We have been told, more than once, that God knows our heart; we are told that David was a man after God’s own heart, and we have been commanded to love the Lord, our God, with all our heart (Deuteronomy 6:5).
But is having a heart for God enough?
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I think most people who have been Believers for a while have heard that Abraham was saved by faith, but what they almost never hear is that later on, when God was confirming the promises he made to Abraham with Isaac, God added that not only did Abraham believe God, but that Abraham also did everything that God told him to do (Genesis 26:5).
In other words, faith is fine, and a heart for God is fine, but (as James said) without works- in other words, actions that demonstrate how we feel about God- faith means nothing.
That’s right! Even if you profess to love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and that you have a heart for God, and that you believe Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah, BUT you don’t change how you worship or live, then all that rhetoric is nothing more than a bunch of drek (Yiddish for garbage).
Too many Christians, across the many different Christian religions (all man-made) have been taught they can reject almost every commandment, law, regulation, and celebration God commanded us to obey and observe, all of which are found in the Torah.
That means this: when someone obeys a religion that rejects God’s Torah, they are following a religion that rejects God.
WHAT? You saying that because I am a good Catholic, or Protestant, or Methodist, or Episcopalian, or Baptist, or Mennonite, or Amish, or…well, you get the idea…that because I have been taught the Torah is just for Jews, I am doing all these masses, services, holidays, and ceremonies for nothing? All my attempts to be a good (fill-in-the-blank religion) are not pleasing to God, but (in fact) are displeasing to him?
I guess I should say here that I cannot, and will not, speak for God; I remember how God was so teed off with Job’s friends when they did that. So, instead let’s do this this: God gave Moses the Torah to teach to the Israelites, who God said would be his kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:6). Now, obviously, the job of a kingdom of priests is that they should take God’s Torah (meaning “teachings”) to the Goyim (Nations), in order to teach them how to live a righteous life (by obeying the Torah) so that they can be with God, eternally.
With me so far?
Okay, good – here is what I am asking you to consider: let’s say you’re God, and you give the Jews your Torah for them to learn and bring to everyone else so they, too, can be found righteous because, as you told Ezekiel (Ezekiel 18:23), you aren’t pleased with anyone’s death, and that you would rather they do t’shuvah and live. We don’t really get to see this teaching of the Torah to the Goyim until after Yeshua, but instead of following what you have said to do, instead, these Gentiles pretty much ignore everything in your Torah, creating their own Torah with their own man-made holidays, ceremonies, regulations, and laws.
So nu?… how would you feel about that?
I believe that even if you have a heart for God, that won’t mean much at Judgment Day (yes, even if you are a Believer!) if during your life you didn’t even try to be obedient to what God said to do, instead following the religions of men.
And, as I said, I won’t speak for God, but when someone goes before God and says, “I just did what they told me I should do.”, I think God may reply with something to the effect of…
“I understand that you did what they told you to do, but it’s what I say that counts.”
Thank you for being here; that’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
