(Originally published July 11, 2020)
“There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 16:25). There is the “seeming way” and the way of truth, and woe to the soul that cannot discern the difference! The spiritual danger here is that there is a way that seems right; as if all is well, and yet it leads to death… O the dread of ever hearing: “I never knew you (לֹא יָדַעְתִּי אתה); depart from me you who practice lawlessness” (Matt. 7:23).
It is lawlessness (ἀνομία) to reject the Torah of God that commands us to follow Messiah and know him in all our ways – including the ways of our struggles, our calls for justice, and so on… “Justice, justice you shall pursue” (צֶדֶק צֶדֶק תִּרְדּף) implies that any means to justice must be just themselves. Indeed Yeshua plainly warned us that those who willfully reject moral sense do not know him and therefore will be judged as outsiders of the truth of God. The way of the LORD (דֶּרֶךְ יְהוָה) is “to show mercy and judgment (Gen. 18:19). Amen. “If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness (πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην) has been born of him” (1 John 2:29).
As Yeshua plainly testified before Pilate: “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37). “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the Tree of Life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are all those who love and practice the lie…” (Rev. 22:14-15).
In this audio podcast (from 2020 at the outset of the Antifa and BLM violence in the USA), I discuss the meaning and importance of the “law” in the life of those who purport to be followers of the Messiah:
Hebrew Lesson:
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Christian (and Jewish) theology insists that truth matters, and knowing the truth about God is absolutely essential for life itself. Nothing is more important. Nothing is more vital. “This is eternal life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם), that they may know you, the only true God (אֶל־אֱמֶת), and Yeshua the Messiah (יֵשׁוּעַ הַמָּשִׁיחַ) whom you have sent (John 17:3). The truth sets us free; it is the unbreakable seal that bears witness of reality. In the Gospel of John it is recorded that Yeshua said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (i.e., ᾽Εγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ ζωή). The Greek word translated “truth” in this verse is aletheia (ἀλήθεια), a compound word formed from an alpha prefix (α-) meaning “not,” and lethei (λήθη), meaning “forgetfulness.” (In Greek mythology, the “waters of Lethe” induced a state of oblivion or forgetfulness.) Truth is therefore a kind of “remembering” something forgotten, or a recollecting of what is essentially real. Etymologically, the word aletheia suggests that truth is also “unforgettable” (i.e., not lethei), that is, it has its own inherent and irresistible “witness” to reality. In that sense light is a metaphor for truth: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). There can be no truth apart from moral reality. People may lie to themselves, but ultimately truth has the final word.
In the Scriptures it is written: “You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way” (Deut. 12:4), which referred to various Canaanite practices of idolatry based on mystery, ignorance and superstition. Unlike religious cults that were based on vain speculations, however, Jews are duty-bound to carry out God’s will as expressed by the truth of divine revelation. Our father Abraham was given revelation of Torah (Gen. 26:5) and at Sinai moral truth was enshrined in the Ten Commandments (Exod. 24:12; Deut. 5:22).
“Unless you turn (shuv) and become like children, you will never (οὐ μὴ) enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3). Such is the importance of simple trust in God… Indeed Yeshua repeatedly taught us to trust God as “Abba,” our Father (אַבָּא אָבִינוּ). He taught that we are warmly accepted as part of his family; that we are under his constant care; and that we live within his household as beloved children… And even though God is utterly transcendent, the Infinite One (אין סוף) and Creator of all worlds, he humbles himself to feed the birds of the air, to water lilies of the field, and to count the number of hairs on your head (Psalm 113:5-6). He is as close as your next breath; he leans upon your bosom at the table; he anticipates what you need before you ask him… The “fear of the Lord” is that you might fail knowing his great love for you — that you will forget or lose sight of your true identity in lesser things. Therefore affirm the truth that you are loved with an unending and everlasting love, that you are safe, that you are surely accepted, and that nothing can ever separate you from the power of love. God your Father hears you, he knows you, and he loves you bekhol levavo (בְּכָל־לְבָבוֹ) – “with all his heart.”
Being “blameless” (i.e., tamim: תמים) in God’s sight means more than just not being guilty. That idea is a bit “neutral,” don’t you think? How would you feel if a judge said to you “Not guilty!” at the bar of judgment but then sent you on your way, with no further thought of you? The idea of being blameless means more than being exonerated or declared innocent: it is a matter of being drawn into God’s love and blessing for you; it is the state wherein you are not only forgiven by God, but accepted, welcomed, wanted, and (if you will pardon the simplification) even “liked” by Him. It is the state of grace given in Yeshua; the blessing of knowing His heart.