“Seek Yahweh while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to Yahweh, and He will have compassion on him. Turn to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon.”

Isaiah 55: 6-7

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Being “Born Again” is the Beginning, Not the End

Far too many Christians think that being “born again” is the end of their journey. Nothing could be further from the truth. Being born again is just the beginning.

What we do after we are born again matters a lot. That statement has serious ramifications for people who think that simply “believing in Yahweh” is all that matters. As James said, “You believe that Elohim is One. You do well. The demons also believe, and they shudder.” (James 2: 29)

Once a person is born again, the journey begins. Below is an excerpt from The Trilogy that explains what I mean. There is an inextricable link between being born again and being led by Yahweh’s Spirit:

“For ground that drinks the rain which falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from Elohim; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.” (Hebrews 6: 7-8)

Yahweh wants us to open our hearts to Him and allow Him to lead us where He wants us to go.  Salvation is not something to be taken lightly.  It’s a life changing experience.

Connecting salvation with being led by Yahweh is not my idea.  Keep reading.

In a conversation with Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader and a man who was very knowledgeable about the Scriptures, Y’shua explained salvation this way:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of Elohim.” (John 3: 3)

In John 3: 16, Y’shua talked about salvation again:

“For Elohim so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

When a person is “born again” he has a new life in the Messiah — an eternal life.  It doesn’t begin in the sweet by and by.  Eternal life starts the instant we put our faith in Yahweh — when we believe in Him.  In the truest sense, Salvation Day is our birthday.  It’s the commencement of our new life with Yahweh.

Salvation is the Beginning, not the End

In one sense, salvation is like an M.D. degree or any other professional degree.  Those degrees are required for entrance into a profession the same way that salvation is required for admission to heaven.  They are tickets to the game.  They are NOT the game itself.

When you are saved, the game begins.  You take your position on the field, and the Coach takes charge.  Paul explained it like this:

“For all who are being led by the Spirit of Elohim, these are sons of Elohim.” (Romans 8: 14)

In John 3: 36, Y’shua explained it a little differently:

“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of Elohim abides on Him.”

The kind of obedience that the Messiah and Paul were talking about is not limited to adherence to the Ten Commandments and all the other laws in the Bible.  The obedience they were discussing has to do with being led by Yahweh.  That doesn’t minimize the importance of Yahweh’s written word, but it does raise the leading of Yahweh’s Spirit to the appropriate level.

Evidence of our new birth will become apparent in due course.  The changes in our lives may be slow and difficult to see, or they may be dramatic and easy to see.  Whatever the case may be, Yahweh knows and that’s what matters.

Yahweh’s Laws are the Rules of the Game

Consider this analogy.  Think about the laws in the Bible as the rules of the game — a game like football for instance.  To avoid penalties, Yahweh wants us to play by the rules, but winning the game requires scoring points.  Sometimes, the most penalized team wins.  In fact, that happens a lot.

I’m not saying that penalties are irrelevant because they can prevent us from achieving victory, but when the clock ticks down to zero, the winning team will be the one with the most points.  There is no place on the scoreboard for yards penalized.  You’ll have to wait for newspaper reporters’ accounts of the game to get that statistic, or you can go to the internet and get it right after the game.

To the coaches, the players on the field, and the fans, the only statistic that matters at the end of the game is the one that tells us who won.

Legalism is Offensive to Yahweh and Everybody Else

It’s Yahweh’s job to lead us to victory.  It’s also His job to teach us how to play by the rules.  That doesn’t happen all at once.  It takes practice, practice, and more practice over time.  It’s the same as learning to play any sport.

Yahweh doesn’t call a timeout or postpone the game temporarily until we’re perfect.  Quite the opposite, we take the field; the whistle blows; the battle gets underway; and we learn to play as we go about our life.

Perfection isn’t required or even expected at this point.  We won’t achieve perfection until we give up our mortal bodies and take on the immortal ones that Yahweh has prepared for us.

Legalists will go berserk when they read the last paragraph.  They will point out very quickly and probably with a holier-than-thou tone in their voices that the Bible says, “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5: 48)

If legalists would look in the mirror, they would see how far off the mark they are.  I guess they don’t use mirrors.  If they do, they must look at their images through rose-colored glasses.

In Matthew 23: 24, Y’shua aimed this remark at the legalists who followed Him around from place to place trying to find something that they could use against Him:

“You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”

That was hyperbole, but He was making an important point.  The crowd probably erupted into spontaneous laughter at the thought of the immaculately attired religious leaders in their long, flowing robes chomping down on camels.  I think Y’shua purposely ridiculed them in front of others to teach them a lesson and to show the crowd how hypocritical and ridiculous they were.

In Luke 6: 41-42, Y’shua said,

“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”

Y’shua left no room for doubt in anyone’s mind about where He stands when it comes to legalism.  He’s against it.

Even so, Matthew 5: 48 is correct.  We are supposed to be perfect, but the perfection Y’shua was talking about in that verse is a perfection that only He can confer.  It wasn’t by accident that the Messiah delivered that message as a part of His Sermon on the Mount.  The primary purpose of that oration was to reveal Yahweh’s perspective on right living.

More than anything else, The Sermon on the Mount teaches us two things:

1. We don’t understand completely what Yahweh wants and expects from us. In fact, we’re so far off the mark that it isn’t even funny.  Stated another way, Y’shua was saying that Yahweh’s view of perfection is beyond our ability to comprehend.
2. Yahweh is our Judge.

The apostle Paul had an interesting take on this subject.  He’s a more credible witness than any of the legalists I know:

“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of Elohim has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of Elohim through faith in Y’shua the Messiah for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of Elohim, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Messiah Y’shua; whom Elohim displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. (This was) to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of Elohim He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, (I say,) of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Y’shua.  Where then is boasting?  It is excluded.  By what kind of law?  Of works?  No, but by a law of faith.  For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” (Romans 3: 21-28)

That is one of the most important passages in the New Testament.  It tells us in plain language that what men and women have longed for since the creation — i.e., holiness, righteousness, and salvation — can’t be obtained by obeying the Law.  That’s why Paul emphasized that righteousness was manifested apart from the Law.  The Law and the prophets (i.e., the Bible and more precisely, the Old Testament) merely point in the direction of the One who delivered righteousness to us.

Paul summed up his argument perfectly:

“For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” (Romans 3: 28)

It’s as simple as that.  If you have a problem with it, then you need to accept the fact that you have a problem with Yahweh’s plan of salvation.  Paul didn’t make that up.  He was explaining what the Law and the prophets say.

Follow the Leading of Yahweh’s Spirit

Trying to get to Yahweh by obeying the Law is like trying to drive from Atlanta, Georgia to Charlotte, North Carolina by taking I-75.

I-75 doesn’t go to Charlotte.  In fact, it doesn’t come close to Charlotte.  If you take I-75 out of Atlanta, you’ll have to get off the interstate somewhere and take an alternate route that includes lots of back roads with which you’re probably not familiar.

You will need a guide.  Yahweh is that Person.

According to Y’shua and Paul, faith is the only way to Yahweh, and people who have saving faith are led by Yahweh’s Spirit.  You can’t sermonize those facts away.

I’ve said this before, but I’m going to say it again anyway because I’m purposely butchering a sacred cow.  I’m not suggesting or implying that obedience is unimportant.  I’m simply pointing out that obeying the laws in the Bible will not lead to salvation.  On the other hand, our attitude toward those laws says a great deal about our faith.

Saving faith wants to please Yahweh.  Since it pleases Yahweh when we obey Him, it makes sense that saving faith is accompanied by a desire to be obedient.  But that’s a far cry from believing that we are saved because of our obedience or that Yahweh owes us something if we obey Him.

There’s a hymn that most Christians are familiar with, and the chorus goes like this:

“Where He leads me, I will follow.  Where He leads me, I will follow.  Where He leads me, I will follow, follow where He leads.”

Yahweh’s children are led by His Spirit.  Over time, being led by Yahweh’s Spirit touches every facet of our lives as He works to shape us and make us into the people He created us to be.

In the truest sense, Yahweh teaches us to play by the rules as we follow Him.  That involves our hopes, dreams, and aspirations, and everything we think, do, or say.  That means it includes many things that you won’t find in the Bible.

How do I know?

I know it because there isn’t a single verse in the Bible that has my name in it.

Nowhere in the Bible does it say, “Thus says Yahweh, Neil Snyder write a book titled His Name is Yahweh and take that message to the world.”  Yahweh’s Spirit had to lead me in that direction, and my willingness to obey Him is similar to Abraham’s obedience when Yahweh told him to sacrifice Isaac on the altar.

• The Trilogy in paperback.
• The Trilogy in eBook.
• The Trilogy in PDF format.  This one is free.

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“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

John 17: 22-24

See “His Name is Yahweh”.