Well are you ready to get into YAH's Word
today? I am as well. I want you to open your bibles with me to Deuteronomy
chapter 28. We're going to begin with verse 1 in just a moment and we've
entitled this message today, "Redeemed from the Curse of the Law." What does it
mean to be redeemed from the curse of the law? You know, religion has a lot of
ideas. You hear people say, well you know that Torah, that law, is just a curse and
if you try to obey that law then you fall under the curse, you've fallen from
grace and now you're just a law-keeper, you're under the curse of the law - is
that really what the scripture says about the curse of the law? We should
look deeply into the passages given to us and define exactly what the curse of
the law is and see how Yeshua and His redemptive work deals with the curse of
the law. How are we, who are believers in Yeshua, redeemed from the curse of the
law? Makes for a really great study, let's get into a Deuteronomy chapter 28
starting with verse 1. "And it shall be, if you diligently obey," Everybody say, "obey".
"if you diligently obey the voice of YAH your Elohim to guard to do all His
commands which I command you today that YAH your Elohim shall set you high above
all the nations of the earth." Now how are you gonna get high above all the nations?
Obey the instructions of our Creator. In other words, obey the Torah. If you
obey the Torah then you are promoted, you are lifted high above all the nations of
the earth. Verse 2 "And all these blessings," Say blessings. "and all these
blessings shall come upon you and overtake you," So how do the blessings
come upon us and overtake us? The scripture tells us if you obey the voice
of YAH your Elohim. Now the word, "blessing" simply means
reward. So you receive a reward from Elohim when
you obey Him, He rewards obedience. Now we need to get that in our minds and get
that in our hearts. He always rewards obedience so to be blessed means that
you've been rewarded, to be blessed means you've been rewarded for your obedience.
It says, all these blessings are rewards shall come upon you and overtake you if
you obey the voice of YAH your Elohim. "Blessed are rewarded are you in the city,
and blessed are rewarded are you in the field.
Blessed are rewarded is the fruit of your body," That's your children. "and the
fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your livestock the increase of your
cattle and the offspring of your flocks." - These things that mean so much to
us, we're increased by the Almighty, we're rewarded by Him when we do what obey His
commands. "Blessed is your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed are you when you
come in, and blessed are you when you go out." Or you could say rewarded are you
when you come in and rewarded are you when you go out. "YAH causes your enemies
who rise against you to be smitten before your face," That's a reward. "they
come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways YAH commands the
blessing," Or you could say YAH commands the reward. "He commands the blessing on
you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand and shall bless
you or reward you in the land which YAH your Elohim is giving you. YAH does
establish you as a set-apart people to Himself," That's a reward. "as He has sworn
to you if you guard," Or if you obey. "the commands of YAH your Elohim and walk in
His way." So you're rewarded if you do what? If you obey the commands of Elohim and
walk in His way, so His commands are His ways. Has He changed that His
commands are still His ways if you obey His commands, you're doing what? Walking
in His ways. Verse 10 "And all peoples of the earth shall see that the name of YAH
is called upon you, and they shall be afraid of you or highly respect you. "And
YAH shall make you to have plenty of what is good," That's a reward. "in the
fruit of your body," That's your children. "and the fruit of your livestock, and in
the fruit of your ground, in the land of which YAH swore to your father's to give
you. YAH opens to you His good treasure," That's a reward. "the heavens, to give the
rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand that
means to reward all the work of your hand and you shall lend to many nations,
but you do not borrow, and you shall make you the head and not the tail." That's a
reward for obedience. "And you shall be only on top and not be beneath if you
obey the commands of YAH your Elohim which I command you today to guard and do. And
do not turn aside from any of the words," Now the word, "word" or "words" equates to
"commands" or "command" in the scripture. All right? So we're blessed if we do what? If
we do not turn aside from any of the commands that He's given us. "...any of the
words which I'm commanding you today, right or left, to go after other mighty
ones to serve them." Now, does it say anywhere in that passage that at some
point in time, He does no longer want you to obey His commands? He doesn't say that.
You won't find it anywhere in scripture. He hasn't changed His mind.
So all blessings are associated to what? Obedience, there are no blessings without
obedience. Now we know that He causes His Sun to shine on the just and the unjust
and He pours out His reign on the righteous and the unrighteous and
that's just a benefit that you get you get for being alive, but if you want to
be rewarded and blessed you need to obey His commands. All right. Now let's go a
little bit further and talk about the punishments for disobedience. By the way,
did you get excited about hearing about the blessings? Well, I want you to be
encouraged and hang with me as we talk about the curses. Alright? So the word,
"curse" means punishment. Deuteronomy chapter 28 and verse 15 "And it shall be,
if you do not obey the voice of YAH your Elohim, to guard to do all His commands
and His laws which I command you today, that all these curses or punishments
shall come upon you and overtake you, cursed are you," Or punished are you. "in
the city, and cursed are you in the field. Cursed is your basket and your kneading
bowl. Cursed is the fruit of your body and the fruit of your land, the increase
of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Cursed are you," Or punished are you. "when you come in, and cursed our you are punished are you when you go out.
YAH sends on you the curse, the punishment, the confusion, and the rebuke
in all that you set your hand to do. Until you are destroyed and until you
perish quickly, because of the evil of your doings by which you have
forsaken me." In other words, you're disobedience to the Creator's commands.
Verse 21 "YAH makes the plague clean to you until He has consumed you from the
land which you are going to possess." That's a punishment. "YAH strikes you with
wasting disease," That's a punishment. "and with inflammation," That's a punishment.
"and with burning, and with extreme heat, and with the sword, and with blight, and
with mildew. And they shall pursue you until you perish." That's a punishment. "And
your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which
under you iron. YAH makes the rain of your land powder and dust, from the
heavens it comes down on you until you are destroyed." That's a punishment. "YAH
causes you to be defeated before your enemies, you go out one way against them
in flee seven ways before them. And you shall become a horror to all the reigns
of the earth, and your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the heavens
and the beasts of the earth, with no one to frighten them away." Verse 27 "YAH
shall strike you with the boils of Mitsrayim, with tumors with the scab, and
with the itch from which you are unable to be healed." Now I'm going to have mercy
on you and stop reading at that point, but I think you get the message. All
right. We are blessed when we obey and we are cursed or punished when we disobey.
All right? YAH's rewards for obedience are called blessings and YAH's punishments for
disobedience are called curses. All right? So let's go to Deuteronomy chapter 27
and pick up with verse 9 and this is where the blessings and the curses are
rehearsed. We want to make sure that Israel understands the difference
between a blessing and cursing, what they truly mean. This is YAH and His thoughts
when they cross over the Yarden, into the Promised Land. We need them to understand
that to be blessed they need to obey and if they disobey, they're gonna be cursed.
So verse 9 "And Mosheh and the priests, the Lewites, spoke to all Israel, saying, "Be
silent and hear, O Israel, this day you have become the people of YAH your Elohim
and you shall obey the voice of YAH your Elohim, and do His commands and His laws
which I command you today." So they're charged to obey the commands and Mosheh
commanded the people on that day saying, "These are to stand on Mount Gerizim to bless
the people, when you have passed over the Yarden," Or the Jordan River.
"Shim'on, and Lewi, and Yehudah, and Issaskar, and Yoseph, and Binyamin." So they're gonna stand on
Mount Gerizim and they're gonna bless the people when they come into the land.
So we're going to talk here about a valley that's separated by two mountains
and the children of Israel are going to pass right through this valley
and on one side they're going to have some of the brothers shouting out
blessings and we're going to read here, now, in just a moment, that on the other
side, they're going to have the other brothers shouting out curses. Now, why
is this important? Because this principle is so vital to understanding Elohim and
how He deals with people, amen? So He wanted to establish in their hearts and
in their understanding, that day, that there are blessings and there are curses.
If you obey, you'll be blessed. If you disobey, you're going to be cursed. And I
want to say right here and right now nothing has changed, folks, nothing has
changed. Alright. Look at verse 13 "And these are
to stand on Mount Eybal to curse, Re'uben Gad, and Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali," So
these brothers are going to stand over there and they're gonna shout out curses
over the people so that they understand that if you disobey you're gonna be
cursed, okay? "and the Lewites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men
of Israel, cursed," Now what does that mean, cursed? Punished. "is the man who makes a
carved or molded image, an abomination to YAH the work of the hands of the
craftsmen and sets it up in secret, and all the people shall answer and say, 'Amen.'" In other words, we agree. That's an abomination and if we do that we deserve
to be punished - that's what they're saying.
Verse 16 "'Cursed or punished as he who makes light of his father or his mother.'
and all the people shall say 'Amen!' 'Cursed is he who moves his neighbor's
boundary.' and all the people shall say, 'Amen!' Cursed or punished is he who
misleads the blind in the way.' And all the people shall say 'Amen!'" Verse 19
"'Cursed or punished as he who twists the right-ruling of the stranger, the
fatherless, and widow and all the people shall say, 'Amen!' Cursed is he who lies
with his father's wife, because he has uncovered his father's bed.' And all the
people shall say 'Amen!' Cursed is he who lies with any beast.' And all the
people shall say, 'Amen.' Cursed or punished as he who lies with his sister,
the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother.' And all the
people shall say 'Amen!' Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law.' And all the
people shall say 'Amen!' Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor secretly, and all
the people shall say 'Amen!' Cursed is he who takes a bribe to strike an innocent
being, and all the people shall say, 'Amen!' Cursed is he who does not establish,'" In
other words, who does not do the words of the commands of this Torah. "...and all the
people shall say 'Amen!'" Now, before they could even enter into the Promised Land,
they just crossed over the Yarden, the Almighty established deeply and firmly
in their hearts that if they obey, they'll be blessed and if they do these
things in disobedience, they will be cursed, they will be punished. And they
all said to each one "Amen." which means, let it be, let it be so. They agreed
to this principle. So when you think about the ultimate punishment in the
scripture, what is the ultimate curse for disobedience? Death. Nine of the Ten
Commandments have death penalties associated with them and the one that
doesn't have a direct death penalty does have a death penalty, that's the one that
speaks of do not steal. If you steal a child or a person
then it becomes a sin that is punishable by death.
All right so, nine out of the ten directly and one indirectly have death
penalties associated with them. So have you ever thought about it when Sha'ul
is writing in Ephesians chapter 2, beginning with verse one, that he
understands these things? He understands about blessings that are associated with
obedience and curses that are associated with disobedience? You ever wonder why he
used certain terminology? I tell you when you when you get a a strong
understanding of Torah then you can begin to understand what Sha'ul really is
saying, instead of twisting what he says and making it into some sort of
religious thing that runs absolutely contrary to Torah, why not begin with a
foundation in the Torah so you can understand what a brilliant mind, who
taught the Torah, was actually saying when he was writing his letters.
All right. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 1 "And you were dead," In what? "trespasses
and sins," Now, why are you dead? Because a trespass is a trespass against the
commandments, a sin is a transgression of the Torah and all people who transgress
the Torah are dead or cursed because of the curse that's associated with the law.
So there are blessings associated with the law and there are curses associated
with the law and if you're in trespasses and in sins then you're under a curse.
Can you say amen? And the ultimate curse for sin is what? Death. And you were dead
in what? Trespasses and sins. You were under the curse. You were under the curse
of the law, the curse of disobedience. "In which you once walked according to the
course of this world." Not according to the course of the Torah. You aren't
following in Torah, you were working according to the course of the
world. You were in trespasses and sins and you were under a curse, not under the
blessing but under the curse. "According to the ruler of the authority of the air,"
So there is a ruler over your life if you're in trespasses and sins and it's
not Elohim. It's the ruler of the authority of the
air, Hasatan. "...of the spirit that is now working," Into what? The sons of what? Disobedience. Can we make it plain today ?Can we make it clear? "Among whom also we all
once lived," Notice it says, we all once lived. "in the lusts of our flesh, doing
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and we're by nature children of wrath, as
also the rest." We were by nature a child of wrath because we were under the curse
and we deserved the punishment. Look at verse 4. "But Elohim, who is rich and
compassion, because of His great love with which He loved us. Even when we were
dead in trespasses," Even when we were under the curse of the law. "made us alive
together with Messiah, by favor you have been saved and raised us up
together, and made us sit together in the heavenlies in Messiah Yeshua, in order to
show in the coming ages the exceeding riches of His favor in kindness toward
us in Messiah Yeshua. For my favor you've been saved, through belief, and that not
of yourselves, it is the gift of Elohim. It is not by works," Not by works alone. In
other words, you must believe in Messiah and that's the only way the curse is
removed. And that's what he's saying here, is that we were all under
the curse of law, we all deserve the punishment of
death, but because Elohim loved us He has presented a way for you to be redeemed
from the curse of the law, hallelujah, and get out from underneath the punishment
of your disobedience and to come into Messiah and be blessed.
Amen. We're going to talk about that blessing here in just a moment. "It's not
by works," Not by works alone, you must believe in Messiah. "...so that no one should
boast. For we are His workmanship," We are Elohim workmanship. "created in Messiah
Yahshua," Notice. "unto what good works," So He has created us in Messiah Yeshua. In
essence, we're going to see that he's redeemed us from the curse that we were
under because of our disobedience and this wonderful new creature that each
one of us are, when we believe in Yeshua, we are born again unto... what? Good works,
which Elohim prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. So this tells us
that the law is not done away with, we have been redeemed from the curse or the
punishment of the law pertaining to our disobedience. We are redeemed. We are born
again. We are recreated in Messiah Yeshua unto, what? Good works. That means
obedience. So the obedience factor has not gone away, amen? It's unto good works,
which Elohim prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. So let me ask you,
which came first? The Torah, the instructions, or Yeshua being born in a
manger? The Torah. So the good works that we're to walk in were prepared beforehand,
before Messiah's birth, that we what? Should walk in them, so nothing's changed.
What has changed is that we, now, have a pathway out from underneath the curse of
the law, the curse of our disobedience. In other words, the punishment that comes to
us when we disobey. We don't have to live under the curse of the law. Amen?
We've been redeemed. Now let's go over to Romans chapter 3 beginning with verse 21,
and this tells us that all have sinned and are under the curse of the law. It says,
"But now, apart from the Torah," Or apart from works of Torah alone. So you had the
Jews that would say, we don't need your Yeshua, we have Torah.
We're justified by our Torah we don't need to believe and so Sha'ul was
constantly chipping away at that thought. Sometimes you think that he seems anti-
Torah in his writings, he's not anti- Torah at all. We're gonna find out that
in here in just a moment but he is anti- you believing you could be justified by
keeping Torah apart from belief in Yeshua. That's his
main point. It says "But now, apart from the Toarh, apart from works of Torah alone a
righteousness of Elohim has been revealed, being witnessed by the Torah and
the prophets," So we read all about Yeshua in the Torah and the prophets. "...and the
righteousness of Elohim is true belief in Yeshua Messiah to all and on all who
believe for there is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of the
esteem of Elohim," In other words, all have sinned and come under the curse of the
law. All have sinned sinned and deserve the punishment of the curse of the law. "being declared
right, without paying," Or trying to achieve justification apart from belief
in Yeshua. "by His favor through the redemption which is in Messiah Yeshua
whom Elohim set forth as an atonement, through belief in His blood." And so we
are redeemed from the curse of the law through belief in Messiah Yeshua and
that redemption is a redemption that redeems us from the curse, gets us out of
being in the dynamic of deserving this great punishment and puts us in the
blessing. And then verse 28, it says, for we reckon that a man is declared right
by belief apart from the works of Torah. Now, I said it that way because if you
get into the original language concerning that word, "without" and you
look at what it really says, it's saying "apart from". So it says here in this
translation, "For we reckon that a man has declared right by belief without works
of Torah." But a clearer understanding is that we reckon that a man is declared
right by belief apart from works of Torah. So we must believe first and then
it's unto what? Good works, and good works are defined by what? The Torah. Very
simple. Verse 29 "Or is He the Elohim of the Yehudim only," The Jews only. "and
not also of the nation's?" The Gentiles. "Yes, of the nations also. Since it is one
Elohim who shall declare right the circumcised of the Jews by belief. And
the uncircumcised the Gentiles through belief." Look at verse 31 "Do we then
nullify the Torah through the belief does our belief in Yeshua nullify, or
abolish, the Torah," That's the question. See Sha'ul was just saying
in the verses prior to this that if you're going to come out from underneath
the curse of the law, you're gonna have to believe in Yeshua - that's the only way.
That's the only way. You cannot say, "I have the Torah". And so by trying to obey
the Torah without believing in Yeshua I can be justified, so who was saying
that's nonsense? There's only one way to get out from
underneath the curse of the law... it's through belief in Yeshua. So after saying
all that, he understood that they would question what he said so he says here, "Do
we then nullify or abolish the Torah through the belief?" Does our belief in
Yeshua abolish the Torah? What does he say? "Let it not be on the contrary we establish
the Torah." "On the contrary" means the direct
opposite is true. Our belief in Yeshua establishes the Torah, upholds the Torah.
Hallelujah. Why is it that verse preached very often?
I mean to me, that says it all. After talking about this great redemption that
we have in Yeshua. We're redeemed from the curse of the law.
We're brought out from underneath the punishments of our disobedience. It's
only through belief in Yeshua, but now I know what you're thinking - does our
belief in Yeshua abolish the Torah? He asked the question and he answers it. Let
it not be. On the contrary, the direct opposite, is true, we or our belief in
Yeshua established or uphold the Torah. All right. It's going to make even more
sense as we continue to get on down further in this. Galatians chapter 3
starting with verse 10 this comes right out and tells us Messiah has redeemed us
from the curse of the law. For as many as are of works of Torah, in other words,
those who are trying to achieve justification through Torah observance
apart from belief in Yeshua. "For as many as
our of works of Torah are under the curse," And that's where religion says - see,
it says right there that the Torah is a curse - is that really what it says? It
says that if anyone who's trying to achieve justification through Torah
observance apart from believing in Yeshua that person is still under the
curse. That person has not been redeemed from the curse of the law. Again, the
Torah is not the curse, the curse is the punishment that comes when we disobey. If
you're trying to be justified merely by saying well I obey the Torah. Sha'ul is
making it very very clear here and plain that we must believe in Yeshua to be
redeemed from the curse. Let's read it again. "For as many as are of works of
Torah," Again, trying to achieve justification through Torah observance
apart from belief in Yeshua. "are under the curse," In other words, you cannot get
out from underneath the curse apart from belief in Yeshua, He's the only way. "for
it has been written cursed," Or punished. "is everyone who does not continue in all
that has been written in the book of the Torah to do them." That's Deuteronomy 27
verse 26. So punished our cursed is everyone who
does not continue in all that has been written in the book of the Torah to do
them. In other words, punishment comes when we disobey. Verse 11 "And that no one
is declared right by Torah before Elohim is clear, for "The righteous shall live by
belief."" That's verse 4. The righteous shall live by belief
so this is introduced here into what Sha'ul is teaching that you have to
believe. "And the Torah is not of belief, but "the man who does them shall live by
them."" So he's trying to make it very plain that you must believe in Yeshua to
be justified. You can't just say, "I'm a Jew, I have the Torah. I'm justified by
the Torah," and that was what he was coming up against all the time.
He was trying to build a case that you must believe in Yeshua Messiah to be
redeemed from the curse of the law. Look at verse 13 "Messiah redeemed us from the
curse of the Torah," Number one, it doesn't say Messiah redeemed us from the Torah.
Number two, it does not say that the Torah is the curse, what does it say?
Messiah Yeshua redeemed us from the curse associated with disobedience to
the Torah, are you understanding it? "having become a curse," In other words,
taking upon Himself our punishment. "having become a curse for us, for it has
been written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs upon a tree."" That's Deuteronomy 21
verse 23. "in order that the blessing," Come on, let's keep it going here. What do we
say about blessing? The reward. "In order that the reward of Abraham might come
upon the nation's in Messiah Yeshua." Or through belief in Messiah Yeshua and
what is the reward of Abraham that comes to the nation's as well when we believe
upon Yeshua? Sha'ul makes it real plain right here, "...to
receive the promise of the Spirit through belief." So the Spirit of the
Father gives us the want-to and the power to be what? Obedient. So what is the
the great reward that we receive when we believe upon Yeshua Messiah? The
Set-apart Spirit and the Set-apart Spirit is the Spirit of the Father
and the Spirit of the Father gives us the want-to obey. You don't get born
again then all of a sudden you want to be lawless, that has to be taught into
you by years of religion. Amen. To think that you believe upon Yeshua
and you receive the Spirit of the Father and that leads you to lawlessness? How do
you get there, in your thinking? Through religion. Because you were sincere and
you sincerely sit there and listen to those preachers all those years tell you
that, but people can be sincere and sincerely wrong about things and I'll
tell you what, I haven't heard this message preached. I'm not saying somebody
hasn't preached it, but I haven't heard it preached and we're getting to the
truth today, aren't we? Because when you get to the
truth then all the bible starts making sense, the whole bible. You don't have to
make excuses for everything left of Matthew. - "Well all of that's been abolished
so it doesn't apply." - So you get to the verses that are Matthew and everything
right of Matthew, you come across something you don't understand what do
you end up doing? Making stuff up and that's what religion has done for two
thousand years, made up a lot of stuff. So now, we have the message of the
preparation of the bride and we're preaching the truth in love and we're
asking the Set-apart Spirit, our Teacher, the Spirit of Truth to continue
to lead us in truth and we boldly proclaim that truth, in love, and we're
courageous enough then to begin to live it out. Amen?
To receive the promise of the Spirit through belief. So Yeshua, when He
came and He went to the tree and died in our place, what was He doing? He paid our
death penalty, we're talking now about being redeemed from the curse
of the law and the ultimate curse is death. So Yeshua's going to redeem us
from the curse of the law, from the death that comes through disobedience to the
law, so to do that how is He going to do it? He's actually going to pay our death
penalty and die in our place because that curse has to be satisfied, that
punishment has to be met. Can you say Amen?
Aren't you glad we're not meeting it? Through Him, we can avoid it. Let me put
it that way. Because some people who say they believe but they don't repent are
still dealing with the curse, we'll get to that a little bit. But in Yeshua, He
paid our death penalty, He took our curse, He paid our punishment out and what did
He do? He took the death out of the law for believers. So that's what being
redeemed from the curse of the law is - that He paid your death penalty, my death
penalty, and then He took the death out of the law for those of us who believe, who have received the indwelling
Set-apart Spirit who gives us the want- to and the power to be obedient. You see,
nothing's changed. We could take it all the way back to Deuteronomy 28, the same
principles at work, amen. If we obey, we're blessed. If we disobey, we're cursed. If we
obey, we're rewarded. If we disobey, we are
punished. Amen? So, Yeshua paid our death penalty and took the death out of the
law for believers and now, we don't obey because we're afraid of the death
penalty, we obey because we love the One who paid our death penalty. So our whole
motivation in this wonderful new covenant that we have with the Father
through Yeshua has changed. Our motivation is not fear
of the death penalty because there's been One that has come and paid our
death penalty, we don't fear the death penalty when we truly believe perfect
love casts out fear. We obey because we love the One who paid our death penalty.
We love the One who took our punishment. We love the One who has redeemed us and
brought us out from underneath the curse or the punishment that comes when we
disobey the law, hallelujah. Well Sha'ul expands this a little bit
in Romans chapter 4. Let's go quickly over there, I really want to get you to
Romans chapter 7, but we'll touch on Romans chapter 4 here, this time. "What,
then, shall we say Abraham our father, to have found according to the flesh," In
other words, was he justified by works apart from belief? Was Abraham justified by works apart from belief? The answer is no. "For if Abraham
was declared right by works," Apart from belief. "he has ground for boasting but
not before Elohim. For what does the scripture say?" Now, isn't it interesting?
This is Sha'ul talking and when he says the scripture, he's quoting the Torah. Oh,
I thought he abolished the Torah? What's he doing? Quoting the Torah. "For what does
the scripture say?" He calls the Torah of the scripture. ""Abraham believed Elohim,""
Notice, he believed Elohim. ""and it was reckoned to him for righteousness."" That's
Genesis chapter 15 in verse 6. "And to him who is working," Or trying to achieve
justification apart from belief in Yeshua. "the reward is not reckoned as a
favor but as a debt." And isn't interesting that he says "the reward"?
"And to him who is not working," Or not trying to receive justification by works
apart from belief - in other words, the believer. "but believes on him who is
declaring right the wicked, his belief is reckoned for righteousness," All right. So
he's considered righteous because he believes in Yeshua. Now, let's don't stop
there because the bible definition of belief brings together belief and
obedience. It never separates it. If you believe, you
obey. If you disbelieve, then you disobey. Amen? "And to him who is not working but
believes on him who is declaring right the wicked, his belief is reckoned for
righteousness even as Dawid also says of the blessedness of the man to whom
Elohim reckons righteousness without works," Or without trying to achieve
justification apart from belief. "the blessedness the the reward of the man to
whom Elohim reckons righteousness without works." In other words, by
believing. "blessed are those whose lawlessnesses are forgiven and whose
sins," That's the transgression of the Torah. "...are covered." In other words, we're
talking about being redeemed from the curse of disobedience, the curse of the
law. "Blessed are those whose lawlessnesses are forgiven, and whose sins are
covered." Through belief in Yeshua. "blessed is the man to whom YAH shall by no means
reckon sin." This is Psalm 32 verses 1 and 2. All right. So I think we've established
firmly this is not a point that you needed to hear again and again, but those
who are watching my video need to hear it and whenever I preach, I realize
that I have you precious people here but we have tens of thousands, if not,
many more than that who are watching my video. So he's made the point that you
are not going to be justified unless you believe in Yehsua, that's the only way
to be redeemed from the curse of the law. So let's go a little bit further Romans
chapter 7 started with verse 14. Now this just sets me ablaze, I'm just so excited
about these verses. Remember when Sha'ul talks about sin in
Romans 7? He's talking about the evil inclinations that reside in your flesh.
All right? Romans chapter 7 verse 14 "For we know that the Torah is spiritual, but
I am fleshly, sold under sin." So what is Sha'ul saying in this first verse that
we're reading here, is the problem with the Torah? Or is the problem with man? So
why does man make the problem out to be the Torah? I mean there's some confusion
here. "For we know," Now, Sha'ul knew something that most of religion doesn't. "For we
know that the Torah is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin." In other words, there's sin that resides in my flesh. The problem is not with the Torah,
the problem's with me. "For what I work, I know not." In other words, I don't know
what I'm doing. You want to put it in modern vernacular? He's just saying, I
don't know what I'm doing. "For what I wish," Or what I desire. "that I do not
practice but what I hate that I do. But if I do what I do not wish," What does he
wish to do? Obey the Torah, that's why he said the Torah's spiritual but I'm the one
that's messed up? Right? He desires to obey the Torah, he wants to obey the
command. He wants to walk in life and blessing.
"But if I do what I do not wish," What I don't desire to do. "I agree with the
Torah that it is good." So if I'm breaking the Torah because I'm doing what I don't
want to do then my actions agree with the Torah that the Torah is right and
I'm wrong. The Torah is good. "And now, it is no
longer I have that working it," Or that do it. "but the sin dwelling in me." So he's
saying that there's this dynamic, there's this law at work in my body that when I
want to obey the Torah and obey the commandments there's this evil
inclination that's in my flesh that drives me to do the very opposite of the
thing I want to do. "For I know that in me," Verse 18. "that is in my flesh, dwells no
good. For to wish is present with me," In other words, I want to do right. I want to
obey the Torah. "but to work the good I do not find." But I don't know how to do it.
"For the good that I wish to do," That's obeying the Torah. "I do not do, but the
evil I do not wish to do this I practice." Not talking about evil, what is evil? The
evil that he's talking about is disobedience to the Torah because the
Torah defines what good is. So he says, the evil that I do not wish to do, this I
practice. So Sha'ul's just bringing us right into this dynamic that has plagued every
human person from the very beginning of the creation of man. "And if I do that
which I do not wish, it is no longer I who work it but the sin dwelling in me."
The evil inclination to my flesh. "I find therefore this law," Or this dynamic. "that
when I wish to do good," To obey the Torah. "that the evil is
with me." Look at verse 22. "For I delight in the Torah of Elohim."
Now is this Sha'ul speaking? Sha'ul is saying he delights in the Torah of Elohim.
Have you ever seen that verse? Why is that verse not preached very often? "I
delight in the Torah of Elohim according to the inward man." My spirit man delights
in the Torah of Elohim. "But I see another torah,
in my members," Something's going on in my flesh. "battling against the torah of the
mind," The of the mind is the will, it's the human will. In other words, I want to
do right, I want to obey the Torah but I've got this battle going on in my mind
because of the evil inclinations of my flesh turning me away from obedience to
the Torah into disobedience to the Torah. It's turning me away from the blessing
of being obedient and making me operate in a dimension and dynamic that leads me
into the curse. Notice it says, "in bringing me into captivity to the torah
of sin," The evil inclinations in my flesh, the torah, the law or dynamic.
"...which is in my members." So he's saying, sin is in my members.
He says, "Wretched man that I am!" What's he talking about? This man in this
flesh is full of evil inclinations. Who shall deliver me from this body of what?
Death. Who's going to deliver me from the evil inclinations that reside in this
body, that drive me to disobey and that leads me to the curse, puts me under the
curse. Look in verse 25. "Thanks to Elohim, through Yeshua Messiah our Master!" Praise
YAH. Isn't that what we've been saying all this time? You want to get out from
underneath the curse of the law, you've got to turn to Yeshua, you've got to
believe upon Him, you have to receive the indwelling Set-apart Spirit who gives
you the want-to what? Obey. And the power to obey so that you can
walk in the rewards of obedience. I know I'm just destroying the most popular
religious doctrines floating out around these days. I say "I am", all I'm doing is
interpreting the Scripture. The Scripture has made it plain all this time.
"Thanks to Elohim, through Yeshua Messiah our Master. So then with the mind," Or my
will. "I, myself, truly served at Torah Elohim."
What? Is this Sha'ul talking? Sha'ul says, with his will he truly serves the
Torah of Elohim. Sha'ul? Serves the Torah of Elohim? With his will, that means he
wants to? Now why would he want to?Because he has the Set-apart Spirit within him
who gives him the want-to and the power to be obedient. Sha'ul has the want-to and we've
got proof right here in verse 25. "So then with the mind with my will with my
desire I myself truly serve the Torah of Elohim," Does that resolve the questions
for you? It certainly does for me. "but with the flesh the torah of sin." But this
body wants to do wrong, it wants to sin, it wants to transgress the Torah, it
wants to try to drag me under the curse of the law.
Look at Romans 8 and verse 1. "There is, then, now no condemnation to those who
are in Messiah Yeshua who do not walk according to the flesh," In other words,
you don't give in to the evil inclinations that reside in your flesh.
There is no condemnation, you could say there is no curse for those who do not
give in to the sin the evil inclinations that reside in your flesh.
But don't stop there, the period's not there. It goes on. It says, "...who do not walk
according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit," What spirit? The Spirit you
received when you believe in Yeshua Messiah, that's why there's no other way. When you believed upon Yeshua,
Messiah you received the indwelling Set-apart Spirit. If you walk according
to the indwelling Set-apart Spirit who gives you the want-to and the power to
be obedient, you will not be under the curse, you will not be condemned. Wow, let
me read it again. "There is, then, now no condemnation," Or no curse, or no
punishment. "to those who are in Messiah Yeshua,
who do not walk according to the flesh," You don't give in to the evil
inclinations of your flesh. "...but according to the Spirit." The Spirit that we
received when we believed. "For the Torah of the spirit of the life in Messiah
Yeshua," In other words, the life that I received through the Spirit when I
believe in Yeshua. "has set me free from the torah," Or the law. "of sin and death."
What is the torah? The law sin and death, the curse of the law. We've been set free
from the curse of the law when we believe in Yeshua and receive His
Spirit and we receive the want-to and the power to be obedient and we obey and
we receive the rewards of obedience. "For the Torah being powerless," In other words,
to make people obey it, the Torah couldn't make people obey it. The Torah,
if obeyed, produces life and blessing but the Torah didn't have any power to make
people obey it so the Torah didn't have the power to bring people into the
blessing. They had to obey it themselves, "...in that it was weak through the flesh," In
other words, the flesh was filled with evil inclinations and people were giving in to the evil
inclinations that reside in their flesh and they were disobedient, isn't that right?
"Elohim having sent His own Son in the likeness of flesh of sin or sinful flesh,
and concerning sin," In other words, He was going to deal with the disobedience
factor. He's got to deal with the disobedience factor if He wants to do
away with the curse upon every man and woman who's ever lived because we
disobey. "...and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh, took our sins upon Himself
and died in their place so that the righteousness of the Torah
should be completed in us who do not walk according to the flesh but
according to the Spirit." Now that's a mouthful but this is a shouting
point, verse 4 here. "So that the righteousness of the Torah," What is the
righteousness of the Torah? It's obedience to the Torah... so obedience
to the Torah can be completed in us, Sha'ul says, if we do not walk according
to the flesh and give in to the evil inclinations that reside in our flesh
but we walk according to the Spirit who gives us the want-to and the power to be
obedient. Hallelujah. Well, go ahead and rejoice come on that's a good place. So there is a righteous requirement of
the Torah. There is a righteousness that comes when we obey the Torah, isn't that
right? People say, well the Torah just defines sin. Well, it does more than just
defines sin, it also defines righteousness. You can't define sin
without defining righteousness. Sin is the transgression of the righteous
standard. Isn't that right? "So the righteousness of the Torah," The righteous
standard of the Torah. It says, "should be completed in us," In other words, we're
going to obey the Torah and we're going to be rewarded for our obedience. "...so the
righteousness of the Torah," This is verse 4. "should be completed in us who do not
walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit," So you can say
like so many in religion, well I believe and it's just a mental acknowledgement
and then you don't do anything, but does that principle, in the manner that I just
said it, is that what we're reading here in verse four and five? That you just
mentally acknowledge or do we have responsibility? Well, it says it right
here we have responsibility so that the righteousness of the Torah should be
completed in us then have a period there. "Who do not walk according to the flesh
but according to the Spirit," So when we walk according to the Spirit that we
received when we believe upon Yeshua and we live out obedience to the Torah because we've received by the Spirit
that want-to and the power to be obedient, then the righteous requirement
of the Torah is completed in us. That's when we have the power to complete the
righteous requirement of the Torah. I preached a message some time ago asking
the question, is the Torah too hard to do? Now, the Torah itself says, the Torah's
not too hard to do but if you listen to religion, religion says the Torah
can't be done but that's not what Sha'ul is saying. The Torah can't be
done if you're trying to do it in the flesh, there's a difference. Because if you're living by the flesh, you have you have evil inclinations in your
flesh. If you're trusting in the arm of the flesh,
Elohim said it's not by man's might nor by man's power but by My Spirit. Amen?
So can we obey? The answer is yes. It's a resounding yes, we can obey. But not
according to our own strength, not in the flesh. So if you approach this in the
flesh, you will fail and if you approach this in the flesh, you are still under
the curse of the law. What is the curse of the law? The
punishment that you receive when you disobey the law, but how do you get out
from underneath the curse of the law? You believe upon Yeshua, you receive the
indwelling Set-apart Spirit who gives you what you need, I like to say the want-to
and the power to because that boils it down and makes it real clear and
simple for everybody - the want-to and the power to be obedient and then you resist
your flesh. You don't give in to the evil inclinations that reside in your flesh
but instead, you walk according to the Spirit that you've received when you
believe in Yeshua and there's no condemnation or no curse for those who
walk according to the Spirit once they believed. Amen. Hallelujah. Well
let's go just a little bit further, verse five. "For those who live according to the
flesh set their minds on the matters of the flesh," Your mind and your will is
focused on the flesh. "but those who live according to the Spirit, the matters of
the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death," That's the curse of the law, is it
not? The mind of the flesh. If you're going to have the mind
the flesh, then you're going to give into the evil inclinations, you're going to
disobey, it's going to produce death. "...but the mind of the Spirit is life and
peace. Because the mind of the flesh is enmity towards Elohim," Now this is a
really strong verse, verse 7. "Because the mind of the flesh," The person who is
giving over into the evil inclinations of the flesh and thinks about those
things and has a desire for those things, that mind of the flesh is enmity toward
Elohim. Why is it an enemy of Elohim? "...for it does not subject itself to the Torah
of Elohim," What? The mind that gives itself over or the person who gives himself or
herself over to the evil inclinations that reside in their flesh, that person
becomes an enemy of Elohim. Now why is that? Talking about the mind of the flesh.
"...gor it does not subject itself to the Torah of Elohim," I thought the Torah was
abolished and yet, Sha'ul continues in his discourse to relate back to the
Torah. So the mind that's all controlled by the flesh does not subject itself to
the Torah of Elohim. "...neither indeed is it able," It can't. "and those who are in the flesh
are unable to please Elohim." What? Those who are in the flesh are unable to
please Elohim? Why are they unable to please Elohim? Because their fleshly
mind isn't able to subject itself to the Torah of Elohim. Did the Torah go away,
folks? Let me read it again. "Because the mind of
the flesh is enmity toward Elohim, for it does not subject itself to the Torah," As if subjecting yourself to the Torah of Elohim is important. It is! "...neither indeed is it able, and those who
are in the flesh are unable to please Elohim." Why are they unable to please
Elohim? Because they're not subjected to the Torah of Elohim. Look at verse 9. "But
you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of Elohim
dwells in you." How do you get the Spirit of Elohim dwelling in you? Belief in
Yeshua. Okay? "And if anyone does not have the
Spirit of Messiah," That's the Spirit of the Father of the Spirit of Elohim. "this
one is not His." Now, quickly, I want to wind this up with a few verses and I
want to talk about, is it possible for someone who believes at one point but
who turned his back on obedience to come back under the curse of the law? Religion
would say, "Once saved always saved". No issue there. Let's take the most
comfortable convenient route, why not? Right? Let's look at Proverbs 26 verse 2.
It says, "As a bird wanders, as a swallow flies about," Have you ever seen a swallow
fly about? They kind of flutter, they're all over the place. "...so a curse without
cause does not come." So for a curse to be able to stand, there has to be a cause. So
the curse of the law cannot stick upon anyone where there's no cause if you
deal with the cause there is no curse. But if you don't deal with the cause,
then the curse remains. Isn't that right? The punishment for your
disobedience cannot come if your sin has been dealt with through belief in Yeshua
and repentance. This is why repentance is so important to the believer. See, no
wonder the enemy, through the most popular modern religious doctrines of
the day, is destroying the idea that we need to repent. This perverted grace
message says that if you repent you've fallen from grace, now your law-keeping
because you're repenting, you're doing something and religion says you're not
to do anything and I would charge anybody who teaches that to just go back
and do a study throughout the entire bible from Genesis to Revelation and
study out the standard for judgment. The standard for judgment is not what
you say you believe, the standard for judgment is what you do because what you
do will define what you believe and if you say you believe but you don't do,
you're a hypocrite. I say that with a smile on my face and love in my heart.
That's where a lot of religion goes today. People just say they walk an aisle,
they repeat a prayer, they say "I'm born again" but it doesn't change their life
at all. It doesn't change their lifestyle, they're still giving into the evil
inclinations of their flesh and they're not walking in the Spirit and just
because you say that you're saved, doesn't mean that you've come out from
underneath the curse of the law. So go with me quickly to first John chapter 1
verse 5. This is the last passage that we're going to read today. How do we deal
with the curse of the law? Alright. First John chapter 1 and verse 5. "And this is
the message which we have heard from Him," From Yeshua. "and announce to you that
Elohim is light and in Him is no darkness at all." There's
no darkness at all in Elohim. "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and
walk in darkness we lie," So if we say that we believe that we're born again
but we continue to walk in disobedience, walk in darkness, then we lie. "and are not doing the truth." So we do have something to do. "But if we walk in the
light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the
blood of Yeshua Messiah His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have
no sin, we are misleading ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess
our sins, He is trustworthy and righteous to forgive us the sins, and cleanse us
from all unrighteousness." So how do we deal with the curse of the law? Through
belief and repentance, through belief in repentance. If we live a lifestyle of
repentance, we remove the cause of the curse. Where there is no calls, there is
no curse. That's why repentance even after belief is very very important.
Where there is no curse, there is no punishment. Where there is no punishment,
symptoms of sin must go. Where there is no repentance and
trusting in the redemptive work of Yeshua, the curse of disobedience to the
Torah still stands. When you've been forgiven, the accuser of the brethren has
no legal standing because the cause has been removed. A curse without a cause
cannot come, the scripture says. Again, that's why repentance is so important.
Where there is no sin, there is no cause. I want to say it again. where there is no
cause or reason for punishment, there is no curse. where there is no
curse, there is no punishment and where there is no punishment, there are no
symptoms of sin. So should we live a lifestyle repentance even after
believing? If we intentionally sin can we fall back under the curse? Absolutely. And
so it's important for us to live a lifestyle of repentance to do what?
Remove the cause so that there cannot be a curse. When the cause is removed,
there's no curse. When there's no curse, there's no need for punishment. When
there's no need for punishment then there are no symptoms of sin. And we know
that some people, even people who have acknowledged belief, have to deal with
certain issues in their lives because they continue in sin, that is something
that they have in their will, they will to sin. And so, we need to deal with that.
So we talked about today, how do we deal with the curse of the law? How do we
break the curse to the law off of us? if you're talking about breaking curses, you
to start there. You have to start with the curse of the law and then you can
deal with the accusations of the evil one, then you can also deal with self
accusations. There's some people that believe that they deserve to be punished,
you got to get that right and there are other issues as we go along when people
speak curses over you, how do you deal with it? But I wanted to touch on this
message today, being redeemed from the curse of the law.
