Caught Red Handed!

Reading through the book of Joshua has been great, since it's one of those books that I rarely read but I forget how powerful and edifying it is (it is part of the Scriptures after all!) Usually we pull out the verse that says, "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD". Cross-stitched on a pillow or etched on a coffee mug, this verse has become the Christian anthem that most people really do not think about.

The context of that phrase is one of serving ONLY Yahweh! Putting away the other gods in your life to serve Him alone.

"Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!
And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Ammorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

- Joshua 24:14-15

Notice that the gods Joshua spoke of were gods from the other side of the River AND/OR the gods of the Amorites which is where the people of Israel were living. Gods from where they CAME from and gods that were where they were PRESENTLY living! We'll talk more about that in a bit.

The people answer Joshua in verses 16-18 and say that they will serve the LORD, but Joshua says in v. 19 that they CANNOT serve HIM! Not a very positive reinforcement there, is it? But read on...

"But Joshua said to the people, 'You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If you forsake the LORD and seve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.'"
-Joshua 24:19-20

We cannot be with God and have other gods/idols in our lives and expect Him to be okay with that. He won't be. In fact in Deuteronomy 12:1-4 He told the people there (and us today) not to worship Him with pagan idolatrous things!

The first commandment, God says, is to "not have other gods before Me". That phrase 'before Me' that God uses means, in the presence of or in the face of', meaning other gods in His presence. We are not to serve other gods in the LORD's presence. Remember, God sees everything. He knows if we are serving something, or someone else along with serving HIM.

But the people answered Joshua again saying, 'No, but we will serve the LORD!" How emphatic!

"So Joshua said to the people, 'You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him.' And they said, 'We are witnesses!'"
-Joshua 24:21-22

We can fool ourselves pretty well into thinking that we are serving the LORD alone, but are we really? How do we know if we are only following HIM?

By obeying His Commandments. Time and time again the prophets came to the people and warned them to turn back to the Torah/Law which they had forsaken. They followed after other gods throughout much of their history because they continually rejected His Covenant, His commandments.

Yeshua (Jesus) said to the Pharisees and some of the scribes (namely the religious leaders),

"Laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men,..."
And
"All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition."
-Mark 7:8a, 9a

He was giving them the same message He gave His prophets to deliver to the people in times past...Repent! and turn back to the Law of the LORD!

Back in Joshua 7 we read about Achan. The Israelites lost the battle at Ai and 36 men of the Israelites died in battle because of Achan's sin. What was his sin? Achan had taken a wedge of gold, 200 shekels of silver, and a Babylonian garment. Doesn't sound like a big deal, does it? But the LORD called them 'accursed things' and men lost their lives and Israel lost a battle because of Achan's covetousness.

It says that YHWH's anger burned against the children of Israel because of those things which Achan had taken. Then YHWH told Joshua that He would not be with him unless he destroyed the accursed things from among them. Did Achan confess? Not yet.
So Joshua gathered the people according to their tribes and the LORD brought forth the guilty.

"In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes shall come according to families; and the family which the LORD takes shall come by households; and the household which the LORD takes shall come man by man.
-Joshua 7:14

And the LORD did just that until finally Achan was brought forth after going through all those people, and Joshua came to him and said,
"My son, I beg you, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me."
-Joshua 7:19

Can you imagine being Achan? Being in that position where all the people are gathered...thousands, perhaps millions of people...and slowly out of each tribe, out of each family, out of each household, it comes down to YOU. You would HAVE to know that God is singling you out for what you knew was already a sin. But Achan never said anything until finally he stood before Joshua and had to confess. Would the LORD have forgiven Achan if he'd repented before Joshua came to him? I believe so because the LORD is merciful and has allowed us to do just that, but we'll never know about Achan because he didn't do that. As a result he, his children, his livestock and all that he had were stoned and burned. This is a very serious issue with YHWH. As Joshua says in ch. 24, YHWH is a holy God. Sin cannot stand in His presence.

There is no hiding from the Father who formed us and sees everything within us.

Achan was caught red handed for his disobedience to YHWH's command (Deuteronomy 7:25-26)! There in Deuteronomy the LORD told them exactly what not to do...exactly what Achan did!

But we're all guilty of doing something similar, aren't we? I know I am, but we can't take the professing church's stance and say, "Well none of us are perfect, but thank God for His grace!" Grace is NOT a license to sin (Romans 6:1, 15-23), but it is the power of God working in us to accomplish HIS will and follow HIS Law (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:27; Ephesians 2:8-10). We have no excuse for if we sin willfully we count the blood of Yeshua as worthless, and can expect judgment (Hebrews 10:26-31)

That doesn't mean that we will never mess up, but that our heart's desire should be to not mess up! And when we do sin, to REPENT! We are never going to be perfect on this side of eternity, but we should be walking after the ONE who IS perfect...Yeshua our Messiah! Walk just as He walked...in perfect submission to Torah. Walk in the light as He is in the light...He IS the Light! (1 John 1)

We can see how our sin can affect those around us, just like Achan's did the children of Israel. Our sin can affect our household, our family, our church family, our co-workers, etc... because God is faithful to deal with the sin in our life and He WILL NOT let it be swept under the rug. And we can't forget that He isn't concerned with just us, but those around us as well. He wants our witness to be unblemished, but if it's not, He will expose our disobedience to deal with others in our life, so that they might see the power of a holy God.

Personally I'd rather have Him deal with them through my obedience rather than my disobedience!...but it's my choice. It's your choice.

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,...

...but as for me and my house, we will serve YHWH.

Walking in the Spirit

What does it mean to "walk in the Spirit"? Paul uses this phrase in Galatians 5:16, but what is it that he's speaking of?

Many professing christians today believe that walking in the Spirit is many things depending on how they interpret the Scriptures.

John MacArthur, a well known pastor and author said this of the Holy Spirit:
At the moment of salvation the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the life of a believer and becomes the source of power for his life."

The question is - "The source of power for his life...to do what?"

Is the Holy Spirit working in us to give us power so that we can live according to how we think we should? Many people believe so. How many times have you heard, "If God wanted me to do that, then He would have..." Just fill in the blank, as I'm sure we can come up with a million reasons as to why we disobey the Lord in what He tells us to do.

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
Jeremiah 17:9

The fool has said in his heart "There is no God."
They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity;
There is none who does good. God looks down from heaven
upon the children of men to see if there are any
who understand, who seek God. Every one of them has turned aside;
They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good.
No, not one.
Psalm 53:1-3

How can we think that we can know best, that we can set the standard of how we should live? Yet we do all the time. "Oh no, not me!" Yes, even you. I have found myself far too many times deciding that I know better than God what is best for my life, and I'm sure that you've done it from time to time.

How do we do it? By adding to His Word, or taking away from it. It is a constant process of submitting to His will and letting go of ours that will give us direction, because we are choosing to follow the One who knows ALL things, and certainly knows what's best for us.

Only by keeping His Commandments can we begin to see the corrupt nature of our flesh and crucify the "old man", that sinful nature.
This is where the discussion usually has people spewing out terms like, "legalist" or "bondage", in reference to a believer choosing to obey God's Commandments. "We're free from the Law." "The Law is dead." Really? That's not what Jesus said,

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For assuredly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."
Matthew 5:17-18

Until when? Until heaven and earth pass away, not one single mark will be removed from the Law (His Word)! Has heaven or earth passed away yet? Nope. When will they? Not until Messiah returns to consumate the marriage with His bride (the church). In 1 John 3:4, John writes that "sin is lawlessness." Jesus Himself said that there will be people who come to Him and claim to have done great things in His name, but He will say to those people, "I never knew you, depart from Me you who practice lawlessness." (Matthew 7:21-23)

How can we know Christ if we do not know His Law? The answer is - we can't. Remember, it's HIS law, not ours. Since He is the Creator of life and the giver of all good things, then He knows what is good for those who love Him.

"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" Jesus said this in John 14:15 and it is not an ultimatum or a command, but simply a fact. If we truly love Him, then we will naturally obey His Word, His Commandments. This is walking in the Spirit.

The Spirit is our Helper, our seal of redemption, and He gives us the power, by His grace, to obey His Commandments through faith. It is only through faith that we can access grace and it is only by God's grace that we can hope to be obedient to Him. Like James writes,

"faith without works, is dead"
James 2:26

If our faith is real, then good works will follow. Those works are proof that our faith is real. These are the fruits of the Spirit. These are the works that God prepared beforehand in Messiah for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:8-10).

So let's look at Paul's discussion of what walking in the Spirit is about, in Galatians 5.

He writes:

"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."
Galatians 5:16-18

Before we move on I want to point out that this argument is identical to what Paul wrote in Romans 7 and 8.

Paul cries out "O wretched man that I am who will save me from this body of death?" Of course we know the answer - Yeshua! (Jesus). But why does Paul say that? In verses 14 through 23 we see the struggle that is in all of us! Our spirits want to do one thing, but our sinful nature wants to do another, and sometimes we end up doing things against the will of our spirit because we've given room for our flesh to win a victory in our lives instead of yielding control over to the Holy Spirit. In Romans 6:18-19 Paul points out that we are to be slaves of righteousness, going against the will of our flesh and obeying the Law of God.

In Romans 7:14 he writes that the Law is spiritual. The Spirit and the Law work together in the life of the believer because they are both "spiritual" (Romans 8:2-4). The flesh hates both the Spirit and the law. In fact Romans 8:7 says this:

"Because the carnal mind [sinful nature] is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be."
Romans 8:7

Did you get that? Our flesh CANNOT be subject to God's Law and it is hostile toward Him. Is it any wonder that we don't "feel" like obeying the Commandments of Yahweh?! That's because our flesh is lying to us, telling us that we don't need to follow a "dead law", as it says. However, the Law is NOT dead, as Jesus already said He didn't come to destroy it, but to fulfill it. That word "fulfill" actually means to fully preach!

What about Paul's statement back in Gal. 5:18 about not being under the law if we are led by the Spirit? The same thing we just talked about. To be under the Law is to be under God's wrath and the condemnation of death. Remember, the Law shows us what sin is, what sinners we are, and our need for a Savior. This is being "under" the Law. Perhaps you recall the verse that says "Christ is the end of the law". Well, it says

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."
Romans 10:4

If Christ already said that He didn't come to destroy the Law but to fulfill (fully preach) then what is being said here? The word for end in the above verse actually means 'goal' or aiming for a mark.

G5056
τέλος
telos
tel'-os
From a primary word τέλλω tellō (to set out for a definite point or goal); properly the point aimed at as a limit, that is, (by implication) the conclusion of an act or state (termination [literally, figuratively or indefinitely], result [immediate, ultimate or prophetic], purpose); specifically an impost or levy (as paid): - + continual, custom, end (-ing), finally, uttermost. Compare G5411.

The Law is all about Messiah - the Living Word! It points to Him, but that doesn't mean that He did away with it in the process of fulfilling it!

To be under the Law is death, that's one of it's ministries
(1 Corinthians 3:7) as it was, written on stone. The Law is the knowledge of sin and therefore shows us our sin - that which leads us to death, but it is also for our good (Deuteronomy 10:13; Romans 3:17-18) and David and Paul both said they delighted in the Law of God (Psalm 1:2; 19; 119; Romans 7:22). Paul also said that he serves the Law of God with his mind and that we, as believers, actually establish the Law through faith! (Romans 7:25; 3:31)

"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kindgom of God."
Galatians 5:19-21

Practice what things? All of the things Paul just listed - which are sinful. Sin is what? - lawlessness. People who practice lawlessness will be told by the Lord that He never knew them and they will be told to depart from Him.

"but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."
Galatians 5:22-24

The Law of God, which not only shows us our sin, but shows us how to live for Him, tells us what HE wants from us. The Spirit, testifying with our spirits that we are children of God, shows us this by acknowledging whether or not we love Him and whether or not we'll follow Him.

We crucify our flesh by dying to it daily. Laying ourselves on the altar as living sacrifices. How do we do that? By loving the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and strength and loving our neighbor as ourself - by obeying His Torah/Law!

"On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
Matthew 22:40

How do we love God and love others?...by obeying His Commandments. Simple. How do we walk in the Spirit?...by obeying His Commandments. Again, simple.

Remember...

I was reading a wonderful post on a friend's blog the other day and was reminded of something very special. The article was about my friend remembering the good 'ol days of her youth. As I finished reading it dawned on me that rememberance plays a key role in our relationship with the LORD in two ways:

1. The LORD always remembers us and...
2. He tells us to remember what He has done for, and commanded, us.

(the LORD)"Who remembered us in our lowly state: for His mercy endures forever; and has redeemed us from our enemies; for His mercy endures forever." - Psalm 136:23-24

Our God will never leave us nor forsake us when we cling to him (and even when we don't), because He remembers us in our times of trouble and distress.

"And God remembered Noah..." - Genesis 8:1
"God remembered Abraham..." - Genesis 19:29
"God remembered Rachel..." - Genesis 30:22

and the list of Scriptures goes on....

Now that's not to say that God forgot about Noah, Abraham, and the rest and all the sudden remembered them! It wasn't like God was sitting there and went "Ooops! I almost forgot about that guy down there!" Not at all! When we read that God remembered someone or something it's that He did NOT forget them. He had marked a special place for them in His plan and He was going to keep His promises to them, just like He ALWAYS does!

The Lord of heaven and earth will never forget those who call on His name to be saved. If we are born again then we are His children and nothing outside of our relationship with Him can remove us from His hand. Though we can remove ourselves, it is not a quick process.

Another fascinating thought in the realm of memory is what the Lord commanded concerning the Sabbath;

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" - Exodus 20:8

The Lord is not simply saying to remember which day it is (though that's part of it) but look closely at what He is telling us to remember:

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy".

That's the key to remembering the Lord's Sabbath...that we keep it holy. Not that we can keep, or make, the day holy, but that we would treasure it in our lives. God has already made it holy (Genesis 2:3) because HE said it was, and by setting it apart from every other day, He sanctified it.

Our Creator is telling us to keep it holy (separate) from every other day in our lives. To keep it sacred before Him.

Jesus said that the Sabbath day was made for mankind, not the other way around (Mark 2:27) thereby making it important for us to see what God's purpose in this day is all about.

It is not only about physical rest, which our bodies need, but spiritual rest. A day of reflecting on the Lord and the coming eternity that we will spend with Him. Some argue that our Sabbath rest can be anytime or rather, all the time in Jesus. This doesn't make any sense, Scripturally, given the fact that even though our eternal rest is in Him, we still exist in this physical existence and God has still given us bodies to dwell in and a physical earth to live on. He still expects us to live for Him in the same way His people have lived for Him for thousands of years. We can't hyper-spiritualize everything to the point where we're just constantly thinking about things and that's all we need to do. If all I do is just think about eating, I'll end up getting pretty hungry and would eventually starve to death.

The time is coming when we will rest with our Lord forever, but until then we have a weekly, holy reminder/rehearsal with Him and His body until He returns.

What is Faith?

What is faith? Or more directly - what is faith in Jesus?

Is it simply believing in your mind that He is your Savior and nothing more?

James says even the demons believe. Are they saved? Certainly not. So what is faith?

Paul says in Romans 10:17,

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."

So true faith in God comes from hearing His Word....but not only hearing, but acting on it.

Let me explain.

Genesis 15:6 says, "Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness."

So that must be it, right? Just believing?

James says that faith without works is dead. So what is James saying, that we must have works to be saved? Well, let's look a little more into Abraham's situation, shall we?,

When did Abraham believe God? Was it there in chapter 15 like we just read? And what was he believing God about? What had God said to him? Abraham's journey actually started a while before.

"Now the LORD had said to Abram:
Get out of your country,
from your family
and from your father's house
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and I will curse him who curses you;
and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him.
And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran."
Genesis 12:1-4

Notice that the LORD told Abraham (still named Abram at that point) to leave everything behind. His country, his family, his father's house....everything!
Many of us would have a difficult time doing something like that, even if we knew that the LORD was calling us to do it. Yet if we have faith in Him, then we must obey. Abraham obeyed the LORD. He trusted in Him and had faith enough to believe Him so he left his homeland and his father's house behind.

Notice, too that Abraham was from Ur originally, which was in Mesopotamia (Babylon). Abraham was a Gentile living in a pagan, Gentile nation. The LORD called him out to show him to the land of Canaan, which Abraham was to inherit.

The significant part is, though, that Abraham was told by the LORD to do something (leave everything behind) and he DID IT! He didn't just say "Okay Lord, I believe you, and so I'm going to just stay right here." NO! Abraham actually left his country and family behind! That's real faith!

God spoke again to Abraham some years later saying this:

"Then He brought him outside and said, 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.' And He said to him, 'So shall your descendants be.' And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. Then He said to him, 'I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it. And he said, 'Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?'"
Genesis 15:5-8

The LORD proceeded to show Abraham through a vision that his descendants would be enslaved in another land (Egypt) and they would then be rescued by the LORD and be brought back into the land.
The LORD reminded Abraham that He called him out of his homeland, and HE was the One to give Abraham the land of Canaan. He was reminding Abraham of the promise He made to him and that Abraham had responded to the LORD and did something....he left his home.

The letter to the Hebrews tells us more about what Abraham did:

"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going."
Hebrews 11:8

Notice again, by faith Abraham obeyed and went out.

Some argue that what Paul writes in Romans and what James writes about in his epistle contradict each other, concerning faith. If that's true, then we have a serious problem in the Scriptures! However, we can rest assured that the Word of God is whole and complete and absolutely true! Let's look at those passages.

"For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt." Romans 4:3-4

It sounds like Paul is saying that all we have to do is just believe. But we must look at what Paul is saying through the entirety of his letter to the Romans. Look just a few verses back, at the end of chapter 3.

"Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law." Romans 3:31

But wait a minute! I thought the law was works! No. Paul, in Galatians 2:16 says "for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified." Yet in Romans 2:13 he says, "for not the heares of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified;"
Hold on! What is Paul doing here? Is he back tracking? Is he contradicting himself? Not if he's inspired by the Holy Spirit to write these things.

Notice what Jesus says in Matthew 5,

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your rightousness exceeds the rightousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 5:17-20

Now while that may seem to make matters more confusing, look at what the Lord is saying. Besides the fact that He didn't come to do away with the Torah/Law of God, He also said that anyone who breaks even the smallest commandment would be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. That doesn't mean that someone would be in the lowest position in heaven, but rather, that those called the least in the kingdom of heaven will be cast out from it. He clarifies this in verse 20 by saying that one's righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. The scribes and Pharisees taught the Law, but they did not apply it to their lives by faith. And not only that, but they added to and/or took away from God's commandments by adding their own additions and subtractions to His Law. Their "oral torah" was a burden for many and they tried to establish their own righteousness instead of trusting in Yahweh completely.

No one can be justified by doing any works, including those of the law, hoping to merit salvation. However, when we call on the name of the LORD to be saved and repent of our sins (doing something) then He saves us. Then when we obey the Lord and His righteous standard (the Law), He supplies us with His grace and righteousness. We are in right standing with Him, because of our faith which then produces fruit (works). Real faith produces fruit befitting salvation. If our faith isn't real, then we will show no fruit. That's why James says faith without works is dead. If faith is not accompanied by works, then it is lifeless and cannot save us.

We are not saved by works, but we are saved by faith - which should produce works - if it's real faith.

We cannot earn God's favor nor His salvation. It is a free gift for all those who would believe in Him. Our faith accesses His grace in our lives. Therefore we must define faith. As we've already seen, faith is not just saying you believe in something, but doing something about it.

Here's a passage that'll throw you for a loop. We all know the famous verse that we just read above, that Abraham believed God and "it was accounted to him for rightousness", right?

Well in Psalm 106 we read something very interesting,

"They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices made to the dead. Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds, and the plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stopped. And that was accounted to him for righteousness to all generations forevermore." - Psalm 106:28-31

So what did Phinehas do? Well, I'd suggest going back to Numbers 25 to get the whole context, but essentially the Lord had commanded Moses to have the leaders of the tribes kill all those who had taken Moabite women and committed harlotry with them. Then a certain Isrealite man came and presented a Moabite woman that he had taken to his brethren in the sight of Moses and the rest of the camp, who were weeping in front of the tent of meeting. He then took this woman into his tent. Phinehas got up, grabbed a javelin and went into the tent and shoved the javelin through both the man of Israel and the Moabite woman - through her stomach actually. They were going to have children together which the LORD told His people not to do. Because of what Phinehas did, the Lord stopped the plague and honored him. Now to us that seems a tad bit harsh, to kill two people like that. But the Lord doesn't mess around with sin, because ultimately, that's what kills us. And because of what Phinehas did, it was accounted to him for righteousness!

By faith, Abraham did something - he left his country and family. Later on, he offered up Isaac as a sacrifice, by faith, to the LORD reasoning that the LORD would bring him back to life.
By faith, Phinehas did something.

Back in Hebrews chapter 11 we read a passage that ties this all together,

"by faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the rightousness which is according to faith."
Hebrews 11:7

Notice that Noah prepared, or built, the ark by faith! Now that's doing something. The ark was approx. 450' long by 75' wide by 45' tall. That's no small boat. Yet Noah built it by faith.
Also, because Noah did so, he saved his household and it says he condemned the world. How did Noah condemn the world by building the ark? He was proving that his faith in what God said was going to happen, was real. Thereby showing that God was going to bring judgment upon the world unless people repented.

It then says that he became heir of the rightousness which is according to faith. How? By thinking about building the ark? Or by actually trusting God and preparing the ark for the coming flood.

It's no different for us today. If God speaks to us, either through His written word or by those in His body, then we must have faith in what He says, and then act on it.

Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." - John 14:15

He didn't say "If you love Me, think about My commandments", OR "believe My commandments". No, He said "keep My commandments". Keep, or do, His commandments. Keep them close, like gaurding them as being precious to you. It's that simple. If we love Him and believe in Him, then fruit should come of that.

Ephesians 2:8-9 are some of the most quoted verses in the professing church. But what about verse 10?

Let's read all three;

8. "For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9. not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand
that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:8-10

Are we saved by works? No. Are we saved by anything we can do? No. We are saved by the grace of God, through our faith in Him. BUT, once we're saved, then we are to walk in His works which He has made beforehand just for us to walk in. His Law/Torah is His doctrine/teaching/instruction that He has given us to walk in because He loves us and cares for us. Because He died to save us from the wages of sin AND from the power of sin in our lives. Walking in His commandments is how we crucify our flesh. Dying to ourselves, we offer ourselves up as living sacrifices, holy, acceptable to God which is our reasonable service (Romans 12:1). If we love Him, let us keep His commandments, for they are not burdensome (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3)

So what is faith? Hearing the Word of God and acting upon it, believing and trusting in Him to perform that which He has spoken. Remember, real faith produces real fruit (works).

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

Matthew 15:21-28/Mark 7:24-30 seems to be an interesting passage for most of us to try and understand. A Canaanite woman asks the Lord to heal her daughter but He seems to ignore her and treat her disrespectfully. Can this be right? Is Jesus cold hearted? Have YOU ever felt like God is ignoring you? This all seems to be contradictory to the character of Jesus, who is God...who is love.
We know that Scripture will never contradict itself otherwise it wouldn't be the Word of God.
So let's take a look at this portion of Scripture from Matthew.

"Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him saying, 'Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severly demon-possessed.' But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, 'Send her away, for she cries out after us.'
But He answered and said, 'I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'
Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, 'Lord, help me!' But He answered and said, 'It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs.'
And she said, 'Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.'
Then Jesus answered and said to her, 'O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.' And her daughter was healed from that very hour."
Matthew 15:21-28

At first, this almost makes Jesus sound as if He doesn't care about the Canaanite woman or her daughter, and that He is simply ignoring her. But is that really the case? Certainly not! Why? Because Yeshua (Jesus) was sent as a light to the Gentiles and is the Savior of the world (Isaiah 42:6; John 3:16)
So why did the Lord seem to ignore her?
It seems as though He wasn't ignoring her, but testing her. Testing her faith to be exact.
There are many examples of the LORD testing people to reveal the true nature of their faith. For example:

"And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not." - Deuteronomy 8:2

So what about the comment He makes about being sent only to the lost sheep of Israel?
As we know, Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be a light to the Gentiles (Isaiah 42:6), but there is a plan with God and an order to that plan.
As we read in Deuteronomy 18, Yahweh speaking to Moses says,
I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him."
Deuteronomy 18:18

Messiah was to come throught the physical lineage that began with Abraham...according to the seed. Yeshua had to be born in the flesh to defeat sin, and it was through the nation of Israel that that was to be accomplished. Also, in Romans chapter 2 we gain another look into the role of Jews and Gentiles outside of Christ.

"tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek[Gentiles]; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God." - Romans 2:9-11

God made a covenant with the children of Israel and because of that there is a particular order to His workings. However, that does not mean that any Jew is saved simply because they are a Jew, unlike many of the heretical teachings of today's worldly Zionists. A Jew must be born again in Messiah just like a Gentile.
So since the Father promised them that He would send a Prophet to them from among there own people He did that and as Paul says again in Romans -

"Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers." - Romans 15:8 He had to come to the Jews first to confirm the covenant that He made with them centuries before. Okay, what about what Jesus said to the woman in verse 26, comparing her to dogs? The truth is that the Lord was reaching out to her AND His disciples through this conversation. The term 'dog' was often given to the Gentiles by the Jews which was a spiteful remark since the Jews thought they were the only ones chosen by God for salvation. However, God had much different ideas. He wanted all people to come to Him through His Son, Yeshua.
To better understand what Yeshua was doing in this particular situation we have to look back at the previous chapter in Matthew.
Here we read the story that most of us know - Jesus was miraculously walking on water during a storm when the disciples saw Him and Peter cried out to Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." Of course, we know Jesus said 'Come' and Peter actually walked on water! But soon he began to take his eyes off Jesus and focused on the storm. He then began to sink and cried out for Jesus to save him. The Lord caught him and said, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
Maybe it's just me, but I would think Peter's faith in Christ had to be pretty strong for him to actually walk on water! Yet the Lord still says, 'O you of little faith." Wow, Yeshua actually called Peter's faith "little". Yes, he began to sink, but still....the guy walked on water! Okay, so why would Yeshua say that to Peter? Well our answer is actually back in chapter 15 with the Canaanite woman.

Twice she came and pleaded with Him to heal her daughter. She, a Gentile acknowledged Him to be the true King and Prophet that would be sent in the name of Yahweh by calling Him the 'Son of David'. She also came and worshiped Him even when He seemed to ignore her. And even after He seemed to deny her request in verse 26, she STILL humbly pleaded with Him, and she did so by reasoning with Him. The Lord Himself pleaded with His people through the prophet Isaiah when He said,

"Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD" - Isaiah 1:18

The faith of this Canaanite woman was stronger than that of the disciple Peter, or any of the others up to this point. Where Peter had failed to KEEP trusting the Lord through the storm, she continued with her faith through a time when the Lord was apparently not hearing her.

And so we see when the Lord said to the woman, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire."

A strong, great faith is one that continues on, even through trials and tribulations, not one that caves in when things get rough.

There are many times when in my own life I felt like God wasn't hearing a word I said, but He heard them. He just wanted to test me and know my heart. To see if I was seeking His will or my own. He will not listen to us if we are seeking our own gain or will. It's only when we, like the Gentile woman who sought Him, worship Him for who He is and humbly seek His will that He will hear us.

We must not forget either, that just previous to this situation, but after the event with Peter in the storm, Yeshua talked with the scribes and Pharisees. He rebuked them for the fact that they held their traditions and commandments at, or above the commandments of God. This is what He said to them:

"Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips,
but their heart is far from Me. In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" - Matthew 15:7-9

The religious leaders of the day did not realize that Yeshua was the Messiah and they murdered Him on a cross. They did not see Him for who He was because they had placed their own commandments and doctrines at the level of, or even in place of, God's. They added to and/or took away from the Word of God. This is why they were blinded, and this is also why many of the disciples themselves were blinded at times. Yeshua had to continually tear down those walls that were built up around them in order for them to see Him...the Truth.

The disciples were going through all of this (the storm, the argument with the religous leaders, the situation with the Canaanite woman) and were beginning to realize that it wasn't because of their heritage, or doctrines, or anything else that Yeshua had come to them, but because He is and God and the Savior of all those who place their faith and trust in Him alone! Even though the Canaanite woman belonged to a people that God had told the children of Israel drive out when they entered the land (Exodus 33:2), she still worshiped Him and cried out to Him....Yeshua....Salvation!

What a testimony of faith and perseverance.

Praise Yahweh for His mercy and goodness!

Let's read, again, the promise to Jews and Gentiles from the Lord. "Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision (Jews) for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the father, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written:
'For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, and sing to Your name.'
And again he says: 'Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!'
And again: 'Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!'
And again Isaiah says: 'There shall be a root of Jesse; and He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in Him the Gentiles shall hope.'" Romans 15:8-12

Repentance leads to life!

Repentance. What is it? How does it affect us and why should we care about it?
Well, repentance is much more than some nifty little doctrinal statement made by christians. Repentance is the basis for life in God.
It is, in a cosmic sort of nutshell, choosing to turn from our sins toward God and asking Him to forgive us of those sins which we had previously committed.
Repentance is NOT a one time deal where God forgives all the sins we've ever committed AND those we will commit.
Romans 3:25 says that God passed over our sins which we had previously committed, due to His forebearance and eternal knowledge.
However, we must realize that God does not forgive every sin we WILL commit unless we ask for forgiveness.
We must come before Almighty God in humbleness and fear, and ask for His forgiveness when we sin.
Hebrews points out why -

"For if we sin willfully after we have recieved the knowledge of the truth there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation will devour the adversaries." - Hebrews 10:26

Did you get that? If we sin, knowing full well that we're sinning, Jesus' sacrifice no longer has a place in our lives. It doesn't count because we've put Him to an open shame all over again (Hebrews 6:6).

If we don't repent of our sins we'll die in them. But if we do repent then we experience the free gift of salvation that Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) brings to us by His grace.

Messiah said in Luke 13:3 - "...but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

Not the message of Jesus that we're used to hearing, is it? But it's the truth of His Word.

Regardless of what people think Messiah said or didn't say, really doesn't matter because He said what He said! We can't change what He has said and done.
He does NOT change and His Word stands forever!

If the Lord died to save us from our sins then we have to ask ourselves why so many of us continue to sin willfully. Do we think God doesn't care anymore about repentance in our lives?
Certainly not! Of course He still cares. He's God and as we already said He does NOT change.
He therefore still cares every bit as much about us and our relationship with Him today as He did ages ago.

Without repentance we will continue to walk in sin, which, ultimately, is walking AWAY from God. He knows this and that is why He wants us to let Him work in our lives to destroy sin.

By the Holy Spirit we CAN overcome sin!

Many times, when Yeshua would encounter someone seeking forgiveness He would forgive them and then tell them "go and sin no more".
That statement would be some kind of awful joke if we couldn't get past our sins. But He knew/knows that by HIS strength and HIS grace we can be truly free when we walk in His Torah (Law).
If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we will know what it means to walk upright and free in His Law. Because we are saved by His grace through our faith.

Repentance leads to life, but walking in darkness and unrepentance just leads us closer and closer to eternal death and separation from God.

"For godly sorrow produces repentance, leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death." - 2 Corinthians 7:10

Unity

Many in this world are preaching a message of unity with other religions and beliefs, not that this is anything new, but it is becoming more and more prevalent.
What is more frightening is the fact that professing Christendom is accepting, or even proclaiming in many cases, this same message.
It is the spirit of antichrist, plain and simple.
James says that friendship with the world makes yourself an enemy of God (James 4:4).
The giant blanket of Christianity is encompassing many "faiths" and leading people to destruction. The many teachers in the professing church are making people twice the son of hell as they are. Certainly not all christians are like this, but more than there should be.
And yet it doesn't stop there. Far too many Jewish people are progressing in this belief at any cost. It seems that not only are many Jews still denying Yeshua/Jesus as the Messiah, but they are believing that there are many ways to God and the message of unity which the world is preaching. In fact, many of them (though not all) are not just believing it, they are the cause.

Even IF Yeshua is not the Messiah (though we know He is), God, in His Torah/Law still states that there is ONLY one way to Him and salvation - by walking in Him and His commandments through faith (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 10:12-16; 26:17). He clearly says not to worship any other gods (Exodus 20:3-6; 23:19). He says He hates false gods and religious practices (Leviticus 19:26-31; Deuteronomy 7:25-26) and the ways of the other nations (Deuteronomy 9:5; 12:30-31).
Yahweh (God) condemns other religions and false practices because He is the ONLY true God.
So now we come to the fact that Yeshua is God in the flesh (John 8:57-58; Colossians 1:15-16; 2:9-10; 1 John 4:2-3). So in accordance with that fact, He is also the ONLY way to the Father (John 14:6).
Yeshua did not come to destroy or do away with the Torah, but to fully teach it (Matthew 5:17-19; 7:16), thereby establishing the foundation of our faith.

He (Yahweh/Yeshua/Holy Spirit) is God and the only way of salvation. We as human beings in the flesh (sinful nature) do not like to hear when we're wrong about something. But if we are in a lie, shouldn't we let go of that lie and hold fast to the truth, no matter what the cost? The truth is the truth and we can't change that, nor should we want to. Yeshua IS salvation for us and His commandments (Torah) are our instruction in obedience to Him. It's by His grace, through our faith that we are saved so that we can then walk in obedience to Him - proving our faith is real.
There is no substitute for Yeshua, no other way to be saved, and anyone who believes otherwise will NOT be excepted into the kingdom of God (John 3:36; Hebrews 2:3; 10:29; Revelation 20:15). That's not my words, but His.

What is Faith?

What is faith? This is probably the most important question that we can ask ourselves as we seek to trust the Lord with our salvation. Is faith simply saying you believe and nothing more? Or is it doing something with your faith?

In his epistle James writes,
"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." James 2:26
Our bodies are nothing but empty shells without our spirits filling them up. Granted our bodies are amazing in their construction, but they are useless without the breath of God breathed into them.
Let's look a little closer at what James is saying in chapter 2.
"What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,' but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
Thus also faith by itself if it does not have works, is dead.
But someone will say, 'You have faith, and I have works.' Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.< You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe - and tremble!
But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?
And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.' And he was called the friend of God.
You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." - James 2:14-26

Some people seem to think that James is contradicting what Paul says in Galatians 2:16 "for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified."
However, look at what Paul says in his letter to the Romans -

(for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; - Romans 2:13

Paul and James are not in opposition to each other since they were both inspired by the same Holy Spirit!
We are NOT saved by our works (Ezekiel 33:13), but rather, our works PROVE that our faith is REAL!
If we do good works in accordance with the Torah, out of love for God and His people then we have shown our faith is more than just an empty shell.
Though most people still choose to believe that faith is simply saying you believe and nothing more. "God knows my heart" they say, yet they overlook what the Lord says in His Word about walking in obedience to His commandments:
"I will put My Spirit within you and CAUSE you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and DO them." - Ezekiel 36:27
"Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches the, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 5:19
He who has My commandments and KEEPS them, it is he who loves Me." - John 14:21
"You are my friends IF you DO whatever I command you." - John 15:14
"Through Him [Christ] we have received grace and apostleship for obdience to the faith..." - Romans 1:5
"Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision?" - Romans 2:26
"Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law." - Romans 3:31
"But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should SERVE in the newness of the Spirit [Jeremiah 31:31-34] and not in the oldness of the letter." - Romans 7:6
"I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself SERVE the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." - Romans 7:25
"that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." - Romans 8:4
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:8-10
"work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." - Phillippians 2:12b-13
"who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works." - Titus 2:14
"Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, 'I know Him' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk just as He walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandmentis the word which you heard from the beginning." - 1 John 2:3-7
"and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dad, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests [by implication to SERVE] to His God and Father ..." - Revelation 1:5-6

There are more Scriptures that show us that faith is more than just "saying" we belive. It is an action, something we DO. Proof of our faith.
Not proof for God, since He does see our hearts, but proof for ourselves and those around us. This is an essential part of God's design for our relationship with Him and those who are in Him.

Faith IS what saves us, but again, our works are proof of that faith which makes them very important. God wants us to know beyond the shadow of a doubt that we are saved by faith and that our faith is alive.