08 / 12 / 06

(NIV … unless noted)

Who are those who will be cast into the fiery furnace?
(This should make those who love the Lord really think.)

“So as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

(Matthew 13:40-42 … NASB)

HERE’S A THOUGHT:

Most Christian denominations teach that we do not have to obey the majority of God’s Laws. Is this truly what God’s Word says, or merely a doctrine that has been developed over time? I am not perfect, nor have I ever claimed to be. I am a sinner in need of a Savior … I have found Him in the Messiah Yeshua (The real name of Jesus. Yeshua means YHVH’s Salvation). I do not use this faith as an excuse to disregard His Laws, though. I obey because of this faith.

How many of you have ever practiced a particular sport? Say, baseball or softball? Tennis? How about golf? I know many who will go out and shoot a couple of “practice rounds” to better their play! Even Tiger Woods, although close, is not perfect when it comes to golf. (Perfection would be holes in one on every shot.) A couple of my children “practice” the piano. They are good, but they are far from perfect. Do you get the idea of what practice is? Just like we do in our work and play, we are supposed to be doing even more so in our walk with our Lord. We are to be practicing His Laws … not giving excuses and living as if His Laws were irrelevant. (For THAT is lawlessness, my friends).
Before I present a few verses that caught my attention regarding this topic, let us look at what Stephen was falsely accused of teaching about the Laws of Moses and the Prophets. (Remember, a false accusation is just that … it is not true.):

“They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the Law. For we have heard Him say that this Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” (Acts 6:13-14)

So, the truth is: Stephen preached about obeying the Law as Moses and that Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth confirmed it.

Our Savior NEVER changed or altered God’s Laws given through Moses … period. The “fuzzy” verses that “seem” to do so are just that, “fuzzy” at first glance, but obviously in need of more attention and study. (It is often the case in the New Testament, that when we read a statement of Paul, we are reading the answer to a question that Paul was asked … but we do not know what the question actually was!)

Let me get back to the topic at hand, though … what are children of an unchanging God to be like? Are we to be “Practicing the Law” or “practicing lawlessness”? As one practices, they become better at whatever they are practicing! As we practice the Laws, the fact is, we become more like the Son of God (obedient to the Father):

VERSES REGARDING THAT WE ARE TO BE “PRACTICING” OBEYING THE LAWS OF GOD:

- “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24) (Are you practicing His Words? Remember, He spoke of righteousness and obedience flowing from love for His Father, He did NOT preach lawlessness. The fact is: When someone practices the Laws given by YHVH to Moses and the Prophets … we built our faith on the Rock. We cannot fall since we can show skeptics where and why we do what we do. The traditions simply are built on sand.)

- (Who ARE the brothers, sisters and even mothers of Yeshua (Jesus)? “He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” (Luke 8:21) (At this time … the only Word; the only Scriptures was the Old Testament … this is a case in point regarding the importance of the original context of a passage. The New Testament works hand in hand and builds upon what has been already written.)

- (Paul continually preaches obedience to God’s Law out of faith. We often find Paul even practicing what He preached … Sabbath on the seventh day, honoring God’s festivals, etc….) “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me- put it into practice….” (Philippians 4:9) (Paul even states in 1 Corinthians 11:1 to “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”)

- (Let me ask you: What teaching are you following? What does your life show? That there is a Law of Moses, the commandments of God, or that there is not? Notice, both of the following are still in heaven, but one has a higher level … just like the temple of God reveals.) “ANYONE who breaks one of the LEAST of these commandments and TEACHES OTHERS to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever PRACTICES and TEACHES these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:19 … from the lips of our Master!)

CLOSING THOUGHTS:

As believers, we are to be practicing righteousness (obeying God’s Laws out of love for Him and our neighbor). When we fail and fall short, however, God is quick to forgive and remembers it no more) … “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34b and Hebrews 8:12a)

Sin is still the same … anything against God’s Laws / commandments. Are many of us practicing sin or righteousness?

As we practice and practice … we become better and better. As we get better and better, we become more and more like the one that they want to imitate. For those who are into golf, this may be Tiger Wood; for those in business, it may be Bill Gates. For US, as children of God, it is to be our Master … The Son of God. As we practice obeying God’s Law, our lives become more characterized by righteousness than by sin (remember: sin is breaking the Law, or is often called lawlessness … 1 John 3:4.).

WARNING: We must be careful, though. As we get better, we can also become critical of those who are just getting into the sport (or, in this case, obedience through faith). A poor leader in any sport is one who will not share his talents with those who are rookies. We can become quick to judge and condemn the attempts of those with less training. (I was guilty of such a sin.) I have found this to be just as true in the arena of obedience (This was the case and the object of many of our Master’s rebukes as He walked the earth). I am simply saying that there is a Law to obey … let us start practicing it. If you need help, ask someone you can trust with His Word.

Can you imagine … a family of believers living a life of loving their neighbors as themselves AND loving God by practicing His Laws? Can you imagine this? This would look like the Israel that God intended His family (children) to look like and be, composed of all who believe (whether Jew, Gentile, woman, man, slaves or free). No matter what others may think of us, we must press on, knowing that it is the way that God intends us to live … for His Son is our Master and our teacher. Will we be hated by those within the church by practicing such obedience? Of course! I am the receiver of such hatred. They may even kick you out of the Synagogue (or church) for doing so and even think they are doing the right thing! John 16:2-3 … “They will put you out of the synagogue (church); in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.” They thought, like they did with Stephen, that we who obey God’s Laws are against their belief.

We all know that in order to be the best in business, we must work at it and devote much of our time. We must follow the example of those we view as higher than ourselves.

We all know that in order to be the best in golf (or any other sport), we must practice and practice. We must even study the swings (or moves) of those who are better than we.

We all know that in order to have a good marriage, we must practice forgiveness and love.

WOW … in order to know God more, we must practice His Laws, and imitate the one who is better than we … Yeshua (The Salvation of God). We must not turn a deaf ear to the Laws of Moses. We must always be ready to shed our sins by our obedience. It is written that those who say that God’s Laws are no longer valid for Christians, their prayers are not heard in heaven: “If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable.” (Proverbs 28:9)

Just something to think about before the next practice session.