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Faith Torah Works

Come as You Are?

Christian churches [501(c)(3)s] are trying to outdo each other to prove they are ‘more inclusive’ – it is like a competition.  The larger the church, the more successful they are thought to be.

“Jesus loves you just the way you are” is one of their slogans.  They must be speaking of Jesús Aguilar (he likes having all kinds of fans), because the Jesus I know reached out to everyone, but is very discriminating as to who he accepts.

1 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.

Matthew 22:1-6

Yeshua generally spoke in parables because the message he brought was too complex for the average listener to understand.  This parable, however, starts with what appears to be a rather undisguised, abridged description of the Hebrews’ history of profaning Yahweh’s Covenant and abusing (or even killing) His prophets.

7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

Matthew 22:7-10

Now the parable become more obscure to the normal listener at that time.  Of course, we have the advantage of thousand’s of years of commentary concerning Yeshua’s words and the letters of Paul, so we understand the servants are those that went forth to ‘teach all nations . . . to observe all things whatsoever Yeshua commanded them.’ (Matthew 28:19-20; see also Mark 16:15-16; Acts 1:8)

Remember, salvation was never exclusive for the Hebrew nations.  Yahweh repeatedly stated His Law and its blessings were for the native born Israeli and the fellow traveler, as well (Exodus 12:49; Leviticus 19:34; 24:22; Numbers 9:14; 15:14-15; 15:29; Deuteronomy 1:16; and more).

11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 22:11-13

41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 13:41-42

Cast out the guest because he was wearing the wrong clothes?  Sounds kind of elitist – definitely sounds like the king is discriminating . . . even to the people he invited to the feast.

We are to be clothed (enduo / en-doo’-o [G1746]) with the holy spirit:

“let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on [enduo] the armour of light . . . But put ye on [enduo] the Lord Jesus Christ”

Romans 13:12-14

For this corruptible must put on [enduo] incorruption, and this mortal must put on [enduo] immortality.

1Corinthians 15:53

For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on [enduo] Christ.

Galatians 3:26-27

22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye on [enduo] the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Galatians 4:22-24

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on [enduo] the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Galatians 6:10-11

Can someone call upon the Lord and not put on [enduo] the holy spirit?  Yeshua tells us many who are perceived as Christians have not clothed themselves in preparation of the wedding feast.

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Matthew 7:21-23

This includes Christian ‘leaders’ (Matthew 7:15-19)

Enduo requires voluntary action on the part of the person wanting to be clothed.  Believing is not enough – proper action is required.

19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

James 2:19-20

What actions?

1) Repent? 

1 There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Luke 13:1-5

The Word, nor historians, tell us what the Galilaeans did to incur the wrath of Pilate, but it was supposed that they must have been especially wicked to have been slaughtered by the Romans in the midst of doing sacrifices.  It appears those telling Yeshua of the event wanted his reaction to the news – this may have been a trap by the Jewish leaders to ensnare Yeshua in his words. 

He does not express an opinion about the event, but he does turn the story around to speak to the importance of repentance.  He includes the events around the collapse of the Siloam tower to reenforce the need for repentance.

If Yeshua loves us as we are, why do we need to repent?  “From that time [after his 40 day fast following his baptism] Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).

2)  Renew Our Minds?

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Romans 12:1-2

Put on [enduo] the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him . . . Put on [enduo] therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved . . . .”

Colossians 3:10-12

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10
Bob the Priest

Renew our minds to what?  To the latest trendy preacher? To the latest, popular, self-help book with ‘Christian’ themes?  How can we know what is “right”?

7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

Psalm 19:7-8

If Yeshua loves us as we are, why do we need to renew our minds? 

3)  Emulating the man that we profess is our Lord?

3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

1John 2:3-6

If Yeshua loves us as we are, why is he asking us to be like him? 

Yes, come as you are . . . but don’t stay as you are.  It is impossible to change a lifetime of bad habits and bad decisions overnight, but you have to make the decision that you want to change. 

When the Apostles were trying to figure out how to incorporate pagans into the faith, they understood this problem.  The leadership determined that the pagans must initially agree to stop committing four especially nasty sins and that they would learn the rest of the Law, over time, by attending synagogue each Sabbath. (Acts 15)

Believing you can confess Yeshua as Lord and continue your life the same as you always had belies your claim that he is your Lord.  You cannot enter a marriage relationship and continue to act as if you are single.  Learning to do right in a marriage takes time, but it will never happen if you believe anything is okay in a marriage.

Yahweh and Yeshua want all men to be saved and have a seat at the wedding feast – few want to do what is required to have a seat at the table.

14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

Matthew 22:14

I’ve not plugged my book in a while.

If you want to walk as Christ walked . . . if you want a starter guide on what the Law demands of us . . . if you don’t want to wait a lifetime of synagogue services to jump-start the renewing of your mind to the Word, GRAFTED: Embracing Torah is a good vehicle, but it does not replace you as the driver.

It lays out the essentials for today’s believers and then you can test it and make it your own (it has a chapter on how to make the Word your own)

By rkeck777

I have carefully searched the Scriptures for decades to find the Truth of what God wanted for my life. I was raised Roman Catholic and even attended seminary in the 1980s in Indianapolis, IN. They asked me to leave because I kept questioning the faith by pointing out where Catholic doctrine was counter to the clear teachings of the Scriptures (these differences are covered in many books). I was told that I was “too orthodox” and asked to leave.
I thank the Way International for teaching me ‘how’ to read the Bible. Just as one needs to be taught to read Shakespeare, there are literary rules used throughout the Word (e.g., context, first use, figures of speech, etc.) that make the study of the Bible thrilling and fulfilling (These rules are covered in many books). The Way had its own problems and their proclivity for teaching how to understand the Scriptures led to their undoing when some of their teachings were exposed to be counter to the clear teachings of the Word.
This is not intended to be an auto-biography but I want you to understand that my search has taken me in many varied directions and at the age of 58, I once again made a ‘shift correction’ towards what I believe to be a greater understanding of true faith. It is never too late for God to reveal the answers to the desires of your heart.

I began a thirty day fast after Thanksgiving 2018 for both spiritual and physical health reasons. I listed my reasons on a dry-erase board so they were constantly before me. Those who know me were shocked that I planned to go thirty days without food. I explained that Christ went forty days and he wasn’t sixty-five pounds overweight. I don’t believe I would have been successful without my list and a desire to see the changes come about in me.
Number one on my list was to ask for forgiveness. My transgressions unto the Lord are numerous and senseless (as I’m sure is the case with most people). This is where the opening verse comes in. Someone actually shared it on Facebook (see, FB is not totally worthless) and I was struck by what it said of God’s own heart. I looked it up in my Bible so I could see the context and I saw the verse was highlighted and there were notes in the margin. I was shocked. I had seen this verse - I had parsed the Hebrew words in the verse - I had saved my thoughts in the margin - and I had completely missed the Heart of God in the Verse.
Parsing, examining and searching the Word and various study helps is important and it has its place, but God only wrote one Book for His People so seeing the why, the heart, of what is written is vital. In a nutshell, in Isaiah 43 God tells us that HE forgives us for HIS sake because unforgiveness is so toxic that God worries about its effects on Himself. I couldn’t believe I had missed this simple, yet powerful truth and knew I had to examine every aspect of my faith to see what else I had ignored.
It is very easy to delve into the Bible to verify the doctrine one already has and this is what I had done for decades. Luckily, I had been ‘thrown out’ of my church the year before based on a personal disagreement with the Pastor. God had some major Truths He wanted to share with me and I was now not as likely to bend scripture to whatever my current church was teaching. The process behind the Revelation does not have a linear path that can be easily transcribed and this narrative is already lengthier than I had planned so let’s just cut to the chase. The epiphany is probably the reason you are reading this book in the first place and you are probably wondering if I will ever come to the point.

God told me that ‘Christ did not come to start a new religion or a new Covenant’.

Read that again.

Yes, Jesus brought about the New Covenant promised by God (Jeremiah 31:31) in the Old Testament, but he did not bring about something different than what had been prophesied. “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). Where, in scripture, is it prophesied that God will ‘suspend’ His Laws for a time?
I could not have received that a year ago because I was so steeped in the Faith I had ‘clothed’ myself in. I understand that early believers were referred to as “Christians” but that was merely a derisive label given to them. In my civilian jobs, I was called supervisor, foreman, boss fellow, and several other names I chose, in good taste, to not repeat. These are all titles and did not change the underlying character of who I am. There are two very good YouTube videos I found that explain this so well that I recommend you stop reading now and watch them before continuing.

The Error of Dispensationalism (Remastered) - 119 Ministries
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RL2hZSpKEE
Identity Crisis - Passion for Truth Ministries
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN-1jUc963g

Yes, I understand Jim Staley is (was, depending on when you read this) in jail. He is an imperfect messenger (as are we all), but if you cannot distinguish between the messenger and the message then you are going to miss out on much of what God is sharing to you with the Scriptures and in life.

I was reminded of the lesson of Ananias and Sapphira from Acts 5:
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, 2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. 5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. 6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. 7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. 8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. 9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. 10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. 11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.

Ananias and Sapphira had obviously done a good work in selling their property and giving much of the proceeds towards the Ministry but their hearts were wicked in that they wanted praise for having done this and false praise at that since they kept back some of the money but they led people to believe that they had contributed the entire amount. Any amount would have been a worthy contribution but they wanted to be puffed up in their pride by lying to the Apostles and to the Holy Spirit. The shock and shame of having their hearts exposed by the Spirit through Peter was too much for them.

You must work out your path AND you must want to follow that path. Our Father is not impressed by people who feel obligated to do something they do not want to do (“This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” Matthew 15:8). God also tells us that, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1John 5:3). The Torah was not intended to be burdensome but the Religious Leaders, over time, added to and agonizingly interpreted the existing Instructions with their traditions (Talmud). I do not believe that this was God’s intention. God’s Instructions are not based on circumstance but the application often must be. This is your responsibility - please do not relinquish the accountability of your walk to others.

The two most important things you much figure out for yourself are, “what is God’s Heart in commanding such and such” and “what is my heart in obeying His Commandments”. This is a journey, much like marriage, and diligence to your relationship will produce wonderful results.

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