In order to Obey 1 Peter 1:14-16, we must SEPARATE ourselves away from the SAME THINGS Which YHWH SEPARATES HIMSELF. We MUST UNITE with the SAME THINGS which YHWH UNITES HIMSELF. We MUST SANCTIFY and SET APART the SAME THINGS which YHWH HIMSELF has SET APART.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Yom Kippur (Day of atonement Blessing)
Yom Kippur (Day of atonement Blessing)
By Brother R Michel Lankford
Blessed are you, Yahweh our Elohim, Who has mercifully provided Your Son Yeshua, the Sacrificial Lamb, to take away the sins of the world.
Please, mercifully cover every single one of our sins and transgressions of Your Law, by the precious blood of the Lamb.
Mercifully save us from every sin and iniquity. Graciously ensure that our names will truly be found written in the eternal Lamb's Book of Life.
Mercifully put Your True Grace in our Hearts and Minds.
Help us to thoroughly repent; to turn away from evil, and to delight in, to choose, and to steadily and progressively walk according to what YOU say is GOOD.
We commit ourselves to Your Merciful Hands.
By your great power, and the blood of the Lamb mercifully transform our lives, so that You can rightly and truly judge us to be called Your righteous people on the Last Day.
Mercifully grant this according to Your unfailing Love, and in the Messiah Yeshua, whom you have sent to be our example of how to live before You, and who is our atonement when we fall short of perfection, as we try to obey you, Amen.
Shalom Shabbat Yom Kippur
By Brother R Michel Lankford
Blessed are you, Yahweh our Elohim, Who has mercifully provided Your Son Yeshua, the Sacrificial Lamb, to take away the sins of the world.
Please, mercifully cover every single one of our sins and transgressions of Your Law, by the precious blood of the Lamb.
Mercifully save us from every sin and iniquity. Graciously ensure that our names will truly be found written in the eternal Lamb's Book of Life.
Mercifully put Your True Grace in our Hearts and Minds.
Help us to thoroughly repent; to turn away from evil, and to delight in, to choose, and to steadily and progressively walk according to what YOU say is GOOD.
We commit ourselves to Your Merciful Hands.
By your great power, and the blood of the Lamb mercifully transform our lives, so that You can rightly and truly judge us to be called Your righteous people on the Last Day.
Mercifully grant this according to Your unfailing Love, and in the Messiah Yeshua, whom you have sent to be our example of how to live before You, and who is our atonement when we fall short of perfection, as we try to obey you, Amen.
Shalom Shabbat Yom Kippur
Friday, September 13, 2013
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Be Holy as He is Holy Part 1
Throughout the ENTIRE Whole Testament of Scripture we Commanded to be Holy as YHWH the Heavenly Father is Holy. That is the ultimate goal of 'Christian' and 'Godly Living.' We might not reach it it this side of glory, but we are told to aim for it, to strive for it and to push ourselves and our brothers and sisters ever to it.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Defending the Gospel’s Foundations: Part 3 of 4
The Teachings and Deeds of Messiah
By Brother R Michel Lankford
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:
· 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).
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).
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.
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:
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:
According to the New Testament, As it is written:
The situation gets even more profound than this:
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).
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
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.
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.
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: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.
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8, ESV)
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: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?
"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)
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 2:6Remember 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.
“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”
(1 John 2:6, NKJV)
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
Monday, April 8, 2013
Defending the Gospel’s Foundations: Part 2 of 4
By Brother R. Michel Lankford
Every Command in Scripture is ultimately there to illustrate how to love Yahweh Almighty or how to love my neighbor more perfectly. Every Law, Commandment, imperative or Instruction throughout all of Scripture is designed to do a few other indispensable things:
· 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).
Even the Messiah Himself said that if we truly understood Torah; if we understood the words that Yahweh gave to Moses, we would understand Messiah better (John 5:46). So when we reject Torah, we are openly declaring that we don't truly care if we understand Messiah better or not.
When we reject or attack Yahweh's Torah and teach others to reject it, we are making an open declaration that our highest possible aim in life is to be the very least and lowest citizen in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:19-20). Beloved those are Messiah's words, not mine.
Yahweh Almighty Said His Sabbaths are FOREVER (Leviticus 16:31).
Yahweh Almighty said His Covenant is FOREVER (1 Chronicles 15:16).
Yahweh Almighty said His Law IS FOREVER (Psalm 119:60)
Yahweh Almighty said that His Word is FOREVER (Isaiah 40:8).
If any of these things can be changed abolished or done away with at the cross, then that's not so much FOREVER is it now? Fact: We depend on the promise of ETERNAL Life and ETRENAL salvation from the SAME YAHWEH ALMIGHTY (Ecclesiastes 12:7; Psalm 146:4 John 3:16-17; John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:17). If these other ETERNAL decrees can be changed, abolished or done away with at the cross, then how can the promise of ETERNAL Life be considered reliable. The Point? We cannot attack the validity of Yahweh Almighty's ETERNAL decrees, without accidently attacking the safety of our own salvation. If one ETERNAL promise can be done away with, then our ETERNAL salvation is not safe either, because all of these were promised by the SAME Creator. If one Eternal decree can be done away with, then the other one is not secure either. That is what is so dangerous about the doctrines of men or taking pieces of Scripture out of their context. When we allow man-made doctrines to replace what Scripture says, we often make doctrinal decisions without fully understanding the full biblical implications to which these men made doctrinal decisions will lead.
Paul specifically declared that it was the carnal mind controlled by the sinful nature which does not subject itself to Yahweh's Laws.
Paul specifically said that the carnal mind is set on the sinful nature. It is hostile against Yahweh. It refuses to subject itself to the Law of Yahweh. It cannot subject itself to Yahweh's Law. It cannot please Yahweh, and it leads to DEATH. So refusing to subject ourselves to Yahweh's Commandments is a fruit of the sinfully controlled mind according to Paul, and that is in the New Testament. (Romans 8:5-8). Now this is a passage of Paul's letters that modern-day Christians ignore almost completely; because if they understood the impact of this passage they would understand that there is absolutely no way that Paul was trying to teach the doing away with Yahweh's Commandments at all.
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. In most cases they have a fulfillment for the specific audience of the people which originally received the message, and there can also be multiple fulfillments well beyond 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).
To simplify the issue, the primary characteristics of false prophets and antichrists which are highlighted by the above verses, can be identified as follows:
· 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.
However, it is also commonly taught throughout modern day Christianity, that the result of Jesus fulfilling and accomplishing Yahweh Almighty's Law, supposedly means that the believer now no longer needs to learn, respect, or obey Yahweh Almighty's Laws Commandments and Instructions any longer, because Jesus fulfilled them for us. Some have even gone so far as to openly suggest that the way that we prove that we are not trying to be justified by our own works of obedience to Yahweh Almighty's Law, is to actively break Yahweh Almighty's Law, and to do the direct OPPOSITE of what Yahweh Almighty's laws Commandments and Instructions teaches believers to do, supposedly so that you can demonstrate that you are trusting in Yahweh Almighty's grace, and not your own works to save you. This teaching is incredibly popular and widely accepted throughout modern-day Christendom. The big problem is that this application of grace, is 100% FALSE DOCTRINE, according to every prophet, according to the explicit teachings of Messiah, according to the teachings of every apostle, including Paul the apostle of grace. We will explore this reality further as we continue through this series together.
One key reason why I know that the modern approach to grace is false doctrine is that it violates every test of biblical prophecy, as I have already highlighted in the above references provided. Moreover, the popular approach to the doctrine of grace clearly violates a key prophetic test; the Amos 3:7 test:
Like it or not, the plain truth is that you can scour the words of every prophet from Moses to Malachi, and you will not find a single word of prophecy which teaches that Yahweh Almighty's Torah; His Laws, Commandments and Instructions will be suspended after Messiah. You will not find a single word of prophecy that teaches that to prove faith in the Lord after Messiah comes, you will now have to do the opposite of Torah. The prophets did not declare any such thing before Messiah came. Messiah himself NEVER taught the suspension of Torah, either before He died, or after He rose. If he had he would've been a false prophet (Isaiah 8:20; Deuteronomy 13:1-5), and despite huge protest to the contrary by modern Babylonian Christianity, a true reading of the apostolic letters clearly shows that the true first century apostles never taught the suspension of Yahweh's Torah either. They understood the Torah to be the foundation of the gospel and they would not destroy it.
One of the biggest problems with modern day Christendom's current approach to grace is that it violates Yahweh Almighty's Law. It violates the prophets. It violates the clear teachings of Messiah. It violates the teachings of every apostle, including some key things which Paul himself clearly taught. Moreover, it fails the Amos 3:7 test. There is Not a single word of prophecy in all the books of Genesis through Malachi that teaches that after Messiah finishes His tasks, the Laws of Yahweh Almighty will be suspended. There is not a single word in all the prophecies throughout Scripture which declares that Yahweh Almighty would reverse His Standards of Righteousness after Messiah, and that to prove one's faith, one would have to disobey and do the opposite of Yahweh Almighty's written Law, in order to be considered righteous by faith. The bottom line is that Yahweh Almighty did not reveal the suspension of His Law to any of the prophets, and since He did not reveal the suspension of His Law to the prophets, then Yahweh Almighty NEVER suspended His Law, no matter what modern-day Christianity has become accustomed to believing. If Yahweh Almighty didn't first reveal it to the prophets, then Yahweh Almighty didn't do it.
Review of Part 1: The Torah
The Torah: Yahweh Almighty's Laws Commandments and Instructions in Scripture, (Genesis through Deuteronomy). This is the core foundation of the Bible that Jesus used when He was alive on this earth. Yeshua the Messiah loved Yahweh Almighty's Laws Commandments and Instructions. Honoring the Torah's true meaning and intentions, (which is the truest definition of Loving Yahweh Almighty and doing Yahweh Almighty's will), consumed the Messiah's desires in this life (John 4:34). Yahweh's Torah gives us more specific and more detailed instructions on HOW to love Yahweh Almighty with all our heart, soul mind and strength, and HOW to more perfectly love our neighbor as ourselves.Every Command in Scripture is ultimately there to illustrate how to love Yahweh Almighty or how to love my neighbor more perfectly. Every Law, Commandment, imperative or Instruction throughout all of Scripture is designed to do a few other indispensable things:
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.
Implications from Part 1: When we Attack Torah we also Attack the gospel
The Creator's Torah, (Genesis to Deuteronomy), is a key foundation footing to the gospel of Messiah. In short, when we attack, dismantle or discredit or belittle Yahweh's Torah in any way, we are literally attacking the very foundation of the gospel itself, whether or not we realize that this is what we are truly doing.Even the Messiah Himself said that if we truly understood Torah; if we understood the words that Yahweh gave to Moses, we would understand Messiah better (John 5:46). So when we reject Torah, we are openly declaring that we don't truly care if we understand Messiah better or not.
When we attack Torah, we make ourselves least in the Kingdom of Heaven:
When we reject or attack Yahweh's Torah and teach others to reject it, we are making an open declaration that our highest possible aim in life is to be the very least and lowest citizen in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:19-20). Beloved those are Messiah's words, not mine.
When we attack Torah, we attack apostolic authority:
Messiah Himself said that Yahweh’s Word IS Truth, and Messiah asked the Father to SANCTIFY (to set apart) His disciples, with that SAME truth of Yahweh’s Word (John 17:17; cf. 119:142). Beloved, please think. If Yahweh’s Words and Commandments were made null and void at the cross when Messiah died; if in effect Yahweh’s Laws were killed with Messiah, that would also mean by necessity that the sanctification of the apostles was also done away with at the cross! By definition that would mean that the apostles were set apart and Anointed with the Creator's blessing a few days before Messiah died, and as soon as Messiah died that same Sanctification was removed?! That’s not possible!When we attack Torah, we also attack belief in our own ETERNAL salvation:
When we attack Yahweh's ETERNAL Torah, we also attack the belief in our own eternal salvation at the same time:Yahweh Almighty Said His Sabbaths are FOREVER (Leviticus 16:31).
Yahweh Almighty said His Covenant is FOREVER (1 Chronicles 15:16).
Yahweh Almighty said His Law IS FOREVER (Psalm 119:60)
Yahweh Almighty said that His Word is FOREVER (Isaiah 40:8).
If any of these things can be changed abolished or done away with at the cross, then that's not so much FOREVER is it now? Fact: We depend on the promise of ETERNAL Life and ETRENAL salvation from the SAME YAHWEH ALMIGHTY (Ecclesiastes 12:7; Psalm 146:4 John 3:16-17; John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:17). If these other ETERNAL decrees can be changed, abolished or done away with at the cross, then how can the promise of ETERNAL Life be considered reliable. The Point? We cannot attack the validity of Yahweh Almighty's ETERNAL decrees, without accidently attacking the safety of our own salvation. If one ETERNAL promise can be done away with, then our ETERNAL salvation is not safe either, because all of these were promised by the SAME Creator. If one Eternal decree can be done away with, then the other one is not secure either. That is what is so dangerous about the doctrines of men or taking pieces of Scripture out of their context. When we allow man-made doctrines to replace what Scripture says, we often make doctrinal decisions without fully understanding the full biblical implications to which these men made doctrinal decisions will lead.
When we attack Torah we are openly declaring our hostility against Yahweh Almighty:
Fact: Many people will staunchly hold to the false man-made doctrine that Yahweh's Torah was done away with at the cross, and they will vehemently insist upon this because they will swear up and down that this is what Paul the apostle taught in the New Testament, but that is not what the apostle Paul taught at all. In fact, he outright spoke the opposite of doing away with Yahweh's Law:Paul specifically declared that it was the carnal mind controlled by the sinful nature which does not subject itself to Yahweh's Laws.
Paul specifically said that the carnal mind is set on the sinful nature. It is hostile against Yahweh. It refuses to subject itself to the Law of Yahweh. It cannot subject itself to Yahweh's Law. It cannot please Yahweh, and it leads to DEATH. So refusing to subject ourselves to Yahweh's Commandments is a fruit of the sinfully controlled mind according to Paul, and that is in the New Testament. (Romans 8:5-8). Now this is a passage of Paul's letters that modern-day Christians ignore almost completely; because if they understood the impact of this passage they would understand that there is absolutely no way that Paul was trying to teach the doing away with Yahweh's Commandments at all.
As it is written:
"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight! Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine And valiant men in mixing strong drink, Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right! Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble And dry grass collapses into the flame, So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust; For they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 5:20–24, NASB95)
Defending the Gospel’s Foundation: Part Two:
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. In most cases they have a fulfillment for the specific audience of the people which originally received the message, and there can also be multiple fulfillments well beyond 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).
The Fruit of Beasts and Antichrists
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).To simplify the issue, the primary characteristics of false prophets and antichrists which are highlighted by the above verses, can be identified as follows:
· 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.
The Amos 3:7 Test
Modern-day Christianity regularly teaches that Christ's life, death, and resurrection fulfilled and accomplished Yahweh Almighty's Laws Commandments and Instructions. That part is true.However, it is also commonly taught throughout modern day Christianity, that the result of Jesus fulfilling and accomplishing Yahweh Almighty's Law, supposedly means that the believer now no longer needs to learn, respect, or obey Yahweh Almighty's Laws Commandments and Instructions any longer, because Jesus fulfilled them for us. Some have even gone so far as to openly suggest that the way that we prove that we are not trying to be justified by our own works of obedience to Yahweh Almighty's Law, is to actively break Yahweh Almighty's Law, and to do the direct OPPOSITE of what Yahweh Almighty's laws Commandments and Instructions teaches believers to do, supposedly so that you can demonstrate that you are trusting in Yahweh Almighty's grace, and not your own works to save you. This teaching is incredibly popular and widely accepted throughout modern-day Christendom. The big problem is that this application of grace, is 100% FALSE DOCTRINE, according to every prophet, according to the explicit teachings of Messiah, according to the teachings of every apostle, including Paul the apostle of grace. We will explore this reality further as we continue through this series together.
One key reason why I know that the modern approach to grace is false doctrine is that it violates every test of biblical prophecy, as I have already highlighted in the above references provided. Moreover, the popular approach to the doctrine of grace clearly violates a key prophetic test; the Amos 3:7 test:
As it is written:If the life, the death, the resurrection of Messiah would have caused Yahweh Almighty's Law to become null and void, so that believers would no longer have to learn and obey it, then such a doctrine would have had to have been revealed to the prophets before he did it. If obeying Torah was going to suddenly become obsolete after Messiah's death and resurrection, and if doing the explicit opposite of Torah would suddenly become righteous after one came to believe Messiah, (which is what the fourth century modern Christianity now teaches), that is a huge paradigm shift. It's a huge reversal of everything that Yahweh Almighty had ever done or said before, and if He was going to do such a thing, He would have had to have revealed that monumental change to His servants the prophets before the fact.
"Surely the Lord Yahweh Almighty does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7, NASB95)
Another Translation:
"Certainly, the Almighty Lord doesn’t do anything unless he first reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7, GW).
Like it or not, the plain truth is that you can scour the words of every prophet from Moses to Malachi, and you will not find a single word of prophecy which teaches that Yahweh Almighty's Torah; His Laws, Commandments and Instructions will be suspended after Messiah. You will not find a single word of prophecy that teaches that to prove faith in the Lord after Messiah comes, you will now have to do the opposite of Torah. The prophets did not declare any such thing before Messiah came. Messiah himself NEVER taught the suspension of Torah, either before He died, or after He rose. If he had he would've been a false prophet (Isaiah 8:20; Deuteronomy 13:1-5), and despite huge protest to the contrary by modern Babylonian Christianity, a true reading of the apostolic letters clearly shows that the true first century apostles never taught the suspension of Yahweh's Torah either. They understood the Torah to be the foundation of the gospel and they would not destroy it.
One of the biggest problems with modern day Christendom's current approach to grace is that it violates Yahweh Almighty's Law. It violates the prophets. It violates the clear teachings of Messiah. It violates the teachings of every apostle, including some key things which Paul himself clearly taught. Moreover, it fails the Amos 3:7 test. There is Not a single word of prophecy in all the books of Genesis through Malachi that teaches that after Messiah finishes His tasks, the Laws of Yahweh Almighty will be suspended. There is not a single word in all the prophecies throughout Scripture which declares that Yahweh Almighty would reverse His Standards of Righteousness after Messiah, and that to prove one's faith, one would have to disobey and do the opposite of Yahweh Almighty's written Law, in order to be considered righteous by faith. The bottom line is that Yahweh Almighty did not reveal the suspension of His Law to any of the prophets, and since He did not reveal the suspension of His Law to the prophets, then Yahweh Almighty NEVER suspended His Law, no matter what modern-day Christianity has become accustomed to believing. If Yahweh Almighty didn't first reveal it to the prophets, then Yahweh Almighty didn't do it.
As it is written:
"If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3, NKJV).
So let us do our very best to remain true to Yahweh’s Torah, and to the Prophets.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Defending the Gospel’s Foundations- Part 1 of 4
By Brother R. Michel Lankford
If Yeshua the Messiah is the indispensable Chief Cornerstone of the Gospel, then of what additional things does the rest of the foundation of the gospel consist? According to various places throughout Scripture, the key remaining aspects of the Gospel's foundation include: The Torah, The prophets, Messiah's teachings and deeds, and the apostolic teachings . As believers who would be successful disciples, it is our duty to recognize, to grow in, to exemplify, to adhere firmly, and to defend the true foundations of the gospel so that the younger believers who come after us will not lose their way by those who practice cunning in vain deceit. Because as up-and-coming disciples we have a duty not only to the Lord, not only to ourselves, not merely to our fellowships, but also to the countless numbers who may later come to seek God after our example. We have a communal duty to make sure other believers who come after us will recognize the foundations of the gospel, and will not be deceived by the counterfeit. How can true love do any less?
The Torah: God's Laws Commandments and Instructions in Scripture, (Genesis through Deuteronomy). This is the core foundation of the Bible that Jesus used when He was alive on this earth. Yeshua the Messiah loved God's Laws Commandments and Instructions. Honoring the Torah's true meaning and intentions, (which is the truest definition of Loving God and doing God's will), consumed the Messiah's desires in this life (John 4:34). Yahweh's Torah gives us more specific and more detailed instructions on how to love God with all our heart, soul mind and strength, and how to more perfectly love our neighbor as ourselves. Using the 10 Commandments as a base for example, the first four Commandments show us in more detail how to love Yahweh Almighty God with all our hearts soul mind and strength. The last 6 of the 10 Commandments shows us how to more perfectly love our neighbor as ourselves. Every Command in Scripture is ultimately there to illustrate how to love God or love my neighbor more perfectly. Every Law, Commandment, imperative or Instruction throughout all of Scripture is designed to do a few other indispensable things:
Without Torah we have no understanding of God's character, and how Yahweh Almighty God defines holiness. Without Torah, we have no real understanding of what God truly considers righteousness, and what He rightly considers to be sin; for sin is the transgression or the violation of God's Law's (1 John 3:4; cf. Romans 7:7-8). Without Torah, I would have no real understanding of my own heart, because how we respond to God's word reveals what is truly in our heart (Deuteronomy 8:2–3; Hebrews 4:12-13); because without the Torah I would have no understanding of the sin that lives in my own being, and I would not really understand my real and true NEED for the Savior and the Messiah, because if I do not understand my sin, and if I do not understand the true and real consequences of my sin, then I do not truly understand my need to be saved and to be redeemed by the Savior. One of the enemy's tactics in our world is to blind people's eyes to the fact that we need the Redeemer (2 Corinthians 4:4). One of the best ways to make sure that people do not see their sin and their need for the Redeemer is to blind them to their sin, and the best way to keep people blinded to their sin is to discredit God's Laws Commandments and Instructions as having any validity or authority. Without the Torah, I have no concrete way to measure my growth and maturity as a disciple. Again, since my response to God's Commandments reveals the true condition of my heart, then I know that I maturing in God's love when I can KEEP His Commandments, and it does not seem like a burden to me, (1 John 5:1-3; cf. Hebrews 5:14-16; Hebrews 12:7-14).
Zola Levitt summarized it this way concerning Jesus and the Torah, "Jesus read it, taught it, loved it, quoted it and considered it absolutely authoritative. I wholeheartedly agree, but respectfully, I do not believe that brother Levitt goes far enough. Yeshua LIVED Torah! What's more Yeshua taught that WE MUST learn to live it as well, otherwise we will NOT enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 7:21-23)." And that's in the 'New Testament."
There's a huge cry of protest within mainline Christianity against Torah observance for the Christian, but squawk and protest as they may, the one question they cannot get around honestly is this. How does one successfully learn to DO the Father's will, while at the same time we train ourselves and others to disobey HIS COMMANDMENTS, and to disavow the validity of HIS INSTRUCTIONS?
There is no way around the fact that this is not right. So the only way around it is to pretend that the topic of discussion is about something else, like grace for instance. As if the real and true grace of God could EVER direct and empower anyone to disavow and disobey the Commandments of God. The very assertion is ludicrous, prima fascia. May God deliver us from all spiritual and doctrinal blindness (See Colossians 1:9-12; Ezekiel 36:25-27; Philippians 2:13).There is simply no legitimate way to do God's will, and to disobey Him at the same time. It's a delusion to believe and teach otherwise. “So if our foundation; the Torah be removed, then what can the righteous do?" Stick with the foundation which God has squarely laid."
Respectfully beloved, if you claim the name of Yeshua the Messiah as your Lord and Savior, and you are not actively running away from what Yahweh calls iniquity, then you are deceiving yourself. It’s that simple. Do not forget Matthew 7:21-23. God’s not kidding.
The psalmist once observed, " As it is written: "If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3, NKJV)
“What absolutely astounds me is that most Christians claim to LOVE and to FOLLOW Jesus Christ the Messiah as their Lord, their Master, and their Savior. At the very same time, these selfsame Christians have virtually NO working knowledge of the Torah which Jesus believed, which Jesus followed, which Jesus taught, and which Jesus prayed would SANCTIFY His disciples (John 17:17). Is that not baffling?! Please think about it for a moment. How can we possibly truly successfully FOLLOW in the footsteps of someone, when we have so little respect for what MESSIAH HIMSELF FOLLOWED, and we have so little regard for learning the pattern and way of life which Messiah so judiciously observed? Messiah rightly noted that if the Pharisees had truly believe the writings that God gave to Moses, they would also believe Him, because those writings testify about HIM. (John 5:46). I believe that the reverse of that statement is also true. I believe that if we truly understood and believed in Messiah as we claim to, we would not so easily discount and dismiss the Torah in which Jesus lived, and our understanding and testimony about Jesus would be much clearer if we chose to walk in the pattern that Jesus Himself followed before the Father. I seek to follow Torah ever more closely because Jesus did, and we are COMMANDED in the New Testament to imitate God as HIS children (Ephesians 5:1); and to walk in the manner that Christ walked in all respects (See John 2:1-6). Now, how do we propose that Christians should somehow come to successfully obey those two New Testament passages apart from learning and practicing Torah? From where I sit, that should be more than sufficient cause for any Christian to learn and copy Torah as much as we can”—RML.The people who want to be disciples of Almighty God and the Messiah must have their faith and their direction and their choices firmly built on something true, something solid, something reliable and unchanging. The wicked; who hate God, who hate the Messiah, who hate the truth and who refuse to honor what is good, are forever trying to destroy the foundation of the gospel, (Romans 1:18-32), so that those who want to be righteous and to please God have nothing upon which they can build their lives. So if you want to be a true defender of the gospel of Almighty God and His Son, we must learn to defend the whole foundation of the gospel.
What Is The Gospel’s foundation?
If you ask any number of Christians, "What is the foundation of the gospel? Most of Them will tell you, "Well, Jesus Christ, of course." However, if we look carefully throughout the Scriptures Jesus the Christ (Yeshua the Messiah) is described as "The Chief Cornerstone." Messiah is absolutely imperative, because you certainly cannot have a solid foundation without the Chief Cornerstone being firmly established, and in its proper place, holding everything together as Messiah certainly does, (Colossians 1:17). At the same time, if you have a beautiful perfect cornerstone, but the rest of the foundation is not firmly attached to the cornerstone, then we still do not have a solid foundation upon which to build our faith or our congregations; in which case, our congregations are much weaker and less able to withstand the storms of this life (Matthew 7:13-25).If Yeshua the Messiah is the indispensable Chief Cornerstone of the Gospel, then of what additional things does the rest of the foundation of the gospel consist? According to various places throughout Scripture, the key remaining aspects of the Gospel's foundation include: The Torah, The prophets, Messiah's teachings and deeds, and the apostolic teachings . As believers who would be successful disciples, it is our duty to recognize, to grow in, to exemplify, to adhere firmly, and to defend the true foundations of the gospel so that the younger believers who come after us will not lose their way by those who practice cunning in vain deceit. Because as up-and-coming disciples we have a duty not only to the Lord, not only to ourselves, not merely to our fellowships, but also to the countless numbers who may later come to seek God after our example. We have a communal duty to make sure other believers who come after us will recognize the foundations of the gospel, and will not be deceived by the counterfeit. How can true love do any less?
The Torah: God's Laws Commandments and Instructions in Scripture, (Genesis through Deuteronomy). This is the core foundation of the Bible that Jesus used when He was alive on this earth. Yeshua the Messiah loved God's Laws Commandments and Instructions. Honoring the Torah's true meaning and intentions, (which is the truest definition of Loving God and doing God's will), consumed the Messiah's desires in this life (John 4:34). Yahweh's Torah gives us more specific and more detailed instructions on how to love God with all our heart, soul mind and strength, and how to more perfectly love our neighbor as ourselves. Using the 10 Commandments as a base for example, the first four Commandments show us in more detail how to love Yahweh Almighty God with all our hearts soul mind and strength. The last 6 of the 10 Commandments shows us how to more perfectly love our neighbor as ourselves. Every Command in Scripture is ultimately there to illustrate how to love God or love my neighbor more perfectly. Every Law, Commandment, imperative or Instruction throughout all of Scripture is designed to do a few other indispensable things:
· 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).
Without Torah we have no understanding of God's character, and how Yahweh Almighty God defines holiness. Without Torah, we have no real understanding of what God truly considers righteousness, and what He rightly considers to be sin; for sin is the transgression or the violation of God's Law's (1 John 3:4; cf. Romans 7:7-8). Without Torah, I would have no real understanding of my own heart, because how we respond to God's word reveals what is truly in our heart (Deuteronomy 8:2–3; Hebrews 4:12-13); because without the Torah I would have no understanding of the sin that lives in my own being, and I would not really understand my real and true NEED for the Savior and the Messiah, because if I do not understand my sin, and if I do not understand the true and real consequences of my sin, then I do not truly understand my need to be saved and to be redeemed by the Savior. One of the enemy's tactics in our world is to blind people's eyes to the fact that we need the Redeemer (2 Corinthians 4:4). One of the best ways to make sure that people do not see their sin and their need for the Redeemer is to blind them to their sin, and the best way to keep people blinded to their sin is to discredit God's Laws Commandments and Instructions as having any validity or authority. Without the Torah, I have no concrete way to measure my growth and maturity as a disciple. Again, since my response to God's Commandments reveals the true condition of my heart, then I know that I maturing in God's love when I can KEEP His Commandments, and it does not seem like a burden to me, (1 John 5:1-3; cf. Hebrews 5:14-16; Hebrews 12:7-14).
Zola Levitt summarized it this way concerning Jesus and the Torah, "Jesus read it, taught it, loved it, quoted it and considered it absolutely authoritative. I wholeheartedly agree, but respectfully, I do not believe that brother Levitt goes far enough. Yeshua LIVED Torah! What's more Yeshua taught that WE MUST learn to live it as well, otherwise we will NOT enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 7:21-23)." And that's in the 'New Testament."
There's a huge cry of protest within mainline Christianity against Torah observance for the Christian, but squawk and protest as they may, the one question they cannot get around honestly is this. How does one successfully learn to DO the Father's will, while at the same time we train ourselves and others to disobey HIS COMMANDMENTS, and to disavow the validity of HIS INSTRUCTIONS?
There is no way around the fact that this is not right. So the only way around it is to pretend that the topic of discussion is about something else, like grace for instance. As if the real and true grace of God could EVER direct and empower anyone to disavow and disobey the Commandments of God. The very assertion is ludicrous, prima fascia. May God deliver us from all spiritual and doctrinal blindness (See Colossians 1:9-12; Ezekiel 36:25-27; Philippians 2:13).There is simply no legitimate way to do God's will, and to disobey Him at the same time. It's a delusion to believe and teach otherwise. “So if our foundation; the Torah be removed, then what can the righteous do?" Stick with the foundation which God has squarely laid."
As it is written: "Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands [so the foundation was NEVER changed or abolished Isaiah 40:8; Psalm 119:142,160], having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”” (2 Timothy 2:19, NKJV - annotated)Plainly, speaking if Yahweh and Messiah consider something to be sin or iniquity, we who claim the name of Messiah should be RUNNING into the opposite and godly direction.
Respectfully beloved, if you claim the name of Yeshua the Messiah as your Lord and Savior, and you are not actively running away from what Yahweh calls iniquity, then you are deceiving yourself. It’s that simple. Do not forget Matthew 7:21-23. God’s not kidding.
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