All posts by John (HFJ Director)

Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Fear / Reverence for God, Guide, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Holy / Set Apart, Justice / Judgment, Obeying God, Purposeful / Intentional, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Wickedness / Evil, Worldliness

YHWH Does Not Want Us To Blend With The Detestable Practices Of Others

Parts of scripture are hard for us to get our minds around. We think they are too harsh. We should always take care not to start with an assumption that we or our current culture have things right and YHWH has things wrong. If we read something difficult, we should start with the assumption that YHWH is right and we don’t understand why or how to apply it today. Then we can pray and study and seek His guidance.

When YHWH was giving His people the promised land, He was also punishing other nations for their wickedness. These were not righteous God honoring peoples that were displaced. In some cases, they were doing such detestable things for their false gods that YHWH wanted to ensure that His people would not learn these behaviors.

While it may seem harsh to “utterly destroy” someone, we should consider how passionately that shows us that YHWH wants us to remain holy and set apart for Him and not blend with the detestable practices of others who worship false gods. He does not want us to accept detestable practices and make them part of our lives as it will lead generations into sin and away from Him.

Deuteronomy 20:10-18

      10“When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall offer it terms of peace. 11“If it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you. 12“However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. 13“When the LORD your God gives it into your hand, you shall strike all the men in it with the edge of the sword.14“Only the women and the children and the animals and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as booty for yourself; and you shall use the spoil of your enemies which the LORD your God has given you. 15“Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations nearby. 16“Only in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes. 17“But you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, as the LORDyour God has commanded you, 18so that they may not teach you to do according to all their detestable things which they have done for their gods, so that you would sin against the LORD your God.

We can see this even today. If we accept detestable practices it becomes normalized into a culture and separates many generations of people from YHWH as they embrace more and more sin. Divorce and premarital sex used to be reasons for shame. Now they are plentiful. Abortion and homosexuality used to be properly identified as wrong behaviors in need of help. Now they are defended as righteous. Generations continue to push appropriate dress codes further and further from a model of humility to showing as much nakedness as they can get away with. Now instead of being shamed for such bad choices, people decry “do not shame me” as if that is a wrong thing to do. Many would do well to feel shamed for their behaviors and choices, and let that shame drive them to YHWH and repentance. Instead we see more and more people who identify as Christian accepting more and more of the detestable practices of the ungodly and without rebuke in many churches.

Let us humble ourselves and pray for our nation to return to YHWH and reject the wickedness we have embraced and normalized. Pray for righteous people to rise up and vote and vote with a clear focus and understanding of who will bring us back as a nation closer to you. Rise up pastors and elders who will lead churches in your word with authority. Reject the wicked and the false teachers who only teach part of your gospel or teach false gospel all together. Let people see through the deception and seek righteousness.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Faith / Trusting God, Obeying God, Prayer, Protector / Deliverer, Purposeful / Intentional

Do Not Be Afraid, But Rather Trust In YHWH

Many, even most of us, may not face real warfare directly. None the less we can learn a lot from the laws of warfare in Deuteronomy 20. To begin with it reminds us not only to trust in the Lord during warfare, but also to live our lives with Him the right way when we are not in war (e.g. such as dedicating our home to Him).

Deuteronomy 20:1-9

Laws of Warfare

      1“When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you. 2“When you are approaching the battle, the priest shall come near and speak to the people. 3“He shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted. Do not be afraid, or panic, or tremble before them, 4for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’ 5“The officers also shall speak to the people, saying, ‘Who is the man that has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him depart and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would dedicate it. 6‘Who is the man that has planted a vineyard and has not begun to use its fruit? Let him depart and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would begin to use its fruit. 7‘And who is the man that is engaged to a woman and has not married her? Let him depart and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would marry her.’ 8“Then the officers shall speak further to the people and say, ‘Who is the man that is afraid and fainthearted? Let him depart and return to his house, so that he might not make his brothers’ hearts melt like his heart.’ 9“When the officers have finished speaking to the people, they shall appoint commanders of armies at the head of the people.

When we trust in the Lord, we see we are also instructed to consider and care for those going to war. It is not a desperate pursuit of every possible man to carry arms, because we are trusting in the Lord. There are some who are sent home to take care of important business, lest they die in battle and someone else does it in their place. As with most things, this is just a different view of the world when we are submitted to Him.

If we are to trust in the Lord in warfare, we can also trust in the Lord in every day life and the struggles it brings. However, this is a good reminder also to pray for our military throughout the world as well. Pray for them to be led wisely and deployed with righteous purpose in a way that honors YHWH and pray for their success.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Intgegrity / Honesty, Justice / Judgment, Lying / Deceiving

You Shall Not Bear False Witness

We would do well to consider the Biblical roots of our system of justice. In today’s society we have gone off the rails. Somehow, some people are presumed guilty rather than presumed innocent. People can make horrible accusations with no proof and no credible witnesses and face no real consequences. YHWH calls us not to bear false witness. It is one of the ten commandments. This is a big deal. It is wrong when people make false accusations against others without facing consequences if they are judged to be bearing false witness.

Deuteronomy 19:15-21

      15“A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed. 16“If a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing, 17then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. 18“The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely, 19then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. 20“The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you. 21“Thus you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

If the witness is a false witness, the word says there should be consequences. He or she should be held accountable. To do so is not only just, but it helps discourage the wrong behavior and leads to a more just society.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Envy / Jealousy / Coveting, Justice / Judgment, Repenting from Sin, Self Control, Stealing / Theft

Do Not Steal. It Is A Simple Concept.

It seems this should be no surprise. It is in keeping with the ten commandments and the principles of YHWH’s instruction throughout the Bible. Do not covet what others have. Do not steal. Do not even do small, nuanced things that are deceitful and cheat your neighbors. Do not cheat businesses or steal things just because “they are insured” or “they don’t need it as much as I do”. It really does not need to be complicated, but surprisingly, many people find excuses to rationalize why it is ok to cheat or steal from others It usually starts with coveting and selfishness.

Deuteronomy 19:14

      14“You shall not move your neighbor’s boundary mark, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the LORD your God gives you to possess.

If you struggle in this area or know someone who does, start with prayer and a clear recognition of the truth of YHWH’s word. Call it out as wrong. Ask YHWH to help you change your behavior and obey you. If you have done wrong to someone, make it right and repay them. Do not cheat even over small matters, as that tends to reinforce the habit or behavior and normalizes it. Those who steal in small matters, will typically steal in larger matters later.

Stealing is wrong. Don’t make excuses to complicate what is simple. When you steal something, you hurt someone else.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Compassionate, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Justice / Judgment, Loving / Kind, Merciful

Cities of Refuge

Many people believe YHWH’s law to be harsh. They find examples where it is different from what we are used to today and use our cultural norms to somehow explain and justify why His law is wrong. This is backwards. We should start with His instructions and then compare those to our cultural norms and test our cultural norms to see if they are wicked or righteous.

What many fail to see is that YHWH’s law also has great examples of the mercy and grace for mistakes, such as in Deuteronomy 19. He distinguishes between one who accidentally kills someone and one who intentionally murders someone. One is to be forgiven and one is to be executed. It does sound harsh to us today, but the word even says not to pity the one who was evil and intentionally killed another. This clearly influenced the laws we still live by today. We have different punishment for those who killed accidentally compared to those who murder.

The cities of refuge represent to me a fascinating solution to address a real problem of the time. Our Father is both just and merciful.

Deuteronomy 19:1-13

Cities of Refuge

      1“When the LORD your God cuts off the nations, whose land the LORD your God gives you, and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and in their houses, 2you shall set aside three cities for yourself in the midst of your land, which the LORD your God gives you to possess. 3“You shall prepare the roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the LORD your God will give you as a possession, so that any manslayer may flee there.

      4“Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live: when he kills his friend unintentionally, not hating him previously— 5as when a man goes into the forest with his friend to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips off the handle and strikes his friend so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and live; 6otherwise the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in the heat of his anger, and overtake him, because the way is long, and take his life, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated him previously.7“Therefore, I command you, saying, ‘You shall set aside three cities for yourself.’

      8“If the LORD your God enlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which He promised to give your fathers— 9if you carefully observe all this commandment which I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in His ways always—then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three. 10“So innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, and bloodguiltiness be on you.

      11“But if there is a man who hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and rises up against him and strikes him so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, 12then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.13“You shall not pity him, but you shall purge the blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with you.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

False Prophets / Teachers, Father / Yahweh, Fear / Reverence for God, Jesus (hearing from God), Seeking God, Through Prophets

I Will Raise Up A Prophet From Among Their People

YHWH first addressed all the people in Horeb, until the people were scared and asked to have an intermediary. He has since sent many prophets to guide us. Much of what they taught has been recorded in the Bible. We see also, however that we are not to just accept prophets at their word, but to judge them based on whether or not their prophecies come true. Note also that YHWH lays out consequences for prophets who disobey Him and speak out of turn on their own or in the name of other gods.

The true prophets spoke as intermediaries on YHWH’s behalf to communicate with His people. We should study what is recorded in scripture and regard it as very valuable instruction from our Lord and Creator. This was symbolically reflected in the construction of the tabernacle and temple in which there was a holy place where only the high priest would come on behalf of the people. There was a curtain separating this place from the rest of the tabernacle and temple.

Deuteronomy 18:15-22

   15“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. 16“This is according to all that you asked of the LORD your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die.’ 17“The LORD said to me, ‘They have spoken well. 18‘I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19‘It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. 20‘But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ 21“You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’ 22“When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

So also, YHWH sent Yeshua to die for us. When Yeshua was crucified, the curtain separating the holy place was torn… symbolizing that now those who follow Yeshua are once again invited to come into YHWH’s presence even without a prophet as intermediary. Our relationship with our Creator is restored through Yeshua and our submission to Him as Lord.

Matthew 27:50-51

50And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.

Let us study what YHWH has communicated with His people through prophets as documented in the Bible. Let us test those who claim to be prophets today. This should not be offensive to a true prophet for they should encourage us to test against the word of YHWH and if they are a true prophet, then their prophecies will come true. Let us also not miss out on the invitation to come directly into YHWH’s presence and build relationship with Him. He is not just our Creator, but also our Father.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Abortion, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Fear / Reverence for God, Holy / Set Apart, Homosexual Behavior, Obeying God, Purposeful / Intentional, Repenting from Sin, Traditions / Holidays, Wickedness / Evil

Do Not Imitate The Detestable Things Of The Nations

We are clearly commanded by our Creator not to imitate the detestable ways of those who do not follow YHWH. We are not to blend with pagans but to be set apart for YHWH’s use. We are to be holy.

Many seem to think this is no longer relevant, but it is very relevant still today. Study history of our most popular holidays. Easter, Christmas, Halloween, Valentines Day, and others are all based on pagan worship and pagan celebrations. The church made intentional choices to imitate and blend with these pagan practices rather than obey YHWH and remain separate from them. They convinced themselves that they knew better than YHWH and this would be a good way to help the pagans feel comfortable in the church. However this was contrary to YHWH’s instruction. People still today, when faced with the clear truth of the history rationalize it still as if they can turn something into good that YHWH declared to be bad.

We similarly have much of our society and even an increasing part of our church that accepts false religions as ok to have increasing influence in our society even when they contradict the teachings of Yeshua. Many accept homosexuality despite clear Biblical passages which consistently rebuke such behavior as sin.  Many who would say it was horrible for people thousands of years ago to sacrifice their children to Molech or other false gods, accept and normalize the murder of the unborn children by the millions all for the god of self.  Many have normalized and accepted sexual relations outside marriage covenant and divorce, again rebelling against YHWH.

Let us heed YHWH’s call and stop imitating the ways of those who do not serve Him. Let us instead follow His ways, as Yeshua taught us.

Deuteronomy 18:9-14

Spiritism Forbidden

      9“When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. 10“There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12“For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD; and because of these detestable things the LORD your God will drive them out before you. 13“You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. 14“For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do so.

Let us be a set apart people for YHWH… a holy people living according to His ways and no other.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

False Prophets / Teachers, Giving, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Money / Finances / Wealth, Provider, Seeking God, Study the Word

Claim Your Inheritance

The more I study the Torah (1st five books of the Bible), the more I come to realize that YWHW was really trying to emphasize the importance of His instructions to the people. He repeats Himself to generations of Hebrews, which we now experience if we read and study the Torah. It was important enough to mention over and over again. He wanted to make sure we understand and do not ignore it or forget it.

Deuteronomy is one of those sections of scripture. It reminds us of YHWH’s intent for the Levites to be focused on Him and not working their own land or flocks or herds. He was their portion… their inheritance. He provided means for them to be provided for by the rest of the tribes.

I am not going to propose that the Levitical priesthood is replaced by missionaries and pastors today. However, it is not a stretch to conclude that the Lord would approve of our supporting those who set aside their lives to teach others about Him. However, we do need to take care. We are warned in many places, though not in Deuteronomy 18, beware of false prophets or wolves in sheep’s clothing. There are many teachers that teach a false doctrine, whether or not they realize it. The Lord does not want us supporting them but rather avoiding them and rejecting them. There is no way around it… we are each accountable to read and study the Bible so as to test those who preach and teach and minister in the name of our Lord.

Deuteronomy 18:1-8

Portion of the Levites

      1“The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the LORD’S offerings by fire and His portion. 2“They shall have no inheritance among their countrymen; the LORD is their inheritance, as He promised them.

      3“Now this shall be the priests’ due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, either an ox or a sheep, of which they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. 4“You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first shearing of your sheep. 5“For the LORD your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes, to stand and serve in the name of the LORD forever.

      6“Now if a Levite comes from any of your towns throughout Israel where he resides, and comes whenever he desires to the place which the LORDchooses, 7then he shall serve in the name of the LORD his God, like all his fellow Levites who stand there before the LORD. 8“They shall eat equal portions, except what they receive from the sale of their fathers’ estates.

As a perhaps deeper point of reflection, we should also consider that YHWH considered Himself to be the inheritance or portion for the Levites. He was not “shorting” them or giving them a “raw deal”. Rather, they got the best of it. They were invited to serve YHWH full time and He provided for their needs.

We should not overlook that we are now all invited to have a direct relationship with YHWH thanks to Yeshua. Do not miss the opportunity to claim that portion and inheritance for you in your life just because you are pursuing business and other affairs. You will truly be missing out on a glorious invitation from our Creator to personal relationship with Him.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Guide, Heaven and Hell, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Jesus (hearing from God), Obeying God, Repenting from Sin, Salvation, Study the Word, Teachable, Unteachable / Foolish

Who Is Truly Living (And Dying) In Obedience To Christ?

Those who truly submit to Yeshua and accept Him as Lord, who accept His sacrifice for our sins and declare Him Lord rightly have hope for life beyond this world. This can also give us comfort for the loss of loved ones who have “fallen asleep in Jesus”. It can also give us hope for ourselves as we face hardship and death in this world.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Those Who Died in Christ

      13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.17Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18Therefore comfort one another with these words.

We should take care, however, not to fall into the trap that everyone who claims Christ or goes to church is living in obedience and right relationship with Yeshua. Many claim His name, but the fruit of their lives is disobedience rather than obedience… revealing they are not truly submitted to Him. Do not grow complacent in our own lives of the lives of others. Those who truly love Yeshua will continue to become more and more like Him and will bear fruit.

Matthew 7:15-23

      15“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16“You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17“So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.18“A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20“So then, you will know them by their fruits.

      21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.22“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

Let our efforts not be selfishly about “getting to heaven” or doing the minimum to “check the box” with Yeshua. Let us realize that we are called to repent, to turn back our lives to His ways, to the instructions and the law which He followed and He taught. Do not overlook verse 23… ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlesslness.”

Churches continually teach against YHWH’s law and instructions as obsolete, claiming “Christian freedom” out of context and letting it be an excuse to basically do whatever they want rather than obeying what Yeshua taught and lived. The words of Yeshua call out those who practice lawlessness as those whom He does not know, despite their claiming His name.

Take time to reflect and pray on this subject. The law still have meaning for believers today. Seek to understand it and test what you have been taught against scripture.

For more, read Understanding the Law – What Does It Mean Today? 

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Church / Body of Christ, Guide, Kindness / Gentleness, Love, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin

Love One Another

We are indeed called to love our brothers and sisters in Christ and to behave properly toward outsiders.

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

     9Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; 10for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, 11and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, 12so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.

The mistake that many make in this regard is that this does not mean accept everyone as they are without calling them to repent of their sinful actions and attitudes. We are to repent and turn away from sin. To love others does not mean to accept their sin and let them remain in it. To love someone is to help them out of illness and suffering… and like it is to help them out of sin. YHWH has elaborated throughout the Bible in the law and the prophets as well as the teaching of Christ to show us how to love one another. It all points to repenting, to turning away from sin, and calling others to do likewise.

Even in 1 Thessalonians 4, before Paul addresses loving one another he addresses some areas of sin in which they need to avoid certain behavior.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

      1Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. 2For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. 7For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. 8So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.

Paul first speaks to sanctification, being made holy and set apart for the purposes of YHWH.

Loving one another is the guidance, but we are called to do so YHWH’s way, not our own way. Just like with our own children, loving them sometimes means we tell them what to do and what not to do. YHWH does the same for us. We should share what He has taught us with others. This will help them far more than simply being kind to them and leaving them suffering in their own sin and separation from the Father, even if it is hard for them to hear. And yes… some will reject the message… but that is no reason to avoid our delivering the truth just as Yeshua did and the prophets before Him.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.