SALVATION
Do you know why we need to confess our sins? (1John 1:9)
To answer this we need to understand from a biblical perspective what is the definition of sin.
So, what is sin?
Sin is the trangression of the law. Sin means to miss the mark.
In archery you point the bow then shoot to hit the bulls eye. If you miss it, you have missed the mark. The Law/Scriptures help one to reach the mark and not miss it. Without the law we would not know how to reach the mark.
The reason we still must confess our sins is because the law is still in effect.
The law is good, pure and holy. It is still in effect. It was never done away with.
Our Messiah so clearly said that He didn't do away with His Father's Law or Holy Days or Ways! That heaven and earth would pass away before His law did. In fact, He showed us the way to carry it out with LOVE.
The definition of SIN=LAWLESSNESS. (1John 3:4)
The Word pretty much clearly sums it up in one word. No getting around that, huh?! No beating around the bush. Without the law we would not know what sin is. It is for us to learn and to know how to obey our Maker's ways. How else would we know what pleases Him?
It doesn't stop with the ten commandments. It extends into guarding His Holy Days and eating the food that He designed to be good for our bodies and wearing the clothes that He said would keep our bodies in top shape.
Why else did He pay so much attention in His Scripture to us about revealing His ways? He gave us details because they are important to Him that we His creation honor Him in this.
SALVATION IS BY FAITH. EVEN THE PATRIARCHS WERE SAVED BY FAITH!
How, you ask?
It has been taught that salvatoin by faith is a New Covenant concept. That simply is not true.
Patriarchs of old were saved by faith by holding onto the same promise of the Messiah as we are today. They were looking forward to the coming promise of Messiah by faith and we today are looking back on what Messiah has already now accomplished; both then and now all of us as a total body are believing in the promise of Messiah fulfilled.
SALVATION IS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRETY OF THE SCRIPTURES! It includes both the Tanach
(commonly referred to as the 'Old' Testament)
and the
Brit HaDasha -the RENEWED Covenant
(commonly referred to as the 'New' Testament).
AFTER WE ARE SAVED THROUGH FAITH WE ARE CALLED TO SHOW OUR FAITH- TO WORK OUT OUR SALVATION. Ya'akov (James) said faith without works is dead being alone. Messiah said you will know my disciples by their fruit.
Abraham who lived before the Jewish people were a nation was JUSTIFIED BY FAITH BUT THEN HE SHOWED HIS FAITH BY WHAT HE DID.
The Messiah and Paul taught to put away MAN'S laws. They never said to put away the Father's laws. In fact, they themselves kept our Father's ways and laws to the death. We must study books like Galations and Colossians with the proper mindset of the audience being written to, as well as, the Hebraic context within which it was written.
When Paul wrote to the Corinthians he admonished them not to use Egypt's ways to honor the Father for that displeased Him. Egypt is typified as a type of 'worldly ways living' for our understanding. So, therefore Paul is letting us know that just as the Father didn't want the Israelites to use Egypt's ways to worship Him back then, neither does He want us to Christianize pagan worldly ways to worship Him today. Our heavenly Father shared in great detail how to use HIS WAYS to honor Him and those ways are His Holy Days that He set aside from the very beginning.
The Word says we must honor Him in Spirit and in TRUTH. How do we do that? Well, we need to hide (meditate, study and commit to memory) His Word, the Bible. YHWH's WORD=TRUTH. His WORD is SPIRITUAL. The Living Word is Messiah. When His Word is in us we follow it thereby worshipping Him in Spirit and in Truth.
The Truth is the Way the Messiah lived-honoring Abba's ways from a heart of love and CARRYING IT FORTH IN LOVE is what makes all the difference.
We are called to walk in obedience. Obedience to what? If the law were done away what would we obey?
Luke, 10:25-27 "And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Rabbi, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said to him, What is written in the Torah? How do you read it? And he answering said, You shall love YHWH your Elohim with all your heart, & with all your soul and with all your strength & with all your mind; & your neighbor as yourself."
WOW! Do you see this?
YAHSHUA REFERRED TO THE TORAH AS HAVING THE WAY TO ETERNAL LIFE!
YES! The answers to our questions are found in TORAH! That is why it is IMPERATIVE THAT WE HIDE HIS TORAH IN OUR HEARTS! LIFE IS FOUND IN HIS LAW!
YAHSHUA IS THE LIVING TORAH!
He is our example, He shows us the way to the Father. He always points us as does the written Torah to the Father! He does not negate His Fathers ways. No, but rather He most humbly & honorably & notably upholds His Father's ways.
Mark 12:28-31 "And one of the scribes came, and having heard them questioning together, and perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, Which commandment is the first of all? And Yahshua answered him, The first of all the commandments is Hear, O Yisrael, YHWH our Elohim, YHWH is One: And you shall love YHWH your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first command. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, There is none other commandment greater than these."
In this particular reference Yahshua is actually reciting the SHEMA!! HalleluYAH! This commandment Yahshua spoke on is a prayer that is prayed regularly in synagogues around the world. This is the Scripture that is hung inside the Mezuzah on the doorposts of our homes symbolizing that we fear YHWH. This prayer is recited avidly, fervently in synagogues around the world. Our heavenly Father's ways have been preserved through the Jewish people for so long. Halleluyah! They have held onto His ways and have preserved His ways. May the church be one with them in honoring our Father's ways and may the synagogue be one with the church in accepting that Messiah has already come as the suffering servant son of Joseph and is coming again as the conquering king son of David!
Messiah said that loving the Father and one another is what
ALL THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS HANG ON.
The law is all about loving the Father and one another.
It is really about Him wanting to establish relationship with us.
It is about Him loving us.
We are called to walk in the ancient paths- the way that is good.
FREEDOM OF LIFE IS FOUND IN ONLY ONE PLACE!
A great biblical patriarch said it best-
that freedom of life is found in the Father's Law.
We are set free from the law of sin & death
&
are MADE ALIVE UNTO THE LAW OF LIFE
which is His Word, it is life-giving through the Spirit!
The Word says we can only worship Him in Spirit and in Truth! The Scriptures are perfect for the converting of the soul according to the Psalmist! HalleluYAH!!
The Father's Holy Days we are told are Jewish, but that is not true- for His Holy Days were in effect before the Jewish people were a nation.
The 7th day Sabbath was from the first week of Creation. Not only that- but get this-each of the Father's Holy Feast Days point to major events in the Messiah's life and in our lives-
#1) Pesach/Passover & Unleavened Bread-Messiah is the Passover Lamb & The Unleavened Bread(This is also called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and certain sayings of the Messiah during what is typically referred to as 'The Last Supper' are in fact exactly what a groom says to his betrothed!!- How much we learn once we grasp the Hebraic context!) He is our bridegroom and we are His bride. He is the one without sin, but whom all our sin was laid upon. He bore our sin for us before we even accepted Him. What faith is this tha tHe has shown us?! What love is this that He has commended toward us?!
#2) BIKURRIM/Firstfruits-He is the firstfruits from the dead and so are we with Him when we accept Him as the only begotten of the Father and walk with Him as our example of a holy life pleasing unot the Father.
#3) Shavuot/Pentecost- while the Son lived on earth He prayed the Father to send the comforter the Holy Spirit and that is when the Ruach came as tongues of fire onto His disciples (Oh-may we experience this in our day!) This is also the Latter Fruits Feast. And it is when the Torah was given to Moses on the mount. So here the written torah was given and the Holy Spirit who teaches us the Torah is given on this day.
#4) Yom Teruah/ Trumpets-He will come at the last trump (The Hebrew idiom that says no man knows the day or the hour is specifically referring to this day-we in the western thought have not understood this- so important to know and understand the Hebrew-holy language that we may understand the Word in proper context. Also, the Greeks did preserve the Scriptures, but they were first written in Hebrew and in Hebraic mindset, perspective. Interesting fact here is that in the Passover meal-seder, there is a Greek word used-Afeikomen-referring to the hidden piece of Matza - Y'Shua. Even in the meal it is hinted how the Greek would be used to preserve the Scriptures.)
#5) Yom Kippur/Atonement-when the LAMB'S BOOK OF LIFE is opened and those of us who have believed will hear our name read from it! HalleluYAH!
#6) Sukkot/Tabernacles-we tabernacle with him.
#7) Shabbat/Sabbath-He Is Master of the Sabbath.
Also observed as significant:
Chanukkah/Feast of Lights & Dedication- -He is the Light of the world! He is the Lamb Who Is The Lamp! On this day the Tabernacle in the wilderness was complete, temples were dedicated and our temples are to be dedicated unto Him and full of His light- His Word and lit a blazing flame by His Holy Spirit!
Purim/Lots-As Esther was put into a prominent position to honor the Father by a heroic act of faith through fasting and prayer allowing the Jewish people to know survival and defence, so we mus realize we are where we are to preserve His ways. Maywe be found not wanting in the scales.
***
The Father's very name points to the salvation message through His Son Y'shua!! I share this in one of the songs I wrote -EliMelek YHWH My King. Yod Hey Waw Hey : Yod-My Hands, Hey-Behold, Waw-the nail marks, Hey-Behold. Y'Shua said this very phrase to doubting Thomas. He was speaking the spelling of the Father's name when He said My hands behold, the nail marks, behold. This is ancient Hebrew pictographic letter symbols.
The Father's Holy Days also point to His Son! And the Son always points the Way right back to His Father-a wonderful example how to bring the fullest meaning of walking in love to His Father's ways-we too are called to walk as He walked! What a privilege and blessed opportunity we have to do this in our lives! Therein we find freedom and grace-by walking in His Truth -in His Ways, by following THE WAY!
***
Salvation is found throughout the Scriptures!
Y'SHUA SAID Matthew 5:17-19“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."
How can our righteousness surpass that of the pharisees? The KEY IS LOVE! Not head knowledge, but heart knowledge. We can do all things right but according to 1 Corinthians if it isn't done with the intent being love then it means nothing. CARRY FORTH THE COMMANDMENT IN LOVE.
Romans "The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim: If you confess with your mouth, “Yahshua is the Messiah,” and believe in your heart that YHWH raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. Now the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on Him will not be put to shame, for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, since the same Master of all is rich to all who call on Him. For everyone who calls on the name of Yahshua will be saved."
The hebrew language shows that there is a relationship between the mouth and the heart. Your mouth will speak what your heart believes!
The Hebrew word for heart is LEV. It has a gematria of 32. An adult mouth has 32 teeth. Even in this simple observation we see a divine connection and understanding. As Messiah said that it is what comes from the heart that defiles man. He wasn't negating YHWH's food regulations bu saying this. He was speaking as to the importance of a pure heart.
Even today in medicine science is discovering that the heart has a brain. Heart transplant patients are experiencing thoughts/desires that they never had before. They are finding out that they are the same thoughts/desires of their heart donors.
***
Philippians 2:12, 15-16 "Wherefore as you have always obeyed...work out your own salvation...shine as lights in the world, holding forth the Word of life."
He receives each of us right where we are-then He teaches us precept upon precept.
Don't be discouraged if you have not been taught this way. They may not have understood either. But the day is at hand that we know this and walk in. As the generations come closer to His return His Ruach HaQodesh draws us closer and shows us more and more where we are lacking. Our children may understand much more than we do now. I would not be surprised by this.
I encourage you to not feel overwhelmed when you begin to understand this truth. Take it one step at a time. He loves us and knows we love Him when He sees us responding to His Holy Spirit! Along with James the brother of Y'Shua, may we show our faith by our works!
Thanks be to Y'Shua HaMashiach, we are covered in His blood for the remission of sins that He may present us without blemish before the Father who sends us the Comforter to teach us all things that we have need to know!
FOR THE FATHER IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE US OUR SINS WHEN WE CONFESS OUR SINS. Guess what JUST means?! JUST means based ON TRUTH WHICH IS THE LAW.
May our hearts be pure before Him that we may see Him in all His esteem!
With Great Love! ~Leslie Ann