What Is The Creator’s Will For YOU?
Sincere people try to obey Yahweh's will, but few people really understand what Yahweh's will is and most don't even know whose will they are obeying. It is impossible for a mind befuddled by belief in false doctrines to understand Yahweh's will. Is the reason so many prayers go unanswered because people do not pray from the heart, asking, "Thy will be done"?
Instead, confusion about what Yahweh's will is results in a prayer that is a rationalization of, "My will be done."
When Yahshua was asked how to pray, He gave the example that begins, "Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," Matt. 6:9-10.
What Is Yahweh's Will?
So what is Yahweh's will? Is knowing Yahweh's will necessary for salvation? Scriptures are able to make us wise for salvation, 2 Timothy 3:15. Therefore, it is necessary to know Yahweh's will in order to be saved; the promise is that His Word will tell us what we need to know.
The first thing to understand is that we must pray THY will be done, not MY will be done! Anyone who can read can know the elements of Yahweh's will, but it takes His grace (the influence of His Holy Spirit) to open the mind to understanding and give the moral courage to exercise the self-restraint needed to overcome temptations to disobey.
In Isaiah 53:10 we read:
Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You shall make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of Yahweh shall prosper in His hand.
Yahshua came to do His Father's will and pay the penalty for sins. Yahweh has willed that the penalty for sin is death. That is, the second death:
Behold, all souls are Mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is Mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die, Ezekiel 18:4.
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of Yahweh and of Messiah, and shall reign with Him a thousand years, Revelation 20:6.
Now, we know that:
Sin is transgression of the law, 1 John 3:4.
Therefore, because salvation means being saved from death, sin must be disobedience of Yahweh's will as delineated in His law. Yahshua is without sin, Hebrews 4:15; hence, doing Yahweh's will meant He obeyed the law as well as paid the penalty for our transgressions of the law,
For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of Yahweh in Him, 2 Corinthians 5:21.
In Romans 8:20 we read:
For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him Who has subjected the same in hope.
It is Yahweh's will that, as creatures of His creation, we are in bondage to corruptible flesh.
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak, Matthew 26:41.
It is very true that the flesh is weak and by its own strength unable to resist temptations to sin.
Yahweh has provided a way out:
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other Name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved, Acts 4:12.
It is Yahweh's will that Yahshua the Messiah is our only hope for release from bondage unto salvation. That hope is grounded in the fulfillment of Yahshua's promise to give Yahweh's Holy Spirit to those who obey Him,
Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered; and being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him, Hebrews 5:8-9.
(See also Mark 16:16; John 8:24; Acts 5:32, 16:31; Galatians 2:16, 3:11.)
Do Yahweh's Will
Those who read these Scriptures and conclude that all they need to do to obey Yahweh's will is believe, have faith, and be baptized, do not understand Yahweh's will.
You believe that there is one Elohim; you do well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? (James 2:19-20.)
People read these verses and react as if to think, “Okay, so demons believe, but they don't have faith and aren't baptized; but I am saved because I believe, have faith, and have been baptized.
Frustrations resulting in unanswered prayers often lead to leaving it up to circumstances to determine Yahweh's will. The attitude becomes, "If Yahweh wants it to happen, it will happen or, if Yahweh wants me to do something, He will make it possible for me to do it."
This is a very limited way of determining Yahweh's will because it is limited only to a particular situation or event. But it is a totally invalid way of determining Yahweh's will for our lives.
Some situations can and do arise occasionally, however, that require an immediate response. At those times we have no recourse but to leave it up to circumstances to determine Yahweh's will for the occasion.
Even in such situations, though, circumstances can often be unwittingly influenced to favor an individual's will rather than Yahweh's.
As for prayerful study, belief in false doctrines can and most often does misinterpret Scriptures in ways that favor man's will rather than Yahweh's.
Let’s look at Matthew 7:21-23:
Not every one that says unto Me, “Rabbi, Rabbi,” shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, “Rabbi, Rabbi, have we not prophesied in Your Name? And in Your Name have cast out devils? And in Your Name done many wonderful works?” And then will I profess unto them, “I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity.”
Doesn't "enter the kingdom" mean salvation? "Faith alone" doctrines are clearly contradictions of these Scriptures. Here, Yahshua warns that people can have faith and even perform miracles in His Name, but if they don't do Yahweh's will, they will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Understand Yahweh's Will
The Bible calls anything that is contrary to Yahweh's will wicked and lawlessness.
As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity. And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who has ears to hear, let him hear, Matthew 13:40-43.
Who are the righteous who will shine like the sun in the Kingdom? Aren't they the people who have done Yahweh's will in this life? Who will do the weeping and gnashing of teeth? Won't it be those who believed they were doing Yahweh's will because they performed counterfeit miracles (2 Thess. 2:9-12) but in their heart rejected truth and delighted in wickedness?
Living Yahweh's Will
People not only can know Yahweh's will, but they can also test it and prove it by living in obedience to His law. This really takes faith and it is the only way Yahweh can be put to the test without displeasing Him.
Those who live according to the desires of their sinful nature are either deliberately rejecting obedience to what they know is right, or are deceived into believing they are obeying Yahweh's will.
Allowing the influences and pressures of the world to control us quenches the influence of Yahweh's Spirit (His grace) and will cost us the spiritual strength and understanding to overcome the world, the desires of our sinful natures.
Grace be to you and peace from Yahweh the Father, and from our Savior Yahshua the Messiah, Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of Elohim and our Father, Galatians 1:3-4.
The purpose of Yahshua's sacrifice was to rescue us from the influence of Satan's spirit of disobedience, Romans 8:1 and Ephesians 2:2.
For this is the will of Elohim, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication: that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor; not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not Elohim; that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Master is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For Elohim has not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despises, despises not man, but Elohim, Who has also given unto us His Holy Spirit... Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loves another has fulfilled the law. For this, “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not covet,” and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love works no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 and Romans 13:8-10.
Yahweh wants His people to be holy so He gives them His Holy Spirit to help them overcome the spirit of disobedience. Holiness is a "from the heart" reverence and obedience that proves sincerity, 1 John 5:3. There is a close correlation between knowing Yahweh's will and obeying it.
Know Yahweh's Will
Regardless of how sincere or zealous people are, they must know what Yahweh's will is before they can obey it. Knowing Yahweh's will on an elementary level is not difficult to learn. Many chapters in the New Testament such as Romans 12, 13, and 14 tell us plainly what it is.
Elohim is Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth, John 4:24.
Many people know the elements of Yahweh's will on the elementary level and are willing to live by them, but they fail to realize that if they quench the Spirit's lead in growing beyond the elementary level of understanding they may lose the spiritual power to obey even the elementary requirements of the law, Hebrews 5:13-14.
Yahweh's Will Summarized
The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 are a summary of Yahweh's will as set forth in Old Covenant law. They are eternal, unchangeable, and will never be added to, reduced or repealed.
All New Testament commandments and statements about the conduct Yahweh demands of His people emphasize and explain the spiritual application of these laws.
Transgressions of the law, even by His own people, are called wickedness in the New Covenant, 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 and 6:8-11.
Yahshua did not do away with the law or Yahweh's will that His people obey the law. The change in the law, Hebrews 7:12, was in the laws that foreshadowed Yahshua's sacrifice, His priesthood, and the Old Covenant temple cultus.
Read Hebrews 6:20; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; Romans 12:1; Hebrews 13:15-16 and 1 Peter 2:5:
Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Yahshua, made an High Priest forever after the order of Melchisedec...Know you not that you are the temple of Elohim, and that the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you? If any man defile the temple of Elohim, him shall Elohim destroy; for the temple you are. ..I beseech you therefore, brethren, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto Elohim, which is your reasonable service....By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to Elohim continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices Elohim is well pleased... You also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to Elohim by Yahshua the Messiah.
These scriptures tell us how the law was changed and how it now applies in the New Covenant. In Matthew 5 we are told Yahshua's explanation of the spiritual intent of the moral law and its application in the New Covenant.
Righteousness is obedience to Yahweh's laws! How could He expect the righteousness of New Covenant people to exceed that of the Pharisees, if Yahshua removed the requirement to obey Yahweh's laws?
We now turn our attention to a review of the Ten Commandments as given in Exodus 20. Let's see just how these laws are being broken today.
Only One Elohim
The First Commandment says:
I am Yahweh your Elohim, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other elohim before Me, Exodus 20:2-3.
Do people in churchianity worship other elohim? They don't believe they do, but why do they worship on pagan days and in pagan ways which Yahweh says He hates, Deuteronomy 12:31? Why do most people desire wealth, power, fame, and sensual pleasures rather than righteousness and knowledge of Yahweh?
No Graven Image
The Second Commandment says:
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I, Yahweh thy Elohim, am a jealous El, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me, Exodus 20:4-5.
People in Bible-based worship don't bow down to graven images today, yet more transgress this commandment than the commandment to keep the Sabbath. Not only that, but they also feel less guilty about transgressing this one commandment than any of the nine others. This may be because most people aren't aware of the fact that they worship an image.
Most thinking involves mental pictures and these mental images are mental images of what we imagine Yahweh and His Messiah are like. We tend to worship our image and not many will worship an image of a Mighty One Who demands obedience to laws!
Most worship in the image of one they believe has provided a way for them to ignore our Creator's will and still be saved.
Children aren't sacrificed to idols today, but they are the victims of the consequences of their forefathers' sins. They compound these consequences by their own continuance in sin. When children reach the age of accountability, Yahweh considers them old enough to understand the reasons for their troubles and to turn from repeating the errors of their fathers. Yahweh says if they do this they will live! The trouble is that children are not being taught the way of Spirit and Truth.
Parents will, no doubt, answer for this fact, but a child that is old enough to study for himself to see and understand right from wrong will die in his sins. Few parents seek Biblical solutions to problems with their children and most of the few that do seek Bible answers do not understand how they are teaching children to continue transgressing Yahweh's laws.
It seems many parents expect schools to discipline their children and when they have problems with children who do not learn discipline in school they turn to social workers and secular counselors for answers. Is it any wonder that more and more young people become involved with alcohol, drugs, and all sorts of immoral and antisocial conduct?
Juvenile courts and correctional institutions are swamped with juvenile delinquents. Courts and prisons are overwhelmed with adults who were never taught Bible truths in their childhood and youth. It has never been explained to them that most of their problems would never have confronted them in the first place and could yet be solved if they would just obey Yahweh's laws.
The insidious thing about worship is that it leads to believing you don't have to do anything to be like Elohim because you are like Him. People misunderstand Psalm 82:6 and John 10:34. In these verses, "elohim" in the Psalm and "theos" in John refer to human rulers and judges who, having power and authority over people, are in a sense mighty ones. Psalm 82:7 and the fact that Yahshua was talking to the Pharisees proves that the reference is to human beings and not to Sublime Beings.
Do such verses cause some people to visualize Yahweh in their own image and think because Yahweh is like them they can manipulate Him as they do other people? Paul warns us in 1 Corinthians 10:14 to flee from idolatry. This warning has to apply to mental imaging.
Worshiping a mental image is the prevailing form of idolatry today. Because any form of idol worship opens the door to demon possession, it is as dangerous as worshiping graven images.
Satan and his demons are as active today as they were in Bible times, but they have to be more subtle. Gross, overt manifestations of witchcraft, divination, sorcery, astrology, and magic don't achieve the same results with educated people as with the ignorant and superstitious.
Mental imaging deceives people into following demonic spirits of disobedience, while believing they are following Yahweh's Holy Spirit and doing His will.
Visualization has been the primary means of contacting the spirit world since ancient times. It has been used by medicine men, witch doctors, sorcerers, and magicians to gain power and influence in all ages.
Today, people are being taught to visualize the Creator and His Son as an aid to faith. They are told it doesn't make any difference what you think these spirit Beings look like. All that matters is that mental pictures help in feeling their spiritual presence. So, "picture them any way that works for you!"
Why would the making of mental images be any more acceptable to Yahweh than making graven images of metal, stone or wood when they both serve the same purpose and pose the same danger to True Worship? The danger is, as mentioned, opening the mind to demon possession. Today, educated people pooh-pooh the idea of demon possession. They think of it as an unscientific attempt to explain mental and emotional disorders. It can't be denied that the scientific investigation of mental disorders has achieved a great deal of good in dealing with the carnal nature, but it has ignored and avoided the spiritual needs of human nature.
If what the Bible tells about Yahweh, the Messiah, and angels is true, then what it says about Satan, evil spirits, and demon possession must also be true. Causing people to believe he doesn't exist is Satan's way of deceiving educated people into dismissing the Bible as the simplistic imaginations of ancient writers.
Propounding the ancient concepts of witch doctors and medicine men in modern scientific-sounding jargon has caused many Bible students to disbelieve and doubt much of what the Bible says.
Fewer people are interested in obedience to Almighty Yahweh today. Since our culture left its Bible-based foundation, it has been floundering in a morass of humanistic and relativitistic notions of right and wrong that have had devastating consequences on society.
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of Yahweh; having a form of righteousness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away, 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
In the last days people will be living in accord with their sinful natures. What spirit will be influencing them? Yahweh's or Satan's? Can satanic influence be anything other than a kind of demon possession?
A prominent Christian preacher recently said that words like sin and guilt, which Fundamentalists have always used negatively, must be "positivized." How can that which is contrary to Yahweh's laws be made positive? Would the Holy Spirit influence a preacher of righteousness to make such a statement?
Why do people believe that a demon-possessed person must act only like a wild man? Could Satan's ministers appear as "angels of light" if this were true?
The adversary never ceases in efforts to regain control of an individual who has become indwelt by Yahweh's Holy Spirit. We are not defenseless, though. James 4:7 assures us that Satan will flee from us if we resist him. Romans 8:35 implies that nothing can separate us from Yahweh's love. Nothing, that is, except willful resistance to Yahweh's Spirit.
Paul indicated in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 that a person can willfully separate himself from Yahweh's love and spiritual influence. People embrace the statement in Romans 8:35 wholeheartedly, but refuse to consider the result of quenching Yahweh's Spirit. This is the danger of breaking the Second Commandment. It leads to resisting Yahweh's Holy Spirit and disobeying His will.
Proper Use of Yahweh's Name
The Third Commandment reads,
Thou shalt not take the name of Yahweh your Elohim in vain; for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain, Exodus 20:7.
The KJV of this verse translated the Hebrew word shawv (Strong's 7723) as "vain." The NIV translated shawv as "misuse and misuses."
In Malachi 3:14, the KJV translated shawv as "vain," while the NIV's translation is “futile." In both the KJV and the NIV of Leviticus 22:32 the word "profane" is translated from chalal (Strong's No. 2490) which, like shawv, has several meanings, one of which is "misuse."
Taking Yahweh's Name in vain or profaning His Name is misusing it. Misusing Yahweh's Name involves a lot more than just using it in profanity. That is only one way of misusing it.
Isaiah 52:5-6 tells us,
Now therefore, what have I here, says Yahweh, that My people is taken away for nought? They that rule over them make them to howl, says Yahweh and My Name continually every day is blasphemed. Therefore My people shall know My Name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am He that does speak: behold, it is I.
In the last days Yahweh's people will know His Name and will not profane it by misusing it. Neither will they cast it down as useless (that is one of the meanings of chalal) or mock it and blaspheme it by substituting the names of the Baals for it and willfully disobeying His laws.
Isaiah 65:11 and 15 tell us that the people who forsake Yahweh and His kingdom (symbolized by mountain) will leave their name for a curse for Yahweh's chosen ones.
Who are Yahweh's chosen ones? They must be people who do not profane His Name and knowingly transgress the laws that will govern His kingdom.
Who will leave their name as a curse? Yahweh isn't talking about people of pagan religions. He is talking about covenant people who forget His Name and disobey His laws and worship in the names of the Baals.
Those who would be among the chosen must remember that calling upon the only Name given under heaven whereby we can be saved but knowingly continuing in sin is profaning His Name in a way that is worse than using it in vile language!
Remember the Sabbath
The Fourth Commandment reads,
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of Yahweh thy Elohim: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Yahweh blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it, Exodus 20:8-11.
The cliche "time is money" is not literally true, but we understand its figurative meaning. Yahweh is timeless, but He has measured our lives by time and He is very much concerned with how we spend the time He has alloted to us.
The more we value something the more time we will spend on it, even if it means neglecting something considered of lesser value. Does this explain why neglecting the Sabbath is displeasing to Yahweh?
If you turn away your foot from the sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of Yahweh, honorable; and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words: then shall you delight yourself in Yahweh; and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father: for the mouth of Yahweh hath spoken it, Isaiah 58:13-14.
The pace of time hasn't changed, but the pace of life has. Some boast about living in the fast lane! Yet, in spite of the hectic pace, our system of production and commerce gives us more leisure time in a week than even the wealthy could indulge in during Biblical times.
Too many participate in leisure activities on the day of rest without a thought about how Yahweh says we should observe His Sabbath.
The parking lots and streets around many catholic churches are now filled on Saturday nights. The reason so many of these churches are conducting religious services on Saturday evenings is so that Catholics who want all day Sunday for other activities will not have to feel guilty about missing Sunday morning services.
One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind, Romans 14:5.
Does Romans 14:5 mean that New Covenant people have the right to choose for themselves which day they will honor? If it does, then Yahweh will not be displeased with churches that switch worship to other days in order to accommodate those who want a full two-day weekend in which to enjoy activities they think are more pleasurable.
This attitude annuls the 4th Commandment and ignores Isaiah 58:13-14, which says that the Sabbath is Yahweh’s Holy Day and we are not to honor it by going our own way.
Catholic scholars and theologians admit that there is no Biblical authority for their changing the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day of the week, but they insist the church has been given the authority not just to change the day of worship but also to annul all Old Testament Holy Days and declare any day holy it chooses to honor.
Protestants believe their doctrines are derived solely from Scriptures, but they display their misunderstanding by not even
questioning the change in the times and the law, Daniel 7:25.
It seems that neither religious leaders nor lay people understand the difference between a holy day and a holiday. If they did, would there be so much tolerance and accommodation by the churches of so much irreverent secular activity by the laity on days the churches call holy days?
Isaiah 56:2 tells us how we are to treat Yahweh’s Sabbath.
Blessed is the man that does this, and the son of man that lays hold on it, that keeps the Sabbath from polluting it, and keeps his hands from doing any evil.
Yahshua and His apostles did not desecrate Yahweh's Holy Days. Why do people think they have the right to do so? It seems that two misconceptions have contributed the most to changing the days. They are:
• Belief that the Messiah's resurrection occurred on Sunday morning, and
• Belief that grace means nothing more than unmerited forgiveness of sins.
These two beliefs lead to the thinking that says, "We are not under the law, but under grace," meaning the law doesn't apply in the New Covenant. In their thinking, the law was given to Old Covenant Israel as a rule of life and blessings were promised only if the rules were obeyed.
They believe that in the New Covenant all sin is forgiven and blessings are promised only for belief and faith in the Messiah. They don't see any specific command to keep the Sabbath or any other day holy; therefore, they feel free to choose to commemorate the Messiah's resurrection once a year on Easter Sunday morning and once a week on the first day of the week. They don't want to commemorate His death on Passover, or the six days of creation on the Sabbath.
But why are all the days they choose to call holy the same days of the year pagan religions of Babylon and Rome regard as holy?
Deuteronomy 30:19 tells us we are to make a choice:
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live.
People are free to choose in both Covenants, but the choice is between life and death and not simply between observing days Yahweh says are holy and days the pagans regarded as holy.
Honor Your Parents
The Fifth Commandment says:
Honor your father and your mother: that your days may be long upon the land which Yahweh your Elohim giveth you, Exodus 20:12.
Many commentators mention the centrality of this commandment by pointing to its pivotal position between our relationship with the heavenly Father and our relationship with people.
A child's love for parents and a parent's love for the child does not have to be learned; it is inborn. The Bible tells us Yahweh, the Heavenly Father, loves us, but we have to learn to love Him and learn how to honor and express our love for Him.
If children do not learn to honor their parents while growing up, they may never learn to honor anybody or anything after they leave home. Of course, parents must be worthy of respect and honor and if they obey Yahweh's commandment as best they know how, they will be. This is where most of the problems with children begin.
Many parents set bad examples for their growing children, by deliberately doing things they know violate the commandments. Obedience to His commandments is how we love and honor Yahweh, 1 John 5:3. The Bible makes it plain to see, for those who will open their eyes to see, that if Yahweh's earthly children do not show their love for Him by learning to honor Him through obedience to His commandments in this life, they will not receive eternal life in His kingdom.
It is true, as the Bible tells us, that Yahweh so loves us that He gave His only Son to die for us. It is also true that the Son's death pays the penalty for PAST SINS, but the influence of the indwelling Holy Spirit given at baptism in the Son's Name will help us overcome future temptations to sin.
Yahshua said unto him, You shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets, Matthew 22:37-40.
And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments... For this is the love of Yah, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous, 1 John 2:3 and 5:3.
Yahshua verifies the pivotal position of the 5th Commandment and leaves no doubt as to how to show love for the heavenly Father.
Yahweh speaks about discilining in Proverbs 13:24:
He that spares his rod hates his son: but he that loves his son chastens him betimes.
How does the Heavenly Father discipline His earthly children? By allowing them to suffer the consequences of their sins. The consequences of sin are often referred to in the Bible as the rod of Yahweh's anger. Obedience begins with discipline in the home and this is why the parent-child relationship is important enough for Yahweh to write it into His law. That relationship must be intended to teach us the importance of obedience to Yahweh. Yahweh speaks on how a child can avoid being disciplined in Ephesians 6:1-4:
Children, obey your parents in the Master: for this is right. Honour your father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth. And you fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Master.
The King James Version of verse 4 reads "provoke not your children to wrath." To exasperate means to annoy to the extreme. Annoying to the extreme would certainly provoke wrath. Paul surely doesn't mean this injunction to countermand Yahweh's command to train up the child in the way he should go, Proverbs 22:6, and do not withhold discipline from him, Proverbs 23:13.
This doesn't mean severe punishment for minor infractions of rules. Obedience must be enforced firmly but fairly. The punishment must be timely and reasonable, appropriate to the seriousness of the infraction, and administered with love.
The child who has to be spanked is not likely to believe the parent who says, "This hurts me more than it does you." Yet, it truly does grieve the parent who really loves the child to have to punish him. Yahweh feels the same for us.
Life could not exist without rules. Even plants and animals must obey rules called laws of nature. All animals exhibit an amazing obedience to rules of conduct among themselves. Very few species kill their own kind and seldom kill without cause.
Human society is far more complex than any in the animal world and, therefore, obedience to rules of conduct is far more critical to human well-being than it is for animals.
Except for the instinctive reactions of infancy, human beings must learn rules of conduct and the consequences of disobeying them. When individuals do not learn to obey laws, whether Yahweh's or man's, everyone suffers and, because many will not obey even when they know right from wrong, society must bear the burden of supporting armies, police forces, courts of law, and penal institutions.
Ever-increasing lawlessness now threatens our civilized way of life and is setting the stage for the appearance of the man of sin who by lying deceptions will restore law and order among individuals and nations and bring peace to the world for 3 1/2 years. The chances of an individual becoming a victim of crime or accident from another's lawlessness is very high. The courts do not seem to understand the seriousness of the situation.
So bad will lawlessness get that the world will welcome the lawless one when he appears as the solution to their problems.
Commandment Against Murder
The sixth commandment reads:
Thou shalt not kill, Exodus 20:13.
The King James Version of three different Hebrew words rendered "kill" can leave one puzzled as to why Yahweh would command His people not to kill in this verse and at the same time in Leviticus 20 command them to "kill" their fellow Israelites who disobey the commandments. Read Leviticus 20 and note how often the death penalty is the commanded punishment for transgressions of the Commandments.
Both Strong's Exhaustive Concordance and Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon verify that the Hebrew word translated "kill" in Exodus 20:13 means to kill in the sense of murder and the Hebrew
word translated "kill" in Leviticus 20:16 means to kill in the sense of slaying an enemy in battle.
Can there be any understanding of these two commandments (one not to kill and the other to kill) other than the fact that Yahweh considers law breakers to be enemies of His people? Even though He made a New Covenant with those who accept His Son as their Savior and gives His Spirit to each, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 leaves no doubt that Yahweh still considers law breakers enemies of His people and subject to the death penalty as the wages of sin. A difference is that Yahweh's people are not to do the killing.
Yahshua tells us not to try to weed the field, Matthew 13:28-30 (the field means the world). The command to True Worshipers is to come out from among them and be separate, 2 Corinthians 6:17, and do not associate with law breakers, 1 Corinthians 5:9-11.
The NIV translation of the Hebrew word ratsach (Strong's No. 7523) as "murder" is a much better translation than just "kill" in the King James and should eliminate confusion over whether it means kill or murder.
Do the New Age preachers who believe Scriptures must be positivized think the 6th Commandment can be stated more positively? What is positive about murder? The only way to positivize it is through love, for love is the fulfillment of the law, Romans 13:10. It is doubtful this is what New Age ministers have in mind when they talk about positivizing the Scriptures.
When the Body Temple Is Defiled
In Exodus 20:14, the 7th Commandment reads:
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Matthew Henry wrote in his commentary, "...we should be as much afraid of that which defiles the body as that which destroys it." How does this relate to committing
adultery?
But whoso commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding: he that does it destroys his own soul. A wound and dishonor shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance, Proverbs 6:32-34.
We know what the consequences of adultery can be. This Scripture is telling us that even if a jealous husband doesn't kill the offender, the shame and disgrace will remain with the adulterer for the rest of his life. But, in Matthew 10:28, we are told not to fear him who can kill the body, but rather fear Him who can kill both body and soul.
The body is the New Covenant temple in which Yahweh's Holy Spirit abides. Sexual immorality defiles that temple and Yahweh's Spirit cannot remain in a defiled temple. Romans 8:9-11 tells us that if the Spirit is not in us we are not Yahshua's. If we are not Yahshua's, we will come into judgment. Matthew 12:44-45 informs us the temple does not remain unoccupied when vacant. Non-sacred influences can enter.
Yahshua can forgive all sin upon repentance and cleanse the temple and if this happens Yahweh's Holy Spirit will return to reoccupy the temple and the person will be regenerated in the Spirit.
The first temple cleansing occurs at baptism in Yahshua's Name. The individual is cleansed and the Spirit indwells the baptized believer. When this happens the evil spirit, also called the spirit of disobedience, is driven out, but if the temple becomes defiled again by continuance in sin, Yahweh's Spirit will leave and the evil spirit will return to control the person.
This is why defilement of the body should be feared more than death of the body. If we lose Yahweh's Spirit we lose the seed of eternal life. Without His Spirit controlling us, we are dead to righteousness and to eternal life.
John 8:3-11 is the account of the woman caught in adultery by the Pharisees and brought to Yahshua for punishment.
The subject of adultery seldom comes up without this story being offered as proof that we are all sinners and Yahshua will forgive our sins. No attempt is made to explain the relationship between the command to "go and sin no more" and Yahshua's answer to Peter's question in Matthew 18:22 which is "forgive your brother's sins seventy times seven."
How can sins be forgiven seventy times seven if there remains no sacrifice for deliberate sins? Hebrews 10:26. Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? Paul's answer to this question in Romans 6:1-2 is, "By no means!"
Yahweh's grace (the influence of the Holy Spirit in the heart) will not increase because His Holy Spirit cannot remain in the heart. That is why we should fear defiling the body more than death.
Do Not Steal
The Eighth Commandment reads:
Thou shalt not steal, Exodus 20:15.
An employee who takes an employer's honest day's pay without giving the employer an honest days work is stealing. Similarly, an employer who doesn't give an honest day's pay for an honest day's work is stealing.
Ironic as it may be, many thieves claim to be religious. They go to church and comply with the religious formalities. They have the form of righteousness, but by their actions deny the power of it, 2 Timothy 3:5.
Stealing is taking something that belongs to someone else without the owner’s permission. It doesn’t make any difference whether what is taken is taken by force, secretly,
intentionally or unintentionally. If it is taken without the rightful owner’s permission, it is stealing.
Many thieves desire to obey Yahweh’s laws and believe they do, but do not understand that they unwittingly transgress the 8th commandment.
Paul, in 1 Timothy 5:8, refers to a man who neglects his family and squanders his time and money on selfish interests. A man's family has more than a right to expect his support; it actually owns the time and money it takes to support them adequately.
On the other hand, the woman who squanders money frivolously and demands a standard of living beyond the husband's ability to reasonably provide is stealing. Unreasonable demands or wasteful spending robs the husband of time and money that rightfully belongs to him.
It seems the problem with most people who are unwitting thieves is in understanding what belongs to whom. Some seem to think public property doesn't belong to anyone. But defacing or destroying public property is stealing. They rob the public of the funds needed to repair or replace the damaged property.
Vandals, shoplifters, and embezzlers are thieves even if they are never caught, and unless they repent and turn from their sin, they will end up standing at Yahshua's judgment throne, condemned to eternal death.
In the final analysis, Yahweh owns everything in creation. He has only given us permission to use His possessions to provide for our needs. As Job said, "Yahweh gives and Yahweh takes away," 1:21. Not only can He take our lives if He wishes to, but He can also take and destroy any of our possessions any time He wishes. He has not given us permission to keep all we gain by use of His property.
We are reminded in Malachi 3:8 that we are robbing Him if we do not give Him back 10 percent of the increase gained by the use of what He owns. Robbery is stealing and stealing is the transgression of the law,or sin, as we read in1 John 3:4:
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Tale-telling Comes Under 'Sin'
Here is the Ninth Commandment:
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor, Exodus 20:16.
Now let’s look at Proverbs 6:16-19:
These six things does Yahweh hate: yes, seven are an abomination unto Him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. An heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaks lies, and he that sows discord among brethren.
The 9th Commandment is clear. Yahweh hates a false witness. Could that be the reason for commanding His people not to give false testimony against a neighbor? Or, is it because all false witnesses are liars? If they are, then they belong to the father of lies, John 8:44, and are controlled by satan's evil spirit of disobedience.
In Proverbs 25:18 Yahweh says a man who gives false testimony against his neighbor is like a man with a club or a sword. Surely lies can hurt a person in ways that are worse than a physical wound, but false witnessing may not involve telling actual lies about a person.
Few commentaries on the Ten Commandments miss the close relationship between bearing false witness and talebearing. Talebearing or gossiping betrays confidences, destroys reputations, separates friends, and aggravates whatever was done amiss, whether intentional or unintentional.
Even if there is truth in the tale, it is generally told in a way that is unfavorable to the person spoken of. Nothing gets many listeners' attention quicker or arouses more interest than an opening remark like, "Did you hear the latest about...?"
Generally, the speaker doesn't have firsthand knowledge, but is merely repeating and embellishing some tidbit heard from someone else. Even if there is some truth in the latest, it is often so shaded and belittled by criticism that the listener receives a false impression of the person under discussion.
Understand that just listening to gossip makes you as guilty of transgressing the 9th Commandment as the speaker. This truth is also reflected in man's law, which holds the receiver of stolen goods as guilty as the thief. It takes two to gossip and if no one would listen there would be no gossip.
Words Justify or Condemn
There are two faults in human nature that displease Yahweh and cause more people to transgress the Ninth Commandment more than any of the nine others. They are: jealousy and self-righteousness.
Jealousy often springs from an inferiority complex that makes some people think it will make their own faults smaller if they can enlarge the faults of others. A selfrighteous person believes he is so righteous he has the right to judge and condemn other people's mistakes and sins. He thinks he can make himself glow in the dark by rubbing the glow from the reputation of others.
Look at Matthew 12:34-37,
0 generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good
man out of the good treasures of the heart brings forth good things and an evil man out of the evil treasures brings forth evil things. But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the Day of Judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.
This applies to violators of the Ninth Commandment as well as to blasphemers and other sinners. We all will have to account for careless and idle talk about others. It is not just ministers and Bible teachers who must bridle and tame their tongues, James 3:1-12.
Anyone who desires to be right with Yahweh must keep a tight reign on their tongue. If we love our neighbors as ourselves we will not bear false witness against them or indulge in gossiping about them.
Do Not Covet
And, the Tenth Commandment:
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's, Exodus 20:17.
The words "covet" in the KJV and "desire" in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 12:31 are translated from the same Greek word that means "desire." The same Hebrew word translated "covet' in Exodus 20:17 is translated "desire" in the KJV of Exodus 34:24 and "covet" in the NIV. Obviously, both the Hebrew and Greek words translated "covet" mean "desire." The definition of “covet” is to desire inordinately or wrongfully; to eagerly wish for something.
Micah 2:1-2 reads:
Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! When the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand. And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
This is reinforced by James 4:1-3
From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? You lust, and have not: you kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: you fight and war, yet you have not because you ask not. You ask, and receive not because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts.
1 Timothy 6:9-10 reiterates the same thought:
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
These Scriptures refer to inordinate, wrongful desiring and wishing for what belongs to others. Covetousness violates the 10th Commandment, and can lead to violations of other commandments such as lying, cheating, stealing, and even murdering for gain.
Paul urges us in 1 Corinthians 12:31 to earnestly desire the greater gifts. He means spiritual gifts that lead to love, joy, and peace of mind that comes from contentment. It is not earnestly desiring that is wrong in Yahweh's eyes; it is what we desire and how we go about obtaining it that is either right or wrong.
Seek the Kingdom First
It is not sinful to desire better material possessions or a better living standard if we work to obtain them lawfully and in ways that are not contrary to Yahweh's will. We must not ask amiss, meaning for help in transgressing Yahweh's laws. We can even pray for His help in obtaining our desires. Without desires no one would have any ambition and there would be no progress either toward better living or the more important spiritual growth.
The 10th Commandment completes the summary of the law that details Yahweh's will for His people. Anyone who does not believe Yahweh will abandon the generation of His people that comes under His wrath in the last days does not understand the prophecies of the great tribulation and the pouring our of His wrath at the end of the age.
The Jews were abandoned when they rejected His Son as the Messiah and refused correction. Yahweh will also abandon gentiles in the last days who say they worship in Spirit and Truth, but quench the Spirit and refuse correction.
Believers who wish to avoid being abandoned and punished when Yahweh pours out His wrath will allow the Spirit to help them to overcome temptations and demonstrate their love by obeying His laws as the Spirit opens their minds to understand them.
Believers are commanded to grow in knowledge and understanding. Hence, they must not refuse to listen to teachers who speak in accord with this and find something far greater than human fulfillment: the law and the testimony. If they don't meditate upon what they hear they will not grow, but will continue following their sinful natures, repeating the errors of their forefathers.
Yahshua came to show us that with the help of the Father's Spirit, Which He gives us at baptism, it is possible to obey Yahweh's law. He tells us to seek Yahweh's kingdom and righteousness first and our needs in this life will be given to us, Matthew 6:33.
-Elder Ralph Henrie (deceased)
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