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HAVE WE MISUNDERSTAND THE LAW AND THE TORAH?

The majority of Christians today have a complete MISUNDERSTANDING of the role of the Law and its relationship with Grace. When we study such things as Covenants and in particular the Gentile's relationship to the Covenant of Noah and the Laws of Noah this misunderstanding becomes paramount because it leads to mistaken disobedience and sin without the child of God ever knowing that his religious beliefs and actions based upon are often in error. Such misunderstanding becomes obvious when the subject of Law is brought up because most respond with "I'm not under the Law I'm under grace.

Answer for yourself: Have you ever questioned that statement as to its accuracy?

Answer for yourself: Are you sure that the statement is entirely correct, or do you ascribe to that position because you have heard it said so often by people you respected?

Answer for yourself: And what if you are wrong in your belief that God's Law has passed away....could your actions cost you eternal reward or even eternal life?

I BEG YOU TO LISTEN TO WHAT I WILL SHOW YOU

I plead with those who read this article that you prayerfully listen to what I have discovered over 20 years of in depth study of the Bible, both in Greek and Hebrew. The results of my study altered the course of my life and I hope that it will yours as well. I found, as you will also when you finish these articles and teachings, that a believer in Yeshua (Christ) as Israel's Messiah (a Christian) is to keep the Laws of Yahweh. The reason for so much misunderstanding is due to our confusion when reading some of the Paul's writings.

Some of the Apostle Paul's writings ARE "hard to be understood": as the Apostle Kepha (Peter) stated in II Kepha (Peter) 3: 15-16, saying-

• 15 And recognize that the longsuffering of Yahweh our Savior is salvation; just as our beloved brother Paul, in accordance with the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
• 16 As also in all his letters, speaking in them about these things, in which are some things HARD TO BE UNDERSTOOD, which those who are UNLEARNED AND UNSTABLE TWIST, as they also DO THE OTHER SCRIPTURES. to their own destruction.
  

The Apostle Peter SAYS that those who are unlearned in the Scriptures are the VERY ONES who twist Paul's writings to their OWN destruction!

That was me about 20 years ago until I began to look up the English words in my Bible and compare against Greek and Hebrew meanings in books like Thayer's, Vine's and Wilson's word studies. No one wants to be destroyed, but if we follow PREACHERS WHO TWIST SCRIPTURES and who fail to do the necessary studies like I once did, then we, also, will experience the same destruction that Yahweh has planned for ALL Scriptural LIARS! Yeshua tells us "what" will befall us IF we follow BLIND LEADERS, saying in Mattithyah (Gospel of Matthew) 15:14:

Let them ALONE. They are Blind Leaders of THE BLIND. And if the blind lead the blind, BOTH will fall into THE DITCH.

Yahweh also commands us to STUDY His word, in order to show ourselves APPROVED unto Him...for if we will study (NOT JUST READ) His word, then we will most certainly NOT BE DECEIVED by any of the Scriptural LIES brought forth by the DECEIVED preachers that fill our pulpits today! In II Timothy 2:15, we read:

STUDY to show yourself approved to Yahweh: a workman who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the WORD OF TRUTH.

I am confident that after YOU have finished reading these articles, you will no longer have any questions about "Paul's Writings" AND you will never again be deceived by the crafty manipulations of any false preachers either.

THE MESSAGE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL...DID HE REALLY TEACH SALVATION WITHOUT "WORKS"?

The books of Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, and Colossians, as well as the book of Hebrews, are said by many to have been written by the Apostle Paul. In each of his letters to the called-out ones Paul had definite teachings to convey.

Answer for yourself: Did Paul teach the GENTILE BELIEVERS IN the book of Romans a "Lawless", "No Works" SALVATION?

Answer for yourself: Unsure of your answer, or certain that he did because of what you have heard most of your life? Let us investigate and be prepared for the shock of your life!

Answer for yourself: What did Paul really teach on this matter? Paul taught them that:

Romans 2:13

For NOT the "hearers" of the Law are just before Yahweh, but the "DOERS OF THE LAW" will be justified.

Let us examine in detail what Paul just said:

The Greek word for "law" as used above as taken from Strong's Concordance and Thayer's Greek Lexicon:

#3551 nomos (nom'-os); from a primary nemo (to parcel out, especially food or grazing to animals); law (through the idea of prescriptive usage), genitive case (regulation), specifically (of Moses [including the volume]; KJV-- law. 3551 nomos- anything established, anything received by usage, a custom, a law, a command:

a) used of any law whatsoever

• 1) a law or rule producing a state approved of God, by the observance of which is approved of God
• 2) a precept or injunction
• 3) the rule of action prescribed by reason
  • a) used of the Mosaic law, and referring (according to the context) either to the volume of the law or to its contents
  • b) the Christian religion: the law demanding faith, the moral instruction given by Christ, especially the precept concerning love
  • c) the name of the more important part (the Pentateuch), is put for the entire collection of the sacred books of the Old Testament

I want to draw your attention before moving on the the fact that the word so used in the New Testament passage refers to the Moasic Laws as contained in the Pentateuch which when obeyed BRINGS A STATE OF APPROVAL BEFORE GOD...as the definition of the word attests!

The Greek word for "doer" as used above as taken from Strong's and Thayers':

4163 poietes-

• 1) a maker, a producer, an author
• 2) a doer, a performer; one who obeys or fulfills the law
• 3) a poet 1344 dikaioo (dik-ah-yo'-o); from

The Greek word for "justified" as used above as taken from Strong's and Thayer's:

1342; to render (i.e. show or regard as) just or innocent: KJV-- free, justify (-ier), be righteous. 1344 dikaioo-

• 1) to render righteous or such he ought to be
• 2) to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, such as he is and wishes himself to be considered
• 3) to declare, to pronounce one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be

Answer for yourself: Since Paul became a believer after the death of Yeshua, then did Paul teach "doing the Law" for justification AFTER THE CROSS? DEFINITELY YES!

Think about this for a minute. Long after the death of Yeshua Paul was yet writing that obedience to the Laws and the Commandments of God creates a state of righteousness whereby one arrives at a state of acceptance before God! This statement is a complete contradiction of traditional Christian teaching concerning salvation let alone the necessity of obedience to the Law for acceptance before God.

Romans 3:31

Are we then "doing away with the Law through the faith? BY NO MEANS! Rather, we ESTABLISH the Law!

The Greek word for "establish" as taken from Thayer's Greek Lexicon:

#2476 histemi-

• 1) to cause or make to stand, to place, to put, to set
  • a) to bid to stand by, [set up]
  • b) in the presence of others, in the midst, before judges, before members of the Sanhedrin;
• 2) to place
• 3) to make firm, to fix, to establish
• 4) to cause a person or a thing to keep his or its place
• 5) to stand, be kept intact (of family, a kingdom), to escape in safety
• 6) to establish a thing, to cause it to stand, to uphold or sustain the authority or force of anything
• 7) to set or place in a balance to weigh: money to one (because in very early times before the introduction of coinage, the metals used to be weighed)
• 8) to stand
  • a) to stand by or near to stop, to stand still, to stand immovable, to stand firm, used of the foundation of a building
  • b) to stand
• 9) to continue safe and sound, to stand unharmed, to stand ready or prepared
• 10) to be of a steadfast mind
• 11) used of quality, one who does not hesitate, who does not waiver
  

Answer for yourself: Did Paul abolish or establish "the authority and force" of the Law in the Gentile churches (like yours) in Rome before or after the cross? Definitely after!

Answer for yourself: Has that been the message you have heard in your Christian Church?

Romans 7:7

Shall we therefore '"say that the Law is 'SIN'? NO! By no means! But to the contrary, I did not know SIN (transgression of The Law) except THROUGH THE LAW, for I did not know lust, unless the Law had said (in Exodus 20:17 and Deuteronomy 5:21): Do not covet.

Romans 7:12

Therefore the LAW is HOLY, and the COMMANDMENTS holy, and Just, and Righteous.

Answer for yourself: How can the Holy Spirit inspire Paul to say "the Law IS" and use a present tense verb if the Law had passed away? God would not have used a present tense verb.

Answer for yourself: Did Paul say this before or after the Cross of Christ? Definitely after!

Answer for yourself: Now based upon what you read and not what you hear others say, then do you now see more clearly that Paul NEVER intended anyone to think that Yahweh's Holy Commandments and Laws were ever to cease or end? I hope so.

Answer for yourself: Can you locate in the New Testament where Paul teaches the Ten Commandments? Try the epistle to the Ephesians which was an "encyclical" letter that was passed around to all the Greek churches.

The Apostle Paul taught The Ten Commandment Law to the Ephesians, as proven by Ephesians 6:2-3, which says:

• 2 Honor your father and mother, which is the first Commandment with a promise:
• 3 That it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth.
  

The LAW to honor one's father and mother, in order that our days may be long upon the land, is Commandment Number Five of The Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 20:12, and repeated in Deuteronomy 5:16.

Answer for yourself: Then did not Paul actually teach keeping the Ten Commandments to all the churches? Yes!

Notice that the Apostle Paul was NOT teaching the "abolishment" of The Commandments (correctly understood as the ten categories that organized all the LAWS OF YAHWEH), or he would NOT have been teaching the Ephesians to OBEY the 5th Commandment!

PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION.......WAS PAUL REFERRING TO A NEW OR "RENEWED" COVENANT?

Answer for yourself: Did Paul teach the Hebrews that the New (replacement) Testament (which should be correctly understood as a RENEWED Covenant) "did away with" the Laws of Yahweh? Lets look at Hebrews 8:10 to find our answer:

Heb 8:10 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: (KJV)

Most assuredly NOT but you would never know from the above verse because of the addition of a simple two lettered word...the word "is." Paul taught Yahweh's TRUTH about THIS SAME COVENANT of the Old Testament Scriptures saying in Hebrews 8:10 (notice the word "is"...is in italics and has been added to the text...thus causing a severe misinterpretation):

For "THIS" COVENANT (THE ONLY COVENANT-THIS SAME COVENANT) the SAME COVENANT that I will make (RENEW) with the house of Israel: After those days, says Yahweh: I will put MY LAW in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts (minds), and I will be their Father, and they will be My people.

God is doing no different than what He has always done; asking His people to adhere to the Covenant stipulations of their Covenant which just happened to be defined in Laws and Commandments.

Answer for yourself: Even if the "new" Covenant was to be a "new" and "replacement" covenant (WHICH IT IS NOT), notice that Yahweh was STILL GOING TO PUT HIS LAWS IN YOUR INWARD PARTS AND WRITE THEM ON YOUR HEART! Now, how accurate is it to say that the Law has passed away? It is not accurate at all!

I say again, please notice that "will" is a future verb and the days were to come that God would make a "NEW" COVENANT (BETTER UNDERSTOOD AS RENEWED COVENANT...look the word up in Jer. 31 in the Hebrew to see for yourself it is "renewed" not "replaced") with His people. NOTICE ALSO...if you believe that you are under this "new covenant" (RENEWED COVENANT) today, that God will AGAIN put (NOT GRACE in your heart) but His LAWS in your heart!

Answer for yourself: Did you EVER notice that, according to Gal. 3:17 THE COVENANT that was confirmed (RENEWED) in Christ at the last supper before his crucifixion, was followed by the giving of the Law at Sinai? IMPOSSIBLE YOU SAY? The verse states: "the LAW, which was four hundred and thirty years after the covenant renewed in Christ at the last supper, could not be disannulled by the giving of the Law at Sinai in the first place.

Answer for yourself: But how could Sinai and the Law come 430 years after Yeshua and his renewal of THE COVENANT mentioned at Yeshua's last supper? Which Covenant are we speaking about?

Listen closely:

Answer for yourself: What event came 430 years PRIOR TO THE GIVING OF THE LAW AT SINAI?

That's easy: the ABRAHAMIC COVENANT! Thus, we can see that THE COVENANT which Yeshua RENEWED at the last supper was in fact the unconditional COVENANT OF ABRAHAM given in Genesis 12. Yeshua only REAFFIRMED THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT TO ISRAEL (and not the church which was to develop later). So, NEW is not the correct understanding when discussing the Covenant, but RENEWAL OF AN EXISTING COVENANT.

It would benefit you to study covenants to see for yourself that the covenant once given by God to man has been renewed over and over, each time bringing better promises, thus making it a better covenant with better promises, culminating in the renewal under Yeshua at the last supper just prior to his sacrifice. Thus we have the best covenant possible since there is no more covenants to be renewed. This information is available on this very website.

THIS "RENEWED" COVENANT CONTAINS LAWS AND COMMANDMENTS WRITTEN ON THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF BELIEVERS

In Hebrews 10:16, we also read:

This is THE COVENANT (in English or any language for that matter, the definite article "the" identifies and signifies as one in particular, not to be confused with others) that I will RENEW with them after those days, says Yahweh; I will put MY LAWS into their hearts, and in their minds I WILL WRITE THEM;

Answer for yourself: Were you aware, before reading this study, that what we have considered as THE NEW COVENANT since our childhood in various churches contain LAWS which Yahweh puts in our hearts and in our minds? I bet you didn't.

Let's face it. Even today's FALSE TEACHERS who deceive you because of their lack of understanding and study will "tell' you that there are "no contradictions in all the bible"...even though their messages invalidate such a statement when they "teach" that you are no longer under the Law but under grace today! However, that "teaching" is NOT the teaching of the Apostles nor Paul as I have just shown you.

LET US LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF JAMES AND OTHER APOSTLES ON THE SUBJECT

The APOSTLE Yaaqob (James) tells us in James 2:10-11

• 10 For whoever keeps the whole Law, and yet offends in one point, he is guilty of all (meaning you incur the penalty which is the same for breaking all the others as well...death).
• 11 For He Who said (in Exodus 20:14 and Deuteronomy 5:18): Do not commit adultery, also said (in Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17): Do not murder. Now if you do not commit adultery, yet you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the Law.
  

Answer for yourself: Did James, the pastor of the Yeshua's church in Jerusalem, believe and teach that the Laws of God had passed away? No way! To James, was transgression of God's Law a possibility in his day? Of course!

The APOSTLE John, in AGREEMENT with the APOSTLE Paul, tells us:

I John 2:3

Now by THIS we do know that we know HIM: IF we keep HIS COMMANDMENTS.

I John 2:4

He who says: I know Him, and does NOT KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS, is a LIAR and The Truth is Not in him.

I John 3:22

And whatever we ask, we receive from Him, BECAUSE we KEEP His Commandments and DO those things that are pleasing in His sight (refers to Isa. 56).

I John 3:24

And he who KEEPS His Commandments dwells in HIM, and HE in him; and by THIS we know that He abides in us: By the Spirit which He has given us. NOTICE the abiding of God with man is not connected to being filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues as is so often taught, but rather, KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS!

I John 5:2-3

• 2 By THIS we know that we love the children of Yahweh: When we LOVE YAHWEH and KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. (NOTICE: LOVING GOD is connected with KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS).
• 3 For this IS the LOVE OF (FOR) YAHWEH: That we KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS, and His Commandments are not grievous.

II John: 6

And THIS IS LOVE: That we walk after His Commandments. Those are the Commandments, that, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in them.

MAKING SURE YOU UNDERSTAND BEFORE MOVING ON.....

• 1. Were the epistles of John written after the Cross of Christ? Yes.
• 2. Were the epistles of John intended for New Testament believers in Christ? Yes
• 3. Were New Testament believers told that they could "know" God (in Greek the term means intimacy)? Yes
• 4. Were New Testament believers told that if they kept the Commandments they would be pleasing to God? Yes
• 5. Do you want to be pleasing to God (see Isa. 56)? I hope so.
• 6. Having just read this article, can you more clearly see that the Law has not passed away and that the Commandments are for us to keep? I pray that you no longer hold to such heresy that the Law has passed away, for if you do, then you literally are making God out to be a Liar.
• 7. Do we dwell with and maintain unity with God by keeping His Commandments? Yes
• 8. Do we show our love FOR (of...in Greek the choice of preposition is left up to the context..and in this case "for" is preferable) God by KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS? Yes
• 9. Have you heard "from the beginning" of your Christian walk to "walk and obey" the Commandments (LAW) OR have you heard like me that "we are not under the Commandments (LAW)"? Take a guess!
• 10. How can you go any further in this article without seriously questioning what you have been taught by preachers who told you "your not under Law but under grace."? You can't!
  Now...in closing..understand that for the non-Jew these Covenant Stipulations are found in his Covenant with God which is called the Covenant of Noah which contains requirements given by God to the non-Jew which are understood as Laws and Commandments...some of which are spoken of above and elsewhere in this website.

Now let us continue with the continuing teachings. If you would like to know more TRUTH about what the Bible really says contact Bet Emet Ministries, 902 Cardigan, Garland, Texas, 75040, 972-6756193. May God bless you.