Sunday, August 24, 2014

The Weightier Matters of The Law

Are all sins really equal?

It has often been said that all sins are equal but is it really true?  Is that what the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka The LORD) says?  Is that what the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) taught?

The best way to answer these questions is to see what is written about sin in the Book of Truth (The Bible).

The first place to start is understanding what sin is.  According to the Paul the Jew (Shaul aka Saul aka the Apostle Paul) it is the Law of Truth of Truth (Torah aka The Law) that tells us what is sin (Romans 7:7).  James the Jew (Yaacob aka Jacob aka the Apostle James) says that anyone that sins is convicted by the Law of Truth (James 2:9).  John the Jew (Yochanan ben Zebedee aka The Apostle John) says that sin is breaking the commandments of the Law of Truth (1 John 3:4).  So the Renewed Covenant (B'rit Chadashah aka The New Testament) says that sin is breaking one of the commandments of the Law of Truth that were given in the Original Covenant (Tanach aka The Old Testament).

There are 613 commandments in the Law of Truth by some counts.  Are all of these commandments of equal weight or are some more important than others?  Is it necessary to keep all of the commandments of the Law of Truth under the Renewed Covenant?

The Man of Truth said that two commandments, to love the Father of Truth and to love people, stood above all others (Matthew 22:37-40).  He also said that judgment, mercy and faith were the weightier matters of the Law of Truth while other matters, like paying tithes, were lessor matters that still should be done (Matthew 23:23).  So it is plain that not all of the commandments of the Law of Truth are of equal weight.

It is more important to keep the commandments that deal with treating the Father of Truth and other people right than commandments like circumcision (Romans 2:25-27).  The Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaKodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) was given so the Children of Truth could keep those commandments that dealt with righteousness (Romans 8:3-5).  The whole point of the Law of Truth was bring people to surrender to the Man of Truth so they could keep the commandments that define righteous behavior (Romans 10:4).   So the weightier matters of the Law of Truth are those commandments that deal with righteousness.  How can we tell what those commandments are?

We can tell which commandments make up the weightier matters of the Law of Truth because they carry the greatest penalty for being broken.  Those who hate the Father of Truth persist in breaking these righteous commandments and deserve to die for doing things like being malicious, engaging in deceit, doing things to make others look bad, talking behind the back of others, betraying the trust of others, being spiteful, being proud, bragging, coming up with new ways to do harm to others, being disobedient to their parents, having no understanding of the plight of others, breaking thier agreements, refusing to come to peace with others and withholding mercy from others (Romans 1:28-32).  They will not inherit His Kingdom because they break His commandments to not have sex with any one that they are legitimately married to, not to worship idols (even if they name them "Jesus" or "Mary"), not to commit adultery, not to dress like the opposite sex, not to commit homosexuality, not to steal, not to covet, not to get drunk, not to revile their rulers, and not to extort others (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).  In like manner, those who take drugs like marijuana, hate other people, stir up strife, create rivalry among people, divide people against each other for personal gain, have fits of rage, stir up dissension against the Word of Truth, cling to an opinion that is contrary to what is written in the Book of Truth, envy others, murder others (including abortion), revel at events such as Marde Gras and the like will not inherit His Kingdom (Galatians 5:19-21).  Those who do these kind of things or even engage in telling dirty jokes and the like will suffer His wrath instead of inheriting His kingdom that will be ruled by His Son (Ephesians 5:3-6).  They will suffer His wrath because they do not keep these commandments concerning righteousness even to the point of blaspheming His name and speaking filthy words (Colossians 3:5-8).  The Law of Truth was made to condemn those who do these kinds of things that are contrary to sound doctrine including those who have anything to do with prostitution, kidnappers, those who tell lies and those who bear false witness in legal proceedings (1 Timothy 1:8-11).   Those who do these things, along with those who are ruled by fear and those who do not believe the message of the Book of Truth, will suffer forever in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 21:8).  The commandments that forbid these unrighteous acts against the Father of Truth and other people are the righteous commandments that make up the weightier matters of the Law of Truth!

Those who love other people will always keep these righteous commandments (Romans 13:8-10).  Those who keep these righteous commandments will fulfill the commandment to love other people (Galatians 5:14).  The royal commandment of the Law of Truth is fulfilled by those attend to the weightier matters of the Law of Truth (James 2:8)!

So those who come into the House of Truth will separate themselves from idolatry (2 Corinthians 6:16-18).  His Children who know Him will have nothing to do with idols (1 John 5:20-21).

They also do all they can to never give other people a cause to blaspheme His name (1 Timothy 6:1).  They strive to please those in authority over them so that His Word will not blasphemed (Titus 2:4-6).

These are the things that are necessary to show love to the Father of Truth as part of the weightier matters of the Law of Truth.

Since there are weightier matters of the Law of Truth then there must be lessor matters of the Law of Truth as well.  These lessor matters would include any commandment of the Law of Truth that does not deal with the commandments that define righteous living.  These commandments that make up the righteousness of the Law of Truth have already been shown to be those commandments that deal with revering the Father of Truth and showing love to other people by treating them right.  So what kind of commandments are those that make up the lessor matters of the Law of Truth?

None of the commandments that make up the righteousness of the Law of Truth that must be kept to inherit the kingdom of the Father of Truth deal with observing the ceremonial and cultural commandments of the Law of Truth.  There is absolutely no mention of these kind of things in the extensive lists of things that will cause people to enter the Lake of Fire instead of His Kingdom.  These are the lessor matters of the Law of Truth.

These lessor matters of the Law of Truth include observing the Sabbath.  There is no mention of failing to observe the Sabbath as something that will keep people from inheriting His Kingdom.  In fact, the observation of the Sabbath is superseded by the weightier matters of the Law of Truth (Mark 3:4).  You may be observing the Sabbath by giving Him One Day A Week.  You might even be observing the Sabbath on the day of the week that the the Law of Truth says because you know Who Changed The Sabbath.  Still it is taking care of the weightier matters of the Law of Truth that will keep you from being Bored On The Sabbath.   So if you are observing the Sabbath but neglecting the weightier matters of the Law then Whose Sabbath Are You Keeping?

These lessor matters of the Law of Truth include keeping the Feasts of the Father of Truth that make up the acts of The Greatest Play Ever.  There is no mention of failing to keep these Feasts as something that will keep people from inheriting His Kingdom.  For example, the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) was not observed in the way that the Law of Truth commanded during the entire period that went from the days of Joshua, before the kingdom of Israel ever existed, until the days of Nehemiah, after the kingdom of Israel had vanished from the face of the Earth (Nehemiah 8:17).  Yet King David was called someone that did all that the Father of Truth desired (Acts 13:22).  In fact, He even violently did away with the observation of His Feasts in Israel when they were being punished for breaking the weightier matters of the Law of Truth (Lamentations 2:6).  It should obvious that keeping the minute details of His Feasts are some of the lessor matters of the Law of Truth.

These lessor matters of the Law of Truth include almost all of the commandments concerning what to eat.  There is no mention of eating what the Law of Truth calls filth as something that will keep people from inheriting His Kingdom.  The Renewed Covenant only excludes eating strangled animals and blood as necessary for those who would come into the House of Truth (Acts 15:19-20).  Eating only what the Father of Truth calls food has nothing to do with being part of His Kingdom unlike keeping the weightier matters of the Law of Truth with the help of the Spirit of Truth (Romans 14:16-18).  So eating only what the Father of Truth calls food is a lessor matter of the Law of Truth.

These lessor matters of the Law of Truth even include circumcision of the flesh.  There is no mention of failing to be circumcised in the flesh as something that will keep people from inheriting His Kingdom.  A circumcised heart is also a commandment of the Law of Truth (Deuteronomy 10:16).   The Father of Truth is the one who circumcises the heart (Deuteronomy 30:6).  The person with an uncircumcised heart neglects the weightier matters of the Law of Truth (Jeremiah 4:4).  In fact, circumcision of the flesh is of no value unless you are taking care the weightier matters of the Law of Truth (Romans 2:25).  A circumcised heart is more important than circumcised flesh (Romans 2:26).  It is taking care of the weightier matters of the Law of Truth that shows whose heart has been circumcised (Romans 2:27).  This is the circumcision that defines the Children of Truth (Romans 2:28-29).  So circumcision of the flesh is definitely a lessor matter of the Law of Truth.

These lessor matters of the Law of Truth include every other commandment that does not define the right way to treat the Father of Truth and other people.  There is no mention of failing to do things like wearing tzitzits (white fringes with a blue thread) on the corner of garments as something that will keep people from inheriting His Kingdom. 

In fact since the Temple has been taken away most of the commandments in the Law of Truth cannot be kept in any shape, form, or fashion at this present time (Mark 13:1-2).  The fact that the Father of Truth took away the only means to obey these commandments definitely shows that they were part of the lessor matters of the Law of Truth.  It is obvious that these commandments are not in effect at this time, so it cannot be a sin to fail to keep these commandments.  Therefore, sin does not mean transgressing every commandment of the Law of Truth.  Sin is only transgressing the weightier matters of the Law of Truth.

This does not mean that the Man of Truth was teaching that we should ignore the lessor matters of the Law of Truth completely.  He said that those who are great in His kingdom are those who teach others to keep even the least of the commandments of the Law of Truth (Matthew 5:17-19)!  It is just that we must take care of the weightier matters of the Law of Truth before concerning ourselves with the lessor matters of the Law of Truth if we are be part of the kingdom of His Father (Matthew 5:20-24).  The Children of Truth are to demonstrate on Earth what is allowed and forbidden in Heaven (Matthew 16:19).  Just because something is a lessor matter of the Law of Truth does not mean that it is wise to completely ignore it (1 Corinthians 10:23).

For example, the Renewed Covenant in no way encourages the Children of Truth to eat what the Father of Truth calls filth in the Law of Truth or that such filth is somehow now fine to eat.  This may surprise you but it is Food For Thought.  They will still benefit from keeping the commandments of the Law of Truth that deal with how to take care of their bodies.  It is an important part of The Best Healthcare Plan Ever.

So the lessor matters of the Law of Truth have nothing to do with being more righteous but they have everything to do with being more blessed.

The real issue is the heart of people.  The heart of people is revealed by whether or not they are keeping the weightier matters of the Law of Truth (Matthew 7:16-21).

Those who break these commandments of righteousness do so because they have an evil heart (Mark 7:21-23).  They even speak evil of those who do keep these commandments of righteousness because they have no fear of His wrath for breaking these righteous commandments (1 Peter 4:3-5).  Their hearts will not let them attend to the weightier matters of the Law of Truth!

The Children of Truth turn away from those who break these commandments of righteousness while pretending to know the Father of Truth (2 Timothy 3:2-5).  Those who love the Father of Truth will do all they can to keep His commandments to the best of their understanding and ability (1 John 5:1-3).   Their hearts are set on attending to the weightier matters of the Law of Truth and even the lessor matters of the Law of Truth to the best of their understanding!

So not every commandment of the Law of Truth has equal weight.  Some of the commandments are not even in effect as long as the Temple is not standing in Jerusalem.  Many of the lessor matters of the Law of Truth can only be kept to a limited degree at this time.  None of the lessor matters of the Law of Truth define the sins that will keep people out of His Kingdom. Only the commandments in the Law of Truth that deal with treating the Father of Truth and other people right define those sins.  These commandments of righteousness are the weightier matters of the Law of Truth.

So it does not really matter if we are trying our best to keep the finer points of the lessor matters of the Law of Truth if we are not first taking care of the weightier matters of the Law of Truth.

The truth is all of us have broken the commandments of righteousness in the Law of Truth (Romans 3:23).   All of us are born with an uncircumcised heart so that we cannot keep the weightier matters of the Law of Truth (Romans 5:12).  We would all deserve to die and to not inherit His Kingdom if our righteousness depended upon our own ability to keep the weightier matters of the Law of Truth (Romans 10:5).  None of us can be made righteous by our best efforts to keep even just the weightier matters of the Law of Truth (Galatians 3:21).

The Good News is that the Man of Truth died so that we can come into the House of Truth where he could live in us (Galatians 2:20-21).  When we come into the House of Truth it is no longer about our ability to keep the weightier matters of the Law of Truth but it is about his ability to do so through us (Colossians 1:27).  The record of us neglecting the weightier matters of the Law of Truth can only be wiped clean by coming into the House of Truth (1 John 1:8-10).  After we come into the House of Truth then we will start being transformed so that we will keep the weightier matters of the Law of Truth in this world just like he does (1 John 4:17).

You can only come into the House of Truth by surrendering control of every area of your life to the Man of Truth because you believe that His Father raised him from the dead (Romans 10:8-10).

Come into the House of Truth.

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