“..Torah is the blueprint and its study
is the soul of creation…”[1]
Jer33:25
But
I, the LORD, make the following promise: I have made a covenant governing the
coming of day and night. I have established the fixed laws governing heaven and
earth.
Jer33:26
Just
as surely as I have done this, so surely will I never reject the descendants of
Jacob. Nor will I ever refuse to choose one of my servant David’s descendants
to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Indeed, I will
restore them and show mercy to them.”[2]
We tend
usually to think of Genesis (Hebrew: Bereishis)
with the creation of the world, but let us go and ponder the matter just a bit
deeper. While it does tell us of the creation of all things, what Bereishis is truly about is the creation
of a people; a people called out and set apart and declared Holy by the Living
God. As we study the word of God, what we see throughout these books we call
Scripture is the true story of creation – not just the physical elements that
make it up, but the more enduring and everlasting element of family – Yahvey’s
family. Can you picture this in your mind and heart: the Uncreated One,
Perfect, Full, Complete- in need of nothing. This Supreme One set content in
His power and Self-existence yet – He had a desire. He wanted a family. He
created the heavens and all the hosts there-in, angelic ranks that we can only
imagine, ranks of Seraphim and Cherubim, strong angels and Arch-Angels; myriads
of them, how many we have no idea- yet these did not satisfy this desire.
We think
of two planes of existence, or “realities” if you wish, that of the spiritual
and the physical. Let’s put that in simpler terms, “heaven and earth”. The
Torah the sages said is the blueprint of creation. Why? Because of what it
embodies – the ordinances, statutes and precepts of the Creator. We can call
some of these “laws”, for man has learned to recognize that there are indeed
“rules” to the order of the universe, and these “rules” appear to be immutable,
or unmovable and unchangeable. All things are under command; in some form or
another, there is a structure, a command system in place that orders the
movement of stars, planets, galaxies, the cosmos. To the scientist, he seeks an
explanation rooted and grounded in the physical; for the man or woman of God we
look to the “heavens”, to the spiritual for our answers. The Torah is the
Father’s revelation of not only His order of things, but of His character and
His government – of how He says things should be done. And what is Torah made
up of? Words and letters, the building blocks of creation which are the spoken
utterances of God. So Torah is also thought of as the bridge between heaven and
earth, but could there be another?
Why did
God make man, a creation lowly and frail, one He knew was destined to fail? It
was because in this frail being He gave the greatest of gifts – the capacity to
love willingly. Within this man He placed the spark of Mishpacha, family. And
what is man made of? Broken down, the human body contains the minerals and
elements common to the earth. Man is made from adamah, the dirt of the ground and is imbued with the Heavenly
Spark, the breath of God. With His breath God instilled the neshamah, the soul, and man became a
living creature. So here is the other connection between heaven and earth, a
literal living connection. God began His Mishpacha
here with the man Adam, and from him would come the Patriarchs and the
Matriarchs that would become a nation, a nation that would receive the other
bridge, His Torah and these would live it, keep it and guard it – and from it
would find life.
Life in
its abundance would not be fully realized until the Ha’Torah would arrive, the Living Torah, the Memra (Word) of God made flesh in the person of Yeshua Ha’Machiach.
Now, we understand this – yet it is hard for those born of Jewish descent to
see Him beyond the countless years of persecution they
have endured at the hands of those who would call themselves “Christian”… Yet,
in spite of the seemingly endless torment of anti-Semitism and outright hatred
and disdain – many Jews have been touched by the Spirit of God and been
encouraged to look beyond the prejudice and mis-interpretations of the Holy
Scriptures and have seen their Messiah in the Messianic writings of the Jewish
believers from the first century. Still, the pain and suffering and remembrance
of the hatred runs deep; truly we, the Western “Church”, have to bear the
responsibility of the sins of our fathers, men who professed the faith of a
Savior and a religion they called “Christianity” – a system of belief that has
not only wrought great beauty and even greater acts of mercy and love,
repentance and deliverance, but also spawned a legacy of suffering and
bloodshed, hatred and intolerance, horror and shame.
How is
this so? The answer can only be laid at the source – the heart of man. For what
is bound in this heart?
Jer
17:9-10
The heart is
deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked: who can know it? (10) I the
LORD search the heart, I try the reins,
even to give every man according to his ways, and
according to the fruit of his doings.
Pro
12:20
Deceit is
in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy.
Jer
7:23-24
But this
thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye
shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that
it may be well unto you. (24) But they hearkened not, nor inclined their
ear, but walked in the counsels and in
the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.
Mat
6:21-24
For where your treasure is, there will
your heart be also. (22) The light of the
body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full
of light. (23) But if thine eye be
evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is
in thee be darkness, how great is
that darkness! (24) No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the
one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the
other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Now, in this heart lies also a great
destroyer, a killer of men’s souls and their walk with God. This is the real
issue I want to talk about today. It has a name:
GUILT
Pro
20:9
Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am
pure from my sin?
Guilt,
properly viewed, is a good thing. For it produces what God wants:
2Co
7:9-11
Now I
rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for
ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in
nothing.
(10)
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation
not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
(11) For behold this selfsame thing, that ye
sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what
vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things
ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
Godly
sorrow is what guilt is supposed to produce, not the toxic mix of emotions that
we usually come up with in our guilt. To be guilty of something simply means we
either did it, or were a partner in the sin. But the love of God is this:
Rom
5:2-10
By whom also
we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope
of the glory of God. (3) And not
only so, but we glory in tribulations
also: knowing that tribulation worketh
patience; (4) And patience, experience; and experience,
hope: (5) And
hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
(6) For when we were yet without strength, in due
time Christ died for the ungodly.
(7) For scarcely for a righteous man will one
die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
(8) But
God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us.
(9) Much more then, being now justified by his
blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
(10) For
if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,
much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
If He died for us
while we were yet sinners, then why our guilt? Our guiltiness is the vehicle
God uses to humble us, to bring us to our knees, to cry out to Him for grace
because we have transgressed His Holy Law… But, when He comes, and lifts us out
of the clay, why do we still insist on holding on to guilt that He by His mercy
released us of? The Jewish sages had a name for holding on to guilt – they call
it meshuggah; craziness.
Why craziness? Because they
understand guilt in a way in which the Western culture doesn’t. To the Jew,
you’ve either done something, or you didn’t. If you did, you t’shuvah (repent), first to God and then
to whomever you might have hurt; from there you move forward, and don’t look
back. Our Western culture seems to pride itself on how much collective guilt we
can have and how many anti-depressants can be sold to counter act the guilt. It
helps us to have an understanding of what guilt is.
“…Dr. Abraham J. Twersky writes in "Let Us Make
Man" that guilt is to the emotions what pain is to the physical body.
Physical pain is very useful and beneficial. Without pain we would not know
that we have touched a flame, or dropped something heavy on our foot, etc. Pain
alerts us to stop whatever it is that we are doing which is inflicting damage
on us. When a person is whole emotionally, doing things which we know are wrong
causes us guilt. The pain we call guilt lets us know that there is something we
ought to stop doing. There is guilt which is founded in morals and conscience.
That is healthy guilt. Guilt which lacks a foundation is not healthy and needs
to be dealt with…”[3]
Jews,
by a common stereotype, are said to be masters of guilt. This comes from the
image of a Jewish mother using a “guilt trip” upon her children in order to
manipulate their behavior. While this is obviously a stereotype, even the Jews
themselves use it as humor..
A man calls his mother in Florida. "Mom, how are
you?"
"Not too good," says the mother. "I've been very weak."
The son says, "Why are you so weak?"
She says, "Because I haven't eaten in 38 days."
The man says, "That's terrible. Why haven't you eaten in 38 days?"
The mother answers, "Because I didn't want my mouth to be filled with food if you should call.”[4]
"Not too good," says the mother. "I've been very weak."
The son says, "Why are you so weak?"
She says, "Because I haven't eaten in 38 days."
The man says, "That's terrible. Why haven't you eaten in 38 days?"
The mother answers, "Because I didn't want my mouth to be filled with food if you should call.”[4]
Q: How
many Jewish mothers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Never
mind, I’ll just stand here in the dark and suffer.[5]
Rabbi
Amy Scheinerman says this:
“…Guilt is a strange thing.
When appropriate, it serves us well. When inappropriate, it strangles us.
Guilt is that feeling of responsibility, remorse, and regret that creeps into our minds and takes hold of our souls when we have done something wrong, or failed to do what was right. It is the voice of conscience calling us to task. We can think of it as an ethical early warning system: it alerts us to make a change. In that regard, it is good.
It also has a flip side. While guilt can arise from real events, it can also arise from imagined wrongdoing – and that is a big problem. How can you mitigate something that never happened? What is more, guilt can hang on, clinging to our souls, long past the event that provoked it has been resolved. It can generate a host of suffocating feelings, including failure, unworthiness, shame, anxiety, and self-loathing. This is not good…”[6]
Guilt is that feeling of responsibility, remorse, and regret that creeps into our minds and takes hold of our souls when we have done something wrong, or failed to do what was right. It is the voice of conscience calling us to task. We can think of it as an ethical early warning system: it alerts us to make a change. In that regard, it is good.
It also has a flip side. While guilt can arise from real events, it can also arise from imagined wrongdoing – and that is a big problem. How can you mitigate something that never happened? What is more, guilt can hang on, clinging to our souls, long past the event that provoked it has been resolved. It can generate a host of suffocating feelings, including failure, unworthiness, shame, anxiety, and self-loathing. This is not good…”[6]
Avi Shulman writes:
“…Is guilt
good or bad? To help us understand guilt, let us see it as a correlation of
pain.
A toothache
or stomach cramp is a message saying, "We are in trouble. Correct the
problem." Touch a hot stove, or allow a needle to pierce your finger, and
the resulting pain is meant to indicate immediate danger.
If you could,
would you want to eliminate this type of pain? Not unless you would want a
small, easily remedied cavity to go unnoticed until the tooth abscessed, an
infection to go untreated until it disabled an organ, or your body to be
seriously hurt before you noticed.
Understood in
this light, pain is a friend, a valuable warning system, a gift from the
Almighty.
The
intelligent response to pain is to identify its source and rectify the problem.
Once this is done, given appropriate healing time, the pain should subside and
disappear. It has fulfilled its mission. If after the cause of pain had been
removed the person were to seek ways to continue the pain, we would consider
this a pathological problem.
Guilt is pain
of the soul. It occurs when you violate your own value system. A person who believes
that stealing is wrong, yet gives in to temptation, has his actions out of
balance with his beliefs. Just as a needle invades the nerve endings in the
finger and signals that something is amiss, the violation of a person's value
system takes the form of guilt. Once he identifies and corrects the cause,
after he has completed the teshuvah (repentance) process, the feeling of guilt
has served its intended purpose and should subside…” [7]
So this pain we all experience from time to
time, this pain called guilt, is a good thing, in its proper context. Yet what
happens when we decide to dwell in it, to let it overtake us?
As Rabbi Sheinerman said, it strangles us. Avi Schulman
is right also, in that guilt is pain of the soul. Yet, it is more – it is what
we call “conviction”.
We think in terms of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh “convicting” us when we
do something wrong. What does the Word say though?
Mat
12:35-37
A good man
out of the good treasure of the heart brings out good things; and an evil man
out of the evil treasure brings out evil things. (36) But I say to you that every idle word,
whatever men may speak, they shall give account of it in the day of
judgment.
(37) For by
your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.
The building blocks of our souls are
the words we speak. And what words do we speak most? Those that alter our
existence, those that hold back the blessing from God; words like :
“…I’m not good
enough…”
“…I haven’t yet paid
for this sin…”
“…I can’t forgive
myself…”
“…They will never
forgive me…”
“…God can’t forgive
me…”
All day
long we conjure up our reality, telling ourselves how many shortcomings we
have. All day long we wrestle with the sin that so besets us, beguiles us into
thinking we just have to do something about this sin that weighs upon us, this
weight, this “conviction”, that somehow we aren’t doing enough to merit God’s
forgiveness… If we are honest, don’t we
all have that spot of fear within us, that maybe we went too far, that we
missed the boat?
We have
all sinned…
Rom 3:23
“…For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God…”
Knowing this, then, is your fear greater than
mine?
Or is your sin so great that you are a “much
better sinner” than me?
How heavy is your guilt?
Too heavy for God?
Guilt held onto is deceit. This deceit is born in the pit of hell by
an enemy who wants you to wallow in it, to wear it like a shroud, to be always
crying out to God to forgive you for this sin, because you just can’t forgive
yourself… You are ineffective then for God, for the weight of your own words
condemn you and you have forgotten the face of the One who died to set you
free.
Torah speaks about sin, about how the record of a transgression is
established:
One witness shall
not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he
sins; by the mouth of two witnesses, or by the mouth
of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
Deuteronomy 19:15
(Hebrew World)
“…Two Witnesses –
The legal system of Torah is quite clear. You can’t be convicted by a
single witness! The reasons are obvious. We have a daily dose of
the damage done to innocent people when the accusation of one is enough to
determine guilt in the public eye. The Bible provides protection against
this kind of slander. But there is more to this than justified evidence.
Torah is the expression of the nature and character of God Himself. It
isn’t simply His rules. It is who He is. Therefore, God also
requires two witnesses against us before a verdict can be proclaimed.
Take a step back from the obvious legal aspects of this
verse in the Torah. Apply the same regulation to another context.
“So when we are guilty of sin, YAHWEH is one witness to that guilt, and the
record that is generated of that sin is another. However, with the
reconcilement of Y’shua on the cross dying in our place, that second witness/
record against us is obliterated, and the Torah remains simply to guide us in
the path of righteousness for the rest of our redeemed lives.” [8] Two witnesses are needed to convict, but Yeshua
removed one of those witnesses, the cheirographon,
the record of my debts. Even though God Himself remains a witness to my
disobedience, the second witness is no longer present. I am absolved of
my guilt, not because I am innocent but because the requirement needed to
condemn me has no longer been met. God lives by His own Torah because
Torah is who He is.
By the way, if you really want to claim that the Torah no
longer applies, then you are left standing before a holy God without any hope
of legal defense. If God’s witness is enough, you are condemned.
Yeshua’s death doesn’t help if only one witness is sufficient. God does
not overlook sin. Yeshua might have paid the penalty, but if only one
witness is needed, I am still guilty as charged. We must realize that Torah is the basis of forgiveness.
Without the requirement of two witnesses, there is no way out. Yeshua’s
removal of one of the two witnesses is the only way that I can be acquitted…”[9]
This
principle of removing the cheirographon, the record our debts, is what is discussed
in the Messianic Writings:
Col 2:10-14
“…And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: (11) In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: (12) Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. (13) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; (14) Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross…”
This
passage is misunderstood to be about Messiah nailing His holy Word, His Law,
His Torah to the Cross! No! it is about that which bears witness against us,
the testimony of our sins, the record of our debt. What we do when we hold on
to guilt is deny the work of Messiah upon the execution stake, in effect,
saying that it wasn’t enough; we still have to pay penitence for our sin.
Brethren, this is not
so.
We hold onto guilt because it is like our
addictions; it is a place of familiarity. We lived in guilt and shame so long
that we almost don’t know how to operate without it, but it is in forgiveness
that now we must learn to live. A hard truth here though: in the world of man,
you will always find someone who won’t forgive you, even if you ask for it. So
should that stop you from laying down the guilt? Should the fact that there
maybe someone out there who won’t forgive you for what you’ve done keep you
from t’shuvah, from returning to God? Let God work on their heart!
Let the blood of
Messiah cleanse you, for truly you are all you can change.
It is time to let go of the guilt
before it crushes the life out of you. For sure, guilt is really just
unforgiveness, usually directed at ourselves, and the heart that harbors
unforgiveness is a heart that Messiah cannot live in…
Mat 6:6-15
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when
thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father
which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. (7) But when ye pray, use
not vain repetitions, as the heathen do:
for they think that they shall be heard for their much
speaking. (8) Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye
have need of, before ye ask him.
(9-13) After this manner
therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our
debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for
ever.
Amen.
(14) For if ye forgive
men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
(15) But if ye forgive
not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Forgiveness
isn’t just for others, it is to be toward ourselves as well. If we harbor
guilt, then we harbor unforgiveness toward ourselves: the pain of our soul
should last but a short time, bringing us to the Godly sorrow that leads to
t’shuvah. He is faithful and just to forgive, and to remove our sin:
Psa
103:8-12
The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and
plenteous in mercy. (9) He will
not always chide: neither will he keep his anger
for ever. (10) He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor
rewarded us according to our iniquities.
(11)
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so
great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
(12) As far
as the east is from the west, so far
hath he removed our transgressions from us.
We can then go before those we’ve
hurt, and seek forgiveness. If it isn’t given, we’ve done our part. We have
reconciled ourselves to God, forgiven ourselves and sought peace with man.
Guilt has done its work.
At the beginning of this lesson I
quoted verses from Jeremiah:
Jer33:25-26
But
I, the LORD, make the following promise: I have made a covenant governing the
coming of day and night. I have established the fixed laws governing heaven and
earth.
Just
as surely as I have done this, so surely will I never reject the descendants of
Jacob. Nor will I ever refuse to choose one of my servant David’s descendants
to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Indeed, I will
restore them and show mercy to them.”[10]
As sons and daughters of God, grafted
into the Mishpaca of God, the promise
of restoration applies to us also. No matter what you’ve done, it was covered
under the Blood of the Lamb; it is held against you no longer. Please, let go.
By the building blocks of creation, Yahvey’s Holy Word, He has freed you from
the devil’s bondages, and his lies. Become the man or woman Father intends you
to be by removing this yoke and trusting in His saving grace.
We all have work to
do and we cannot do it shackled by the guilt of our past.
Today is all we have,
for tomorrow belongs to God, we have no right to it.
1Co
3:9-15
For we are
labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. (10) According
to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have
laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed
how he buildeth thereupon.
(11) For other foundation can no man lay than that
is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
(12) Now if any man build upon this foundation
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
(13) Every
man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it
shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort
it is.
(14) If any man's work abide which he hath built
thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
(15) If any man's work shall be burned, he shall
suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
What can one build with but their
words? When we live in guilt and shame, our words are as wood, hay and stubble;
but when we walk in the light of forgiveness, when we walk in the grace and
mercy of God, in obedience to His Word, our words then become as gold, silver
and precious stones. Saying “I am forgiven” builds a house that cannot be
moved; saying “I am guilty” leaves the house on sand and the waves wash it
away.
The
blueprint of creation awaits, and by its words you are forgiven
The
Living Torah, Yeshua our Messiah
May God
richly bless you this day my beloved
Amein
[1]
Quote from Jerusalem Talmud
[3] Parshas Shlach by Rabbi Chaim Dovid Green; http://www.torah.org/learning/dvartorah/5759/shlach.html
[5] © Rabbi Amy Scheinerman,
Article dated Monday, April 11, 2011 http://taste-of-torah.blogspot.com/2011/04/guilt-trip-parshat-acharei-mot.html
[6] Ibid…
[7] Article, “Good Guilt” by Avi Shulman, Reprinted
with permission from InnerNet.org.
Article can be found at http://www.torah.org/features/secondlook/GoodGuilt2.html
[8] Andrew Gabriel Roth, cited in Carmen
Welker, Should Christians be Torah Observant?, p. 75
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