John chapter 14
Today we are walking in: Obeying Torah Os Not About Salvation
Genesis 27:8
Now therefore, my son, obey H8085 my voice according to that which I command thee.
OBEY
Today we look to the word OBEY --H8085 - shâmaʻ, shaw-mah'; a primitive root; to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, attentively, call gather together, carefully, certainly, consent, consider, be content, declare, diligently, discern, give ear, (cause to, let, make to) indeed, listen, make (a) noise, (be) obedient, obey, perceive, make a proclaimation, publish, regard, report, shew (forth), (make a) sound, surely, tell, understand, whosoever (heareth), witness.
The Torah testifies.........……
Genesis 27:13
And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.
Exodus 23:22
But if thou shalt indeed obey H8085 his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
Deuteronomy 13:4
Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
The prophets proclaim..................
Joshua 24:24
And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey H8085.
Nehemiah 9:17
And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.
Jeremiah 7:23
But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.
The writings bear witness............
Joshua 24:24
And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.
Job 36:11
If they obey H8085 and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.
Psalm 18:44
As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
Obeying Torah is Not About Salvation
Citizens in Yahusha Messiah are hearing about the ‘Hebrew Roots’ of the Faith, and are frightened to see their fellow citizens becoming involved in this movement.
For those who have been frightened into thinking that citizens should avoid obeying Yah’s Law, there is one thing we would do well to consider.
According to the New Testament, our obedience to ‘the Law’ — the Torah [teachings and instructions given by Moses] — is not about achieving righteousness, or about salvation (Galatians 3:11; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).
It is, however, about living and walking as Messiah walked (1John 2:6).
It is about loving Messiah, and about loving others, in the way Messiah has told us (John 14:15 and John 15:10; 1John 5:2-3).
And – it is about sanctification – walking in holiness (being set apart from the world) (1Peter 1:14-16).
Many citizens today, having been Born-Again, and saved by grace through faith, are sensing the inner promptings of the Ruach HaQadesh to begin to obey Torah. Those who are learning to obey Torah agree fully with the apostle Paul’s declaration that “by the works of the law no human being will be justified in Yah’s sight!” (Rom 3:20). They fully believe that it is by Yah’s free gift of grace that we are saved through faith in Yahusha Messiah (Ephesians 2:8-9).
These ‘Torah keepers’ believe that Yah’s children are justified freely only by the redemption obtained through the blood of Messiah Yahusha (Romans 3:22-23; Ephesians 1:7). These citizens who keep the Torah, agree with these Scriptures:
Yah, who has saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Messiah Yahusha before the world began, (2 Timothy 1:9)
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost (Titus 3:5).
As the above Scriptures reveal, our heavenly Father has saved us — not according to our own works of righteousness, not according to any of our attempts to please Yah. Father has saved us only according to His mercy, grace, and purposes which are in Messiah Yahusha.
So what can this Hebrew Roots movement be about? What are these Torah keepers trying to do? Why are they so excited about obeying ‘the Law’?
This movement of obeying Torah [also known as the Messianic Movement] is all about the Wise Virgins preparing themselves, and making themselves ready for the Bridegroom (Matthew 25:10).
It is about returning to the Biblical definition of what it truly means to be holy.
It is all about holiness — about living a holy [set-apart] life before our Maker, our heavenly Father, Yah Elohim [the Hebrew name for the LORD Yah].
Sin vs. Holiness
To live our life as Father directs His children is to walk according to His ‘House-Rules’ — the guidelines and instructions that Messiah [the WORD] gave from the beginning, through the hand of Moses (Deuteronomy 5:5a). Those who are learning to obey Torah desire to love and honour Yah by living according to Father’s righteous standards. They desire to live the life that Father desires of His children — a life that is holy, a life that is set-apart unto Yah (see 1Peter 1:14-16).
For this reason, Torah keepers are learning the Bible’s defintion of what sin is. They are coming to understand the serious implications of what the apostle John meant when he said:
Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law (the Torah): for sin is the transgression of the law (the Torah). (1John 3:4)
As the above Scripture teaches us, when we disobey Father’s House-Rules, we commit sin. When we lie or steal or cheat or fornicate or lust or blaspheme or hate, we are sinners. Sinners transgress the Law [the Torah].
Messiah and His Disciples, and the Prophets of old, all urge us to not sin — to not transgress the Law – to not violate the Torah! See the following:
1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the Word of Yahuah, he has also rejected you from being king. SHEMU'EL RI'SHON (1 SAMUEL) 15:23 את CEPHER;
Isaiah 30:1,9 WOE to the rebellious children, says Yahuah, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my Ruach, that they may add sin to sin: YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 30:1 את CEPHER
That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the Torah of Yahuah: YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 30:9 את CEPHER
Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your Elohiym, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 59:2 את CEPHER
Jeremiah 3:25 We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covers us: for we have sinned against Yahuah Elohaynu, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of Yahuah Elohaynu. YIRMEYAHU (JEREMIAH) 3:25 את CEPHER
Daniel 9:5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from your precepts and from your judgments: DANIY'EL (DANIEL) 9:5 את CEPHER
Psalm 4:4; Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Celah. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 4:4 את CEPHER
Romans 6:12;Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. ROMAIYM (ROMANS) 6:12 את CEPHER
1Corinthians 15:34;Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of Elohiym: I speak this to your shame. QORINTIYM RI'SHON (1 CORINTHIANS) 15:34 את CEPHER
Ephesians 4:26;Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: EPH'SIYM (EPHESIANS) 4:26 את CEPHER
1John 2:1, 3:4.MY little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Yahusha Ha'Mashiach the righteous: YOCHANON RI'SHON (1 JOHN) 2:1 את CEPHER
Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the Torah: for sin is the transgression of the Torah. YOCHANON RI'SHON (1 JOHN) 3:4 את CEPHER
We all fail, stumble, and commit sin at times. We also know however, that Yah loves His children, He is merciful, and He wants us to get back up after we stumble and fail.
Father Yah wants us to confess [acknowledge] our sin to Him, in order to be cleansed by the blood of our Savior (1 John 1:8-9). Father then expects us to return to obedience, return to keeping His righteous standards — return to walking, by His grace, in obedience to His standards, to the best of our ability.
So when citizens obey the Torah, they are not trying to achieve righteousness or salvation by their own fleshy attempts. Their goal is to demonstrate their love for Messiah, by keeping His commandments, including the commands and instructions that He [as the WORD of Yah] gave to Moses (see John 1:1, 14; John 14:15).
The WORD of Yah who appeared to Moses, and to all the Prophets, and who gave the commandments to Moses, is the same WORD that was made flesh and dwelt among us! This WORD is none other than Yahusha Messiah!
Messiah, who is the WORD, gave us His commandments from ‘the beginning’ — [from the book of Genesis], all the way to Malachi and then to Revelation — and John exhorts us as citizens, to walk according to His commandments (2 John 1:6).
And this same WORD, who gave the commandments to Moses, also tells us today:
“If you love Me, keep MY commandments.” (John 14:15)
Many citizens today are choosing to love Messiah more fully. They have learned Messiah’s true identity as the WORD who gave the commandments to Moses. They have learned that obeying Torah brings them out of a foggy understanding of the New Testament, and brings them into a solid and confident understanding of Yah’s heart’s desire for His children! They have learned that the Sabbath instructions, the dietary laws, the Biblical feasts instructions, and many other guidelines in the Old Testament, apply to all of Yah’s children, throughout all generations!
And . . . they have learned the important connection between obedience and holiness: that obedience is necessary for holiness, as the apostle Peter taught us:
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)
So there is no reason to be frightened by all this Torah keeping. The Hebrew Roots movement, as a whole, is good for the children of Yah, despite its various problems and diverse levels of extremes. It is a sovereign moving of the Ruach HaQadesh among Father’s children, to bring them into a closer, more holy, more perfect walk with Him — preparing them for the Bridegroom.
Those who are beginning to walk in Torah, are beginning to truly understand the great riches of what Yahusha meant when He said: “If you continue in My WORD, then are you My disciples indeed; And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32)
Torah keepers understand that obeying Torah is not about Salvation! It’s about holiness and learning to be holy as HE is holy!
For those who have been frightened, and are hestitant to investigate the Hebrew Roots movement, and have been told they will ‘come under a curse’ if they obey their heavenly Father’s commandments, then remember this one thing:
Any earthly father would not put a curse on his own children who love him, and who try their best to honor and obey him! Likewise, the heavenly Father will NOT put a curse on His children who love Him, and who try their best to honor and obey Him!
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