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\o/ !HALALU Yah!
\o/
Joyous Sabbath Greetings in the
Matchless Name of YahShua !!
The following came to a dear brother as I was preaching from the book of
James one Shabbat a few weeks ago. I am HONORED to have had a small part
to do with it, and DELIGHTED to share it here.
How Does Grace Annul Law?
Recently in a devotional time, the Ruach
haKodesh/Holy Spirit brought a wonderful verse to mind. I would like to share it
with you. For as the body apart from
the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead. (Yaakov/James
2:26) Perhaps the first thing one should do is to
read the verse within context. But someone may well say,
�You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I
will show you my faith by my works.� You believe that God is one. You do well;
the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you
foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our
father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You
see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the
works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, �And
Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,� and he was
called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by
faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by
works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works
is dead. (Yaakov/James
2:18-26) The Yaakov who wrote this treatise on the
handshaking of WORKS and FAITH also was responsible for the following
declaration: After they had stopped
speaking, Yaakov/James answered, saying, �Brethren, listen to me. Shimon/Simeon
has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles
a people for His name. With this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is
written, �After these things I will return, And I will rebuild the tabernacle of
David which has fallen, And I will rebuild its ruins, And I will restore it, So
that the rest of mankind may seek YHVH, And all the Gentiles who are called by
My name,� Says YHVH, who makes these things known from long ago. Therefore it
is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among
the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things
contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from
blood. For Moshe/Moses from ancient generations has in every city those
who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every
Shabbat/Sabbath.� (Acts
15:13-21) Yaakov is not contradicting himself.
Graciously, he demands former-Gentile believers to be given the time to learn
instead of being thrust headlong into the Law of Moshe, mistaking the move as a
salvation issue. As the Torah is read weekly, they will learn and be able to
extrapolate truths and learn how to apply them through its revelation in the
Synagogue service. Also, former-Gentiles will be taught through the normal
fellowship coming from the Oneg (the snack or meal after the Shabbat service)
with the long-standing Jewish community. As Shaul/Paul
wrote: As a result, we are no
longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by
every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful
scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all
aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being
fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper
working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building
up of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:14-16) [Note:
Tehillim/Psalms 119:43 and 119:160 are two witnesses that Torah is Truth.
Therefore, speaking the Truth in love is speaking Torah in
love.] Those new in the faith were not intended to
remain babies requiring spoon-feedings. Instead, they were expected to mature
and grow, applying Biblical truths (including Torah truths) as they are
revealed. In fact, believers are encouraged to have a walk with YHVH that causes
them to make constant strides to �come up in the truth� so they will not partake
in the wrath of those who are disobedient and who deceive with empty
words. Let no one deceive you with
empty words. For because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons
of disobedience. Therefore do not be
partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in
the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in
all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is
pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of
darkness, but instead even expose them, for it is disgraceful even to speak of
the things that are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when
they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For
this reason it says, �Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, And Christ will
shine on you.� (Ephesians
5:6-14) Therefore, strengthen the
hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths
for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint,
but rather be healed. (Ivriim/Hebrews 12:12-13)
[Note: The way to assure a straight path is to use the truth in
Tehillim/Psalms 119:105 which says �Your Torah is a lamp to my feet and a
light to my path.�] The prayer behind each of the commentaries published by Halacha Ministries is to strengthen the hands and the knees of the believers in Messiah Yeshua. The hope is that no one who reads these messages will be put out of joint, but will be healed. Spiritually
Speaking
Generally, non-Rabbinically educated people will take passages in the Bible one of two ways: Literally or Spiritually. Literal is usually taken as the plain sense of the words in the bible � i.e., what the words say is what the words mean. Spiritual application of Biblical text is a bit freer and allows for a wide range of interpretation; this is often called Allegorical interpretation. (Refer to Galatians 4:21-5:1 especially 4:24 for an example of a spiritual/allegorical application of Scripture.) Teachers within Christian circles have a
propensity to raise Spiritual application of text over the literal
interpretation. In fact, the text of the Brit Hadasha/New Testament has the
tendency to elevate the Spiritual over the Physical, helping to support this
tendency. Below are a few examples to support
this. Therefore I urge you,
brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy
sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of
worship.
(Romans 12:1) Yes, they were pleased to do
so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their
spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material
things.
(Romans 15:27) Which things we also speak,
not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit,
combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. (1 Corinthians
2:13) And I, brethren, could not
speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in
Christ. (1
Corinthians 3:1) For I do not want you to be
unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed
through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for
they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was
Christ. (1
Corinthians 10:1-4) So also is the resurrection
of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it
is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised
in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is
a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So also it is written, "The
first man, Adam, became a living soul." The last Adam became a life-giving
spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the
spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from
heaven. (1
Corinthians 15:42-47) For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the
world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the
heavenly places. (Ephesians
6:12) �You also, as living stones,
are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Kefa/Peter
2:5) In all these examples, it�s clear that
Spirituality is far greater than physicality. We are encouraged to feed the
Spirit over the Body. Let�s look at the opening verse of this week�s commentary
again. For as the body apart from
the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead. (Yaakov/James
2:26) This verse seems to be written in a Parallelistic structure. The first half of this verse shows us how the body is dependent upon the spirit. Using the same structure or outline, the second half warns us of the dependence of faith upon the existence of works. In essence, the verse equates BODY with FAITH, while equating the SPIRIT with WORKS. Look at the verse breakdown in this small chart:
I cannot remember how many times I have been told that works is a thing
of the flesh while faith is a spiritual thing. HOWEVER, Yaakov seems to be
teaching the exact opposite! He seems to give new meaning to the phrase:
"But
an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the
Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His
worshipers. Eloah is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in
spirit and truth." (Yochanan/John
4:23-24) It appears that if we are to worship the Father in Spirit, we need to worship Him through Works, according to Yaakov/James 2:26. The Truth, has already been established as Torah in Tehillim/Psalms 199:34, 160. In
Closing
For by grace you have been
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a
result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we
would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10)
How does Grace annul Law? It
doesn't. It was never intended to work that way. |
[TruthTalk] How Does Grace Annul Law?
little children of Jesus Christ Sat, 01 Feb 2003 01:46:01 -0800
- Re: [TruthTalk] How Does Grace Annul Law? little children of Jesus Christ
