Jesus loves me, this I know, for the bible tells me so…

Most people know this song from Sunday School or elsewhere.
Yes, the bible does tell us that we are loved.
But does that mean Messiah is always accepting, tolerant, and forgiving, no matter what?
For the most part, that is what we’ve been taught most of our lives.
But is there any chance Messiah might be harsh at times?
We’d have to look at the scriptures to find out, so let’s go.

Matthew 23 is an all out scathing rebuke of the religious leaders of Yeshua Messiah’s time.
He loves them, and tells them they will all go to heaven, no matter what they teach or believe, right?
No, not exactly.
Far from it, in fact.
Messiah tells us this regarding the teaching of the Pharisees:
Matthew 23:1-3
Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, ² saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.
This passage might be a bit confusing without some background information.  Messiah says to do what they say, and then not to do what they do…
Why is this?
We are instructed to do what the religious leaders of His time say when they teach from the seat of Moses. 
This is the background information we need:
The Torah (first five books of the bible containing the Law, the instructions of Yehova) is read word for word without any commentary when teaching from the seat of Moses. The Torah are the writings of Moses, as instructed by Yehova.
In other words, ‘from the seat of Moses‘ you are getting the Torah straight up without any adding to nor taking away from it. 
These instructions we are to observe and do.
Messiah warns us not to conduct ourselves the way the Pharisees did, in how they lived. We are NOT TO FOLLOW the example they set as leaders.
Why is this?
We find out in Matthew 15:6-9
Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. ⁷ Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
⁸ ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
⁹ And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

OK, this is just great clarification and instruction.
But harsh?
Not really. This is just simple truth.
But here comes the harsh part:
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.”

Messiah says two very important [and harsh] things about the religious leaders’ false teaching:
1.  The false teachers will not enter the Kingdom.
2.  Those they teach will not enter the Kingdom.

Wow, that IS harsh!!
But the followers are just victims, right?
No way can this be true…
Is there another occurrence of this type of message?
Yes, there is a second witness in the scriptures.

Matthew 15:14
“Leave them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
Again, speaking of false teachers, Messiah points out that both the teacher and the follower will fall into the pit.

DOUBLE BOOM!!

Can we trust these statements in the scriptures?
These two examples in the New Testament are the words of Yeshua Messiah, the Son of the Living Elohim.
Yes, we can trust them.

Is there evidence of similar situations in the Old Testament?
Yes.
Let’s review Deuteronomy 13:13-19
¹³ “Suppose you hear it said in one of your cities, which Yehova your Elohim is giving you to dwell in, ¹⁴ that worthless fellows have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let’s go and serve other gods’—that you have not known. ¹⁵ Then you are to investigate, search out and inquire thoroughly. If indeed it is true and the matter certain that this abomination has been done in your midst, ¹⁶ you will surely strike down the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it and all that is in it and its livestock with the sword. ¹⁷ You are to gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and you are to burn with fire the city and all its plunder—all of it to Yehova your Elohim. It will be a ruin forever—it shall never be built again. ¹⁸ Nothing from the ban should cling to your hand, so that Yehova may turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, and have compassion on you and multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers—¹⁹ when you listen to the voice of Yehova your Elohim, keeping all His commands that I am commanding you today, doing what is right in the eyes of Yehova your Elohim.

TRIPLE BOOM!!!

This is even harsher!!
[as if not being included in the Kingdom can be outdone…]
These people who turn away from the words and the ways of Yehova are put to death, when involved in a covenant-following community. Every single detail of their lives is burned with fire, to completely eliminate the memory of these people from the earth.

Our thoughts have consequences.
Our beliefs have consequences.
Our actions have consequences.
Whom we choose to listen to and follow has consequences.

“But, followers are just victims of bad teaching.
Why should they suffer the same fate?”
This is a really great question and left to the pondering of men, it just seems unfair.
But the reasoning for these scenarios is not left to men.
This is the justice of the perfect Elohim.
This is right and true, even if it does not seem right and true from our perspective.

Is there more we need to know?
Are there more details that will help us to understand?
Yes, there are.
Let’s head back to the scriptures.

John 8:31-32
³¹ Then Yeshua said to the Judeans who had trusted Him, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly My disciples. ³² You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free!”

The truth will set us free.
But how do we get the truth?
We must abide in the Word of Messiah.
What does that mean?
It means we must learn the word and do it.
It is not enough to simply know the word.
Abiding in His word means we know it and live in it.

James reiterates this:
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.

“Ok, but what is all this about truth and being a follower of false teaching?”

This is important:
Deuteronomy 4:29
But from there you will seek Yehova your Elohim and you will find Him, when you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Jeremiah 29:11-14
For I know the plans that I have in mind for you,” declares Yehova, “plans for shalom and not calamity—to give you a future and a hope.
¹² “Then you will call on Me, and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek Me and find Me, when you will search for Me with all your heart. ¹⁴ Then I will be found by you,” says Yehova…
Psalm 25:8-14
Good and upright is Yehova.
Therefore He directs sinners in the way.
⁹ He guides the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble His way.
¹⁰ All Yehova’s ways are loving kindness
and truth
    to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
¹¹ For Your Name’s sake, Yehova,
pardon my guilt, for it is great.
¹² Who is this man who fears Yehova?
He will instruct him in the way he should choose.
¹³ His soul abides in goodness,
and his offspring will inherit the land.
¹⁴ The secret of Yehova is for those who fear Him.
He makes His covenant known to them.
Luke 11:9-13
⁹ “So I say to you,
‘Ask, and it shall be given to you.
Seek, and you shall find.
Knock, and it shall be opened to you.
¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.’ ¹¹ What father, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? ¹² And if he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Ruach ha-Kodesh [Holy Spirit] to those who ask Him!”
James 1:5-8
⁵ But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of Yehova, who gives to all without hesitation and without reproach; and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, without any doubting—for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord— ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

What do you see in these verses?
Those who seek will find.
Those who TRULY seek Yehova will find Yehova.
Wisdom and understanding are promised if we truly seek it.

Where does that leave the followers of false teachers?
It leaves them falling into the same pit as the false teacher.
If they are seeking truth, it is promised to them.
God is not a liar.
It is not possible for someone to seek truth and not find it.

Is it possible for someone to seek false teaching and love it?
Yes.
Scripture tells us all about it:
2Timothy 4:3-4
³ 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. ⁴ And they will turn away from hearing the truth and wander off to myths.

There is no such thing as a victim of a false teacher.
If one seeking truth stumbles into a false teacher, he will not stay and listen.
He will seek the truth elsewhere, in other ways.
He will find the truth, as is promised.
If one seeking truth stumbles into a false teacher, and likes what he hears, then he will stay.
Just as is described in 2Timothy.

There are no accidents.
Yehova and Yeshua Messiah are not unfair.
The followers of false teachers will not find their way to the Kingdom, not because they are victims, but because they have found something they like.
And what they like does not lead to life.

Messiah tells us who will not be in the kingdom in Revelation 22:15
But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
What lies?
We are told in the prophecy of Jeremiah:
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?

Yes, those lies.

Messiah tells us who will not be in the kingdom in Matthew 7.
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!’

Yes, many who think they will enter into the Kingdom will be shut out.  They will be told to depart, that they are not known by Messiah.

And there was weeping and gnashing of teeth…

 

Back to the original question:
Is Messiah harsh?
The answer is sometimes yes, but not because of Him. It is because of what we choose to think, believe, and do.
Our own choices have consequences.
Good choices result in good consequences.
Bad choices result in bad consequences.
Free will.

Messiah is not unfair.
He is just.
Deuteronomy 30:15-16
¹⁵ “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, ¹⁶ in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.

Some will say this only applies to one generation of Hebrews, entering into the promise land in the Exodus story.
By studying the whole of scripture, I find the Exodus story to be a parable regarding how we are to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
But that will be a different study and article.

OK, let’s wrap this up with one last scripture.
How can one ensure their own understanding of the scriptures, of the truth?
We are told in 2Corinthians 3:14-16
¹⁴ But their minds were hardened. For up to this very day the same veil remains unlifted at the reading of the ancient covenant, since in Messiah it is passing away. ¹⁵ But to this day, whenever Moses [the Torah] is read, a veil lies over their heart. ¹⁶ But whenever someone turns to Yehova, the veil is taken away. 

Do you understand this passage?
We need to read and understand the Torah.
How are we guaranteed to understand it?
By turning our heart to Yehova.

There are many who turn their hearts to church, to pastors, to the traditions (and false teaching) of men.
But we must turn to Yehova, the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Messiah tells us we must begin with Him, and then go to the Father.
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.
Don’t spend your life at the foot of the cross.
Start there, and then go to the Father.
Learn and do His Torah and live.

Tracy and I had a major crisis and tragedy to deal with in 2014.
That situation made me realize that I had never fully submitted to God in thirty plus years of calling myself a Christian.
It forced me to get on my knees before my Creator, and acknowledge Him as Sovereign, and I gave Him control of every single thing…
If you’d like to learn more about this, I included the details in this article:
My Testimony
What followed has been wonderful, but also has resulted in a series of difficult realizations.
Let’s take a look at some of this…

#1  When I submitted to the Father, I began to gain new understanding of the scriptures.  
I didn’t know it at the time, but I was experiencing what is described in 2Corinthians 3:14-16
But their minds were hardened, for to this day, when the Old Testament is being read, that same veil remains, not lifted, because in Messiah it is taken away.
But to this day, when Mosheh is being read, a veil lies on their heart.
And when one turns to the Master, the veil is taken away.

I had turned my heart to Yehova, and as a result, my veil was lifted.
The writings of Moses had been withheld from my understanding up to that point, just as this bit of scripture describes.
But when I submitted my life to Messiah [for real, for the first time, even though I had claimed to do so previously], my veil was removed and I began to understand things very differently.
I began to realize that the Torah is forever, and is still applicable today.
This was an exciting journey of discovery and learning. It was fascinating. And I loved it.

But a second realization began to plow through my mind:
#2 If the Torah is true and applicable, then what about the mainstream churches who reject the Torah, stating that the Law is done away with?
I began to study just who is our Messiah?  There is a wealth of information in the scriptures.  I began to piece together who He is based on scriptures.  I began to realize that “Jesus of the Mainstream Church” is not the same as our Messiah. [Everybody grab yer torches and pitchforks!!!]
I know this is an extremely difficult idea to wrap our heads around, but wrap we must…
As much of a surprise as this was to me, it would not have been surprising had I simply known the scriptures.
Jeremiah tells us this would happen:
Jeremiah 16:19-20
O Yehova, 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?
Jeremiah tells us that we will have learned nothing but lies.
And the results of those lies?
Men will make up gods for themselves (as in a Jesus that does not match Yeshua Messiah in the scriptures).

While this idea is understandably offensive and hurtful for those who have dedicated their lives to “Jesus” [as I did for thirty years], if Jeremiah predicted this problem, we owe it to ourselves to study it in scripture and find out where we stand.
I wrote this article long ago in December 2016, comparing Jesus to Yeshua Messiah. Keep in mind, I had not yet studied the scriptures in great depth, but this article begins the exploration and study of this idea:
Which Jesus Do You Love?

#3 Then the third realization hit me…  If Jesus is not the same as Messiah, what will happen to the people who seek him out?
Jeremiah told us indirectly.
He said the lies are worthless and unprofitable.
Salvation is profitable, so this is quite bad.
Verse 20 above says men will make up gods who are not gods.
If they are not gods, then they cannot save us.
But the true Messiah in scripture is YHWH (God), and He can save us!!

Yes, these ideas are difficult.  But let’s keep going.
Realization #4  Two years ago, I became angry that I had been lied to.  I became angry that many millions, if not billions, of people have been lied to.
I was pretty upset with our church organizations and leaders. I realized that churches voluntarily enter into 501C3 contracts with the US Government (at least here in the States), even though the 501C3 forms specifically say churches are not required to do so. Churches are already considered tax exempt organizations by definition in the IRS code.  And yet, churches sign agreements (contracts) with the government anyway, even though the instructions say not to.  Scripture says we cannot serve two masters.  We can either be in covenant with Yehova, or we can be under contract to the IRS and US Government.  We can’t do both.
Having served on a church board, I learned that nearly all of the money brought into a church goes to self-preservation.  They spend nearly all of their budget on salaries, rent or mortgages, maintenance and upkeep of commercial property, etc.
Very little church money goes to support the food pantry or to help the congregation or community.  Do churches help with these things? Not exactly.  This responsibility is typically placed on the congregation, by donating money and time above and beyond the contributions to the church.  The congregants do these acts of benevolence, but the church gets (and takes) credit for it.

But then Realization #5 hit me.
Church leaders do not know what they do not know.
I learned from scripture that the truth is promised to those who truly seek it.
We are promised that if we truly seek Yehova, we will find Him.
We are promised for wisdom and understanding from Yehova in James 1:5-8
⁵ But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God,^[b] who gives to all without hesitation and without reproach; and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, without any doubting—for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord— ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

But many do not know the truth, even though they spend a great deal of time seeking and pursuing churchy things.
But then, I found this direct quote of Messiah:
Matthew 13:10-16
10And the taught ones came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11And He answering, said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the reign of the heavens, but to them it has not been given. 12“For whoever possesses, to him more shall be given, and he shall have overflowingly; but whoever does not possess, even what he possesses shall be taken away from him. 13“Because of this I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14“And in them the prophecy of Yeshayahu is completely filled, which says, ‘Hearing you shall hear and by no means understand, and seeing you shall see and by no means perceive, 15for the heart of this people has become thickened, and their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart, and turn back, and I heal them.’ 16“And blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear…”

Yeshua Messiah says that the secrets of the kingdom of heaven are intentionally withheld from those with thickened or calloused hearts. [Those who have not turned their hearts fully to the Master, as 2Corinthians 3 describes, quoted above at the beginning.]
They don’t know what they don’t know.
They believe what they believe, and don’t know any different.
They are not teaching lies on purpose.
They teach lies because they don’t know the truth.
And this explains why no mainstream church leaders could answer any of my questions early in my Torah walk.

Realization #6
While handwriting the bible, word for word, I learned the Exodus story in great detail.  When I handwrite the bible, nothing escapes my attention.  I see and read and write every minute detail.
I noticed something really great about Moses.
Every time the people rebelled against Yehova, and Yehova wanted to destroy them for it, Moses fell on his face and prayed.
He interceded for the people and prayed to Yehova that He would not destroy them.  And Yehova honored his prayers.
We are told these details throughout the Exodus story as it occurs.
But I noticed in Deuteronomy, these events are “reviewed” with additional details given.
Moses prayed for forty days and forty nights for the people.
Let that sink in for a moment…
When you agree to pray for someone, how much effort do you put into it?  Do you pray once and forget about it? Do you pray several times as the circumstance comes to mind?
I know for a fact that I have never prayed for anyone for forty days and forty nights while fasting the whole time!!
Deuteronomy 9:18-19
¹⁸ “Then I fell down before Yehova like the first time, for 40 days and 40 nights. I did not eat bread or drink water—because of all your sin that you committed, doing evil in Yehova’s sight, provoking Him to anger. ¹⁹ For I was afraid of the fierce wrath and fury which Yehova bore toward you—to destroy you. But Yehova listened to me that time also.

It took time to study and to learn all of these [and many more] details in scripture.  And, by the way, I am barely scratching the surface regarding these things in this writing. I have 200 plus articles in this blog if you’d like the details…

Realization #7 
It is not my place to be angry with false teachers.  
It is not my place to be upset with men and women who teach falsely.
Why?
It is because they do not know they teach falsely.
It is their fault, because according to scripture, they have not turned their hearts to Yehova.
But it is between them and Yeshua Messiah.
It is not my responsibility to put this weight on my shoulders.
It is not my place to deal with this problem.
Here is what Messiah says about them:
Matthew 15:14
^{14 “}Leave them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

Instead, I study scripture and write about it. I speak about it to anyone who wants to listen.
I share what I learn with others, as much as I possibly can.
I pray frequently that Yehova would help me, that He would guide my words.  I pray frequently that I do not misrepresent His truth.
No, that isn’t it.  I actually pray that He would prevent me from misrepresenting His truth.

If you’ve been through some of this, as I have, and are angry with the church — forgive them.  They do not know what they do.
Pray for them, just as Moses prayed for the people of Israel.
Is this difficult for you?
Then follow the example set by Yeshua Messiah:
Luke 23:34
³⁴ But Yeshua was saying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

And now I am working through Realization #8:
Many who call themselves Torah Observant are not really.
Many follow partially, only doing the things they are comfortable doing.
Many follow only when it is convenient for them.
Many believe they follow Yehova, but turn away from Him when tested.
I see many arguments and disputes on Torah sites.
If you see someone who is following partially, pray for them.
Do not argue with them, because it is not profitable.
Yehova tells us numerous times to do ALL that He has commanded.
Not some.
Not just the parts we like.
Not just the parts we find easy enough.
ALL that He commanded.
Encourange your friends to do so as well, especially if they are not.
But don’t argue with them.

Obviously, the Book of John is a popular book in the bible, as it is one of the four gospels.  Many people are told to begin reading the gospels when they are new to bible study (bizarre, I recommend people begin at the start).
But how often do you find people who are excited to talk about the book of 1John, 2John, or 3John?
Practically never, eh?
Some people don’t even know these books exist.
Let’s take a look at 1John today and see what we find out, and explore some of the main concepts.

1John 1:5-7
⁵ Now this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you—that Yehova is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say we have fellowship with Him and keep walking in the darkness, we are lying and do not practice the truth.  ⁷ But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of His Son Yeshua purifies us from all sin.
Please note the details in this scripture. The second sentence is conditional.  It is an if-then scenario.
We are purified from all sin IF we walk in the light.

1John 2:1
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.
Our goal is to not sin, but we have peace in knowing that we have Messiah to intercede for us.  Many believe that having Messiah as an intercessor allows us to sin without worry. This is not the case, as we see in Numbers 15 and Hebrews 10 below. The expectation and therefore our goal is to not sin. And if we do mess up while typically not sinning, Messiah is able to intercede for us.

Numbers 15:30-31
³⁰ ‘But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he isnative-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the Lord, and he shall be cut off from among his people. ³¹ Because he has despised the word of the Lord, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him.’ ”

Hebrews 10:26-31
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.

Wow, did you know that a nonchalant attitude about sin is not acceptable per the scriptures?
How serious is this?
We are even told that Messiah’s sacrifice no longer covers us!!
This is a HUGE deal!!

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 Yehova 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.
Please, take this scripture seriously.
Do you know Him?
Or do you not know Him, but claim to?

1John 2:15-17
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For everything in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the boasting of life—is not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world is passing away along with its desire, but the one who does the will of Yehova abides forever.
There are many things in this world that distract and destroy, and many believe these things are just entertainment.  The things of the world are not for us.  The world is passing away. Do not let the world keep you from doing the will of the Father, for that will not pass away.  The one who does the will of the Father will live forever.

1John 2:20-21
²⁰ But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. ²¹ I have not written you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
In this bit of scripture, John has spoken of some who have turned away from the truth, having known of it.  How do we get to know the truth?  2Corinthians 3:14-16 explains it. If we’ve been blessed with the truth, it is very important for us to walk in the truth.  Do not be one who knows the truth and is nonchalant about it.

1John 22:23
²² Who is the liar, if not the one who denies that Yeshua is the Messiah? This one is the anti-messiah—the one who denies the Father and the Son. ²³ No one who denies the Son has the Father; the one who acknowledges the Son also has the Father.
I could spend hours on the significance of these two short verses.
But here is the gist of it:
Christianity teaches that salvation is all about Jesus.
The scriptures tell us that Yeshua Messiah (Jesus) is the beginning of our journey, not the destination.
What do I mean by this?
Yeshua tells us this Himself:
⁶ Yeshua said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life! No one comes to the Father except through Me. 
We must come to Messiah to confess our sins. He offers forgiveness to us when we come to Him in faith and humbleness.  But this is the beginning. Many people think this marks the beginning and the end, but Yeshua says we must continue on to the Father and do His will.
1John 22:23 reiterates this idea, that we must have both the Son and the Father.

1John 3:1-3
See how glorious a love the Father has given us, that we should be called God’s children—and so we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. ² Loved ones, now we are God’s children; and it has not yet been revealed what we will be. But we do know that when it’s revealed, we shall be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. ³ Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
This is a bit of scripture that many people glaze over. They read it, but they don’t study it. They don’t think about it.
But there is significance here.  Many believe we are created in the image of Yehova, but we are not — sort of…
In Genesis 1, we are told that man was created in the image of God, and this is true. Man was created without knowledge of sin, and man was immortal, just as Yehova is immortal.
But then… Eve and then Adam disobeyed. They introduced sin into the world. As a result, they lost their likeness to God.  They lost their immortality and became mortal. They lost their righteousness and became knowledgeable of good and evil; they became aware of sin, and their ability to choose sin over righteousness.
The verses above tell us that even though we don’t understand what we will become, we do know that we will again become like Yehova.
We are told that those who understand this idea will purify themselves, just as He is pure.
We know that our righteousness comes from Messiah. That is how we are purified. But then… We must continue to maintain our purity.  We do the will of the Father, which is to follow His Torah.  This keeps us from defiling our robes of righteousness.

1John 3:4-9
⁴ Everyone practicing sin also practices lawlessness—indeed, sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that Yeshua appeared in order to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning; no one who sins has seen Him or known Him. ⁷ Children, let no one mislead you! The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Yeshua is righteous. ⁸ The one who practices sin is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. Ben-Elohim appeared for this purpose—to destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ No one born of God practices sin, because God’s seed remains in him. He cannot sin, because he is born of God.
Oh boy…
So much here.
What is lawlessness? Not following the commands of Yehova.
Not following His Torah is lawlessness, and this is the definition of sin.  And we are told that anyone who abides in Messiah does not keep sinning.
Confessing is simply admitting sin.
Repenting is turning away from sin and no longer doing it.
The one who practices righteousness is of Yeshua Messiah.
The one who practices sin is of the devil.
There are many in the world who believe they belong to Messiah, even though they continue in sin.
Pay particular attention to verse 9 above:
⁹ No one born of God practices sin, because God’s seed remains in him. He cannot sin, because he is born of God.
If this does not describe your life, please pray about it.  This is not what our churches teach, but it is what the scriptures tell us.
Do you believe the scriptures?

1John 3:10
¹⁰ It is clear who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil by this—anyone who does not act righteously or love his brother is not of God.
This is important.
The children of Yehova act righteously.
If you do not act righteously, then you are of the devil and not of God.
Yeshua paraphrases the Torah into two main concepts in Matthew 22: Love God, love your neighbor.
How do we love God?
John 14:15
 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
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.”
The scriptures, many times over, define obedience as how we are to show our love for God.  We are typically not taught this…
But it is what the scriptures teach.

1John 4:1
Loved ones, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God.
This is important.  How do we test the spirits?  We compare everything to scripture.  Everything we hear from others must be validated with the scriptures, which means we must be in our scriptures and know them.
How many countless millions of people go to churches and listen, walking out believing whatever it is they have been told?
Is this a problem?
Of course it is, if men and women are teaching things that are not true.  And of this, we can be absolutely certain, because we are told this will be the case:
Jeremiah 16:19-20
¹⁹ O Yehova, 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 understand what Jeremiah is saying?
He is saying that one day, everybody will realize we’ve been taught nothing but lies.
Do you believe this scripture?
People believe that since a pastor went to seminary and obtained a theology degree, they must be the experts.
Of course they are experts.
But the question is this — what are they experts in?
Are they experts of the scriptures?
Or are they experts in the teachings of men?
Yes, they dedicated years of their lives and many thousands of dollars to learn.  But what did they learn?  Truth? Or the thoughts of men?
Jeremiah tells us they have it all wrong.
Do you believe the scriptures?
Do you believe Jeremiah the prophet?
Can Jeremiah be trusted?
Jeremiah 1:9
⁹ Then Yehova put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lordsaid to me:
“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
Well, that settles it. Jeremiah is trustworthy, because his words are not his own.  His words are the words of Yehova. Yes, Jeremiah can be trusted.

1John 4:4-6
⁴ You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. ⁵ They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. ⁶ We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
This is a letter speaking of those who listen to the truth and those who do not listen to the truth.
The letter of 1John is addressing people who know and follow the truth, those who know God.
In this bit of scripture, John equates the following:
Those who are of God = those who understand their message of the truth.
Those who are not of God = those who are at one with the world = those who do not understand their message of truth.
What is the end result?
People who know the truth of the scriptures can discern who are of God and who are not of God.
Those who are of God have the spirit of truth.
Those who do not know God have the spirit of error.

1John 4:20-21
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? ²¹ And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

Love Yehova.
Love your neighbor.
Simple, right?
If someone does not love his fellow man, then he cannot say that he loves God.
We don’t get to choose how much or how little we love our fellow man.
Do you hate anyone?
Are you bitter or unforgiving to anyone?
Did you know that will make you a liar?
If you have hate and bitterness, or will not forgive someone, then you do not love God, even if you say you do.
And, yes, this will prevent your entry into the Kingdom of God.
This is not an idea I have developed myself.  We are told exactly this in Matthew:
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.

1John 5:2-3
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. ³ For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
Again, we are told that to love God is to keep the commandments.
And we are told that His commands are not difficult for us.

1John 5:18-21
¹⁸ We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.
¹⁹ We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
²¹ Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

 

Commitment matters.
Just ask anyone who has ever had their spouse be unfaithful to them. Our covenant with Yehova is referred to throughout scripture as a marriage covenant. There is a reason for this, and the use of terms like adultery and whoring [yes!! in the scriptures!!] to describe a lack of commitment is not accidental.

Here is what I’d like to ask today.
“How much commitment is enough commitment?”
If we claim to be Torah Observant, does that require us to be 50% obedient? Does it require us to be 90% obedient?
How do we define this idea?
Where is the line between Torah Observant and Torah Lukewarm?

We could propose this question to the masses, and many hours would be spent by men and women sharing their thoughts on the matter.
But in all things, we should find our guidance in scripture.
And, yes, we do receive guidance on this concept.
Let’s check it out:

Yehova gives us this test in Deuteronomy 13
…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 you will keep, to His voice you will listen, Him you will serve and to Him you will cling.

Yes, we are being tested.
Each and every day.
Will we follow Him?
Will we fear Him?
Will we keep His commands [mitzvot]?
Will we listen to Him?
Will we serve Him?
Will we cling to Him?

We see a similar test in 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 Yehova 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.

How much do we need to follow/serve/listen/cling/obey in order to walk the narrow path?
We see this in Numbers, and there are other similar references:
Numbers 32:11
 ‘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 Yehova.’

We see this in too many places to count:
Deuteronomy 12:28
Take care and listen to ALL these words that I am commanding you, so that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the eyes of Yehova your Elohim.

Deuteronomy 29:28 is especially telling:
²⁸ “The secret things belong to Yehova our Elohim, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever—in order to do all the words of this Torah.”

This tells us that we don’t have to understand everything.
We don’t have to have logical reasons for doing things.
This verse tells us, whether we understand or not, that we are to do ALL the words of this Torah.

We see a similar finding in Ecclesiastes 12 when Solomon tells us the whole duty of mankind:
A final word, when all has been heard:
    Fear Yehova and keep His Commands!
For this applies to all mankind.

Yehova has told us His exectation>
We are to obey everything that He commands.
Not to earn our salvation, as it is a gift.
We are to obey His ways, because the scriptures tell us over and over again that is how He will know if we love Him.

So, again, how much should we commit?
A little?
A lot?
Completely?

Messiah tells us this:
Matthew 28:19
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, immersing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Ruach ha-Kodesh, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all I have commanded you.

The expectation is that we obey ALL He has commanded.
Not some of it.
Not the parts we like.
But simply ALL of it.

Do the scriptures tell us about anyone who followed partially?
Take a look at the account of the man who defiled the Sabbath.
Keep this in mind:
This man lived among the nation of Israel.
This man was “Torah Observant”
This man observed and honored many Sabbaths up to this point.

Numbers 15:32-36
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 Yehova 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 Yehova commanded Moses.

Did this guy get credit for the many Sabbaths he properly observed?
No, he got stoned to death for the Sabbath he defiled.
Is this unfair?
Was he given proper warning?
Exodus 31:12-17
¹² Then Yehova spoke to Moses saying, ¹³ “Speak now to Bnei-Yisrael 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. ¹⁴ Therefore you are to keep the Shabbat, 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.”

Yes, this man was properly trained and had sufficient warning.
He chose to disobey the word of Yehova, and he paid with his life.
Does this mean he will not be granted salvation?  This is not for me to say, and only Messiah has the authority to decide such things.
Here is what I know, though:
We are to follow Yehova wholly and completely.
We are to do His right-rulings every time.
Is it ok to keep the Sabbath most of the time, unless something comes up?
What if family comes to town and wants to eat out?
What if a friend gives you free tickets to the college football game?
What if an airline ticket is cheaper for travel on the Sabbath than for other days?
What if you really have to get some work done, just this one time?

Men and women can come up with a million different ways to defile the Sabbath, and even worse, they can come up with a million different ways to justify their disobedience.
Is Yehova an overbearing dictator?
If this is how you see Him, you may want to pray about it.
Going back to Deuteronomy 29 [“The secret things belong to Yehova our Elohim, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever—in order to do all the words of this Torah.”] we see that it is our responsibility to do the things He said.  His reasoning for it is not up for debate.  If we love Yehova, if we serve Him, if we are submitted to Him, then we simply say, “Yes, I will do as you ask.”
If you find yourself not doing simply as He asks, because of life, may I ask you to please pray about it.
Fully submit.
Fully follow Him.
Please do not make exceptions, because He is not asking.
He has commanded what we will or will not do.
Let’s end with this:
1John 5:2-5
² We know that we love Yehova’s children by this—when we love Yehova and obey His commandments. ³ For this is the love of Yehova—that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For everyone born of Yehova overcomes the world. And the victory that has overcome the world is this—our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world, if not the one who believes that Yeshua is Ben-Elohim?

Please know that I did not write this article to criticize anyone.
If you perform some self-evaluation and find that you follow partially, please pray about it.
This article is meant to encourage you to take stock and to see what Yehova expects of us.  This article is meant to establish a standard as Yehova has set it in scripture.  Let’s all do our very best to accept this standard and follow it.

 

John 14:6-7
⁶ Yeshua said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life! No one comes to the Father except through Me. ⁷ If you have come to know Me, you will know My Father also. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.”

Just about everyone has heard of John 14:6.
The Way, The Truth, The Life.
But how many people truly understand what Messiah is saying here?
Let’s dig into it and find out.

First of all, Messiah is telling us something very important; something that often goes unnoticed.
“…No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Why is this significant?
The church teaches us that Jesus is our destination.  We come to the foot of the cross, sit down, and stay there forever.  
Well, at least for the rest of our lives, and then we go to heaven.
But none of this is what scripture teaches.  It is all lies, just as Jeremiah predicted:
Jeremiah 16:19-20
¹⁹ O Yehova, 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?

Let’s sort this out.
Scripture tells us that Yeshua [Jesus] is not the destination, but instead, He is the starting point.
We do not stay at the foot of the cross.
We begin there, but we must keep going.
Where are we to go?
To the Father.
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
To the Creator of the Universe, and the Creator of all things.
That is where we must go, but we must go to the Father via Yeshua Messiah, just as He tells us in John 14:6.

Everything that Yeshua [Jesus] does is about the Father.
He does the Father’s will:
Luke 22:41-42
⁴¹ And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, ⁴² saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
John 6:38
^{38 “}For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

Messiah also commands that we are to do the Father’s will:
Matthew 7:21
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.”

Messiah teaches us how to pray to the Father:
Matthew 6:9-10
 ⁹ In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰ Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.

Everything that Yeshua Messiah taught had been taught before, and is from the Father:
John 7:16
¹⁶ Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. ¹⁷ If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.
John 12:49-50
⁴⁹ For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”

Messiah always points to the Father:
John 12:44-45
⁴⁴ Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. ⁴⁵ And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.”

If you are one who believes that Yeshua Messiah changed the ways of the Father, please go back and read all the things He said (Red Letter Bible).  You will quickly find that He upholds and teaches the same things the Father taught.
And what, exactly, did the Father teach?
Yehova, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob taught us His instructions for living. It is all written down for us in the Torah, commonly referred to as the Law.
Most people today believe the Law is no longer applicable, but that is not what the scriptures teach us.  Yes, it is what men teach, but it is not what the bible says. {refer back to Jeremiah 16:19-20 if this is troubling to you].

What are some things we know about the Torah, the Law, the Word?
John 1:1-3
The Eternal Word
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He [Yeshua Messiah] was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

One thing we learn in the New Testament is that the Word has always existed, ever since the beginning.  What is ‘the beginning’?
Genesis 1:1
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Yes, “that” beginning. The only beginning.
From the very beginning of Creation, the Word has existed, and also Yeshua Messiah has existed.  This is what John 1 tells us.
But what do we learn later in John 1?
Are the Word and Messiah separate things?
John 1:14
The Word Becomes Flesh
¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

We learn that Yeshua Messiah is the Word become flesh.
Messiah is the living word!!
If the Torah is the will of the Father, that has existed since the beginning, and it is the Word, then by logic we can claim that Yeshua Messiah is the Torah in the Flesh, or the Law in the Flesh.
Is this possible?
Again, I give you 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. 
Yeshua Messiah is:
-The Way
-The Truth
-The Life
What do the scriptures say about the Torah.
Let’s find out!!
Psalm 119:1  TORAH IS THE WAY
Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the Torah of Yehova.
Psalm 119:142 TORAH IS THE TRUTH
Your justice is righteousness forever,
and Your Torah is truth.
Proverbs 13:14 TORAH IS THE LIFE
¹⁴ The Torah of a wise man is a fountain of life,
    enabling one to avoid deadly traps.
The Torah (The Law) is the way, the truth, and the life.
Messiah is the way, the truth, and the life.
Messiah is the Torah and the Torah is Messiah.
If we follow Jesus/Yeshua/Messiah/Savior ~ then we must follow the Torah, because they are one and the same.

If this idea is not registering with you, based on what you have been taught your whole life, please consider:
-Jeremiah 16:19-20 (again)
¹⁹ O Yehova, 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?
-John 14:15 (direct quote of Messiah)
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
-John 14:21 (direct quote of Messiah)
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
-John 15:10 (direct quote of Messiah)
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.
Messiah tells us three times in a row what we must do if we love Him.  If we claim to love Him, but do not keep the commands, then we are liars.
Sound offensive and wrong?
Please continue and read 1John 2:3-6 below.  This concept is established in scripture, and is not my idea, nor are these my words…

We are given this test in scripture to figure out whether or not we know Messiah:
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 ^[a]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.

When Yehova communicates His expectations for us, He uses words like “everything” and “all”.
But mankind seems to think He said “some things” and “most”.

Let’s take a quick look at the expectations that are set for us throughout the scriptures:

Here are two [of many] instructions from Yehova:
28 Take care and listen to all these words that I am commanding you, so that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the eyes of Adonai your God.
And another:
30 You are to walk in all the way that Adonai your God has commanded you, so that you may live and it may be well with you…

Yehova is very consistent in His message, that we are to obey ALL and EVERYTHING that He has commanded.

Are Yehova’s words not enough for us?
They were not enough for the Hebrew nation, His chosen people.
He had to send prophets to tell us the same things:
Here is one reference from Jeremiah:
“…but I explicitly commanded them: ‘Obey My voice and I will be your God to you and you will be My people. Walk in all the ways that I command you that it may go well with you.’ 24 But they did not listen or pay attention. Instead, they followed their own counsel, in the stubbornness of their evil heart.”

The people still did not listen.
They disobeyed and were divorced from the covenant.  They were scattered among all the nations of the earth.

“But then, Yeshua Messiah came and taught us a whole new doctrine, since God’s plan didn’t work.”
Ummm….
Nope, that isn’t how it went.
Yeshua came and taught us the same things the Father taught.
John 7:16
¹⁶ Yeshua answered, “My teaching is not from Me, but from Him who sent Me.”
Matthew 5:17-18
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.

“The only difference, though, is that Jesus knows we are not capable of keeping the law.  He only expects us to do as much as we are comfortable with, and His grace covers us for everything else.”
Again, no.
Not at all.
Matthew 28:19-20
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, immersing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Ruach ha-Kodesh, 20 teaching them to observe all I have commanded you.
Yeshua even asks this:
“Why do you call Me ‘Master, Master’ and do not do what I say?”

We are told that His Word shall never pass away.
It is forever, never-ending, perpetual, and for all generations.

The expectation set in the scriptures, from start to finish, is that we follow Yehova wholly and completely.
Hearing these words and understanding them is not a difficult thing.
Having faith in these words and making the effort to do so seems to be more difficult for most.

I constantly see men and women trying to create loopholes to justify their disobedience.  I see men and women encouraging one another in their disobedience.
This is not scriptural, and it is not wise.
But it is rampant, even in Torah communities.

I try to share this concept of following wholly and completely with anyone and everyone who will listen. Most people seem to not like it very much, even in Torah Observant communities.
I get accused of being many things for sharing this idea: judgmental, arrogant, self-righteous, condemning, hateful, intolerant, etc. It is just like being in the mainstream church all over again.

I believe it is important that we share the expectations set in scripture, even if mankind has other ideas.  We need to be grounded in the truth of the words of Yehova, the words of the prophets, and the words of Messiah. We must not change the things They said in order to accommodate our comfort levels.

Often times (actually most times) when I share the concept of following completely, I get lots of negative feedback from those who want to follow partially.  Many people think close enough is good enough.  That only works in government and hand grenades.
It is not what Yehova wants from us.
Some people respond favorably to this teaching, even if it is difficult for them.  Even if it convicts them.  Some people love the truth and seek after it.
Others respond poorly to this teaching.  The lukewarm want leniency.  The lukewarm want justification that close enough is good enough. The lukewarm want loopholes and pats on the back for partial obedience. The lukewarm want to delay and wait to come into obedience.
They say it takes time to make changes in their lives.
But why?
If Yehova said it, why not just do it?
Do we love Him, or do we not love Him?
And I ask this by His standards, not our own.
Deuteronomy 13:4-5
“…for Adonai your Elohim is testing you, to find out whether you love Adonai your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁵ Adonai your Elohim you will follow and Him you will fear. His mitzvot you will keep, to His voice you will listen, Him you will serve and to Him you will cling.” 
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.

When I share scriptures advocating for following wholly and completely, it is not meant to be critical. I am not trying to condemn anyone (I do not have that authority, nor would I want it). I simply mean to separate Yehova’s expectation in scripture from the lukewarm ideas that men and women come up with.
Some people recognize the truth and love it.
Others hate the truth and attack me over it.
I try to shine the light of this scriptural truth to follow wholly and completely, but some [even those who claim to be Torah Observant] do not like the light.
Yoḥanan (John) 3:20‭-‬21 TS2009
“For everyone who is practicing evil matters hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But the one doing the truth comes to the light, so that his works are clearly seen, that they have been wrought in Elohim.”

Obviously, there are people who are new to learning Torah.  There are people shedding a lifetime of lies, and it is difficult to do so.
There is patience associated with this…
Consider these two passages of scripture inspired by Yehova, and authored by James:
Acts 15″19-21
¹⁹ Therefore, I judge not to trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to Yehova— ²⁰ but to write to them to abstain from the contamination of idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what is strangled, and from blood.  ²¹ For Moses from ancient generations has had in every city those who proclaim him, since he is read in all the synagogues every Shabbat.”
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.

We learn in Acts 15 that new converts are to adhere to four basic principles. It is expected they will learn the Torah over time, as the writings of Moshe are read weekly, every Shabbat.
If we consider James’ declaration that we are to be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, we can safely assume that new converts are to do what they learn in Torah, not just hear about it.

I have heard people who are learning Torah say things like, “I’m praying to see if I should work on the Sabbath,” and other such things…
Men and women make accommodations for this, but what this person is praying for is permission to disobey.
How will Yehova receive those prayers?  If someone learns Torah, but does not have the faith to do what they have learned, but instead, continue in disobedience while praying about it — what will Yehova do with this?
Proverbs 28:9
One who turns his ear from hearing Torah
—even his prayer is an abomination.
The expectation is that we learn and do.
Not learn and continue in disobedience while praying to be allowed to continue in disobedience.

This is all part of learning, but we need to NOT encourage these things.  Instead, we need to teach new converts the expectations set forth in scripture about following completely.
In addition, we need to encourage our brothers and sisters in Torah to follow completely, if we see evidence that they are following partially.
This encouragement in truth is not meant to be critical or hateful or self-righteous.
It is meant to be helpful, even if it is difficult.
It is meant in love, with eyes on the big picture and looking to the end game…

I will keep sharing the truth of Yehova, the truth of the prophets, and the truth of Yeshua Messiah.
If you are offended by what יהוה expects from us, please sort it out on your knees in prayer instead of getting angry with me. I am not your enemy.
Shalom

 

Throughout all of time, how many hours have been spent by men and women debating who will be and who will not be in the kingdom of heaven?
This ‘amount of time’ cannot be calculated, but it would be astronomical!!
Here are my thoughts on the matter…

Why would mankind think they get to decide such things?
We see this in Matthew 28:18
¹⁸ And Yeshua came up to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.”
If we believe this [and I do] then no authority is left over for men and women. We can debate who is saved and who is not saved until the cows come home, but we have no say in the matter.
Here are several examples in scripture telling us who will judge.
2Corinthians 5:10
¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Messiah, so that each one may receive what is due for the things he did while in the body—whether good or bad.
Acts 17:31
³¹ For He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness, through a Man whom He has appointed. He has brought forth evidence of this to all men, by raising Him from the dead.”
John 5:22
²² The Father does not judge anyone, but has handed over all judgment to the Son ²³ so that all should honor the Son, just as they honor the Father.

So the matter is pretty much settled. Men and women do not get to decide who is in the kingdom and who is not in the kingdom. Messiah, and only Messiah, will take on this task.
But what can we do? Just sit back and wait?

We can study the scriptures, and share what is said with others, in the hopes of showing truth about who will be in the kingdom.
There is no need for us to inject our own opinions. We can simply listen to what Yeshua Messiah has said, and that will be our doctrine.

The task at hand is to determine if Messiah [the One who will decide who is in and who is not] ever stated who will be in the kingdom, or worse, who will not be in the kingdom.
Let’s take a look…
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!’”

Four sentences.
Untold millions or billions of hours have collectively been spent by mankind debating this topic throughout the ages, and Yeshua Messiah settles it with four short sentences.

Not everyone who calls Him Lord will be in the kingdom.
Who will be in the kingdom?
The answer is very simple.
“…he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
But then we see that people who claim to have served Him will argue their case.
Obviously, being a Messiah full of grace, He changes His mind and lets everyone be in the kingdom, right?
Ummm, no, not exactly.
Actually, no, not at all.
Messiah, the judge of all, says this to people who claim to have served Him and called Him Lord:
“I never knew you.”
Uh-oh.
Not good, right?
This must be some sort of mistake.
And there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Does Messiah know who are His sheep?
John 10:14-15
¹⁴ “I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep.”
If Messiah does not know you, then you are not His sheep.
And who did He die for?
Everybody?
Nope, He died for His sheep.
If you are not His sheep, then He did not die for you.

Does Yeshua give us any other clues about who is in and who is out?
We are told who are the remnant of the church in Revelation 12:17
¹⁷ 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.
We are told who the saints are in Revelation 14:12
¹² Here is the perseverance of the saints [kedoshim]—those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Yeshua.

We are given the same two criteria both times.
–keep the commands of God (the Torah instructions)
–have the faith/testimony of Yeshua Messiah
This is quite simple, but most in the world of religion do not understand this, or worse, reject it and teach against it.

In case those two references are not clear enough, let’s look at more information from Messiah saying who is in the kingdom and who is not.
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.

One of the final statements in all of scripture tells us who is in and who is not in.
–those who keep the commandments are in
–those who do not keep the commands are not in.
And then we see this peculiar statement about who is not in the kingdom: “and whoever loves and practices a lie.”
This is quite puzzling. Or at least, it used to be until I found this in Jeremiah, describing our religious system in end times:
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?
“Oh, those lies… I was wondering which lies Messiah was talking about…”
Loving and practicing the lies of false teaching will keep us out of the kingdom.
Am I twisting this?
Am I getting this wrong?
No, and I can back it up with two direct quotes of Yeshua Messiah:
Matthew 15:14
¹⁴ Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
Matthew 23:13
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.

Not once, but twice, Yeshua Messiah tells us that both false teachers and their followers will not be included in the kingdom.

Many will argue against these ideas, using quotes like John 3:16 or Matthew 5:19 as their evidence. let’s take a look at those ideas.
Matthew 5 says this:
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^{b]”>[b]”>bb]”>]} 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 written other articles on this passage, including the breakdown of Greek words used and why.
For right now, let’s just look at verse 19.
Many people claim that obedience to the commandments is not required because of this verse. Command breakers will still be in the kingdom, but they will be considered the least ones there.
I’ve heard many people stake this claim.
First of all, is that what God wants from us? Does He want our least effort possible, just as long as we barely make it in?
Nope. Check out Numbers 32:11, Numbers 14:20-24, and Joshua 14:14 to see what His expectations are with regard to “being included.”
If we take a quick look at the grammar in verse 19, we actually see the command breakers are not “least in the kingdom”, but the “the least” is how they are referred to by those who are in the kingdom.
Verse 19 does not define who is in the kingdom, it merely states how command breakers are referred to. Big difference.

What about John 3:16?
This is pretty famous. Most people are familiar with this verse.
John 3:16
¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
This is a great promise, but does it really mean that all we have to do is believe in Jesus and we’ll be saved?
Well, if we don’t read any of the rest of the bible, then yes.
But there is much more scripture to study and believe, and all of it together makes one whole truth.
Individual statements do not make a whole truth.
For example, if we continue reading in John 3, we see this:
¹⁸ “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”²¹ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Believing and condemnation are tied together here.
One who is condemned is one who does not believe.
And how is one condemned?
If men love darkness (evil) instead of the light (righteousness) then they are condemned, and it is proof that they do not truly believe in His name.
This is supported in 1John 3:7-9
⁷ Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. ⁸ He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
One can claim to believe in Jesus.
One can claim to be a Christian.
One can claim to be saved.
But if they show evidence of continued sin in their life, then their claims are useless.
One who continues in sin is of the devil, and is not of Christ.
Finishing up with John 3, we see this in the final verse of the chapter:
John 3:36
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.
We see at the end of John 3 (in which we are introduced to John 3:16) that belief and trust in Messiah is tied to obedience.
The disobedient will not see [eternal] life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.
“But wait…
Messiah died for my sins. His sacrifice covers my sins.
I know this is true.”
Have you checked out Hebrews 10, where we are told Messiah’s sacrifice does not cover us if we continue to sin?
Hebrews 10:26-31
²⁶ 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 God. 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 God underfoot, 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, “Adonai will judge His people.” ³¹ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.²⁷ but only a terrifying expectation of judgment and a fury of fire about to devour the enemies of God. 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 God underfoot, 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, “Adonai will judge His people.” ³¹ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

We are told straight up in scripture that if we continue to sin willfully, that Messiah’s sacrifice does not cover us.
If His sacrifice does not cover us, that means there is no forgiveness, and if there is no forgiveness, then there is no salvation.
This sounds a bit like this to me:
²³ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’”
“Why have I never been taught this in church?
Is this new?”
No, this is not new.
This is old.
This is original.
This is truth.
Hebrews 10 is not creating some kind of new doctrine. It is not creating new rules to play by.
It is just reiterating the same rules set forth by the Father in His instructions to us.
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.”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.”

The Torah, the Law, the instructions of God are the original truth, and this truth is forever.
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.

There are countless scriptures that tell us how to be in the kingdom, and this article is only scratching the surface.
Before I end this, let’s take one quick look and clarify Yeshua Messiah’s judgment of mankind:
John 12:47-50
⁴⁷ “If anyone hears My words but doesn’t keep them, I do not judge him; for I came to save the world, not to judge the world. ⁴⁸ The one who rejects Me and doesn’t receive My words has a judge; the word I spoke will judge him on the last day. ⁴⁹ For I did not speak on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that His commandment is life everlasting. Therefore what I say, I say just as the Father has told Me.”

“Wait, how can this be?
How can the scriptures say Messiah will judge the world, but John 12 says He did not come to judge the world.”
If we study this, we see the context of it.
Messiah is in charge of deciding who is in the kingdom and who is not in the kingdom.
Make no mistake about this.
John 12 is referring to the standard by which He will judge.
The Torah, the Law, the instructions of the Father are the standard.
Messiah is stating that He will not create His own standard. He will not judge differently from one person to the next.
The Torah will be the standard by which all will be judged.
The criteria is set, just as we saw in Rev 12:17 and Rev 14:12.

Messiah lived a sinless life, and therefore, death could not hold Him.
He overcame the wages of sin, which are death.
This is why He has the authority to ransom us from the wages of sin, through His forgiveness and grace when we repent.
This is what He means when He says He came to save the world.
He can save us from the judgment that comes by the standard of Torah.
If we have sinned (and we all have) our violation of the Torah requires our death. The Torah judges us.
Messiah intercedes on our behalf, and He has the power and authority to save us from the Torah judgment.

But only if we are His sheep.
Only if we belong to Him.
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.”

Back to Matthew 7:21-23.
Those who claim Messiah as Lord, and claim to have followed Him are rejected by Him, and will not be in the kingdom.
What an awful mistake to make, to live our lives thinking we are His when we are not.
Messiah speaks of these people in Luke 6:46
⁴⁶ “Why do you call Me ‘Master, Master’ and do not do what I say? “

Is there any way for us to be sure we belong to Messiah?
Is there a way to know we are His?
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?
Or are you a liar?

Are you Torah Observant?
I ask this simple question, because I have met many who claim to be Torah Observant, but evidence in their life says otherwise. There are people who obey when it is convenient to them, otherwise, it’s a “No Thanks”…
I typically refer to this as being Torah Interested as opposed to Torah Observant.

What in the world am I talking about????
Consider these five quotes from Deuteronomy, little reminders and warnings spread throughout:

Deuteronomy 4:2
You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

Deuteronomy 8:1
“Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply…”

Deuteronomy 8:6
⁶ “Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.”

Deuteronomy 8:11
 “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today.”

Deuteronomy 30:15
 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, ¹⁶ in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live…”

We can see very clearly in Deuteronomy that we are to :
-not add to the word
-not take away from the word
-keep the commandments
-be careful
-to observe
-walk in His ways
-fear Him
-beware
-do not forget
-choose life and good
-or choose death and evil

How do we comply with these things?
Obedience
How do we not comply with these things?
Disobedience

Consider this, with emphasis on ALL
Deuteronomy 12:28
Take care and listen to ALL these words that I am commanding you, so that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the eyes of Adonai your God.
And again from Deuteronomy 8 with emphasis on EVERY
EVERY commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe

I could quote many more scriptures, all throughout the bible, saying similar things.
Obey everything.
Carefully observe and obey everything He has commanded.

Where do I see this going askew?
Just about everywhere.
I’ve observed self-proclaimed Torah teachers with twenty years of Torah Observance, and they don’t wear tzitzits, and they go out to eat on Shabbat, and this, and that…
They study Torah.
They claim the authority of being a Torah teacher.
They claim to believe and do Torah.
Unfortunately, their actions say otherwise.

With regard to “believing” Torah, what does the Hebrew refer to?
Strong’s H539 aman    אָמַן   
assurance, believe, bring up, establish, fail, be faithful (of long continuance, steadfast, sure, surely, trusty, verified)
to build up or support;
figuratively to render (or be) firm or faithful,
to trust or believe
morally to be true or certain

Another keyword is this:
Strong’s H8104  shamar   שָׁמַר
to keep, guard, observe, give heed
to keep, guard, keep watch and ward, protect, save life
to keep, retain, treasure up (in memory)
to keep, preserve, protect

If we claim Torah Observance, and claim to be committed to it, and claim to believe in it, and to ‘shamar’ the Torah, then that means we are to
-be steadfast in it
-be faithful
-to be sure and verified
-to be certain
-to guard it
-to protect it
-to treasure it up

Does not wearing tzitzits match this idea of keeping, honoring, remembering, and guarding the commands? This one is a bit ironic, since Yehova gave us the command for tzitzits so that we will remember His commands.
There are Torah teachers who do not comply with Torah, and they think tzitzits are for the spiritually immature…  Not good.  They forgot to look in the mirror that James mentions.
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.

Does going to college football games or going out to eat on Shabbat match this idea of keeping, honoring, remembering, and guarding the commands?  I’ve heard people say, “I usually observe Sabbath, but I’ve got something special going on this weekend…”
What is more special than an appointed time with the Creator of all that there is?
Especially if Yehova says you shall be put to death if you defile the Sabbath?  What is more special than staying alive (either physically or spiritually)?
Seriously…  Is this sinking in?
Look at Numbers 15:30-36 to see what happened to the guy who usually observed Sabbath, but decided not to this time…
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.

“Usually” keeping the Sabbath did not work out for this guy.
How is it going to work out for those of us today?
Exactly the same, because Yehova does not change, nor does His Word ever pass away.
Maybe Moshe will not show up with the camp of Israel to stone you to death, but you will be held accountable for defying the Sabbath on judgment day.  Are you ready to defend yourself? What excuses will you give to Yeshua Messiah?

Does working on the Sabbath match this idea of keeping, honoring, remembering, and guarding the commands?  There are countless self-proclaimed Torah observers who work on the Sabbath. They say Yehova knows they have to make a living, so it’s ok.
Show me that in scripture please.  I’ll wait…
They say they are praying about it, whether or not they should work on Sabbath.
What does Yehova think of this?
Proverbs 28:9 tells us exactly what He thinks of this:
One who turns his ear from hearing Torah
—even his prayer is an abomination.

We could go through many examples…
But it all boils down to this:
Are you interested in Torah?
Or are you Torah Observant?
There is a huge difference.

I have been in too many conversations to count, both face to face and online, where men and women will make up their own standards.
I hear things like this:
-we are all at a different place on this path
-each person has to decide for themselves what this walk looks like for them
-he should pray about whether or not to work on the Sabbath
-it takes time to decide to keep the commands
and on and on and on…

Do these thoughts match what the scriptures say?
Do these thoughts match what Yehova says?

Only two people out of several million were allowed into the promise land in the Exodus story.
Those two people are Joshua and Caleb.
Do the scriptures explain why only two made it?
Do the scriptures tell us what is different about Joshua and Caleb, and why this difference mattered to Yehova?
Absolutely, yes!!
Numbers 32:11
 ‘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.’ 

And this…
Numbers 14:20-24
²⁰ Adonai answered, “I have forgiven them just as you have spoken. ²¹ But as certainly as I live and as certainly as the glory of Adonai fills the entire earth, ²² none of the people who saw My glory and My miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness—yet tested Me these ten times and did not obey My Voice— ²³ not one of them will see the land I promised to their forefathers. None of those who treated Me with contempt will see it! ²⁴ However, My servant Caleb, because a different spirit is with him and he is wholeheartedly behind Me, I will bring him into the land where he went—his offspring will inherit it.

And this…
Joshua 14:14
Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he followed Adonai the God of Israel fully. 

It is important to Yehova that we follow Him wholly and completely, to observe and do ALL that He commands.
But people want to “pray about it first” to see if Yehova really wants them to.
Is it really necessary to pray and ask Yehova whether or not we should do as He commanded?  How is that going to be received?

Or people want to say, “what if…” in response to various commands.
Do we want to be Torah Observant?
Or do we want to look for loopholes and stretch and twist the scriptures to meet our own needs and desires, all while claiming to ‘shamar’ the commands and be Torah Observant?

I write this article to share this perspective about following wholly and completely.
This article is written with a heart to follow the words and the ways of Yehova.
This is not written to criticize or condemn others.
If you find yourself partially following Yehova, or if you find yourself justifying disobedience, please pray about these things (mostly for forgiveness, not to figure out if you should start obeying).
Check out 1Samuel 13:13-14
¹³ Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly by not keeping the commandment of Adonai your God which He commanded you. For now, Adonai would have established your kingship over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingship will not last. Adonai has sought for Himself a man after His own heart. So Adonai will appoint him as ruler over His people—because you have not guarded what Adonai commanded you.”

In no way, shape, or form do you ever want these words to apply to you:
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. 

I leave you with this test presented to each and everyone of us by Yehova Himself:

Deuteronomy 13:3-6
“…for Adonai your God is testing you, to find out whether you love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁵ Adonai your God you will follow and Him you will fear. His commandments you will keep, to His voice you will listen, Him you will serve and to Him you will cling.”

Can you pass this test?
We are given the same test again in 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.

Can you pass the test?

It was not my intention to write another blog about the warnings we are given in scripture.  But something came up…
A friend posted about one of their relatives who is in hospice and has very little time to live.
Sadness.
But…  they said their relative is a Christian and is looking forward to meeting Jesus.
And my heart broke because of this quote of Messiah:

“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.”
Matthew 7:21 NKJV
There are many people in this world [millions, if not billions] who believe in Jesus and call His name, but Messiah says that will not get you into His kingdom (contrary to what our churches teach).
And that is why my heart is breaking for this person I’ve never met.
Can you imagine your last hope in this physical life is in meeting Jesus, only to find out you never did the things He said?
I can’t think of any bigger heart break.

According to Yeshua Messiah, we must do the will of the Father in order to enter His kingdom.
What does that mean, day in and day out?
This makes the Father’s will extremely important, and we need to understand exactly what that is.
No, really.
Did you hear what Messiah said?
Look again.
Write it down.
Stop everything you are doing and ponder these words of His:
“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.”

What is the Father’s will?
He wrote it down for us in the Torah.
The prophets all warned us to return to the ways of the Father.
Jesus says He taught what the Father taught.
From John 7, Jesus speaking:
¹⁵ Then the Judean leaders were amazed, saying, “How does this man know so much, having never been taught?”
¹⁶ Yeshua answered, “My teaching is not from Me, but from Him who sent Me. ¹⁷ If anyone wants to do His will, he will know whether My teaching comes from God or it is Myself speaking. ¹⁸ Whoever speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true and there is no unrighteousness in Him. ¹⁹ Hasn’t Moses given you the Torah? Yet none of you keeps it.”
Messiah taught what the Father taught.
Yeshua Messiah wants us to do what the Father taught in the Torah.

Revelation 12:17 and Revelation 14:12 tell us who the remnant of the church is:
Revelation 12:17   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 Jesus. 
Revelation 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

Jesus says who will be in His kingdom in Revelation 22:14, and He says who will not be allowed in verse 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.

Do you hear Him?
Are you listening to what He said?
Or do you reject what He said in favor of the things men teach?

In hospice, looking forward to meeting Jesus…
What a horrible situation to be in…
How many people end up in this predicament daily? Weekly? Monthly? Yearly?
Messiah said this:
“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?”
Luke 6:46 NKJV

What will become of people who “look forward to meeting Jesus” but have spent their lives rejecting the things He said?
Weeping and gnashing of teeth, I’m afraid…
Not by my wishes, but because of what Messiah says to us over and over again.
Here is the remainder of the direct quote of Yeshua Messiah (Jesus) from Matthew 7 above at the start of this blog:
“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

Our churches reject the will of the Father in the Torah, calling it legalism.
Get out your bible app and do a search for legalism in the scriptures.
The translations I use do not contain a single reference to legalism, but we hear about it non-stop in our churches.
It is their reason and their excuse for rejecting the will of the Father.
Jesus says you don’t get to be in His kingdom if you reject the will of the Father.

Now do a search for the word lawless  in your bible app.
It comes up quite a few times.
Go study that.
It may help you to avoid the weeping and gnashing of teeth one day.

Do you know Jesus, Yeshua Messiah?
He says He will not know you if you are lawless.
Here is a test given in scripture to determine if you know Him:

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.

Can you pass this test?

Joshua 24:14
¹⁴ “Now therefore, fear Yehova and worship Him in sincerity and in truth. Get rid of the gods that your fathers had worshipped beyond the River and in Egypt, and worship Yehova. ¹⁵ If it seems bad to you to worship Yehova, then choose for yourselves today whom you will serve—whether the gods that your fathers worshipped that were beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will worship Yehova!”

Lot’s of people know about the quote at the end of verse 15 in Joshua 24. Go to any “Christian retailer” and you’ll probably find wall plaques for sell, quoting “As for me and my house…”
But how many are familiar with the preceding verse 14?

What can we learn about this from Joshua?
He makes it very plain and simple for us.
—Fear Yehova
—Worship Him in sincerity and truth

What does it mean to fear Yehova?
Is it healthy to be afraid of our Creator?
Why should we ever fear a loving God?
We are given this bit of advice in Matthew 10:28
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.

If we look at the Hebrew for fear, we find this:
H3372  Transliteration  yare’ 
Strong’s Definition:
יָרֵא yârêʼ, yaw-ray’; a primitive root; to fear; morally to revere; causatively to frighten:—affright, be (make) afraid, dread(-ful), (put in) fear(-ful, -fully, -ing), (be had in) reverence(-end), × see, terrible (act, -ness, thing).

We can combine both meanings of this word to describe our response to Yehova:
fear in reverence, or reverent-fear
He is the Creator of all things.  He gives us each heartbeat and each breath.  And His final judgment will not determine the fate of our physical bodies, but the fate of our soul. We should have much respect and reverent fear of Yehova.  Everything that we are or will be [or will not be] is decided by Elohim.

How do we go about this?
First, let’s take a look at the Hebrew for truth:
H571 Transliteration  ’emeth
Strong’s Definition:
אֶמֶת ʼemeth, eh’-meth; contracted from H539; stability; (figuratively) certainty, truth, trustworthiness:—assured(-ly), establishment, faithful, right, sure, true (-ly, -th), verity.

And here is sincerity:
H8549 Transliteration   tamiym
Strong’s Definition:
תָּמִים tâmîym, taw-meem’; from H8552; entire (literally, figuratively or morally); also (as noun) integrity, truth:—without blemish, complete, full, perfect, sincerely (-ity), sound, without spot, undefiled, upright(-ly), whole.

We know from the English words truth and sincerity that Joshua’s statement is serious in nature, and these two words bring forth a certain understanding. Looking at the Hebrew and the definitions of both words, we add to the idea of worshipping Yehova the following concepts: integrity, certainty, trust, perfect, undefiled, faithful, and more…  Are these the type of words you would use to describe your walk of faith, your behavior, your worship of the Living Elohim?

Let’s take a look at some scriptural advice concerning truth:

Psalm 25:9-10
⁹ He guides the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble His way.
¹⁰ All Yehova’s ways are loving kindness
and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
Psalm 85:10-11
¹⁰ Surely His salvation is near those who fear Him,
so that glory may dwell in our land.
¹¹ Loving kindness and truth meet together.
Righteousness and shalom [peace] kiss each other.
Psalm 86:11-12
¹¹ Teach me Your way, Yehova,
    that I may walk in Your truth.
Give me an undivided heart to fear Your Name.
¹² I praise You, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and glorify Your Name forever.
Psalm 111:7-8, 11
⁷ The works of His hands are truth and justice.
All His precepts are trustworthy—
⁸ they are upheld forever and ever,
made in truth and uprightness.
¹⁰ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
His praise endures forever.

Proverbs 3:3
Let kindness and truth never leave you— bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
Proverbs 8:7
For my mouth speaks truth, and my lips detest wickedness.
Proverbs 12:19
Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue for only a moment.
Proverbs 14:22
Indeed those who plot evil go astray but grace and truth come to those who plan good.
Proverbs 14:25
A truthful witness saves lives, but one who utters lies is treacherous.
Proverbs 16:6
By mercy and truth is iniquity atoned, and by the fear of Yehova one avoids evil.
Proverbs 23:23
Acquire truth and do not sell it, acquire wisdom, instruction and understanding.

Psalm 117:2 and Psalm 119:142-144 go together well:
² For great is His loving kindness toward us, and Adonai’s truth endures forever. Halleluyah!
¹⁴² Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
And Your law is truth.
¹⁴³ Trouble and anguish have overtaken me,
Yet Your commandments are my delights.
¹⁴⁴ The righteousness of Your testimonies is everlasting;
Give me understanding, and I shall live.

In these quotes from Psalm and Proverbs, we see that Yehova considers His Torah, His commands, His law to be truth, and He considers it to be truth forever.
How is your walk with Yehova?
Do you consider His instructions to be forever, or do you consider them to be obsolete?

Joshua says “…But as for me and my household, we will worship Yehova!”
Whom do you serve?
The New Testament helps us to figure it out.
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 ^[a]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.

 2John 2:6
⁶ This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.