Rabbi’s Reflections – Saturday, November 16, 2019
Shabbat Shalom *|FNAME|*,
Some of you have asked how I write the Rabbi’s Reflections. What you mean is, where do I get the inspiration? Most of the time I sit in front of a blank computer screen and pray. The prayer is something like, “Lord, what do you have for us today?”
Sometimes (actually quite often) I read the Scriptures and wait for prompting by the Holy Spirit who says, “Write about this.” That’s what happened today. I was reading the Chronological Bible for November 14th when I heard, “Write about this.”
John 14:31a But in order that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me.
These are Yeshua’s last words at the Last Supper. We (who follow Yeshua) should do what Yeshua did (WWYD), and Yeshua obeyed the Father. Yeshua had already said some things that were similar…
John 14:23 Yeshua answered and said to him (Judah), “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words. And the word you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
A couple of days ago I mentioned the “hyper-grace” movement, which is the opposite of keeping God’s word. To follow “hyper-grace” requires what I like to call “Exacto-knife” theology.
Rabbi Trail: Exacto-knife theology is believing things that require certain verses to be cut out of the Bible in order to believe them. Making Swiss cheese of the Bible always results in bad theology.
Let me give you an analogy. Spongiform encephalitis is when an abnormal protein is ingested. (It is connected to cannibalism.) It makes Swiss cheese of the brain (makes it look spongy when examined). This is mad cow disease in humans. The first evidence is a loss of balance. All that to say… when we make Swiss cheese of the Bible we have spiritual mad cow disease and lose our balance.
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for restoration, and for training in righteousness,
Yeshua calls us to obedience. This is even called the fruit of salvation. Hyper-grace says that grace covers our sins (past, present and future). That part is true. But hyper-grace says (in error) that there is no need to deal with sin because there is grace for that.
Revelation 18:4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you participate in her sins and receive her plagues! 5 For her sins have piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.
God’s people are called out of Babylon the harlot. The “harlot” is one who works to get paid. Romans 6:23 For sin’s payment is death, but God’s gracious gift is eternal life in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.
The fruit of our saved lives is the righteousness of God which is fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:4). Shabbat Shalom (again).