August 22, 2023

“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'” mat 7:23 nkjv

In the verses just prior to Matthew 7:23 above, we read this:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” mat 7:21-22 nkjv

If the good folks are thinking they are doing great things for the kingdom, what could be causing the severe judgment from the one they think is their master by him rejecting them? Either they don’t know the real “Yeshua/Jesus,” [following another Jesus, 2 cor 11:4]; or they have made their own rules… otherwise known as “I’ll do church my way…” Modern men are no different than ancient men who built their golden calf as their god… lawlessness, as used in verse 23, which the rejected are accused of, is simply [translated] breaking Yahweh’s Torah… 1 John 3:4 nkjv; “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”

Why is this so hard for us to understand. If Yeshua had not come to deliver us from our stubbornness, we would be in deep trouble. We all need His mercy and grace… but at some point, we must quit thinking that the Torah Law was crucified with Christ [which is central to much of modern Christian religious dogma]. It was OUR sins that were nailed to the cross [which Yeshua bore in HIS body]… Which was the fulfillment of the law, not the end of Torah.

“Do not think that I [Yeshua] came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” mat 5:17-18 nkjv… Obviously, our heaven and earth have NOT passed away… this goes beyond the sacrificial work of Yeshua, it continues until the end.

Torah is the Word made flesh; Yeshua Himself… Torah is the forever settled Word of Yahweh. Yeshua’s intercessory work on our behalf was Yahweh’s plan from time immemorial; He knew the deception of the evil one would overcome us if we were left without a redeemer kinsman [Yeshua]. In fact, the evil deception coming, according to Yeshua, can deceive even the elect, if He did not shorten the days. mat 24:22, mrk 13:20 nkjv

Additionally, soon after Yeshua’s ascension, Yahweh poured out His Holy Spirit to further reinforce our understanding and willingness to reject sin and follow Torah’s truth. Thus we have the Torah from the mountain, Yeshua [Torah in the Flesh] a living witness, and Yahweh’s Spirit [Yeshua in our hearts], all three working in our behalf… all three ALWAYS in perfect agreement…. If you think not, the problem is on your end. jn 10:30 nkjv

This being said… what is it that deceived those rejected by Yeshua? I think we need to carefully tread our pathways in the coming days of increasing lawlessness… It is the devil’s mission to manipulate people, namely believers (especially with part truth), to get them to carelessly disregard the Torah’s eternal authority. Our doing the Word, not just hearing it only, is a vital understanding:

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” jam 1:22 nkjv

I will emphasize the warning “deceiving yourselves,” because there is a very important link between faithful obedience and careless assumption… not unlike the 10 virgins parable, where the five were careful and had the required oil for their lamps… the foolish and careless did not… seems they had similar fate as the rejected persons in the verses above. To close this devotional, I will use the stern warning that Yeshua gave the people at the end of His messages, called the Sermon on The Mount.

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” mat 7:24-27 nkjv

The Torah is said to be a form of “ark of refuge,” with cause and effect realities for obedience and disobedience. It seems the words of Yeshua above are warning us that we need to “do” what He says… and it sure seems to me, the storm He refers to, is surely headed our way. What will it be, a foundation of rock [Torah Word of Yahweh], or sand… a unstable, shifting, granular composite of many different religious doctrines of men and their indifference and even hostility towards the Torah?

Shalom, John