Post by L'Chaim on Sept 5, 2007 21:11:20 GMT -5
The Torah is not "law" in the sense that it is a field regulation book for boot camp. Torah is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I will hide its words in my heart that I might not sin against Elohim.
Bleating in our ears with a non-stop echo, we hear words similar to these: "The law is the schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. Now that Christ has resurrected and/or our saving faith in His atoning work has been met with repentance and faith, we don't need the Law anymore. It brought me to Christ and now that I am His, I don't need it any longer."
First, I dare say that most people who claim to be born again, did NOT come by way of Torah. At best they might know half of the Ten Commandments. Far too many believers cannot even name the Top Ten. So, this idea that they came by the Law as a schoolmaster is slick rhetoric borrowed from Scripture to be rebellious and reveal the fruit of the wrong seed.
Consider this: A young man goes to LSU and studies diligently to become an architect. He is absorbed in endless hours of study, practicing the rules of delineation, rendering. The wealth of knowledge in a good architect's head is utterly amazing. He knows how every kind of joint fits with every kind of material, tolerances, durability. He knows landscaping and how to position a building so that morning and evening sun doesn't have too much effect on occupants. I have an architect for a client and I stay amazed around him.
So the guy spends his years and thousands of dollars to pay the "schoolmaster(s)." He learns. He makes mistakes. For that he gets less than desirable marks or even failures. So, he works harder until he knows the material and how to avoid the common pitfalls of his occupation. He knows that if he tries to "wing it" and not use his slide rule, calculator and square, the further into a project he goes, the worse it becomes. Why? He has no standards... or he refuses to use them.
Ladies and Gentlemen: Torah, "the Law," is not a school bus to haul people to Messiah. It is not something we ride on until we arrive and then let it slip into distant and useless memory.
In Paul's day, the elite would send their, usually boys, off to schools of higher learning... young boys. The schoolmasters trained the boys in every aspect of life and whatever profession they pursued.
Paul writes to the Galatians:
Why? Why would Paul say we are no longer under a schoolmaster?
Well, you can be sure it was not so you can tote a pig in a poke and a crank out a few gallons of crayfish gumbo... on "Saturday."
Let's go back to the architectural student. When he graduates and signs on with a major firm, he no longer is under his schoolmasters. Simple enough. HOWEVER, what he DOES NOT DO is violate all the rules he learned from the schoolmaster.
Folks would have us believe that he can go to school, get his degree so that he can land a six-figure job and then "pick and choose" which rules of delineation he wants to use. He'll have no success working for a firm that tells him his education at LSU is no longer any good. How stupid would that be?
Any bozo head who grads LSU, gets a big time job and violates even the "least of the commandments" will find himself in the bread line at the Salvation Army.
YOU DO NOT ABANDON THE SCHOOLING JUST BECAUSE YOU GRADUATED THE SCHOOLMASTER !!!
Once the material is learned and can easily be practiced, then the schoolmaster has done his job. But that does not mean as much as one tittle of his truth is incorrect and to be scowled at by his graduates.
Hey! Messiah IS the Torah. Remember? In the beginning was the Torah. The Torah was Elohim and the Torah was with Elohim. The Torah came to "HIS" own (The Word of YHWH came to Ezekiel saying, Son of man...." "The Word of YHWH came to Jeremiah saying....") and "HIS own received "HIM" not.
Does not Paul promise that Messiah (the Word) IN you is the hope of glory?
No, graduation from school only means the graduate is fully functional IN the schooling he got, not apart from it.
Paul stated that Messiah is the "end" (Gk: telos - focus, goal, conclusion) of Torah. When you study (if you ever do) the Torah and should you come to the right conclusions, you will find Messiah. Indeed, Messiah IS the Torah.
Paul stated: (Romans 8)
You got a problem with "the Law?" Then, according to YOUR apostle, you have a carnal mind that is so corrupt it is at enmity against Elohim and is not even capable of being "SUBJECT TO" the Torah (Messiah).
Lots of difference between being "under the Law" and "subject to the Law." To be under the Law is to be judged by it, found guilty. Remember? Torah is the revelation of everything pure and perfect and shows us just how far away we are. Because of our sin-cursed existences, back when we...
separated from the commonwealth of Israel, we were judged by Torah, under its scrutiny.
But when we repent and by faith embrace the atonement given us by grace and have our sins covered, even washed away in His own blood, then we shift from being "under the Law" to "under grace." We now are judged by/in grace. HalleluYah! ...And, as Paul stated, "subject to the Law."
Having found repentance because of the Spirit's revelation of Truth and purity, juxtaposed against our iniquities and anomia, we do not spurn those things that revealed our shortcomings. Indeed, to do so would be to continue in them.
Does Messiah REALLY believe us when we say we have repented from sin and yet we insist that He validated it? Pigs are still unclean. Nothing about the Blood of Messiah did a thing to upgrade the abominable creature. He has not told us that we can squander His appointed times (moedim) on our own lustful desires. He has set apart a time to ...............
...enjoy our company and to bless us with His!
Yet we argue against common sense and plain reading, that Messiah no longer wants to spend a day each week with us, undistracted by daily routines. Oh no! That's works! That's been done away with and if you persist, you're endanger of being "robbed of the 'freedom' you have in Christ." Oy!
Somebody please tell me how spending quality time with the Creator constitutes work? And no! You don't spend time with the Holy One of Israel with some hope you will "get saved." He has no company with the heathen, the gentile. Remember? You "were gentiles." (Eph 2:11. That WAS to the Ephesians, right?)
I had an employee many years ago who oft cited these words:
Somebody says, I don't have to wait until Saturday to spend time with God. I reckon not. If you aren't doing it all week you sure aren't going to do it on Saturday... or Sunday. Messiah (Torah) in you is not only the hope of glory (Col. 1:27), it's a whole-life lifestyle. 24/7 Yep.
What a joy to go through life in continual conversation and prayer with our Redeemer! What an unbelievable marvel that He should speak to us and even tell us that His sheep follow His voice! Imagine that. Lowly man can hear and interact with the Mind of Creation, Torah Himself. But alas! To get to amplify that with time free of distractions, is a concept that cannot be told. It must be experienced. Sabbath is not something you comprehend objectively. It's something you live and at the end of each week, when the One Who set it apart as kadosh/holy, allows us a nearness that is unfettered, we can do as He told Isaiah and roam the tops of the hills and feed with Jacob and live in the Lap of Luxury.
Any man who says Sabbath is anything less the the very intent and purpose of being restored to YHWH is a man who speaks without experience and of a certainty, knowledge.
"Come unto Me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you -- Sabbath." Peace. Rest. You cannot be at peace if you're restless. With the fullness of Sabbath is the intended "peace that passes all understanding."
That's enough for now.
Shalom,
L'Chaim
[edited: 10 Sep 2007]
Bleating in our ears with a non-stop echo, we hear words similar to these: "The law is the schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. Now that Christ has resurrected and/or our saving faith in His atoning work has been met with repentance and faith, we don't need the Law anymore. It brought me to Christ and now that I am His, I don't need it any longer."
First, I dare say that most people who claim to be born again, did NOT come by way of Torah. At best they might know half of the Ten Commandments. Far too many believers cannot even name the Top Ten. So, this idea that they came by the Law as a schoolmaster is slick rhetoric borrowed from Scripture to be rebellious and reveal the fruit of the wrong seed.
Consider this: A young man goes to LSU and studies diligently to become an architect. He is absorbed in endless hours of study, practicing the rules of delineation, rendering. The wealth of knowledge in a good architect's head is utterly amazing. He knows how every kind of joint fits with every kind of material, tolerances, durability. He knows landscaping and how to position a building so that morning and evening sun doesn't have too much effect on occupants. I have an architect for a client and I stay amazed around him.
So the guy spends his years and thousands of dollars to pay the "schoolmaster(s)." He learns. He makes mistakes. For that he gets less than desirable marks or even failures. So, he works harder until he knows the material and how to avoid the common pitfalls of his occupation. He knows that if he tries to "wing it" and not use his slide rule, calculator and square, the further into a project he goes, the worse it becomes. Why? He has no standards... or he refuses to use them.
Ladies and Gentlemen: Torah, "the Law," is not a school bus to haul people to Messiah. It is not something we ride on until we arrive and then let it slip into distant and useless memory.
In Paul's day, the elite would send their, usually boys, off to schools of higher learning... young boys. The schoolmasters trained the boys in every aspect of life and whatever profession they pursued.
Paul writes to the Galatians:
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Why? Why would Paul say we are no longer under a schoolmaster?
Well, you can be sure it was not so you can tote a pig in a poke and a crank out a few gallons of crayfish gumbo... on "Saturday."
Let's go back to the architectural student. When he graduates and signs on with a major firm, he no longer is under his schoolmasters. Simple enough. HOWEVER, what he DOES NOT DO is violate all the rules he learned from the schoolmaster.
Folks would have us believe that he can go to school, get his degree so that he can land a six-figure job and then "pick and choose" which rules of delineation he wants to use. He'll have no success working for a firm that tells him his education at LSU is no longer any good. How stupid would that be?
Well, I'm with Hofton, Stetelman and McCroy and they say we don't have to fool with digging holes and laying foundations. We don't need re-bar either.
I'm a Baptist and we don't use those old standards.
I'm a Pentecostal and we're much like the Baptists, only a tad better and they're correct about rules intended for another people millennia ago.
I'm a hyper-dispensationalist and we don't even use the rules brought forward by Messiah. "We are of Paul" and he told us we don't even have to get wet. He is thankful he doused nobody except Crispus and Gaius! I just don't need those rules I want you to believe were useful in bringing me to Christ.
Any bozo head who grads LSU, gets a big time job and violates even the "least of the commandments" will find himself in the bread line at the Salvation Army.
YOU DO NOT ABANDON THE SCHOOLING JUST BECAUSE YOU GRADUATED THE SCHOOLMASTER !!!
Once the material is learned and can easily be practiced, then the schoolmaster has done his job. But that does not mean as much as one tittle of his truth is incorrect and to be scowled at by his graduates.
Hey! Messiah IS the Torah. Remember? In the beginning was the Torah. The Torah was Elohim and the Torah was with Elohim. The Torah came to "HIS" own (The Word of YHWH came to Ezekiel saying, Son of man...." "The Word of YHWH came to Jeremiah saying....") and "HIS own received "HIM" not.
Does not Paul promise that Messiah (the Word) IN you is the hope of glory?
No, graduation from school only means the graduate is fully functional IN the schooling he got, not apart from it.
Paul stated that Messiah is the "end" (Gk: telos - focus, goal, conclusion) of Torah. When you study (if you ever do) the Torah and should you come to the right conclusions, you will find Messiah. Indeed, Messiah IS the Torah.
Paul stated: (Romans 8)
The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
You got a problem with "the Law?" Then, according to YOUR apostle, you have a carnal mind that is so corrupt it is at enmity against Elohim and is not even capable of being "SUBJECT TO" the Torah (Messiah).
Lots of difference between being "under the Law" and "subject to the Law." To be under the Law is to be judged by it, found guilty. Remember? Torah is the revelation of everything pure and perfect and shows us just how far away we are. Because of our sin-cursed existences, back when we...
"were Gentiles" (Eph 2)...,
separated from the commonwealth of Israel, we were judged by Torah, under its scrutiny.
But when we repent and by faith embrace the atonement given us by grace and have our sins covered, even washed away in His own blood, then we shift from being "under the Law" to "under grace." We now are judged by/in grace. HalleluYah! ...And, as Paul stated, "subject to the Law."
Having found repentance because of the Spirit's revelation of Truth and purity, juxtaposed against our iniquities and anomia, we do not spurn those things that revealed our shortcomings. Indeed, to do so would be to continue in them.
Does Messiah REALLY believe us when we say we have repented from sin and yet we insist that He validated it? Pigs are still unclean. Nothing about the Blood of Messiah did a thing to upgrade the abominable creature. He has not told us that we can squander His appointed times (moedim) on our own lustful desires. He has set apart a time to ...............
...enjoy our company and to bless us with His!
Yet we argue against common sense and plain reading, that Messiah no longer wants to spend a day each week with us, undistracted by daily routines. Oh no! That's works! That's been done away with and if you persist, you're endanger of being "robbed of the 'freedom' you have in Christ." Oy!
Somebody please tell me how spending quality time with the Creator constitutes work? And no! You don't spend time with the Holy One of Israel with some hope you will "get saved." He has no company with the heathen, the gentile. Remember? You "were gentiles." (Eph 2:11. That WAS to the Ephesians, right?)
I had an employee many years ago who oft cited these words:
In all my years on this planet, if I've learned anything at all, it's that common sense is not common at all!
Somebody says, I don't have to wait until Saturday to spend time with God. I reckon not. If you aren't doing it all week you sure aren't going to do it on Saturday... or Sunday. Messiah (Torah) in you is not only the hope of glory (Col. 1:27), it's a whole-life lifestyle. 24/7 Yep.
What a joy to go through life in continual conversation and prayer with our Redeemer! What an unbelievable marvel that He should speak to us and even tell us that His sheep follow His voice! Imagine that. Lowly man can hear and interact with the Mind of Creation, Torah Himself. But alas! To get to amplify that with time free of distractions, is a concept that cannot be told. It must be experienced. Sabbath is not something you comprehend objectively. It's something you live and at the end of each week, when the One Who set it apart as kadosh/holy, allows us a nearness that is unfettered, we can do as He told Isaiah and roam the tops of the hills and feed with Jacob and live in the Lap of Luxury.
Any man who says Sabbath is anything less the the very intent and purpose of being restored to YHWH is a man who speaks without experience and of a certainty, knowledge.
"Come unto Me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you -- Sabbath." Peace. Rest. You cannot be at peace if you're restless. With the fullness of Sabbath is the intended "peace that passes all understanding."
That's enough for now.
Shalom,
L'Chaim
[edited: 10 Sep 2007]