Tag: faith and works

Jesus on ‘Works’ and ‘Eternal Life’

And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Full context here.)

What must I DO to inherit eternal life?judge

DO.

This verse begins a recounting of a conversation in the life of Messiah.  A conversation wherein Yeshua (Jesus) says what much of Christendom doesn’t want to hear.  Let’s pay attention to the Rabbi.

Rabbi Yeshua replies,

“What is written in the Torah? How does it read to you?”

Recall what He said in Matthew 5:17-19…

Given the opportunity to say, ‘All ya gotta do is believe…’ and Yeshua does not.  Rather, He points to the Torah!  The lawyer replies, quoting Torah commands that sum up the whole of the Law,

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

Without hesitation, Yeshua answers, Continue reading “Jesus on ‘Works’ and ‘Eternal Life’”

Completed Christian?

If a ‘completed Jew’ has found

Yeshua,

what does that make a Christian who has found

Torah?

Revelation 12:17 says, Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.

Revelation 14:12 says, This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.

‘IF,’ and ‘AND.’ Three perspectives….

Ever noticed some verses can have totally different meanings, depending on whose perspective or lens you read it through?prism

5 Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My [a]own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;  Exodus 19:5

Christendom sees,

5 Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My [a]own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;

They have and speak of the ‘Spirit.’

Judaism sees, Continue reading “‘IF,’ and ‘AND.’ Three perspectives….”

A Matter of the Heart!!

Lately, I have been marking instances of ‘heart’ in the Tanakh, or ‘old’ Testament.  My specific reason is that on so many occasions, in conversations with others regarding the importance of Torah in our day, I am told that it is written on our hearts by the New Covenant, therefore, we do not have to worry about or try to keep it.

The very root of that thought is contrary to the New Covenant, so we need to demonstrate briefly that the New Covenant is not yet fulfilled before addressing the ‘heart’ of the matter.  The New Covenant says,

31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
    I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
    though I was a husband to[a] them,[b]”
declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
    after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law (Torah) in their minds
    and write it on their hearts. Continue reading “A Matter of the Heart!!”

“Sin no more” …

Depending on the translation, there are several places where Yeshua says, ‘Sin no more.’

In the KJV, the two prominent examples are John 5:14 and John 8:11.Heart-of-Stone-225x300

14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Other translations render the phrase as “stop sinning,” “leave your life of sin,”do not sin anymore,” etc.  (After all, the translators need a certain number of variations to justify a copyright and ensuing royalties…  but, I digress.)

Yeshua said, “sin no more.”  And this, in the two cited cases, after forgiving their sins.  Hmmm…

I recently concluded another one of those debate/discussions, this one via email, about the place of the Torah in the life of one who has placed their trust in Yeshua the Messiah.  Over and over the other side asserted that the believer is ‘free from the Torah,’ and ‘the Torah has no place in the life of the believer,” yet, here is Yeshua, forgiving sin and then saying, “go, and sin no more.” Continue reading ““Sin no more” …”

Tales from the Bus: Fog and Faith

This morning was particularly foggy!  I’ve had several such mornings, but for whatever reason, today I felt much more vulnerable as I strained to seefoggy road past the end of the hood.  I found myself wishing for a nice bus route through town with all the attendant street lights and fairly well marked intersections.

Out in the country, there are multiple turns that are hard enough in the reduced visibility of darkness, but with the pressing fog, I felt myself desiring a really long red-tipped cane or a seeing-eye dog to hang out of my window….  to no avail.

At one place on my route, I have a very dark hard left-hand turn that drops off on a single paved track between heavy trees and a massive stone sign.  What I would do for some light offering security as I drop into the grade and hold my breath waiting for the headlights to sweep and catch up, confirming the pavement that I know is there, but can’t see.  (Who is the knucklehead that put the kibosh on Tucker’s invention of headlights that follow the steering wheel??  Okay, so it wasn’t entirely Tucker’s idea, but that is another story..)

And, as I make the turn with some trepidation, I think of ‘faith.’ Continue reading “Tales from the Bus: Fog and Faith”