various capacities for more than 15 years. I was a voracious reader and student of Scripture, and I thoroughly believed that one should be, and I earnestly tried to be a, “Doer of the Word,” as I understood the meaning of that concept. I had been in Bible schools and seminars. I was so committed in fact, that for a while, I even worked as an R. A. for some seminary students. I said all that, not to brag, but just to illustrate the fact that I was a truly dedicated ACTIVE Christian, and NOT merely an inactive, passive, and discontented Christian with a personal ax to grind. I was committed to what I believed, both then, and now. And then it happened. The thunder CLAP came. The Holy Spirit stopped me cold, and I was radically awakened.

I was in my regular morning devotions one day, and the Holy Spirit stopped me cold. He alerted me to something that I had been doing for a month or two, and it was so subtle that I was not even aware that I had been doing it, until the Holy Spirit awakened me and sharply ALERTED me to what I was doing.

I noticed this for the first time; that as I was reading Scripture, I was actually hearing my Church’s pastor’s voice in my head. This wasn't typical for me. I was truly not accustomed to hearing another man’s voice as I was reading Scripture, but what scared me even more; when the Holy Spirit alerted me to this, is the reality that this drastic change had happened in my internal audio system, and I had not even been paying attention that the change had taken place. I had not even been paying attention to the fact that my pastor’s voice was in my head as I was reading Scripture. Oh, but wait. I didn't realize it, but what I was doing gets even much worse than that.

Once the Holy Spirit alerted me to the fact that I was actually hearing my pastor’s voice in my head as I was reading Scripture, He also directed me to go back, and review what I had been reading recently. As I was reviewing it, the Holy Spirit alerted me to another bad habit I had somehow fallen into, and then I was really shocked by this. The Holy Spirit suddenly made me aware that as I had been reading Scripture, (and hearing my pastor’s voice in my head while I was reading), I was also MENTALLY EDITING Scripture, and ignoring parts of Scripture that did not fit or that did not agree with what my pastor had been preaching. OOPS! Oh My Word!

When the Holy Spirit radically awakened me to what I had been doing without paying attention, I was horrified. I was scared. I was also embarrassed.

I mean, I was a dedicated and devoted Bible student and minister. I wasn’t the smartest or the greatest Christian minister by any stretch of the imagination, but even I knew enough to understand that when one is reading Scripture, the only voice they should be hearing, is the leading of the Holy Spirit, the voice of YHWH Almighty, and the Words and the Voice of the Great Shepherd, (John 10:27), and no other human voice. I knew beyond a shadow of doubt, that I should NOT be hearing my pastor’s voice in my head while I’m reading Scripture.

More importantly, I knew unequivocally that it was wrong to hear my pastor’s voice causing me to mentally filter out, or to ignore, and to mentally EDIT parts of what Scripture physically said, in order to force it to fit, or in order to force it to agree with what I had become accustomed to hearing my pastor say.

When the Holy Spirit alerted me to what I had been doing without paying attention, it profoundly shook me up, and I have never been the same since that day. I began to review Scripture more carefully and intentionally. I had been truly committed to Scripture before that point; but I would be even more so from this time forward. I began to wonder what else had I been ignoring on autopilot or what else I had been mentally filtering out or ignoring, or mentally editing from Scripture, simply because it did not match what I had been accustomed to hearing my whole Christian life.

This was my first intentional Faith Audit, almost 6 years ago, but it certainly wouldn’t be my last one. I would later come to realize that doing a regular and consistent Faith Audit, was supposed to be at a minimum, a scheduled ANNUAL event in the life of believers; during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Part of the spiritual aspect of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is that we are supposed to audit our beliefs, and make sure that they truly do match what is written in Scripture.

Does Modern Christianity Teach People NOT to Get Saved?

Does modern Christianity and the Modern Free Grace Doctrine Actually Teach People NOT to get saved; according to New Testament Scripture? Years ago, I would’ve been greatly offended even by the suggestion. But the more I review Scripture, and the more I do a regular annual faith audit, the more I realize that the question is not really out of bounds.

Every once in a while we must carefully examine our beliefs and test them against what Scripture actually SAYS; (1 John 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:14-21; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; 2 Corinthians 13:5; James 1:21-23; cf. Proverbs 4:2). Otherwise, we can be seriously deceived, and we won’t realize that we have drifted far away from the Creator’s Standards and Principles. The season of Unleavened Bread, (which is coming up soon), is the perfect time to do those types of faith audits.

Traditional modern Christianity passionately believes and teaches that in order to be under God’s Grace, you supposedly must NOT KEEP the Commandments of God; because allegedly, if you try to keep the Commandments of God then you are not abiding in God’s Grace; you are then supposedly trusting in your own works to save you, instead of trusting Messiah to save you. In any event, that is the most popular understanding of grace today.

The SERIOUS PROBLEM is that even though this belief is extremely popular, throughout modern Christendom, this popular doctrine is also EXCEEDINGLY FALSE, even by New Testament standards. In other words, the belief that one should disregard the Commandments of God because we are now under Grace, is FALSE doctrine, even if you just believe the New Testament. You don’t even have to be Whole Testament observant to see that such a doctrine is abundantly FALSE doctrine.

 

When You Teach against Keeping the Commandments of God:

(Then What are you REALLY Doing; Biblically Speaking)?

> You are teaching people NOT to Love God, and NOT to Love Messiah (1 John 5:3; John 15:10). So you are teaching people to violate the Greatest Commandment, (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:36-40).

> You are teaching people NOT to KNOW YHWH, and not to KNOW Messiah, (John 8:31-32; John 14:21; John 17:17; 1 John 2:3-4).

> You are teaching people to walk in a REVERSE manner to what Jesus walked; which is the OPPOSITE of how we are commanded to walk in the New Testament (John 15:10; 1 John 2:6).

> You are teaching them AGAINST the Truth, because God’s Law IS Truth; (John 17:17; cf. Psalm 119:89-94,142, 151-152,160).

> You are teaching people not to walk in love, because in order to love, you MUST NOT rejoice in iniquity, but you MUST REJOICE in the Truth, (1 Corinthians 13:6), which means you must also rejoice in the Law of God, because God’s Law Is Truth. So if you do not rejoice in God’s Law, then you are not being loving, because you are not rejoicing in the truth, by biblical definition.

> You are also coming AGAINST what MESSIAH defines to be what Eternal life IS, (John 12:49-50; cf. John 17:3; Matthew 19:17; cf. 1 John 2:3-4).

> You are teaching them how NOT to become perfected in love, (1 John 2:5).

> You are teaching people how to be CONDEMNED, and you are risking your own salvation in the process, according to Messiah, (Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 13:41-42; Matthew 24:12-13); because if you commit lawlessness, and cause others to stumble into lawlessness, then you will be in the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, That’s NOT heaven.

> When you teach, “Believers,” in Messiah to claim that they know Him as their Lord and Savior, and then turn around and teach them that they should NOT obey the Commandments under grace, you are also then teaching them how to be LIARS, according to the New Testament; (1 John 2:3-4). If they are practicing liars, and they are not repenting from being liars, then they will be CONDEMNED and they will NOT be SAVED, (Revelation 21:8; Revelation 22:15).

> According to Paul, if you teach people NOT to subject themselves to the Law of God; then you are also training them to be carnal minded; you are training them to be hostile against God; you are training them how NOT to please God; and you are training them to walk in DEATH, and NOT Life (Romans 8:5-8; cf. Romans 6:19).

      >  Even according to Paul, if you DO NOT SEPARATE yourself AWAY from Lawlessness; (unless you separate from ANOMIA), then you cannot be holy, and so you will NOT be received by the Almighty Father, (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; cf. Hebrews 12:14). Read it carefully. It’s true.

      > Even according to Paul, the Grace of God came in Messiah to set us FREE FROM every Lawless deed. God’s grace came to set us free from every deed of ANOMIA. God’s grace did NOT come to set us free, so that we could continue to commit ANOMIA. So when you preach a lawless grace you are literally preaching AGAINST the Grace that Paul preached; and when you preach a lawless grace you are preaching the OPPOSITE to the Grace that Paul REQUIRED us to teach, (Titus 2:11-15; cf. Romans 6:19).

      > In referring to the ANTICHRIST, Paul refers to him as the, “Son of Lawlessness, (the son of ANOMIA). He does NOT refer to the antichrist as, ‘The son of law-keeping,’ but he calls him the son of LAWLESSNESS. So, when you are promoting a lawless grace that teaches people to walk outside of God’s Laws Commandments and Instructions, you are then literally unwittingly promoting the antichrist, even according to Paul, the apostle of Grace,

Beloved, there is overwhelming Biblical evidence that any, “Grace,” that teaches you to disregard or to walk outside of YHWH’s Laws, Commandments, and Instructions, is clearly NOT the grace of the New Testament. Lawless grace is clearly FALSE grace, even by clear New Testament readings. In my opinion, based on everything that I have seen heard and read, even in the New Testament, continuing to teach a lawless version of Grace is not only risky and dangerous. It’s lying. It’s rebellion. It’s literally spiritual SUICIDE; both for the one who teaches it, and the one foolish enough to follow it.

Beloved, let us instead choose to learn how to KEEP the Commandments of God, AND our faith in the Messiah; because that's how the saints and children of God are going to persevere to the end, (Revelation 14:12). 

May Abba-YAH richly bless you, as you diligently search out and remove both the physical leaven and the spiritual leaven and the sinful influences from your homes in preparation for the Holy Passover; and the Memorial of deliverance from Egypt; our deliverance from sin; and the sacrifice of the Lamb of God who sacrificed even Himself to set us free. Compared to what He offers us, surely our willing obedience to the Father, and to our future Bridegroom, cannot be too much to ask, can it?

As it is written:

Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5:7–8, NASB95)

As it is written:

I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.” (Romans 6:19, NASB95)

As it is written:

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1, NASB95)

As it is written:

Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;…” (James 1:21–23, NASB95) Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (James 1:27, NASB95)

R Michel Lankford

Here’s HOPING You Will Understand

By Brother Michel Lankford

In the previous blog I touched on the idea of the differences between interpreting Scripture from the Greek Paradigm, and interpreting Scripture from the biblical Hebraic paradigm. As you will soon see, the, 'Mental Glasses' that we use to filter the biblical information we read can greatly impact what we believe that Scripture teaches, and what we believe that Scripture requires us to do as believers.


Have you ever found it curious how it is possible that two sincere believers in the same Bible, can read the same passage, and draw two distinctly opposite conclusions about what they think that passage requires us to believe or what the passage requires the believer to do? I mean you listen to the two arguments, and you wonder, do they really believe the same God? Do they really believe and try to follow the SAME Bible?

Yes, they may be truly sincere. Yes, they believe that the ‘God’ who revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush, is in fact the REAL and ONLY God. Yes, very often they believe in the SAME Savior, but their reading, their interpretation, their understanding, and how they respond to Scripture can be vastly different, based on the paradigm, or the internal filter that they are using when they are reading the Bible, and trying to learn what a passage means.

A paradigm is a set of widely accepted standardized rules about how something should be done, how something should be made, or how something should be thought about. These rules are generally so widely accepted as being true within a group or society, that they become internalized. They become automatic, or second nature, and these internalized accepted rules become the measuring stick by which all other truths or realities are measured.

Think of a paradigm as being a little bit like an operating system on a computer. The operating system is a core software program that affects how every other software program on your computer will function or operate. The same thing is true with our paradigm. It affects how you filter information, and how you will interpret and then use the information that you gather from reading Scripture.

Understanding Biblical vs. Pagan HOPE

While this can be difficult for some people to understand, it’s true nonetheless. Even though the Scriptures were translated into many different languages, almost every one of the biblical writers were raised, trained and educated as Hebrews. That means that they filtered, understood, interpreted and applied both their worldview, and the Scriptures through a HEBREW mindset. No matter how this may offend our Gentile pride, or traditional anti-Semitic tendencies, within western Christianity, that does not change the fact of the matter.

Most biblical writers interpreted reality, and wrote what the Creator inspired them to write from the Hebraic mindset and point of view. They were NOT writing with a Greek, Roman or Babylonian philosophical mindset or point of view in their hearts. They believed, lived and wrote as Hebrews.

Yes, they were anointed and led by the Holy Spirit, but still as Hebrews nonetheless. That’s how the majority of the Scriptures were written, even if some were later translated into Greek language for popular distribution.

They were still originally written from a Hebraic Biblical mindset, not a pagan philosophical one. Remembering this critical distinction is important because it can change our perception, and how we understand the Scriptures.

The reason this makes such a difference is when you encounter a key word or concept such as, HOPE, for example.

Hope from a Greek Paradigm

In our traditional Greek style of education, which originated from a Babylonian, Greek, Roman pagan Gentile anti-biblical origin, we tend to think of hope more in terms of a strong wish or passionate desire for something, instead of thinking about it in the way that the Bible describes what it means to hope.

In the pagan Gentile mindset; I want something really badly. My heart yearns for it deeply. I have a strong wish. I pray for, wish upon a star so to speak, therefore, I am said to have hope. Please understand that BIBLICALLY, when you see the word HOPE, the above picture is NOT what it means to have real HOPE. When you see the word HOPE in the Scriptures which were written with the biblical Hebraic mindset, the word picture is NOT of a passionate heartfelt wish upon a star. From a Greco-Roman philosophical filter or paradigm, it is entirely possible to have what is considered hope, and for the process to be ENTIRELY internal, emotional and theoretical.

• I YEARN for it deeply
•  I DESIRE for it greatly
• I WISH for it intensely
• I  may PRAY for it

Therefore, I am thought and said to ‘HOPE’ Regardless of whether or not my behavior actually changes.

Believe it or not, I actually heard a Christian testify once, “Oh yeah, I believe in Jesus and all like that, but that doesn't mean that it has to change the way I live, or anything?” He meant it. He was serious. I was HORRIFIED, because even I understood the implications of what he had actually said, and I barely had my paradigm screwed on straight at all.

Now, that person who shared their testimony video in our church, sincerely thought that he had hope and faith in the Messiah, but based on what HE SAID, there is NO WAY that he had any real HOPE and faith in Messiah at all – at least NOT Biblically speaking. He was clearly filtering his understanding of the concept of hope and belief  from a Greco-Roman philosophical paradigm. The guy may have been sincere, but he was entirely DECEIVING himself. That’s not being judgmental, it’s a FACT.

 

Hope from a Hebraic Paradigm

Biblical HOPE is NOT wishful thinking. From the biblical point of view, to HOPE has a completely different picture attached. In the Bible; to HOPE means to ACT based on CONFIDENT EXPECTATION of a promised or desired result.

It’s IMPOSSIBLE to “HOPE” without obeying what YHWH has said, because you are acting in expectation of receiving what He promised, and so you are preparing accordingly.

The picture is more of a bride expecting to be married, or of an expectant mother, expecting to deliver her baby.

When a bride is confidently expecting to be married, all kinds of preparations and actions take place, both for the wedding ceremony and for her upcoming life with her new Groom. She’s confidently expecting to be a wife, and she prepares herself for the enormous upcoming change in her life that this entails. The same holds true with the expectant mommy, who joyously makes countless preparations to get ready for her newborn. Biblically, this is what it means to hope for something.

 

Hope & the Bride of the Messiah

It’s NO accident that throughout the Second Writings, (‘The New Testament’), the body of believers is constantly referred to as the BRIDE of the Messiah. The Holy Spirit uses that context throughout the Scripture ON PURPOSE. How does an expectant bride who truly LOVES her betrothed behave? Does a faithfully engaged and betrothed woman go out and prostitute herself or choose to offer herself in the streets? Does she look up all of her old high school puppy loves, and does she seek to fornicate with each one of them one more time, before she marries her beloved bridegroom? Does a faithfully engaged woman defile her body and purposely disfigure her face in such a way that will bring disgust and revulsion to the bridegroom whom she supposedly loves and intends to live with forever? Would her future bridegroom and husband be honored with this? Is that the behavior of a faithful betrothed woman who expects to spend the rest of her life with a man she loves and is preparing to marry? On the contrary, that behavior is the OPPOSITE of someone who is HOPING or confidently expecting to marry.

The faithfully betrothed bride who is hoping and confidently expecting to marry does the extreme opposite of the behaviors just described above, doesn't she? If she loves her bridegroom, and she is joyously expecting to spend the rest of her life with Him, she will go out of her way to purify herself and to be ready for that relationship. The little black books of phone numbers and romantic pictures with the old boyfriends get burned. The future bride goes out of her way to make sure that there is absolutely nothing that could come between her and the beloved bridegroom that she intends to spend her life with. Her desire is to learn what delights Him, what pleases Him and what honors Him, and the faithfully betrothed woman wants to be that kind of person for her future bridegroom. She anticipates her new life with Him and joyously looks forward to it. She doesn't want to do anything or live in such a way that would ruin their relationship or future life together. That’s how a faithful bride who expects to be married and spend the rest of her life with her new beloved husband behaves. She is behaving according to her HOPE; according to the future results which she expects to receive. Please keep this CRITICAL picture in mind, because we will be using it again in future studies.

Let’s go back momentarily to the man who publicly testified that, “He BELIEVED in Jesus,” but it was not going to change how he lived or anything like that.” He was clearly understanding the word believe from the Greco-Roman philosophical paradigm, because from that filter or from that paradigm it is possible to think that you believe something, without that belief affecting how you behave or how you live. 

However, biblically speaking, if Messiah doesn't change how you live your life, then you are not ACTING with the CONFIDENT EXPECTATION of living with Messiah forever. He was not really HOPING in Messiah at all. If Jesus doesn't change how you live your life, then Messiah CANNOT possibly be your Lord and Savior.

In Hebraic thought, if you truly BELIEVE, then you will have to ACT accordingly. IF you DO NOT choose to act according to what Messiah says, then from the biblical point of view, you do NOT truly BELIEVE the Messiah.

So the guy in our witnessing example, professed to believe Jesus, and then immediately testified that he did not really believe Messiah at all.That's why I was SO aghast when I heard him say those words, because even then I understood the literal implications, of what he had actually said.

As it is written: 

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NASB95)

So now the key question becomes, when Messiah said that we were required to believe in order to have eternal life, was He teaching the concept of believe from a Greco-Roman philosophical concept, or was he teaching that we should believe from a Biblical Hebraic mindset?

Well, setting all anti-semetic Greco-Roman bias aside, the real Messiah was born a Jew. In fact he is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He thought, He believed, he lived, He preached, He taught, He died, He was resurrected as a Biblical Jew. Yes, the whole world can come to Him, and in faith be grafted in and saved through Him, but that does not change who He was, what He believed, or how he lived. Messiah was and is a Biblical Jew. That's just the way it is. So in all likelihood we know that when he preached the word BELIEVE, he meant it from a Hebraic concept, NOT a Greco-Roman philosophical one. If that's not enough for us, the CONTEXT of the chapter, verifies the point:

As it is written: 

“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”” (John 3:36, NASB95)

So WHY does the wrath of God remain or abide on those who do NOT OBEY the Son? Because, from his Hebraic point of view,  it is IMPOSSIBLE to truthfully BELIEVE, and then NOT practice OBEYING the Son. If you believe, then your beliefs will cause you to OBEY Him. If you do not practice obeying, then you DON'T REALLY BELIEVE Him, Biblically speaking. 

KEY: The Paradigm or mental filter that we use when we read and interpret Scripture will greatly impact what we believe that Scripture is saying, and what we understand that Scripture is requiring us to do as believers. That is why it is critical that we do our best to define our key biblical terms, (such as e.g. believe, love, truth, etc.), in the same mindset that they were originally intended when YHWH or Messiah spoke the Words. Understanding the Scriptures through a Hebraic paradigm can be important, because we have a greater chance of interpreting Scripture in such a manner that is MUCH CLOSER to the way that they were originally given.

KEY: Do you truly, Biblically HOPE in Messiah? Do you truly, and confidently expect to be a member of the bride of the Messiah? If so, how are you preparing yourself to live in His household for all eternity? What are you doing to develop the attitudes, characteristics and behaviors of a faithful bride to the Messiah and Christ, which you are expecting to be someday soon? Remember, if your hope is not provoking you to action which is consistent with your future expectation, then you are actually WISHING. You are not really HOPING. There is a meaningful difference.

I have written this blog in sincere hope that you will understand.

Brother R Michel Lankford

Asah Shamah

Have you ever thought to yourself that if God would just reveal Himself more to me, then I would obey Him and follow Him better? 

Many of us tend to think that way because we were educated and brought up with the Greco-Roman philosophical mindset. 

The Greco-Roman Educational Mindset:

In the Greco educational mindset, the dynamic sort of looks like this:

First, convince someone emotionally that some concept or practice is good for them. Help them feel good about it.

Second, convince their rational and logical mind until they are satisfied that something is good for them.

Third, convince them to try what you are saying after they are persuaded from its logic, and hopefully they will like it and continue to do it.

Many American preachers are trained to present the gospel using this Greco-Roman educational paradigm; and we often find that getting people to actually put biblical principles into practice in their own lives, seems a lot like pulling teeth, without Novocain.

Quite honestly, I used to think and minister in the exact same way years ago, until the Heavenly Father revealed to me a HUGE Kingdom Principle.

The Hebraic Mindset:

In the Hebraic educational mindset, the REVERSE is true:

As it is written:

The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.”” (John 14:21, HCSB)

Did you notice that obeying comes BEFORE Revelation; BEFORE Understanding?

The Hebraic paradigm usually works more like this:

FIRST, you CHOOSE to hear and to believe God's Instruction

SECOND, you CHOOSE to DO and to ACT on the Instructions.

THIRD, as you are PRACTICING and OBEYING, THEN you gain understanding, and it makes more sense to your rational mind.

FOURTH, you then see and experience the blessing for yourself, and it makes a lot more sense, (and you will often wonder why you didn't do this a long time ago, because you've been missing out on the blessing all along).

In Hebraic thought, rational understanding and emotional comfort are still valuable aspects of the human psyche, but they are NOT the ENGINE of our life choices. They are intended to be the caboose, not the driving force.

"In DOING you will come to KNOW and UNDERSTAND." In Hebrew, this is known as " Asah Shamah."

In reality, we  will NEVER understand a Biblical principle until you practice it first. In a Way, that makes perfect sense; because righteousness is established by FAITH, (Genesis 15:6; Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11, Romans 14:23b; Hebrews 11:1,6,ff.); and faith is hearing believing and doing what God said to do, BEFORE you see the benefit or the blessed result.

So, biblically it makes perfect sense that both YHWH and the Messiah would say, "Hear and choose to obey My Instructions FIRST, and THEN I will reveal Myself to you and you will then gain understanding.

Understanding is NOT what produces obedience. Obedience comes first, and obedience THEN produces the understanding.

As human beings we tend to think that IF God would just reveal Himself more clearly, then we would obey HIM better, but God's looking down towards us saying, IF you would just obey Me more, then I would go ahead and reveal Myself to you, and THEN you would understand.

• A person will never understand how valuable, and what a blessing prayer is, until they start praying, and until they start experiencing the blessings of answered prayer for themselves.

• A person can never see the true value and the true blessing of Bible reading, until they themselves make Bible reading a habit.

• The person who does not practice tithing and giving the first portions of their increase to YHWH will never understand the blessings of tithing until they start practicing it for themselves.

• Only the person who starts the habit of keeping the seventh day biblical Sabbath will truly have a revelation understanding of what a blessing honoring YHWH's biblical Sabbath truly is. For example, I'm a 25 year veteran of ministry, and a passionate Bible student, and I was thoroughly  AMAZED at how much more clearly I could perceive and understand truths from Scripture after I started keeping the biblical Sabbath. Even "New Testament" passages I had read for years became more clear and easier to understand. 

• A person will not understand the true value or the blessing of keeping ANY Biblical Commandment, until AFTER they have started keeping that particular Commandment. Why? Because the Almighty Creator ONLY reveals Himself, and makes Himself more understood AFTER we start obeying Him, He does NOT reveal Himself first, and then say, okay, I have now made myself completely understood, now obey Me.

If you REALLY want to know God and Messiah better, then pick a Commandment from His Word, (even start with  a New Testament Commandment if you want); one that you know you should be keeping better. Start taking deliberate steps in DOING that Instruction, and you will see for yourself how much revelation and understanding you will gain. Because, it is ONLY in DOING the Word that He reveals Himself (John 14:21; Hebrews 5:12-14), and it is FAILING to DO the Word which leads to deception and clouded judgment, (James 1:21-25). 

Only those who are DOERS of His Word, can truly say that they have any knowledge or understanding of HIM.

Brother Michel Lankford

As it is written:

This is how we are sure that we have come to know Him: by keeping His commands. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” yet doesn’t keep His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly in him the love of God is perfected. This is how we know we are in Him: The one who says he remains in Him should walk just as He walked.” (1 John 2:3–6, HCSB)  

Is it ALL Still Profitable, or Isn't It?

By Brother Michel Lankford

As it is written:

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16–17, NKJV)

·       Please Notice: Paul DOES NOT say that only SOME Scriptures are profitable for doctrine but others are done away with and should be completely disregarded. Paul DOES NOT say, SOME Scriptures are profitable but others are obsolete and should be ignored. Paul SAYS just the OPPOSITE of that.

·       Please Notice: Paul also writes that ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it IS, (NOT it WAS, but it IS), profitable.

·       ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it IS profitable for DOCTRINE. (Doctrine is confirming TRUE teachings and principles about God and His Precepts).

·       ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it IS profitable for REPROOF, (Reproof is to refute and challenge error or to rebuke).

·       ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it IS profitable for CORRECTION, (Correction is to provide clear directions for improving of attitudes, manners, and behaviors).

·       ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it IS profitable for INSTRUCTION in RIGHTEOUSNESS, (Instruction in Righteousness literally to give constructive direction, to train, to discipline, to chastise, or to punish for the purpose of improving behavior).

Remember, at the time Paul wrote these words there was NO New Testament. So when Paul wrote about ALL SCRIPTURE being profitable to accomplish all of these good things and to equip the people of God for every good work, Paul was referring most particularly to the Old Testament as being profitable for all of these things. Please don’t forget that Paul wrote these words to pastor Timothy well after the death and the resurrection of the Messiah, (about 34 years after the resurrection).

So 34 years after the death and the resurrection of Messiah, Paul the apostle is writing to pastor Timothy and reminding him about the validity and the profitability of ALL SCRIPTURE.

DILEMMA: Whether they want to face up to it or not, this passage creates a huge dilemma for the modern-day Christian theologian. Modern-day Christians DESPERATELY wish to believe that Paul supposedly taught that Almighty God’s Commandments and instructions in the Old Testament were done away with at the cross. The entire basis of modern-day Christianity depends on the belief that God’s Commandments were done away with at the cross, and that Christians under Grace can now supposedly do the opposite of what God commanded us to do, because of grace through the death and resurrection of Messiah.

However, IF the modern Christian doctrine were true, then by necessity, what Paul the apostle wrote to pastor Timothy, (2 Timothy 3:16-17), would have to be FALSE.

IF God’s Laws Commandments and Instructions in the Old Testament Scriptures have in fact been done away with and made obsolete at the cross as so many modern Christian so desperately want to believe, then all of the Scriptures containing God’s Laws Commandments, and Instructions CANNOT still BE PROFITABLE, for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, or to instruct us on how to be righteous. If all the Old Testament Commandments have been done away with at the cross, then they CANNOT possibly still be profitable to equip the people of God for every good work, as Paul CLEARLY said that they are. If 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is true and all of Scripture is still profitable, then by definition, it CANNOT be done away with at the cross. It cannot be made obsolete; otherwise it would not be profitable as Paul said that it is. If on the other hand God’s Laws Commandments and Instructions have indeed been abolished and have been made obsolete, then by definition,  ALL Scripture would not still be profitable, as Paul said that it is, only SOME Scriptures, not all Scripture would be profitable in that case. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 would be false doctrine by definition. We can’t have it both ways. Either all Scripture is still profitable, just like Paul said it is, or the Old Testament’s been done away with at the cross, it is not profitable anymore because it’s been made obsolete, and Paul was wrong when he wrote to Timothy.

This is just one of the many reasons why I strongly believe that the modern Christian worldview is mistaken, and I believe that we need to do our best to return to the first century understanding and application of the Scriptures.

Brother R. Michel Lankford