Rabbi’s Reflections – Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Shalom,
Did God Really Mean It? – Romans, part 16
Romans 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the evil desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies with one another. 25 They traded the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Let’s start today with some questions. Does God even care about holiness? Are the commandments impossible to attain? If all have sinned (as we will see when we study Romans 3:23), then why bother not sinning? Since God offers grace, (by grace we are saved) then what’s the point of living in guilt?
Our subject verses seem to be written on another level. Some have “traded the truth of God for a lie,” and that seems to matter to God. Grace is available TO BRING US TO REPENTANCE, not so we can keep on sinning. Let me offer you some excerpts from Romans 6 for clarity….
Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may abound? 2 May it never be! How can we who died to sin still live in it?… 6 knowing our old man was crucified with Him so that the sinful body might be done away with, so we no longer serve sin. 7 For he who has died is set free from sin…. 11 So also continually count yourselves both dead to sin and alive to God in Messiah Yeshua. 12 Therefore do not let sin rule in your mortal body so that you obey its desires…. 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching under which you were placed; 18 and after you were set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.
And, while we’re on the subject, let’s be clear about what sin is. Sin is transgression of the law of God. In other words, sin is breaking God’s commandments. I feel the need to clarify because this seems to be a point of confusion for some. Some people think sin is what makes them feel bad about themselves. It isn’t; sin is any violation of God’s commands.
Rabbi Trail: The Bible is written so that even the most innocent and simple minded can come to an understanding. God has written a few principles and repeated them many times so that everyone will clearly understand them. Yet there are those who purposefully trade the truth for a lie. The text for tomorrow will even more fully amplify these thoughts. End RT.
God wants His followers to live holy lives. The very idea that mankind would still be involved in obfuscating the truth is against everything for which Yeshua died. Jeremiah 51:44b Yes, the wall of Babylon has fallen! 45 Come out of her, My people! Each of you, save your soul from the fierce anger of Adonai. This is almost a perfect match to…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!
There are some leading churches who don’t seem to have this clear understanding. If you have unknowingly “hitched your wagon” to a falling star, repent and make the necessary changes before it is too late.
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Tue 31-Jan-2023 9th of Sh’vat, 5783
Ex 14:15-25 1 Ki 18 Ps 119:49-72 Jn 2 (1 Th 2)