Q&A – WHY DO BELIEVERS STILL SIN? - 2

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Q&A –  WHY DO BELIEVERS STILL SIN? - 2

Romans 12:2  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 IAUE.

In our last post, we identified four ways believers respond to sin in their lives.

1.  We are sorrowed unto genuine repentance.  Sin grieves our hearts because it is never our intention.

2.  We are frustrated by the repetition of sin in our lives; and we vow to do better.

3.  We are frustrated by the repetition of sin in our lives; and we reluctantly acquiesce to its inevitability. 

4.  We freely entertain certain sins; and accommodate them by giving them opportunity and occasion.

Each of these responses ultimately originates in the way we THINK about sin.  Let’s examine that idea.

In #1, we think of sin as a crime against our Master.  It is to be avoided at all costs.  We THINK that sin dishonors our Elohim; that it is uncharacteristic of the life that has been created within us; that it interferes with our fellowship with IAUE, Yahushua and our fellow disciples (1 John 1); and it is beneath the dignity of any who are called by the name of Yahushua.  Consequently, every transgression pains us because we know what it cost our Master to purchase our forgiveness; and what it costs us to have it in our current life.  Our desire is to resolve its stain upon our life immediately.

In #2, because we want to walk in a manner pleasing to the Master, when certain sins manage to find repeated experience in our lives; we THINK that it becomes our responsibility to overcome those sins.  We THINK that we can put an end to them by the exercise of our own might and effort.  We THINK that by our own will power we can put an end to our disobedience to the Master.

In #3, because we have discovered that by our own might and effort we cannot overcome those repetitious sins, we give ourselves over to them with a “What’s the use of trying to quit?” attitude. We THINK that we have the ultimate victory of salvation while at the same time we THINK that we will never experience personal victory in these areas of our life.  We THINK we are just human, so why beat ourselves up over the frailty of our own humanity.

In #4, we THINK that there is no eternal consequence to our engaging in sin.  We may limit the depth to which we will disobey our Elohim and our Master Yahushua to those acts that are only offensive to Him and not to society (i.e., not criminal acts).  Unfortunately, there are many believers that engage in acts that are deemed criminal by society’s laws; and yet they THINK they can do so without harming anyone (although they take precautions not to get caught and suffer the legal consequences of their actions). For those who make provision for sin in their lives and believe there may be eternal consequences to their actions, they THINK that it is worth the risk.

We have a thinking problem, and the apostle Paul diagnosed a solution to this problem in his epistle to the Romans.  He said we are not to be conformed to this world.

This word “conformed” (Greek - syschematizo) means to adapt one’s mind and character to a preset standard. The word for “world” (Greek – aion) means an age, a period of time. Specifically, it has reference to the unbroken period of time of man dating from Adam until the coming of the last Adam to take up the throne of David in the millennial reign of Messiah on earth.  In this verse, it means our lives are not to be shaped by the ever changing cultures and attitudes of the world where life is defined by ego-driven values and peer pressure.

“Do not be conformed to this world” is the command; but it does not help us to know that this is what IAUE expects of us. We have always pretty much understood this to be the case.  It does not help us to cease sinning…to cease behaving like the rest of the world behaves with disregard to the holiness of IAUE and the purity of our Master Yahushua.  The solution comes with the next part of the verse.

“but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  The word “transformed” (Greek – metamorphoo) means “to change into a different form.”  This is a dramatic departure of the life that is in conformity with the push, pull and tug of the world. It is something entirely NOT like the men and woman of this age. This transformation changes the way we think and the way we behave. It affects our character and our integrity. It makes us different from those who are being conformed by the age.

                                        

How are we to experience this transformation, this metamorphosis from the way of living defined and decreed by this world?  We are to do so by the renewing of our mind.  This word “renewing” (Greek – anakainosis) means to renovate, to bring about a complete change. We are to change our thinking. It is our thinking that has always been Satan’s target in man.

2 Corinthians 4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Messiah, who is the image of IAUE, should shine unto them.

The first of the four responses to sin demonstrates renewed thinking.  The rest of the responses proceed from wrong thinking.  We must have renewed thinking to prevent being conformed to this age.  Notice, in the first response, it is the desire to do the will of IAUE that is foremost and which is honored in the mind and heart of the disciple.  That factor is missing from the other three responses.  Look at the purpose of a renewed mind.  It isn’t just to keep from being conformed to this world; it is so we can “know what is that good, and perfect and acceptable will of IAUE.”  It is by doing the will of IAUE that our lives are transformed; and it is impossible to do that which we do not know to do.

To the heart that is characterized by our first response, doing the will of IAUE has already become the rule of life and the purpose of existence.  Not so, with #2, #3 and #4.  “Self” (the flesh) remains important to the disciple who has not yet realized the preeminence of doing the Father’s will.  We must have an understanding of how IAUE wants us to think; and the first thing we need to learn to think is that life is not about us.  The sooner we realize that, the sooner we are going to want to know how to think like the one that life IS all about.

There have been many books written about renewing the mind.  This blog dedicated several posts to the subject; so I won’t belabor the point, here.  Suffice it to say, we need to ready, study and meditate on the Scriptures to give the Holy Spirit the chance to teach us how to think with IAUE’s thoughts; to know His will so we can abandon ourselves to the performance of it.

It may be of some comfort to know that the very nature of Paul’s instructions in this verse recognizes the inevitability of sin in the life of the believer.  How can we know in which areas of our lives our thinking is wrong?  While we are in the process of changing the way we think about all things through the renewing of our minds, the Holy Spirit is going to convict us of our transgressions as they occur.  This ministry of the Holy Spirit will serve as a flashing traffic light to alert us to an area of our life where wrong thinking produced wrong acting.  Our ever decreasing sins will serve as a spotlight on areas of our lives that yet need to be transformed by changing the way we think.

Wrong thinking is just one of many reasons why believers still sin; but it is perhaps the most important one.  We can never rise above our wrong thinking.  The moment we begin thinking about our lives and thinking about sin the way IAUE thinks about them, the sooner the vast resources of Heaven can be applied to our transformation and set us free from the bondage of responses #2, #3 and #4.

Q&A – WHY DO BELIEVERS STILL SIN? - 1

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Q&A –  WHY DO BELIEVERS STILL SIN? - 1

1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of IAUE doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of IAUE.

This verse is one that believers typically read, then shake their head in wonderment, then move on to the next verse without really ever considering its Truth. Why is that?  It is because we still sin; and we know we do.  We still choose to do things we know are not pleasing to IAUE. We still choose, at times, to directly disobey His clear direction and instructions.  We even, at times, do things that even our society has deemed inappropriate or even criminal.  Many believers have an entire “secret life” kept in the dark…a life of sin that they protect their friends and family from ever discovering.  In this post, we will simply introduce the subject and will develop the answer more fully in the following posts.

When it comes to the experience of sin in the life of the believer, there are several ways we respond to it; and that generally corresponds to the level of our allegiance to the mastery of Messiah in our lives.  Moving from the best to worst there is:

1.  We are sorrowed unto genuine repentance.  Sin grieves our hearts because it is never our intention.

2.  We are frustrated by the repetition of sin in our lives; and we vow to do better.

3.  We are frustrated by the repetition of sin in our lives; and we reluctantly acquiesce to its inevitability.  

4.  We freely entertain certain sins; and accommodate them by giving them opportunity and occasion.

For the disciple of Messiah who has indeed bowed his/her knee to the Master, their lives are a daily exercise in knowing Him and loving Him more intimately.  Their life, no matter how involved in “this” world through business and activity, duties, responsibilities, chores, etc., is perceived through the lens of their relationship with Messiah Yahushua and with IAUE.  They develop their senses to recognize the hand of their Master showing up in every little detail of every day. Their love of Messiah focuses their heart on obedience to His every whisper; and when they experience disobedience at any level, their hearts are saddened with the thought of their having displeased their Master. There is no hiding their guilt. They race to His grace and confess their disobedience and receive his lovingkindness and mercy.

There are more disciples who are likely to find themselves in the second category above. Their intention is to be “good” and to be obedient servants; but they have repetitive sins in their lives.  They confess them each time they are committed, and generally follow up their confession with some sort of vow that they will never do it again; unfortunately not recognizing that the force of human will is an inadequate defense against repetitive sin.  They read verses in the Scripture like this one.

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

It sounds so easy…like a simple choice; and yet these believers have seemingly made that choice over and over and over again with little or no results.  Their sins hang around like an addiction; and a much as they truly want to be free of them, they are beaten down by the guilt of their repetition in their lives resulting in joyless lives of defeat.  Still, they are determined to do better next time…each time.

The third category represents believers who simply ignore verses such as Hebrews 12:1.  They have embraced the inevitability of sin and have ceased trying to overcome it; while still endeavoring to be an obedient servant of the Master in all other areas of their lives. They do not realize that such acquiescence to Satan in one area of their life makes the rest of their life an absolute façade. In their minds they measure it thusly: 10% of my life is bound by sin, while 90% of my life is committed to walking in obedience to Yahushua.  Weighed in a scale, they consider, would make them a pretty good person. They ignore the words of Paul to the Romans.

Romans 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto IAUE, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto IAUE.

14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? IAUE forbid.

16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

The disciples who have allowed sin in their life to progress to this level of acceptance will shortly find themselves in our 4^th category, above.  Not only have they acquiesced to the sin in their life, since they have decided they cannot beat it, they will now join it.  They now begin planning for it…making provision for it…creating time and opportunity to “enjoy” it.

Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

14 But put ye on the Master Yahushua Messiah, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

This level of accommodating sin, of even planning for sin, is a very dangerous stage because it represents a clear displacement of the Messiah as their Master. Sin is no longer the unfortunate manifestation of “accidents” in lives that are otherwise purposed to serve Messiah.  It is an embraced reality of their existence. They have become a servant of sin, and an instrument of unrighteousness.  Any instructions from Messiah, any voice of the Holy Spirit heard directing them to do something that would interfere with their scheduled sinful activity would be regarded as inconvenient and unwanted. They tune out the voice of the Holy Spirit, deciding when they will opt to permit His voice to be heard.

The ability to progress to this level is predicated by one of two mental dispositions.  1) They have prayed the “magic prayer” and they believe they are saved and “going to Heaven when they die” no matter what they do for the rest of their lives; so sin really is of no consequence.  Their thinking is, “Let the ‘holy men’ dedicate themselves to purer lives.  This one will work for me;” or 2) They have embraced the very real possibility that they are potentially forfeiting their eternity for the pleasure of sin in the now.  Such thinking is truly warped by sin and irrational. It is this irrational thinking that is Satan’s ultimate objective with every whisper he makes.  It is one reason why we are instructed NOT to be conformed to this world; but we are to have our minds renewed so we can always hear and comprehend and obey the good and perfect and acceptable will of IAUE (Rom 12:1-2).

I could give personal illustrations of each of these levels in my own life during my 48 years in Messiah; but I suspect each reader already has their own stories; and can relate to each of these stages at one time or another in their life.  We all know that sin is not to have any place in our lives once we come to Messiah; but the experience of such freedom often escapes us.  There are reasons for this; and they are not insurmountable.  We have a lot of wrong thinking to overcome to walk in the purity and holiness that is our inheritance in Yahushua Messiah.  We will address this wrong thinking as we continue to develop our answer to this question.

Q&A – IS THE DISCIPLE OF YAHUSHUA “UNDER THE LAW” - 2

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Q&A –  IS THE DISCIPLE OF YAHUSHUA “UNDER THE LAW” - 2

Hebrews 10:38  Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

The reason Messiah exhorted them (in Matthew 5) to teach and to keep the law was to keep the purpose of the Torah alive. The purpose of the Torah was two-fold.  First, it was to convince the Jews that they were no different than the ten tribes that had been divorced from IAUE, and no different from the pagan gentiles of the world. They were all sinners.  Secondly, it was to bring them to Messiah….to faith in what Messiah has accomplished on their behalf IN ORDER THAT they might receive the righteousness of IAUE that is in Messiah Yahushua…that they might have a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees.

The testimony of Scripture that declares and establishes this point runs throughout the Old and New Testament.  It is possibly the singularly most taught subject matter of the New Testament. To miss it is to be blind.  It is to have eyes that see not and ears that hear not.  The Gospels and the book of Revelation repeatedly call out to those who have eyes that see and ears that hear that they might be aware of what the Holy Spirit is saying and doing.

One of the most blatant evidences of the error of the Torah-keepers is their dissection of the Law. It is obvious, having trusted in the death and resurrection of Messiah Yahushua that they cannot adhere to the laws regarding sacrifices. They do not obey the Torah when it comes to the sacrifice of atonement, or the sacrifices of turtle doves, lambs, goats and bulls for their various forms of transgressions of the law. They also do not adhere to the laws regarding washings/baptism to cleanse themselves from the defilement of their transgressions of the law.  Paul speaks very clearly about this picking and choosing what you will obey and what you no longer need to obey.

Galatians 3:10  For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of IAUE, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

12  And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

Paul dedicates his entire epistle to the Galatians to deal with this question.  Every chapter points the Galatians to the foolishness of Torah-keeping; and here he declares that if you are going to choose to be under the law, you are committed to keeping ALL of the Torah; not just the parts you select to obey. The Torah is a unit of law. It is not subdividable; and yet the Torah-keeping movement is committed to the dietary laws (among other aspects of the law).  To this Paul declares:

Galatians 2:11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.

12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.

13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.

14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?

Paul publicly rebuked the apostle Peter; one of the three inner-circle apostles who walked with and fellowshipped with Yahushua Messiah in person for three years; Peter, one of the “pillars of the church.” Why?  Because he was enjoying the liberty that we have in Messiah to eat foods that are not kosher, foods that are not prescribed by the dietary laws of the Torah; and to fellowship with gentiles; but he withdrew when he felt his liberty would be questioned by the Jewish believers that James sent up from Jerusalem. Peter had already been called on the carpet before James once earlier when he had entered into the household of Cornelius the Roman centurion.

Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Messiah hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Messiah shall profit you nothing.

3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

4 Messiah is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

The Torah is like a paned glass window.  If you break the glass in the corner, the whole sheet of glass is broken. You cannot break only a part of the law.  This nature of the Torah is the very thing that was intended to convince the Jews that they are sinners and in need of a redeemer.

Galatians 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, IAUE sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

This word “redeem” (Greek: exagorazo) means to pay the price to ransom one out of his/her bondage/slavery.  Yahushua was send by IAUE, to be made like his brethren, made of a woman, made
“under the law” in order to ransom all who were in bondage to the law…to redeem them from the law.  It could be compared to someone entering a prison, to be held as a prisoner and to live under its rules and conditions; but uniquely having the capacity to satisfy every single demand of the prison in order to release its hold on all of the prisoners that they may all be able to walk out of that prison and be made free.  Logically, no one who had been a prisoner would opt to go back into the environs of that prison and impose upon themselves anew the rigors of rules and regulations that they were never able to keep.

Galatians 3:15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.

16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Messiah.

17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of IAUE in Messiah, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

Paul reminds them that the law came 430 years AFTER the covenant was cut with Abraham. Once a covenant has been cut, provisions cannot be removed from nor added to the covenant. In other words, the Torah cannot impact the Abrahamic covenant either positively or negatively.  Remember, Paul said the law was added to Hebrew life not as an addendum to the covenant, but “because of transgressions,” for the promise of the covenant is of faith; but the law is not of faith.  The keeping of the law is an act of flesh; and “they that are in the flesh cannot please IAUE” (Romans 8:8). 

Colossians 2:20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Messiah from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,

21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not;

22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?

23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body: not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.  (“but are of no value against sinful indulgence [because they do not honor God].”  Amplified Version)

You will recall from our last post that the law had no power to regulate the heart. It could only regulate one’s outward behavior. It required an act of human will to obey…an act of the flesh.  The law was not kept by the motivation of the inward life of a righteous spirit, for no one’s spirit was renewed until the sacrifice of Messiah Yahushua.  This is why we see the declaration of the prophet Jeremiah, prophesying of the new covenant:

Jeremiah 31:33 …I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their Elohim, and they shall be my people.

34  And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know IAUE: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith IAUE: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Teaching every man his neighbor and every man his brother saying, “Know IAUE” refers to the commandment of the Torah to speak of the Torah when they rise in the morning, when they go on their way, when they come home to dinner, and before they go to bed at night; to put it on the door post of their houses and upon their gates.  They were required of the Torah to keep a constant reminder of IAUE before their eyes and ears; because their hearts were as of yet unredeemed.  Their corrupt flesh would need constant reminders of IAUE or else their lives would quickly betray how fickle and easily lead astray they could become.  The New Covenant eliminates the need for this because the law of IAUE would be written in their “inward parts” and “in their hearts.”  Instead of the written Torah; when they will be obeying is the law of IAUE revealed to them by the voice of the Holy Spirit; or as Paul calls it:

Romans 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Messiah Yahushua hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Finally, it is imperative that we understand that we are no longer under the Aaronic priesthood of Israel.  Yahushua Messiah is made unto us a high priest after the order of Melchisedec.  The supremacy of that priesthood is explained in the book of Hebrews when it says “Abraham paid tithes to Melchisedec.”

Hebrews 7:9  And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.

10 For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.

The fact that Abraham paid tithes to Melchisedec forever subjugated the priesthood of the tribe of Levi to the priesthood of Melchisedec; making the Aaronic priesthood inferior to the priesthood of Melchisedec.

Hebrews 7:11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?

12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

13 For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar.

14 For it is evident that our Master sprang out of Judah; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.

Nothing could be clearer than this.  Our high priest is not of the same priestly order, and not of the same tribe as the ministers the Torah.  His priesthood is superior, and brings man into a superior place. The trappings of the inferior order are left behind when we bow our knee to Messiah Yahushua.

Hebrews 8:4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:

5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of Elohim when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

The Levitical priesthood, the tabernacle of Moses, and the entire body of the Torah were shadows cast by the light of IAUE upon the TRUE reality which was revealed in the person and work of Messiah Yahushua.  As Paul told the Galatian disciples, the Law was a schoolmaster to bring us to Messiah.  Once we have been brought to the TRUE, the shadow has served its purpose and we are home…we are with the lover of our soul, the redeemer of our hearts; and HIS LAW, the law of the high priest of the order of Melchisedec of the tribe of Judah, is made known in our inward parts and heart by the Holy Spirit of IAUE.  We do not become lawless when we come to Messiah; we come under the law of the spirit of LIFE in Messiah Yahushua.

Q&A – IS THE DISCIPLE OF YAHUSHUA “UNDER THE LAW” - 1

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Q&A –  IS THE DISCIPLE OF YAHUSHUA “UNDER THE LAW”

Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Being raised in a fundamental protestant denomination as a child, this question absolutely never came up into conversation.  It was never a topic of discussion. It was never the subject of any sermon I ever heard.  Generally speaking, “Christians” never think about it; however, over the past 20 years there has been a strong movement to bring the disciples of Messiah Yahushua back under the Torah.  They are referred to as “Torah keepers.”  They are becoming more and more successful at branding themselves as the part of the Body of Messiah that has “seen the light;” and are showing the way for the rest of the church to come into the light of Torah-keeping.  There is almost a tangible sense that emanates from this movement to make non-Torah keepers feel like they are disobedient or even rebellious toward IAUE because they have not yet embraced the Torah.

One of the lynch pins of this movement is our opening passage to today’s post, adding to it the following verse:

Matthew 5:19  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Now, admittedly, their entire theology does not rest on these three verses; but these verses are used to reflect the enduring value and directive of Torah-keeping, and man’s call to remain in observance of the Law.  Unfortunately, they tend to stop at verse 19 and do not go on to read verse 20.

Matthew 5:20  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.    

To the Jews who heard these words from the mouth of Yahushua, it seemed a virtual impossibility to enter into the kingdom of heaven because the scribes and Pharisees were meticulous keepers of the law.  It appeared that the Master was suggesting that a more meticulous observance of the Torah is what is necessary in order to have a greater righteousness than the scribes and Pharisees; but Yahushua was not referring to the righteousness which is of the law.  He was referring to the righteousness that Torah-keeping would ultimately reveal.  The Law was given for a reason; and it was not to produce right standing before IAUE.  The Law was not given even to make their lives better.

Romans 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before IAUE.

20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

21 But now the righteousness of IAUE without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

22 Even the righteousness of IAUE which is by faith of Yahushua Messiah unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

Paul explains to the Roman believers (who were mostly Jews), that Torah-keeping convinces the Jew that he is guilty before IAUE, demonstrating and thereby proving that the whole world stands equally guilty before IAUE…including the Jews (tribes of Judah and Benjamin and some Levites).  If you will recall our recent study on “The Mystery of the Gospel,” you will remember that IAUE covenanted with Abraham alone; and then renewed His covenant with Abraham upon his son, Isaac, and then upon his son, Jacob, who became known as Israel; and then upon Israel’s twelve sons, the patriarchs of the Hebrew race.  Ten of those tribes were divorced from the covenant and became the “strangers and aliens from the covenants of promise of IAUE” spoken of in the epistles of the New Testament.  The Jews (the remnant Hebrews of the southern Kingdom of Judah) felt quite self-righteous about their unique faithfulness to IAUE among all the peoples of the world.  The reason Messiah exhorted them (in Matthew 5) to teach and to keep the law was to keep the purpose of the Torah alive.  It was to make it clear to the Jews that in the eyes of IAUE, they were no different from the rest of mankind.  All mankind was guilty before IAUE, “for ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of IAUE.” (Romans 3:23) 

Galatians 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but IAUE is one.

21 Is the law then against the promises of IAUE? IAUE forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Yahushua Messiah might be given to them that believe.

23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Messiah, that we might be justified by faith.

25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

The purpose of the Torah was two-fold.  First, it was to convince the Jews that they were no different than the ten tribes that had been divorced from IAUE, and no different from the pagan gentiles of the world. They were all sinners.  Secondly, it was to bring them to Messiah….to faith in what Messiah has accomplished on their behalf IN ORDER THAT they might receive the righteousness of IAUE that is in Messiah Yahushua…and have a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees.

Paul makes it abundantly clear that once the law has convinced the Jews of sin, and has brought them to faith in Yahushua as their Messiah, the law, having fulfilled its purpose, is no longer necessary.

Now, the fact of the matter is, if you were not born a Jew, you were NEVER under the Torah; so the issue of whether or not you are STILL under the law as disciples of Yahushua Messiah is not even a relevant question.  For those of us who were non-Jews that have come to Messiah, the question is, “Should we be Torah-keepers, now?”  Paul answered that question in very simple terms.

Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Yahushua Messiah hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?...

10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of IAUE, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

12  And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

I suspect most believers are aware that one of the things that plagued Paul’s ministry were the “Judaizers” who followed him around from city to city.  Once Paul would evangelize and move on to the next city, the Judaizers would come in behind him and exhort the new converts that they also had to obey the law of Moses…that they must believe in Yahushua AND they must be Torah-keepers.  Once we understand “the mystery of the gospel” and recognize that most of the people who were responding to Paul’s gospel were descendants of the lost ten tribes of Israel, it makes sense that the Jews (who had never been divorced by IAUE, and who still kept the Law of Moses) believed that if the “lost sheep of the House of Israel” were going to return to the covenants of promise of IAUE they, like them, had to return to keeping the Law of Moses.  Paul was furious with this corruption of the gospel; and likens it to having been bewitched.  His simple challenge was to ask the Galatian disciples how they received the Holy Spirit?  Was it by faith or by obedience to the Torah?  Paul even calls obedience to the Law “the flesh” (in verse 3).  Paul then declares that “The just (the righteous) SHALL LIVE BY FAITH;” and “THE LAW IS NOT OF FAITH.”  In the mind of Paul, that is enough explanation to settle the matter.

Paul dealt with this matter repeatedly in his epistles.

Romans 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Most of the believers in Rome to whom Paul was writing were Hebrews; and he expressly declared that as disciples of Yahushua Messiah they were not under the Torah; but were under grace.

1 Corinthians 9:20  And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;

Here, Paul says he became “as a Jew.”  We all know that Paul was born a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin; but in Messiah, he says “there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Messiah is all, and in all.”  (Colossians 3:11).  So, Paul behaved AS a Jew in order to lead to Messiah Jews who were still in bondage to the Torah of Moses.

Galatians 4:21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?

Here, Paul challenges the Torah-keepers in Galatia with the actual testimony of the law, to prove they are no longer under the law.

1 Timothy 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;

7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.

8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;

9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

11 According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

Paul teaches Timothy that those who are teaching Torah-keeping do not even understand what they are saying.  In today’s vernacular, he would say they are clueless, declaring with confidence matters that actually demonstrate their ignorance of the Law.  Then, he makes it clear beyond question that the law does not apply to the righteous.  It applies to the lawless.  In Messiah, we are made the righteousness of IAUE (5 Corinthians 5:21); so, without dispute, the law does not apply to the disciple of Yahushua Messiah.  Paul explains this to the Galatians another way.

Galatians 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law…

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

The Spirit within the disciple leads him/her to live life in such a way that is not subject to any law; for the law is only given to regulate and discipline the behavior of the lawless and disobedient.  The person who is walking in the Spirit is walking before IAUE in righteousness; and is thereby not under the law.

This question will become more and more prevalent in the Body of Messiah. It is best to settle the matter with the testimony of Scripture and not with the attempts by “teachers of the law” to present what they do not even understand.