In my thirty years in the mainstream church, Old Testament stories were mostly just cool old stories, and didn’t really play much into doctrine. If you felt like reading them… Great. If not, no big deal.
Sometimes the stories were used as inspiration for us today.
David and Goliath, Sampson, Moses…
But can these stories be more than just interesting history?

I now recognize that all of the details in the Torah and Tanakh [comprising the “Old Testament”] are instruction for us.
Yes, today.  Right now.
We get to read what happened to the people of the exodus when they complained, when they did not obey, when they did not have trust or faith, and when they tried to do things their own way.
It never worked out well for them, did it?

Why is this important to us today?
Jeremiah 16:14-15
14 “Therefore, the days are quickly coming,” declares Yehova, “when it will no longer be said. ‘As Yehova lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.’ 15 Rather, ‘As Yehova lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had banished them.’ So I will bring them back into their land that I gave to their fathers.

It is going to happen again.
And when it happens, we need to know what occurred the first time so we can avoid making the same mistakes.
I don’t know what the second exodus will look like. I don’t know if it will happen during my life time.
But I can study the lessons available to us, and make sure I don’t make any of the mistakes they made.

Ecclesiastes 1:9-11
What has been is what will be,
and what has been done will be done again.
There is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything about which is said,
“Look! This is new!”?
It was already here long ago,
in the ages long before us.
11 There is no remembrance for former things,
and things yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.

Everyone is familiar with “nothing new under the sun.”
But how many are familiar with verse 11?
We would be wise to consider the former things, and learn from them.

Korah and his people got sucked into the earth for rebellion.
After seeing Korah get sucked into the earth, the people still grumbled in rebellion.  Yehova sent a plague and 14,700 were killed before Aaron was able to intervene, making atonement for them.
Aaron’s two oldest sons were killed at the tabernacle for bringing ‘strange fire’ before Yehova.  Was this random?
No, they were commanded not to do so in Exodus 30:9.  They did not follow instructions.
A man was stoned to death for cursing Yehova.
Another man was executed for intentionally profaning the Sabbath.
Yehova wanted to destroy the entire nation of the Hebrews, with the exception of Moses, because of the golden calf.
Instead, the Levites were sent among the people striking friends and brothers with the sword, and 3000 fell that day.
Even though Yehova assured the people He would precede them, and drive out their enemies before them, the people (with the exception of Joshua and Caleb) were fearful and refused to obey.
The men who gave a bad report about the land died before Yehova. Only Joshua and Caleb were spared.
Worse yet, that entire adult generation (over 600,000 men alone) were sentenced to die in the wilderness!!

There are additional examples of disobedience and lack of faith, and the subsequent consequences.
Who wants some of that?
Not me…
Let’s learn from the previous generations.
Let’s set our minds and our hearts on the ways of Yehova, and shed our desires to follow our own ways.

Numbers 15:37-40
³⁷ Yehova spoke to Moses saying, ³⁸ “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael. Say to them that they are to make for themselves tzitzit on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and they are to put a blue cord on each tzitzit.  ³⁹ It will be your own tzitzit—so whenever you look at them, you will remember all the mitzvot of Yehova and do them and not go spying out after your own hearts and your own eyes, prostituting yourselves. ⁴⁰ This way you will remember and obey all My mitzvot and you will be holy to your God. 

I’ve been involved in the “Torah Community” for roughly two years now, maybe a little longer.  Tracy and I make our own tzitzits and we wear them all day every day. Why?
Simply because Yehova says to.
That is why we make and wear them.
Do we need another reason?   No.
Is there a better reason?  Again, no.

Our experience with local Torah groups is that the majority of “Torah Observant” people do not wear tzitzits.  Or they might wear them on Shabbat when others will see them, but when you run into them during the work week, no tzitzits.
There are self-proclaimed Torah teachers and leaders who do not wear tzitzits.
Is this a big deal?
Or are tzitzits stupid?
Are tzitzits for the spiritually immature, while those who are mature in Torah are exempt?
Am I the tzitzit police?
Absolutely not.  I have no desire to be ‘legalistic’ about tzitzits.
But I do feel a strong need to tell you what scripture says about tzitzits. Then you can decide for yourself, with full knowledge, if you should make and wear them.

Let’s take a look at what happened right after Yehova gave the command for His people to make and wear tzitzits:
Numbers 16:28-33
²⁸ Moses said, “By this you will know that Yehova has sent me to do all these works, that they are not from my own heart. ²⁹ If every one of these men die a common death and experience what happens to all people, then Yehova has not sent me. ³⁰ But if Yehova brings about a new thing, and the earth opens her mouth and swallows them and everything that is theirs, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have despised Yehova.”
³¹ As soon as he finished saying all these things, the ground split under them. ³² The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, along with all their households, all of Korah’s people and all their possessions. ³³ They went down alive into Sheol, they and everything that was theirs. The earth closed over them and they were gone from among the community.

Here is a bit of background.
The Hebrew people were messing up.
They were not following the ways of Yehova.
And as a result, people were losing their lives because of it.
Some people consider the command to wear tzitzits as a weird, irrelevant, strange command that does not seem to have any reason or basis.
But it does have basis.
And it is not weird or strange.
The command to wear tzitzits is not a punishment.
Instead, I would consider it merciful.
Yehova recognized that people were losing their lives because of disobedience. He mercifully gave the command to make and wear tzitzits so they might be reminded of His words and His ways.

And what is the very next thing to happen?
Korah’s rebellion.
We don’t get much narrative in the scriptures to explain it, but we see this in verse 28:
Moses said, “By this you will know that Yehova has sent me to do all these works, that they are not from my own heart.” 
It would seem that Korah had accused Mosheh of making things up.
Korah seems to think that Mosheh was giving commands of his own making, as opposed to receiving those commands from Yehova.
While Korah may have been disgruntled about many things because of his negative attitude, it seems that tzitzits are what put him over the edge. I believe it would be improper to say tzitzits were the only cause for Korah’s rebellion, but I think it is reasonable to say tzitzits may have been the last straw for him.
And what happened as a result?
He got sucked into the earth, straight to Sheol. Korah, his people, and all their belongings went to Sheol, and they went the hard way…

We are speaking of things that happened long ago, thousands of years ago.
How could this possibly be relevant today?
Check out Numbers 15:38
“…make for themselves tzitzit on the corners of their garments throughout their generations…”

Do you see?
All generations…
It is just as relevant today as it was during the time of Mosheh and Korah.  When Yehova says something is forever, for all generations, never-ending —- He means it.  He does not mean it is sort-of forever, until men and women no longer feel like doing it.

Instead of viewing tzitzits as a punishment, or some weird command, or something embarrassing to destroy our fashion, we need to see them for what they are:  merciful help from our Creator.
OK, so what are the important details regarding tzitzits?
From the scriptures in Numbers 15, we get these key points:
— Make for ourselves
— Corners of our garments
— Throughout their generations
— Blue Cord
— Your own tzitzits
— When you look at them
— Remember the commands
— And do them
— And not prostitute after our own hearts and desires.
AND AGAIN, REPEATED:
–Remember
–And obey the commands
WHY?
–You will be set apart (holy) to your Elohim.

There is no need for additional explanation here.
I was thinking where I should go next with this…
But why?
Scripture is quite clear.
I can’t really expound on this anymore.
Follow the words and the ways of Yehova, and you will be holy and set apart to Him.
Make tzitzits and wear them, so you will remember the commands and do them, and not go whoring after your own desires, so that you will be holy and set apart to your Elohim.

I would like to speculate just a bit, before I go.
And please, please —- recognize this is pure speculation.

What if Yehova gives those who obey this command a supernatural protection?  What if Yehova protects those who obey and wear tzitzits from false doctrine and misunderstanding?  What if Yehova supernaturally helps those who wear tzitzits to remember and keep His commands?
What if this is not just about men and women?
What if the reminder that tzitzits provides is not by our own discipline, but is something Yehova does?

The best Torah teachers I know wear tzitzits. When I act as a Berean and compare their teaching to scripture, I see truth. Yes, this is a generalization, and may not be 100% true 100% of the time.
But generally, I have found those who wear tzitzits to be scripture based in their teaching.
However, I’ve seen self-proclaimed Torah teachers and leaders who do not wear tzitzits, and their ‘instruction’ is all over the place.
They bring in mainstream church ideas and habits. They bring in the Jewish traditions of men from the Talmud.
They disagree with scripture even…
I had one Torah fellowship leader and teacher point at scripture I was showing him and he said, “I don’t believe that.”
Another in the group later told me he thought he meant that he believed something other than what I believed about it, not that he was rejecting scripture.
But…
When scripture says something word for word for word, and a Torah teacher has beliefs and doctrine contrary to what it says, and points at it and states, “I don’t believe that” —- then what else can I take from that experience???
No matter, though…

What do you think?
Do you believe Yehova protects the thoughts, and beliefs, and the understanding of those who wear tzitzits, just as He commanded us to do?  Do you think it is important to wear tzitzits?

“As for me and my house, we shall serve Yehova.”
And, we’ll make and wear tzitzits.

I’ve spent 18 months writing primarily about the warnings in scripture, many of which are direct quotes of Messiah.
Today we are going to cut to the chase.

First of all, the Mainstream Christian idea of “believing in Jesus” will not get you eternal life or get you to heaven.
How could I says such a thing?
This is because scripture and doctrine are established in the Hebrew mindset.  All things in Hebrew revolve around action.
Greek mindset is different, though. The Greek mindset is cerebral. It is academic.  It is based in thought and emotion.
In a Greek mindset, we can review John 3:16 and think we just have to believe in our minds that Jesus died for our sins and we’ll be saved. No action is required, as it is a thought process.
But just a few verses later in John 3:36, we are shown just how completely wrong this Greek based idea is.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:36
He who trusts in the Son has eternal life. He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Many in the mainstream will read John 3:16 and decide they are in the kingdom because they believe.
But John 3:36 tells us there is more to it.
We have to build our truth [and therefore, our doctrine] on all the information available to us, not just select bits and pieces.
If someone builds their reality and their doctrine on all the promises in scripture while ignoring the warnings in scripture, they will be in for a rude awakening on judgement day.
And there was weeping and gnashing of teeth…

The man who says, “I believe” but exhibits no actions to prove it will not be saved.
James 2:26
 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
James also seems to believe we must do something. Without “doing something” our faith is dead.
And do you know what that means?
There is no salvation without faith.
Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves—it is the gift of God. 
Where does this faith come from?
Romans 10:17
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Messiah.

Did you catch that?
…by hearing the word of Messiah.
Let’s start with this warning, a direct quote of Messiah:
Luke 6:46
 “Why do you call Me ‘Master, Master’ and do not do what I say? ”
And this…
John 10:25-30
²⁵ Yeshua answered them, “I told you, but you don’t believe! The works I do in My Father’s name testify concerning Me. ²⁶ But you don’t believe, because you are not My sheep. ²⁷ My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life! They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

In Luke 6, we see that Messiah expects us to do the things He says, if we are going to say we follow Him.
In John 10, Messiah confirms this. His sheep hear His voice and follow Him.  And He knows them.

Do you want to be known by Messiah? Then you had better know the things He says, and you had better do them.
Am I promoting a works based salvation then?
Nope.
I am simply telling you what your Savior expects from you, in case you didn’t know. We can debate this for days…  But the matter is simple. Yeshua Messiah expects us to listen to Him and obey Him.
Again from James…
James 1:22-25
²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror— ²⁴ for once he looks at himself and goes away, he immediately forgets what sort of person he was. ²⁵ But the one who looks intently into the perfect Torah, the Torah that gives freedom, and continues in it, not becoming a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts—he shall be blessed in what he does.

Again, we see that we are to be doers, not thinkers (Greek Mindset).
Action is required.
We must do something.
What shall we do then?  Messiah tells us this:
John 14:15
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
John 14:21
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.
John 15:10
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

Oh boy, here we go again.
Back to a works based salvation.
Nope.
Works will not save us, but a love for Messiah will!!
Let’s break it down simply.
On judgement day, we will take a knee before our Yeshua Messiah.
We will confess that He is Lord.
And…  He will decide our fate.
What are the choices?
1. Eternal life in the presence of Yehova.
2. Second Death and destruction in the Lake of Fire.

Which one will He give you?
Has He given us any hints?
Well, He talks about eternal life in John 10, which I quoted above. Did you catch it?
Let’s review.
John 10:25-30
²⁵ Yeshua answered them, “I told you, but you don’t believe! The works I do in My Father’s name testify concerning Me. ²⁶ But you don’t believe, because you are not My sheep. ²⁷ My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life! They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

Verse 28.
Eternal life.
Never perish.
Will not be snatched away.
How do we get these things?
Do these wonderful promises apply to us?
Verse 27
My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me. 
We must hear His voice.
He must know us.
We must follow Him.
Again, John 14:15, John 14:21, and John 15:10 all tell us how to love our Messiah.  Keep the commandments.
We do not keep the commands to earn salvation.
We keep the commands to show that we love Messiah.
We keep the commands to show that we know His voice.
We keep the commands to show that we know Him.
But does He know us?

Let’s review another warning of Messiah:
Matthew 7:21-23
²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, and drive out demons in Your name, and perform many miracles in Your name?’ ²³ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’”

What do these verses mean to you?
Obviously, Messiah is getting rid of the Muslims and the atheists, and the Luciferians, and the Satan worshipers here, right?
Nope.
We don’t even need to discuss those groups. Their fate is known already.
This scary bit of scripture is talking about people who believe they belong in the kingdom of heaven, but do not.
Is that you?
How can we tell?
Verse 21
Only those who do the will of the Father will enter heaven.
What is the will of the Father?
He gives us His will in the Torah instructions, His law, His commands, His statutes, His precepts.
We then see that many people who thought they served Messiah through great works, actually did not serve Messiah.
He did not even know them!!
Verse 23
Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’”
Messiah never knew you.
Get away from Me.
Why?
Because they are workers of lawlessness.
They are people who reject the Torah.
Here is an interesting thing…
These people did works!!
They prophesied in His name…
They drove out demons in His name…
They performed many miracles in His name…
They did stuff!!!
But did they do the right stuff?
Or did they do things for the right reasons?

We don’t get to decide what works we will do.
Did you volunteer in the church children’s ministry?
Yes? Great, that was good of you. Is that what Messiah said to do?
Did you hand out warm clothes to the homeless?
Great, that was good of you. It is a nice thing to do.
We can do many things, even less impressive than prophecy, driving out demons, and performing miracles…
But did you hear His voice?
Did you listen to Him?
Did you do the things He said?
John 14:21
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.
Keeping the commandments includes loving your neighbor as yourself.  Helping the homeless and teaching children could be construed as loving your neighbor as yourself.
But what if you decide against keeping the commandments as He asks of us, but just happen to do some things that fall into those categories anyway?
Do we get credit for them?
Nope.
John 14:15
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
We have to choose Him.
We have to choose to follow Him.
We have to intentionally listen to Him and obey Him.
Getting a few things right because we are decent people won’t help us. Look at what happened to the people who prophesied, drove out demons, and even performed miracles.
“Depart from Me. I never knew you.”
Why? Because they did not choose to keep His commandments.
Maybe they kept some by accident, but that is different than listening to Messiah, hearing His voice, and choosing to do what is important to Him.

“Oh really?
Come on…
My church teaches that the law is done away with.”
I will ask you this:
Will you bet your eternity on what your church says, or what Messiah says?
Will you listen to the only One who can save you?
Or will you listen to some guy who went to college, where other men taught what they believe about scripture?
Which one are you going to bet on?
Remember, the prize is eternity, and you only get one shot at this.
Here’s a bit of help:
Matthew 5:17-19
¹⁷ “Do not think that I came to abolish the Torah or the Prophets! I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. ¹⁸ Amen, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or serif shall ever pass away from the Torah until all things come to pass. ¹⁹ Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever keeps and teaches them, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 

I have other studies that look at the Greek words behind this translation, so I’m not going to go into all of that here.
But here are some important things:

1. Yeshua did not abolish the Torah or Prophets.
2. He came to fully teach the Torah and the Prophets.
3. He also completed the Law, living His own life without sin.
4. Not one penstroke of the Law will change until heaven and earth pass away (referring to all in scripture being completed).
5. Whoever breaks commands and teaches others to break commands will be spoken of in the kingdom of heaven as the least.
6. whoever keeps the commands and teaches others to keep them will be spoken of as the greatest in the kingdom.

This bit of scripture gets really twisted.
We are told that we don’t have to keep the law because Messiah fulfilled it.  Even if Messiah did fulfill the law by keeping it, verse 19 clearly tells us that we are also to keep it.
When I point this out, I often get this:
“If I don’t keep the commands, I’ll still be least in the kingdom of heaven.  I still get to be there.”
Do you realize how awful that is?
The only entity that exists who can save you went through horrific physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual torture.
He was beaten, scourged, hung on a cross, and stabbed in the abdomen until He died. — Physical
He was so stressed about the coming events that He had drops of blood drip from the pores of His skin. — Mental
He spent time travelling throughout the land in His ministry.  He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, brought the dead back to life.  He did amazing things, miraculous things.
And everyone deserted Him.
Even Peter denied Him three times before the rooster crowed.
The powers that be gave Him an escape.  He offered the people a choice between an awful man, Barabbas, or Yeshua Messiah to be pardoned. Obviously, the man who healed and saved and loved others would be chosen, right? Nope, the people asked for awful Barabbas to be released, and demanded that Messiah be crucified.
— Emotional
Messiah also suffered spiritually.  He and the Father are one.  And yet, He took on the sin of the world and experienced death, and even worse, experienced separation from the Father for a time. How tragic is this?? —Spritual

These are the things Messiah endured in order to save you.
And some are shooting for “least in the kingdom”????
Is that what He wants from us?  The least we can offer?
Nope.
Luke 14:27
Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.
What do you think it means to carry our own cross?
It means we must be willing to suffer what He suffered.
Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to suffer physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, to the point of death, in order to follow Him?
Or are you only willing to do the least?
What is the minimum I can do and still get into the kingdom?

Is that what you want to tell Messiah on judgement day?
“Well, I won’t do this, and I won’t do that. In fact, I’ll hardly do anything for You.  But I believe You died for me.
That’s good, right?”
Depart from Me, I never knew you…

Let’s take a closer look at Matthew 5:19
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven.
Does it say those who break the commands are least in the kingdom?
[As long as I’m there, it’s all good, right?]
No, it does not say you are in the kingdom, least or otherwise.
It says those in the kingdom will speak about you being the least.
“Uh Oh…
Wait…
What????”
Verse 19 does not say you are still in the kingdom.
It says those in the kingdom will think poorly of you.
That is not good.

I could spend hours doing this.
I could make this study a mile long.
But let’s stop here.

Do you hear Messiah’s voice?
Do you know the things He says?
Do you believe Him?
Do you follow Him?
Do you know Him?

You need to decide if you will follow the teaching of men, or if you will follow the teaching of the only One who can save you.
Which will it be?
Get a red letter bible and study only the things Messiah says.
Build your doctrine from that.
Why do I say this?
It is because you need to separate His doctrine from the false teachings of men.
Jeremiah says that in end times, people will realize they have been taught nothing but lies.
We are there.
It is time.
Jeremiah 16:19-20
O Lord, my strength and my fortress,
My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
²⁰ Will a man make gods for himself,
Which are not gods?
Do you believe this is true? Or will you ignore this warning from Jeremiah and suffer because of it?

Do you know what Messiah said to the educated religious leaders of His time?  He welcomed them into the Kingdom, even if they were the least, right?
Nope.
Matthew 23:13
 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves,nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
He says they will not enter heaven, nor will their followers.
What will He say to today’s false teachers?
“Well, you done messed up, but come on into heaven anyway.”
That’s it, right?
Nope.
He will tell them the same thing.
They are not entering heaven, nor are their followers.
I never knew you. Depart from Me, workers of lawlessness.

I do not share this to criticize, or to condemn, or to judge.
I share these things so you will  know.
Know what?
You will know what you are choosing.
You will know His warnings and decide for Him or against Him.
Which one do you pick?

People go to church looking for the path that leads to everlasting life. Can they find it there?

From Exodus 31
Therefore you are to keep the Shabbat [Sabbath], because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it will die, for whoever does any work during Shabbat, that soul will be cut off from the midst of his people. 15 Work is to be done for six days, but on the seventh day is a Shabbat of complete rest, holy to Yehova. Whoever does any work on the Shabbat will surely be put to death.

Yehova tells us that if we do not honor His Sabbath, that we will die.
The mainstream church says, “Nah, not really. We don’t have to do that anymore.”

Could you imagine if the bible had a start button?
If you pressed it, where would it take you?
Genesis 1:1?
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John?

I have an idea about this.
What if we push the start button and reveal some basic principles of truth? What if we set a beginning premise before reading the immense wealth of knowledge to be found in scripture?

Ready, set go…
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The Word is not something that developed over time.  The Word was not shaped by the circumstances and events in the lives of men throughout history.
It was in the beginning.
It was with God.
It is God.

God and the Word are one and the same. They cannot be separated.
The Word gives us details about who God is.
We learn His character from the Word.
We learn His plan from the Word.

John 1:2
² He was with God in the beginning.
This verse is referring to Yeshua Messiah (Jesus).
Messiah was with God since the beginning.  He did not come into existence 2000 years ago. He always has been, since the beginning.

John 1:14
¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. We looked upon His glory, the glory of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Again, speaking of Messiah.
The Word (which is God, as stated above) became flesh as Messiah, who lived among us.
Yeshua Messiah (Jesus) and Yehova (God) and the Word are all one and the same.

John 10:30
³⁰ I and the Father are one.

John 14:9-11
He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. ¹¹ Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

We have seen in these few scriptures that Yehova (God), Messiah (Jesus), and the Word are all one and the same. Not only that, but they have all ‘been’ since the beginning.
Ok, what else?

Numbers 23:19
God is not a man who lies,
or a son of man who changes his mind!

Malachi 3:6
“For I am Yehova. I change not…”

Hebrews 13:8
⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

These scriptures tell us several things.
This information is not cryptic. It is not complicated.
We do not need to sort it out and figure it out.

Plain and simple…
God does not change.
God does not lie.
God does not change His mind.
Jesus does not change.
The Word does not change.

Why is this significant?
The entire Mainstream Christian doctrine requires God to change.
The entire Mainstream Christian doctrine requires God to be a liar.
The entire Mainstream Christian doctrine requires God to change His mind.
The entire Mainstream Christian doctrine requires Messiah to change.
The entire Mainstream Christian doctrine requires the Word to change.
This is not possible!!
Does scripture give us any hints about our entire religious system getting this wrong?
Surely, if this were true, we’d know about it right?
God reveals all through His prophets…
Amos 3:7
Surely the Lord God does nothing,
Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.

Has any prophet ever said our religious system would get everything wrong? This is Jeremiah speaking about the end times, when Yehova re-gathers His people:

Jeremiah 16:19-20
¹⁹ O Lord, my strength and my fortress,
My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
²⁰ Will a man make gods for himself,
Which are not gods?

So—- the answer is yes.
Not only is it possible for our religious system to have things wrong, it is guaranteed!!
This is bitter sweet.
It is bitter because that means the things people have believed for many generations are absolutely wrong.
It is sweet because we can read this warning and take it seriously.
We can be aware of this warning and spend time in study and prayer.
We can sort this out and heed this warning before it is too late for us.

God says this about His Sabbath:
Exodus 31:13
‘Surely you must keep My Shabbatot [Sabbath], for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, so you may know that I am Yehova who sanctifies you.¹⁴ Therefore you are to keep the Shabbat [Sabbath], because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it will die, for whoever does any work during Shabbat, that soul will be cut off from the midst of his people. ¹⁵ Work is to be done for six days, but on the seventh day is a Shabbat of complete rest, holy to Yehova. Whoever does any work on the Shabbat will surely be put to death. ¹⁶ So Bnei-Yisrael is to keep the Shabbat, to observe the Shabbat throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. ¹⁷ It is a sign between Me and Bnei-Yisrael forever, for in six days Yehova made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He ceased from work and rested.’”¹⁸ When He had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave the two tablets of the Testimony to Moses—tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.

This is the biblical Sabbath.
Work six days and rest on the seventh.
It is a sign between Yehova and His people.
Do you have this sign?
Are you labeled as one of His?
It is a perpetual covenant.
It is for all generations.
It is part of the Ten Commandments.
It is written in stone by Yehova Himself!!
He who violates the Sabbath will die.
The Sabbath is not created at Mt Sinai.
It was created in the beginning…
Genesis 2:1-3
2 So the heavens and the earth were completed along with their entire array. ² God completed—on the seventh day—His work that He made, and He ceased—on the seventh day—from all His work that He made. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, for on it He ceased from all His work that God created for the purpose of preparing.

The mainstream church says we don’t have to keep the biblical Sabbath. Is that what God said?
Nope.
God said he who does not keep the Sabbath will surely die.
Will you believe Yehova, or will you believe your church?
Can the church tell us that what God said is forever, is actually not forever?
Can the church tell us that we will not surely die if we do not honor the biblical Sabbath?  God said we would die.
It reminds me of this:
Genesis 3:4
⁴ The serpent said to the woman, “You most assuredly won’t die! ⁵ For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Yehova says that profaning the Sabbath will result in our death.
The church says, nah, not really…
Sounds a bit like the serpent in the garden.
Is that why Messiah called the educated religious leader a pit of vipers in Matthew 23?
Who will you believe?
The very words of Yehova?
Or some guy who went to college and learned the traditions of men?

GOD DOES NOT LIE.
GOD DOES NOT CHANGE HIS MIND.
THE WORD DOES NOT PASS AWAY.

Then the church will  also teach that the Sabbath is a command for the Hebrew people, the nation of Israel, the Jews.
Is that true?
First of all, He created and sanctified the Sabbath long before the Hebrew people existed.
Secondly, we have this:
Exodus 12:49
The same Torah applies to the native as well as the outsider who dwells among you.”

Leviticus 16:29
“It is to be a statute to you forever, that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you are to afflict your souls, and do no kind of work—both the native-born and the outsider dwelling among you.

Leviticus 18:26
You, however, are to keep My statutes and My ordinances, and do none of these abominations, neither the native-born, nor the outsider dwelling among you.

Leviticus 19:24
The outsider dwelling among you shall be to you as the native-born among you. You should love him as yourself—for you dwelled as outsiders in the land of Egypt. I am Elohim your God.

Leviticus 24:16
Whoever blasphemes the Name of Elohim must surely be put to death. The whole congregation must stone him. The outsider as well as the native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, is to be put to death.

Leviticus 24:22
You are to have one standard of justice for the outsider as well as the native-born, for I am Elohim your God.”

Numbers 15:29
Whether a native-born of Bnei-Yisrael or an outsider living among them, one Torah applies to you for the one sinning unintentionally.

Numbers 15:30
“But the person who sins defiantly, whether native or outsider, reviles Elohim and that person is to be cut off from his people.

Ezekiel 47:22
So you are to divide it by lot for an inheritance for you and for the outsiders who dwell among you, whoever bears children among you. They will be to you like the native-born of Bnei-Yisrael; they will be allotted an inheritance along with you among the tribes of Israel.

What do these verses teach us?
The law, the Torah instructions, are given to both the Hebrew people and to the stranger/sojourner/non-native among them.
The instructions are for everyone who wishes to be one of Yehova’s people.
Are you His?
Or are you not His?

Need more help with this idea?
Galatians 3:27-29
²⁷ For all of you who were immersed in Messiah have clothed yourselves with Messiah. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female—for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua. ²⁹ And if you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s seed—heirs according to the promise.

If you wish to belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s seed.
You are heirs according to the promise made to Abraham.
You can’t belong to Messiah and not be Abraham’s seed.
Are you His?
Or are you not His?

I could do this for hours and hours, days and days.
I could provide example after example in scripture.
But here is the gist of this starting premise:
The Word does not change.
God does not change.
God does not lie.
God does not change His mind.
The Word never passes away.

Mainstream doctrine teaches the opposite of these statements.
Who will you believe?
The One who created you?
The One who Saves you?
Or will you believe some guy who went to college and learned what other men think?

Jesus did not do away with the law.
Do you know Him?
Do you know Messiah?
How can you tell?

1John 2:3-6
The Test of Knowing Him
³ Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴ He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. ⁶ He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

How important is forgiveness?
Scripture tells us it is very important.

Romans 6:23
²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of Yehova is eternal life in Yeshua Messiah.

We know we are deserving of death, but how do we escape this fate?
We need to be forgiven our sins.
Not just by anyone, but by the only One who has overcome death.

John 14:6
⁶ Yeshua said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life! No one comes to the Father except through Me.

But what about us?
Have we ever been wronged?
Have we ever been hurt?
Of course we have…

Is it important for us to forgive others?

Matthew 18:21-22
²¹ Then Peter came to Him and said, “Master, how often shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
²² Yeshua said to him, “No, not up to seven times, I tell you, but seventy times seven!

Messiah says, yes, it is important for us to forgive. And not just once, either… Do the verses above say we have to forgive 490 times, and then we can be done with it? I believe the intent is that we should have a heart for forgiveness.  Not that we should keep track, up to a pre-defined limit, and then we can be mean and unloving after that.

How important is it?

Matthew 6:14-15
¹⁴ “For if you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.

Ummm, wow.
That is pretty serious!!
If we do not forgive others, then we will not be forgiven.
And do you know what goes away if we are not forgiven?
Salvation. Eternal Life. The kingdom of heaven.
Hmmm….
Are you willing to miss out on those things?
Just to hold a grudge?

Some people have been wronged beyond belief.
Some people have horrific and tragic stories.
Are they to forgive?
Yes, they are.
As hard as it might be, it is critical that they forgive.
Otherwise the Father in heaven will not forgive them, as we saw in Matthew 6.

“But forgiving someone who did awful things makes everything easier for them…”
Maybe, maybe not.
But here is the interesting thing…
When you forgive others, it makes things easier for you.
No more hate.
No more bitterness.
No more weight on your shoulders.
No more focus on past events.
And on and on and on…

If someone has seriously wronged you, worldly wisdom tells us to hold onto hate and bitterness and to not forgive.
Scripture, our only real source of truth in this world, tells us to let go of all that.
Not only that we should, but mandates it.
Scripture requires it of us.
Can you let go?

We all see post after post after post on Facebook and other sites about being Torah Observant, or being Hebrew Roots, or whatever label is used…
What does that mean, exactly?

It means we make of list of things we are supposed to do, and we do it, right?
Or we do some of it anyway, right?
Yes, that’s it.
Lesson over.
Have a nice day.

Hmmmm, wait a minute.
Maybe we should look at this some more.

What does it mean to be Torah Observant?
Is it all about obedience?
We see in scripture that obedience is important and necessary, but why? What if we keep the feasts, wear tzitzits, honor Shabbat, and eat clean?
Is this the magic checklist that makes us “in covenant” with Yehova?
No, it is not…

Why do we choose to observe and honor these things?
Obedience will earn us salvation, right?
No, never.

Ephesians 2:8-10
⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves—it is the gift of Yehova. ⁹ It is not based on deeds, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship—created in Messiah Yeshua for good deeds, which Yehova prepared beforehand so we might walk in them.
Verses 8 and 9 above tell us:
— We are saved by grace
— Through faith
— It is a gift
— So no one boasts

Verse 10 is interesting, though.
It tells us we are created for good deeds, which Yehova prepared for us to do. What are those deeds?
That debate has played out in a million different small groups and bible studies throughout the land, spanning many centuries.
Obviously, defining these good deeds are left for mankind to decide, right?
“Good deeds” are very subjective to man.
What if there were a standard?
What if God wrote down what these good deeds are for us?
Ahhh, light bulb moment.
The Torah!!!
His written instructions for us to follow!!
Woo hoo!!
Now I get it…

But, do I really get it??
Am I to read Torah and make a list of tasks and do them and be saved? Why do the tasks matter? Why does obedience matter?
Because Yehova expects us to be compliant, brainless, little drones, right?  A Torah observant army of mindless robots, right?
Tzitzits — check!
Keep the feasts — check!
Honor Shabbat — check!
Eat clean — check!

No, Torah is not a simple checklist of tasks.
I’d call it more of a test, than anything.
What kind of a test?
The test is defined in Deuteronomy in the Torah, and in 1John in the New Testament…

Deuteronomy 13:4-6
⁴ You must not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams—for Yehova your Elohim is testing you, to find out whether you love Yehova your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁵  Yehova your Elohim you will follow and Him you will fear. His mitzvot [commands] you will keep, to His voice you will listen, Him you will serve and to Him you will cling. ⁶ That prophet or dreamer of dreams must be put to death! For he has spoken falsehood against Yehova your Elohim, who brought you out from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to entice you from the way Yehova your Elohim commanded you to walk. So you will purge the evil from your midst.

In verse 4, we see the test is to find out if we love Him.
It reminds me of these direct quotes of Yeshua Messiah:
John 14:15
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
John 14:21
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.
John 15:10
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

Let’s look at this test in the New Testament
1John 2:3-6
³ Now we know that we have come to know Him by this—if we keep His commandments. ⁴ The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God is truly made perfect. We know that we are in Him by this— ⁶ whoever claims to abide in Him must walk just as He walked.

Deuteronomy 13 mentions listening to His voice.
1John 2 mentions knowing Him.
These words remind me of this direct quote of Messiah:
John 10:27-28
²⁷ My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life! They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 

Both tests require us to keep the commandments.
Why?
So Yehova will know these things about us:
— We know Him
— We listen to Him
— And if we know and listen to Him by action, it shows that we love Him.

And that is the key.
We have to love Yehova.
We have to love Yeshua Messiah.
That is what He is looking for in us.
Our obedience in Torah observance is not just a list of tasks to keep.
Our obedience in Torah is evidence that we know Him, that we hear His voice, and that we love Him.
It is about relationship.

And if we know Him, will He know us?
Let’s look at this idea in the Torah and in the New Testament.
Honoring and keeping the Sabbath shows that we hear Him, it shows that we listen to Him, it shows that we know Him, and it shows that we love Him through our obedience. In return, Sabbath keeping let’s Him recognize us as His.
Exodus 31:13
¹³ “Speak now to the children of Israel saying, ‘Surely you must keep My Shabbatot, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, so you may know that I am Yehova who sanctifies you.

Obedience is about relationship and respect.
It is about humbling ourselves before Yehova.
It is about agreeing to His ways, as opposed to insisting on doing things our own way.

What happens if we don’t listen to His voice?
What happens if we don’t hear Him?
What happens if we don’t do the things He says?

Luke 6:46 [direct quote of Messiah]
“Why do you call Me ‘Master, Master’ and do not do what I say?”

Matthew 7:21-23  [direct quote of Messiah]
²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, and drive out demons in Your name, and perform many miracles in Your name?’ ²³ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’”

If we don’t show Him that we know Him, then He will claim to NOT know us!! And that is bad, because He will send you away if He does not know you.  “I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness!”

Ok, so it is important for us to listen, know, and obey, as that is how Yehova and Yeshua will know we love Him.
But what if we only do some of the things He says?
That just means we are all in different places on the path, right?
Matthew 7:13-14
¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. ¹⁴ How narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

We can find various scriptures about the path, and the way.
What we cannot find in scripture is the idea there are different places along the path or the way.
Either we are on the path, or we are not on the path.
Either we are submitted to Yehova, or we are not.
Either we hear His voice and do the things He says, or we do not.

I see lots of self-proclaimed Torah observant people say they honor and keep Shabbat, unless they have to work, or unless a new movie comes out they really want to see, or unless their in-laws want to go out to eat…
They say they are Torah observant, but can’t seem to give up bacon or shrimp.
They claim to be Torah observant, but won’t wear tzitzits.
They are willing to keep the feasts, unless it conflicts with their work schedule.

I see a constant stream of “but this” and “but that”…
Never ending excuses, reasons, and justifications for being in rebellion to the word of Yehova.
Being partially committed, or partially submitted, or partially obedient is NOT a different place on the narrow path.
It is rebellion against Yehova and His right rulings.
It means you are not on the narrow path.

The things I just said may sound harsh.
Please pray about them. If you find yourself in rebellion to some [or any!!] of the ways of Yehova, please pray about it.
Half-obedience is not rewarded.
Joshua and Caleb were allowed to enter the promise land because they wholly and completely followed Yehova.
The rest of their generation died in the wilderness and were denied the promise because of their disobedience and lack of trust.

Hebrews 3:15-19
¹⁵ As it is said,
“Today if you hear His voice,
    do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
¹⁶ Now which ones heard and rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt with Moses? ¹⁷ And with whom was He provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸ And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest? Was it not to those who were disobedient? ¹⁹ So we see that they were not able to enter in because of lack of trust.

If we could travel back in time and speak to this generation of people, they would have claimed to be Torah Observant!!
They kept the feasts. They honored Shabbat. They ate clean.  They wore tzitzits (except Korah – he got sucked into the earth over this issue).
Do you see the point I’m trying to make?
This entire generation of the Exodus kept Torah.
But they did not trust Yehova.
Their hearts were not in it.
Their love did not show.
Their relationship with Him was flawed.

If you want to be on the narrow path, then follow Him wholly and completely.
If you want to be on the narrow path, do not be in rebellion to any of His right rulings, His commands, His instructions.
If you want to be on the narrow path, be in relationship with Yehova and Yeshua Messiah.
We do that by hearing His voice.
Listening to His voice.
Obeying His voice.
It shows our love for Him, just as scripture tells us many times.

John 3:36
He who trusts in the Son has eternal life. He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Our best example in scripture of this idea and this concept is David. The Psalms show David’s absolute love for the words and the ways of Yehova.
He was not perfect in keeping those ways.
He committed adultery. (2Samuel 11)
He committed murder. (2Samuel 11)
He conducted an unauthorized census of Israel, resulting in the deaths of 70,000!! And the angel of Yehova was set to destroy Jerusalem, but Yehova relented (1 Chronicles 21).

David was not perfect in His obedience.
But he was known to love the ways of Yehova.
Psalm 119:97
O how I love Your Torah!
It is my meditation all day.
And that is what God wants from us.
Love. He wants us to love His words and His ways, His right-rulings.
And our love must be as scripture defines it, not an idea of our own making.

 

 

 

 

 

I used to believe what churches teach about the two greatest commandments in Matthew 22.  But I’ve realized the only reason I believed what they taught is because I had never studied it for myself. Just like hundreds of millions of others throughout time, I sat in a church and listened.  If I were really zealous for the word, I even took notes and wrote down what they were saying.
But was it true?
Are their teachings accurate?
The only way to find out is to be as the Bereans, and to study it.
Test the spirits, and find out if it lines up with scripture.

Here are the verses taught by our mainstream churches:
Matthew 22:37-39
³⁷ And He said to him, “‘You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

What do we know about these words?
-This is a direct quote of Yeshua Messiah.
-These two commandments are both really great advice, and are good doctrine.

Our churches teach this is our new standard in the Jesus-era.
Love God.  Check.
Love our neighbor.  Check.
Good to go…

Most people listen to this (the zealous ones write it down) and then walk out of church without any idea of how to accomplish these things.  Sounds good, though, doesn’t it?  Love God, love your neighbor.  Ok, I can remember that…

Here is the problem…
If we ask twenty different people how to love God and love our neighbor, we’ll get twenty different answers.
There are seven billion people on the planet.
Is it ok for there to be seven billion different opinions on how to keep these two greatest commands?
No. There is but one standard, and that is the truth of scripture.
How can we find out what this standard is?

For one, we need to learn and understand the whole conversation.
Matthew 22:34-40
³⁴ But the Pharisees, when they heard that Yeshua had silenced the Sadducees, gathered together in one place. ³⁵ And testing Him, one of them, a lawyer, asked, ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Torah [the Law]?”
³⁷ And He said to him, “‘You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  ⁴⁰ The entire Torah and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Ok, now we start to get some clarity.
Verses 36 and 40 are instrumental in understanding this conversation.
One of the educated religious leaders asked Messiah a question.
This question was specifically about the Torah Law.
This question is intended to be a trap.
Verse 35 tells us they were testing Him.  Just as we see in many of the interactions between Yeshua Messiah and the Pharisees, they were constantly trying to trick Him into doing or saying something improper, so that they might arrest Him (or even kill Him on the spot!!).
Verse 36 shows us that Messiah is not creating New Testament Doctrine.  He is not changing the rules. He is not creating a new plan for men to follow.
He is simply answering a question about the existing (and forever) Torah instructions [the Law].
Psalm 119:142
Your justice is righteousness forever,
and Your Torah is truth.
Psalm 119:160
Truth is the essence of Your word,
and all Your righteous rulings are eternal.

In fact, He is not just answering a question about Torah.
His answer consists of Him quoting the Torah:
Deuteronomy 6:5
Love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Leviticus 19:18
…but love your neighbor as yourself. I am Adonai.

And just in case this is confusing to you, Messiah tells us in verse 40 that He is simply paraphrasing the Law and The Prophets [who always taught people to follow the Torah instructions]
Matthew 22:40
“The entire Torah and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Mainstream Doctrine, as taught in our seminary institutions, ignores verses 35-36 and verse 40 so that false doctrine is created out of verses 37-39.
Why would they do this?
Why would they ignore key verses in order to teach something that is not true?
It gives them the leeway to decide for themselves how to love God and love our neighbor.
It allows man and not God to define how to do these things.
It allows men to reject the things they don’t care for in scripture.
It allows men to make up their own standards.
Is this wise?
No, I don’t think it is…

Messiah tells us how we are supposed to do this:
John 14:15
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
John 14:21
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.
John 15:10
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

Without the commandments [Torah Law], how do we define sin?
Do we get to decide in our own mind what is sin and what is not sin?
Or is it just defined by culture, which changes significantly with each generation?
Scripture tells us exactly how to define sin:
1John 3:4
4 Everyone practicing sin also practices lawlessness—indeed, sin is lawlessness.
Some translations say this:
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
or this…
4 Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah — indeed, sin is violation of Torah.

Men have singled out a few verses here and there in scripture that say to love others and to love God. That is good. That is a step in the right direction.
But they reject the scriptures that tell us how to do so.
They want the freedom to make up for themselves how to define loving God and loving others.
This is what I’m trying to warn about in these writings.
It is not up to us to decide.
Yehova gave His instructions.
He said His instructions are forever, never-ending, perpetual, and for all generations.

Scripture says the word has been since the beginning, and that it never changes.
Scripture says that Yehova does not lie, does not change His mind, and that He never changes.
Scripture says that Messiah is the word become flesh, and that He never changes.

There are so many blatant statements in scripture telling us these things, but men desire to ignore those statements, and claim that we get to make up our own idea of loving God and loving our neighbor.

We don’t need to make up our own definitions. It will simply end in disaster if we do.
If you love Messiah, then you will hear His voice, and you will follow Him. He tells us this in scripture. His sheep know His voice. And they follow Him.

This is His voice:
John 14:15
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
John 14:21
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.
John 15:10
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

Do you hear Him?
Can you hear Messiah speaking?

He tells us who gets to be in the kingdom of heaven:
Revelation 22:14
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

What commandments is He speaking of?
Generic ones that we get to define?
Nope.

Revelation 14:12 tells us what commandments:
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

Scripture tells us exactly what the plan is.
But man has rejected the plan in scripture, and replaced it with man-made traditions, ideas, and doctrine.
Unfortunately, Messiah will say He does not know you if you choose your own definitions instead of hearing His voice and doing as He says.

Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Consider this passage above, a direct quote of Messiah
[DO YOU HEAR HIS VOICE?  DO YOU LISTEN TO HIM?  DO YOU DO AS HE SAYS?  DO YOU FOLLOW HIM?]

This is not speaking about believers vs. non-believers.
Look at verse 22. These are people that think they did works in His name. These are people who think they follow Him.
But they do not…
Messiah will declare to these self-professed believers “‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

He will not know them.
Why?
Because they do not follow the Torah.
They are workers of lawlessness.
And what is their fate?
Depart from Me.
I never knew you.
And why is it important for us to follow the Torah instructions?
Because Messiah says that is how He will know if we love Him.
The act of following these commands does not save us.
The act of loving Messiah, as He defines it, is what is important here.
We are saved by grace, not by our acts.
Ephesians 2:8-10
⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves—it is the gift of God. ⁹ It is not based on deeds, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship—created in Messiah Yeshua for good deeds, which God prepared beforehand so we might walk in them.
But our acts are evidence that we know Him.
Our acts are the evidence that we hear His voice and follow Him.

James 2:26
²⁶ For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

Do you know Messiah?
The one in scripture?
Or do you know about a fake messiah, one who does not match the Messiah in scripture?

Here is a test:
1John 2:3-6
³ Now we know that we have come to know Him by this—if we keep His commandments. ⁴ The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God is truly made perfect. We know that we are in Him by this— ⁶ whoever claims to abide in Him must walk just as He walked.

 Do you know Him?

Luke 6:46 [words of Messiah]
“Why do you call Me ‘Master, Master’ and do not do what I say? “

Most people are aware of the Proverbs in the bible. It is a book of wisdom, as presented to us by Solomon, the wisest man to ever live.

1Kings 4:29-34
 And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. ³⁰ Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹ For he was wiser than all men—than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. ³² He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. ³³ Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. ³⁴ And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

Solomon tells us in chapter 1 why he wrote the Proverbs.  There is purpose behind these poetic words of truth.
Verse 2:
-to acquire wisdom
-to acquire discipline
-to understand words of insight
Verse 3
-receive instruction [in wise behavior, righteousness, justice, and fairness]
Verse 4
-to give discernment
-to give discretion
Verse 5
-to increase learning
-to give wise counsel

If mankind were given a booklet of wisdom, by a man who was supernaturally given wisdom by God Himself, should we ignore it?
Should we decide what parts are wise today, and which are no longer useful?  It is quite arrogant of man to reject any of the Proverbs, when it is one of the most concentrated sampling of wisdom ever recorded. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of this wisdom:

Proverbs 1:8
My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother;

Proverbs 2:1-5
My son, if you accept my words
    and treasure my mitzvot [commandments] within you,
² making your ear attentive to wisdom,
    inclining your heart to discernment,
³ yes, if you call out for insight,
    lifting up your voice for discernment,
⁴ if you seek her as silver
    and search for her as for hidden treasures,
⁵ then you will know the fear of Adonai
and discover the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 3:1-7
My son, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my mitzvot [commandments].
² For length of days and years of life,
and shalom [peace] they will add to you.
³ Let kindness and truth never leave you—
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ Then you will gain favor and a good name
in the eyes of God and man.
⁵ Trust in Adonai with all your heart,
lean not on your own understanding.
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight.
⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear Adonai and turn away from evil.

Proverbs 4:2-5
For I give you sound learning—
do not forsake my instruction.
³ When I was a son to my father,
tender and special to my mother,
⁴ he taught me and said to me:
    “Lay hold of my words in your heart,
    keep my commands and you will live!
⁵ Get wisdom! Get understanding!
Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

Proverbs 6:20-23
²⁰ My son, keep your father’s mitzvah [commandments],
and forsake not your mother’s teaching.
²¹ Bind them on your heart continually—
tie them around your neck.
²² When you walk, they will guide you.
When you lie down, they will watch over you,
and when you wake up, they will speak to you.
²³ For the mitzvah [commandments] is a lamp, Torah [The Law] a light,
and corrective discipline the way of life,

Proverbs 7:1-3
My son, keep my words
and treasure my mitzvot [commandments] within you.
² Keep my mitzvot [commandments] and live,
my teaching as the apple of your eye.
³ Bind them on your fingers,
write them on the tablet of your heart.

Proverbs 10:8-9
The wise in heart accept commands,
but a babbling fool comes to ruin.
⁹ One who walks in integrity, walks securely,
but one who takes crooked paths will be discovered.

Proverbs 13:13
Whoever despises instruction will pay a penalty,
but whoever respects a mitzvah [commandments] will be rewarded.

Proverbs 19:16
One who keeps a mitzvah [commandments] guards his soul,
but one who neglects His ways will die.

Proverbs 28:4-9
Those who forsake Torah [The Law] praise the wicked,
but those who keep Torah [The Law] stir them up.
⁵ Evil men do not understand justice,
but those who seek Adonai understand it fully.
⁶ Better the poor who walks in his integrity
than the rich whose ways are crooked.
⁷ He who keeps Torah [The Law] is a discerning son,
but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.
⁸ Whoever increases his wealth by exorbitant interest,
gathers it for one kinder to the poor.
⁹ One who turns his ear from hearing Torah [The Law]
—even his prayer is an abomination.
TIME OUT!!!!
Did you catch that?
If we do not listen to the Torah–
If we reject the Torah–
If we ignore the Torah–
If we consider the Torah to be abolished–
If we consider the Torah to be done away with–
———–Then our prayers are an abomination to Yehova???
Did you catch that?
Does God listen to your prayers?
Or are they an abomination to Him?

Proverbs 29:18
Where there is no divine vision people cast off restraint,
but blessed is the one who keeps Torah [The Law].

Do we believe the Proverbs to be true today?
Do we still consider the Proverbs to be wise?
Do we pick and choose which ones we like, and toss the rest?
Is it wise to reject this sampling of wisdom, or any portions of it?

Proverbs 3 says the commandments will add years to your life, and bring you peace!! Do you believe this is no longer true?
Churches teach this is no longer true.
Are you ok with that?

Many will argue that these words were true when The Law was in effect, but that it is no longer…
Does the New Testament speak of The Law, the Torah?

In Matthew 5, we see these words from Messiah Himself:
¹⁷ “Do not think that I came to abolish the Torah or the Prophets! I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. ¹⁸ Amen, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or serif shall ever pass away from the Torah until all things come to pass.

Messiah did not abolish the Torah.  He came to fully teach it (look up the Greek word pleroo, translated as fulfill in verse 17. Then look up the Greek word used in verse 18, translated as fulfill).
Messiah continues in Matthew 5 with this:
¹⁹ Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever keeps and teaches them, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 
He says not to break the commandments of the Torah, and not to teach others to do so.  Then He clarifies that we are to keep the commandments of Torah, and to teach others to do so.
This is not what our churches teach.
Are you OK with that?

Have you ever heard that we are to love our neighbor as ourself?
Messiah tells us this in Matthew 7
So in all things, do to others what you would want them to do to you—for this is the Torah and the Prophets.
Messiah says that the idea of doing kind things for others comes from the Torah and the Prophets [the Prophets always teach the Torah].

Our churches teach us that Messiah has simplified everything.
We are told that we have new generic commands to keep.
Matthew 22:37-38
³⁷ And He said to him, “‘You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
Are men supposed to figure out what the standards are, in keeping these two generic commands?
Is the standard high, or is the standard low?
How do we know what is enough, and what is not enough?
Well, let’s figure this out.
What if I tell you the two greatest commands are not new generic commands given in the New Testament?
Let’s check out verse 36:
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Torah?”
This changes everything!!
Our churches teach us to keep these two greatest commands, however we see fit.
When we look at verse 36, we find out that Messiah was actually simply answering a question about Torah, the Law.
Not only was Messiah speaking about the Torah, He was actually quoting it!!
Deuteronomy 6:5
Love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Leviticus 19:17
“…but love your neighbor as yourself.”
Seriously? 
Am I sure about this?
Look at Verse 40
“The entire Torah and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Just in case we are confused, Messiah tells us that the two greatest commandments are just paraphrasing the Torah and the words of the Prophets [who all taught Torah].

But our churches teach the Torah is done away with, and that the two greatest commands are new.
Scripture shows us that is not true.
Are you OK with that?

Moving on to Matthew 23, Messiah says this:
¹ Then Yeshua spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying, “The Torah scholars and Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses. ³ So whatever they tell you, do and observe. But don’t do what they do; for what they say, they do not do. 

Messiah tells everyone to do what the teachers say when they are sitting in the seat of Moses.
What happens in the seat of Moses?
The Torah, The Law, is read word for word, without commentary.
Messiah is telling everyone to do what the Torah [The Law] says.
He goes on to tell everyone to NOT do what the Pharisees [the educated religious leaders] do, because they do not do what they teach from Torah.
In Matthew 15, we see Messiah admonishing them for teaching the traditions of men as though they were the Word of Yehova.

What are the consequences of following what the educated religious leaders do?
We see it in Matthew 23:13
¹³ “But woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not enter yourselves, nor do you let those enter who are trying to go in.
These are the words of Messiah.
He says the Pharisees [educated religious leaders] will not enter heaven, nor will those who follow them.
This is bad!!
So very bad.
Our Messiah teaches us that we are to do what the Law says [the Torah]. Our churches teach us that the Torah Law is done away with.
Today’s educated religious leaders teach against what God said is forever, and what Messiah teaches us to do.
How will that go for them?
How will that go for those who follow them?
Read Matthew 23:13 again for the answer.

I could go on and on and on…
But this is enough for today.

But Messiah said the greatest commandment of Torah is to love Yehova.
How do we do that?
How do we define that?
We don’t need to define it, because Messiah already did that for us:

John 14:15
 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
John 14:21
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.
John 15:10
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.