A Key Editorial for The Overcoming of The Devourer
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BY: Darlene Dine E-Mail: Jehu5417@yahoo.com What is the LAW? In the New Testament (Brit Hadashah) the word ‘law’ is a poor translation for the Hebrew word ‘Torah.’ “Law” is from the Greek word “nomos” which means: NT:3551 nomos (nom'-os); from a primary nemo (to parcel out, especially food or grazing to animals); law (through the idea of prescriptive usage), genitive case (regulation), specifically (of Moses [including the volume]; also of the Gospel), or figuratively (a principle): [1] We
must be careful to also look at the Hebrew translation of this
word. (There is no
corresponding word in the Greek or English for the Hebrew word Torah, so
the word that was used is ‘law’).
The word for “law” in Hebrew is the word “Torah.”
It means: OT:8451 towrah
(to-raw'); or torah (to-raw'); from OT:3384; a precept or statute,
especially the Decalogue or Pentateuch: yarah
(yaw-raw'); or (2 Chron 26:15) yara' (yaw-raw'); a primitive root;
properly, to flow as water (i.e. to rain); transitively, to lay or throw
(especially an arrow, i.e. to shoot); figuratively, to
point out (as if by aiming the finger), to teach: chatta'ah
(khat-taw-aw'); or chatta'th (khat-tawth'); from OT:2398; an offence
(sometimes habitual sinfulness), and its penalty, occasion, sacrifice,
or expiation; also (concretely) an offender: chata'
(khaw-taw'); a primitive root; properly, to miss; hence
(figuratively and generally) to sin; by inference, to forfeit, lack,
expiate, repent, (causatively) lead astray, condemn:
Sin - NT:3847 parabasis (par-ab'-as-is); from NT:3845; violation: parabaino
(par-ab-ah'-ee-no); from NT:3844 and the base of NT:939; to go contrary
to, i.e. violate a command: To
summarize, LAW means Torah which is not only limited to
the first five books of the Bible given to Moses, but it is the whole
of the WORD of Yahweh. The first five books and the Prophets I will describe as the foundation.
The root so to speak.
All of the Bible stems from this root.
(Yahshua had no ‘New’ Testament to teach from.
He taught and quoted Torah.
He also quoted “It is written…” to Satan during the
temptation in the wilderness. What
was written at the time, but the Torah?) Furthermore Yahshua was ‘Torah’ observant. Otherwise, He would not have been declared by Yahweh to be sinless. Even the religious leaders could not find fault in Him. Matt 26:59-60 59
Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false
testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, 60 but found none. Even
though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at
last two false witnesses came forward… Why
would they need ‘false’ witnesses if He were not Torah observant?
The priests who KNEW the LAW would easily have determined his
transgression (if there were any).
Now
that this word ‘law’ is established more truthfully in our thinking,
let’s look at these scriptures in a new light: Ps 1:2-3 2
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And
in His law he meditates day and night. 3
He shall be like a tree Planted
by the rivers of water, That
brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose
leaf also shall not wither; And
whatever he does shall prosper. Ps 19:7-8 7
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The
testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; 8
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The
commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; Ps 119:142 142
Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And
Your law is truth. Ps 37:31 31
The law of his God is in his heart; None
of his steps shall slide. Matt 5:17-19 17
"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did
not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till
heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass
from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the
least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in
the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be
called great in the kingdom of heaven. Acts 24:14 14
But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they
call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things
which are written in the Law and in the
Prophets. (‘The
Way’ was formed after Yahshua’s death and resurrection, yet Paul
states here that he believes what is written in the Law and the
Prophets when accused by his Jewish brethren of teaching contrary to
it.) Rom 3:31 31
Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly
not! On the contrary, we
establish the law. Rom 7:7 7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. Mark 1:21-22 22
And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having
authority,
and not as the Scribes. The most radiant display of what I am referring to is His teaching of Torah found in the Sermon on the Mount beginning in Matthew, chapter five. I
will not take additional pages to copy it here, but I do recommend reading
it for yourself. Yahshua was
holding the ‘New’ Testament believers to a HIGHER
standard of righteousness than the ‘Old.’
When He starts out a sentence with, “You have heard it said…”
He is referring to Torah teachers!
He then relates the real issue is the
HEART!
So He is restoring the purpose back to the LAW/TORAH, which is
to LOVE.
(And also as something hidden in our hearts to please Yahweh and
NOT man.) It
is this dissertation of scripture that we find the story of the good and
bad fruit. And also the
statement by Yahshua about the surprise some will receive on judgment day!
We love to quote this one in our articles and rarely KNOW what it
even MEANS! Matt 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!'
These
are people who claim to KNOW Him, but practice things that are against the
LAW/TORAH! These scriptures
further solidify this truth! 1 John 2:3-5 3
Now by this we know that we know Him,
if we keep His commandments.
4 He who says, "I know Him," and does
not keep His commandments, is a liar,
and the TRUTH is not in him. 5 But
whoever keeps His word, truly the love
of God
is perfected in him. By
this we know that we are in Him. 1 John 5:2-3 2
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. Rev 12:16-17 17
And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with
the rest of her offspring, who KEEP the commandments of God
and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Rev 22:14 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. THESE are
NEW TESTAMENT scriptures FOLKS! Are
His commandments different from His Law/Torah given on Mount Sinai?
Of course NOT. There was only a portion of the law that would NO
longer be necessary (the part of the
covenant that was REnewed). This was the sacrificial system of the temple. Heb 8:7-11 7
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have
been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them, He says:
"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new
covenant with
the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--
9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in
the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of
Egypt; because they did not
continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of
Israel after those days, says the LORD: I
will put My LAWS in their mind and write them on their hearts;
and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
It
is not the LAW that was done away with by the giving of the NEW
covenant. It was the covenant
with Moses that required a priestly service of sacrificing ANIMALS to make
atonement for the sins of the people.
This is what YAHSHUA did
away with
for it was only a type and shadow of what MESSIAH would fulfill when He
came! Heb 9:6-13 6
Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into
the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services. 7 But into the
second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood,
which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in
ignorance; 8 the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into
the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first
tabernacle was still standing. 9 It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and
sacrifices are offered which cannot make
him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience-- 10
concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly
ordinances imposed until the time of reformation. 11
But Christ came as High
Priest of the good things to come,
with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is,
not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with
His own blood He entered the Most Holy
Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
So
we see from these scriptures that the doing away with the OLD was
not referring TO
HIS ETERNAL WORD! It is a
REDEMPTION ISSUE! Most
of the negative thinking concerning ‘LAW’ comes from a
misinterpretation of Paul’s writings.
Here again IN CONTEXT, we are looking at a person who was called
out to minister to those who were ‘lawless’
or without understanding of Torah. They
had come to Messiah, but now needed spiritual direction.
Paul was also dealing with Jewish people coming to believe in
Messiah and the rightful place of Torah in their newfound faith.
He was working to bring these TWO HOUSES together!!! As ONE NEW MAN
IN MESSIAH! THIS WAS THE
EARLY CHURCH and will be the latter one as well! Yahshua
was the word made flesh. He
was the LIVING TORAH!
Much of Paul’s writings were about the proper use of the law and
not the DOING AWAY WITH IT! He
is also giving us a picture that we CANNOT expect the same outward
righteousness from a person who has never known the law as we would from
someone who has studied it all their lives!
He is blending grace in with his teachings to temper the strong
Torah observant Jew! But He
is also encouraging the rightful place of Torah in the lives of new
Gentile believers. TORAH
IS FOR THE ALREADY REDEEMED COMMUNITY!
For its protection, blessing, LIFE! Even
though some had perverted and falsified Torah, this did not make it a BAD
thing in itself. It was
men’s response TO IT that was wrong, not the Torah itself.
This is because the FLESH is contrary to it, but the Spirit
correctly relates to it! The carnal mind is at enmity with Yahweh’s word and cannot
properly relate to it. If you
go back with this ‘new’ thinking to the book of Romans you will
understand what I am communicating and see the truth of Paul’s
teachings. Another
overall focus of Paul’s writings was the FOUNDATION of our
salvation.
Torah had been used in this time as a means of establishing
righteousness before Yahweh. The
Temple Priests had ADDED to the teachings to become ‘more’ righteous.
They were using obedience to become ‘better’ than others.
Kind of like a ‘socialist’ brand of thinking.
The knowledge they had gained served to PUFF them up with
pride and they were blinding
themselves to the true purpose of Yahweh’s word (which was
to show the way of love).
The teachings of Paul establish salvation upon another
foundation that can never be moved BY MEN!
We are NOT SAVED by Torah obedience!
We are saved because Yahshua provided the sacrifice
(sin offering) to
atone for our transgression. The
cross fulfills the laws requirements.
The wages of sin are death! This
glorifies Yahweh in that His word remains true.
His holiness is thereby protected.
At the same time it makes a way for us to be restored
from our hopeless state.
By the atonement made, we are JUSTIFIED
in the sight of Yahweh and declared to be righteous!
So it is no longer “acceptance” based on performance (outward),
but a free gift that no one will be able to boast of. This
is complicated yet simple at the same time.
On one hand, Yahweh saves and delivers.
On the other hand He is still JUDGE
for He upholds the truth of His word.
HE DOES NOT CHANGE, it is
our place of standing that
makes the difference! Salvation
was Yahweh’s plan from the beginning and gives a person a right to
choose. This is
where we BEGIN!
Not on a footing of sinlessness,
but rather having sin. Rom
5:6-8 6
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for
a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His
own love toward us, in that while
we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The word
‘grace’ means : NT:5485 charis
(khar'-ece); from NT:5463; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act
(abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine
influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including
gratitude): OT:2580 chen
(khane); from OT:2603; graciousness, i.e. subjective (kindness, favor) or
objective (beauty): The
cross or GRACE was a demonstration of Yahweh’s love towards us.
Seeing our hopeless condition (we can in no
way achieve righteousness apart
from Him), He made the way for us to be saved (from eternal
separation). He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us thereby paying
the price we owed. This was
also a condemning of our fallen nature to the cross!
Thus we can be born again to live in NEWNESS of life!
Yahweh
then (by the cross) reestablishes to His
bride HIS CHARACTER which was perverted
in the garden by Satan! He made Yahweh’s words out to be something that was not
beneficial to Eve, but controlling! He
made Yahweh’s words out to be something that restricts rather
than frees! Damaging rather
than protecting! This
is what Satan would have us read into the LAW.
If you do this “I will KILL YOU.”
This is not what Yahweh MEANT!
And then the crafty serpent puts another twist on it downplaying
the reverence that Eve should have had for the word by saying,
“You will not die!” What has been taught by “Christianity” does this as well. Downplaying the act of sin to allow for compromise. This is why we must understand THE TRUTH of what is going on HERE! Yahweh is not condoning or passively turning a blind eye to sin. How can we think that when an INNNOCENT MAN suffered HORRIBLY to demonstrate its severity! SIN IS SEVERE! It will bring DEATH! Had
the command not been given to obey Yah, sin would have never entered the
picture— but neither the CROSS.
The plan of redemption was to establish a relationship of love.
Yahweh reaching towards US for we could not reach HIM. The Tabernacle is YHWH’s ‘protected’ holiness extending
out to us. We begin at the
bronze altar (a type of cross). This
is where it is WE begin, NOT STAY! Our sanctification is a procession of shedding the old
man and putting on the new. We
press into the Most Holy Place where no flesh can dwell!
We become His Holy of Holies!
AWESOME! We, in
turn (reciprocating His love), show our LOVE
towards Him and move toward this
HOLY PLACE by our obedience born of faith! So
the cross is just the beginning giving rebirth to our dead spirits so that
we can comprehend and obey the truth that is set before us.
Truth then leads us to understand and KNOW who YAHWEH is so that we
can become LIKE HIM!
HOW CAN WE SEE who He is without His word?
It is a mirror that reflects what we are to look like as His
treasured people. When we see blemish or spot, we turn to His word for
correction or instruction. After
we KNOW we are redeemed, we are able to see truth in this new light. We are justified by FAITH, but sanctified by truth! Rom
3:21-26 21
But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being
witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God,
through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is
no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24
being justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood,
through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His
forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He
might be just
and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. John
17:17-18 17
Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 1
Peter 3:13-16 14
But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake,
you are blessed. "And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be
troubled." 15 But
sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a
defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you,
with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience,
that when they defame you as evildoers,
those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. Let’s
us conclude Part One with a favorite scripture of those who debate that
the LAW has been “done away with” and that it no longer applies to us! Rom
6:14 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Okay,
I need a hammer to teach this because we have been so entrenched with TRADITION
on this ONE! Let’s break up
the hard ground that has buried the truth! Breaking
it down…how could sin have dominion over us?
If we were imprisoned by it, right?
Well, man in his fallen nature WAS imprisoned to serve SIN. He was NOT able to even gain access to the ONE who made HIM
HOLY, so He was unable to fulfill the LAWS requirements! He was OUT OF RELATIONSHIP WITH YAHWEH! And could DO NOTHING ABOUT IT!
As a result of this, he could never be freed from the law because
its righteous requirements were TOTAL OBEDIENCE!
Flesh does NOT OBEY THE LAW,
but our spirit’s WILL! So
yes SIN had dominion over us for BY THE LAW, we saw our sin and were
hopless to do anything about it for we were CONDEMNED by it!
Remember when I mentioned that it matters where you are standing?
If you are standing in SELF-righteousness, you will be
JUDGED by the law you claim to keep! If you receive the atonement that Yahshua provided, you will
be SAVED and stand
in His righteousness. Rom 8:2 2
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from
the law of sin and death. We
are FREED from the DEATH PENALTY (condemnation)!
This is further illustrated by Yahshua’s encounter with the
adulterous woman. John 8:2-12 2 Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?" 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. 7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" 11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." Yahshua
was standing in the way of the DEATH PENALTY of the LAW, not the LAW
itself! (This also does not
negate the consequences of sin.) You
are not UNDER LAW means that your foundation of SALVATION is GRACE!
You did nothing to DESERVE salvation, none of us have.
Our keeping of the law does not make us righteous.
The Israelites did not even believe that or there would have been
no need for lambs to be slain in the temple!
All the Feasts were pointing to redemption made possible by the
promised Messiah! You stand before the throne UNDER a covering of GRACE!
But do not mistake this scripture to mean you have an excuse to be
LAWLESS (without Torah). Rom 6:15-20 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19
I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as
you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of
lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as
slaves of righteousness for holiness.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to
righteousness. Paul
is teaching here that now we are FREE to obey with the right MOTIVE! Not to be justified, but to honor and love Yahweh!
To show our love of His word!
We are freed from the LETTER of the LAW and given the SPIRIT (life)
of the law. Rom 8:1-3 8:1
There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus, who DO NOT
walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from
the law of sin and death. The
heart of the LAW is LOVE. The
following scriptures further illustrate that the Law/Torah has NOT been done away with. Ex 12:14 You
shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting
ordinance.
(Ordinance is another term for a portion of the law. Prov 3:1-2 My
son, do not forget my law, But
let your heart
keep my commands; 2
For length of days and long life And
peace they will add to you. Isa 2:3 3
Many people shall come and say, "Come,
and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To
the house of the God of Jacob; He
will teach us His ways, And
we shall walk in His paths." For
out of Zion shall go forth the
law, And
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. On
the other hand, the house of Judah (Jewish people) have rejected the
LIVING Torah who became flesh and dwelt among us!
They knew all the “scriptures,” but were missing the love
relationship a redeemed bride has with her Savior.
This is what will provoke them to jealousy!
For they still look for redemption in the coming Messiah.
They ADDED to the Torah in an attempt to obtain righteousness! So
you see how this is KEY
to understanding the restoration that will take place before Yahshua comes
to establish His kingdom on earth! Let’s continue to Part Two where we will see how Torah will protect in the days ahead and be the foundation that cannot be shaken! As we return to the ROOT of our faith, the foundation for all other “revelations” is restored. We will also see Torah as OUR TREE OF LIFE! Footnotes: [1] All Hebrew and Greek definitions come from the Strong’s Concordance also available through The PC Bible Study.
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3-19-02
Here-in lies a mystery unfolded. Why is it that you are feeling
to "come out of her" while others are not? It is very
simple. If we have truly come to Jahshuwah for His Salvation
offered unto us, we then have come into the New Covenant. What
is that New Covenant? The Law being written ON OUR HEARTS, which
is Jahshuwah Himself who IS The Torah who became flesh and dwelt among
us!!!