The other day I stopped over at my parents. I love visiting with my parents, they are wise and humble. As we visited, we began talking about how most people of the world have a understanding of who God is and that Jesus died on the cross. As we discussed my mom said, “the difference between someone who calls themself a Christian, and someone who is a true believer is a true believer wakes up every morning and desires not to sin.” She went on to expalin that many people call themselves Christians, yet choose to live a lifestyle that they know is sinning against God. I have been thinking on this ever since my mom said these things. I think she is correct in that many people sadly do choose to keep on sinning even though they clearly know what they are doing is wrong.
But I also think there are many who do not know what sin is.
Sin is anything we think, say, or do that breaks God’s Law.
Sin is lawlessness.
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 1 John 3:4
In the Bible the apostles and Yeshua (that is Jesus Christ) tell us clearly what sin is, and where we can find the outline of living according to God’s law.
In Matthew 5 and 6, we are told that Yeshua did not come to do away with the law, and that if we teach others that He did we will be the least in the Kingdom. He says that we will be known as true believers by how we live in truth.
So what is God’s law, where is it found?
God’s law is not the American legal system, it is not your state law, or your local law. But, the really cool thing is here in America our legal system is very similair to how God set up His legal system. Many of our founding fathers in America knew the Bible, and found it to be a source of great wisdom, knowledge, and order. Therefore, many of our country’s structures are based on what is found in the Bible.
Recently, our country seems to be falling apart, and the biggest reason this is happening is because the order and structure that was put in place is being ignored and rebelled against.
The truth is there is only two choices in life, God’s Way, or Satan’s Way. You may think that there is a place in the middle, but there is not. You must choose. The unrest in our country, and all over the world is the same unrest that has always been ever since the day Satan tried to become like God, and went on to deceive Adam and Eve in the garden. This is the same war.
But, I digress.
Back to sin. Sin is lawlessness. It is breaking God’s law. God’s law is found in the Bible starting at the beginning. In fact, the first five books of the Bible are called the books of law. In America, we have the constitution. It declares our freedom and then lists the bill of rights, which are ten amendments.
This is just like God’s word.
First we have the declaration, often called the shema.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
4 “Hear, O Israel:The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
This is God’s over all command to His people. We are to love Him completely, and we are to teach our children to love Him completely.
But what are these commands we are to teach, obey, and remember?
There is great news, because just like the bill of rights for our country, God clearly outlines 10 clear laws. They are found in Exodus 20 and Dueteronomy 5.
6 ‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
7 ‘You shall have no other gods before Me.
8 ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 9 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
11 ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
12 ‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
16 ‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
17 ‘You shall not murder.
18 ‘You shall not commit adultery.
19 ‘You shall not steal.
20 ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
21 ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’
Now, if you noticed these 10 commandments are in chapter 5 of the book of Dueteronomy, and they are followed by chapter 6, where we just read the over all command of God, to love Him with everything we are, and to teach our children to do the same. These are the commandments that Yehovah God is asking us to obey because we love Him. These are the 10 things that will set us apart from those who just call themself a Christian but do not desire to stop sinning. The great and amazingly loving thing about God is He not only gave us a declaration and outline of how we should live, but He also gave us a complete manual. If you really want to understand how to fully obey each of the commands of Yehovah just start reading the Bible. The first five books of the Bible give us a clear picture of who God is, the one and only God. It gives us a clear understanding of who we are, and how He wants to live among us, and how we can live a life in relationship with Him. The really cool thing is that the first four books and the last book of the New testament are the teachings of Yeshua expounding on the law of God. All five of the books of Yeshua are Him teaching us how to live out His law of Love.
My mom is so right, as usual. A true believer desires to obey God because they love Him. I am not sinless, but I am so grateful that each day I can choose to serve Yehovah.
Deuteronomy 13:4
You are to follow the LORD your God and fear Him. Keep His commandments and listen to His voice; serve Him and hold Him fast.
John 14:15
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
John 14:21
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
John 14:23
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make Our home with him.
1 John 2:5
But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him:
1 John 2:7
Beloved, I am not writing you a new commandment, but an old one, which you have had from the beginning. This commandment is the message you have heard.
1 John 2:24
As for you, let what you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If it does, you will also remain in the Son and in the Father.
1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome
As I have been pondering all these things, I can’t help but remember that Yeshua said to His disciples that they will be known for their love for one another. That is a huge desire of mine to show love to the believers because love covers a multitude of sins according to Paul. I am far from perfect, therefore, I offer all the grace and mercy that has been offered to me to others. But, in love, I admonish all who call themselves a child of God to prayerfully choose to walk in Truth today, tomorrow, and always.
Shalom
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Things to know as you visit our site
We are Bible believing, scripture only people. We love to learn about the Hebrew roots of our faith. We believe it is important to not add or subtract from the Divine Word of God. The compiled scriptures that agree with one another and have no contradiction is the 66 books of what is commonly referred to as the Christian Bible, or the Holy Bible.
These writings were originally written by men inspired by God. They were written in the language of the writers and readers of the original documents. Many of the original documents have been lost, but God’s Word is eternal and remains. Therefore, it is important to us to study, learn, and consider the culture, history, and language of the original writers of the scriptures.
In our studies we have learned that the true name of God is Yehovah, and His son, our Messiah, is named Yeshua. Therefore, as you read our posts we will use the Hebrew names of God and our Messiah.
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