Eyes to See

Romans Chapter 3:1-18 (Part 1)

Previously in Romans…

In chapter one, in other words, the beginning of the epistle, Paul laid out how messed up we are, deep in our chains of sin, and how we tend to align our doctrines with our worldly desires. Supporting or, as the world puts it—being tolerant—to things we should abhor.

This after stating from where our faith comes from, like any crop, faith does not growth from any seed, if you want to grow corn, you need to seed corn. Our faith does not come from evidence of creation; creation has been set as a judge to all who claim there is no God.

Sure, we can use creation as the witness of our testimony, but our faith does not come from what we see, but from what we know, that which has been let known to us through the seal of the Ruach Ha’kodesh (Holy Spirit). Our faith comes from faith, the seed of the Holy Spirit, watered by the living water of redemption–the Word (John 1:1), Yeshua our Messiah, whose shadow is a light to our feet (Psalm 119).

A life of triumphs and failures through the story of the chosen people of Israel, who are to us as a witness of Yahweh’s faithfulness, and to our sinful nature as well, which draws us away from Yahweh—constantly, always needing of a savior, never allowing Yahweh’s instructions to guide us and make us growth.

Paul then continues directing his attention to the Jewish audience (Romans 2), putting in perspective that Torah is not a uniform you put on, but it is a seed intended to make us growth in the knowledge and in the mercy of God. Condemning using Torah to judge when this Torah have not produced a change on us, is literally carrying the name of Yahweh in vain, a worthless charade–which Paul makes a direct correlation with the scroll of Isaiah chapter 52 verse 9.

Now Paul picks up this sentiment but directs his attention to the Gentiles followers of Yeshua in Rome. So, let’s begin…

Let’s put everything in perspective

Romans 3:1-2 TLV —
¹ Then what is the advantage of being Jewish? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? ² Much in every way. First of all, they were entrusted with the sayings of God.

In the last verses from chapter 2, Paul addresses a very confrontational situation utilizing the act of circumcision as an example. You see, circumcision it was never intended to be part of the Law, but a sign of renouncement to our will, surrendering our will to the perfect will of Yahweh.

Paul understanding that this might be used by some as an excuse to ignore Torah, he then starts by saying: “Then (referring to the previous entry) what is the advantage of being Jewish? Or what is the benefit of circumcision?”. These were not questions from a negative perspective, he makes the gentile audience to pause for a minute.

As we stated before, when we are confronted with a question, it is our nature to pause and think about what has been asked. Of course, if you are humble enough to do that—there are many that have canned responses for questions. But if we are humble, we should always pause and analyze every question that comes in our way.

You see, we as gentiles, were trained by generations to reject Torah, entangling it with the label of “legalism”, but the Torah is never addressed in the Bible as a set of useless rules, the Bible addresses our traditions of men as useless, and the law of Sin, —the law of our flesh—, as a fake law.

The Bible do address the “Lawless” man, on many occasions. As it is today, it was during the time the letter to the Romans was written, where mistakenly we treat the perfect Law of Yahweh, as an old–outdated–set of rules written to specific people. Paul is confronting this train of thought and stopping it right from the beginning.

Much in every way. First of all, they were entrusted with the sayings of God.

I don’t know for you, but that for me was a mic drop moment, —probably Paul dropped the pen or feather—I digress. Paul is literally saying the gentiles to not devalued the worth of what Yahweh has done through the Israelis. Because they have been judged for a time (Luke 19) does not mean that everything accomplished or done by them is against Yahweh.

And this is the point of the Epistle to the Romans, because someone fails it does not mean that what Yahweh has done through them is void. As Yeshua taught us to pray, a pray we are supposed to pray every day.

Forgiveness is conditional, He forgives our transgressions for as much as we forgive those who transgress against us. And this is also expanded in the parable of the Ungrateful Servant in Matthew 18:21-35, which starts with:

You see, Yahweh has forgiven us a great debt, the transgression that is rooted deep in our DNA, but Yahweh through the blood of Yeshua have made us free from the ruling of sin, extracting from our DNA sin, and injecting righteousness in its place, for we are no longer slave to sin, but slaves to the righteousness of Yahweh, sealed by the Holy Spirit.

We gentiles has been challenged by Paul, to learn humility and to stop to listen what our Jewish brethren have to say. Not with pretention and contempt, but with love and understanding. We are to love one another, and that is not a suggestion, that’s a commandment, that’s Torah.

We as gentiles are double accountable for how we treat the chosen people of Yahweh, especially because we are literally the servant with a great debt that has been completely forgiven. If we are offended by the clouded interpretation of rabbinic tradition, we are again like the servant that cannot forgive the little, after him been forgiven from a greater debt. This will be cover in depth in Romans chapter 11. Still Paul is bringing some small clues about to be cover later in this epistle.

Does Israel failures nullify Yahweh’s faithfulness?

Romans 3:3-4 TLV ~
³ So what if some did not trust? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? ⁴ May it never be! Let God be true even if every man is a liar, as it is written, “that You may be righteous in Your words and prevail when You are judged.”

And this is the reason why the mic was dropped in verse one, it is obvious that the Gentiles followers of Yeshua have been neglecting the sayings –commandments– of Yahweh, because they started associating them with the “hypocrites”, those who teach Torah, but do not follow Torah.

The “hypocrites” was a label often used by the leaders of the early congregation, including the apostles themselves, to refer to the leaders of the Sanhedrin that have not accepted Yeshua as Messiah. This, quoting from Yeshua, where He called the religious leaders, hypocrites and vipers.

This custom, even though is based in an honorable call to repentance from Yeshua to the religious leaders of Israel, had become a slanderous “label” of rejection from the younger followers of Yeshua. Younger as in new followers, not younger in age. The congregation of Rome started to separate themselves from Jewish tradition because of the tension that was building up in the society at the time. Remember, this was the beginning of pain for the School of Thoughts–Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes– for rejecting Yahweh’s work through the Messiah, as Yeshua prayed for Israel in Luke chapter 19:

Yeshua, Yahweh made flesh, warned the leaders of Israel at the time, that by rejecting the Messiah they were rejecting the redemption they have been waiting for. Yahweh’s act of visitation always carries with it the invitation that has been given to us from the beginning, the choice between two trees–the tree of life or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil–, the choice between life or death, like Yahweh spoke through Moses:

Israel was chosen to show us, Gentiles, they ways of Yahweh, but moreover, to show us how easy it is for us to walk away from the ruling of Yahweh. When we speak of Israel, we are speaking of ourselves. It is not for us to say: “what the Israelis did”, but it is for us to intentionally meditate: “what we have done against Yahweh, after all Yahweh has done for us”.

We have been invited to be part of the nation of Israel, not the Israel that has and is failing to Yahweh, and has not accepted the Messiah, but the nation of Israel that Yahweh has laid out for us from the beginning. That is covered by the Shadow of the Most‑High, —in other words—, covered by Torah.

The failures of Israel in the Hebrew Bible do not grant us an excuse to reject the Hebrew Bible, —nevertheless— what Yahweh has done and promised to Israel and to us, who are grafted in by the invitation given to us through Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah, who gave His life for the salvation of many.

The Hebrew Bible is of much relevance then—as it is now, this is why Paul quoted from the Tanak, Psalm chapter 51 verse 4.

One thing you have to keep in mind is this. In that time there were not chapters or verses in the Scriptures, when the Apostles made references to the Tanak, they were insinuating to the listener to take some time and visit the synagogue and request if it was possible for a rabbi to read the complete context from the reference given. Now let’s put thing in perspective.

Psalm chapter 51 is a reading from David requesting the forgiveness of Yahweh for the dreadful sin he committed, not only against Yahweh, but against a faithful soldier of his army. First sin, he lusted the woman of another man and make her pregnant, to cover his sin he tried bringing his loyal servant back to his wife during a time of war, which is the second sin. Men were not allowed to have intimacy while Israel was in war, a direct violation of Torah, —two strikes—, but that’s not all. Then King David orchestrated the death of his faithful servant, by placing him at the front of the battle, since he denied the king’s request of him having intimacy with his wife—that’s strike three, and called murder, direct violation of Torah, do not murder. The faithful servant was not only faithful to the king, but he was also faithful to Yahweh, wanting to keep torah. This is how Psalm 51 starts:

If you are reading this in your English Standard Version (ESV), the verses would be 1 to 4, in most Hebrew Bibles, everything start at the beginning, with the special notes, to make sure the listener knows what the inspiration of this song was. But noticed the structure of this Psalm, and the epistle to the Romans. Do you notice any similarities? In Romans Chapter 1, Paul addresses our sinful nation, which many in the congregation of Rome were not willing to accept. Then in chapter 2, he points out to the Jewish believers of Messiah from whom mercy comes from, then as in verse 6, in the Tree of Life version, as in chapter 3 of Romans, we can see clearly that none of our sins nullify Yahweh’s mercy, compassion and rightful judgement.

In other words, Yahweh remains faithful, even when we fall short. Our failures do not justify turning away from Him or reject one another, because we have all sinned and have failed to meet the standards of His Holiness. We are forgiven because He chooses to forgive us—trusting in the name of His One and only Son, Yahweh’s Messiah—Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah.

I will suggest you sit and meditate in Psalm 51 before you continue reading.

Our unrighteousness intensifies Yahweh’s righteousness

Romans 3:5-8 LSB —
⁵ But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is the God who inflicts wrath unrighteous? (I am speaking in human terms.) ⁶ May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world? ⁷ But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner? ⁸ And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “Let us do evil that good may come”? Their condemnation is just.

Here it lies a deep misunderstanding of Scripture. Torah was not given to men because Yahweh was mad at him, but because Yahweh wanted to bring justice into an unjust world. Many in our congregations today says that the Elohim of the “Old Testament” was a different Elohim from the “New Testament”, which is complete rubbish.

We must be extremely careful not to keep repeating the same fallacy to newer generations. This contradicts one of the most basic tenants of our faith.

The author of the epistle to the Hebrews speaks very clearly about it, in what we have divided as chapter 13, the author is expressing how important is to keep the traditions of Yahweh alive, because everything that the Hebrews has been taught from millennia still stands.

All these references given to the audience of the epistle to the Hebrews points back to Torah, which the author end up remembering:

Yeshua the Messiah —which is Yahweh— is the same yesterday and today and forever.

As also Ya’acov (Ἰάκωβος Iakōbos), which you might know as James from our English translations—do not ask me, I have not stopped to research this—, the brother of Yeshua pointed out as well.

The same Elohim who walks the earth as Yeshua, is the same Yahweh who gave us the Torah. Everything we have learned from our Israelis brothers and sisters, still stands to this day, as a living witness to the faithfulness of Yahweh. We know Yahweh is going to be faithful to His promises to us —grafted‑in Gentiles to the seed of Abraham—, because He kept and will continue to keep His promises to the nation of Israel.

Was the wrath showed in the Hebrew Bible —which we call the Old Testament— a sign of an unjust, unrighteous, angry Elohim? Not at all, as Paul puts it in chapter 3:

May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world?

Then he continues with some sarcastic questions. Did you catch the sarcasm?

But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner?  And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “Let us do evil that good may come”?

Let’s put these questions in modern terms, which you have heard many times before: “How a loving God send people to hell?”, or the next one: “Didn’t Yeshua fulfill the Torah, so we don’t have to? Don’t this mean that we are no longer bound to obey the ‘old’ Jewish laws? After all, I’m not Jew”. To what Paul answered it over 2,000 years ago like this:

Their condemnation is just.

As we mentioned in my commentary about Roman Chapter Two, Yeshua explains a very polemic fact about this train of thought, that leads to deception. “Yeshua came to save the world, not to condemned it”, does not mean that we have free-pass to commit sin and that sin will be completely ignore just like that—no!—, what this really do mean is this—the main reason Yeshua came to us for salvation and redemption, is because we have already being judge with a death sentence. You might ask… when?

Neglecting the guidance and counsel of Yahweh is neglecting life. Yahweh was not speaking about physical death, He was talking about eternal separation from Yahweh, the disconnect of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh (Holy Spirit), our source of living water, the breath of life. When we separate ourselves from the vine, there’s nothing else but an expectation of wrath. Yeshua made us free, once and for all, if we reject this, where else can we go?

Are we in a Lawless covenant? Are we no longer required to follow Torah? Are we better than our fathers? Do we even need the Old Testament? We are in a new covenant after all!

Romans 3:9–18 (LSB)
⁹ What then? Are we better? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin:
_{(Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm. 53:1-3)}
¹⁰ As it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; ¹¹ there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; ¹² all have turned aside, together they have become worthless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.”
_{(Psalm 5:9, Psalm 140:3)}
¹³ “Their throat is an open tomb, with their tongues they keep deceiving,” “the poison of asps is under their lips”;
_{(Psalm 10:7)}
¹⁴ “whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
_{(Isaiah 59:7-8)}
¹⁵ “their feet are swift to shed blood, ¹⁶ destruction and misery are in their paths, ¹⁷ and the path of peace they have not known.”
_{(Psalm 36:1)}
¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
—references added—

I don’t even know if this need commentary, but I would like to do so anyway, because I have missed this for so long that I don’t want any of you to miss the opportunity to live a life in the fullness of Yah.

Paul is clear stating to us Gentiles, that we should not, by any mean, avoid the teachings passed down to us by the authors of the Tanak, (TNK | Torah —Instructions—, Nevi’im —Prophets—, Ketuvim —Writings).

First, Paul states that because we are in a new covenant through Messiah Yeshua, doesn’t mean we are better than those who were or are still under the old covenant. On the contrary, we are double accountable because we are not cursed with a veil in our eyes, some of us at least, we have been blessed with the presence of Yahweh in our hearts, sealed with the Holy Spirit, who then guide us to the truth of Yah. All these, because we have been made righteous by the work of Yeshua on the cross, we have to remember this to be true.

First Reference:
Psalm 14:1-3 and Psalm 53:1-3

Our righteousness is not ours, it belongs to Yeshua—we have been made righteous by the blood of the Lamb—if we abide in Him, for as long as we believe. In our flesh, we walk away from Yahweh, we ignore His instructions, and not only that, but we also tend to invite others to do so (Romans 1:32).

I found this very interesting commentary from Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai in this subject:

This is a commentary from a rabbi to his people, the danger of turning back from Torah, the sayings given to his people (Romans 3:2). If we think—speaking as a gentile—that we are better than them, look around. Are not some of our leaders teaching we do not need Torah? After all, are we not in a new covenant? Are some of our leaders corrupting the scripture for personal gain? Are not some of our teachers teaching us to neglect the wisdom of the past for a new progressive way of thinking? Are not some of our doctrines nullifying Yahweh’s Word?

Let me ask you something, would you consider reading anything in the Talmud, if it wasn’t just because I posted it here? Most of us would not have felt curious to do so. Do you know why I did it? Because one day the Holy Spirit stopped me in my tracks and told me:

Not everything in the Talmud is tradition. Not everything Messianic is heretic. Not everything Christian is pagan. Stop neglecting what I have done because of your arrogance.

Yes—Ouch—that hurt me, hurt me in my pride, pride that was passed down to me through generations of men doctrinal teachings that completely nullify Torah (Mark 7).

2nd Reference:
Psalm 5:9 and Psalm 140:3

Have you not noticed that we cannot trust anything that we read on social media, television networks, websites or even printed media?

We are continually tasked with seeking out the truth and critically examining the information we have accepted since childhood. Without an understanding of the underlying factors influencing this process, it is difficult to fully comprehend the historical context of the Bible. Paul consistently emphasized this point in his messages to both Jewish and Gentile audiences.

How has this been communicated? Through consistent emphasis on the significance of the cross; it is stated that Yeshua has provided freedom from an unseen authority, one that individuals may not be aware they are supporting.

“What do you mean that I am supporting for this authority?”, you may ask. The government is what Paul always refers to as the powers of the air, which we will discuss much later in this Bible Study—spoiler alert Romans chapter 8—, the government to whom Adam made us slaves. A government with rules that lead us to eternal separation from Yahweh. Which its head in the Hebrew Bible writer was call Baal, in many languages. Which translates to “Lord”. The reason I use the name Yahweh, instead of “the Lord”, as many of our Bible do. I want to make sure you understand whom I’m speaking of. More of this topic here.

This ruthless ruler does not stop at anything to take what Yahweh has created and is good, to twists it and turn it into a living hell. A ruler that demands from you everything, your spouse’s integrity shattered, the blood of your children, your connection with Yahweh interrupted. A system of bureaucracy that wants to control what you consume, what you teach, and what you learn. This ruler has a predestined path, a god of lawlessness, and corruption.

The deceiver’s laws are nothing, worth nothing, and lead to nothing. Which means, your feelings of stability under his rulings are baseless, the house built in the sand. As Yeshua eloquently puts it.

Interestingly enough, in the King James Version, the translator(s) used the phrase similar to this: “And everyone hearing these sayings and do not do them”—of course I’m sparing the old English, so many of us can understand— is closer to the way a Hebrew speaking fellow would have said it, since the word we use for “words” or “instructions” in Hebrew, is the same word for sayings, and that word is—surprise!—,torah.

The authors of the New Testament found themselves with challenges trying to explain, from a Jewish perspective, concepts foreign to us Gentiles, using a lingo that we were able to understand, in a totally different language. Logos, is the best word in the koine Greek to explain Torah. If John 1:1 would have been brought to us in Hebrew it might have said:

—In the beginning was Torah, and the Torah was with Yahweh, and the Torah was (and is) Yahweh.

That’s why Paul in his epistle to the followers of Yeshua in Colosi said:

In essence, what the apostles were trying to transmit to us is a basic fact, Yeshua has been from the beginning, was taught from the beginning, and is represented from the beginning to the end of times. When you walk following Torah—His teachings, sayings and instructions—, you are abiding in Him, and you are living under the shadow —foreshadow— of the Most‑High Elohim.

That is why this ruthless ruler loves when we neglect the word of Yahweh, most specifically, the words that has come directly from His mouth for us to hear. All He said, face-to-face, to Moses, and everything He said, face-to-face, to the crowds of Galilee, Yerushalaym, and to His disciples, and to everyone He interacted with while He walked this earth.

This deceptive ruler loves to distort the teachings of Yahweh, and is why he always brings deceptive teachers that will guide you to neglect the commandments that has been given from the beginning, blurring the line between righteousness and perversion. This way he gets you to worship him while you think you are worshiping Yahweh.

Torah does not teach to worship angels and humans, Hellenistic’s doctrines do. Yahweh does not want you to seek Him through mediators other than those appointed by Him, and there has been only two mediators appointed by Yahweh, Moses and one greater than Moses, Yeshua Ha’Mashiach—Jesus The Messiah—.

You see, Torah is not only what we call in Greek the Pentateuch, no—5 books, is more profound than just five books—, Torah are the sayings of Yahweh that came directly from His mouth—which extends also to Yeshua, Yahweh made flesh, the one who cast the shadow of Torah—hello—. Teaching others not to follow Torah, is teaching others to neglect Yahweh Himself.

Another thing you have to be aware of is from the flattering words of watered-down traditions. You see, the ruthless government of the air does not allow anyone, even, if possible, believers, avoiding them to expose its traps—it loves to keep you in darkness, this way you will never be able to see the truth.

Flattering words, progressive ideas, middle eastern mythology and way of worship, and other deceptive schemes, which have been injected into the sane doctrine, with false labels of tolerance and inclusiveness. Accepting things that Yahweh have made clear He abhors from the beginning.

Religion without compromise, lawlessness, or men’s tradition—legalism—, are things you should shield yourself from. But without proper training of Torah, you will not be able to identify these things.

3rd Reference:
Psalm 10:7

When I started to look to all this references in the Tanak, I was confronted with this fact. In ancient times, more specifically the times where the Bible did not have chapter and verses, when a reference was quoted, the one who is quoting needed to remember the portion of the reference and the scroll the reference belong to.

Scrolls were copied by hand, so it was a costly endeavor to try to acquire these scrolls, hence, mostly only the wealthy was capable to study. A layman, like me might needed to be satisfied by hearing the portion read in the synagogue on Shabbat.

With that in mind, now read the part where Yeshua spoke with the young rich man, and that portion of Scripture will take a whole new level of understanding.

Now, Psalm 10:7 is a challenging reality, we see the unjust prosper, they are full of anger, boast of his prosperity, he believes he is above reproach. His mouth is full of lies, oppress the weak, his mouth is full of lawlessness. Meanwhile, the just is afflicted, persecuted and ask to himself: “Where is God?”.

Does this sounds familiar? But, pay attention, we are still in Romans chapter 3, here what is more daunting is not the fact that’s exposed in this Psalm chapter 10, but that Paul draws a correlation with the behavior of the Gentile believers in Rome with the characteristics of the unjust. Let’s that sink in for a second.

Does this sounds like some believers today? Who boast of being the replacement of Israel? Boasting they are the chosen and that Yahweh is done with Israel? It certainly does. What do you think Paul is getting to?

Think this even deeper, today we have desensitized ourselves so much, that even —so called— Christian bands, has to be labeled their albums with the Explicit Lyrics warning, not because they sing about the Gospel, but because they use cursed words we are so used to listen to in TV Shows and other media. We are so blind, that have accepted some cursed words as tolerable.

We have to learn to humble ourselves to the Spirit of truth, guard our hearts not to fall in the trap of division, which distracts us from the truth—lies—, makes us believe we are over others—oppression—, causing chaos—trouble— and to act unjustly—iniquity—, believing we are above reproach, using Yeshua as an excuse to neglect the Law of Yahweh.

Are you getting it? I certainly am, and I need to recognize I need Yeshua 24-7-365—which means—, all the time.

4th Reference:
Isaiah 58:7-8

Many religions today are guided by evil, thirsty for the innocent blood. Many of our doctrines are guided by lawlessness, full of violence and perversion. We live at violent times, just sit down and scroll through social media—and check the comments, violence and indecency has been normalized.

We have created a society where we are always in a hurry, businesses are no longer held by high standards, lies have become part of contracts and deceit has become an everyday business practice. All our paths point to many directions but the true path. We are in a constant state of panic, depression and oppression. Neglecting the gift of Yahweh to us, we don’t have peace.

I have not even finished the references presented by Paul, and these seems like an unending list of curses from Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Remember, Paul is drawing a correlation that points back to the attitude of Israel before they were taken to exile, but he is not addressing the Jews believers of Yeshua. He is addressing the Gentiles. We are not exempt to end like the Israelis, with a veil in our eyes, unable to see the truth. Read the book of Revelations, it doesn’t end well for those who walk away from Yeshua.

Another point to understand about what’s being covered in chapter 3, Paul knows what he is talking about. As what Yeshua declared in Luke 19, Paul had a veil in his eyes that did not let him see beyond his religiosity, to the point of persecuting the followers of Yeshua. He is advising us not to follow in his footsteps in that sense.

But how merciful is our Elohim, that He stopped Paul on his way to Damascus, as Yahweh is going to do with Israel, and they will as well, as Paul did, be presented with an option once again, to follow or to stay in darkness. Paul literal scales fell off his eyes, and the scales in Israelis’ eyes are going to fall as well (Zechariah 12). This time Paul did not miss the day of his visitation.

Paul now is lecturing us the grafted-in Gentiles, to guard our hearts, as I said before, so we do not fall in the trap people of Israel fell into. This way, we do not miss the day of Yahweh’s visitation. Without God, neither Jews, nor Gentiles, can accomplish anything of worth in the Kingdom of Heaven.

5th Reference:
Psalm 36:1

As King Salomon pointed out in one of his Proverbs, “the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). When you lose fear of Yahweh’s sense of justice, you lose everything. If you start questioning Yahweh, you lose sight of what is most important.

Psalm 36 as Psalm 1 brings a straight comparison between the righteous and the wicked. Every Shabbat my wife recites Psalm 1 as a declaration of blessings towards me, a beautiful Psalm, if you are in the side of the righteous—that is—, but not so much for the wicked. Believe me. But this is right what Paul is bringing to the attention to both parties to whom the conversation of the Epistle to Rome is addressed.

When we lose our fear of Yahweh, we lose fear to His commandments (sayings), we do not feel remorse to change his instructions to our own advantage, we do not fear creating our own traditions, systems and processes, even if they conflict with Yahweh’s instructions.

These are dangerous accusations, again, directed to the Gentiles believers of Yeshua. By ignoring the Tanak, they were bound to make the same mistakes done by the religious leaders of the past. As I mentioned before, Paul was trying to put an end to this doctrinal separation between Jews and Gentiles, right from the start of the Epistle. It’s that dangerous and unproductive.

If we are followers of Yeshua, we are to abide in His Words, not just the words from the Sermon of the Mount forward, but His Words from the Beginning. The origins of Israel, starting with the history of creation, has been intended to teach us and instruct us, and correct us. Nullifying even a small part of this history has destructive consequences.

Taking this position, of teaching new generations that we are not to teach or keep Torah was abhor by Yeshua Himself, His coming to us to redeemed us is part of the purpose of Torah, His own words. So much so, that whoever teach this false doctrine—hence, false Gospel—is considered least in the Kingdom.

One cannot call oneself follower of Yeshua if one neglects His instructions, grace cannot stand without instructions, and instructions cannot stand without grace. Is that simple.

Yeshua was clear, true love is an expression of His laws and instructions, the full summary of His sayings is love. Not obeying His instructions is a direct rejection of love, to Him and to others.

This is a very strong statement from the apostle John, he is simply stating, that whoever says that is a follower of Yeshua, should follow His commandments,—and if we say we follow Yeshua, but do not follow or walk like He walked, we are liars.

Let that sink in for a moment—Yahweh is all knowing, if I say that I follow Him but I’m not, I’m lying to His face. Tell me, wouldn’t be that a sign that I do not fear Yahweh? Is it not that a sign that I’m carrying His name in vain? You see how dangerous this game of neglecting Torah can turn into? As King Salomon stated in one of his proverbs.

There’s only one way we can recognize Yeshua as our Lord and Savior, and that’s understanding why He was sent to us, respect and fear the promises of Yahweh, His instructions on how to become a people of His Kingdom, to listen and to obey all, and that means—all, of His commandments.

A good place to pause and meditate.

I think I should break the study of Romans chapter 3 in two parts: there’s a lot to unpack in these first portion of the chapter.

• First, because the Jews failed to follow Yahweh does not give us a license to reject Torah.
• Second, we are to recognize that Yahweh’s commandments still stand, and throughout the brit-chadasha (New Testament) we are commanded, not only by Yeshua, but by His apostles as well, to keep them. Not as a requirement of salvation, but as proof of our salvation.
• And third, ignoring the history of Israel, put us in a place where we could easily repeat Israel’s mistakes, to a point where Yahweh Himself will send a spirit of deception that would not allow us to receive His truth.

Paul never neglected the keeping of the Torah, much less, he never instructed to his targeted readers to do so; this would violate directly a commandment given by Yeshua Himself, during the Sermon of the Mount.

Conclusion

We should guard our hearts against doctrines of men that try to establish laws that contradicts the Laws given by Yahweh. The same Laws that Yeshua has called us to uphold until heaven and earth pass away. If you think you are getting something that contradicts what Yeshua and the apostle preached, or even, if your interpretation of the writings in the New Testament drives you to those conclusions, you should stop, meditate and cross‑reference the storyline of the Bible, because Yahweh, neither His material presence, Yeshua, would contradict Himself. Remember…

Yeshua, Yahweh in the flesh, does not change.

“May Yahweh bless you and keep you. May Yahweh leave His face to shine upon you and Be gracious to you. May Yahweh lift up His face towards you, and grant you, His peace.”

Shalom