Free

to

Obey

God

 

 

 

 

By

Bruce Armstrong and Bruce Harris

Central Highlands Congregation of God

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright © 2013, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023

Revised 25th of June, 2023

 

Published by

CENTRAL HIGHLANDS CHRISTIAN PUBLICATIONS

PO Box 236 Creswick Vic 3363  Australia

Email info@chcpublications.net

Web Page https://chcpublications.net/

 

 

Permission is given to copy and distribute this document provided it is not altered and is copied completely.  Copies must be given away.  We ask only that you notify us if you are making numerous copies.

 

 

Scripture quotations are taken from the Central Highlands Congregation of God translation.

 

 

 

 

Free to Obey God

 

 

 

Jesus (Jeshua) says:

 

“If you love Me, keep My commandments, and I will ask My Father, and He will give you another Redeemer, who will be with you forever.  He is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it has not seen Him nor does it know Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and He will be in you.       

John 14:15-17

 

 

Therefore there is no condemnation to those who are not walking in the flesh in the Anointed Jeshua.  For the Instruction of the Spirit of Life in the Messiah Jeshua has freed you from the instruction of sin and of death.

Romans 8:1 &2

 

 

“Here is the patience of the saints; those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jeshua.”

Revelation 14:12

 

 

Free to Obey God

What changes does God make to our hearts when His Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside us?  What is the new Freedom that we receive as the Children of God?  This article reveals what the Bible teaches about these questions.

 

 

 

Contents

Introduction

Legalism

The Perfect Instructions of God

Why Did God Give Us His Instructions?

The Fourth Word

Who Gave Us the Instructions and Covenant at Mt Sinai?

What is the Curse of the Instructions?

Salvation and the New Covenant Through Our Great High Priest

Justification is Through the Messiah Alone

God has More to Say about Lawlessness

What Does Jeshua Want with Us?

God Still Wants Us to Keep His Instructions

Never, Ever Think That We are Earning our Justification

Love God, Love Your Neighbour

Why Would We Keep God’s Instructions if Doing so Isn’t Earning our Salvation?

God Will Bless Us

The Attributes of God

 

 

Introduction

Jeshua1 says:“He who has My commandments with him 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 reveal Myself to him.”  (John 14:21)

 

Even in the End Times God wants us to keep His commandments: “Here is the patience of the saints; those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jeshua.”  (Revelation 14:12)

 

These passages clearly teach that to have a deep and loving relationship with God we need both the faith of Jeshua and obedience to the commandments of God.  Yet the Bible also reveals that our covenant relationship to God’s commandments changes when we accept the Anointed as our Saviour.  What is this change and how does it affect our life in The Messiah?  We need to carefully examine what God’s Word teaches us about these issues, having an attitude like the Bereans:

 

These [Berean] Jews were more noble than those Jews who were in Thessalonica, for they gladly heard from them every day, while they examined the Scriptures to prove if these things were so.  Therefore many of them believed, and also the Greeks, many men and prominent women.    Acts 17:11-12

 

Jeshua has freed us from the body of sin and has given us His Spirit to enable us to walk through the Narrow Gate and on the way that leads to everlasting life.  This narrow way is positioned above both legalism (only law-keeping required) and lawlessness (law-keeping is not required).  Jeshua teaches that lawlessness cuts much deeper than many think:

 

“Whatever you want people to do to you, you also do this to them, for this is the Instructions and the Prophets.

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in it.  How narrow is the gate and strict is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

“Beware of false prophets, who come among you clothed as lambs, but within they are ravenous wolves.  But you will know them by their fruits.  Do men pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?

“Even so, every good tree produces excellent fruit, but an evil tree produces evil fruit.  A good tree is unable to produce evil fruit, nor can an evil tree produce excellent fruit.  Every tree that does not produce excellent fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘My Lord, My Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, ‘My Lord, My Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name?  And we have cast out demons in Your name, and we have performed many miracles in Your name.’

“And then I will declare to them, ‘I have not known you from the beginning of time; remove yourselves far from Me, you workers of evil!’”    Matthew 7:12-23

 

Do you see that Jeshua declares that if we are not keeping His laws and following His Instructions we are workers of evil?  If we are not doing these things, we have never truly known Him and He will reject us unless we repent.2

 

The Good News is twofold.  First, we are set free from our sins through the sacrifice of Jeshua who took our sins and died the death penalty that we deserved for us.  Then we are given God’s Spirit, freeing us from our sinful nature and enabling us to not only obey God and keep His Instructions, but also to love Him.

 

Let’s examine what the Bible teaches about these two extremes and then see what God really gives to us and expects from us as His children.

 

Legalism

Legalism ignores the need for the sacrifice of Jeshua the Anointed and the indwelling of God’s spirit.  It claims that we can earn our own salvation by meticulously keeping laws, whether the commandments of men or even God’s Laws.  But is this possible?

 

God makes it crystal clear that he does not want us to obey the commandments of men if they conflict with His laws, even those of pious sounding religionists:

 

Then the Pharisees and scribes who were from Jerusalem came to Jeshua, saying, “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?  For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

Jeshua answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandments of God because of your traditions?  For God said, ‘Honour your father and your mother’; and, ‘Anyone who curses his father and his mother, let him be put to death.’

“But you say, ‘Anyone who says to his father or his mother, “My offering is whatever you might have received from me.” then no longer needs to honour his father or his mother.  Thus you nullify the word of God because of your tradition.

“Hypocrites!  Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people honour Me with their lips, but their heart is very far from Me.  And in vain they revere Me, while they teach as teachings the commandments of the sons of men.’”3    Matthew 15:1-9

 

The Pharisees created their own set of ‘laws’, claiming these would stop people from breaking God’s Law.  The religion that resulted from this is now called Judaism.4  Jeshua makes it very clear that their approach (man-made laws) will not lead to salvation!

 

Nor does He want us to follow the laws (or gods) of pagan religions:

 

You will totally destroy all the places where the nations which you are dispossessing served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. And you will smash their altars, shatter their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden pillars with fire; you will cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place.

You will not do these things which are against Jehovah your God.    Deuteronomy 12:2-4

 

And again:

 

Take heed to yourself lest you are snared and follow them after they are destroyed from before you; and lest you inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?  I, even I, will do so too.’

You will not do this to Jehovah your God; for everything Jehovah hates and which He detests they have done unto their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

All the things I command you, be careful to observe; you will not add to it nor take away from it.5    Deuteronomy 12:30 to 32

 

So, now we see that God has commanded us to observe only His Instructions6 and no one else’s.  But does this mean that we can indeed earn everlasting life on our own through keeping God’s Laws, or there yet more to salvation than law-keeping?

 

The Perfect Instructions of God

Jehovah, being a perfect God, gave us His Instructions, which came from the heart of His being and which were perfect:7

 

The Instructions of Jehovah are perfect, restoring the soul.  The testimony of Jehovah is sure, making the simple wise.

The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart.  The commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring forever.8  The judgements of Jehovah are true and righteous altogether.  They are to be desired more than gold.  Yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Through them Your servant is warned, and there is great reward in keeping them.    Psalm 19:7 to 11

 

The sure foundation of all of God’s Instructions are love:

 

Then one of them who knew the Instructions asked, testing Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Instruction?”

Jeshua said to him, “‘You will love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind.’9  This is the first and great commandment.
“And the second is like it: ‘You will love your neighbour as yourself.’10

“On these two commandments hang the Instruction and the Prophets.”    Matthew 22:35 to 40

 

God’s Instructions are so important to Him that He personally came down and spoke to us the framework of His Law as recorded in Exodus 20:1-17:

 

And God spoke all these words, saying:

“I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

“You will have no other gods before Me.11

“You will not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  You will not bow down to them nor serve them, for I, Jehovah your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

“You will not lift up the Name of Jehovah your God in a worthless way, for Jehovah will not leave anyone who lifts up His Name in a worthless way unpunished.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you will labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of Jehovah your God.  You will do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates.

“For in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.  Therefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.

“Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which Jehovah your God is giving you.12

“You will not murder.

“You will not commit adultery.

“You will not steal.

“You will not testify a false witness against your neighbour.13
“You will not covet your neighbour’s house; you will not covet your neighbour’s wife, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour’s.”14

 

These are literally called the Ten Words in the Hebrew Scriptures, though they are commonly known as the Ten Commandments in English.  The rest of God’s Instructions are built on this framework.

 

Why Did God Give Us His Instructions?

“And now, Israel, what does Jehovah your God require of you, but to fear Jehovah your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of Jehovah and His statutes which I command you today for your good?

Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to Jehovah your God, also the earth with all that is in it.”    Deuteronomy 10:12 to 14

 

“Therefore you will love Jehovah your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgements, and His commandments always.    Deuteronomy 11:1

 

“And it will be that if you diligently obey My commandments which I command you today, to love Jehovah your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the spring rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.  And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.’

“Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, lest Jehovah’s anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which Jehovah is giving you.

“Therefore you will lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they will be as an ornament between your eyes.  You will teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.    Deuteronomy 11:13 to 19

 

Verse 10:13 makes it clear: God gave us His Instructions for our good.  They are true and teach us a righteous way of life.  If we keep God’s instructions, He will bless us.  And have another read of Deuteronomy 11:18God wants us to put His Words into our hearts where they will become a sign on our hands and forehead.  These marks surely signify what we do and think (Eze 9:6).  If we are following what God teaches us, the marks are His.  If instead we follow Satan (even via his beast) the marks on us will show that we are Satan’s (Revelation 13:16).

 

So God wants everyone to keep His Instructions.  Everyone that is not in a personal relationship with God through Jeshua The Messiah is under law, which means they have an obligation to keep God’s instruction through their own efforts.  But is that what everyone does?  Perhaps the most controversial of the Ten Words is the Sabbath commandment, as that is the one which few people even attempt to keep.  Where did it come from and what does it require of us?

 

The Fourth Word

The fourth of the Ten Words is the Sabbath command.  The basics of the entire Ten Words came into existence when God created the Sabbath and made it holy at the end of Creation Week as recorded in Genesis:

 

Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished.

And by the seventh day God had completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because He rested from all His work in it, which He had created and made.    Genesis 2:1 to 3

 

Has anyone ever pointed out to you that the Sabbath command in the Ten Commandments takes up ninety-three of its three hundred and twenty-nine words?  That is twenty-eight percent of the entire message that Jehovah God personally spoke to the Israelites.  Does that give you some idea of how important the Sabbath is to Jehovah?

 

And Jehovah will lead you continually, and your soul will be satisfied with fatness and your bones will be strengthened; you will be like the rejoicing of Paradise, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.  Those from among you will build the old ruins; you will raise up the foundations of many generations; and you will be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.

“If you turn your foot away from the Sabbath, to doing whatever pleases you on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, glorified to the holiness of Jehovah, and will glorify it, putting away your own ways and your own pleasures, nor speaking your own words, then you will delight yourself in Jehovah; and I will ride with you on the heights of the earth, and you will eat from the inheritance of your father Jacob.  For the mouth of Jehovah has spoken.”    Isaiah 58:11 to 14

 

Have you been taught that the Sabbath is a delight and honourable?  That God will lift up those who keep it and reveal to them the best things that can be experienced on earth?  Are you being taught that the New Covenant commands us to keep Jehovah’s Sabbaths?

 

For if Jeshua, the son of Nun,15 had given them rest, He would not have spoken about another day after this.  Therefore, it remains for the people of God to keep the Sabbaths.  For whoever enters His rest has himself also rested from his works just as God rested from His own.

Let us therefore be careful to enter into that rest, lest we fall in the manner of those who were not convinced.  For all of the word of God is living and effective, and much sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing and separating the soul and spirit, and the joints and marrow and bones, and judges the thoughts of the conscience and heart.    Hebrews 4:8 to 12

 

The command to keep God’s Sabbath in Hebrews 4:9 completes the restatement of all ten of the Ten Words in the New Covenant (see Mar 12:32, 1Jo 5:21, Mat 23:18-23 & Rom 13:8-10).

 

There is nowhere in Scripture where God transfers the blessings He placed on the seventh-day Sabbath to another day of the week.16  And there is every reason to believe that God spent that first Sabbath in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, teaching them and fellowshipping with them.  Further evidence that the Sabbath was given to man before Mt. Sinai is given in Exodus 16:1-30.  Especially note vs 28: “Jehovah said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions?”, referring to their disregard for God’s Sabbath.  Please read the larger context in Exodus: God asked this question weeks before the covenant was made at Mt Sinai.

 

God gave His Instructions to humanity two and a half thousand years before Mt. Sinai.  Only parts of it have been recorded for us in Scripture until it was renewed at Mt. Sinai along with the Mosaic Covenant (see Gen 4:4-11, 7:1-3, 26:5, Exo 15:26, etc).  Be absolutely clear on this: God first gave His Sabbath to Adam and Eve, and through them to all of humanity.  Before they fell, Adam and Eve rejoiced in keeping the Sabbaths with Jehovah.  Indeed, every week the Sabbath reminds us that Jehovah God is our Creator.  God requires everyone to keep His Sabbath.  Defiling God’s Sabbath is sin.17  Jehovah even says that defiling His Sabbaths actually profanes Him:

 

“The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.

“Her priests have violated My Instructions and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.

“Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy souls, and to get dishonest gain.”    Ezekiel 22:25 to 27

 

Have your ‘prophets, priests and princes’ made these holy things known to you?  If not, they are destroying you.

 

Has anyone tried to use Romans 14:5 and the first half of verse 6 to ‘prove’ that ‘everyday can be a Sabbath’ or ‘all days are the same’ for Christians?  If so, please read all of Romans chapter 14 and understand its real context.  The dispute in Romans was NOT about whether someone should keep the Sabbath holy.  The disputes were about whether a Christian should be a vegetarian and whether they should eat their normal food, a special diet or fast on the Sabbath.  As the Bible does not specify what they should do in regard to these personal dietary issues, Paul simply advises them to each do what they believe to be right in God’s sight and also accept each other’s decision in what is really just an individual choice.  Again: there is no dispute about actually observing the Sabbath as a day of fellowship with God and fellow believers and as a day of rest from our normal work because God clearly requires this.  Not keeping God’s Sabbath is sin; therefore Paul approves of Sabbath-keeping (Romans 6:11-18).

 

Who Gave Us the Instructions and Covenant at Mt Sinai?

There is also every reason to believe that it was actually Jeshua our Messiah who appeared to Moses and gave him the Mt Sinai covenant:

 

Therefore, my brethren, I want you to know that all of our fathers were under the cloud, and all of them passed through the sea, and all of them were immersed by Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all of them, they ate the one food of the Spirit, and all of them, they drank the one drink of the Spirit.

For they drank of that Rock of the Spirit which was with them, and that Rock was the Messiah.18    1 Corinthians 10:1 to 4

 

God had the tablets He engraved with His Ten Words placed inside the ark of the covenant.  This shows the importance of the Ten Words to God and symbolizes the placement of them inside our hearts when we become the living temples of God:

 

“At that time Jehovah said to me, ‘Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain and make yourself an ark of wood.  And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you will put them in the ark.’

So I made an ark of acacia wood, cut two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the mountain, having the two tablets in my hand.

And He wrote on the tablets according to the first writing, the Ten Words, which Jehovah had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and Jehovah gave them to me.

Then I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are, just as Jehovah commanded me.”    Deuteronomy 10:1 to 5

 

Jeshua also makes it clear that God’s Instructions will not come to an end before God’s entire plan of salvation prophesied in the Bible is completed.  This will not be complete until the new Jerusalem comes down to earth after the Last Great Judgement:

 

“Do not think that I have come to remove the Instructions or the Prophets.  I did not come to remove but to fulfil.

“Truly, I say to you, that until heaven and earth pass away, not even one Yod or one stroke will pass from the Instructions until everything has happened.”    Matthew 5:17-18

 

Indeed, every word of God is vital:

 

But you; continue in those things which you have learned and are assured of, for you know from whom you have learned, and that from your childhood you were taught the Holy Scriptures, which can make you wise for salvation in the faith of the Messiah Jeshua.

Every Scripture which is written by the Spirit of God is profitable for teaching, for correction, for direction and for guidance in righteousness, that the man of God may become perfect, for every good work perfects him.    2 Timothy 3:14 to 17

 

So indeed God’s Instructions are good, but what happens if we fail to keep them?

 

What is the Curse of the Instructions?

Some people claim that Galatians 3:13 tells us that God’s Laws (Instructions) are a curse.  That claim shows a complete misunderstanding of God, the Bible and God’s Instructions.  Let us read it in context:

 

For those whose works are from the Instruction are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not do all that is written in the Instructions.”

And that no one is justified by the Instructions before God is revealed in this writing “The just will live by faith.”  Yet the Instructions are not of faith, but “The man who does them will live by them.”

The Anointed has redeemed us from the Instruction’s curse, and He became a curse in our place, for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree”, that the blessing of Abraham will be upon the gentiles in the Anointed Jeshua, and we may receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.    Galatians 3:10 to 14

 

If Galatians 3:13 says that God’s Instructions are a curse it also says that the Messiah is a curse.  Obviously neither of these things are true.  Galatians 3:10, only three verses earlier, refutes these claims.  It clearly shows that the curse is what people bring onto themselves when they disobey God’s Instructions.  The curse of the Instructions is the sentence of punishment for disobedience (See Deu 27:26, Exo 21:12, 21:16, 31:14, etc).  That curseour death for our sinsJeshua took upon Himself and died in our place so we could become righteous in God’s sight.  God’s Instructions themselves are not a curse.  The curse Jeshua took for us was fulfilled when He died, freeing Him from the curse too.19

Another scripture that is incorrectly used to claim that God’s Instructions are actually evil is Colossians 2:14.  However, an accurate translation of this passage actually confirms the paragraph above:

 

And you who have died through your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has given you life with Him, and has forgiven us all of our sins, and He has, by His authority, wiped out the record of our debts that was against us.  And He took it from our midst, and He nailed it to His stake.

And by putting off His body, He stripped the principalities and the powers, and He publicly shamed them by His Existence.

Therefore let no one bother you about food or drink, or in regard to the feasts and the beginnings of months and sabbaths; because these are shadows of things to come, and the body is the Anointed.    Colossians 2:13 to 17

 

Though God wants us to obey His Instructions, He makes it clear that without His spirit living in us, we are not able to put them in our hearts and keep them; thus bringing the curse of sin and death on ourselves.  Only Jeshua the Anointed was able to fully keep God’s Instructions:

 

“Jehovah your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

Also Jehovah your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.  And you will again obey the voice of Jehovah and do all His commandments which I command you today.

Jehovah your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good.  For Jehovah will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, if you obey the voice of Jehovah your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

For this commandment which I command you today, it is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off.  It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’  Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’  But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love Jehovah your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and Jehovah your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.

But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you will surely perish; you will not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess.

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;20 that you may love Jehovah your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days.”    Deuteronomy 30:6 to 20

 

Let’s clarify this message for anyone who still thinks they can earn their own salvation by always keeping all of God’s Instructions.  Jehovah, through Paul, says:

 

“Therefore why are we held to be greater?  Because we have precedence?  We have already determined that the Jews and the Aramaeans are all under sin, just as it is written: “There is not one righteous, not even one; nor one who understands; nor one who seeks God.

All of them have turned aside as one and they have been rejected.  There is not one who does good, not even one.”21    Romans 3:9 to 12

 

Also Romans 3:23 says: ‘...they have all sinned and they were deprived of the glory of God,’

 

So we must admit that we are unable to save ourselves.  None of us have ever managed to keep even the Ten Words faultlessly.  And the penalty for sin is death.  But Jehovah, our wonderful God, can convert our hopeless situation into a victory:

 

“And when this destructible puts on indestructibility, and this mortal, immortality, then these written words will come to pass: “Death is swallowed by victory.”22

Death, where is your sting?  O Sheol, where is your victory? For the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Instructions.

But thank God, who gives us the victory through our Anointed Lord Jeshua.”    1 Corinthians 15:54 to 57

 

Salvation and the New Covenant Through Our Great High Priest

“Therefore, because we have a great High Priest, Jeshua the Messiah, the Son of God, who has ascended into heaven, let us hold fast to His confession.  For He is not a High Priest who cannot suffer with our weaknesses, but was tested in all things like us, yet without sin.

Therefore let us come with open eyes23 to the throne of His grace to receive mercy and we will find grace to help in times of suffering.    Hebrews 4:14 to 16

 

“Therefore, if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood, for under it the Instruction was established for the people, why would another priest need to rise according in the image of Melchizedek?  Nor does it say that he would be in the image of Aaron?

But just as there was a change in the priesthood, there was also a change in the Instructions.  For He about whom these words are spoken was born into another tribe, and no man from it has ever served at the altar.  For it is revealed that our Lord arose from Judah, a tribe of which Moses never spoke anything concerning priesthood.

Therefore it is again apparent that He said in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest who is not according to the Instruction of fleshly commandments, but according to the power of indestructible life.  For He testifies about Him: “You are the priest forever according to the image of Melchizedek.”

For there was a change to the former order because of its impotence and unprofitableness, for the Instruction cannot perfect anything; but it was replaced with a greater hope, through which we approach God.”    Hebrews 7:11 to 19

 

So the Instructions could not make anything perfect: it could only show us what we should do to become perfect.  But we failed, for we were born with the instructions of sin and death within ourselves.  God’s Instructions remained a written code outside of us.  We were not able to always keep God’s perfect Instructions.  We needed to have God’s Instructions come inside us and replace the instructions of sin and death.  But that could only be done through the sacrifice of Jeshua, God’s Son.  To prepare them for the Messiah and to deal with their ongoing sins, God tells us that He added burnt offerings and sacrifices, administered by the Levitical Priesthood, to his covenant at Mt Sinai:

 

“For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices, but this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people, and walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’

Yet they did not obey or incline their ear…”    Jeremiah 7:22 to 24

 

And so Jehovah added to the covenant given to them at Mt. Sinai, including animal sacrifices, temporary laws, ordinances and ceremonies to remind them of their sinful natures and their need for salvation (see the Book of Leviticus).  But the change which truly atoned for our sins, removed our bondage to the instructions of sin and death within us, sanctified us and placed God’s pure Instructions inside us could only come through the death and resurrection of Jeshua:

 

“...He has offered Himself once, sacrificing Himself to destroy sin.

And just as it is appointed for the children of men to die once, and after their deaths the judgement, in this way also the Messiah was offered once, and He sacrificed Himself for the sins of many.  He will appear a second time, without our sins, for the salvation of those who are expecting Him.

For the Instructions have a shadow of the good things to come, but they are not the essence of these matters.  Because of this, though they kept offering these sacrifices every year, they could never perfect those offered them.  For if they were being perfected, certainly they would have ceased their offerings, because their consciences would have ceased buffeting them with their sins if they had been cleansed after one time.

But through their sacrifices they are reminded of their sins every year.  For it is not possible for the blood of oxen and yearling goats to take away sins.

Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “You did not want sacrifices and offerings, but You have clothed Me with a body.  You did not ask for burnt offerings and peace offerings for sin.

Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come; for from the beginning of the Writings it is written of Me; to do Your will, O God.’”

Previously He said, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and peace offerings for sin You did not want, which are offered according to the Instruction, then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.”  In this He eliminates the first that He may establish the second.

For it is His will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jeshua the Messiah this one time.  For every high priest who stood and ministered everyday and offered those sacrifices from ancient times that were never able to cleanse sins.

But He offered one sacrifice for sins forever, then He sat at the right side of God, and there He remains until His enemies are placed as a footstool under His feet.

For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.  And the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; who says, “This is the covenant that I will give them after those days, says Jehovah: I will place My Instructions into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts,” and their evils and their sins; I will not remember them.”

Now where there is forgiveness of sins, an offering for sins is not required.

Therefore, brethren, there is boldness for us to enter the Holy Place by the blood of Jeshua, and the Way of Life, Who renewed us within the veil, which is His flesh.

And there is, for us, a High Priest over the house of God.  Therefore, let us approach with a true heart and confident faith, having our hearts sprinkled and purified from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold tightly to the confession of our hope and let us not waver, for He who promised us is faithful.”    Hebrews 9:26 to 10:23

 

So this is how we have truly been set free.  We are no longer bound by sin and guilt, and through Jeshua we are cleansed and free to come before our great God Jehovah.

 

“and you know that you are the Anointed’s letter, which is served by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of the heart of flesh.

And in this way our trust is through the Anointed to God.

We do not think we are sufficient in ourselves in anything, as our power is from God.  He made us worthy to be servants of the new covenant, not by writing but by the Spirit; for the writing kills, but the Spirit gives life.    2 Corinthians 3:3 to 6

 

Have you grasped what Paul is saying in Second Corinthians?  He is not saying that the Ten Words are abolished.  He is saying that now they are written in our hearts.  No longer are they external words carved into stone that we could not keep, now they are alive at the core of our being.  The Spirit of the living God who now lives in us has brought Jehovah God’s Instructions with Him and enables us to obey them.  This wondrous event was prophesied long ago through Ezekiel:

 

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your idols.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

Then you will dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.

I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses.  I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you.

And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations.

Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations.”    Ezekiel 36:25 to 31

 

The Hebrew passages tell us God’s Instructions will be placed inside us.  Ezekiel is more specific as it identifies God’s statutes and judgements as part of what is to be put into our hearts.24

The new spirit in us is one of unity, both with God and each other:

 

And you were called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision, which is a work of the hands in the flesh; and you were existing at that time without the Messiah, and you were aliens from the government of Israel and strangers to the covenant of promise, and you were without God and without hope in the world.

But now in Messiah Jeshua you who once were far off, you have been made near by the blood of the Messiah.  For He is our peace, He who made the two into one, and He has destroyed the fence that stood in our midst, by His flesh and through His commandments He has cancelled the laws of commands25 and the hatred, so He could create in His Person one new man from the two, and He made peace, and He reconciled the two to God in one body, and through His impalement has killed the hatred.

And He came and preached the news of peace to you who were far off and to those who were near.  Because through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Therefore, you are neither strangers nor guests, but children of the Holy One’s city and children of God’s household, and you are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jeshua the Messiah Himself being the chief cornerstone of the building, and by Him the entire building is constructed, and grows into a holy Booth in Lord Jah, and you also are being built by Him for the dwelling of God in the Spirit.    Ephesians 2:11 to 22

 

In this Ephesians passage, note that it is the decrees of the Mt Sinai covenant that have been inactivated by the Messiah’s death as He was one of the covenanters.  It is essential to understand the difference between God’s Instruction and the covenants.  God’s Instruction can be compared to the laws of the government of a country.  These laws underlie all legal contracts, as an agreement that breaks the law of that country cannot be enforced.  A covenant is a legal contract that is made between citizens of that country or even between citizens and the government and is binding until the death of the covenanters.  Though it is a legal contract, it is not the law.  When God spoke His Ten Words at Mt Sinai, He was making sure they knew the framework of His Instructions underlying the covenant He was about to make with them.  The reality is that God’s Instructions underlies every covenant that He makes, including the New Covenant.  Bringing the Sinai covenant to an end does not remove even a single letter from God’s Instruction, just as Jeshua said.

 

The decrees of separation were part of the covenant put in place at Mt. Sinai to help protect the Israelites from corruption through the idolatrous nations surrounding them (Lev 20:22 to 24).  Now that the Gentiles are also being saved through Jeshua, that separation is no longer needed though the decrees remain in God’s Word as an ongoing warning of the dangers of idolatry.  Also note that the covenants of promise are still in effect, such as God’s covenants with Noah, Abraham and David.  They continue because they were made with the Father, who never died.

 

Justification is Through the Messiah Alone

Justification is being cleansed of all sins and then being placed in a righteous relationship with God.  God makes it clear that justification is only possible through the Stake of Christ:

 

But we know that all the things the Instruction say, they say to those who are in the Instructions, that every mouth may be shut, and the entire universe may be guilty before God.  Because by the works of the Instructions no flesh will be justified before Him, for through the Instructions sin is made known.

But now the righteousness of God is revealed apart from the Instructions, and the Instructions and the Prophets are testifying to this, for the righteousness of God is through the faith of Jeshua the Anointed to everyone and upon everyone who  believes in Him.  For there is no difference, because they have all sinned and they were deprived of the glory of God, but they are justified freely by grace and the redemption which exists in the Anointed Jeshua.

God chose this One beforehand as the atonement through faith in His blood, because of our sins which we have already sinned,26 to display His righteousness at the present time, for He is being just and is the justifier of the one who has the faith of our Lord Jeshua the Anointed.

Therefore, where is the boasting?  It is eliminated by Him.  By what Instructions?  Of works?  No, but through the Instructions of Faith.

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith and not by the works of the Instructions.    Romans 3:19 to 28

 

For He who had not known sin made Himself as sin in your place, that through Him we would become the righteousness of God.    2 Corinthians 5:21

 

“let this be known to you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jeshua the Anointed of Nazareth, He who you impaled, and He who God raised from the dead; behold, by this same One this man stands before you whole.

“This is the ‘stone which you builders rejected, and He has become the chief cornerstone.’27

“Nor is there salvation in any other man, for there is no other name under heaven which is given to men by which we can receive life.”    Acts 4:10 to 12

 

So, no one but Jeshua the Messiah can save us from our sins.  We could not save ourselves by keeping God’s Instructions.   Nor could we ever earn forgiveness for our sins by our own actions.  But does that mean that now that we are in the Anointed we no longer need to keep God’s Instructions?  What does God’s word say about that?  The Bible warns us that this direction leads to lawlessness, which leads to the second death in the Lake of Fire.  Do you remember these words of Jeshua?

 

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘My Lord, My Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven.

“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘My Lord, My Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name?  And we have cast out demons in Your name, and we have performed many miracles in Your name.’

“And then I will declare to them, ‘I have not known you from the beginning of time; remove yourselves far from Me, you workers of evil!’28    Matthew 7:21 to 23

 

It is likely that these people did do these works, but their rejection of God’s Instructions and their consequent disobedience have disqualified them from the reward they had expected.  The works sound like those of the modern Pentecostal movement.  Sadly, many of these ‘Pentecostals’ even refuse to keep God’s annual Holy Day of Pentecost because they have been taught the lie that God’s Instructions are a curse from which they have been set free.  Yet they are happy to keep pagan ‘holydays’ like Easter and Christmas which God condemns: Eastre is the pagan Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility: Easter is a corruption of God’s Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread.  Easter actually denies that Jeshua kept the sign that He said would prove that He is our risen Saviour.29  Christmas Day is just the pagan ‘Day of the Invincible Sun’ with a little bit of whitewash on it:  Jeshua was born in the autumn, not on Christmas day.30  All of this nonsense is lawlessness and spiritual adultery.

 

God has More to Say about Lawlessness

There are many who claim that God’s Laws are a burden and reject them.  This is what God says to those who thus condemn His words:

 

“But since you say, ‘The burden of Jehovah!’ therefore thus says Jehovah: . . . ‘Therefore behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you and forsake you . . . and will cast you out of My presence.    Jeremiah 23:38&39

 

The coming of that one is in the workings of Satan, with all power, signs, and false wonders, and with all the evil errors in those who are perishing, for they did not receive the love of the truth, that they would have life.

Because of this God sent them active deceptions, that they would believe lies.  They will all be judged; those who did not believe the truth but chose evil.

But we owe thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by our Lord, for God from the beginning has chosen you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and by belief in the truth, to which He called you by our Good News, that you may glorify our Anointed Lord Jeshua.

Therefore, my brethren, be established and hold fast to the commandments which you were taught, whether by word or our letter.

Now He, our Lord Jeshua the Messiah, and God our Father, who have loved us and given us everlasting comfort and good hope by His grace, may He comfort and establish your hearts in all words and every good work.

From now on, brethren, pray for us, that the word of our Lord will be running and be glorified in every place, as it is with you, and that we will be saved from evil and vicious men; for not every person is of the faith.  For Lord Jah is faithful; He will keep you and will deliver you from evil.

And we put our trust in you in our Lord, that whatever we command you, you have done and you will also do.  And our Lord will guide your hearts into the love of God and into preaching the Anointed.

But we command you, my brethren, in the name of our Anointed Lord Jeshua, that you keep separate from every brother who walks in evil and wickedness and not according to the commandments which they received from us.  For you know yourselves that it is right to imitate us, for we have not walked in evil and wickedness among you…    2 Thessalonians 2:9 to 3:7

 

We hope and pray that many of these people will awaken from their deception, repent and not be condemned.  Then they can rejoice in the truth of the Messiah and the purity of His Spirit and love.

 

By the way, over the last two thousand years there has always been a small remnant of the Messiah’s followers who have kept the traditions taught by the Apostles, which include rejoicing in God’s weekly and annual Sabbaths, outlined in Leviticus 23.

 

What Does Jeshua Want with Us?

He wants to engrave His Instructions in our hearts:

 

But now Jeshua the Messiah has received a better service than that, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was given with better promises than that.  For if the first one had been faultless, then there would have been no place for this second one.

Because He found fault with them, He said: “Behold, the days are coming,” says Jehovah, “when I will perfect for the family of the house of Israel and for the family of the house of Judah a new covenant; not like the covenant that I gave to their fathers in the day when I took their hands and I brought them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I also rejected them,” says Jehovah.

For this is the covenant that I will give to the family of the house of Israel: After those days,” says Jehovah, “I will put My Instructions in their minds and write them upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.  No man will teach another citizen of his city not his brother, saying, ‘Know Jehovah,’ for all will know Me, from their little ones to their elders.  For I will make atonement for their unrighteousness, and their sins I will not remember again.”

In that He says, “New,” He has made the first old.  And that which is old and growing obsolete is approaching demolition.    Hebrews 8:6 to 13 (also read Jer 31:33-34)

 

This is the second time in Hebrews that we are told that God is putting His Instructions into our hearts.  Can you remember that in Deuteronomy 11:18 (quoted on page 7) God told us to put His instructions in our hearts?  We were not able to do so.  Only Jeshua the Messiah achieved this.  Now God’s Spirit has done for us what we could never do ourselves.  This is another aspect of being under grace.

 

As we have seen above, what is being demolished includes the burden of animal sacrifices and the rituals for the Levitical priesthood which were included in God’s covenant at Mt Sinai due to ongoing sin.  Indeed, shortly after the book of Hebrews was written the Temple at Jerusalem was destroyed and the entire Levitical/animal sacrifice system collapsed with it.  There is no longer any sacrifice for sin apart from the Messiah’s.31

 

Only the Sacrifice of Jeshua can free us from the enormous burden of sin that we created for ourselves when we repeatedly broke God’s Law while we were without God’s Spirit and without Jeshua.  These are the things that Paul warns those who want to be physically circumcised about, as being circumcised symbolically commits them to keeping everything that was given at Sinai:

 

Therefore stand in the liberty by which the Anointed has made us free, and do not be bound again in a yoke of slavery.

Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, the Anointed will not profit you at all.  And I testify again to every man who is circumcised that he is obligated to observe the whole Instruction.

You have become estranged from the Anointed, you who are justified by the Instruction and you have fallen from grace.

For we through the Spirit, Who is from the faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness.  For in Messiah Jeshua neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is important, but faith which is perfected in love.    Galatians 5:1 to 6

 

In Titus we are again reminded that we are saved by God’s grace and we cannoteverbe justified by works of law:

 

For the grace of God has been revealed, that gives life to all the children of men, and it leads us to reject the wickedness and lusts of the world, and to live in this world in should live in purity and righteousness and in the worship of God, while we look for the blessed hope and glorious revelation of the Great God and of our Lifegiver Jeshua the Anointed, who gave Himself for us, to redeem us from all evil and purify for Himself a new people, zealous for good works.

Speak these things, seek and rebuke with all authority.  Let no one despise you.  Tell them to obey and submit to rulers and authorities, and to be ready for every good work.  They will not insult anyone, nor be contentious.  But they will be gentle, and show their kindness in all things to all the children of men.

For we ourselves were also once foolish and without conviction. We were deceived, and servants to varying lusts and wickedness and envy.  We were busy being despicable and even hating one another.

But when the kindness and the caring love of God our Saviour was revealed, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His own love He gave us Life, through the washing of the birth that is from above and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, the One whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jeshua the Anointed our Saviour, that by His grace we are being justified and we will become heirs according to the hope of everlasting life.

This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm to them constantly, especially concerning the cultivation of good works in those who have believed in God.  These things are good and beneficial to the children of men.    Titus 2:11 to 3:8

 

God again reminds us that He loves righteousness and hates lawlessness:

 

But about the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom.  You have loved righteousness and You have hated evil.  Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”32    Hebrews 1:8 to 9

 

God Still Wants Us to Keep His Instructions

This is the Good News which we have heard from Him and we declare to you, that God is light and there is not any darkness in Him at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and we walk in darkness, we lie and we do not understand the truth.  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of His Son Jeshua cleanses us from all of our sins.

If we say that we have no sin in us, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and He will cleanse us from all our evil.  And if we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Children, I write these things to you, that you will not sin.  And if anyone sins, we have the Redeemer of the cursed with the Father, Jeshua the righteous Messiah.  For He is in Himself the Atonement because of our sins, and not in our place only but also in place of the whole world.

Now by this we can tell that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.  For he who says, “I know Him.” and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is completed in them.  By this we know that we are in Him.

He who says “I am in Him.”, it is necessary for him to walk just like He walks.    1 John 1:5 to 2:6

 

And how did Jeshua walk?  He loved His Father and His commandments, as we read earlier:

 

“Do not think that I have come to remove the Instructions or the Prophets.  I did not come to remove but to fulfill.  Truly, I say to you, that until heaven and earth pass away, not even one Yod or one stroke will pass from the Instructions until everything has happened.33

“Therefore everyone who removes even the smallest of these commandments, and teaches this to the children of men, will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven.  But everyone who will do and will teach them, that one will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness becomes greater than that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.    Matthew 5:17 to 20

 

Jeshua then makes these statements which clarify what he means by greater righteousness:

 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You will not commit adultery.’34  But I say to you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has immediately committed adultery in his heart.  And if your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is better for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.35

“And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is better for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.

“It has been said that he who puts away his wife will give her a certificate of divorce.’  But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife apart from a case of fornication makes her commit adultery; and whoever takes a divorced woman commits adultery.

“Again you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘You will not lie in an oath, but you will complete your oaths to Jehovah.’36  But I say to you, you should not swear oaths at all: not by heaven, for it is God’s throne;  and not by the earth, for it is the footstool beneath His feet; and not by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

“And you should not swear by your head, because you cannot make one part of a hair white or black.  But your word should be ‘Yes’ for ‘Yes,’ and ‘No,’for ‘No.’  Anything that is more than these is evil.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’37  But I say to you that you should not stand against evil.  And whoever hits you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

“And he that wants to take you to court and take away your coat, let him have your cloak also.  He who compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  He who asks you, give to him, and he who wants to borrow from you, do not deny him.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You will love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’38  But I say to you, love your enemies and bless those who curse you.  Do what is good to those who hate you, and pray for those who take you by force and persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.  He makes His sun rise on the good and on the evil, and causes His rain to fall on the just and the unjust.

“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?  Do not even the publicans do this?  And if you only greet your brethren in peace, what more are you doing?  Do not even the publicans do this?

“Therefore you should be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”    Matthew 5:27 to 48

 

This theme is continued in 2 Peter 1:4 to 11, where Peter confirms that we are to be partakers of the divine nature:

 

Who gave great and precious promises to you, that through these you will be partakers of the divine nature, when you flee from the corrupt desires that are in the world.

But there is also this; when you diligently do all, add onto your faith virtue, onto virtue knowledge, onto knowledge perseverance, onto perseverance patience, onto patience reverence for God, onto reverence for God concern for the brethren, and onto concern for the brethren love.

For when you are found with these things and abound, they will not be empty nor unfruitful, for they establish you in the teachings of our Anointed Lord Jeshua.  For he who is found without these things is blind, because he does not see that he has forgotten the purification of his former sins.

Therefore, my brothers, be even more diligent, for by your good deeds you make your calling and your selection sure, for when you are doing these things you will never fall; for in this way an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and our Saviour Jeshua the Anointed will be given to you.

 

How great is Jehovah’s Grace! Can you see that Jeshua wants more from us than the Old Covenants ever required, not less?  He adds a whole new spiritual dimension to His Instructions, requiring us to operate at a purer level of love than someone without God’s Spirit dwelling within them could ever achieve.  The examples Jeshua use go beyond just the Ten Words.  And all of them are founded on love for our God and love for our neighbour.39

 

But we must be very careful of two things:

 

Never, Ever Think That We are Earning our Justification

First: We cannot earn our justification with God by keeping His Laws (review Gal 5:4, Titus 3:5-7 both quoted above).  Even if we now began to keep them perfectly, we would not be able to undo our previous sins.  We are only, and can only ever be, saved by the Sacrifice of the Anointed as our Passover and by being washed in His blood.  Our new ability to keep God’s Instructions after being cleansed by Jeshua is in fact totally a gift from God and has nothing to do with any supposedly wondrous nature within ourselves:

 

Therefore, Beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only when I am near to you, but all the more now when I am far away; in fear and in trembling, serve your Saviour,  for it is God who carefully works in you both to will and also to do what you desire to do.

Do everything you do without murmuring and without disputing, that you may become perfect and without blemish, as the purified children of God who dwell in a harsh and crooked generation, and appear among them as lights in the world, for you are to them in the place of life, so that my boast in the day of the Anointed is that I have not run for nothing nor have I laboured worthlessly.    Philippians 2:12 to 16

 

Love God, Love Your Neighbour

Second: God requires us to keep His eternal Instructions, not the entire Sinai covenant, which had extra laws added for governing the nation of Israel.  His Instructions are summarised in the two great commands: Love God, Love Your Neighbour.  They are expanded in the Ten Words.  The Sabbath commandment is also expanded to include His annual Sabbaths as enumerated in Leviticus 23.  These Holy Days are sacred to God as they reveal His full Plan of Salvation for us first and then for all the earth (ie: they are a shadow of the things to come).  Honouring what is sacred to God shows our love for Him.  We are not to get caught up with the temporary rules made in the covenant at Mt Sinai such as the earthly temple, the Levitical priesthood, and the many animal sacrifices for sin (Review Heb 9:27 to 10:18 quoted above).

In this context, it is wise to examine this passage from Acts where Jacob (James) outlines what God requires from the Gentile converts to the Messiah:

 

“The works of God are known from eternity.  Therefore I say that you should not oppress those from the gentiles who are turning to God, but we will send word to them that they should abstain from unclean sacrifices, from fornication, from things that were strangled, and from blood.

“For Moses has had since the ancient generations those who preach him in every city, being read to the congregations on every Sabbath.”    Acts 15:18 to 21

 

Some people claim that this is all that modern Christians are required to do.  Note that none of the four things that Jacob (James) lists are the Ten Words, though all four are in God’s Instructions.40  Even the reference to ‘abstain from unclean sacrifices’ is telling them to not eat food, etc which has been offered to idols first (see 1 Cor 8:1-13).  Does this short list mean that it is now acceptable for the gentile Christians to have other gods, to abuse God’s Name, to dishonour their parents, to steal, to murder and to defile the Sabbath?  Of course not.  The apostles did not tell them to keep the Ten Words at this time because everyone already knew and agreed that all Christians were to keep all of the Ten Words.  That was not being disputed.  Jacob even expected the gentiles to join the congregation every Sabbath to learn more about God’s Instructions and His way of life.

 

These four things were just a few additional items that God revealed to them as essential for all Christians to avoid.  Three of them relate to food (for example, Christians are not to eat black sausages, as they are made from blood, nor eat things strangled because they still have their blood in them41).  These food restrictions are also referred to in Colossians 2:16 (see page 14 to get the context correctly translated).  But as stated above, no requirement was placed on the gentile Christians to observe the entire covenant given at Mt. Sinai.

 

Why Would We Keep God’s Instructions if Doing so Isn’t Earning our Salvation?

“because they have all sinned and they were deprived of the glory of God, but they are justified freely by grace and the redemption which exists in the Anointed Jeshua.

God chose this One beforehand as the atonement through faith in His blood, because of our sins which we have already sinned, to display His righteousness at the present time, for He is being just and the justifier of the one who has the faith of our Lord Jeshua the Anointed.

Therefore, where is the boasting?  It is eliminated by Him.  By what Instruction?  Of works?  No, but through the Instruction of Faith.

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith and not by works of Instruction.

Or is He the God of the Jews only and not of the gentiles?  Yes, of the gentiles also, since there is one God who justifies the circumcised by faith and also the uncircumcised by faith.

Therefore, are we eliminating the Instructions by faith?  Certainly not!  Instead, we are establishing the Instructions.”    Romans 3:23 to 31

 

Therefore, what will we say?  Are the Instructions sin?  Certainly not!  For I would not have recognised sin except through the Instructions.  For I would not have known lust if it were not for the Instructions which said, “You will not lust.”  But through this commandment, sin found for itself occasions to develop in me every lust.  For without the Instructions, sin was dead.

At the beginning, I was alive without the Instructions, but when the commandment came, sin lived and I died.  And I found that the commandment of life was death for me.  For sin, finding occasions for itself by the commandment, seduced me, and with it killed me.

Therefore the Instruction is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good.  And so, has the good become death to me?  Certainly not!  But sin, now that it appeared as sin through what is good, was perfecting death in me, so that all the more sin would be condemned through the commandment.

For we know that the Instruction is from the Spirit, but I am of the flesh, and I am sold to sin.    Romans 7:7 to 14

 

Behold how greatly the love of the Father abounds to us, that He has called us and He has made us His children!  Because of this, the world does not know us, because it does not know Him either.

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we are going to be, but we know that when He is revealed, we will be like Him, and we will see Him as He is.

And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.  But whoever sins commits evil, for sin is entirely evil.  And you know that He was revealed to take away our sins, and there is no sin in Him.

And everyone who remains in Him does not sin.  Everyone who sins has not seen Him nor have they known Him.

Children, let no one deceive you.  He who does righteousness is righteous, just as He, the Messiah, is righteous.    1 John 3:1 to 7

 

“Therefore everyone who removes even the smallest of these commandments, and teaches this to the children of men, will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven.  But everyone who will do and will teach them, that one will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.”    Matthew 5:19

 

Therefore put away from you all abominations and the multitude of evils, and accept in humility the word which is planted in our nature, which is able to save your souls.  But be a doer of the word, and not a hearer only, and do not deceive yourselves.

For if a person is a hearer of the word and not its doer, this one is like a man who sees his face in a mirror; for he sees himself and goes away and forgets how he was.

But everyone who gazes into the perfect Instruction of Liberty and continues in it is not a hearer who has forgotten what he heard, but a doer of the works, and this one will be blessed in his work.    Jacob (James) 1:21 to 25

 

God Will Bless Us

Did you grasp that?  Jeshua and Jacob say that God will bless us if we study and keep his Instructions.  God wants us to know His Word and to act upon it.  We are also to do other works of obedience to God which are not necessarily in the Instructions.  As an example, perhaps God reveals something to us about our neighbour and asks us to speak to him about it.  Jacob uses the example of Abraham and Isaac:

 

But are you willing to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

Was not our father Abraham justified by works when he placed his son Isaac on the altar?  Do you see that his faith supported his works, and by works his faith was perfected?  And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed Jehovah, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”42  “And he was called the friend of God.”43
You see that a son of man is justified by works, and not by faith only.  Likewise, was not Rachab the harlot also made righteous by works when she received the scouts and sent them out another way?44

Just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.    Jacob (James) 2:20 to 26

 

So, we obey because God wants us to become sinless like He is.  The more we obey Him, the closer we come to Him.  The more we become like Him, the more intimate our relationship with Him becomes.

 

But mostly we obey because we love God, our great ruler, lawgiver, father and saviour:

 

“If you love Me, keep My commandments, and I will ask My Father, and He will give you another Redeemer,45 who will be with you forever.  He is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it has not seen Him nor does it know Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and He will be in you.

“I will not leave you as orphans; for I will come to you in a little while.  And the world will not see Me, but you will see Me.  Because I live, you will live also.

In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.

“He who has My commandments with him 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 reveal Myself to him.”    John 14:15 to 21

 

Please re-read verses 15 and 16: We are required to begin keeping Jeshua’s commandments before our Father will give us the Holy Spirit.  And if we refuse to continue keeping the Messiah’s commandments, it is obvious that the Holy Spirit will be taken back from us (see Heb 10:26-31, 2 Tim 2:12 and 2 Pet 2:17-22).

Loving Jeshua and keeping His commandments mark us as being God’s Children, filling us with the joy of the Anointed and helping us to hold fast to the end:

 

“Just as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; remain in My love.  If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.  These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be perfect.

“This is My commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you.”    John 15:9 to 12

 

Nevertheless the foundation of God stands firm, that has this seal to it: “Jehovah knows those who are His,”46 and, “Let everyone who names the Name of Jehovah stay separate from iniquity.”47    2 Timothy 2:19

 

And the dragon was enraged against the woman, and it went to make war with the remnant of her seed, those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jeshua.    Revelation 12:17

 

Here is the patience of the saints; those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jeshua.    Revelation 14:12

 

Blessed are those doing His commandments; they will have access to the trees of life, and they will enter the city through the gates.48    Revelation 22:14

 

Jeshua has freed us from the body of sin.  But what are these trees, and what is the city we will enter?  What is Jehovah Promising to us?

 

And I saw the new heavens and a new earth, for the former heavens and the former earth had departed and there was no sea anymore.

I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from Heaven, from beside God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice from heaven that said, “Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with the children of men, and He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and this same God will be with them and be their God.

And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will be no death from now on, nor grieving, nor trauma, nor will there be diseases again, for His sake.”

Then I walked and He who sat on the throne said to me, “Behold, I make all things new.”  And He said to me, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”

And He said to me, “It is done!  I am the Alap and the Tau, the Origin and the Fulfilment.  I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to the one who thirsts.

“And he who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son…

And he carried me in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending from heaven, from the presence of God.

And it had the glory of God.  And its light was like precious stones, like jasper, as clear as crystal.    Revelation 21:1 to 7 & 10 to 11

 

And he showed me the river of the water of life, as pure and clear as crystal, coming out from the throne of God and of the Lamb.  In the centre of the street, and on this and that side of the river, were the trees of life, which bear twelve fruits, each giving its fruit every month.  And their leaves are for the healing of the nations.

And there will not be any curse, and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will serve Him.  They will see His face, and His Name will be between their eyes.

And there will be no night there: They will not need lights or lamps or the light of the sun, for Lord Jah, our God, gives them light and will be their King forever and ever.    Revelation 22:1-5

 

There can be no greater blessings than these!  Now that we are truly free we can love God, obey His Instructions and rejoice in His Love:

 

For I rejoice in the Instructions of God in the inner man.

But I saw another instruction in my members that makes war against the Instructions of my conscience, and brings me into captivity to the instruction of sin which is in my members.  I am a wretched son of man!  Who will deliver me from this body of death?

I thank God through our Lord Jeshua the Messiah!  So now, I, in my conscience, am a servant of God’s Instructions, but in my flesh I am a servant of sin’s instructions.

Therefore there is no condemnation to those who are not walking in the flesh in the Anointed Jeshua.  For the Instruction of the Spirit of Life in the Messiah Jeshua has freed you from the instructions of sin and of death.

For the Instructions were weak because of the infirmity of the flesh.  God sent His Son in the form of sinful flesh, because of sin, to condemn sin in His flesh, that the righteousness of the Instructions would be fulfilled in us, that we would not walk in the flesh but in the Spirit.

For those who are in the flesh are governed by that flesh and those who are of the Spirit are governed by that Spirit.  For the mind of the flesh is death, and the mind of the Spirit is life and peace.  Because the mind of the flesh is enmity towards God; for it is not subject to the Instruction of God, for that is impossible.  And those who live in the flesh are not able to please God.

But though you were in the flesh, now you are in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God truly dwells in you.  But if anyone does not have the Spirit of the Anointed in him, this one does not belong to Him.  And if the Anointed is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is alive because of righteousness.

But if the Spirit of Him who raised our Anointed Lord Jeshua from the house of the dead dwells in you, He who raised Jeshua the Messiah from the house of the dead, He will also give life to your dead bodies because of His Spirit who dwells in you.

Therefore, my brethren, we are not debtors to the flesh, that we should walk in the flesh.  For if you live in the flesh you are going to die; but if in the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you are living.  For those who are led by the Spirit of God, these are the children of God.

For you have not received the spirit of bondage to fear again, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as children, by whom we cry out, “Aba, our Father.”  And that Spirit testifies to our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, also heirs.  Heirs of God and children inheriting with Jeshua the Anointed, for if we suffer with Him, we will also be glorified with Him.

For I conclude that the sufferings of this present time are not comparable to the glory which will be revealed in us.  For the entire creation hopes for and expects the revelation of the children of God.  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because that creation will also be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.    Romans 7:22 to 8:21

 

Rejoice at all times, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Messiah Jeshua for you.

Do not quench the Spirit.  Do not reject prophecies.

Examine everything and hold fast what is excellent.

Flee from every form of evil.    1 Thessalonians 5:16 to 22

 

Rejoice in our Lord always.  And again I say, rejoice!

Let your humility be known to everyone.  Our Lord is near.

Do not be concerned, but always be in prayer and in supplication, and let your requests be made known to God with thanksgiving; and God, Who is greater than all minds, will guard your hearts and your minds with His peace through the Anointed Jeshua.

Therefore, my brethren, those things that are true, those things that are pious, those things that are righteous, those things that are pure, those things that are loved, those things that are praiseworthy and those that are works of glory or of praise; meditate on these things.

These things which you learned and received and heard and saw from me, do these, and the God of Peace will be with you.    Philippians 4:4 to 9

 

The Attributes of God

God’s Heart

God Is:

God’s Instructions

Romans 3:26

Just

Romans 7:12

John 3:33

True

Nehemiah 9:13

I John 3:3

Pure

Psalm 19:7,8

I John 1:5

Light

Prov 6:23

I Cor 1:9

Faithful

Psalm 119:86

Nahum 1:7

Good

Romans 7:12,16

I Cor 10:1-4

Spiritual

Romans 7:14

Isaiah 6:3,

I Peter 1:15

Holy

Romans 7:12

John 14:6

Truth

Psalm 119:142,151

John 14:4-6

Life

John 12:50, Mat 19:17

Jeremiah 23:6

Righteousness

Psalm 119:172

Matthew 5:48

Perfect

Psalm 19:7, Jacob 1:25

Rev 17:14

Royal

Jacob 2:8

Isaiah 58:14,

Psalm 40:8

Delight

Romans 7:22,

Psalm 119:143

Hebrews 13:8

Forever

Psalm 111:7,8

John 8:36

Freedom

Jacob 1:25

God’s Instructions Come from His Heart

 

 

Some Other Resources Available from https://chcpublications.net/

Publications

The Holy Bible - CHCoG Version - This translation from the original Hebrew and Aramaic is accurate and readable, giving you a clear understanding of how the New and Old Covenants are interlocked and God’s message to you.

Everlasting Life is God’s Gift - Does the Bible teach that you have everlasting life?  If not, how can you receive God’s gift of immortality as His child?

Books of Moses - Fact or Fiction Series - Are the miracles recorded in Genesis and Exodus our true history?  Do the facts support Special Creation or the Big Bang & Evolution scenarios?  What about the Flood, Babel and the Exodus?

What is God’s Name? - How can we know what God’s Name is and how to Pronounce it?  Does the Bible teach us to use God’s Name?

The Ten Commandments - What are God’s Ten Commandments? How do they guide us in our relationships with God, our family and our neighbours?  Shows how obedience to Jehovah’s Instructions would result in true civilization.

God’s Calendar and the Sign of Jonah - Shows how God’s Calendar reveals that Jeshua truly kept the Sign of Jonah, His ultimate proof that He is the Messiah.

The Sabbath in Scripture - Has God’s Seventh-day Sabbath been ‘done away with’?  What does the Sabbath mean, and does God want us to keep it?

Sex, God and Families - Pamphlet exposing the dangers of sexual immorality and outlining the benefits of following God’s sexual principles.

Eastern Meditation and Jeshua the Messiah - Recounts the experiences of a CHCoG member who became a Christian while practising Eastern Meditation.

Animals in the Bible- What does the Bible teach?  Does God love His animals, and how should we treat them? Are they intelligent, relational beings?

Spirit, Soul and Body - Take a deeper look at the Bible’s teachings about the composition of human beings and the roles of our soul and spirit.

Radiocarbon Dating - Shows how changes in radioactive carbon levels can drastically alter radiocarbon dates.  Not heavily technical.

Earth: Flat or Spherical, Stationary or Moving? - What do the Bible and Science reveal about these topics?  Take a deeper look at our home.

Jeshua the Messiah: Is He the Son of God or Part of a Trinity? - Explores the relationships between God the Father, our Lord Jeshua, the Holy Spirit and us.

Rome’s Challenge: Why do Protestants Keep Sunday? - This Roman Catholic article proves there is no scriptural basis for changing the seventh-day Sabbath to Sunday, and shows that the Roman Catholic church made the change.

Software

Calculated Biblical Calendar - Calculates dates of Annual Holy Days, Crucifixion, Flood, Creation: allows you to test the new moon visibility locally.

Radiocarbon Dating - Calculates the effects that changes in the geomagnetic field and radiocarbon/carbon ratios, etc, on radioactive dating.

Free Library

We have a large range of Christian and Creationist literature, CDs and DVDs that are available for borrowing within Australia.  Please contact us for our list.

 

 

Endnotes

 

1 Jeshua is the Aramaic name of God’s Son (יֵשֻׁוּע), and means “Jehovah Saves”.  Jesus is the English translation of the Greek translation of Jeshua (Ἰησοῦς).

2 Taken to its final extreme, lawlessness rejects any semblance of Christian faith as well as rejecting God’s Law.

3 Isaiah 29:13

4 The ‘orthodox churches’ such as Roman Catholicism, Greek, Russian, etc have likewise corrupted Christianity, ignoring large segments of God’s Word so they can replace it with their own traditions and ceremonies, often derived from pagan religions.  Most Protestant churches have retained many of these pagan festivals and beliefs.

5 See also Acts 14:8 to 18 for a New Covenant rejection of paganism.

6 Instructions is the translation of the Hebrew word Torah תּוֹרַת, which includes all that God teaches us, including His Laws.

7 See the Attributes of God Table at the end of this document for confirmation.

8 Indeed, the fear of Jehovah is to hate evil! (Pro 8:13)

9 As in Deu 6:5 and 10:12

10 From Lev 19:18

11 Luke 4:8

12 Deu 5:16, Mat 15:4, Mark 7:10

13 Mat 19:18-19, Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20

14 Rom 13:9

15 This is of course Jehoshua, Moses’ protege.  Jayshua (Hebrew) and Jeshua (Aramaic) are shortened versions of his name.

16 The supposed transfer of the Sabbath to the first day of the week was made by the Roman Catholic “church”, and has no Biblical support.  RC Cardinal Gibbons makes this crystal clear in “Rome’s Challenge”, available on our website.  This article confirms that they are the ‘different’ power of Dan 7:23 to 25 who try to change God’s times (weekly and annual Sabbaths) and law.

17 A detailed study of God’s Sabbath (The Sabbath in Scripture) and how it applies to Christians is available at https://chcpublications.net/.  There are also articles which explain why the Sabbaths begin in Israel and move eastward around the world from there.  This results in the seventh-day Sabbath in countries such as Australia and China beginning at dusk Saturday evening rather than dusk Friday as in Israel, Europe, Africa and the Americas.

18 Exodus chapters 13 to 17

19 The twisted ‘understanding’ of this passage is one of the things Peter warned us about: “Therefore, beloved, as you expect these things, take care to be without spot and without defect, and you will be found by Him in peace; and the patience of the Spirit of our Lord Jah is salvation, as you should also consider our beloved brother Paul.  According to the wisdom given to him, he wrote to you, and as in all of his letters, he spoke in them of these things.  There are things in them which are difficult to understand, and those who are untaught and unstable pervert them, as they also do to the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction..”  2 Peter 3:14 to 16

20 Legally, the Mt Sinai covenant was literally a ministry of death for those that disobeyed it, as it included the death penalty for some sins that were to be administered by the government and citizens of the nation of Israel (Lev 20:2).  But as Christians, we are now ambassadors of Christ, not truly citizens of any earthly nation, and thus we are not to administer such death penalties.  Instead, we offer reconciliation with God, and thus freedom and life (2 Cor 5:17 to 6:2).

21 Psa 14:1-3

22 Isaiah 25:8

23 This may be an Aramaic idiom meaning boldly.

24 This corresponds with the “ink” of 2Co 3:3 on the previous page.

25 The laws of command that Jeshua cancelled were the laws and rules created by the Pharisees, which erected a fence between the Jews and the Gentiles.  He did not cancel the Laws and Instructions of Jehovah God (see Mat 5:17-19).

26 The Greek manuscripts suggest in this verse that God tolerated our sin in the past.  The Peshitta makes it clear that God does not ever tolerate any sin, and Jeshua had to atone for ALL of our sins.

27 Psa 118:22

28 Gen 1:1, Psa 6:8

29 This is the Sign of Jonah (Mat 12:38-42).  God’s calendar reveals that Jesus died on a Wednesday, was put into the tomb that evening and rose at the end of the Sabbath on Saturday evening, exactly fulfilling this sign. This is explained in God’s Calendar and the Sign of Jonah, also at www.chcpublications.net.

30 More detail on this is in our  Holy Days for Christians article and The Two Babylons book, both on our website.

31 However, as Ezekiel chapters 40 to 47 show, when the new temple is built at the start of the Millennium, there will again be sacrifices for burnt and peace offerings, as well as symbolic trespass and sin offerings (Eze 46:20).

32 Psa 45:6-7

33 As in Jer 33:20-21. The Yod is the smallest Hebrew letter.  A stroke (Taag) is even smaller.  The Book of Revelation shows that not ‘everything’ has happened yet, so God’s Instructions (Laws) are still in force.

34 Exodus 20:14

35 This is figurative.  It is not your eye that causes you to lust, but corruption in your soul and spirit.  Jeshua means that you must learn to eradicate your lust.

36 As in Num 30:2, Deut 23:21

37 Exodus 21:24

38 This must have been a common saying then, but is not from Scripture.

39 God really wants a deeper level of love for our neighbours.  We are not to sit back and allow them to drift off into destruction without warning them.  God says: “You will not hate your brother in your heart.  You will surely rebuke your neighbour, and not bear sin because of him.  You will not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you will love your neighbour as yourself.  I am Jehovah.” (Lev 19:17-18)

40 This includes the order to abstain from fornication.  The Ten Words only stated that they must not commit adultery.  Fornication includes all sex outside marriage.

41 Why forbid consuming blood?  God explains in Lev 17:14  “for the soul of all flesh is its blood.  It is one with its soul.  Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You will not eat the blood of any flesh, for the soul of all flesh is its blood.  Whoever eats it will be cut off.’  More on this topic in our article Unclean Animals and Food.

42 As in Gen 15:6, given as God in the Peshitta.

43 2Ch 20:7, Isa 41:8

44 Jos 2:1-22

45 As in the Peshitta, which is literally ‘one who saves from the curse’.  The Greek misinterprets the Aramaic and renders this as helper.  God’s Holy Spirit does help redeem us from our sinful nature.

46 As in Num 16:5, Lord Jah (MarJah) in the Peshitta.

47 As in Zep 3:9 and Psalm 25:11, Lord Jah (MarJah) in the Peshitta.

48 Gen 2:9 & Gen 3:21-24.  The Fall and curse are finally undone.