Rabbi’s Reflections – Tuesday, January 17, 2023
Shalom,
Grace And Shalom To You Too
Romans 1:6 And you also are called to Yeshua the Messiah. 7 To all those in Rome, loved by God, called to be kedoshim: Grace to you and shalom from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah!
Paul is just beginning his letter to the Romans. These may seem like light pleasantries, but let’s take a moment to go beneath the surface. Yesterday, we read the phrase “obedience of faith.” Now we read, “you also are called to Yeshua.” That “calling” is in “obedience of faith.” It is not enough to believe, obedience is a necessary part of faith. I don’t care if “seeker-friendly” churches preach “come as you are,” change is a necessary part of our growth to maturity. (Rabbi’s note: There is no such thing as “seeker friendly,” only believer lazy.)
Jacob 2:19 You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe—and shudder! 20 But do you want to know, you empty person, that faith without works is dead?
The moment I came to faith (40 years ago), the speaker had just said, “If you were on trial as a believer, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” I don’t know why that impacted me. I wasn’t a believer, but then, in an instant, I was. The calling of every believer is a calling to be holy (“be kedoshim”). To be holy, one must live in obedience consistent with faith. The alternative is hypocrisy. Yeshua had much to say about that.
Matthew 15:7 Hypocrites! Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying, 8 (Isaiah 29:13) ’This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
So, you have heard Yeshua calling you to Himself. Not just to Him, but to follow Him in holiness. Then Paul is extending greetings on behalf of both the Father and the Son, saying “grace and shalom” to you. This is a blessing that we would remember we are called by grace unto shalom. “Shalom” is the highest blessing, because it means, “complete wholeness, perfect in every way, lacking nothing.”
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves—it is the gift of God.
Receive it today, as if for the first time, in the name of Yeshua.
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Tue 17-Jan-2023 24th of Tevet, 5783
Ex 6:29-7:7 1 Ki 5-6 Ps 105 Lk 19:28-48 (Eph 4)