The Two-Hundred-Eighty-Fourth (Grace vs Obedience)

The most interesting thing about scripture, to me, is that even the most seemingly insignificant verse, or verses, fit together into the overall picture and can somehow, in some way, become a key to better understanding everything YHWH put in His word and what His intended message to us is.  I used to read scripture and struggle to put what I was reading into context.  I couldn’t figure out what it all meant and, even more importantly, what it meant to me.

I was told I had to read the entirety of scripture all the way through because every Christian was supposed to do that, so I tried.  I would try to start from the beginning, because where else do you start to read a book, right?  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,…. The things I was reading were disconnected from me.  They jumped around, and even repeated themselves.

One of the problems, clearly, was that a person’s brain, or at least my brain, doesn’t work the way scripture is typically laid out.  The majority of what you pick up at a book store prioritizes the author of each scriptural book over the content of the whole bible.  While that’s the typical way mankind has organized writings, by author, because scripture is so unique in the way it was composed and its content, that way of organizing it causes more confusion than understanding.

The other problem was that the more recent, and far more pervasive, interpretations of what scripture is saying and how it applies to believers today are inaccurate.  It was the lens of those views and interpretations that I was reading through, and they caused everything to become disjointed and disconnected from me and who I am as a believer in Yeshua and YHWH.  Theologians and church leaders will tell you that these views all align and mesh together, but when you read through and try to connect them to the words you’re reading you just can’t get there.  It leads you, and it most certainly led me, to decide that you just have to accept what those views and interpretations are saying.  After all, the majority view that has been developed for hundreds of years can’t be wrong, right?  I mean, I’m not a theologian, I’m just a new guy here trying to figure out what scripture is saying, so the fact I can’t put two and two together with what these experts are telling me just means I’m not understanding it correctly, right?

The thing is, that’s not right, and over the course of the past almost six years He has shown me that.  Piece by piece, bit by bit, YHWH has led me down the path of understanding His word and what it means to me; how it applies to me.  I actually never made it through reading all of scripture before, but now, based on what He’s shown me, I’m not only able to read it through but also apply it and see all the connections and layers He put into it.  

One of the things that helped was getting a chronological bible, since the true author of scripture is YHWH so scripture should all, both New Testament and Old Testament, be read together as one.  That means the next, most obvious organization of scripture should be by time.  From the beginning of time to the end, you can’t fully recognize how things progressed or connect prophecies to their fulfillment unless you read it through according to when everything occurred.

The other thing that helped is something we’ve covered multiple times by now through our studies: the understanding that true believers today are a continuation of Israel, who are and should always have simply been considered YHWH’s people.  Without this understanding, a believer fails to recognize how what ancient Israel went through and what they struggled with applies to him or her.  If you don’t have that application and understanding, you cannot connect to either the words on the page, the people that the words were written about, or the almighty YHWH that has led and loved His people throughout history.

It's with this understanding and application that I was able to realize the truth about the subject of this week’s study.  Again, a majority interpretation and understanding of scripture created a situation of disjointed and inapplicable scripture.  A false dichotomy, or dilemma, has been created: it’s either grace or obedience and you have to choose one.  

Part of the reason this dilemma was created was a lack of understanding of the middle eastern culture.  A western civilization mindset is so vastly different than the middle eastern mindset that the two almost can’t even understand each other.  This means if we in the western world look at scripture, which was written through middle-eastern people, we fail to understand the context in which it was written and rather use the context of the society we’re familiar with in order to interpret it.

Have you ever wondered how so-called “Islamic extremists” could be so dedicated to their belief and their mission that they would willingly sacrifice themselves in the hopes of furthering their cause?  In the western world, this type of dedication to a religious view or belief is far more rare and usually involves groups of people rather than single individuals taking such action.  Why is that the case?  We’re all people, so what’s the difference?  

If I had to speculate, I believe it has to do with a sort of conditioning that has occurred over thousands of years.  When you look at the core of mankind, it hasn’t changed since the beginning of time.  In general, mankind is selfish and everyone only seeks to pursue his or her own interests.  The difference between western and middle eastern culture is where that selfish interest lies.  

For us in the western world, the capitalist mindset is dominant.  The world is a place where if you do something you should get something from it.  People look at situations and decide how to act based on what the return back to them will be.  The individual is the highest focus, and therefore autonomy is key.  While a person might place themselves in a position of subjugation to another in terms of authority or control, the only reason they do that is so they can have the resources to do what they want in life or to take care of their needs (remember, these are generalizations!  There are always exceptions to the rule!).

For the middle eastern world, it’s less what the return back to the person will be and more how others will view what they do.  To be seen as someone that has the ability to take care of others and give them whatever they need is the highest status in everyone’s mind.  Hospitality is key for their image, so their natural inclination is an outward focus rather than an inward one.  This outward focus leads to a prioritization of man-designated authority and status over the individual themselves.  If someone is in a position of power, recognition, or authority, a person is obligated to subject themselves to that individual.  They don’t do it because they’re trying to get what they want, they do it because their society sees it as they don’t have a choice (again, generalizations!  Stick with me and you’ll see why we’re talking about these!).

When we read scripture therefore, those of us with a western mindset have trouble identifying the context in which the people of scripture acted; why they did what they did.  We see a list of commandments of YHWH and we connect it to what a person gets out of following them.  Since our dominant view is that a person doesn’t do anything, really, unless they’re doing it to get something out of it, we take the Israelite’s compliance with YHWH’s commandments as being due to their desire to be blessed because of it.

We read it through this lens, so when we come across things like Psalm 119 we can’t even connect with the words that are written there.  This is an acrostic psalm, which means each of the stanzas are written to start with each letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and as you read through what each stanza says it’s clear that the author not only sees YHWH’s Law as a good thing but that he loves it and loves being obedient to it.  He feels rage at those who reject it (Psalm 119:53), but not because they get to do what they want and he can’t.  He sees affliction as the result of straying from the commandments (Psalm 119:67), but isn’t keeping them in order to avoid affliction.  He even sees it as shameful to transgress the commandments (Psalm 119:80).  

This psalm was written by someone that has a focus outside themselves and feels obligated to an established authority that is above his own: YHWH’s authority.  I was listening to a podcast awhile ago where a guy was being interviewed and he was recounting his interaction with a Jewish woman regarding their disagreements about YHWH’s Law and whether or not it is still applicable.  He, from his western mindset, admitted that he thought she was following the commandments just because she was trying to be looked on more favorably or get blessings, but her response?  She does them because YHWH said to do them.

This was a lightbulb moment for him and it caused him to look at things completely differently.  This example shows us that we will never fully understand scripture if we try to apply our current societal views to what is written.  What’s worse, we will never be able to fully understand what pleases YHWH, what His expectations are, or who we are as His people.   We will continue to be disjointed and separated from His word and form inaccurate and even heretical interpretations of it.

It's through the lens of western ideals that man has created the false dilemma of either only having grace from YHWH or only being obedient to YHWH.  When you see the commandments simply as a means to a reward (e.g. the blessings, or even salvation itself), you read verses in the epistles of the New Testament talking about all promises being “yes” in Yeshua (2 Corinthians 1:20), and being under grace rather than law (Romans 6:14), as showing that it’s either one or the other.  Since all promises are already yes in Yeshua, a believer not only has those promises they are entitled to them simply through their belief in and acceptance of Yeshua as their Savior.  Therefore, by following the commandments they are “adding onto” the only requirement, which is to believe in Him.  You get views like if you choose to be obedient to the Law you’re either nullifying Yeshua’s sacrifice and YHWH’s grace or you’re being legalistic.

Did you know that grace existed even before the Law?  I know, it’s shocking!  I’ll tell you something that’s even more shocking in a moment, but first, grace appears sixty-nine times in the Hebrew in addition to the 156 times it appears in the Greek New Testament.  The problem is you might not recognize it.

The fact is that the English word grace only occurs a handful of times in the Old Testament, despite the fact that the underlying Hebrew and Greek words are the same for each of the combined 225 instances they occur.  Do you know what other English word is used the majority of the time for the Hebrew word?  Favor.

Now, that’s quite a difference, isn’t it?  One would normally never use those two words as synonyms, at least in our society.  To us in the western world, grace means being given something despite us not deserving it, whereas favor could either be given based on being deserving or not being deserving.  So, when we see the word grace appear in all the writings of the New Testament, we naturally assume that means we are given something without us having deserved it.  And in the context of scripture, it means that even though we’re sinful (meaning we break the commandments, because that’s the definition of sin) we are still given the promises of YHWH and salvation.

The problem is, that’s not what scripture teaches.  The very first occurrence of the word grace, which in Hebrew is khane (Strong’s H2580), is when Noah finds grace in the eyes of YHWH (Genesis 6:8).  Take note, this was well before the Law was given!  This verse is nestled between two others that tell us why YHWH gave grace to Noah.  In the verse before, we see YHWH’s regret about creating man because of how evil, disobedient they had become (Genesis 6:7).  In the verse after, we see that Noah was a righteous man, blameless, and walked with YHWH (Genesis 6:9).  

You see, it wasn’t that YHWH gave Noah grace despite his disobedience, it was that YHWH gave Noah grace because of his obedience, and especially because he was obedient in a society filled with disobedience.  Why would it be any different today for us?  As I alluded to earlier, I see connections all over scripture now and as I read through Malachi for today’s reading in my chronological bible I saw another one.  

In a verse of prophecy from the prophet Malachi, YHWH states that He is unchanging (Malachi 3:6).  He says this in connection with the fact that He had not yet destroyed, in this case, the people of the kingdom of Judah, which were the descendants of Jacob that remained after the northern kingdom of Israel was destroyed by Him because of their adultery against Him.  This is right after He prophesies about Yeshua coming as the Messiah (Malachi 3:1-5), so it’s not that He is giving them grace through their disobedience, it’s that He hasn’t destroyed them because he isn’t changing His mind about His decision to send His Son to redeem mankind.  Grace was never meant to be associated with an allowance for disobedience.  In fact, in the very next verse, He calls them to repentance!  He calls on them to turn back to Him and be obedient and He will return to them.  

To put it another way, there is never an “either or” of grace or obedience stated in scripture.  Quite the opposite, because the only way Noah received grace was through obedience.  But are you ready for the most shocking thing about this whole topic?    

Yeshua received YHWH’s grace (Luke 2:40).  Yes, you read that correctly.  Our perfect, sinless Messiah, Yeshua, received the grace of YHWH.  In our western mindset, what would Yeshua ever need grace for?  He had no sin (Hebrews 7:26, 2 Corinthians 5:21), so why would He be given, or need to be given, grace?

The only way this verse makes sense is by understanding that grace is given because of obedience, not in spite of disobedience.  Grace and favor are synonymous, and the way to receive favor from YHWH is through obedience.  Obedience, that is, to His commandments.

It’s time for believers, mainstream Christianity as a whole, to come to the truth and understanding of what grace really is, why it’s not a “grace vs obedience” situation when it comes to YHWH, and how we actually receive grace in His eyes.  Study this topic for yourselves.  Share with other believers what you learn.  The only way the body of Yeshua will be united in truth is by each member spreading truth to each other.

We hope you have a great week!  Shabbat shalom and YHWH bless you!  

-Rob and Sara Gene

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The Gospel

We are born sinful as a result of Adam and Eve's sin (Genesis 2:17, 3:6, 1 John 1:8)

The consequence of sin, which is unavoidable through our own works, is death (Romans 6:23)

Yeshua, the Son of YHWH, lived sinless and was put to death (Hebrews 4:15)

His death, therefore, cleanses us of sin that would have required our death

(2 Corinthians 5:21)

He rose on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:4)

Because of His resurrection, we are confident in our future resurrection and eternal life

(1 Corinthians 15:17-18, John 3:16)