“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Heb. 11:6 (KJV ) The Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) reads as such: “And without trusting, it is impossible to be well pleasing to God, because whoever approaches Him must trust that He does exist and that He becomes a Rewarder of those that seek him out.”
So in essence, faith is synonymous with trust. Hebrews 11:1 in the CJB defines faith (or trust) this way: “Trusting is being confident in what we hope for, convinced about things we do not see.” The KJV of Hebrews 11:1 describes faith this way: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
It is important to note that as the chapter goes on, God thought it important to give examples of people who lived by faith, people who set the standard of what it means to live by faith. Some of the names listed are Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samson, David, Samuel, and even Ra’hab are noted as people of faith.
When you follow the lineage of Abel, you eventually arrive at Moses and it was through him that God chose to reveal His teachings, or Torah. Indeed, the Hebrew people were the only nation through whom God chose to reveal Himself in written form. However, one must understand that Torah existed before Moses revealed it to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai.
The scriptures describe that hundreds of years before Torah was given at Mount Sinai, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph all walked with God and obeyed His commands. That is, these patriarchs had relationship with God and thus knew how to please Him. For example, notice that Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all built altars to offer sacrifice unto God hundreds of years before God instructed the Children of Israel to do the same. The significance of this fact demonstrates that Torah does not belong to Moses; Torah preceded Moses. For, as shown above, the patriarchs prior to Moses obeyed God, even in their manner of worship unto Him, without any written word as a guide.
The Book of Hebrews gives an account of how each of these patriarchs walked in faith. Indeed, the scriptures clearly describe the actions of these individuals as a testament of their faith. James 2:26 (b) from the CJB states, “faith without actions is dead.” In other words, our faith should translate into actions, otherwise our faith is useless.
James addresses this topic in detail in chapter 2: 14-18 when he states: “What good is it, my brothers if someone claims to have faith but has no actions to prove it? Is such “faith” able to save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food, and someone says to him, “Shalom! Keep warm and eat hearty!” without giving him what he needs, what good does that do? Thus, faith by itself, unaccompanied by actions is dead. But someone will say that you have faith and I have actions. Show me this faith of yours without the actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions!” (CJB) In the last sentence, James is challenging anyone who would believe that it’s possible to espouse either faith or works without the other. He drives his point home in verse 19 by describing that even demons believe in the One, True, and Living God, and yet, they are condemned to eternal damnation. Thus proving that believing in God without works is useless.
An everyday example of faith and works is seen in this analogy. A parent (God) instructs a child (man) to not touch an iron because it will cause harm. Child A chooses not to touch the iron because they believe the words spoken even though they have no understanding of what it means to be burned. Child B does not believe the words spoken and proceeds to touch the hot surface. The end result is that Child A, through faith or trust, avoids the experience of searing pain and is ultimately blessed. While Child B, whose lack of faith or trust, is burned, and realizes the hard way that their parent was trying to protect them or keep them blessed.
Our Heavenly Father wants us to be like Child A: one who follows his instructions without first having to prove its merit, which is an act of faith! Indeed, this is how the Patriarchs of Old related to Yahweh, and thus, their names are eternally recorded as those who walked by faith. So following Torah does not negate faith, it actually affirms it!
Finally, when it comes to following Torah, God looks at the condition of the heart. If you consider Torah just a bunch of rules, then your observance of Torah will be legalism. However, God rejects legalistic worship as documented by God’s response to Cain’s offering, and the same remains true today. Some other examples of scriptures that address this matter are found in Isaiah 29:13 , Matthew 15:8 and Mark 7:6 . Put simply, observance of Torah must begin in the heart for it to be acceptable in God’s sight. Understand this: Abraham walked with God for 24 years before God asked him to circumcise his flesh. The circumcision of the flesh was an outward symbol of the covenant that Abraham had already made with God inside his heart.
Paul taught in the book of Romans not to focus on the outward circumcision of the flesh without addressing the circumcision of the heart first. For circumcising the flesh, without first circumcising the heart is useless. It’s like putting the cart before the horse or being like Cain, offering an empty sacrifice. If your heart is not in what you do, then don’t do it, for God does not want empty sacrifices – he wants relationship that is built on trust.
Thus, following God, or in essence, his Torah, has always required faith which first begins in the heart, then secondly is demonstrated by our outward action of obedience. And when we exercise our faith by following God’s Word, there are blessings that follow!
For example, observing Shabbat is not bondage, but an honour and a privilege that enriches your life! Understanding that God established Shabbat millennia ago as an eternal symbol of His covenant with his people, it becomes clear that its observance is not about rule-keeping, but it's about relationship.
I will close with this: God is Love. Thereby, we know that God’s Word is Love: Torah the written Word, Yeshua the Living Word. As John 1:1 says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” My friends, Torah is God’s love letter to you which details all the vows that you are required to keep if you want to remain in covenant relationship with Him. I highlight the word "remain" because our entrance into relationship with God is a free gift through salvation - His grace and and our repentance. However, once in this relationship with God, there is a lifestyle of holiness we are to conform to so that we "remain" in right standing with Him, or in other words, be a pleasing spouse. The added bonus is that the instructions given on how to please Him are designed to bless your body, mind, and spirit - to give you life! By faith through an act of obedience we shall be blessed. From the very beginning, observance of Torah was intended to be an expression of our faith, a tool to build our trust in God, a medium to show our love unto God. Yeshua surmised the matter quite succinctly when he said in John 14:15 : “If you love me, you will keep my commands” (CJB).
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