Therefore, if anyone is united with the Messiah, he is a new creation — the old has passed; look, what has come is fresh and new! 2 Corinthians 5:17
I am really enjoying this version of a bible the Complete Jewish Bible. With the words it has or how they use them, it gives a little different and deeper message, much different than the once saved always saved, hyper grace doctrine they are teaching these days.
This is the new kings James version: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
So looking at these two somewhat different versions, you can see how a translation can leave a little to be desired. Because in the CJB it says “united with the Messiah.” Where the NKJV says “if anyone is in Christ.” Because first of all, no one can be in Christ. Yeshua can be in you if you are united with him, which is that you hear him and obey him. We are to subject our bodies and keep it so that the Lord God sees it as a temple and keeping it clean so he can live in us. The hyper grace doctrine and their bible translations do not say this. They make it sound like because of some work you did (although they will tell you your works are worthless to God and just accept his grace). But then push the work of a sinner’s prayer, or confession or some nonsense which is not even in their version of the bible. And there is a big difference between worshiping “Christ” and the “Messiah!” We interchange these words to be the same thing, but they are not. The Greeks switched the word from Messiah to christ because they had many Gods they called christ, so they just added Yeshua to the list. But there is only one Messiah, and although I do not know all the religions in the world, I do not remember any of them pushing a Messiah. Nor do any of the names of the gods of these different religions have a name Yeshua which means “God saves.”
Pretty much all that is repeat, but that is how God works, he shows you and shows you over and over until it is drilled into your head and written on your heart. What seems trivial to us is not, there is a big difference in worshipping a Messiah and just another god.
But something new to add, something the Lord has shown me over the years, but brought up again. And that is about how the Lord is the “same yesterday as he is today and will be tomorrow.” But then you look at the stories in the bible and Yahweh shows you these and then says “so how am I the same?”
For example God tells us it is best to be a virgin, and in the end of times they will have a special place. Yet he blessed Abraham to populate the world and his sons would be like the number of the sands. There is a lot of sand in this world.
Abraham had two sons, one from his wife and one from a bondslave woman. His sons had multiple wives, and basically sex slaves called concubines. Especially King Solomon. Does that sound like the same today as yesterday? When in history did it change to where we are only to have one wife and remain married to her forever?
And what about murder? It is not lawful to kill a man, yet most of the KIngs killed the enemies, or in many cases Yahweh did it for them, completely destroying other countries and then telling them to take the spoils. We are not to murder and steal, yet Yahweh ordered them to do exactly that. Does that sound like the same yesterday as today…?
The point is we try to fit Yahweh into our mold of what we think God should be, changing the wording of the bible or ignoring certain verses which do not work into our doctrine. Ignoring what is really being said. Because for example the divorce thing, Yeshua said “except for unfaithfulness.” When God destroyed the enemy, it was because they were lawless and ruthless people. David had to destroy goliath… They are directly against the Lord God and his Kingdom. Those that choose to live in his Kingdom must follow a certain set of rules. Those laws are written on the hearts of the true believers and shown to us by the righteousness of God through the Holy Spirit.
These laws written on your heart are the same for yesterday as today and will be tomorrow. And it all comes back to the same thing the Lord God always wanted. For his followers to know him and obey him. Sending his son to die and then send the Holy Spirit, the only difference between how Abraham lived and how we are to live. Abraham did not have the option for the Holy Spirit to write the laws on his heart, we do. And we must do it. There are no excuses with God, you either hear him and obey him or you are not his. Your religion will not save you, the true living God does not make agreements to accept your doctrine.
Keep in mind also if the foreign country left the Jews alone, God did not go out and destroy them. Jerusalem had a wall around it to keep the evil men out, but they were allowed to live, and to follow their false gods.
With today’s teachings it seems they are pushing this doctrine of we are all children of God so we cannot kill anybody. I am not suggesting we go out and do what the islam extremists are doing and kill everyone who does not agree with the doctrine of Yahweh. But you also better not let the extremist come into your life and change your doctrinal beliefs to what they are pushing. And let them just start killing all of the true believers off.
So how does this look when you are working out what God is working in you? How is it the same where Yeshua allowed the evil men that thought they were of Yahweh, and Yeshua made it clear they were of their father satan, a liar and murderer from the beginning. But how did God allow these men to kill the Son he sent instead of destroying them?
This God who is the same yesterday and will be tomorrow does not make sense if you try to define him with a bible and your man made doctrine. BUT, if you know him and obey him, he will tell you what to do so your works are good in his eyes. I remember when growing up as a catholic, and the teachings about the death of Yeshua. In my mind I always thought how could this have happened? It seemed a tragedy instead of a glorious purpose which it was. If Yeshua did not die, then the door would not be open to enter into his Kingdom and receive the Holy Spirit. And now Yeshua has all authority, the Father gave it to him. He had to become Messiah in this way. The pain and suffering Yeshua experienced is worth it all. It was not a tragedy, it is a door that was opened that satan cannot touch “IF” you are united with Yeshua.
However if you choose to play religion, any and every religion. You will not enter through this door and you remain in satans kingdom, this world. In Yahweh’s Kingdom there is certainty in the uncertainty. Yahweh does not guarantee you protection from the evil ones, and he may or may not destroy them for you or protect you, or tell you to stand up and fight. When we read prophecy of the end times, we see he allows the evil of the world to kill his followers, and Yeshua even allowed the early church men to all be tortured and most killed.
The religious people see this as really bad and somehow in their minds do not think it will happen to them. But as a true follower, death does not scare me, what I have fear of is being locked out of the Kingdom of God. The focus is not on this world and the short period of time we live here, the focus is on obeying my Lord and God Yeshua and doing what he says, and if he allows me to be killed, so be it. If he allows me to live a long life and die of old age like most of the early men of the bible, so be it. Human nature gets too caught up in living like we will or can forever. Human nature does not want to suffer anything, and in many cases tries to keep everyone around us from suffering. We try to protect people from suffering when in reality we are protecting them from God. Which is wrong. Yewshua will tell you what to do “IF” you seek his will. Maybe he does tell you to do something to help someone, maybe he will tell you like he did me with my older daughters, to leave them alone and let them make their mistakes, just like the father of the prodigal son.
But what if I took this one time thing Yeshua said to me and did the same with my young kids, and never saw them? In a way what he tells me to do regarding them is the same, he makes it clear to serve them and teach them. But do not expect them to do things the way you tell them to do it. Same with your wife, lead by example as Yeshua is leading you. Yes there will be times you must demand obedience with your kids, but in most cases we are to only show them and let them make their decisions of who they will follow, God through your examples or will they follow their own lazy selfish self and satan.
When you follow Yeshua, many times it looks very wrong to the people of the world. Many times I get accused of being the lazy one, the same as Yeshua got blamed for being a drunk and lazy because he never worked. The story of Martha and Mary also comes to mind and Yeshua said the sister who was NOT working and instead listening to him was doing the better thing.
The point of God is it is easy to blame him for things, or blame satan for those things. Because it does not agree with our doctrine and who we think God is or should be.
The biggest arguments my wife and I have are about exactly this. Her doctrinal beliefs of how a father and husband is supposed to be, verses who I am in Yeshua. Which in many cases is the reason for divorce, when one of the two finds the truth in Yeshua and starts to follow him instead of the way they used to live. It creates division, because the other person is not jumping for joy in the truth you found, and they do not like many of the changes in you. And there will be this fight between the righteousness God is showing you verses living your life the old way you always did before.
This can get even more difficult when you have two different traditions or cultures. Like my wife being Mexicana and me from the USA. The way you are brought up in this USA doctrine or Mexican doctrine can be and normally is very different. The only way you will ever see eye to eye on everything is in the one who can unite you. If you are united with the Messiah (then salvation comes from it) and your spouse is also united. There can be no division between you. But if one refuses to unite with the Lord, and the other is united. Then there can be no unity between them. You learn to love one and hate the other. You will either love the ways of Yeshua when you listen and obey, or you hate them so you do not listen and obey. But you cannot have both, you cannot have unity between spouses and one following Yeshua and obeying and the other not following him.
This is why Yeshua said he who loves his mother, father, brother… more than me is not worthy of me.
The only way you will ever know the true will of God is to know God and obey him. And then you will find certainty in an uncertain world with a God who does things differently depending on the situation. Will he tell you to kill your goliath or allow you to be killed by some religious crazy people who think they are doing good with God? Either way you will die someday, and then live forever in the next world. The question is where will you spend the next life? If you are united and remain united with Yeshua, then salvation is guaranteed.