The Christian Letter, Volume One: Chapter 64
“What, then, shall we say? Is the Torah sin? Let it not be! However, I did not know sin except through the Torah. For also the covetousness I knew not if the Torah had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’” (Romans 7:7). Paul would not have even known what coveting was if not for these three words. Yes, I tell you no lie, His Word is that precious, powerful, life changing … life affirming. But what has been done to the Ten Words? If we are honest, what have we done with the Word Who became flesh?
The Denial of Ten
Most Christians deny, rather than acknowledge, that Yahoweh brought them out of Egypt.
Most Christians have more graven imagery in their house than any of the pagans I have visited.
Most Christians utterly hate His Name and all those who say it. I know this quite well.
Most Christians do not even keep half a day of rest, and even fewer the day He gave in His eternal covenant.
Most Christians refuse to work on their large problems, to make it easy for their children to honor them.
Most Christians currently may not pull the trigger, but they do little to stop it being pulled.
Most Christians commit adultery, not only by dressing whorishly, but also by chasing after fortune more than Yahoweh.
Most Christians steal from Yahoweh by withholding tithe where needed, as well as love offerings, with their greedy heart.
Most Christians give false testimony against more than just their neighbors with gossip.
Most Christians covet more when they walk into a store, than a drunkard who walks into a brothel!
To put Yahoweh first … one cannot allow a close second.
This Means
The Law is forever, but according to some, the Forever Torah made it only 2,200 years. I wonder how long His forever / eternal Kingdom is going to be? 2,200 years? If so, are the Messiah’s Words now old and done away with? “For the earth has been defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the Torot, changed the law, broken the everlasting covenant.” (Isaiah 24:5). … Loving Yahoweh will never be done away with.
For years, I worked on a Letter concerning the battle of walking as He walked versus walking how others think we ought. It was quite long and filled with Scriptures, but, after five diligent years, I deleted my study. I affirm: There will always be an argument, and there will always be the Truth unshaken. We are free to walk as He walked, even if prison chains we adorn.
To be honest, I rarely argue with people anymore. It is so simple. The Messiah kept Torah, and said, “Follow Me.” The Letters of John say that we ought walk as He walked. He also said that whoever says he knows Him, but does not keep the Torah, is a liar, and truth is not in him. What argument does anyone have against showing love unto Yahoweh by seeking to emulate His Son? If you answered, “Not even one.” then you are right.
If someone can insult those who keep Yahoweh’s Commandments, by calling him or her a legalist, then it relieves the insulter’s guilt. We can see by Matthew 5:17-19 that whosoever does and teaches even the least of the Commandments of Yahoweh shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. We can see! Let not their bickering blind you.
“‘Teacher, which is the great command in the Torah?’ And Yahoweh said to him, ‘“You shall love Yahoweh your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great command. And the second is like it, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” On these two commands hang all the Torah and the Prophets.’” (Matthew 22:36-40).
Many try to remove the Torah and the Prophets, which hangs on these two Commands; yet, these two Commandments are in the Torah: “Do not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the children of your people. And you shall love your neighbour as yourself. I am Yahoweh.” (Leviticus 19:18). “And you shall love Yahoweh your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Therefore, to do away with the Torah is to do away with the Messiah’s Words. If you keep these two, then you will strive to keep them all; if you break these two Commandments … well:
“Little children, let no one lead you astray. The one doing righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. The one doing sin is of the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of Elohim was manifested: to destroy the works of the devil. Everyone having been born of Elohim does not sin, because His seed stays in him, and he is powerless to sin, because he has been born of Elohim.” (1 John 3:7-9).
“Everyone doing sin also does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4).
If you are strong in faith, and walk as He walked, out of love, then what you do is not legalism, but an offering of hope. What they do is not grace, but illegalism, an offering of denial. Love freely given always hopes for return, and Yahoweh gives such hope in the Way of Yahoshuah. May the Spirit He sends in His Name guide you in this always. Let us love Him enough to long for His Way above our own.
What say you this day? What path will you choose?
Let our prayer be repentance, not just admittance. Let us refrain from worshiping the Creator as the pagans worship their idols. Let those who know the Name, call upon Him, and forfeit the use of false names. Let us stop the murder of unborn children. Let us lift our families unto Yah, starting today, by striving to walk as pure as the clouds in this sky above me now. Let us no more spread rumors and lies by gossiping.
“And Yahoshuah said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’ And they divided His garments and cast lots.” (Luke 23:34). But what of us who do know? The Messiah died because of our sin. He died upon the cross. Should not sin be utterly horrid to us?
“And all the people saw the thunders, the lightning flashes, the sound of the ram’s horn, and the mountain smoking. And the people saw it, and they trembled and stood at a distance, and said to Mosheh, ‘You speak with us and we hear, but let not Elohim speak with us, lest we die.’ And Mosheh said to the people, ‘Do not fear, for Elohim has come to prove you, and in order that His fear be before you, so that you do not sin.’ So the people stood at a distance, but Mosheh drew near the thick darkness where Elohim was.” (Exodus 20:18-21). Come, dear brothers and sweet sisters, from all lands; let us fear His Words, and go, sin no more, for His glory and His Son’s Good Name. May we never again hear the Ten Words without the above fear and trembling! Let us be eager for the Holy Spirit to hang them upon our hearts so that we may desire to keep His Commandments in the fruit of the Spirit.
To conclude is to walk. … What a joyful walk … to put our footsteps in His.
Faith without works, works without faith, in the end: vanity of vanities. Are we saved by grace, or is it just to save face? Disobedience to obedience is not obeisance but obstinance. We give and withhold, and call it charity. Is this the Law? Is this the Spirit Who wrote the Law? O dear brothers, O sweet sisters, for what do we weep, for what do we reap? I can hear Him … I can hear Him cry.
Dear brothers, sweet sisters, I do not preach the cross as jewelry; I preach the cross as what we carry as we walk side-by-side with the Saviour.
Hearken. I will now tell you all:
Fear Yahoweh.
Flee from sin.
Love your neighbors as yourself.
Despise your own sins.
Walk as He walks.
Pray with heart.
That hill. That hill! … May it be, O Yahoweh of Hosts, that this thief will see all those reading this there … there at the place of the skull … at Calvary.
With my utmost sincerity,
A brother at best, and fellow sinner at worst
A slave of the Most High, Yahoweh
An heir according to the promise of Yahoshuah
In Spirit and Truth, one who was loved first
Selah
Be Blessed and be a Blessing
Shalom
-Valentine Thalken Billingsley
If this blessed you, please share it.
Additional Scripture References:
Psalms 119:1-18, 44, 88-91, 105, 133, 160
