Posted in Atonement • Church • Clean & Unclean • Continuity & Discontinuity • Law • Love • Reading • Righteousness • Tradition

Righteousness

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In the late ’90’s as an elder at a Bible Church, I gave a message on the holy days of our Father listed in Leviticus 23.  I summarized the group of holidays by saying something along the lines of knowing and doing them was like knowing the bus schedule. If you want to ride the bus you have to know where and when it’s going to stop, then you have to be there at the proper place and time. I was trying to make the point that believers need to know all of the Bible and do what our Father’s Word tells us in order to figure out what behavior is expected of His children. If we ignore the parts of the Word that the Church (in general) says to ignore, then like the bridesmaids in the parable of the Ten Virgins we will not be as prepared for what is coming as we should be.

Afterwards, a young married man, schooled and hardened in the traditions of Church, was rather irritated at me and asked if I followed the entire Bible (especially the Law), and he didn’t, then was I holier (or more righteous) than he? It was a very telling question for several reasons. First was that salvation righteousness is not measured by actions but by grace through faith, meaning that nothing can be added to the sacrifice of Jesus for salvation. However, after one is saved then comes growth through the Word, which we call sanctification. So this man was confusing salvation righteousness with sanctification righteousness. Salvation righteousness is given to us by Jesus with no strings attached. Once salvation is gained then we exhibit the truth of our salvation by what we do and how we behave through the life-long sanctification process.

Second point of confusion for this young man was that yes, in sanctification it is possible for one individual to be more righteous than another. This is not to say that one is more “saved” than another, or that we measure our entrance into the Kingdom with right actions. It is simply that once we have our ticket for entry into the Kingdom of our Messiah we produce fruit in keeping with repentance and the love that was shown by His death on the cross.

To make an extreme analogy, it’s obvious that if I don’t murder someone, but another does, then I am more righteous than the murderer. I probably wouldn’t get an argument from anyone with that comparison. But let’s go a step further and say that if I don’t eat pork and someone else does, am I more righteous that he who does? The Scriptural answer is yes, but this answer is obscured by Church tradition taught as God’s Word in the Church. The tradition is that somehow the laws on eating pork were supposedly terminated by Jesus. This tradition is not in the Bible anywhere.

Isaiah 65:2–5 ESV. I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and making offerings on bricks; who sit in tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat pig’s flesh, and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels; who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.” These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.

Sadly, I was not able to straighten out the young man’s confusion at that time because I was working my way through my own confusion caused by the same false Church teachings. It takes a while to extricate one’s self from the twisted teachings of most of the Church traditions not found in the Bible. With consistent reading and applying all of the Word to life, it can be done, but it requires much self-sacrifice as we put off our old man (sinful flesh) and put on the new man (Ephesians 4:20-24).

Isaiah 66:15–17 ESV. “For behold, the Lord will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire will the Lord enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those slain by the Lord shall be many. “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig’s flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the Lord.

So by the Word the answer is yes, those who practice the commands of Jesus such as avoiding the eating of pork (or mice), are in fact more righteous than those who don’t. Genuine followers of Jesus continue to practice all His righteous instructions in our sanctification process, building our houses on the strong foundation of all His Word.

 Luke 6:46–49 ESV. “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Remember that the words of Jesus include those given at Sinai, and that the so-called New Testament was not formalized until about 200 A.D. Believers live all the words of Jesus at Sinai and after filled with the love of the Father and His Son in community with each other then and now. If this irritates those who wear only a facade of righteousness and rely on church tradition and membership or time in the choir for righteousness, so be it. The Words of Jesus are the Words of the Father, and all of them help build and strengthen our houses.

John 14:23–24 ESV. Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. Salvation righteousness is a gift, and sanctification is the working out of that gift. The penalty of death for sin has been paid, so we are free to practice His Words without fear and in joyful dedication. Jesus is life, and if we grab hold of all His Words, that life will not be denied and will break out all over in our lives. Shalom.

Posted in Balance • Bible • Clean & Unclean • Continuity & Discontinuity • Daily Living • Diet • Faith • Fruit • Law • Love • Paul Teachings • Reading • Sabbath • Worship

Guide to Following the Law

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Malachi 3:16–18 ESV. Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

So you’ve accepted the sacrifice of Jesus and are now saved. You read the New Testament and hear it taught in your congregation. But some of the teachings you hear seem overly complicated compared to what you read. Maybe you’ve begun to wonder why the Old Testament isn’t taught very much, except for some nifty stories and a few Psalms or Proverbs.

In your search for understanding, you’ve begun to see that when Paul says we are “grafted in” to an existing tree (or kingdom) and that there is only one body (Ephesians 4) with one Head, there is still something missing. You see the fragmentation of a multitude of churches, and none of them look like the Body in Acts chapter 2. Perhaps you’re becoming aware that the Church has not replaced Israel and, maybe, just maybe, that The Law is valid still for all believers. Hopefully, you’re thinking you’d like to do all of the teachings of Jesus, including the instructions He gave at Mount Sinai. You wonder what comes next and how His Law fits into your walk with our Messiah and God the Father. This short article is a beginner’s guide to implementing what you are beginning to understand is a beautiful gift from our Father and Messiah for living your new life to the fullest.

As you go, there are a few things to keep in mind. These principles are not ranked in importance because they are all important. The first is that the whole Book is the words of Jesus given to His servants. If He is God in the flesh (and He is), and if He is eternal (which He is) then He gave the Law to His people at Mount Sinai. The first five books are the foundation for all other books, and are built around the Ten Words given to Moses on stone tablets. Any other book or teaching must agree with those five. Other books have been added as God worked with His people to get His message across to sometimes stubborn people, but they all have to agree with the first five.

Another principle to remember is that each man (or woman) has to decide, within the guidelines of the whole, how to implement or apply the words to their own walk. It is very possible for each of us to find our own applications. You might understand something sooner than another person, so practice patience while encouraging one another to love and good works. It might take a while for you to figure out an application, and it might take other people a while too. The point is to keep trying with all your heart, soul and strength, and if you fail then confess and repent.

Galatians 5:22–26 ESV. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

A third principle is found in the fruit of the Spirit spoken of by Paul. It is important to avoid pork and shellfish, observe God’s holidays found in Leviticus 22 instead of those the world favors, not to make vows unless you intend to keep them (or just let your yes be yes), and so on. But remember we do these things because we are already saved and we love the Lord with all our heart, soul and strength, and not to gain salvation. The fruit of the Spirit goes right along with obedience to the instructions of Jesus (Torah means instruction), because obedience to the commands in love includes (and produces) the fruit of the Spirit. All of these things work together to increase our faith (trust and obedience) and connect us to each other and our Lord.

A fourth principle for our newfound life of obedience is that we take all of His Words seriously. His commands are full of life and the more we actually believe He means what He says the more life abundant we will have. If we have a take-it-or-leave-it attitude then perhaps we don’t really trust Him as we should, and some of the blessings of following Jesus will be reduced or missing.

The Law is sort of like a 12 step program for recovering from substance abuse. First, we take God seriously because of who He is. Next, start your application of the Law with simple things, like skipping bacon for breakfast or taking the Sabbath (Saturday) off. As you apply the commands, you will make decisions on a daily basis about His will. As you change your habits, like what groceries to buy, you keep the applicable parts of the Word at the front of your thoughts. If you need reminders, your like-minded brothers and sisters can help.

Resting on the Sabbath is full of blessings. This can be a little more difficult for someone, say for instance, in the medical field, and will take quite a bit of thought to implement. It can be rather strange to switch from Saturday being a day for chores to a day for spending time with the Lord and your family. But if we take the command seriously, like all of His Words, we will reap a harvest of blessings if we don’t give up. More fruit of the Spirit is important here as we wait for brothers or sisters to increase their faith and understanding in application.

Read through the whole Bible regularly and do what you read that applies to you. Keep reading daily, going from front to back and when you’re done, do it again. If you run across a section that doesn’t at first appear to have meaning or is without a seeming application to you, skip it and keep going. The next time you read through the Bible some of those sections will make more sense. As you read and do, our Father and Messiah are building a frame of reference for you to understand more as the frame of reference builds. God keeps adding to your understanding the more you read and do. Taking in His Words and doing them is like eating and drinking the body and blood of Jesus as He says in John 6:53 through 58, with a little explanation in verse 63 that His Words are spirit and life. Keep seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Eat and drink the bread and wine of His Words to feed and sustain your soul. Enjoy.

Posted in Atonement • Continuity & Discontinuity • Daily Living • Law • New Testament • Old Testament • Reward • Sabbath • Tanakh

Doing

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Matthew 24:45–46 ESV. “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. (See also Luke 12:43; John 13:17)

Jesus gives words of encouragement to His followers, pointing to the time when He returns and finds His servants doing what He told them to do. He is speaking of the people He set over His household, so specifically that means leaders. Typically, feeding is a figure of speech for giving out the food of the Word. But “doing” extends to all of His servants too.

So what are the things we should be doing? Is it simply to have dinner with other members of our household, or is there more? We could include the “golden rule,” that is, treat others as you want to be treated. Or maybe our actions should be helping the poor, taking care of widows, and practicing justice. But is that all the Bible tells us? Well, Zechariah lists a couple more items.

Zechariah 7:8–10 ESV. And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”

So far, then, we are supposed to feed each other the Word, treat others as we want to be treated (which might also include showing kindness and mercy to one another), render true judgments, avoid oppression of people who have no defense such as widows, poor, orphans, or sojourners, and don’t devise evil against another in your heart. All those actions certainly are included in a servant’s duties to his or her Lord and Master. They are the practical outworking of redeemed people returning the love Jesus has for us. I have found, though, in other parts of God’s Word addressed to His people, that there are things we can include in the list we should be “doing.”

Isaiah 56:2 ESV. Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

Apparently, he (or she) who “holds fast the Sabbath” (and keeps his hand from evil) is included for the person who wants to be doing what Jesus says when He returns. There are other the tasks included in a servant’s life so that we can be doing what Jesus told us to do when He returns. All of the instructions included are derived from what Jesus gave at Sinai (the Law or first Sermon on the Mount) and places like the (Second) Sermon on the Mount. Fasting on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) for instance is given expanded meaning by Isaiah.

Isaiah 58:6–7 ESV. “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Leaders in particular, our so-called “wise men,” have turned the Law of the Lord into a lie, by writings and teachings that reject many of His Laws. Instead, they preach ear-tickling, emotional and sentimental messages that only use God’s Word as a touchstone to launch rants. So they are not “feeding” like they should.

Jeremiah 8:8–9 ESV. “How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie. The wise men shall be put to shame; they shall be dismayed and taken; behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord, so what wisdom is in them?

James, the brother of Jesus, leader of the congregation in Jerusalem, was not contradicting Paul in the book he wrote. He was not only in line with Paul but also Jesus, who gave all of the instructions we should be doing when He comes back. We are to be “doers” of the Word and not just hearers.

James 1:22–25 ESV. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Remember that the books of the misnamed New Testament weren’t collected and called such until about 200 A.D., so “the word” James referred to was the equally misnamed Old Testament (see also such Scripture as John 10:35; 1 Corinthians 4:6). Other writings, such as those in the New Testament, had to conform to the Old Testament (a better name is Tanakh or Law, Prophets and Writings) or would be rejected as Scripture. We accept the New Testament as Scripture, but only as it conforms to the Law, Prophets and Writings.

Jesus didn’t start some new thing but stayed true to the words He spoke many times and in many ways throughout history. Our God and Messiah repeatedly called His people to “do” the things He commanded at Sinai instead of just “hearing.” His admonition for His servants to be doing what the Master commanded is right in line with everything He spoke through the prophets time after time. His commands to us are the same as they’ve always been.

Hosea 12:6 ESV. “So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.”

The phrase “hold fast to love and justice” is one of the many summary statements in the Bible for The Law. The commands given by Jesus at Mount Sinai were the epitome of love and justice, personified and certified by His teaching at the advent and by His sacrifice and resurrection.

Matthew 7:21–23 ESV. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Signs and wonders are not the task of a servant of our Messiah Yeshua. Our task is laid out here by the inverse of His statement to “depart from me you workers of lawlessness.” The clear meaning is that following His Law is not only the will of the Father but also will be the test for entering the kingdom of heaven. A little later in the book of Matthew, He says it again.

Matthew 12:50 ESV. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

There is no special reward for our efforts to follow His will as expressed in all of His commandments (although there are many blessings). Salvation is granted by faith through grace, and following the Law is our lifestyle and discipleship method. We obey all of His commands because we love our God and Messiah and return some of this love by living like He wants us to live. Our Master lived the laws He commanded, and we copy Him as much as we are able with all our heart, mind and strength. When we are done with our labors and have entered into His kingdom, after He has ascended to the throne of David in Jerusalem, we might have some different rewards, but we will have just done our duty.

Luke 17:10 ESV. So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’ ”

Every word God speaks is by definition good, just, loving and holy. The humble servant does not hesitate to follow any of His words because faith is a combination of trust in God and obedience. The faithful person, recognizing God’s kingship and mercy, will happily submit to whatever our king and Master directs.

Don’t be fooled by the teachings of many in the Church who claim that the Church replaced Israel in God’s plans or that the Law has been eliminated by the death of Jesus. Scripture cannot be changed as our Messiah Yeshua said in John 10:35. Since the penalty for disobedience has been paid, there is no fear of death if we don’t understand a law or make a mistake in obeying. What will earn us the second death penalty (the Lake of Fire) is refusing the payment for our sin in the blood of Jesus. He has made us free from death if only we demonstrate our acceptance by obedience to all He commands with all of our heart. If we refuse the blood and try to gain our own righteousness by earning His gift, there is no other acceptable payment for our sin.

Ecclesiastes 12:12–13 ESV. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

Shalom

Posted in Bible • Church • Continuity & Discontinuity • Daily Living • Hypocrisy • Isaiah • Law • Translational Bias

Word

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The word “word” is used frequently in modern times as an equivalent for the word “truth.” One might say “truth” as an agreement for someone’s statement of an apparent truth. Interesting considering that God’s Word is the original and final “truth.” Jesus said it best.

John 17:17–19 ESV. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Believers are sanctified by the truth of God’s Word; all of God’s Word, whenever spoken at any time and to any audience.

However, most who say they “believe Jesus” do not regard His Word as truth. They pick and choose what they want to do and ignore the parts they don’t like. One of the latest examples is a part of the Lutheran Church (the ELCA or Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). They have decided that certain parts of the Bible are “harmful and patriarchal.” This type of belief is no surprise considering that the Church as a whole is not in the Bible in the first place, and has been chopping up the Word into pieces using only those pieces they like since about 200 A.D.

The Church (all of it, not just the Lutherans) has consistently preached a hollow Jesus with philosophies of men in place of much of His teaching.

There would be many blessings if we could say “word” to a pastor’s or rabbi’s teaching. But we can’t because most of them do not speak the truth, and so the blessings go wanting and hearers are sinking in a sea of feel-good messages without the substance of God’s Word. They’re not delivering solid help for daily living by properly explaining all of what God offers.

Isaiah 10:1–3 ESV. Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey! What will you do on the day of punishment, in the ruin that will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth?

The word “iniquitous” (or iniquity) is “evil,” “false,” or “wicked.” Iniquity is literally “lawlessness” or “no law.” So the sentence could read “Woe to those who speak evil, wicked, false and lawless pronouncements.” When the words of a teacher are without or against God’s Word, including His Laws (or instruction), they are evil, false, and wicked. No Law means no truth, since all of God’s Words are truth. If we want to say “word” or truth, teachers need to give us something to work with, and actually speak the truth of God’s Word.

Isaiah again records a word from God about those who do not relay His Words like they should.

Isaiah 29:9–10 ESV. Astonish yourselves and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! Be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not with strong drink! For the Lord has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes (the prophets), and covered your heads (the seers).

This is on the heels of the admonition from God about leaders and teachers who refuse to take in and adapt to God’s Word given by the prophets and the Law through Moses. They are convicted of so many refusals to speak and do God’s will that they are like the very young who have to be taught in tiny little pieces, so He will teach them by the lips of foreign peoples.

Isaiah 28:10–13 ESV. For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.” For by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue the Lord will speak to this people, to whom he has said, “This is rest; give rest to the weary; and this is repose”; yet they would not hear. And the word of the Lord will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

Then Isaiah really drops the hammer about the cause of the lack of teaching the whole Word. It is due to worship that is not in the heart and is only evident on the lips. In other words, they say they follow God but do not teach all of God’s Word nor do they actually act on them.

Isaiah 29:13–14 ESV. And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”

Though this is in the so-called Old Testament, it is not only quoted by Jesus in the New, He identifies these as hypocrites who leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men. A hypocrite speaks one way and acts differently. Jesus directs His comments to the leaders of Israel (at the time of Isaiah), but they are also directed at leaders of today who say “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” like He’s a lucky rabbit’s foot, then ignore and refuse to follow all the words of Jesus so evident throughout the Bible. They say one thing (believe in Jesus) but do what’s right in their own eyes.

Mark 7:6–8 ESV. And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

We are overloaded with hypocrites in modern times. Time to repent and just do what He says.

Word to The Word.

Posted in Church • Continuity & Discontinuity • Dogma • Judaism • Law • Rapture • Salvation • Tradition

Falling Away

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2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 ESV. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

The word “rebellion” here in the English Standard Version is translated in the NASB95 version as “apostasy” and in the King James as “falling away.” It is number 646 in the Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon.

ἀποστασία: apostasia, to forsake, falling away, defection, apostasy.

Clearly, Paul is saying that there is an apostasy before the man of lawlessness is revealed. But who is falling away from what? In other verses, rebellion or apostasy is applied to Israel departing from the worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. On the other hand, the Church applies this to itself (falling away from the Church) because they think they are a replacement for Israel. The problem with that is the Church is not in the Bible and has never been the point. Israel is the point. The Church has been falling away from God for centuries.

Hebrews 3:12–13 ESV. Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

In Hebrews 3:12, the phrase “fall away” is translated from a slightly different word meaning to “depart from,” “to desert,” “excite revolt,” or “become faithless” (Strong’s 868 aphistemi).  It’s the same basic word as apostasy, just with a different spelling.  

Hebrews 3:14–15 ESV. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

The rebellion referred to by the writer is the one where Israel refused to go into the Land as instructed by the Lord through Moses. He is equating this rebellion to the concept of apostasy.

Hebrews 6:4–6 ESV. For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

In Hebrews 6, the phrase “falling away” is a different Greek word transliterated parapipto but means ultimately the same thing – to depart from worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It can also mean to deviate from the right path, turn aside or wander, all of which are just a little more descriptive in describing apostasy.

Israel, at the time of Paul, was generally trying to follow God, even if not the Messiah Jesus the Christ. Paul was working very hard to reach as much of Israel as he could with the good news of God with us, and many thousands had converted, but the majority still wanted to go it on their own. This resulted in the failed rebellions against Roman authority of 70 A.D. and 135 A.D. The rebellion against Roman authority was much different than rebelling against God, although in those rebellions both were combined.

The falling away mentioned in Thessalonians is most likely a falling away from God by Israel, before an agreement is made by the Beast with Israel just before he is exposed for what he really is. In my understanding, the falling away spoken of by Paul will also be the result of Church congregants finding out that their leaders have been lying to them for centuries, or people in Israel choosing to side with the Beast, or both. All the nifty philosophies of men that church or genetic Israel buys into will be revealed as so many illusions.

Falling away from God is not the same as falling away from the Church. A person who simply attends Church or is part of physical Israel never was “saved” (John 3). A person can go to church or synagogue for a lifetime and still not be saved. Salvation is permanent, but the evidence of salvation is a life that is dedicated to following all of our Father’s instructions.

 Simply being a member of a non-biblical club or a genetic group is not salvation. Most congregants of any Church or synagogue have been misled into thinking that their group is equivalent to the Body of Christ (or the Kingdom of God) and so apostasy is a hard idea to swallow. But The Church and synagogue are just a man made organizations with a few cultural appropriations from the Bible pasted on and have not taken the place either of Israel or the Body of the Christ.

When the average superficial follower of God or denier of Jesus of whatever stripe finds out that the whole of God’s Word has always been a part of salvation, some will decide to follow but many will be resentful and fall away. Believing in Jesus without doing what He says; not believing in Jesus as the Messiah; believing genetics alone gets you in the kingdom; a rapture that doesn’t happen when you think; a tribulation to endure and so on will cause a massive disillusionment with leaders of all flavors.

Matthew 24:10–11 ESV. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.

Jesus uses another word to describe falling away which is transliterated as skandalizo (Strong’s 4624). It means literally to “offend,” or “entice to sin” and even “to cause to fall away.” Apparently, before the Beast is revealed there will be pressure to abandon the God of Abraham which includes “lawlessness.” This factors into the meaning of the other words to give us an idea that the lie or strong delusion (2 Thessalonians 2:11) will add to the pressure of falling away by many. Some of those who fall away may find salvation anyway, so those of us who are mature will need to help them if possible.

Shalom

Posted in Authority • Balance • Church • Continuity & Discontinuity • Daily Living • Faith • Gospel • Humility • Hypocrisy • Law • Love • New Covenant • Repentance • Righteousness • Temple • Works

Reimagining a Church Insurgence

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Frank Viola has written quite a few books with titles like pagan Christianity, Reimagining Church, There Must Be More, Discipleship in Crisis, Rethinking the Will of God and Insurgence. He’s got a couple web sites and a blog and has worked with George Barna who founded Barna Research which is kind of like a Christian version of the Gallup Research organization. If I read his information correctly, he’s also a disciple of Watchman Nee, which is important and I’ll talk about it more in a minute or two. I read pagan Christianity, and I’ve checked out summaries of some of the other books Mr. Viola has written.

I was studying up on his works when I ran across an offer he makes on his website to do print interviews for your book, film, album, resource, other product or service. According to the site all you have to do is send them the information and if they approve you pay $200.00 for it. A nice deal. So I thought, “Hey, our book Whole Bible Christianity seems like a great fit for Reimagining Church. Maybe he’d like to help us promote it.” I figured he must be serious about the problems in the church and finding solutions, and I’d like to help by showing Frank some of the things I think the Lord has shown to me. Since I’m an “Insurgent” I got excited thinking what a great match up this would be.

I was wrong.

I requested an interview, and gave links for my book and website, and said I had read pagan Christianity and agreed with Frank’s assessment of the church but thought I had something to add to the solution. After I sent in the request, I got a reply from someone named Anaya, so maybe Frank didn’t even see it. But since his people represent him, I think I’m safe in characterizing her (his?) reply as indicative of Frank’s attitudes. So in her first reply, she said that pagan Christianity wasn’t supposed to have solutions, but Frank’s later books did and had I read them? I emailed back and said I didn’t have to read them, I had heard what he was talking about decades ago from other people. After about a month I emailed and asked if she had anymore questions. She emailed back and said she hadn’t seen an Interview Request from my email address. So I re-sent copies of our email exchange. To my surprise, she said they weren’t “accepting any interview spots right now because all spots are taken until mid-2019.”

Huh?

If this is true, why doesn’t it say so on the website? Why didn’t she tell me in the first email all the spots were taken? I think I know why, and it doesn’t have anything to do with how many spots are taken. Without question she looked at my book and website and decided they didn’t want anything to do with it. And why do you suppose this is a problem? Because I write in very passionate terms of God’s Law, with so much support from the Word that it is undeniable that it should be a central part of all believer’s lives. This of course in contrast to standard church teaching ignoring the New Covenant and promoting a mystical buddy from out of town who allows any behavior one chooses.

Can Frank do what he wants? Of course. Does he have to lie? You wouldn’t think so. He says he wants to “break the echo-chamber phenomenon that’s in the bloodstream of the blogosphere today” yet it seems plain from their dodgy response to my Interview Request that perhaps echos are all they want to hear.

Part of Frank’s problem is that he sets up a false dichotomy between a “right” and “left” in the church. I’ll let him explain his “Three Gospels.” From a Bible Gateway interview on his site.

There is the gospel of legalism, which isn’t just working for one’s salvation. The gospel of legalism says that if you want God’s favor, you have to perform to receive it. This causes many Christians to live with a headache of guilt and a constant feeling that they are never measuring up.

In reaction to that is the “gospel” of libertinism which says that because we’re under grace, our behavior doesn’t really matter much to God. So we can live the way we want, and God is okay with it because He understands that we are mere mortals.

The third gospel is the gospel of the kingdom, which brings liberty on the one hand and absolute allegiance to Christ’s lordship on the other.

You see what he does? On the one hand the “right” or “evangelical” or “conservative” view lumps together legalism with performing for God’s favor. On the “left” hand we have “libertinism” meaning behavior doesn’t matter. His “third gospel” proposes a liberty with allegiance to Christ’s lordship which includes behavior that matters but without “performing.” How in the world does one manage this, and where in the Word does this come from? The answer is, it doesn’t come from the Word at all.

It’s this kind of mystical nonsense that comes from people like Watchman Nee and others. Watchman Nee is very mystical and spiritualizes the Bible text nearly out of existence sometimes. He has influenced a lot of people, including many in Calvary Chapel and evidently Mr. Viola too. This is why I said I didn’t need to read any more of Frank Viola’s books. It’s all been said before by many people such as Watchman Nee and Chuck Smith. Many organizations have steered away from the Bible as they tried to steer away from what is wrong in the Church. Mr. Viola is repeating the same mistakes with updated language and a nice book cover. He’s just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic instead of invoking real change.

The New Covenant is the Law written on a heart of flesh. What is new is the heart that will do what God says. Jesus did what God said in all ways, including the “Word of the Lord by Moses” also called the Law. The apostles followed the “living oracles” as Stephen called them. The first three thousand (and the next 5,000) converts to following the Christ were all Law-following Jews. Acts 2:46 says they were “attending the temple together. Paul says what counts is doing what God says.

For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. (1 Corinthians 7:19, ESV)

The “right wing” and “left wing” of Judaism was not doing what God said. They did part, but they did not do what He said with a whole heart of flesh in love and the Spirit.

Another thing Frank has wrong is his definition of the gospel. The word means “good news” but what exactly is the “good news?” What is the “gospel of the kingdom” biblically? If we look in the Bible instead of making up our own definitions, we find that the “good news” is “God with us.” Hebrews 4:2 says that at Mt. Sinai the gospel was preached to them just as to us.

For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. (Hebrews 4:2, ESV)

How could this be if the gospel is according to Frank’s definition? The answer is that doing what God says will mean that “God is with us.” If Jesus is really Lord and King, we will do what He says. Since Jesus gave the Law in the first place then believers in the Lord and King Jesus the Messiah will follow His Laws too. It’s not that hard. What is hard is humbling ourselves and doing what God says all the time no matter what.

Mr. Viola is another in a long line of fancy charlatans with smooth dialogue and a pitch that would charm angels, relentlessly marketing his misleading merchandise. But he’s still on the wrong track. Unless of course he just wants to sell books. As I read his blog post titled Scratch a Christian and You’ll Find Out What’s Underneath at http://frankviola.org/2013/11/20/scratchachristian/ I couldn’t help but chuckle. Did I scratch him and find out what’s underneath?

If the cross is front and center, then His body and blood will be our food.

Shalom

Bruce

Posted in Church • Clean & Unclean • Continuity & Discontinuity • Daily Living • Faith • Law • Love • Natural Man • Rapture • Relevance • Righteousness • Salvation • Temple • Tradition • Worship

Keeping Themselves Holy

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In 2 Chronicles 31:18 we are given this interesting note.

They were enrolled with all their little children, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, the whole assembly, for they were faithful in keeping themselves holy. (2 Chronicles 31:18, ESV)

King Hezekiah of Judah is getting things organized while leading the people back to God. He and the people destroyed all the high places, cleaned up the temple, and re-instituted sacrifices, tithes and offerings. The enrollment spoken of is for the Levite families in order to receive food distribution from the tithes and offerings. Remember that the priests (sons of Aaron) and the Levites were mainly tasked with taking care of the temple and sacrifices and didn’t own much land for the production of food.

What caught my attention was the phrase “they were faithful in keeping themselves holy.” First, they were faithful, meaning to keep doing what they were supposed to be doing. Second, they were keeping themselves holy, which means to follow the Law in avoiding unclean things such as pork and shellfish in addition to bathing and washing clothes and so on. Third, the faithful keeping of these things made the families holy, meaning separate and different from the usual run-of-the-mill people of the world.

In modern times, as in ancient Israel, there are many people who wear His name yet are not faithfully keeping themselves holy. Many claim to be cleansed by the blood of the lamb Jesus, yet ignore His Laws for maintaining and refreshing that cleansing. It’s as if they think that one shower is enough for the rest of their lives. They also teach against the Law, and persecute those like me and my family who realize that the Laws are just as valid for believers now as they were when they were given and even all the way back to the beginning.

The church, sadly, is not faithful in keeping itself clean. In fact, they are proud that they preach Jesus and at the same time deny His word of life. They do what is right in their own eyes, following the ear-tickling Nicolaitans they have chosen for leaders and mixing the Word of Truth with lies, traditions, and philosophies of men.

A picture that has stayed with me for decades came from the movie The Mark of the Beast popular in the ’70’s. There was a scene at one point after the so-called Rapture of a church that was empty except for the pastor preaching. I have since come to realize that the picture is false. The churches with be full for the most part if in fact a Rapture happens as they believe, because the people are not faithfully keeping themselves holy.

Shalom

Bruce

Posted in Authority • Bible • Continuity & Discontinuity • Cults • Daily Living • Relevance • Translational Bias

Literally Wood

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Tired old argument #24: The Bible is not to be taken literally.

I’m sure you’ve heard someone say that the Bible is not literal or not to be taken literally. If you disagree, as I do, that the Bible should indeed be taken or interpreted literally, this person will then drag out a few verses to prove his point. Usually the verses have something to do with what they think is a ridiculous comparison such as God as a rock or Jesus as a lamb. Obviously, they intone, God is not basaltic, sedimentary or igneous. Jesus is not actually a small fuzzy critter either. And so they dismiss the literal interpretation.

But did they ever look up the term literal in the dictionary? If they had, they might not be so dismissive. The online Merriam-Webster defines literal thusly:

1 a : according with the letter of the scriptures

  • adheres to a literal reading of the passage
b : adhering to fact or to the ordinary construction or primary meaning of a term or expression : actual

  • liberty in the literal sense is impossible
  • —B. N. Cardozo
c : free from exaggeration or embellishment

  • the literal truth
d : characterized by a concern mainly with facts

  • a very literal man

Literal is “concerned mainly with facts” or is “free from exaggeration or embellishment.” So dismissing a literal interpretation of the Bible is dismissing facts.

Dr. Walter C. Kaiser Jr. and others define literal as “the author’s intent.” God literally means what He says and says what He means.

God deals in facts. He communicates the fact that humans are lost in sin and must have a payment for sin. The fact is, He provided payment Himself in the form of the death of His only begotten Son on a chunk of wood. It is a fact that if we do not repent and accept this payment, we will not have enough to pay for sin ourselves and so will end up in a literal lake of fire. Does it matter if it’s a real lake or not? Either way it will be immersion in something painful and agonizing for a long, long time.

The Scriptures are literally God’s Word, as testimony if not His actual speech. Literally, God is a rock because He doesn’t change. Basaltic or igneous, it doesn’t matter. Did the rock come first, or did God make rocks so we would have a picture of His unchangeable nature?

What some people mean by literal is “wooden,” which is a literal term meaning they are inflexible when it comes to interpreting God’s Word. People are wooden when they attack the Word of God which allows them to relegate the parts they don’t like to the outer darkness. They start with a wooden interpretation of God as a rock or Jesus as a lamb so they can move on to getting rid of what to them are all the distasteful parts of God’s Word such as obedience, faith, Law, and salvation. It’s a slippery slope using faulty logic and ignoring facts that require a response.

Literal doesn’t mean wooden. It means that the ordinary construction or primary meaning of a term or expression from God is the truth and demands we adhere to that truth. God literally means we have to conform to His Word, all of it, in every respect. If we don’t, we will literally end up separated from Him forever.

Shalom

Bruce

Posted in Book publishing • Church • Clean & Unclean • Continuity & Discontinuity • Daily Living • Faith • Fear • Feast and Festivals • Feast of Tabernacles • Feast of Trumpets • God • Gospel • Grace • Holy Spirit • Humility • Hypocrisy • Identity • Israel • Law • Love • Marriage • Messianic Movement • New Covenant • New Testament • Old Testament • Paul Teachings • Whole Bible Christianity book

New Audiobook!

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We’ve now produced an audiobook for Whole Bible Christianity. It is available on Audible, Amazon and iTunes. I narrated it myself and it sounds very good. I did the narration because I don’t think anyone else could’ve really given the project the right tone except the guy who wrote it. It’s about 16 hours long but I don’t know what the pricing will be. Just check with Amazon under Whole Bible Christianity when you want a complete reference for Whole Bible Christianity to listen to in your car or while you are trying to go to sleep!

Shalom

Bruce

Posted in Balance • Bible • Continuity & Discontinuity • Daily Living • Gentiles • God • Law • Natural Man • Paul Teachings • Relevance • Salvation • Tradition • Whole Bible Christianity

A Whole Bible Look At Romans 9 through 12

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The third video in our Romans series is up, and I’ll bet you’ve never heard Romans this way!

Shalom
Bruce