The word "ruach" in Hebrew means "breath." That's the literal meaning of ruach. What does it mean to walk in the ruach, walk in the spirit? That's what we're going to be examining today at length.
There is a lot of confusion over what it really means. Some think it means we don't need the law anymore. Now we have the Spirit, and so we don't need the law. That is what most people understand, but that is not the truth, as we're going to examine in today's study. That is not the truth. In fact, hardly anything could be further from the truth. We're going to prove that from the holy scriptures.
The words of the prophets, the words of Yahushua, the words of all scripture are going to confirm that what it really means to walk in the Ruach, walk in the Spirit, is often misunderstood in today's mainstream churches, because many believe walking in the Ruach is something completely different than walking in obedience to Yahweh's law, the Torah.
I'll hear things like, "I don't have to keep the law; I walk in the Spirit. We walk in the Spirit now, not law. Oh, yeah, there used to be a time when people were commanded to walk according to the law, but now we have the law in our hearts, and so we walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh, the old fleshly commandments."
And they'll say, "Oh, you walk in the law and legalism of the Old Testament, but now we in the New Testament church walk in the Spirit."
How many have heard those kinds of comments before? Actually, a lot of that is born out of, if you look at it historically, Gnosticism. They believe that they are on a higher spiritual plane because of various understandings.
I think that's where a lot of the ideas originally generated; maybe not to the extreme today, but the flavor behind that kind of attitude is rooted in Gnosticism.
The Gnostics were a first century sect of people who claimed to believe in the Messiah, but they looked at everything as being spiritual now and nothing is in the flesh. In fact, they did not believe Yahushua actually came in the flesh. They believe He was a spirit-being that just looked like He came in the flesh.
That's why I think one reason you'll see a scripture in 1 John where it says that you must believe Yahushua the Messiah came in the flesh, or you are following anti-Messiah.
I think that anti-Messiah spirit kind of made its way into some thinking, even late first century thinking, and then progressed on from there.
We're going to examine the grave misunderstandings that we see today. What does it really mean to be walking in the Spirit? We're going to let the scriptures answer the question, what it really means to walk in the Spirit.
Romans 8:1 - There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in the Messiah Yahushua, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
If we take an objective point of view, we see that whatever it means to walk according to the Spirit, it sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Because they don't receive any condemnation, because they're walking after the Spirit, and they are in the Messiah Yahushua.
Now that sounds pretty key. It sounds pretty important that we need to understand what it really means to walk after the Spirit and what it means to be in the Messiah Yahushua. We've talked many times what it really means to be in the Messiah Yahushua, but today I'm going to talk about what it means to walk after the Spirit, to walk in the Ruach.
A promise is given. We see here that if we walk in Yahweh's Spirit--I don't think it's talking about our own spirit, because if we walk in our own spirit, we may find ourselves in trouble.
Ezekiel 13:2 - Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of YAHWEH;
Ezekiel 13:3 - Thus saith the Master YAHWEH; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
I'm convinced that there are probably a multitude of people out there who think they are following Yahweh's Spirit, but they are actually just following their own spirit. We need to be aware of that trap. It's often those who speak the loudest about the need to follow the Spirit that end up getting caught in some of the worst sins I've noticed.
I've been a believer for about 18 years, 19 years, and it's just a pattern I've seen many times. These same people will boast and act as if they are above you and that they are walking in the Spirit, and that you're down here somewhere on a lower plane spiritually, and you just don't understand, because you have to walk as they do.
You have to seek the spiritual things as they do, supposedly. If that is their attitude, they are not exhibiting an attitude that is of Yahweh, if it is not of Yahweh's Spirit. What they have is what the scriptures call a haughty spirit.
Proverbs 16:18 - Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
That's why I think a lot of these kinds of people who act that way end up getting caught in some of the worst sin. It's a haughty spirit. It never says pride goes before a fall--never. It says a haughty spirit comes before a fall. Of course, that comes out of pride, but technically, pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
What if we decide that we're not going to follow our own spirit. We're not going to follow a haughty spirit, but we're going to walk in Yahweh's Spirit. Then we're going to see a very beautiful promise.
Galatians 5:16 - I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
That's great, a beautiful promise. We only need to walk in Yahweh's Spirit, and we will not obey or fulfill the temptations and desires that our flesh causes us to endure.
From these words, I think we can establish at least one thing pretty clearly. Walking in the Spirit cannot have anything to do with fulfilling the lusts of the flesh. Can we agree on that? Walking in the Spirit can't have anything at all to do with fulfilling the lust.
When you do walk in the Spirit, you won't be fulfilling the lust of the flesh. Kepha, also called Peter, describes some false believers who claim to know Yahushua, but they are actually walking in the lusts of the flesh. This is in 2 Peter, chapter 2. I'm going to read through this chapter.
2Peter 2:1 - But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Redeemer who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
2Peter 2:2 - And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
2Peter 2:3 - By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.
2Peter 2:4 - For if YAHWEH did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
2Peter 2:5 - and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the wicked;
2Peter 2:6 - and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live wickedly;
2Peter 2:7 - and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked
2Peter 2:8 - (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)--
2Peter 2:9 - then YAHWEH knows how to deliver the righteous out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,
Yahweh knows how to deliver us from temptations, especially those who walk according to the flesh--talking about the ones who will be punished.
2Peter 2:10 - and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries,
2Peter 2:11 - whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before YAHWEH.
2Peter 2:12 - But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption,
2Peter 2:13 - and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you,
2Peter 2:14 - having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and [are] accursed children.
2Peter 2:15 - They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
2Peter 2:16 - but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet.
2Peter 2:17 - These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
2Peter 2:18 - For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error.
2Peter 2:19 - While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.
We see here a promise of liberty, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. Why? Because they're sinning and very prideful.
2Peter 2:20 - For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Master and Savior Yahushua the Messiah, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.
We see here this promise of liberty which results in a return to the entanglement of the world and the pollution of the world results in a condition of a person that's even worse than being an unbeliever, even worse. It's worse to be a person who claims to be a believer but is still walking in the pollutions of the world and promising others you can be free and do what you want.
Grace covers it all, don't have to worry about your sin anymore. You're in worse condition preaching such a thing than if you were an unbeliever, according to this scripture. It says while they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption and brought into bondage.
2Peter 2:20 - For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Master and Savior Yahushua the Messiah, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.
It's demonstrated very clearly that liberty does not mean we have a license to sin. Liberty is freedom from the penalty and the repercussions, the wages of sin, which is death and damnation, and the ability to walk as Yahweh leads. As we lead our children to greater and higher things in their growth, so Yahweh leads us.
We give our children the grace to make mistakes. Maybe they'll fall. We may need to discipline them sometimes, but they're still our children, and that's how Yahweh leads.
But if we are purposely using liberty as an excuse to sin and returning to the pollutions of the world, knowing that this is not really what Yahweh wants us to do, and we don't really care, because we think we have grace, we're making a big mistake.
Galatians 5:13 - For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
We are not called to use this liberty as an opportunity for the flesh. That's the opposite of what we see here in 2 Peter. When we understand that true liberty is walking in uprightness, righteousness, and living the sanctified life, when we understand that, then we have the right attitude, as it says in James 1:25.
James 1:25 - But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
We must be doers of the Word, not hearers only. We must look into that perfect law of liberty. Let it change us. Let it continue in us, and then we will be blessed. It is sin that corrupts us and puts us in bondage. This world has many idols that they think brings them liberty, many statues that they think brings them into liberty.
Actually, it brings them into bondage, all the abominable idols. Yahweh's commandments are statutes of liberty leading to a freedom from the bondage of sin, because sin brings no good thing in our life. Kepha mentions:
2Peter 2:20 - For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Master and Savior Yahushua the Messiah, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.
Why?
2Peter 2:21 - For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.
It's better not to know, just to walk around in ignorance, as many unbelievers might do today. It's better not to know than to, having known, to turn away from the holy commandment delivered.
2Peter 2:22 - But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire."
We need to be aware of anyone who would turn us away from the holy commandments which are delivered to us. We need to beware of anyone who would themselves have been turned away and would want to turn you away. As I like to say, beware of the dogs who return to their own vomit and teach men so.
What other scriptures would reveal what it means to walk in the flesh, in the lusts of the flesh?
Romans 13:8 - Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Isn't that interesting? It looks like here in verse 8 we are called to be a people who fulfill the law, because we are told to love one another, and if we love one another we do fulfill the law.
Romans 13:9 - For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Romans 13:10 - Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Brethren, if we understand that love is fulfilling of the law, then we will understand why it is said that Yahushua fulfilled the law, because He walked in perfect love for Yahweh and in perfect love for us.
Yahushua, when He fulfilled the law, that doesn't mean we get to disobey it now, that we're free to ignore the law. No. He fulfilled the law as an example for us to walk as He walked.
If we love, we are fulfilling the law. Why? Because every commandment in the law has one thing in common: either that we love Yahweh with all of our heart, all of our soul, and all of our strength, or that we love our neighbor as ourself, or both.
Since that is the case, how can we say Yahushua fulfilled that; therefore, we don't do it. That doesn't make any sense. We should look and say, "Yahushua fulfilled that, and so let's fulfill that, too, because He lives in me." That's what it means to walk in the Spirit. The time has come that we wall walk as He walked.
Romans 13:11 - And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Romans 13:12 - The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
HalleluYah. Let's cast off the work of darkness and fulfill the law. Put on that armor of light through our love for Yahweh and our love for one another. Every single commandment in the law has that as its intent: that we love Yahweh and love one another.
Romans 13:13 - Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
Romans 13:14 - But put ye on Yahushua the Messiah, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
When we put on Yahushua the Messiah, then we are also going to fulfill the law, just as He did. We have another witness here confirming that walking in the lusts of the flesh is disobedience to Yahweh's law, not obedience. Torah-keeping has nothing to do with walking in the flesh, nothing. Here's another witness in 1 Peter 4:1-5:
1Peter 4:1 - Therefore, since the Messiah suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,
1Peter 4:2 - that he no longer should live the rest of [his] time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of YAHWEH.
1Peter 4:3 - For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles--when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.
1Peter 4:4 - In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.
1Peter 4:5 - They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
We should no longer live the rest of our time in the flesh for the lusts of men, and he describes some of those things. It's very crystal clear that walking in the lusts of the flesh is the same as walking in disobedience to Yahweh, because we should no longer live the rest of our time for the lusts of men, but for the will of Yahweh.
I think we've established here very clearly four witnesses from the scriptures, walking in the flesh is disobedience to Yahweh. Could we not then conclude that walking in the Spirit would be obedience to Yahweh? Absolutely.
Yahweh prophesied through Ezekiel that in the latter days He would put His Spirit in His people. And when He put His Spirit in His people, a wonderful transformation would take place.
Ezekiel 36:25 - Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
Ezekiel 36:26 - A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
What will this Spirit do that He gives, this new Spirit? Will it lead us away from the law of Yahweh and walk in some new thing that's imagined in the hearts of men? Absolutely not.
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.
That's what the Spirit of Yahweh will cause us to do when we submit ourselves to it. We'll be walking in Yahweh's statutes, keeping His judgments, and doing them.
It is His Spirit that guides us into walking in His will, walking according to the holy commandment given to us, walking in righteousness, and keeping the Torah. I'll talk about that a little bit more later. For now, let's look at some other verses in Paul's writings.
Galatians 4:5 - to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
Galatians 4:6 - And because you are sons, YAHWEH has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!"
Galatians 4:7 - Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of YAHWEH through the Messiah.
Yahushua redeemed those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons. It's very true that we, as believers in Yahushua the Messiah, we are not under the law. Let me repeat that again. We, as believers in Yahushua, are not under the law. But it's also true that we are not above the law just because we are sons.
Yahushua was the ultimate Son, and He kept every commandment perfectly. We are not under the law. If we were under the law, we would be condemned. We are under grace, but we're not above the law either, just because we are sons and daughters of Elohim. We do keep the commandments and the law.
We know Yahushua was the ultimate Son of Yahweh, was He not? And He did do that. He kept every commandment perfectly. You can read more about that very topic--and we're going to talk about it a little bit--but you can read a full study on what it means to be under the law if you go to Eliyah.com/underlaw.html. In Galatians 5:13-17, it says:
Galatians 5:13 - For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
Galatians 5:14 - For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Notice here how he compares the fulfillment of Yahweh's law as being the opposite of using liberty as an opportunity for the flesh. In verse 13 he's saying don't use that liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another, and all the law is fulfilled in one word: love your neighbor as yourself.
He's calling us back to being obedient and fulfill the law as the Messiah did. We also are supposed to love Yahweh, not just love your neighbor. I think he assumed we knew that already.
In the book of John, it says we cannot love the children of Yahweh unless we love Yahweh and keep His commandments
1John 5:2 - By this we know that we love the children of YAHWEH, when we love YAHWEH and keep His commandments.
And so we cannot love our neighbor unless we love Yahweh, right?
Galatians 5:15 - But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!
Galatians 5:16 - I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
So how do we walk in the Spirit? We fulfill the law, loving our neighbor as ourself, loving Yahweh with all of our heart, soul, and strength. That's how we walk in the Spirit, and then we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh, which we talked about was disobedience.
Galatians 5:17 - For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
Based on what we've learned so far, brethren, we cannot possibly conclude that walking in the Spirit of Yahweh has anything to do with disobedience to Yahweh's law; rather, to the contrary. With that in mind, let's read the next verse.
Galatians 5:18 - But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
This is the one that many people will take and say, "Well, I don't have to follow the law anymore. I'm led by the Spirit." They misunderstand what's meant by being under the law. Many believe that the two are contrary to one another. That can't be. Everything we've examined so far, every scripture verse we've looked at has indicated just the opposite.
When we follow the Spirit of Yahweh, we are walking in obedience to Yahweh's law. We're going to examine the meaning of this phrase "under the law" in depth.
If we have been set free from sin, then we know for a fact we are not under the law, because disobedience and transgression of the law is exactly what sin is.
s/ 1Joh 3 4
If you've been set free from sin, that's a transgression of Yahweh's law. Guess what? You are not under the law. The following verses in Galatians 5 clearly prove that one who's walking in the Spirit is not free to be just flagrantly disobedient to Yahweh's law again.
If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law, and the works of the flesh are evident.
Galatians 5:18 - But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Galatians 5:19 - Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
These are all things that are breaking Yahweh's law. It's against the Torah to commit adultery, fornication, to commit lewdness, uncleanness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like.
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.
That's a pretty serious warning. If we are led by the Spirit, we will not be doing these things.
Galatians 5:22 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Galatians 5:23 - gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
The portion here that talks about the works of the flesh, does that sound like attributes we should have? Does that sound like someone who is keeping Yahweh's commandments? Absolutely not. Those are attributes of those who walk in disobedience to Yahweh's law.
All these things are condemned in the law of Yahweh, so it's impossible for this phrase "under the law" to be referring to those who are keeping Yahweh's law. If we are under the law, we are condemned.
There's two ways we can find ourselves under the law. Number one, we can refuse the goodness of Yahweh that leads us to repentance, that is Yahushua the Messiah, and never seek to receive Him.
That means we are still under the law, not under grace. We refuse to accept the offering of grace given to us, and so we're walking continually in disobedience and have no forgiveness for our sins.
We are not under grace. We are under the law, and so when Yahweh comes and judges us, He will judge us according to the law, and we will be quickly condemned, because we've been disobedient to the law.
The other way that we can find ourselves under the law is to say with our hearts, "Oh, yeah, I receive grace so I can go out and do what I want." That's not what grace is supposed to be for. That is insulting the spirit of grace to say, "Oh, yes, I receive grace, so now I can disobey Yahweh's law and not get punished for it."
Brethren, if we have that attitude, we are going to get punished for it, because that is not the kind of attitude Yahweh seeks for us to receive grace. We must repent.
One who is under the law, some Messianic teachers are teaching that to be under the law just means you've sinned. It's not just that. We know Yahushua Himself did not sin, and yet it says in Galatians 4:4:
Galatians 4:4 - But when the fullness of the time had come, YAHWEH sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
Yahushua was born under the law, but He never sinned. So just saying a person who is under the law as being equivalent of one who sinned isn't necessarily true. If you are not under the law, it says in scripture:
Romans 6:14 - For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
We're not under the law; therefore, we are set free from the dominion and penalty and repercussions of what sin would do to us. We are under grace or favor. Sin will not have dominion over us. We are not under the law. We are under grace.
Those under grace are forgiven for their transgressions. They are set free from the power of sin. Part of that power is eternal death and damnation. That's the bondage.
Yahushua was under the law, but was not condemned, because He did not sin. He didn't need to have someone come along and forgive Him for His sins. He was a perfect man, but we need someone to forgive us of our sins. We need Yahweh to extend His grace to us.
If we were strictly under the law and did not have grace, we would be condemned, because we did not keep the law. We can conclude that a person who is under the law is a person that would be required to live up to the standards of that law perfectly in order to receive salvation.
There isn't a person on this earth today who is doing that. I should say has done that. There are some people who are walking in obedience and perfection to the knowledge that they know. I have no doubt about that.
Those who are under the law need to be keeping that law perfectly in order to prevent sin from having dominion over them. Of course, that doesn't help them with their past sins they've done, if they're going strictly by the law to judge them and to save them.
None of us are going to be able to stand before Yahweh and say, "Look, I lived under your law, and I kept it. I deserve to enter into life." Nobody will be able to say that. We cannot receive salvation through the law. The law of Yahweh cannot save us, because we have all failed to keep it.
Yahushua the Messiah, born under the law, lived up to His standards and kept it. He deserved to live. The grave could not hold Him. He deserved to live, but we have all failed, and that's why we need Him isn't it? He is our only hope. He is the only hope of mankind.
Yahweh's standard is perfection. We are called and created to walk in His image, but we have failed to live up to that image, and so we cannot be saved or receive justification and be declared righteous by law-keeping. How can we? We haven't kept it.
The law cannot justify us. It cannot make us free from its penalty of eternal death and damnation. By the works of the law, no one is going to be declared righteous. No one is going to be justified, except one man, and we are not that one man.
The law can only show us what sin is. It cannot redeem us. We need Yahushua for that, don't we? If we want salvation, we need to be under grace. If we want to be under grace, we need to repent. That means to turn away from sin. It doesn't mean that you have to be perfect now; it means you, in your heart, want to turn away from unrighteousness and turn toward righteousness.
You make every sincere effort in your heart to walk in it. If we want salvation, we must repent and receive Yahushua the Messiah and be baptized for remission of sins.
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.
If we were under the law, we would be held to keeping that standard of righteousness and perfection. If we were under the law, we would not be forgiven for breaking that law. We have to be under grace. The works of the law will not save us. The works of Yahushua the Messiah will. If we receive Him in us, so that it's no longer us that Yahweh sees, it's Yahushua the Messiah living in us.
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.
If He lives in you, will that Spirit that's in you lead you to do something completely, drastically different than what Messiah did, which was keep Yahweh's law? No. He will put His Spirit within you, and when He writes the Torah on the tablets of your heart, it will reflect in the outer layer through obedience to that law.
If we understand this, brethren, if we understand the things that I've just said, we can go through the writings of Paul, and it all makes perfect sense.
We need to understand what Paul was dealing with in those days were unbelieving Jews and Jews who wanted to twist the good news of the Messiah into something else, some kind of thing where you had to follow some ritual in order to be saved.
You had to get circumcised in order to be saved, or you had to follow this one commandment, then you'll be saved. Yahweh is willing to save us the minute we, in our hearts, turn to Him.
Last week I talked to two people at the jail, the local county jail here--I make visits there--and two of the people I talked to out of a total of seven, two of the people there were being tried for murder, first degree murder.
They had not seen me before I came in, and both of them separately talked to me and wanted to know if they were saved or not. We know we're not really saved until we endure to the end. But they wanted to know whether Yahweh received them or not. I asked them, "Have you in your heart made the decision to turn away from sin and to walk in obedience?"
They both said yes. I said, "Do you believe that Yahushua is the Messiah?" I explained to them I used the name Yahushua instead of Jesus. "Do you believe He is the Messiah and that through Him you can be cleansed of your sins and have your sins washed away?" They both said yes.
Guess what? That's all you need. He'll meet you right there. He'll meet you right there. I didn't ask them how many Sabbaths have you kept? I didn't ask them, did you pronounce the name with sufficient exactness? I didn't ask them how many feast days have you kept, or how many times have you eaten pork this week? Yahweh is after the heart.
He can work with you from there. I tell these people, I say, I'm not looking at where you've been, because where you've been isn't what matters. It's where you want to go now. They received that. I'm not here to condemn; I'm here to care. They received that.
That is the beauty of the good news of Yahushua the Messiah. In reality, brethren, it's the way it's always been, all the way back even in the Old Testament time period. Read the book of Ezekiel.
The wicked man turns from his wickedness and starts to walk uprightly, then all his transgressions will be forgotten. That's what it says in the book of Ezekiel. Of course, we know today that it is Yahushua the Messiah who made that possible. HalleluYah.
Paul was dealing with people who were trying to twist the grace of Yahweh into something, that liberty gives you an occasion to be disobedient to Yahweh's law. He was also dealing with those who thought they were going to be saved because they kept the law. The reality was nobody is saved because they kept the law.
We can only be saved through the righteousness of Yahweh that He placed in Yahushua the Messiah, which is then placed in us, because it is not longer we who live. It is He who lives in us. We consider ourselves dead and Messiah alive in us.
In one sense, I do believe we do not have to keep Yahweh's law. Before you get too shocked, let me qualify that. If I had to keep Yahweh's law to be saved, I would be lost and so would everyone, because we've not kept it.
There is a subtle difference out there, brethren, you've got to be careful about, because some people are teaching that since we don't have to keep the law to be saved, why keep it at all? So they conclude we don't ever have to even concern ourselves about keeping Yahweh's law. Very subtle difference.
The serpent is very subtle, isn't he? He wants to tempt you with, "Hath Elohim said?" Yes, He has said. We need to obey it. We need to be seeking to keep those commandments as a response to His love for us. There's a wrong attitude, and there's a right attitude.
One insults the spirit of grace, the other embraces the spirit of grace and shows appreciation for it. Out of our appreciation, our love for Yahweh, our love for our fellow man, we desire to repent and walk as Yahushua walked.
We don't want to transgress the law again, because that's why Yahushua had to die for us in the first place, because we did transgress that law.
1John 3:4 - Whoever commits sin trangresses also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law.
Romans 3:20 - Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
The law only tells you what sin is; it doesn't justify you.
Romans 4:15 - Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
We have three phrases: "by the law is the knowledge of sin," "sin is the transgression of the law," "where no law is, there is no transgression." Don't those make it crystal clear that the very definition of sin is to be disobedient to Yahweh's law? Of course.
It's not saying it used to be that way, way back when. It's saying it is that way currently, today. Sin is disobedience to Yahweh's law.
Those who say we don't have to concern ourselves with keeping the law of Yahweh, they claim the law has been abolished and done away with, don't need it anymore, it's been disposed of, are wrong.
Those very same people, when they teach that, are teaching that you don't have to be concerned about sin anymore. The whole definition of sin has been disposed of. You get your own ideas. Just love Yahweh, love each other, and we'll all be one big happy family. That's not scripture. That's not what the scriptures teach.
Oh, yeah, if you do love Yahweh and love one another, that's what Yahweh wants. Yahweh could have given just those two commandments on Sinai, and that would have been it. But He knows the tendency of man to want to define his own way, ignore what Yahweh says is love and do His own thing, so He gave specifics.
Just because you think you have the Spirit of Yahweh don't mean you get to define your own way.
Yes, the Spirit of Yahweh should lead you to being able to love Him and to love one another, but don't think for a minute that the Spirit of Yahweh is going to lead you into disobedience to the law, because the law of Yahweh teaches us what sin is, and the Spirit is not going to lead you to sin. Let's look again at a previous verse we examined.
Romans 6:14 - For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Romans 6:15 - What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? By no means!
How much clearer can it get, brethren? Should we sin? Should we transgress the law again because we're not under the law? That means we're being held to its standards for salvation? We're under grace. That means given favor because of our decision to receive Yahushua.
Should we continue to sin? No. No, no, 1,000 times no. Whose slave or servant do we want to be? Paul asked the question.
Romans 6:16 - Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Sin, transgressions of Yahweh's law, leads us on the road to death. That's the road we used to be on, but obedience to Yahweh's law brings us to righteousness. Do we want to be a servant of sin that leads to death? Then go ahead. Break Yahweh's Torah. Go ahead and break Yahweh's commandments, break the law and teach others to do so.
Romans 6:17 - But YAHWEH be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Have we become servants of righteousness? Then we will keep the law. We will not transgress the law. We will not sin. That's how we become servants of righteousness that leads to life. When we understand this, brethren, Paul's writings become so much clearer. The confusion comes to an end. We'll understand why Paul said:
Galatians 5:17 - For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
Galatians 5:18 - But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
If we are led by the Spirit, we are far removed from being under the law, which is a state of condemnation. Walking in the Spirit is walking in the ways of Yahweh, keeping His law.
Based on the attitude of many, one would think that those who walk according to the flesh are the Sabbath keepers, the feast keepers, those that wear tassels on their garments and choose to refrain from pork.
Brethren, those commandments are no more walking in the flesh, because they are supposedly a physical commandment, than to partake in baptism, which is definitely a physical commandment.
Are we walking in the flesh if we choose to be baptized? It's a thing we actually do with our flesh. We get down into the water. No! In fact, it says in scripture that the law of Yahweh is spiritual.
Romans 7:14 - For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
That's the problem. The law is spiritual; we're carnal. How can we become spiritually minded? The law is so spiritual, when Yahushua speaks, it says His words are spirit, and they are life.
John 6:63 - It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
That's because Yahushua was the living Word from the very beginning that dwelt among us, the Word that became flesh. He was also the Word in Genesis, and He was the Word in Leviticus, and Exodus, and Numbers, and Deuteronomy. He was the Word, and He is the Word also in Luke, in Matthew, in Paul's letters, in Revelation. He is the Word.
When we choose to partake of the Word, we choose to read the Word and let the Word soak into our hearts, Yahweh's Spirit is entering into us, and it will give us life. When we receive Yahushua into our lives, into our hearts, we are bringing Yahweh's Spirit into us. HalleluYah.
Walking in the Spirit is not disobedience to the Word, no matter where it was written or when. Walking in the Spirit is obedience. Walking in the flesh is not Torah observance. Walking in the flesh is breaking the Torah.
If the law is summed up in love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, those are fruits of the Spirit, because they are fruits of obedience to the law, which is spirit and is life.
That's why there's no law against it. If we have love, then the Torah, the law of Yahweh is going to be kept. Those who walk in the Spirit are going to be obedient, righteous individuals that glorify Yahweh in their conduct. It's our flesh, and it's the mainstream teachers have erred today that are going to lead us to disobedience to Yahweh's law.
Isaiah 5:20 - Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Matthew 5:19 - Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
That's why Yahushua said, "Don't even think I came to destroy the law. I didn't come to destroy it; I came to fulfill it." Not one thing is going to pass until heaven and earth pass. There is much yet to be fulfilled.
Yahushua is going to come and rule and reign over the earth and lead every man, woman, and child on this earth to the way of righteousness, because it says that the law will go forth out of Tsiyon, and the Word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.
Isaiah 2:3 - And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of YAHWEH, to the house of the Elohim of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of YAHWEH from Jerusalem.
Much more has yet to be fulfilled. We need to be aware of false prophets, who will be the least in the kingdom, going abroad on their bellies like the serpent, the least of the animals--as one brother pointed out last feast. The least in the kingdom will be ashes under the soles of our feet. Can't get any lower than that, can they?
We need to seek to be great in the kingdom of heaven and to desire and teach others to do the commandments. May Yahweh have mercy on us.
Romans 7:24 - O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Romans 7:25 - Thanks be to YAHWEH through Yahushua the Messiah our Saviour. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of YAHWEH; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Do we serve the law of Yahweh with our minds? That's walking in the Spirit. Yahweh wants all of our hearts.
Romans 8:1 - There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in the Messiah Yahushua, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 8:2 - For the law of the Spirit of life in Messiah Yahushua hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
The law was weak. It could only show us the difference between righteousness and unrighteousness. It could not make us righteous. We need Yahushua for that. We need Him to fulfill the righteous requirements of the law, where we have failed. We need to submit to Yahweh by receiving Him. Now that we've been delivered, we want to walk in the Ruach, walk in the Spirit.
Romans 8:3 - For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, YAHWEH sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Romans 8:4 - That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Yahushua fulfills the law in us. Think about that. Through Yahushua the Messiah, the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us. Who is us? It says "us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
For the righteousness of the law to be fulfilled in us, we need to make a decision to walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. If the righteousness of the law is not fulfilled in you, you have no salvation. We need to have it fulfilled in us.
The whole goal Yahushua had when He walked on this earth was that the righteous requirement of the law would be fulfilled in us when we decide to repent and walk in the Ruach.
He begins to share the difference between the two in Romans 8:5-6:
Romans 8:5 - For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Romans 8:6 - For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
They're two opposites. What's the difference between one who is carnally minded, which brings death, and one who is spiritually minded, which brings peace?
What will be the clean evidence that one is walking with a carnal mind, rather than a spiritual mind?
Romans 8:7 - Because the carnal mind is enmity against YAHWEH: for it is not subject to the law of YAHWEH, neither indeed can be.
I hope that puts an exclamation point on what this study is all about. If we are spiritually minded, we will be subject to the law of Yahweh. It is those who are carnally minded who refuse to be subject to the law of Yahweh. We must walk in the Spirit, and that's why it says:
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's a blessing, brethren, how it all lines up perfectly. Yahweh's Word is in complete unity. There really isn't this Old Testament versus New Testament going on. Yahweh is not a chameleon. He does not change.
Yahushua the Messiah is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He was the Word of Yahweh in the beginning, and He is the Word of Yahweh in the end.
Walking according to the flesh cannot be referring to those who observe Yahweh's law; rather, just the opposite. According to Romans 8, to be walking according to the flesh is equal to being carnally minded, and to be carnally minded is equal to not being subject to Yahweh's law.
Those who are in Yahushua, who are walking in the Spirit, are going to want to be subject to Yahweh's law and not teach that it's done away with and you don't have to obey it anymore. We cannot blatantly sin, which is transgress the law, so that grace may abound.
We need to walk in the Ruach. If we walk in the Ruach, we're going to walk in the words and the light and the love of Yahweh our Elohim, our strength.
John 6:63 - It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Let's walk in them. Yahushua walked in the Spirit, and there was no disobedience found in Him. He is the manifestation of the law to us, because He kept it blamelessly, and we are called--I say it again and again and again--we are called to walk as He walked.
He who says I know Him and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. Whoever keeps His Word, truly the love of Yahweh is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk just as He walked.
When Yahweh repeats something in His Word--He does that a lot. He'll repeat something in His Word over and over and over again. When He repeats something in His Word, we might find it once or twice. Maybe three times He'll repeat the same thing. I think that's a sign that He's particularly concerned we might disobey that part, and so He repeats it again.
He knows our tendencies. In fact, when it says "You shall teach the commandments diligently to your children," it means to repeat them again and again. How many times do we see in the scriptures where Yahweh says to keep His commandments? How many times can we look at the man, Yahushua the Messiah, and see that He did just that?
Can we not see that He is our example and that anyone saying that they abide in Him need to do the same things He did and keep those commandments? We can look to His life as an example, because He kept all of Yahweh's commandments. That's why.
If He did not do those things, He couldn't be our Savior, because He would have sinned. He would have transgressed the law of Yahweh. We know He didn't. When we are baptized, the old man is no more, and the new man, Yahushua the Messiah living in us, is raised up. We are a new creation.
When He dwells in us, then Yahweh's Spirit is in us, because Yahweh's Spirit is certainly in Him. He will do the things in us that He did when He was on the earth. Yahushua not only empowers us to walk in the Spirit of Yahweh, keeping Yahweh's law, He also cleanses us from those times that we did not.
1John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Yahushua the Messiah His Son cleanses us from all sin.
We are saved because He kept the Torah, and His Torah-keeping dwells in us when we receive Him. He is the light of the world, because the words of Yahweh are a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. When the Word of Yahweh is dwelling within us, through Yahushua the Messiah, we will be walking in the path of the just.
Proverbs 4:18 - But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
That's the path of the just. The light will shine brighter and brighter and brighter and brighter until the perfect day. I've heard it said that all the darkness in the world cannot put out the light of a single flame. Yahushua, the light of the world, should be abiding in us in this dark world. Yahushua said to not hide it. He said:
Matthew 5:16 - Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Brethren, it's not pride to let Yahushua shine through you. It glorifies Yahweh. But if the light that is in you is not a life that is subject to His law, it's not the light that Yahweh is looking for to be that shining example of Yahushua.
Yahweh's commandments are commandments. Why? Because they're commandments. They're not suggestions. They're not helpful hints. They're commandments.
Let's allow the light of Yahushua to shine through us every day through His strength in us. Let's allow that light to get brighter and brighter as we learn more and more of His life, through His example, and through the words of Yahweh.
Concerning the past, we're all free from our sin. We're all free to leave behind our old ways, where we had ignored and broken Yahweh's law. We are not held to the past. Drop it. The past is gone. The old man is dead. The new man, Yahushua the Messiah, lives in you.
We let Him live His life, as He lived on the earth, through you, through me, unhindered. When we walk in His light, we're walking in Yahweh's Spirit. The law of Yahweh is perfect.
Psalms 19:7 - The law of YAHWEH is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of YAHWEH is sure, making wise the simple.
Psalms 19:8 - The statutes of YAHWEH are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of YAHWEH is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Psalms 19:9 - The fear of YAHWEH is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of YAHWEH are true and righteous altogether.
Psalms 19:10 - More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Psalms 19:11 - Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
Psalms 19:12 - Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
Psalms 19:13 - Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
Psalms 19:14 - Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O YAHWEH, my strength, and my redeemer.
Do we believe His Word? Then believe verse 11. In keeping Yahweh's law, there is great reward. We only need to look to where Yahushua is today to find that out. There is a great reward, and He said:
Revelation 3:21 - "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Wow! What an honor to know and reign with the King of Creation. How is it that Yahweh can take something so far removed from His will and turn it into something beautiful? It amazes me every time I think about it.
And so, brethren, let's seek the will of Yahweh in our lives, as outlined in His Word, all of His Word, whether it was written 2,000 years ago in the New Testament or 3,000 years ago in the Old Testament. It doesn't matter when He said it; it only matters that He said it.
It's all His Word. It's all His Spirit. It's all the way of Yahweh. It's all Yahushua's walk, and so let's seek to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh. In Yahushua the Messiah, we have the example of this very thing lived out.
We can do likewise, because in Yahushua the Messiah, we have the righteousness and the strength we need that is necessary for us to be able to walk in the way and the path that is narrow, that is pure, and that is new, walking in the Ruach. May Yahweh bless you.
Home | Refer this page to a friend | Request printed copy of this page | Search