Y Not I

I put forth the concept and idea that salvation is by faith and faith alone, both in this present time, in the times since the work of Messiah, AND before the time of Messiah. It seems that many hold forth a different way of salvation prior to Messiah’s 3 year ministry on Earth. So often I hear things such as the Temple is not longer here because the sacrifices are no longer needed because of the sacrifice of Messiah. The implication is that the sacrifices were needed for salvation, and that now that we have Messiah we no longer need that form of salvation. I find this line of thinking erroneous. The biggest reason I believe this is because the Temple that was destroyed in 70 C.E. was not the first, but the second Temple. The first was destroyed many years earlier and for what I believe was a period of about 75 years.

Now 75 years is enough time for people to be born and die, without a Temple to bring a sacrifice to. If Temple sacrifice was necessary for salvation prior to Messiah, then, it seems, most people of that time had no hope of salvation. To me that does not seem like the way of G-d. I put forth that salvation was always, as it is today, by faith in Messiah, and thus even without the Temple, people were still saved by their faith. That is why the eleventh chapter of Hebrews speaks of the faith of so many people from the Tanahk, and not their works, nor their Temple sacrifices. As I read through that chapter last night, I was taken by the twenty sixth verse. Here is what it says:

Hebrews 11:26 (Amplified Bible)
He considered the contempt and abuse and shame [borne for] the Christ (the Messiah Who was to come) to be greater wealth than all the treasures of Egypt, for he looked forward and away to the reward (recompense).

The he being spoken of is Moses. So Moses, he of the Law of Moses considered the Messiah, before Messiah even came. If Hebrews is G-d inspired then it seems the author (who many feel is Paul) is indicating that Messiah was a reason for making a certain choice even before the Law was even given. Moses made his choice based upon a reward and a promise that was to come, one that was greater than the treasures of Egypt. Isn’t that interesting?

Certainly in Hebrews 10:4 does not the author makes the point pretty clear? Temple sacrifices will not provide salvation for one. That has to and has always come from faith in Messiah, whether a Messiah that has already come and died for us, or one that will come one day. Moses put his faith in One Who would come, we today put our faith in One that has come. The Law is not and never was an instrument of salvation. It and the Temple are a shadow of that which is in Heaven, so keeping the Law will not get you to Heaven and it could not even get Moses, David or any other person from prior to Messiah to Heaven.

If that is so, then why the Law. It seems that it has many purposes in G-d’s economy, sanctification being one. Certainly it was a basis for the nation of Israel, but as a shadow I also see it as a preview of G-d’s Kingdom come. I see it as a place for our submission to G-d, to do as He asks, whether it makes sense to us or not, whether it has been tainted by the traditions of man or not. To me it is a walk of a disciple, of a student and certainly of one who wishes to imitate his Master.

What imitator does something in their imitation that the one they are imitating would never do. If Yeshua kept the Law and kept it perfectly (which I believe He did) and we are to be imitators of Messiah, then it stands to reason that maybe we should consider keeping the Law as part of that attempt. If Messiah would have never ate a ham sandwich, it seems a pretty poor imitation of Messiah to sit down to lunch and eat a ham sandwich.

Now there are alway priorities and if one sat down and stole a sandwich, that is not a good imitation either, so I am not throwing out other behavior that is G-dly. As a matter of fact if I was invited to lunch by someone and they had no idea of the fact that I do not eat the things prohibited in Scripture to eat, and they went to a great deal of trouble planning the lunch and went out and bought some very special ham and made sandwiches for us to share for lunch, then I would most likely eat the sandwiches, because of the effort of the other person, and in the spirit of brotherhood not try to offend them. I would most likely try and find a good way to let the person know that I do not eat these foods and if we are to have lunch again I would prefer that something else be prepared.

In the example I gave, am I breaking the Law by eating the ham sandwich? I think not, but ultimately I leave that to G-d to judge. If He wants me to reconsider that line of thinking, I am confident that through my prayer and Bible reading that it would be revealed to me. But I consider the priority to one another above that, so I would choose to eat the sandwich.

May we all keep things in the proper perspective with the proper priorities. If we do so and we are willing to do whatever G-d tells us no matter what then we become bond servants of Messiah. Next I will post on what it is to be a bond servant.

B”H