It is quite unbelievable that this topic needs to be discussed.
But, here goes…
I have had church pastors tell me that Jesus committed sin.
I see numerous people making this claim today.
Have these people not read their bibles?
How is it possible they do not understand this very basic premise of the scriptures?

For those who might be confused about this issue, I present you with a few quoted scripture verses:

Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Since you rejected knowledge,
    I will also reject you from being My kohen.
Since you forgot the Torah of your God,
    just so I will forget your children.

Mankind has given up the responsibility of learning scripture to a select few (church leaders).
Mankind has put their faith regarding all things spiritual in the teachings of men.
Mankind has entrusted their eternity, the greatest possible reward in this life and the next,  to what some guy learned in college.

If these men are teaching the truth, then everyone should be alright.
But what does scripture say about it?
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?

Scripture tells us these men are and will get it all wrong.
Not just a little bit wrong, but completely wrong.

What does our Savior have to say about it?
Of course, Messiah will make everything ok.
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!’
Did you catch that last part?
‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

How can we avoid this fate?
Listen to Yeshua Messiah (Jesus) and do as He says.
He even wonders why we do not:
Luke 6:46
⁴⁶ “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?”

What is it that He says, that will help us avoid the fate of Matthew 7?
We need to avoid lawlessness.
How do we avoid this?
By listening to His voice and following Him.

John 14:15
“If you love Me, you shall guard My commands.”
John 14:21
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
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.”

Are you listening to Him?
It’s just your eternity hanging in the balance…
Will you listen to the Son of the Living Elohim?
Or will you insist on listening to some guy who went to college?

Torah Wheel of Fortune.
Am I creating a Torah based game show?
No, not so much.
I don’t watch television, and I don’t recommend watching television.
I am in the midst of self-evaluation and study to determine what it is we are supposed to do in Yah’s kingdom with regard to our fellow man.

Wow, tough subject, right?
For Tracy and I, Torah is simple.
If we read the Word and learn something new, our decision is to simply say, “Yes, Yehova, we will do as you ask of us.”
It really is that simple.
When we first learned the truth of the Scriptures, we had to make changes in our lives.
We immediately began to observe and honor Shabbat.
It is a sign between Yehova and His people.
We want to be His people.
We own a cafe’, so this required some major changes on our part.  We immediately [as in that very week] changed our cafe’ hours to be closed on Shabbat. Our customers thought we were nuts.
So what?
We did it anyway.
Our hearts’ desire is to obey the Father.

We learned that eating biblically clean is important to Yehova.
Therefore, it became important to us.
We began learning how to eat clean.
We made changes at home, and we also removed unclean foods from our menu at our cafe.
Again, we had some upset customers.
Cest la vie…
Such is life.

We learned about the Feast Days, Yah’s appointed times.
We got rid of our Christmas stuff, our Easter stuff, our Halloween stuff…
We purged all of that from our lives.
It was not easy, because we have three children who have learned and lived the culture of these holidays.  We have extended family who HIGHLY value these holidays.
But we said, “Yes, Yehova, we will celebrate Your appointed times, and we will purge this other nonsense from our lives.”

We made tzitzits and began wearing them.
Not sometimes.
Not just on Shabbat.
We wear them every waking moment.
Is it because we are legalistic?
Nope.
Is it because we think following rules will save us?
Nope.
We do these things, because Yehova desires it of us.
And we say, “Yes, Yehova, I will do this because you desire it of us.”
It really is that simple.

We began walking Torah alone, because no one else was interested.
Our friends and family thought we’d lost our minds.
In time, we learned of Torah fellowships near us, and we met really wonderful people.  After being quite alone in our walk into Torah, we were elated to find others doing the same.
We were excited to no longer be alone in this walk, and we joined them.

But we quickly noticed something.
We quickly realized that people in “Torah Observant” fellowships did not wear tzitzits.  And they work on Shabbat.  And they go out to eat, or go to the movies on Shabbat. Or they go to college football games or baseball games on Shabbat.
And they work on the moedim, Yah’s appointed high Sabbaths.
And they feast on unrighteous, sin-filled entertainment produced by Hollywood and the worldly entertainment industry.  And they still embrace the seeker friendly mainstream church mentality.  Or they left the mainstream, and instead, adopted the Jewish traditions that are not in accordance with the Scriptures.
And on and on and on…

Tracy and I did not understand.
We met groups of people who spoke of being grateful to be called to Torah and to have their veils lifted, but then they had a very nonchalant, non-committal attitude towards the things of Torah.
We were baffled.
How could people read and study the Torah, and not take it seriously???

We addressed our concerns, and eventually left those groups because of their lukewarm behaviors.
So now what?
We know that being partially committed to the things of Yehova is not what He wants from us.
He does not want rebellious complaining followers who long for the things of Egypt (the world) over the things of the Father [if you are unsure about this, read the Exodus story and pay attention to the details].

Are we supposed to separate from the rebellious and the disobedient?
Are we supposed to remain among them, and be a light and an example to them?
Are we supposed to stay and try to motivate them?
Or are we supposed to step away from them, and not get sucked into the earth as happened to Korah in Numbers 16?
Are we to have compassion and pray for them from a safe distance?

These are the things I’m studying, evaluating, and praying through…
We know that the entire Torah is summed up as this:
1. Love God with all that we are (mind, body, soul, strength).
2. Love our neighbor as ourself.

Yeshua defined how it is we are to love Him.
Here is one of many references:
John 14:15
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

But how do we love our neighbor as ourself?
Scripture speaks of love, kindness, patience…
But how do we apply these ideas to the willfully disobedient?
How do we apply these ideas to the nonchalant Torah semi-followers?

This is what Yehova says about those who sin while having the full knowledge of the truth (those who learn Torah but continue to violate Torah):
Numbers 15:30-31
 “But the person who sins defiantly, whether native or outsider, reviles Yehova and that person is to be cut off from his people. ³¹ Because he has despised the word of Yehova and has broken His commandment, that person will certainly be cut off—his guilt will remain on him.”
Are these empty words, or is Yah serious about this?
Read Numbers 15:32-41 to find out.

How do we apply the fruits of the spirit to those who have learned Torah, but do not do the things of Torah?
These are difficult ideas and concepts.
I want to honor what Yehova says. I want to love my neighbor as myself.

To me, the ultimate love for my fellow man is to do everything in my power so they do not hear this one day:
“I never knew you. Depart from Me.”
These are the words of Yeshua Messiah.  He is speaking to people who claim to have followed Him, and yet, He does not know them and He rejects them.

In my mind, there is no greater love for my fellow man than to help him avoid this fate.
This means telling them the truth.
This means showing them the warnings in scripture.
This means holding them accountable for the things of Torah that they have learned, but refuse to do. Or only do them when convenient.

I’ve been called unloving and harsh because of these things.
People do not understand my motivation.
People do not realize I approach all of these matters seriously and with intensity, because I do not want them to hear, “I never knew you. Depart from Me.”

I will continue to study and pray.

1Corinthians 13 defines love for us:
⁴ Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ⁸ Love never fails.

I’ll be doing word studies in scripture on each of these definitions.
Man may define love a certain way in his thoughts and ideas.  I often see this translated into tolerance of rebellious behavior, inclusiveness for the sake of friendship/fellowship, turning a blind eye to willful sin in the hopes they will eventually change.
And these things are labeled as love and patience and kindness.
But is it?
What if a rebellious person is allowed to continue in their rebellion for months, years even?  What if they die in a car wreck tomorrow, and end up hearing, “I never knew you” because of their disobedient behaviors?
Is that love?
These are the types of things I’m trying to sort out.
Bear with me…
And stay tuned…

And lastly, a bit of praise for Yehova.
We recently have met some new friends who want to follow Yehova wholly and completely. They began as new acquaintances, new friends. But they quickly have become new family.
It is a joy to find others who value following Yehova completely.
Our challenge as a group, though, is how do we inspire and encourage others around us to do the same?

Things change, right?
Everything is always changing.
Nothing stays the same.

It makes sense then, that the Apostle Paul changed everything about biblical doctrine, right?
The Old Testament gave us God’s instructions for living, commonly referred to as the Law.
The prophets had one message:  Always for the people to return to the commandments of Yehova.
Yeshua Messiah (Jesus) also taught that we are to follow the instructions, the commands, of Yehova.
But then…
Paul’s writings changed everything.
The Law didn’t work, so after Messiahs death, burial, resurrection, and ascension Paul was tasked with communicating a new plan for us — a plan that does not include the Law.
Makes sense, right?

This is exactly what they teach in bible college.
This is what they teach in seminary.
And therefore, this is what our churches teach.
And because our churches teach this, that is what our Sunday School teachers present to the small children at church.

Is this good or bad?
I could spend many hours, quoting countless scriptures, to show you this is bad.
But instead, I’m going to keep it simple.

Amos 3:7
New King James Version
Surely the Lord God does nothing,
Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
Tree of Life Version
For the Lord Adonai, will do nothing,
unless He has revealed His counsel
    to His servants the prophets.

If we believe this bit of scripture, then God must have told the prophets that Paul would come along and change everything one day.
Please show me this in scripture, because I cannot find it.
I’ll wait…
But not for very long, because this idea is not in scripture.

But really…
Did Paul change everything?
Or did Paul teach the same thing as Yehova, the Prophets, and Messiah?
We are given a warning about this very idea.
We are told specifically that misunderstanding Paul’s writings will lead to our destruction:

2Peter 3:14-17
¹⁴ Therefore, loved ones, while you are looking for these things, make every effort to be found in shalom, spotless and blameless before Him. ¹⁵ Bear in mind that the patience of our Lord means salvation—just as our dearly loved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom given to him. ¹⁶ He speaks about these matters in all of his letters. Some things in them are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist (as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures)—to their own destruction.
¹⁷ Since you already know all this, loved ones, be on your guard so that you are not led astray by the error of the lawless and lose your sure footing.

Peter warns of the following things:
1.  Be found by Yeshua Messiah blameless (that means do not continue in sin)
2.  Paul’s writings are hard to understand
3.  Untaught and unstable people will twist
4.  Resulting in their own destruction
5.  In the same way, they twist the rest of the Scriptures.
And just to reiterate…
In case you missed it…
6.  Since you were warned in advance
7.  Beware!!! Be on your guard!!
8.  Do not be fooled
9.  By those who teach and practice lawlessness
10.  Losing your sure footing

This warning is serious!!
Failing to heed this warning will result in your destruction.
Are you listening?

In case you are not so sure about Peter, would you believe Messiah, if He said this?
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!’”

Yeshua Messiah (Jesus) specifically tells us that if we are lawless, He will not know us and will send us away.
Who does get to be included in the kingdom of heaven?
Those who do the will of the Father.
Those who follow the Father’s commandments.
Those who do the Law, and follow His instructions.

But, but, but…
This is all about chronological order.
The things I’ve shown you here are direct quotes from scripture, and they are true.
But…
People still believe Paul changed things after Jesus left.
Are we given any input AFTER Messiah left, and AFTER Paul wrote His letters?

Absolutely.
Yes.

Revelation is the last of the Scriptures chronologically.
It can be trusted, right?
Even if we were to misunderstand anything throughout the Scriptures, the words of Revelation would have the final say, correct?

Revelation 14:12 tells us who the saints are:
Here is the perseverance of the saints—those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Yeshua Messiah.

Revelation 12:17 tells us who the remnant of the church is:
So the dragon became enraged at the woman and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring—those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Yeshua.

And Messiah tells us who will be in His kingdom in 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.

There you have it.
Instructions AFTER Paul’s writings.
So now you have a choice to make.
Will you follow the Scriptures, or will you follow what your church teaches about Paul’s writings (which we are warned against)?

2Timothy 4:3-4
For the time will come when they will not put up with sound instruction, but they will pile up for themselves teachers in keeping with their own desires, to have their ears tickled.  And they will turn away from hearing the truth and wander off to myths.

Is this a big deal?
Are people doing this today?
What if I told you this is more common now than hearing the truth?

I saw this meme on Facebook yesterday, posted there by a friend.
My friend is a good and decent guy.
This discussion is not an attack on my friend.
But is my friend deceived?
Is my friend allowing his ears to be tickled?
Is my friend tickling the ears of others by sharing things like this?

Is there a problem with this meme?
It sounds good, right?
It sounds like a compassionate person is calling out others for harsh religious comments.

But is it the truth?
Or is it false teaching?
We can only know the answer if we know the scriptures.

I left a comment for my friend, and he openly admitted that my comment made him angry.
Here is what I said:
“Men think up phrases like this. It sounds really good and it tickles lots of ears.
But is it truth?
We are told in the ten commandments not to bear false witness.
What if I can prove to you, using only direct quotes of Jesus, that this meme is bearing false witness against Jesus?
Do you know the things Jesus said well enough to know He is in violation of this meme?”

I give my friend a great deal of credit.
He was honest.
He told me this made him mad.
But he did not act out in anger.
Much love for that…

But back to the issue at hand.
Does this meme bear false witness against Messiah?
Let’s go to the scriptures and see.
Please compare these direct quotes of Yeshua Messiah to what this meme is saying:

Matthew 7
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ shall enter into the reign of the heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the heavens. “Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name?’ “And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!’”
We see in this scripture that Yeshua Messiah is going to be drawing some lines.
There are going to be people that claim to follow Him, and yet, He does not know them.
He tells them so, and also tells them to depart from Him.
Messiah puts these people on the wrong side of the line.

What about this in Matthew 5?
This is another direct quote of Messiah:
Matthew 5
“Whoever, then, breaks one of the least of these commands, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the reign of the heavens; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens.”
Messiah is drawing more lines.
He is drawing lines between the least and the greatest.
There is separation.
There are standards.

What about these three direct quotes of Messiah from the book of John?
John 14:15
“If you love Me, you shall guard My commands.”
John 14:21
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
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.”
What do you see here?
I see Yeshua Messiah, our Savior, drawing more lines.
He is drawing a line between those who love Him and those who do not love Him.
What if you are on the wrong side of that line?
What if He decides you do not love Him?

What about this in Revelation 3?
This is Messiah speaking…
Revelation 3:15-16
“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold or hot. “So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth.”
What do we have?
More lines.
Who is drawing these lines?
Messiah is.

What about these words from Messiah in Revelation 22:14-15?
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. ¹⁵ But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
Is Yeshua Messiah, Jesus, drawing lines here?
Absolutely He is!!
He is drawing a line between those who get access to the Tree of Life, and those who don’t.
He is drawing a line between those who get to enter the City of New Jerusalem, Heaven on Earth, and those who do not get to enter.
He is drawing a line between those who are obedient and those who are not.
He is drawing a line between those who follow sound doctrine, and those who love and practice a lie.

It is not my intention to make anyone mad, especially people I enjoy and call my friends.
As men, we can have great thoughts and ideas, and we can communicate them in blogs and memes or even church sermons.
But what if those great thoughts are erroneous?
What if we lead people astray, even though we are just trying to say nice things?
What if our compassionate thoughts and ideas bear false witness against our Messiah?
What if our memes make Jesus a liar?

It happens.
Maybe not on purpose, but it happens.
How do we fix it?
We go to the scriptures.
We go and read the things that Messiah said.
We learn to know His voice, so that we might follow Him.

Please do not be deceived by clever and well-meaning thoughts.
Test everything.
Check all things against scripture.
Sometimes false teaching looks really pretty and appealing.
It might even tickle your ears.

I realize this post may make some people angry.
I know I already made my friend angry.
That is not my intent.
Just read your bibles and sort it out please, especially if this makes you angry.
Know your Messiah’s words.
Listen to Him.

James 2:10
For whoever keeps the whole Torah but stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

Wow, what are we supposed to do with this?
This is a bit scary, is it not?
What is James talking about here?
The mainstream churches teach us how to avoid trouble regarding this scripture:

Don’t put yourself back under the law, right?
If you don’t try to do any of the law, then you can’t fail at even one thing.
This is good news. 
As long as we don’t try to obey anything, we won’t be held accountable for anything. Easy-peasy.

Well, we have a problem, though.
Revelation 22:14 says who will be in the kingdom:
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.

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

And Messiah says this:
John 14:15
 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

And scripture tells us this:
1John 2:3-6
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.

And John 3:36 tells us this:
“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

And back to James again…
James 2:26
For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

These verses all seem to be saying we must do something.
We must obey.
So back to the original thought…
What does James mean by this?
For whoever keeps the whole Torah but stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

He is not telling to avoid putting ourselves under the law.
There are many more scriptures than I’ve listed here that say we are to keep the commands of Yehova.

Here is what James is saying:
We need to follow Yehova completely, not partially.
We are not to obey the Torah for the parts we like, and ignore or reject the parts we don’t like.
I have met countless “Torah observers” who:
-work on the Sabbath
-work on the Appointed Feast Days
-choose not to wear tzitzits
-buy or sell on the Sabbath, causing others to work
-defile their temples
-and on and on and on

James is telling us that we cannot pick and choose what parts of the Torah we are willing to accept.
We must accept all of it or none of it.
We must choose to follow Yehova completely, not partially.
Remember this?
Revelation 3:15-16
¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. Oh, that you were either cold or hot! ¹⁶ So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spew you out of My mouth.

Is James saying we must be perfect?
Is he saying we can never fail?
No, he is not saying that.
If we choose to follow the words and the ways of Yehova, but fail, then we are forgiven through grace when we repent.
But if we deliberately choose to ignore certain commands, then we have chosen to fail all of it.
Follow completely, not partially.
A partial commitment to Yehova is a failed commitment.

If we choose to reject any of the commands, it results in intentional sin.  What does scripture say about it?
Numbers 15:30-31
³⁰ “But the person who sins defiantly, whether native or outsider, reviles Adonai and that person is to be cut off from his people. ³¹ Because he has despised the word of Adonai and has broken His commandment, that person will certainly be cut off—his guilt will remain on him.”

Oohhh, that’s not good…
But no worries. It’s the Old Testament.
No longer applicable, right?
Check out Hebrews 10:26-31.
That’s New Testament.
That’s applicable…
²⁶ For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” ³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Oh boy…
That’s new and applicable, and still not good for us people-types.
What’s the moral of the story?
Do as Messiah says:
 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

All of them, not just the ones we like.
Amen.

Being rejected by family for keeping Torah is a rough deal…
It happens, though.
What does scripture say about it?

Matthew 10:21-22
²¹ “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against their parents and have them put to death. ²² And you will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end shall be saved. 

Matthew 10:32-39
³² “Therefore whoever acknowledges Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
³⁴ “Do not think that I came to bring shalom on the earth; I did not come to bring shalom, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to set
‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother, and
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
³⁶ and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.’
³⁷ “He who loves father or mother more than Me isn’t worthy of Me, and he who loves son or daughter more than Me isn’t worthy of Me. ³⁸ And whoever does not take up his cross and follow after Me isn’t worthy of Me. ³⁹ He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

Luke 14:25-27
²⁵ Now great crowds were traveling with Yeshua; and He turned and said to them, ²⁶ “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters—and yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple. ²⁷ Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.

John 15:18-21
¹⁸ “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But you are not of the world, since I have chosen you out of the world; therefore the world hates you.
²⁰ “Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
²¹ “But all these things they will do to you for the sake of My name, because they do not know the One who sent Me. ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin.

It is easy to read our bibles and not really slow down and think about these things.
“These things must apply to other people, because I don’t have this in my life…”

But here’s the thing…
Messiah said these things WILL happen.
He didn’t say these things MIGHT happen.
So what does it mean if these things are not happening, when Messiah says they WILL happen if we follow Him?
This is a serious matter.  It is an emotional and hurtful matter for those who go through persecution by their family.

If it does not happen, is there something wrong with our walk?
I don’t wish this upon anyone…
My goal here is to evaluate some of the things Messiah said.
If we don’t see his statements coming true in our life, good or bad, then what are we missing?

We just had our first experience with this.
Some of our family told us that our religion makes them uncomfortable, and that we are no longer welcome in their lives.
They said we are no longer invited to any of their family activities.
I stated they are always welcome in our lives; they responded and said the feeling is not mutual, and asked that we not ever contact him or his wife.

This is a hard thing to hear.
It is heartbreaking.
But it happens.
I’ve heard other people in Torah speak of this.
But this is our first time to experience it.
It is very sad.

But…
Messiah said this would happen if we follow Him.
If this is not happening, then what is wrong with how we are following?
This situation is bittersweet.
Bitter to be rejected by family.
But sweet to have confirmation that we are following Messiah properly.

I hate it.
But I have trust and faith in Messiah and the things He said.
Will we please men [including our families] or will we please Yeshua Messiah?
Joshua 24:15
…but as for me and my household, we will worship Yehova!

Deuteronomy 4:2
You must not add to the word that I am commanding you or take away from it—in order to keep the commandments of Yehova your Elohim that I am commanding you.

Deuteronomy 13:1
“Whatever I command you, you must take care to do—you are not to add to it or take away from it.”

Revelation 22:18-19
I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds to them, Yehova shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book; ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, Yehova shall take away his share in the Tree of Life and the Holy City, which are written in this book.

Proverbs 30:5-6
⁵ Every word of Yehova is purified.
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
⁶ Do not add to His words,
or else He will rebuke You and prove you a liar.

How seriously do we take these warnings to neither add to nor take away from the words of Yehova?
No big deal, right?
Actually, it is quite a huge deal.
Did you catch the mention of plagues in Revelation?
Did you catch the part about losing your share in the Tree of Life?

These warnings carry serious consequences.
Your eternity is at stake.
Am I just an alarmist?
Am I just making a mountain out of a molehill?
If scripture says it, then I believe it.
Please do not disregard these warnings.

So what does this mean for us?
How do these warnings impact things we do and say?
Do these warnings matter to our everyday lives?
I’m guessing I could write a whole book on this alone.
But let’s keep it short and simple.

1.  Do not attempt to introduce man-made ideas into scriptural doctrine.  That means no Talmud and no Kabbalah.  It also means giving up your Christian commentaries and devotion books if they are adding to or taking away from the word. Any source of information that adds to scripture, takes away from scripture, or attempts to define doctrine contrary to scripture is to be rejected.

2.  If scripture says it, then we are to believe it and obey.  We do not get to disregard certain things we don’t like, or don’t feel like doing.
We also do not get to introduce new ideas (traditions) not supported by scripture (Christmas and Easter for starters…).

When I began studying scripture in depth several years ago, what I learned caused my wife and me to leave the mainstream church.
We’ve been involved with several “Torah Observant” fellowships, and have left them behind for the same reasons we left the mainstream Christian churches.
We established our own fellowship and hosted it for a year or so.
We disbanded it early this year for the same reasons.

We are to follow Yehova wholly and completely, and we are not to change the word of Yehova.
Subtle ideas and behaviors creep into fellowships and organizations.
We need to guard against such things.
Some of these things crept in long ago.  They’ve been present for so long that no one notices they are violating the warnings stated in scripture. It is the new normal.

What does scripture say about it?
Shall we let the truth evolve over time, to fit our needs? To fit what we’ve been taught?
Nope.
Not unless you like plagues and no access to the Tree of Life.

Please don’t consider this short article as criticism.
Use it as motivation.
Use it as a catalyst to evaluate your ideas and behaviors and habits.
Does all that you believe and do line up with scripture?
Are the resources you utilize adding to or taking away from the Word?

Spend some time evaluating yourself, your thoughts, your ideas, your doctrine, and your fellowship.
Make changes as necessary in order to follow Yehova wholly and completely.
You will catch flack for this…
Men and women will not like it when you do this.
I’ve been called judgmental, unloving, a heretic, that my ideas are dangerous, and on and on and on…

But whom will you please?
Whom will you serve?
“But as for me and my household, we will worship Yehova!“

And just for fun, let’s take a look at the thorn in Paul’s side…

Does it matter to Yehova whether we follow Him completely?
Does He care?
Mainstream church teaches us that “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the bible tells me so…”
We are taught that any level of commitment or dedication we make to Jesus is celebrated, no matter how much or little it might be.
But what does scripture tell us?
That is always my goal here.
Let’s sort out the truth, based on the inspired word of Yehova.

We see this in one of the most fascinating stories known to mankind, the Exodus story:
Numbers 32:11-13
¹¹ ‘The men who came out of Egypt, from 20 years old and upward, will not see the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for they have not followed after Me with a whole heart— ¹² except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they were wholehearted after Adonai.’ ¹³ The anger of Adonai burned against Israel and He caused them to wander in the wilderness 40 years until all the generation doing that evil in Adonai’s sight was gone.

We see in this scripture that Joshua and Caleb followed Yehova wholly and completely, and because of this, they were allowed into the promise land when no one else was.
The others?
They did not follow Yehova with their whole heart, and it was noted to be evil in the sight of Yehova.

Is it ok for us to follow partially?
Is it ok for us to commit our lives to Yehova just a little, but not a lot?
Is it ok for us to pick and choose which scriptures we are willing to accept and obey, while rejecting others?

I know someone who had studied Torah for nearly two decades.  This person, while very knowledgeable of the word, chose not to wear tzitzits.  They knew the scriptures. They fully understood that wearing tzitzits is commanded. But they intentionally chose not to do it.
Why?  They said they were angry with Yehova.  And this anger had been going on for more than a year.
Is open and intentional rebellion against Yehova acceptable to Him?
Based on all the stories we read in scripture, I would have to answer with no.
Is anger sin?
No, it is simply an emotion we have been equipped with by our Creator.  Our actions in response to anger may be sin, though.
Is it possible to be angry with Yehova?
Yes, I suppose it is possible.  But this is a time to get on your knees and resolve it through prayer.
Intentionally rejecting His commands in defiance is never a good plan.  The man who collected firewood on the Sabbath,  defiling His set-apart Sabbath, paid for this ill-advised action with his life.

Numbers 15:30-35
³⁰ “But the person who sins defiantly, whether native or outsider, reviles Adonai and that person is to be cut off from his people. ³¹ Because he has despised the word of Adonai and has broken His commandment, that person will certainly be cut off—his guilt will remain on him.”
³² While Bnei-Yisrael were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the Shabbat.
³³ Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses, Aaron and the entire assembly. ³⁴ They kept him under arrest, not being clear what was to be done to him.
³⁵ Adonai said to Moses, “The man has to die. The whole assembly is to stone him with stones outside the camp.” ³⁶ So the whole assembly took him outside the camp. They stoned him with stones. He died just as Adonai commanded Moses.

No, we should not disobey in anger, thinking we are spiting the One who created us.

Will Yeshua give us credit for good behavior, while ignoring our bad behavior? Most Torah fellowships I have attended have one thing in common — the majority of people do not wear tzitzits.
Am I the tzitzit police?
No, I am not.
Am I legalistic?
No, I do not believe following a command to simply check off a box is what Yehova wants from us.
Legalism is not the answer.
But the wearing of tzitzits is a simple heart check.  We can quickly tell in a Torah fellowship if people have submitted themselves to the Father.  Do the things He says, or not…  Which is it?
If people know of the command to make and wear tzitzits, and choose to not do it…  Where does that put them?
It puts them in rebellion to the word, and in rebellion to Yehova.
But it’s ok, right, as long as they keep Shabbat, or celebrate the feast days?
What if they stop eating pork?
Yehova is looking down upon us, celebrating the things we are willing to obey, right? While ignoring the things we reject?

1Kings 11:6
Solomon did evil in the sight of Yehova, and did not fully follow Yehova, as did his father David.

Solomon was the wisest man to ever live.
And yet, things went poorly for him because he did not follow Yehova fully.
We are not graded on the extent to which we follow Yehova.
We are graded on whether or not we follow Him completely.

Church teaches us that even a minimal commitment to God is acceptable and is to be praised. However, scripture gives us many examples showing that partially following Yehova is a problem.
A big problem.

Yeshua Messiah tells us this:
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!’

Is this speaking about people who hate God?
No, it is not.
This is speaking of people who claim to follow Messiah.
This should be earth-shattering to us.
Is it possible to believe we serve Him, but one day find out He does not even know us? Could we be rejected and sent away by Messiah when we thought we belonged to Him? Yes, He says so Himself!!
How could this possibly happen?
By practicing lawlessness — that is how it happens.
What if someone keeps the feast days and Shabbat gatherings because they are fun, and fellowship is fun, and having meals with friends is fun?
But what if those same people don’t love the ways of Yehova in their heart?
What if they think tzitzits are stupid? What if they don’t want to mess up their sense of fashion? What if they think tzitzits are embarrassing to wear in public?
What if they eat clean, except for bacon?
What if they love-love-love bacon?
Can you be His people, and still eat bacon?
Just once in awhile, it’s ok right?
Do you follow Him completely?
Or do you follow Him enough to be comfortable?

Messiah asks this:
Luke 6:46
 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?”
Is it ok to call Him our Master, but violate scripture?
Is it ok for us to follow Him partially?
Is it ok to pretend we belong to Him by doing some things right, but not other things?
Do you have a heart for the words and the ways of Yehova?
Or do you find some things acceptable, but not others?
Will He be ok with that?
Will you be told, “Well done, good and faithful servant” for following Him partially? Not according to the examples set for us in the Torah and Tanakh.

Am I saying we have to be perfect, mindless drones who follow commands without failure?
No, that is not what I’m saying.
We must have a heart for the words and the ways of Yehova.
We must show our love for Yeshua Messiah through our obedience to His word.
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.”

But what if we mess up?
Romans 8:34
³⁴ Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
We see here that Yeshua Messiah will intercede for us with the Father.

We see again in 1John that Yeshua Messiah will intercede for us:
1John 2:2-6
2 My children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Intercessor with the Father—the righteous Messiah Yeshua. ² He is the atonement for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the whole world.
Loving God Means Obedience
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.

The fact that Messiah will forgive us when we repent is the good news! It is great news!! Praise Yah!!
But we have a responsibility in this…
These scriptures about having an intercessor are not promoting the common hyper-grace message.
IF we have a heart for the words and the ways of Yehova, THEN if we fail and commit sin, we have an intercessor.
But if we reject the Torah, this does not apply.
How can I say this with absolute confidence?
Because scripture says so…

Hebrews 10:26-31
For if we keep on sinning willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but only a terrifying expectation of judgment and a fury of fire about to devour the enemies of Yehova.  ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the Torah of Moses dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more severe do you think the punishment will be for the one who has trampled the Son of Yehova under foot, and has regarded as unholy the blood of the covenant by which he was made holy, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know the One who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “Yehova will judge His people.”  ³¹ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Numbers 15 tells us there is recourse for those who sin accidentally.
But those who sin on purpose?
Nada.
Nothing.
You will be cut off from the people.
Your sin will remain upon you.
Just as Hebrews 10 describes above.
There no longer remains a sacrifice…

John 3:36 tells us the same thing:
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.

The religious systems of the world have committed fraud against the unknowing public.
False concepts of salvation are taught, generation after generation.
But warnings in scripture tell us very plainly that there are limits on grace.  There are limits on salvation.  There are limits on forgiveness.

Did you catch that?
I understand this will be very unpopular.
I’ll say it again:
The religious systems of the world have committed fraud against the unknowing public.
False concepts of salvation are taught, generation after generation.
But warnings in scripture tell us very plainly that there are limits on grace.  There are limits on salvation.  There are limits on forgiveness.

The book of Revelation is the final information given to us.
Just in case we missed concepts or information throughout all of the scriptures, we are given a summary of some things in Revelation.
Believe it or not, the idea of following Yehova completely or partially is specifically addressed in Revelation 3:15-16
¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. Oh, that you were either cold or hot! ¹⁶ So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spew you out of My mouth.

We must follow Yehova fully and completely.
Partial obedience is not what He is looking for.
Follow partially (lukewarm) and you will be spit out.
This is not a good thing…

What will you choose this day?
…but as for me and my house, we will serve Yehova.

Please be aware, I do not have any authority.
I am not a leader or a teacher.
I do not presume to say who is saved and who is not saved.
I do not write these articles to criticize others.
I write these articles to encourage and motivate.
I share in order to show the warnings in scripture so that others might be aware of them.
If you disagree with me, so be it.
But please read your bible and investigate for yourselves…