holy – Page 5 – The Core of the Bible

How to change the world (or at least your corner of it) for God

Understanding why you believe is the strongest root for what you believe.

Core of the Bible podcast #52 – How to change the world (or at least your corner of it) for God

Today we will be exploring the topic of the integrity, and how living out the firm convictions we hold about God’s word can be a shining example to others who don’t know God. These firm beliefs can have a positive influence into the world around us, and ultimately glorify God.

A clear example of this type of successful witness is illustrated by the early life of the prophet Daniel. In his days, the Jewish people had been taken captive to Babylon, and Daniel’s life began to take on a different purpose.

Daniel 1:1, 3, 5, 8 – “During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. … Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. … The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service. … But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods.”

One of our admonitions from Yeshua in the Sermon on the Mount is to demonstrate virtue and purity that exceeds those who are merely following external commands (Matt. 5:20). Sometimes these external commands take the form of direct regulation, and sometimes these “commands” come in the form of allowances or tolerations of our culture that would violate the purity of our relationship with God. We must resist both forms of this type of cultural influence if we are to maintain our integrity and our holiness as God’s people.

In the case of Daniel and his friends, they were removed from their home and brought to a completely different culture under a new political regime. Even though they were favored within this new dynamic, Daniel and his friends, in their integrity, resolved not to be negatively influenced by this turn of events and to remain loyal to God.

The Hebrew culture that Daniel had been raised in had very specific dietary requirements in order to maintain faithfulness to the Torah, or instruction, of God for his people. This is spoken of in detail in Leviticus 11 where various types of animals are considered “unclean” for consumption by God’s people. These dietary commands were intended to be an indication of the holiness, or set-apartness of God’s people from among the other nations.

Leviticus 11:45-46 – “For I am Yahweh, who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, so you must be holy because I am holy. This is the law concerning animals, birds, all living creatures that move in the water, and all creatures that swarm on the ground…”

Since Daniel and his companions would have no idea what kind of meats might be provided to them during their captivity, they determined it would be best to stick only to vegetables, since there were no dietary restrictions in Torah regarding vegetable foods.

Now, to me, this demonstrates a high level of integrity that Daniel and his friends possessed. They had been removed from their homeland and were living in a totally different environment. And even though they were captives, they were being treated well. It would have been easy to justify eating whatever was provided to them. However, even given the “freedom” to eat all types of foods and meats in his new environment, Daniel was committed to remain faithful to the requirements of Torah at any cost.

Daniel 1:9-12, 15 – “Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel. But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.” Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff … “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. … At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king.”

Now there are many people who have taken this information to mean that God desires all people to be vegetarians because of the positive effects of this type of diet on Daniel and his friends. And if someone chooses to eat a vegetarian or vegan diet, I wouldn’t contest it. I think it’s totally fine and if done properly it can provide all of the necessary nutrients people need and it can have many healthful benefits. However, I don’t believe that this verse or passage should be used to justify that God desires all people to be vegetarian. Clearly, as mentioned previously in Leviticus 11, God has definitely allowed his people to eat meats, just specific kinds. This, to me, indicates something else was going on here. In this instance of Daniel in Babylon, I believe God was providing a unique case of nourishment for the point of demonstrating his ability to provide for those who remain faithful to him. Daniel and his friends became examples to this chief of Nebuchadnezzar’s staff that their God was able to meet their needs, even if it meant going against the cultural command or regulation of eating the royal rations.

This idea of foods and holiness continued to be an issue into the age of the apostles and the early Messiah believers. This may seem counterintuitive to most believers today because of the general understanding that Yeshua removed all restrictions on unclean foods for believers in the New Covenant. However, I am going to be presenting a different perspective today and one that I hope can at least be considered based on a demonstration of the information and history on this topic.

Regardless of how people today think there were no dietary restrictions on believers, the Bible clearly relates that there were at least some, which was demonstrated by the first council in Jerusalem in Acts 15. Let’s look at that findings of that council to see what those restrictions were.

Acts 15:19-21 – [James speaking] “Therefore, in my judgment, we should not cause difficulties for those among the nations who turn to God, but instead we should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from blood. For since ancient times, Moses has had those who proclaim him in every city, and every Sabbath day he is read aloud in the synagogues.”

Okay, so we can immediately determine a couple of things from this passage. Firstly, there were clearly sexual restrictions, and food restrictions on meat offered to idols, meat that had been strangled (or not bled out), and from blood specifically. These restrictions are all based in Exodus 20, Leviticus 18, and 19.

Exodus 20:4-5 – Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them…” [Food offered to idols would be considered serving the idol].

Leviticus 18:29 – “Any person who does any of these detestable practices is to be cut off from his people.” [The entire chapter there describes in graphic detail a whole list of defiling sexual practices].

Leviticus 19:26 – “You are not to eat anything with blood in it…”

So for believers today to say that there were no Torah dietary restrictions on believers in Messiah after the death and resurrection of Messiah, that is just not the case.

Secondly, this command is being directed at “those among the nations who turn to God.” Who are these people? Well, we know that the Jews had been scattered among the nations to Assyria and Babylon hundreds of years earlier in an event recognized as the Diaspora or Dispersion or Scattering. It is known that many if not most of them continued to live in those areas.

To demonstrate this, let’s review a list of those individuals who had assembled at that significant Pentecost in Jerusalem at the beginning of the apostolic age:

Acts 2:5-6, 8-11 – Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation under heaven. When this sound [rushing wind] occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them [the apostles] speaking in his own language. … “How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts), Cretans and Arabs – we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.”

The study of tongues will have to remain for another time, however, we can see where all of these Jewish believers were living at that time: all over the known world. Additionally, Peter also emphasizes the mission to the Diaspora Jews by assigning his first epistle to those very Jewish believers:

1 Peter 1:1 – “Peter, an apostle of Yeshua Messiah: To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia…”

You see, non-Jewish Gentiles were not exiles that had been dispersed abroad, but Jewish colonies in these areas were. They were scattered everywhere, and this is why the apostle Paul began missionary journeys to these areas. He would begin first in the synagogue in those towns, and then share the gospel of the kingdom with anyone else who would listen if the Jews of that area rejected his message.

The third thing we can see from the Jerusalem council passage is that the restrictions that they came up with were aimed at those scattered Jews first and foremost. Why? Well James makes the following statement in v. 21: “For since ancient times, Moses has had those who proclaim him in every city, and every Sabbath day he is read aloud in the synagogues.”

Why would he mention anything about Moses and synagogues unless this was who the council’s resolution was aimed at? These facts help us identify that the message of these food restrictions was aimed at Jewish believers and the God-fearers (Gentiles who also worshiped the one true God) and were familiar with the dietary restrictions of Leviticus 11. They would be familiar with it because “every Sabbath day [Moses] was read aloud in the synagogues.”

This also helps us recognize why food offered to idols became such a focus among the early congregations, as idolatry is absolutely forbidden in scripture and would have been a hotly debated topic.

There was much concern among the various congregations regarding the types of foods that would be acceptable to eat, and the potential opportunities to eat unclean foods were many and varied.

There were markets in the urban areas where meat was sold in the nations to where the Jews had been scattered. Sometimes that meat had been offered to idols before being put out for sale to the general public in the market. Also, banquets were routinely held in the shrine of some idol; they didn’t have restaurants in those days. All of these cultural routines had become a source of contention for many of the early believers, because they couldn’t tell if the food they were purchasing or eating, even if it met the dietary restrictions of Leviticus 11, had been previously offered to an idol, thereby in their minds becoming unclean in the sight of the one true God.

The apostle Paul spends quite a bit of several epistles in attempting to address this cultural concern so that believers could maintain their integrity among the nations where they were living, and still remain faithful to God. Most prominently he addresses this issue in 1 Corinthians chapters 8 and 12, and Romans 14. Both of these believing communities at Rome and Corinth were living among idolaters, and would have plenty of opportunity to encounter food offered to idols. Some of the Roman believers had gone so far as to adopt the method of Daniel by only eating vegetables in order to avoid accidentally eating unclean food (Romans 14:2).

The ultimate point through all of this was that there was an emphasis on maintaining integrity and holiness as God’s people among the nations. God had emphasized to his people to “be holy because I am holy” in the context of the dietary restrictions of Leviticus 11, and his New Covenant people in those cultures were trying to maintain that level of integrity in their daily practice.

Now we come to our practices as believers today. Do the food restrictions of Leviticus 11 still apply to believers today? If it was a simple matter of all of Torah being done away with at the cross, as most people hold to in our current time, then the answer would be no, we are not limited in our food choices. However, as many of you who have participated in these podcasts or followed my posts at coreofthebible.org may know, I hold that Torah is eternal, regardless of covenant. I believe this because Yeshua was absolutely clear on this point in Matthew 5:

Matthew 5:17-19 – “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

I believe, as Yeshua taught, that only the Torah commands that have been fulfilled are no longer enforceable. This would include things like anything related to the priesthood or tabernacle, since those all foreshadowed the work of Messiah in life and in his substitutionary death on the cross. The commands have not “gone away” for the reason that they can still testify to the truth of Messiah, so that we can still see what they were and how they apply, but they have been fulfilled in Messiah. This is why we no longer have a need for a temple or animal sacrifices.

However, the food laws were not tied to the temple or the priesthood, but to the holiness or the set-apartness of God’s people. God’s people are only holy or set-apart when we live in holy and set-apart ways. We are still commanded in the New Testament writings to be holy.

Ephesians 1:4 – For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.

1 Peter 1:15-16 – But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.

Unless a believer today thinks it’s ok by God to not be holy in all we do, then I believe we are commanded by God’s eternal Torah to abide by those same commands in regard to food. And really, when you pare the list down to its essentials, it essentially limits the modern believer’s diet only in regard to pork and shellfish. While God’s people have always been allowed to eat certain insects, I really don’t plan on beginning that practice.

Let me be quick to add that I believe this really is a personal decision of conscience between God and the individual, at least based on Paul’s instruction in this area. In regards to food practices of New Covenant believers, the term “conscience” is mentioned at least 8 times. Ultimately, Paul says that all things should be done in love, and that:

Romans 14:22-23 – Whatever you believe about these things, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But whoever doubts stands condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith, and everything that is not from faith is sin.”

Look, I’m not going to go around and condemn believers who still eat pork and shellfish because I realize that they are likely simply living in the tradition they were taught; I don’t believe they are being purposely rebellious toward God. I can only share my perspective based on my studies and practices that I have come to know over the years of looking at and reviewing the roots of these types of issues in the ancient cultures and texts. I know I don’t have all the answers, but I do my best to live faithfully to the convictions I do have, and really, that’s all that can be expected of anyone. The issue comes down to one’s understanding of covenant, law, Torah, idolatry, and holiness. These are big topics that require a large scope of wisdom and understanding of ancient cultural practices that in many ways do not make sense to us in our modern world.

What we do need to keep in mind is that integrity is based on our own understanding of God’s word at any given time. As we grow in faith, our understanding of these kinds of things can shift and grow over time, which may require different actions as we come to new awareness of our relationship with our Creator.

What we should focus on is that our commitment to integrity has the ability to influence others through maintaining a set of internal convictions based on God’s word that will not be shaken under any circumstance. This was how Daniel maintained a strong, positive witness for Yahweh even while in captivity in Babylon. This type of strong conviction is a highly valued commodity among all people because it is rarely seen in common practice.

Probably the simplest way to understand all of this information is that it is our obligation as believers to be so thoroughly committed to our faith that through our integrity we become the influencers of those around us, rather than allowing them to influence us. Don’t just know what you believe, but why. Understanding why we allow or don’t allow certain things in our lifestyle practice will provide the strongest witness to outsiders who are curious to understand more about the Bible, God, and Yeshua. These are the types of godly interactions that God can and does use to grow the kingdom, and to change the world.

If you enjoy these daily blog posts, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.

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The Torah of God done away?

Many of the same aspects still exist to this day among his people.

Ancient Israel had the privilege of being set apart from all other nations by a very significant factor, the Torah, or instruction, of God.

Deuteronomy 4:7-8: “For what great nation is there, that has a god so near to them, as Yahweh our God is whenever we call on him? What great nation is there, that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you today?”

In the 20th chapter of Leviticus, Moses is continuing to present specifics of God’s instruction to the people. In the midst of laws on sexual purity, food purity, and spiritual purity, God relates why these restrictions were significant.

Leviticus 20:26: “You shall be holy to me; for I, Yahweh, am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, that you should be mine.”

These purity laws, recognized as the wisdom of God, would be the things that set God’s people apart from the other nations.

Today, most believers consider these laws “done away,” and that believers in Messiah are no longer are required to follow them. But by doing so, they are removing the very thing that makes them holy, or set apart, from the surrounding nations.

Additionally, I find it odd that if you go to almost any traditional Christian congregation today, you will find that even if they maintain that the law was “done away,” their congregational culture is still based on some of these same conservative imperatives of sexual purity, healthy eating, and spiritual purity.

Things like purity rings are endorsed for teens and singles, along with encouraging couples to maintain the sanctity of their marriages. Divorce is still to be avoided through various types of marriage counseling. Many congregations also promote food and healthy eating programs, whether vegetarian, vegan, or other similar dietary plans. And these same congregations would also maintain that believers should avoid any involvement in the occult. It would seem that even when men attempt to define godly behavior, it typically includes these same types of restrictions that God provided in his Torah 3,300 years ago.

So remind me again why these things are considered done away?

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Meditating deeply on God’s word sets believers apart

Holiness is not accomplished in 30-second or one-minute devotions.

Joshua 1:8 – “This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.”

In our current age of instant information we many times are guilty of seeking to understand God on our own limited terms, not his. Browsing recently through a bookstore I noticed a title that was called the One Minute Bible. I had the sense that this was oddly irreverant; I mean, what can we really learn about God in one minute? Then to my dismay was a title a few shelves away called the Thirty Second Bible. Thirty seconds, really?

Those who would be set apart for the purposes of God must meditate deeply on the things of God. This is not a thirty-second or one-minute proposition by any means. A believer’s life is a lifetime of deep consideration and thoughtful contemplation. What sets believers apart is an ongoing desire to be in God’s word, to understand it, and to apply it in all situations.

Psalm 1:1-3 – “How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers! Instead, his delight is in Yahweh’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”

God’s torah, his instruction, sets believers apart by its very nature. Yeshua mentioned that the words of the Father that he had faithfully represented to his disciples helped them recognize who he was.

John 17:7-8, 17 – “Now they know that everything you have given is from you, “because I have given them the words you gave me. They have received them and have known for certain that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me. … “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”

The truth of God’s word sets believers apart from the rest of the world. This is not being set apart to become the world’s judges, but to plead with them for the sanctity of God’s word and encourage others to come to him by leading with righteous example.

Meditating deeply on God’s word includes the idea of groaning and muttering, as one who ponders the depths of truth, reciting to oneself the concepts and ideals under consideration. I liken this to the apostle Paul’s description of one who is praying within the Spirit of God.

Romans 8:26-27 – “In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

A meditative life in the word is one in which the deep groanings of God percolate to the surface in times of trial and weakness. In strength, the groanings of God illustrate a consuming passion for God’s torah, helping us maintain a righteous life amidst the darkness of each generation.

These are indications of being set apart, of being truly holy. We would shun ideas of one-minute or thirty-second encounters with God and strive to be in his presence always. In holiness, we could join with the psalmist when he writes:

Psalm 84:2, 4 – “I long and yearn for the courts of Yahweh; my heart and flesh cry out for the living God. … How happy are those who reside in your house, who praise you continually.”

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Living as faithful exiles

This is how the kingdom grows over time.

1 Peter 1:14-17, 2:1-2 – As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy. If you appeal to the Father who judges impartially according to each one’s work, you are to conduct yourselves in reverence during your time living as strangers. … Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander. Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that you may grow up into your salvation…

As Peter writes to the dispersed Israelites throughout the known world who have accepted Messiah Yeshua, he encourages them to live in holiness among the nations where they have been exiled. From the exhortations he relates to them, we can draw some parallels for our own lives.

Firstly, he urges them not to be conformed to the desires of their former ignorance.

1 Peter 1:18 – For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your fathers…

This “empty way of life” was a life of rules and regulations poured on top of the simplicity of the law of God. Their “fathers,” the scribes and Jewish leaders through the preceding centuries, had corrupted the pure word of God into a long list of regulations about every aspect of life that was unachievable. Through their “oral Torah” traditions, they bound heavy loads on them that they could not keep.

Yeshua had railed against this hypocrisy and religious totalitarianism:

Matthew 23:2-4, 28 – “The scribes and the Pharisees are seated in the chair of Moses. “Therefore do whatever they tell you, and observe it. But don’t do what they do, because they don’t practice what they teach. “They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them. … “In the same way, on the outside [they] seem righteous to people, but inside [they] are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Peter reminds them how they have been redeemed from this maze of human traditions, and that they were instead to seek “the pure milk of the word” without all of the added burdens.

Additionally, he encourages them to “conduct themselves with reverence during their time living as strangers.” This reverent conduct among the pagan nations they were exiled to should be a testimony to the righteousness of their belief in the one true God.

1 Peter 2:15 – For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.

By doing good in their exilic communities, they should be an example to those around them that their lives were based on something more than just trying to survive in a foreign land.

Also, by living on the pure milk of the word, they would be constantly growing in understanding and wisdom, further setting them apart from their contemporaries in a way that would honor God. In this way, they would be actively demonstrating true holiness or “set-apartness” because of the wisdom of their ways.

From these admonitions, we can draw some analogous wisdom for our lives today. In one sense, believers in Messiah today are exiled from our true inheritance, living among “pagan” nations that don’t understand the spiritual heritage of these early believers that we are continuing to this day. It is up to us to live reverently among them, not joining in with their revelries and corrupt practices.

By doing good according to God’s word, our actions can similarly silence the foolish talk that circulates among those who are ignorant of God’s wisdom. The good that we do should speak for itself of the integrity of our beliefs.

Finally, if we also live on the pure milk of the word, we will continually be growing in our understanding until we are then able to receive the meat of the word, and in all of these things render faithfully God’s will in our lives.

Just as Peter exhorted the exiles to live holy lives, we should also continue that heritage by living holy lives in our generation, and for the generations to come. These actions can positively influence our neighbors who may not yet know God. This is how the kingdom grows over time, just as it has reached us over the millennia since Peter wrote to these congregations.

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Intentionally bound to holiness from the heart

Everyone serves a master, whether sin or righteousness.

Core of the Bible podcast #47 – Intentionally bound to holiness from the heart

Today we will be exploring the topic of holiness, and how achieving and maintaining holiness, or being set apart, is an intentional and voluntary result of doing what is right from the heart.

The apostle Paul spoke about it in this way:

Romans 6:16-19 – Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching to which you have been entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing lawlessness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness.

There is so much in this passage I would like to take some time to isolate a few different aspects for closer inspection.

First we see how Paul uses the imagery of slavery: he says they were slaves to sin, but now have been set free from sin, only to now be slaves of righteousness.

This idea of slavery may seem harsh to our modern sensitivities, but Paul says he is using an example from “everyday life.” Slaves were common in Paul’s day and in the Roman realm. When we think of slaves today, we typically think of the unwilling souls who were kidnapped and sold against their will into a life of hard labor and physical abuse. While that was certainly a reality in Paul’s day, there was also another type of slavery that was much less severe, yet just as binding on the individual: indentured servitude. In this type of slavery, it was not uncommon for someone to intentionally and voluntarily bind or sell themselves to an estate as a way of working off debt. While they were in servitude, the master provided for their needs while they worked off their debt. Once the debt was paid or their obligation honored, they could go free. Many times, at least among the Jews, they were treated well and sometimes desired to stay on with the family because they had become attached to that familial group.

To give you an idea of this type of servitude, here is just a brief excerpt from the Law regarding slaves:

Exodus 21:2-6 – When you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for six years; then in the seventh he is to leave as a free man without paying anything. “If he arrives alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrives with a wife, his wife is to leave with him. “If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children belong to her master, and the man must leave alone. “But if the slave declares, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I do not want to leave as a free man,’ “his master is to bring him to the judges and then bring him to the door or doorpost. His master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve his master for life.

So we can see that this type of slavery, sometimes listed as a bond-servant, was a formal contract that bound the individual to the master or the estate until the obligation was fulfilled, and sometimes the servant would want to stay with the family permanently.

In the biblical sense, a slave is someone who does not have any ownership rights of their own for the time they are in bondage; they belong to another. Paul takes this common understanding and then applies it to believers in the context of obedience. Everyone serves a master, he says, whether sin or righteousness. As believers in Messiah they were encouraged to follow righteousness that would ultimately set them apart, or make them holy.

Secondly, notice the type of terms that Paul repeatedly emphasizes in this passage besides the concept of slavery. His overall premise is that sin leads to death, but obedience leads to righteousness, and then righteousness leads to holiness. So the contrast he is drawing is between sin and obedience.

If sin is the opposite of obedience, then it can be said that sin is simply disobedience. But disobedience to what?

In relation to obedience, he says the obedience is based in “the pattern of teaching to which you were entrusted.” This is an interesting word here that is used for a specific type of teaching. Paul calls it a pattern of teaching, but the underlying language expands on that meaning. The word typon can mean an example, pattern, or model. But it also includes the idea of an imprint, as in a die that is stamped into something, revealing as consistent a pattern as the original.

Obedience to this “stamp of teaching,” he says, is considered righteousness, which then leads to holiness. Therefore disobedience to the pattern of teaching is sin, which leads to impurity and ever-increasing lawlessness.

What is this pattern or “stamp”of teaching?

In one sense, we learn from the apostle John that sin is disobedience to the law:

1 John 3:4 – Everyone who commits sin practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

Lawlessness is anything that is against the law. In relation to the type of law that is used throughout the writings of Paul and the apostles, the law, nomos, is typically associated with the law of Moses, summarized in the Ten Commandments.

Paul says to the Roman believers, “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching to which you have been entrusted.” The pattern of teaching that the Jews had been entrusted to was the Law of Moses. When it is obeyed from the heart, that is an indication of the New Covenant:

Jeremiah 31:33 – “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days” – the Yahweh’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Notice the prophet says God’s teaching would be “within them, on their hearts.” The teaching he is speaking of here is the torah, the law of God. I believe this is the same teaching that Paul is speaking of in Romans 6. But he doesn’t simply call it the law, because the law is a static thing that is written in stone and has no power to make anyone comply with its demands. However, using the New Covenant imagery, when the law is upon the heart, it has the ability to transform actions from the inside out. Obedience is therefore voluntary and desired. This leads to righteous actions and ultimately to holiness.

2 Corinthians 3:6-9 – He has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry that brought death, chiseled in letters on stones [could this be an allusion to the “imprint” or the “stamp” language Paul used earlier], came with glory, so that the Israelites were not able to gaze steadily at Moses’s face because of its glory which was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry that brought condemnation had glory, the ministry that brings righteousness overflows with even more glory.

Paul writing to the congregation in Corinth expands on this idea a little further by saying the letter of the law kills, because it is an unflinching and permanent standard that cannot be abrogated. However, when the Spirit applies the law to the heart (through the teaching of the anointed Yeshua), the law chiseled in stone can no longer condemn because the actions that would bring death have been changed into actions of righteousness! Therefore the “ministry of the Spirit” is more glorious than the stone law because the ministry or law of the Spirit actually produces the desired result in those who are obedient to it!

This is why Paul can confirm the same thing with the Roman believers when he writes:

Romans 8:13-15 – But if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. You did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father! “

Beyond the spirit of slavery he mentioned in chapter six, Paul says to the believers that they don’t only have to be a slave for life in the house of God, they have become adopted into his family!

In one primary respect, the life of a believer is simply an honest recognition that the life they are living is not their own. Paul uses this type of illustration with the Corinthian congregation.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.

The life they were living should have been voluntarily offered back to the One who provided it to them in the first place. This is so simplistic, it is almost inconceivable that it has been lost among the masses of believers today. Unfortunately, we are so used to viewing our lives as belonging to ourselves that we easily fall back into old practices of doing whatever we want with them. We many times unwittingly go back to serving impurity and lawlessness simply out of habit.

However, a believer, once freed from sinfulness, must by default accept another intentional yoke upon themselves. But this is a yoke that is bearable and easy.

Matthew 11:29-30 – “Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

This yoke is easy is because it is a life being lived as the Designer has created it to be: a life separated to Him according to his law obeyed from the heart. This is a life of holiness.

Holiness is not some sort of mystical state of existence, but a continual practice of doing what is right, or righteous actions. We can only know what is right or wrong in God’s eyes because of the revelation of his law.

Acts 10:34-35 – Peter began to speak: “Now I truly understand that God doesn’t show favoritism, “but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.

So this is why God is holy, not just because he is magnificent and removed far above all he has created, but because he always, always does what is right. He can never be convicted of wrongdoing or injustice.

Isaiah 5:16 – But the Yahweh of Armies is exalted by his justice, and the holy God shows that he is holy through his righteousness.

Romans 9:14 – What should we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not!

As believers we recognize that all life flows from God and we are simply yielding ourselves to live righteously within the parameters of the life that he has given us.

Genesis 2:7 – Then the Yahweh God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.

Job 33:4 – The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Paul cautions the Corinthian believers to purposely maintain their righteous lifestyle through the fear of God which leads to holiness.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18, 7:1 – Don’t become partners with those who do not believe. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? What agreement does Messiah have with Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? And what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, as God said: I will dwell and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Yahweh; do not touch any unclean thing, and I will welcome you. And I will be a Father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to me, says the Yahweh Almighty. So then, dear friends, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

A life that is set apart in holiness is separated because it is constantly being renewed in the image of the One who made it.

1 Thessalonians 4:7 – For God has not called us to impurity but to live in holiness.

Our mindfulness in remaining intentionally and purposefully bound to this life of righteousness, that is, doing what is right from the heart, is what causes us to become holy and set apart for use by God.

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Set apart through unity of the truth

Understanding the power of Yeshua’s prayer, the Spirit, and the word of God.

John 17:17 – Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth.
1 John 5:6 – …and it is the Spirit that is testifying, because the Spirit is the truth…

Truth is a rare commodity these days. Objective reality is giving way to personal perception. What is true for one individual is no longer necessarily considered true for another; rather, situational circumstance and opinion are considered as being the guiding standards. The truth has become fluid and fills the shape of whatever container it is represented in.

This should be concerning for believers, but not unexpected. What is happening in the world around us has been happening among the congregations of Messiah for millennia. There is so much factionism and disunity evidenced by the multiplicity of denominations that it is small wonder the world is being influenced in this direction. The inward segregations of Messiah’s believing community are being evidenced by the outworking of societal divisiveness.

Counter to this chaos runs the stability of God’s word and his Spirit, at least according to Yeshua. “Your word is truth…your Spirit is the truth.” Yeshua believed in bedrock, foundational and objective truth; so should we.

The Greek word for truth is used in the following ways throughout the New Testament:

universally, what is true in any matter under consideration (opposed to what is feigned, fictitious, false)
of a truth, in reality, in fact, certainly
what is true in things appertaining to God and the duties of man
the truth, as … opposed alike to the superstitions of the Gentiles and the inventions of the Jews, and to the corrupt opinions and precepts of false teachers even among Christians

According to Yeshua, the truth is what sanctifies and sets apart believers from all other humans on this planet and distinguishes false groups from true. Through this sanctification by truth, we are subject to his rule and guidance.

Yeshua prayed for our unity in the truth, so that others would know that God truly sent him. If we are frustrated that the world does not recognize him, then we must realize it is because we are not fulfilling his prayer for us of unity and oneness. James says that “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective,” (James 5:16); how much more so the prayer of the Son of God? I cannot envision a world in which a prayer of the Messiah would not be fulfilled.

John 17:20-22 – “I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word. “May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. “I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one.

The apostle Paul likewise encouraged and sought for the unity of believers:

Ephesians 4:11-15 – And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, equipping the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Messiah, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Messiah’s fullness. Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head – Messiah.

There it is again: the truth, spoken in love. This is what causes us to grow together toward maturity in Messiah. When we speak the truth, the word of God, in love, we open up opportunities to build bridges and strengthen internal ties. The truth, guided by the Spirit of God, draws us together in the Messiah and provides the goal of increased unity in our community. As we unify internally, there becomes less disunity in the outworking of our social lives and culture. This striving together in the truth of God’s word, guided by his Spirit, creates unity. This unity then reestablishes a basis for all truth, and subjective opinions once again become subject to the objective reality of God.

This is how we can become set apart for God’s purpose and bear his image and his truth to the world, fulfilling the prayer of that most righteous man, Messiah Yeshua.

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Being clothed with the Spirit of God

Our being set apart by God is not only for our benefit, but so that others can see how God’s standards are possible to live out in this life.

In overcoming the sins of the flesh, the apostle Paul made use of an interesting term in order to describe what this process was like. To his way of thinking, the believer’s life was to be clothed with the Messiah, as if the righteous example and deeds of the Messiah were something to be put on, like you might put on a robe or suit of armor.

Romans 13:12-14 – The night is nearly over, and the day is near; so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk with decency, as in the daytime: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Yeshua Messiah, and don’t make plans to gratify the desires of the flesh.

This thinking is likely the result of Yeshua’s teaching of the empowerment of the holy Spirit. In this respect, the empowerment of the Spirit of God was something that occurred to the individual from outside of themselves; it was bestowed upon them from God.

Luke 24:49 – “And look, I am sending you what my Father promised. As for you, stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

This event, of course, was the day of Pentecost that first early summer after Yeshua’s crucifixion and resurrection. Yeshua describes it as being clothed with power from on high (that is, from God). We see this event being described in the book of Acts:

Acts 2:1-4 – When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them. Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them.

Paul captures this same imagery and uses it to describe the believers’ unity they have because of this operation of God in their lives.

Galatians 3:26-28 – for through faith you are all sons of God in Messiah Yeshua. For those of you who were baptized into Messiah have been clothed with Messiah. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Messiah Yeshua.

This operation of God has set them apart in holiness. They are now a collective of individuals who have specific purpose in growing the Kingdom of God. But they can only do this as they continue to walk in this holiness, this set-apartness.

So Paul then takes this imagery of being clothed with power from on high and carries the metaphor into the practical aspects of overcoming sin in their lives.

Ephesians 4:20-24 – But that is not how you came to know Messiah, assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truth is in Yeshua, to take off your former way of life, the old man that is corrupted by deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new man, created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.

He encourages the believers to rely on that empowerment they have received as the tool by which their lives will be changed.

Ephesians 6:10-11 – Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.
Colossians 3:9-10, 12-14 – Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with its practices and have put on the new, the one being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator. … Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive. Above all these is the love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

These qualities and practices he is urging them to “put on” are the qualities and practices evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit.

Romans 8:5, 12-14 – For those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their minds set on the things of the Spirit. … So then, brothers and sisters, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, because if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons.

The full context of Romans 8:1-17 is all about living by the empowering of God’s Spirit to overcome the sinful practices that have separated them from God. When they do so, Paul says, they demonstrate they are truly God’s children. God’s children walk in holiness or set-apartness because they are yielding obediently to God’s leading and they are empowered by God to do so.

In a similar way, when we learn to rely on God’s Spirit to overcome the sinful works of the flesh, we demonstrate that we are God’s children to a world that needs to know him. Our being set apart by God is not only for our benefit, but so that others can see how God’s standards are possible to live out in this life. Those who are compelled by our walk of obedience can then also experience this work in their lives and are then empowered to influence others. In this way, each generation carries forward the heritage of faith in Messiah until it ultimately fills the earth.

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What type of lamp is within you?

Illuminating aspects of biblical obedience and sinfulness.

Luke 11:34-36 – Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is also full of light. But when it is bad, your body is also full of darkness. Take care, then, that the light in you is not darkness. If, therefore, your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be entirely illuminated, as when a lamp shines its light on you.

Yeshua appears to be drawing this imagery of lamps and light from the rich veins of the Psalms and Proverbs. All throughout this literature are references to lamps as representing the inspiration and guidance of God and purposeful actions. Most famously are some passages referencing the guiding influence of God and his Word.

Psalm 18:28 – Yahweh, you light my lamp; my God illuminates my darkness.
Psalm 119:105 – Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.
Proverbs 6:23 – For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light, and corrective discipline is the way to life.

If, according to Yeshua, “the eye is the lamp of the body,” then from this background of language it is not difficult to connect our view of God’s Word, what we focus on, as being directive in our manner of living.

Contrasted with the illumination that comes from God and his Word is the “guiding lamp” of those who choose not to obey God.

Proverbs 21:4 – The lamp that guides the wicked — haughty eyes and an arrogant heart – is sin.

To Solomon, the path of the wicked is illuminated only by the sinfulness of pride and arrogance. In Matthew’s narrative on this same teaching, Yeshua is quoted as confirming the depths of darkness attached to sin:

Matthew 6:23 – “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness [i.e., the light that guides the wicked], how deep is that darkness!

To this condition, Solomon spares no flowery language and gets right to the end result of this manner of life.

Proverbs 24:20 – For the evil have no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
Proverbs 13:9 – The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is put out.

On the positive aspects of the righteous, Yeshua, like Solomon, draws out the illuminating aspects of the righteous having a single focus on God’s Word and his commands.

Luke 11:36 – “If, therefore, your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be entirely illuminated, as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

The end result of this type of obedient life to God’s Word is that it can become set apart as a positive influence on the lives of others, and will not only be illuminated within, but shine brightly for others to see.

Matthew 5:15-16 – “No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

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Purity of heart through purposeful focus

Gaining the ability to be holy examples in our generation.

Philippians 4:8 – Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable – if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.

To meditate on here means to consider, take into account, weigh, reason, deliberate inwardly. Paul is encouraging believers to continually be reviewing purity of thought to provide the best results in mastering the walk of righteousness in holiness.

In a similar admonition, Paul uses another term: renewing of the mind.

Romans 12:2 – Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

One of the keys to holiness that the apostle Paul conveys to the congregations is the need for focusing on righteousness. Our minds our powerful and the focus of our attention is the very thing that God desires. As we focus on righteousness and purity of thought, we can be transformed and become separated for God’s purpose. However, when we are distracted and sidetracked by pointless trivial occurrences throughout the day, we can lose sight of what’s really important in God’s eyes.

“…as thought makes deeds, and thought and deeds make character, so character makes destiny, here and hereafter. If you have these blessed thoughts in your hearts and minds, as your continual companions and your habitual guests, then, my friend, you will have a light within that will burn all independent of externals; and whether the world smiles or frowns on you, you will have the true wealth in yourselves; ‘a better and enduring substance.’ You will have peace, you will be lords of the world, and having nothing yet may have all. No harm can come to the man who has laid up in his youth, as the best treasure of old age, this possession of these thoughts enjoined in [this] text [Philippians 4:8].”
– Alexander MacLaren

The same word used for meditating on these things in the Philippian epistle is also used by Paul to the Roman congregation in a similarly impactful character-building verse:

Romans 6:11-12 – So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires.

Considering and meditating on the fact that we as believers are dead to sin and alive to God provides the practical ability to overcome the sin that reigns in our fleshly bodies; this allows us to gain mastery over sin and thereby to remain holy and set apart.

It is not without good reason that in his divinely-ordained wisdom Solomon uttered the following proverb:

Proverbs 4:23 – Guard your heart above all else, for it is the well-spring of life.

By meditating on purity of thought and beautiful things that God provides, we can have the ability to maintain the strength of character that God requires of his people to be examples of righteousness and holiness to every generation.

Matthew 5:8 – “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

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Are you holy?

God’s kingdom grows only through those who speak and do what is right no matter the cost.

Holiness is life that is set apart; it is unique and separate from those around it. But not just unique and set apart. Many people today feel that they are special and unique due to some unusual trend they participate in, or some obscure passion they pursue that is far removed from the normal life experience of others. It may be that they are special and unique in that respect, but that does not make what they do “holy.”

Holiness is a life that is set apart for the purpose of God; it is a life that is yielded to his will in such a way that it is uncharacteristic in its divergence from normal societal trends and habits. According to Yeshua in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-12), the life that is unique in the right way, the holy way, has certain characteristics.

It is a life that is humble, not vaunting itself over others. It is a life spent in deep introspection, grieving over personal and societal unrighteousness while remaining desperate for righteousness and doing what’s right according to God’s will. A holy person is merciful towards others, always acting out of a pure heart, one that does not have ulterior motives or hidden agendas. As much as can be possible with them, they seek peace with all others.

What is the reward for all of this noble aspiration? Is it to be praised and loved by others for being so thoughtful and caring, always watching for and acting in the best of spiritual intentions for all others? Sadly, no. According to Yeshua, most of the time, in this life God’s holy ones will be insulted, ridiculed, and in fear for their lives for being diligent in these things. However, he does provide reassurance of a great reward in heaven.

This is the life of those who are holy. This is the type of individual God is calling us to be: someone who speaks and does what is right no matter the cost, because this is how God’s kingdom expands and grows. If we do not do these things, and instead choose to remain safe and secure in our bubbles of contentment and like-mindedness with our brothers and sisters, we will not be impacting the world for God and for his Messiah.

A holy person is not just holy for the sake of being different from the rest of the world. No, a holy person is different for the sake of being an example to the rest of the world, to show the world what it means to be truly obedient to the God of the universe in ways that make a difference in the lives around them; in their homes, in their work, and in their communities.

Becoming salt (a preservative of all that is right and good) and light (declaring the truth in dark places) is the life of a true believer of the Messiah and the God of the Bible.

Are you holy?

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