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What is ‘the Father’s Will‘ – Part III
((or ‘Is Torah Observance Legalism?’))
Part One: Obedience to His commands in Torah is the Father’s Will.
Part Two: If’n y’don’t keep Torah (works), y’don’t go to Heaven.
Part Three: Isn’t that legalism, stupid?
Just thought I would summarize it for us before we got started.
‘Cuz I’m kinda that way, a lot.
Al
right, now that I’ve got your attention, I’m going to tell you what the church teaches. It teaches that Jee-zus died on the cross for your sins, so that anyone who believes in Him should have everlasting life, their name written in the Book of Life, and spent forever with the Lord in Heaven, thereby exempted from Hell. ((Yup.)) It teaches that all you have to do is pray and accept Jee-zus into your heart, and He’ll wash away all of your sins – past, present, and future. ((Yup.)) It teaches that doing His will shows your love, but you don’t actually have to do anything, because He’s done it all, and if you choose to just go from there and do whatever you feel like, that’s cool. ((Y… wait, what?)) But shame on you and naughty-naughty, and you won’t get any crowns that way, even if you DO still go to Heaven! ((Uh…))
I know. I drive you crazy. I always have, and I always will. Let me take this apart with verses that will shred the untruths before your very eyes:
1. “And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, ‘Let us alone; what have we to do with he, thou Yeshua of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art: the Holy one of God.” Mark 1:23-24 The unclean spirit believed in Yeshua… and hey – he was Hell-doomed.
2. “What doth it profit, my brethern, though a man say he hath faith and hath not works? Can faith save him? …Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, ‘Thou hast faith, and I have works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.’ Thou believest that there is one God: tho doest well: the devils also believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? … Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith, only.” James 2:14, 17-22, 24 Praying a prayer isn’t enough – there MUST be works, or the faith is dead.
3. “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servant to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether or sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Romans 6:16 Obedience shows who you are a servant of. Are you a servant of God? How can that be, if you aren’t obeying his precepts, commandments?
4. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Matthew 7:21-23 Yeshua Himself said that if you don’t do the will of the Father, you will be told to depart… ouch.
Every single one of those pulpit statements I made above were lies. But hey, that’s what your church will tell you. I love people who claim John 3:16 as their mantra. ‘Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life’. Taken. Out of. Context. Ever read down to verses 20 and 21? “But he that doeth Truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” Deeds… works, right there along with belief.
Funny, the church kinda cuts it off before that, though. Mostly because if you’re required to actually LIVE differently and DO something that requires more than warming a pew or having fun (with other ‘believers’, of course), then you might not stick around, and christianity’s numbers are dropping, as it is. Let’s just call a spade a spade – that’s why churches are ‘seeker sensitive’, these days. Scripture says that Truth is like a light shining into dark places… and that is offensive. So Truth’s gotta be dimmed, to make it more appealing. Except when you dim something already so far removed from REAL Truth? You end up with just about nuttin’.
I want to quote a little TorahClass at you, this morning (and again – it’s the ONLY Bible study I endorse, and really, REALLY encourage you to get at. It’s meat, the closest I have EVER seen to 100% Truth.):
I want to exhort you in a similar manner to love God by means of obedience to His commandments. As outstanding a job as the Christian church has done over the centuries in spreading the Good News… obedience to the Lord’s commands as the expected expression of love towards Him (the expression that He seeks from us) has curiously been set aside and made less important that it ought to be; it often has been labeled that obedience to His written commands is legalism, and therefore it is a “work”, and legalism and works are to be avoided.
I realize that many who hear this teaching still have some reluctance to accept this foundational God-principle of active obedience to the Lord’s laws and commands as the expected and demanded practical expression of our love for God. Many Believers still cling (consciously or unconsciously) to the notion that accepting Yeshua as Lord and Savior is the last work or act of obedience ever expected of us. While that is indeed true for attainment of our Salvation, it is not true when it comes to how we’re to live our lives as saved people…
…When the Bible speaks of obedience to God more often than not what is actually said is, “obedience to God’s COMMANDS or laws”. When the Bible says “obedience to God” it MEANS “obedience to His written commands”. What else is there to be obedient to? …The main way we discover the Lord’s characteristics and justice system (which is spelled out by His laws and commands) is by means of His written word. …The written Word is the standard by which all else must be compared. The written Word of God is the Believers’ spiritual constitution. Listen to this well-known and often quoted NT passage:
NAS 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
A couple of things about this passage: remember, the ONLY Scripture Paul was referring to was the OT because there would be no other words of God written down and accepted as inspired biblical canon for around a century after his death. That is, when the word “Scripture” is used in the Bible (including in the New Testament) it is referring only to the Old Testament because that’s all that existed. Paul, Peter, even the latest New Testament writer John the Revelator had no idea that about 100 years after Paul’s martyrdom that some of their letters would be seen by a portion of the Church as additions to Holy Scripture.
Also notice what Paul said is the source is of teaching, reproof, correction and learning, and what righteousness IS; it is the written word of God (Scriptures), the Old Testament. Then we’re told WHY we need this learning, and what is the reason: It is so that we are well equipped to do what? To do good works. Uh-oh. There’s the “w” word again. Paul says we’re to learn the Lord’s commands for the purpose of our doing good works. I guess Paul, by modern doctrine, is telling us to be legalistic and to put all our hope in works, huh? Obviously I’m saying that sarcastically because the Bible NEVER, NEVER makes good works out to be legalistic, nor does it tell Believers that we are to abandon obedience to God’s commands and to works.
…The Hebrews weren’t redeemed, then given God’s Commands, and then just as they were about to enter the Promised Land told to disregard all those Laws and Commands and follow their own minds and hearts. And so it is for us. We have not been redeemed by Yeshua, spent time being shown God’s commands and learning to obey them, only to stand on the brink of eternity and be told, “once you get there, there will be no more laws and commands”.
…It’s interesting that the FIRST WORD of chapter 9 is one we looked at carefully a few chapters ago: Shema. The first two words of chapter 9 are shema Israel…Hear O Israel. Recall that shema doesn’t mean to listen passively. It is a term that means to pay attention AND to do what is said… “hear and obey”.
So is doing the commands of Yehovah ‘legalism’, then? Of course not. Legalism is the over-emphasis on deeds, that you cannot be saved unless you perform certain deeds. Then would not ‘praying the prayer’ or ‘accepting Christ into your heart’ also be a deed or works… making the premise of salvation legalistic? It’s preposterous. YES, salvation provided by Yehovah is in Christ’s provision alone. But without obedience to Yehovah’s commands, we do not have a complete picture. There are two sides to the coin – faith AND obedience. It’s not legalism, it’s Truth.
aNNa’s Final Note: The church is big on bashing ‘legalism’… which to them seems to mean rules that rain on their ‘freedom train’. In trying to stay away from ‘legalism’, they throw out Torah obedience entirely, claiming the cross as their big eraser. Except Messiah NEVER said that – He actually said the opposite. And every disciple and Bible writer who followed Him said the same thing: You need BOTH Faith in Messiah and Obedience to Torah to be a servant of God. Yehovah doesn’t change – His requirements are the same for ALL generations. And that means some serious changes need to be made in order to be in His will. I wrote these to try to show a need, to give a little conviction to those who might not have seen the whole picture.
Because time is short.
Far, far shorter than you know.
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