| News & Events | Regularly Scheduled Services |
|
Faith of Abraham by Fran Regan
10/23/2010
Last week the portion from the Brit Hadasha was from Romans 3:19 – 4:25
This week it is from James 2:14-26. Comparing these two portions can, on the surface, seem to present contradictions. Paul seems to be saying, as many of my Christian family says, it is all of belief. Works are nice but really don’t have a place in salvation. And to a certain point, they are right. James, however, seems to say that if we do not have works, our faith is nothing. He, too, is right. This certainly shows we cannot take ‘sound bites’ from Scripture. We must look at all of it in context. The Scripture we look at today is certainly not exhaustive on the subject, but shows us that we cannot isolate a few passages from the rest and form a doctrine from it. Let’s look: Romans 3:20 “Therefore by works of Torah no flesh shall be declared right before Him for by the Torah is the knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:28 “For we reckon that a man is declared right by belief without works of Torah.” Romans 4:1 – 3 “What then, shall we say Abraham our father, to have found, according to the flesh? For if Abraham was declared right by works, he has ground for boasting, but not before Elohim. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed Elohim, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness.” Romans 4:9b “…For we affirm: Belief was reckoned unto Abraham for righteousness.” Romans 4: 13- 15 “For the promise that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham or to his seed through the Torah, but through a righteousness of belief. For if those who are of the Torah are heirs, belief has been made useless, and the promise has been nullified, For the Torah works out wrath, for where there is no Torah there is no transgression.” James 2:14 “My brothers, what use is it for anyone to say he has belief but does not have works? This belief is unable to save him. James 2:17 “So also belief, if it does not have works, is in itself dead.” James 2:20-24 “But do you wish to know, O foolish man, that the belief without the works is dead? Was not Abraham our father declared right by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that the belief was working with his works, and by the works the belief was perfected? And the Scripture was filled which says, “Abraham believed Elohim, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness.” You see, then that a man is declared right by works, and not by belief alone.” James 2:26 “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so also the belief is dead without the works.” James also says in Chapter 1:22 “And become doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror, for he looks at himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what he was like. But he that looked into the perfect Torah, that of freedom and continues in it, not becoming a hearer that forgets, but a doer of work, this one shall be blessed in his doing (of the Torah).” These two passages, one from Paul, the other from James, the brother of Y’shua, seem to be crosswise with each other in their teaching. To make it even more confusing, after what he said above, Paul seems to take a different tune with Titus. “They profess to know Elohim, but in works they deny Him, being abominable and disobedient, and unfit for any good work.” Titus 1:16 “Show yourself to them an example of good works in all matters….” Titus 2:7a “looking for the blessed expectation and esteemed appearance of the great Elohim and our Savior Y’shua Messiah, who gave Himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people, His own possession, ardent for good works.” Titus 2:13-14 “And our brothers should also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, so that they shall not be without fruit.” Titus 3:14 We’ve heard from Paul and James, what does Y’shua, our Messiah, say about all this? BELIEF: “And Y’shua said to the captain, ‘Go, and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.’” Matthew 8:13 “But Y’shua turned, and when He saw her He said, ‘Take courage, daughter, your belief has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that hour.” Matthew 9:22 “And when He came into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Y’shua said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to Him, ‘Yea, Master.’ Then He touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your belief let it be to you.” Matthew 9:28-29 “And Y’shua answering, said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, if you have belief and do not doubt, you shall not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be thrown into the sea,’ it shall be done. Matthew 21:21 “And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.” Matthew 13:58 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me possesses everlasting life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” John 5:24 “And you do not have His Word staying in you, because you do not believe Him whom He sent.” John 5:38 “so that whoever is believing in Him should not perish but possess everlasting life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only brought-forth Son, so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish but posses everlasting life.” John 3:15-16 WORKS: “Let your light so shine before men, so that they see your good works and praise your Father who is in the heavens.” Matthew 5:16 “For everyone who is practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But the one doing the truth (Torah) comes to the light, so that his works are clearly seen, that they have been wrought in Elohim” John 3:20-21 “By their fruits you shall know them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? So every good tree yields good fruit, but a rotten tree yields wicked fruit. A good tree is unable to yield wicked fruit, and a rotten tree to yield good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, by their fruits you shall know them – “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master’, shall enter into the reign of the heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the heavens” “And then I shall declare to them (those who had prophesied in His Name, cast out demons in His Name, and done many mighty works in His Name), ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!” Matthew 7:16-23 ….everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not do them, shall be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand, and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it fell, and great was its fall.” Matthew 7:26-27 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My Name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” Matthew 19:29 Would you say this is ‘belief alone’ or actually ‘doing’ something for His Name’s sake? Y’shua also tells us in Matthew 7:12 “Therefore, whatever you wish men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Torah and the Prophets.” “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete.” Matthew 5:17 Paul also says in Romans 3:31 “Do we then nullify the Torah through the belief? Let it not be! On the contrary, we establish the Torah.” John 5:17 “But Y’shua answered them, “My Father works until now, and I work.” John 5:20 “For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all that He Himself does. And greater works than these He is going to show Him in order that you marvel. John 5:36 “But I have a greater witness than that of John, for the works that the Father gave Me to accomplish, the works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.” John 5:28-19 “Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have practiced evil to a resurrection of judgment.” “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak from Myself. But the Father who stays in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, otherwise believe Me because of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he shall do also. And greater works than these he shall do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My Name, that I shall do, in order that the Father might be esteemed in the Son. If you ask whatever in My Name, I shall do it. If you love Me, you shall guard My commands.” John 14:10-15 “If I had not come and spoken to them, (faith comes by hearing the Word of Yah) they would have no sin, (transgression of Torah, 1John 3:4) but now they have no excuse for their sin.” “If I did not do among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin (transgression of Torah). But now they have both seen and have hated both Me and My Father, but that the word might be filled which was written in their Torah, ‘They hated Me without a cause.” John 15:24-25 “For by favor you have been saved, through belief, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of Elohim, (Yah has to give us the ability to believe. To be able to believe is a gift.) it is not by works, so that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah Y’shua unto good works, which Elohim prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10 Faith and Works go hand in hand. They cannot be separated. You cannot have one without the other. Even though belief MUST come first, works MUST follow for it to be genuine. Paul and James were actually saying the same thing, just coming at it from different angles. One must have belief to have righteous, genuine works, but if genuine works are not the result of belief, the belief is not genuine and is useless. Romans 4:14- “For if they who are of Torah were heirs, faith would be made void, and the promise of no force. For Torah is a worker of wrath; because where no instruction is, there is no transgression of Torah.” This verse literally reads (in the Aramaic) “where there is no Torah provision against an action, there is no transgression.” The KJV reads “Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.” Mainstream Christianity translates this to mean that Torah is done away with, but Rav Shaul is teaching the very opposite. Wherever Torah is NOT being taught, people will do what is right in their own eyes, thus bringing the wrath of Yah upon themselves.’[Aramaic English New Testament] Romans 4:20,21 “And he did not hesitate at the promise of Elohim as one without faith (or belief); but he was strong in faith and gave glory to Elohim’ And felt assured, that what Elohim had promised to him he [Abraham??] was able to fulfill. And therefore it was credited for righteousness;” [Aramaic English New Testament] This wording gives a whole new understanding to the righteousness credited to Abraham. It seems to say Abraham’s belief was (most certainly without a doubt) in Elohim but not only in Elohim’s ability to do what He had promised for Abraham, but in Abraham’s belief in his ability to do and be what Elohim had promised him he could do and be. A slight difference in our understanding with major ramifications to us who say we are of the faith of Abraham. This was the faith of believing what would for man be impossible – but with God, all things are possible. [Matthew 19:26] This belief/faith resulted in his righteous work/act of being willing to sacrifice his all – Isaac – because of His belief (which we saw was a gift) in Elohim. It must be the same with us. Our willingness is obedience which is righteousness because it stems from belief or faith in Elohim. “Contrary to Christian theology; faith, while credited to Abraham as righteousness, was not the only component of his total righteousness. It is what Abraham did with his faith that brings him near to Yah. As Yah Himself declares: “I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My requirements, My commands My decrees and My laws. (Genesis 26:4,5) [Aramaic English New Testament] The Hebrew word for a righteous soul = tsadiq; righteousness = tsedeq; justified = tsadaq; notice they are the same word. A soul without righteousness can never be ‘justified’ (righteous) regardless of what theologians claim. The original root word for justified relates to righteous action. However, mainstream Christianity teaches that a person is ‘justified’ solely on the merits of belief in Y’shua, and that observing Torah is impossible. Even in James’s day, some individuals wanted cerebral belief to ‘justify’ themselves, which is impossible. Y’shua’s person (example) and Spirit is meant to literally be imparted into us; this must be evidenced by our actions, otherwise we do not belong to him. Theological, or cerebral ‘belief’ without works is dead religion; but active literal Faith comes to life in Mashiyach. Torah observance/obedience is clear evidence that we have passed from death to life. See John 5:29, Matthew 7:23 [Aramaic English New Testament] Matthew 19:17 “….But if you wish to enter into life, guard the commands.” These next few verses show the inseparable connection between faith and works, by our Messiah Himself. “So they said to Him, “What should we do to work the works of Elohim?” Y’shua answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of Elohim, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’” John 6:28-29 “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you know and believe that the Father is in Me and I in Him.” John 10:37,28 “He who believes in the Son possesses everlasting life, but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of Elohim remains on him.” John 3:36 “And to whom did He swear that they would not enter into His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they were unable to enter in because of unbelief.” Hebrews 3:18,19 Even though we do not work for our salvation, if our works do not show our salvation, then it did not take place. Our works come from our beliefs. “Our beliefs come by hearing and hearing by the Word of Elohim”. [Romans 10:17] Belief or faith has to come first but out of this faith will come our works, our deeds, our fruits, which make up our very life and who we are. “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7) We hear it; we think it; we believe it; we do it. This is why we are judged on our deeds (or fruit or works) and rewarded based on the same. Yes, we are saved by faith only – but, faith without works is dead as the body without the spirit is dead. It is in the body that we accomplish the work our Heavenly Father has for us here – but without faith (which is spiritual and Yah is Spirit and those that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and Truth), we cannot please Him; in fact, it is impossible to please Him. We start with faith – totally without merit, a gift – to build our Father’s Kingdom with our lives, our works, as living stones joined together into one Holy Temple. Faith MUST come first, but if righteous works are not the result of it, there might as well be no faith. What use would it be? “……if a brother or sister is naked and in need of daily food, but one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” but you do not give them the bodily needs, what use is it?” (James 2:15-16) Paul was addressing those who feel it is their works of righteousness (good deeds) that gives them merit with the Father; warning them that any righteousness of their own earned through Torah obedience is useless with Elohim, as the foundation of obedience is belief in Y’shua Messiah. [“For if those who are of the Torah are heirs, belief has been made useless, and the promise has been nullified.”] On account of this it is of belief, that it be according to favor, for the promise to be made certain to all the seed, not only to those who are of the Torah, but also to those who are of the belief of Abraham, who is father of us all – Romans 4: 14-16 The belief of Abraham included action. “They answered and said to Him, ‘Abraham is our father.” Yahusha said to them, ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.” John 8:39 [One may not have the actual written words (Torah), but with a positive belief toward Yah as understood from His work/creation around them, they are Abraham’s seed and the promise belongs to them also. “So if an uncircumcised one watches over the righteousnesses of the Torah, shall not his uncircumcision be reckoned as circumcision?” Romans 2:26] “Therefore, having been declared right by belief, we have peace with Elohim through our Master Y’shua Messiah, through whom also we have access by belief into this favor in which we stand, and we exult in the expectation of the esteem of Elohim.” Romans 5:1-2 Even the Words of Elohim, once written and possessed by man, can be used as a controlling factor by men against other men. Yah eliminates this in saying even those without Torah but with the belief of Abraham, the promise is made certain. This takes control out of the hands of men and puts it squarely with the individual. One’s faith cannot be ‘possessed’ by another. It is the individual’s alone and comes from within, from the heart, as it is from the heart that come the issues of life. [Proverbs 4:23] It all must start with faith, in the measure Yah gives it to us, but it cannot stop there. His Kingdom will be built from the works that are based on this unmerited faith, which is the foundation of His Kingdom. Paul is not saying that there is no place for works in the plan of Yah, but that works which are fit and will stand; works that are righteous, come from faith/belief. To be heirs of the Kingdom, to inherit the promise, we must have the belief or faith of Abraham – to believe in spite of all odds that we can be and we can do what the Father has called us to. This kind of faith works miracles. But it requires action – not just a passive belief. We must also work the works of Abraham if we are truly his children. If Elohim could make nations of peoples so numerous they cannot be counted from a man 100 years old and his wife 90, whose bodies were as good as dead (as far as child bearing), what does that say to us? If God be for us, who can be against us? There is nothing too hard or impossible for God – not even making us into who He designed us to be. Do we have the faith of Abraham? Do we truly believe His Word to us? Do we believe we are who He says we are? Do we believe we can do what He says we can do? Do our actions/works show our faith in Him? Do we live like we really believe Him? If not, what good is it? Contrast this with Lot’s attitude when rescued from Sodom. Lot was told to escape to the mountains. Instead of believing that what Yah asked of him he could do, he took issue with Yah and said, “Oh no, Yah! ……I am unable to escape to the mountains, lest calamity overtake me and I die.” (Genesis 19:17-19) Yah had mercy and gave him what he asked but, as a result, he spent the rest of his life isolated in the mountains, living in a cave with his daughters, his descendents/seed being incestuous. Had he believed he could do what Yah asked him to do and had acted on that belief as did his Uncle Abraham, how different his end and his descendents might have been. Let this be both a warning and an example to us. Yah, in His mercy, many times gives us what we ask when we deny our (God-given) ability to do what He asks us to do. He still protects us. He still provides. But how different the end of our story will be depending on whether we act on our faith or not – on whether we believe Yah. May we have the faith of Abraham our father that we can be and can do what Yah asks of us, thereby also working the works of Abraham to the glory of Elohim.
|
Please contact me if you would like me to come and share with your congregation the many insights the Torah has to teach us about your roots in the Olive tree. |