01/26/2007 Sabbath Meeting Transcript

An all important question will be examined tonight.

It's a question that all of us must be diligent in understanding the answer to.

How can we be saved from death and damnation.. and inherit eternal life?

Many accuse us of trying to "earn our salvation", so we will examine this in depth.

What does Yahweh desire of us?

Every one of us in this room should know that we are not deserving of eternal life by our own merits

Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of YAHWEH;

The question is, how are we redeemed from the condition of sin that separates us from Yahweh?

It is written..

Philippians 2:12 - Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Many are the sermons today which proclaim an eternal truth that we are not saved by our works.

However, it is implied in many of these teachings a very subtle doctrine that we need not be particularly concerned about having good works

After all, since we aren't saved by works.. why bother with seeking to have good works?

To what benefit might it be to even concern ourselves with having good works at all.. since we aren't saved by it

Let's seek the scriptures on this matter...

Firstly, let's be assured that scripture makes it very clear that we are not saved by doing the works of the law:

Romans 9:30 - What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.

Romans 9:31 - But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.

These two scriptures taken out of context might compel one to think it's a bad thing to follow after righteousness

But let's keep reading:

Romans 9:32 - Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;

Romans 9:33 - As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

"Because they sought it not by faith"

Sought what not by faith?

The law of righteousness!

We know that the Israelites were given the law of Yahweh. The law taught the Israelites (and all who joined themselves to Yahweh) the difference between righteousness and sin

The law, without exception has ALWAYS taught, continues to teach and will always teach the difference between righteousness and unrighteousness.

Thus the word "Law" in Hebrew (Torah) means "Teaching"

It is the law that reveals what sin is:

1John 3:4 - Whoever commits sin trangresses also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law.

Romans 7:7 - What shall we say then? Is the law sin? By no means! Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

Now, in Romans 9:32 we read that Israel did not "attain unto righteousness" because they did not seek it by faith.

They stumbled at the stumbling stone..Yahushua the Messiah

It is very clear that THIS is why they did not "Attain righteousness".

We can only attain righteousness when we seek it by faith, not stumbling over the fact that Yahushua is the Messiah.

For it is only through Him that we can "attain righteousness."

Continuing in Romans as it takes us to the next chapter...

Romans 10:1 - Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to YAHWEH for Israel is, that they might be saved.

Romans 10:2 - For I bear them record that they have a zeal of YAHWEH, but not according to knowledge.

Romans 10:3 - For they being ignorant of YAHWEH's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of YAHWEH.

Notice that it says they were "ignorant of Yahweh's Righteousness"

Because they did not seek righteousness by faith in Yahushua, they did not submit to the 'Righteousness of Yahweh".

In the law and prophets, there is a certain "righteousness" which is predicted to be given unto men...

It is written that this righteousness was going to come from Yahweh Himself..

Jeremiah 23:5 - Behold, the days come, saith YAHWEH, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

Jeremiah 23:6 - In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, YAHWEH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Note in the above scripture that the Messiah has the name "Yahweh our Righteousness"

So whenever one speaks of the Messiah in the age to come, they may refer to Him as "Yahweh Tzidkenu" or "Yahweh our Righteousnesss"

He is called "Yahweh OUR Righteousness" because He was the One through whom Yahweh brought us His righteousness!

Where is it written that we will receive Yahweh's righteousness? In many places.. but here is one :

Isaiah 45:23 - I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Isaiah 45:24 - Surely, shall one say, in YAHWEH have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.

Isaiah 54:17 - No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of YAHWEH, and their righteousness is of me, saith YAHWEH.

and again..

Isaiah 61:10 - I will greatly rejoice in YAHWEH, my soul shall be joyful in my Elohim; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

In the prophets, we see that we receive this righteousness through the Messiah

Now notice in Isaiah 45:23 that Yahweh swears an oath. When Yahweh swears an oath, we would do well to listen. He swore an oath to Abraham and look at all that Yahweh did to keep that oath!

One day, "every tongue" will swear that only "in Yahweh have I righteousness and strength!"

So this righteousness that we have "in Yahweh" is predicted in many prophecies to come through Messiah, Yahushua our Master who is called: YAHWEH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

When we accept Him, it is not our righteousness that Yahweh sees..but His own righteousness which He placed in Yahushua the Messiah

The righteousness of Yahushua the Messiah IS the righteousness of Yahweh. For when one called Him "Good", even He said:

Matthew 19:16 - And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Rabbi, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

Matthew 19:17 - And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, YAHWEH: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

And in another place He said:

John 5:19 - Then answered Yahushua and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

And again..

John 14:10 - Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

Every one of us has sinned. But if we accept Yahweh's way of bringing us righteousness.. we can say:

Galatians 2:20 - "I have been impaled with the Messiah; it is no longer I who live, but the Messiah lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of YAHWEH, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

We must have this righteousness of Yahweh in us, in order to be cleansed from sin. This is why there is only ONE way to the Father: Yahushua the Messiah. And this we receive and believe by faith.

John 14:6 - Yahushua saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

So it is only through the Messiah that we can attain the righteousness we need to be in the Father's presence. Thus, Yahushua is called "Yahweh our Righteousness" (Jer 23) or in Hebrew.. Yahweh Tzidkenu

For this reason, we are not saved by our own righteousness. We are saved by Yahweh's righteousness through Yahushua the Messiah. Thus, we are saved by His work, not our own works

The question is, what do we do once we are saved?

Now that Yahushua is in us, do we have to be concerned about works?

After all, we aren't saved by works.. right?

Well, we can know and be sure that if Yahushua is indeed living in us, then He will be keeping all the commandments that He kept while on earth "IN US".

Don't believe anyone that tells you otherwise

Our works are the very evidence that we are saved to begin with!

In His work in us... Yahweh has become our righteousness through Yahushua the Messiah.

It was the power of Yahweh working effectively in Yahushua that gave Him the strength to overcome and be without sin.

With this in mind, let's read Romans 10 again:

Romans 10:1 - Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to YAHWEH for Israel is, that they might be saved.

Romans 10:2 - For I bear them record that they have a zeal of YAHWEH, but not according to knowledge.

Romans 10:3 - For they being ignorant of YAHWEH's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of YAHWEH.

So we must not be ignorant of Yahweh's righteousness, but we must submit to to the righteousness of Yahweh.. for every tongue will have to confess that "in Yahweh have I righteousness and strength!" (Isaiah 45).

If we are ignorant of His righteousness and we do not submit to His righteousness, we will have no choice but to trying to establish our own righteousness to be saved. But if we even try that, the law will simply condemn us!

For the truth is that none of us trying to establish our own righteousness will be declared righteous on judgment day.. our sins condemn us unless we are given grace.

And that grace comes through what Yahweh has done in Yahushua.. something we should extremely grateful for. HalleluYah!

So the law cannot give us righteousness. It can only show us what righteousness is. Therefore, the law must be understood in that context. It does not declare us righteous unless we have kept it. But we have not kept it. Therefore...

Romans 10:4 - For the Messiah is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

Note that it says Yahushua is the end of the law "FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS."

Yahweh's law doesn't make anyone righteous, it only shows/reveals to all their sin because we did not keep this law.

Therefore, the Messiah is the end of the law "For righteousness" because it cannot give us righteousness.

We clearly need to submit to the righteousness of Yahweh through Yahushua the Messiah to be justified (a word meaning "declared righteous") in His sight.

Yahushua can not only show us righteousness through His example, but through Him we can be declared righteous!

This is why Yahweh said in Isaiah:

Isaiah 45:24 - Surely, shall one say, in YAHWEH have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.

Isaiah 45:25 - In YAHWEH shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

"In YAHWEH shall all the seed of Israel be justified." Through Yahweh's righteousness we are justified. Not our own righteousness which might come through the law. The law condemns us, it doesn't give us righteousness.

It is this truth that many people miss in Romans because we need to read what is being said in context and not jump to conclusions

The word "end" in "End of the law for righteousness" is believed by many torah observant believers to not really mean "end", but mean "aim or goal"

But the greek word translated "end" in this verse does mean "end" and it is translated "End" 35 times and miscellaneous words 7 times

We simply need to understand the context to grasp what is being spoken here.

Yahweh saw that we needed salvation.. we could not save ourselves. We need to be humble and realize this.

Isaiah 59:15 - Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and YAHWEH saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.

Isaiah 59:16 - And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.

Notice it says "therefore his ARM brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him". Yahushua is likened unto the arm of Yahweh. But to whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed?

Isaiah 53:1 - Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of YAHWEH revealed?

Isaiah 53:2 - For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

Isaiah 53:3 - He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

We must believe the report.. and the arm of Yahweh (Yahushua) must be revealed to us.

Back to Isaiah 59:16 ....

Isaiah 59:16 - And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.

Isaiah 59:17 - For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.

We should also put on this armor of Yahweh that we might be able to stand (Ephesians 6). It is because Yahushua is dwelling in us that we have this armor to begin with.

Brethren, there is no other way.. only in Yahweh.. through His righteousness in Yahushua can we be justified (declared righteous, and thus have salvation)

Thus it is only through Him that we can receive peace.. and ultimately eternal life. If you do not know Him, I would encourage you to seek Him!

Jeremiah 29:13 - And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

I share these things from the prophets lest anyone think that this was just some teaching that Paul made up on his own. He didn't make it up, it was in the prophets all along!

Thus, the Messiah is the end of the law "FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS". The law never made anyone righteous, it only shows us what righteousness is.

Those who reject Yahushua and cling to the Torah are relying on the torah to justify them. But without Yahweh's righteousness in us, we will not be declared righteous!

We need the Righteousness of Yahweh..through Yahshua the Messiah in order for us to appear righteous unto Yahweh. We have sinned.. we can't be declared righteous through our own works. Nobody relying on the law to save them are going to make it. Nobody will be able to stand before Yahweh on the day of judgment and say .. "See, I kept your law!"

Every one of us have sinned at some point in our life. The whole mistake of Israel was that they did not seek the righteousness of Yahweh in faith (through the Messiah). Instead they tried to attain righteousness by their own power.

Anyone seeking that will fail miserabley.

(miserably)

Continuing in Romans:

Romans 10:3 - For they being ignorant of YAHWEH's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of YAHWEH.

Romans 10:4 - For the Messiah is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

Romans 10:5 - For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

"The man who does them shall live by them."

Live by what? Live by His law, His commandments

So if we do the commandments, we will 'live' (have eternal life) by them

But nobody has ever done them, except one.

And you aren't that one.

Yahushua is that ONE.

Therefore HE LIVES!

The grave could not contain Him!

Acts 2:24 - Whom YAHWEH hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

But when this scripture speaks of "living" in Romans 10:5 ("live by them"), does it mean eternal life?

Consider the words of Yahushua:

Luke 10:25 - And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

Notice that He is asking what to do to inherit "Eternal" life

Luke 10:26 - He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

Luke 10:27 - And he answering said, Thou shalt love YAHWEH thy Elohim with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

Luke 10:28 - And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

Do this and thou shalt "Live" 3

Do this and thou shalt "Live"

Meaning you will inherit eternal life because the original question was "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

So let's read this quote in Romans 10:5 again..but this time let's read what Paul was actually quoting from, Leviticus:

Leviticus 18:5 - Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am YAHWEH.

So yes, righteousness could come through the law if one had done them.

But since we haven't, we need Yahweh's Righteousness IN US if we ever want to "live" eternally.

And now, His Torah is to be in our hearts.

Because Yahushua is to be in us!

Now believe it or not, the law was to be in the heart of Israel even in the "Old covenant."

Deuteronomy 30:11 - For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.

Deuteronomy 30:12 - It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

Deuteronomy 30:13 - Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

Deuteronomy 30:14 - But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

Yes, and today we know that Yahushua the Messiah is the WORD of Yahweh. The Word is IN US. Even in our heart!! We must accept Yahushua, the WORD into our heart!

So many are "asking Messiah into their heart", but then (sadly) they reject the Word from being in their heart

If the Messiah is in our heart, then the Torah is also. And if the Torah is, then it will reflect through our obedience to it.

Yahushua is the living Torah, for He kept every command. He is perfectly righteous in every way.

And all of His commandments, it is all the "Word", whether it's in Leviticus or Revelation.

Then the WORD which IS Righteous, will dwell in us

Continuing in Romans..

Romans 10:6 - But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring the Messiah down from above:)

Romans 10:7 - Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up the Messiah again from the dead.)

Romans 10:8 - But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

Romans 10:9 - That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Master Yahushua, and shalt believe in thine heart that Elohim hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

HalleluYah

Do we see how it all ties in together?

Yahushua is the Torah of Yahweh made flesh

John 1:14 - And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The common notion that all we have to do is "believe and confess" to be saved is true..

Romans 10:10 - For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

We will believe "unto righteousness"

Our belief results in Yahweh giving us the righteousness we need to be saved. A true belief will say "The Word, the Messiah and His righteousness is in me!"

If this is true then You will have righteousness within you like Yahushua was righteous.

SO THEN...

Can we forget about walking in righteousness, and just trust the Messiah to make us righteous?

Should we live a life of sin anyway, since the righteousness of Yahweh is in us?

Brethren...

This is where the enemy has blinded the eyes of billions !!!!

First, by changing the definition of sin (ignoring the fact that sin is transgression of the Torah/law).. and second, by perverting Paul's words to say that since we aren't saved by our own righteousness.. we need not be so concerned about any sin in our lives

But we must realize that before we can receive the righteousness of Yahweh through Messiah, we must repent!

Acts 2:38 - Then Kepha said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Yahushua the Messiah for the forgiveness of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

So Yahweh should see an attitude of repentance within us... repent means to TURN.

We were going the wrong direction, but we must turn and go the right direction.

But if we don't care whether or not we are going the right direction because we think that we have Yahweh's righteousness in us.. we have skipped a step that we must make to receive Yahweh's righteousness to begin with and we are deceiving ourselves!

Repentance does not mean we instantly walk in perfection. Repentance means that we truly and sincerely want to, desire to and seek Yahweh's strength to do it!

Paul declared publicly that he taught repentance.. and the need for works to back it up:

Acts 26:19 - Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:

Acts 26:20 - But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to YAHWEH, and do works meet for repentance.

Anyone who thinks they can receive salvation without repentance is deceived. So is anyone who believes that sin is no longer transgression of the Torah/law of Yahweh.

1John 3:4 - Whoever commits sin trangresses also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law.

I quote this often because it makes a plain statement that so many miss! The very definition of sin is breaking the law. We cannot "sin that grace may abound"!

Romans 6:1 - What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

Romans 6:2 - By no means! How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

It is an insult to the awesome work of Yahushua, who suffered immeasurably so that we would be saved, that anyone would think it is okay to sin now that we have received salvation. For it was because of our breaking of Yahweh's law that Yahushua had to come and die for us in the first place!

And He wants so much to live in us. But if we claim that He is living in us and we have an "oh well, I'm a sinner" attitude, this is evidence that He really is not in us at all!

1John 2:3 - Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.

1John 2:4 - He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

If we reject His commandments, we don't even know Him

1John 2:5 - But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of YAHWEH is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.

"By this we know we are in Him!"

1John 2:6 - He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

If we claim to abide in Yahushua then we should be diligently seeking to walk as He walked

Did He keep the Torah? YES

That settles it for me!

Some think they "have the Spirit now" and are free to disobey Yahweh's law. But the Spirit of Yahweh does not lead us to disobey Yahweh's torah/law, it is an unclean spirit that leads us to do that!

John 14:26 - But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Notice that the Holy Spirit comes in Yahushua's name. And His Spirit, His word, Yahushua's righteousness will come into our hearts and manifest itself.

The Spirit brings the "Word" to our remembrance.

And as Yahweh predicted:

Ezekiel 36:27 - And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

What? That scripture doesn't say that the Spirit of Yahweh will cause you to reject or ignore "that old law"?

The Spirit doesn't warn you to "quit spending so much time in the Old Testament?"

There is a spirit that will tell you that, but it isn't Yahweh's Spirit!

It doesn't say in Ezekiel 36:27 that the Spirit will lead you to some new and exciting law that would be to come.

Not at all, the Spirit will lead us to keeping Yahweh's commandments as already given.

His Spirit is supposed to cause us to walk in His statutes, not forget about them and say "Hey, I don't have to do that because I have the law in my heart" That doesn't make any sense!

How can the law be in your heart when you reject it?

How can the law be in our heart if we tell everyone it's done away with?

If the Spirit of Yahweh is in you and the law is in your heart, where are the fruits of the Spirit?

The fruits of the Spirit are obedience.

But if we refuse to keep the commandments that Yahushua kept, where is the evidence that He dwells in us? Where is the evidence of His Spirit causing us to walk in His statutes and do them? How can we claim we are walking as He walked?

Thus it is, my brethren.. "by this we know."

By this we know that we are in Yahushua, and He in us

By this we know that we love Him.

John 14:15 - If ye love me, keep my commandments.

So if His righteousness is in us, we will be wanting to keep His commandments.. that Spirit in us will guide us to righteousness.

Isn't it an awesome thing how His word all ties in together? It really is ONE message, ONE sweet, beautiful, unified word of truth from cover to cover. HalleluYah!

Again I say, works will save nobody (we must rely on Yahushua's works to be forgiven for our law-breaking) but without good works.. how can one say they have Yahushua abiding in him?

The truth is, they cannot

Yahushua said:

John 15:4 - Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

John 15:5 - I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

No other way to the Father, but through the Son (who brings us the righteousness of Yahweh)

John 15:6 - If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

John 15:7 - If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

John 15:8 - Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

John 15:9 - As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

So how are we to continue in His love and abide in Him?

Is it just to trust that he will cover our sins as we continue to ignore His commandments?

Not at all..

John 15:10 - If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

So we must walk as He walked and abide in Him

Now, contrary to popular opinion.. Paul also taught that righteous works are necessary to enter the kingdom:

For an example..

1Corinthians 6:9 - Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of YAHWEH? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

1Corinthians 6:10 - Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of YAHWEH.

"Be not deceived."

Paul never taught against righteousness at all

Galatians 5:19 - Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,

Galatians 5:20 - idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,

Galatians 5:21 - envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of YAHWEH.

"Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of YAHWEH."

And again..

Ephesians 5:3 - But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;

Ephesians 5:4 - neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

Ephesians 5:5 - For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of the Messiah and YAHWEH.

These were the issues in the first century. But now men want to act as if they are the only issues we need to deal with.

It wasn't hard to find a Sabbath keeper in those days, as it is today. After all, we read in many places in the book of Acts that Paul made the initial contact with the Gentiles in the synagogues.

Some act as if sabbath keeping has nothing to do with "bearing the fruits of the Spirit"

Or that refraining from eating abominable meats has nothing to do with whether or not we are walking in righteousness

But any act of obedience to Yahweh is bearing the fruits of His Spirit

Ezekiel 36:27 - And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

It is true that there is no commandment keeping that we can do to make up for the times that we DID break His commmandments

However, unless we 'repent' from our sins and do works worthy of repentance, we cannot be saved because we have failed to abide in the Vine! We have failed to even make the first step needed to receive His Righteousness. That first step is confession/repentance/acceptance of Yahushua for salvation.

Our works will automatically match our faith & heart if our faith & heart are truly sincere! This is not to say we might not fail from time to time, and this is not to say that we don't have the grace available to learn and grow...

If you fail Yahweh, don't let it get you down to the point of where you give up. Rather:

1John 1:8 - If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1John 1:10 - If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

1John 2:1 - My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Yahushua the Messiah the righteous.

Just confess them, trust in His mercy... and press on toward the goal!

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves

But we ought to seek to be without sin!

Philippians 3:13 - Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Philippians 3:14 - I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of YAHWEH in the Messiah Yahushua.

If we have the right attitude and heart toward obedience to His commandments and we humbly repent seek forgiveness when we realize we have done wrong.. and don't treat Yahweh like an automatic vending machine (up goes the prayer and out comes forgiveness)... we can count on His mercy!

We must take Yahushua's words seriously...

Yahushua said that He who does not abide in Him "is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned."

Without righteous works, where is the evidence of Yahushua being in us?

Where is the vine?

Is it possible to be saved apart from good works?

In a round about way, a question I've been asked many times is "how much can we get away with?"

As I said last week, if we have that kind of attitude, we won't get away with much of anything

Is Yahushua at all concerned about our works? Some think not.. but let's see

In these verses, Yahushua was speaking of certain assemblies:

To the assembly in Ephesus He said:

Revelation 2:2 - "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;

To Smyrna He said:

Revelation 2:9 - "I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

To Thyratira He said:

Revelation 2:19 - "I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first.

To Pergamos He said:

Revelation 2:13 - "I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne [is]. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

To Philadelphia He said:

Revelation 3:8 - "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

And to Laodicea He said:

Revelation 3:15 - "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.

Revelation 3:16 - "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

Separate them from His body. Brethren, let's not lose our zeal and love for Him.

So Yahushua said to them: "I know your works", "I know your works", "I know your works", "I know your works", "I know your works", "I know your works", and (finally) "I know your works"!

Do you suppose that He might have been a bit concerned with their works?

He said it to all seven of them!

And to some of them He warned that they were in danger of losing salvation, and He admonished them to "Overcome!"

Read it, there can be no doubt that works are important.. no matter what anyone tells you.

Revelation 22:12 - "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

Revelation 22:13 - "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."

Revelation 22:14 - Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

Yes, it is abundantly clear that we must keep His commandments. It is abundantly clear that we must have HIS WORKS abiding in us!

Else we aren't really the "Body of Yahushua" because when Yahushua walked this earth HE walked in righteousness, perfectly. If we aren't willing to submit to the head of the body then maybe we are not a part of His body.

Revelation 14:12 - Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of YAHWEH and the faith of Yahushua.

There is a good picture, a picture of the saints.

The saints are those who keep the commandments of Yahweh AND have the faith of Yahushua.

In this, there are two religions. Judaism accepts the Torah, but rejects the Messiah. Christianity accepts the Messiah but rejects the Torah. But you can't have one without the other. Yahushua is the TORAH/WORD of Yahweh! We must accept both, for they are in unity with one another.

How did Yahushua walk?

Did He break the Sabbath?

Did He keep this Winter Solstice/Christmas holiday we saw going on a month ago?

Did He observe things like Halloween?

Did He eat unclean animals?

Did He ignore Yahweh's feast days?

Did He ever break any commandment found in Yahweh's law?

The absolute undeniable truth is "NO."

If He did, He could not be righteous! But we KNOW He was and is

To those who ARE doing these things, I ask:

If Yahushua is "IN YOU", if HIS Righteousness is "IN YOU" and His Word is "IN YOU", and His SPIRIT is "IN YOU"...causing you to "walk in His statutes" (to quote Ezekiel), then why are YOU doing these things?

You want to walk as Yahushua walked (WWYD)? How did Yahushua walk? He kept the Sabbath. He refrained from idolatrous holidays. He did not eat unclean animals. He kept Yahweh's feast days. He never broke any commandment found in Yahweh's law.

Therefore...

If Yahushua is "IN YOU", if HIS Righteousness is "IN YOU" and His Word is "IN YOU", and His SPIRIT is "IN YOU"...causing you to "walk in His statutes" to quote Ezekiel, then it is is necessary that WE ALL do these things, just as He did while on earth

We must "Walk as He walked" if we truly want His righteousness, His word, His Spirit dwelling in us.

Let's abide in Him!

Let's seek His example in every aspect of our lives!

It is time..

It is time to seek Yahweh's righteousness!

Matthew 6:33 - But seek ye first the kingdom of YAHWEH, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 5:6 - Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Psalms 119:126 - It is time for thee, YAHWEH, to work: for they have made void thy law.

When we seek righteousness by faith, we will receive it abundantly. We seek Yahweh's righteousness by seeking to have His righteousness placed in us through Yahushua the Messiah, and we seek Yahweh's righteousness by seeking His strength to help us walk out that righteousness with Yahushua in us.

It is time to let His life and His word feed us all the days of our lives

Let Him show you what righteousness is.

He was meek, humble, He laid down His life for us, He did all things in the Torah, weightier and less weighty .

Therefore my brothers..

Lets allow Yahushua's righteousness shine forth in us, shall we?

Let's abide in the vine...

Let's remain humble through it all... remembering the pit from which we were dug out of.

And remembering the blessed grace we have been given in spite of ourselves.

Thank You Father, for saving each of us.. .and for revealing to us the true good news. May Yahweh continue to reveal His awesome ways..

And may Yahweh bless you and have mercy on us all!