Philippians 1:11, The fruits of righteousness which are by Yeshua the Messiah. It is impossible for a man to keep the Torah on his own strength as Yeshua’s encounter with the rich young ruler proves (Matt 19:16–22). When the young man asked Yeshua what he must do to have eternal life, Yeshua seems to set the man up for a fall when he declares, “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Yeshua is not being disingenuous here. Were one to keep the Torah perfectly without sinning, hypothetically, one would not fall under the death penalty for violating the laws of Elohim (i.e., sin). Presumably one could earn eternal life by one’s own good works. But no man has ever accomplished this superhuman feat except the superhuman Yeshua! Continuing, when the young ruler proudly declares his perfect Torah obedience, Yeshua shows him that he was, in fact, violating the Torah in at least one area—covetousness and greed. Yeshua shows him how to come into Torah compliance, and then admonishes him to come and to follow him. What Yeshua is teaching here is that it’s impossible to keep the Torah perfectly without factoring Yeshua, the Living Torah, into the equation. The point that we can’t keep the Torah without Yeshua directly intervening in our lives, I hope to conclusively demonstrate below.
One way that Yeshua helps his followers obey the Torah is by sending us his Spirit as an internal spiritual force into our hearts to nudge and lead us into Torah-obedience.
What’s more, Yeshua also gives us the divine gift of his grace to accomplish the same thing. His grace removes the guilt, stain and penalties for our past sins, and with a clear conscience and a clean spiritual slate before YHVH, minus the past baggage of sin weighing us down, we are able to go forward under the power of YHVH’s Spirit to walk in accordance with his Torah. Praise Yeshua! An illustration of this would be a runner who trains wearing a backpack filled with rocks. Once the weight is removed from his back, when he runs, he feels as if he were flying through the air.
Our faith in, love for and continual abiding in Yeshua is the key to receiving his systemic spiritual empowerment to walk a life that mirrors Yeshua. Paul invites us to imitate Yeshua as he himself imitated Yeshua (1 Cor 11:1). The word Christian means “one who follows what Christ did and taught.” One follows Yeshua by abiding in him as a branch abides in or is attached to a vine (John 15:4–5). A branch that is attached to a tree naturally, through no effort of its own, receives energy from the tree and produces fruit. The energy of life just naturally flows into the branch. When we abide in Yeshua, we will naturally produce the fruit of the Spirit. Love is the first and foremost fruit out of which all the other fruits subdivide. How do we walk in love toward YHVH and love toward our neighbor? The biblical answer is simple: by keeping his Torah commandment, which show us how to love. As Paul tersely declares, “Love is the fulfilling of the Torah-law” (see Rom 13:8–10).
Our abiding faith in Yeshua automatically attaches us to that spiritual tree that is a spiritual picture of him; it is the tree of life, which leads to eternal life in the kingdom of Elohim. As we abide in him, we will produce fruits of righteousness, which is adherence to the Torah of Elohim. Yeshua extends his grace to us, and our faith in Yeshua, and Yeshua living in us produces righteousness leading to eternal life (Rom 5:21).
As sap flows from a tree into the branches, so the Spirit of life in Messiah Yeshua flows out of Yeshua, who is the tree of life, into us freeing us from the spirit of Torahlessness,which leads to death. Not only did Yeshua free us from the wages of sin (or Torahlessness), which is death, but his life in us now fulfills the righteous requirements of the Torah. He empowers us to no longer walk according to the sinful flesh, but according to the Spirit of truth (or Torah, Rom 8:1–4, 10). It is for this reason that Paul could exuberantly proclaim that “if Elohim is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31), and, “In all things we are more than conquerors through him [Yeshua] who loved us” (Rom 8:37).
Having previously been an unloving, even hate-filled, legalistic Torah-keeping Pharisee, Paul knew that it was impossible to fulfill the righteous requirements of the Torah by his own strength. Before coming to faith in Yeshua, he had tried to keep the Torah by his own strength and failed. He learned that he could serve Elohim only through the power of the Spirit of Elohim, not in the old manner through human will and determination. The Spirit-empowered mind is able to keep the Torah, something the natural flesh man is incapable of doing. Obedience is only possible through faith in Yeshua and the gift of his Spirit (Rom 7:6, 25 cp. 8:6–8; 9:30–33).
In many other places, Paul indicates that without Yeshua it is impossible to fulfill the righteous requirements of the Torah. For example, he states that he is in no way promoting Torahlessness, but a Torah-obedience through Yeshua’s empowerment (1 Cor 9:21). The Holy Spirit in us, Paul declares, produces righteousness (i.e., conformity to the Torah, note Ps 119:172) by our faith in Yeshua through love (Gal 5:5–6). What’s more, we’re saved through faith in Yeshua who is the Living Torah-Word of Elohim (as was Abraham when he had faith in the pre-incarnate Yeshua and obeyed his word). As a new spiritual creation in Yeshua, we produce and walk in good works (i.e., Torah-obedience) through faith in Yeshua, the Living Torah (Eph 2:6, 10). Or stated another way, we’re a new man or new creation in Yeshua who lives in or through us (Gal 2:20; 2 Cor 5:17); we’ve been renewed in the spirit of our mind for true righteousness and holiness (i.e., Torah-obedience, Eph 4:22–24). Elsewhere, Paul encourages us to be filled with the fruits of righteousness (or Torah-obedience, Ps 119:172) through Yeshua (Phil 1:11). He further tells us that Yeshua redeemed us from Torahlessness (or sin, 1 John 3:4) and is working to purify for himself his own special people who are “zealous for good works” (i.e., Torah-obedience, Tit 2:14), and is making us “complete in every good work do to his will” (Heb 13:21).
To quote you from the top,” It is impossible for a man to keep the Torah on his own strength as Yeshua’s encounter with the rich young ruler proves (Matt 19:16–22).”
Then maybe you can explain who the righteous are that Jesus DIDN’T come for,Mat 9: 13. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Can’t follow Torah? Did you miss this in Luke? Luke1: 5. There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
6. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
Thank you for this probing question. You bring up some valid points that need to be addressed.
When writing a short article on such a broad subject as righteousness, it’s impossible to explore all the ramifications of this subject without writing a long and difficult to read dissertation. Briefly, my response is this:
The Bible presents the idea that there are levels and types of righteousness. There’s an imputed righteousness that YHVH gives to new believers when they first come to him. Paul talks about this in Rom 4 using Abraham as an example.This is a starting place of one’s spiritual journey into the realms of righteousness, not an ending point. Abraham didn’t stop growing in righteousness once he came to faith.
What is righteousness? Torah obedience (Ps 119:172).
Job was the most righteous man on earth and YHVH said so, yet Job was tested to bring him to a higher level of righteousness.
Yeshua talked about levels righteousness when he told his disciples that their righteousness had to exceed that of the Pharisees (Matt 5:20).
The rich young ruler had a level of righteous too, but it still fell short of that needed to inherit eternal life. It appears that he was full of pride and self-righteousness.
Many people mistake self-righteousness for true righteousness. Such “righteousness” in reality is pride.
It’s important to have the right perspective on the subject or righteousness, or else we can be led astray into thinking we’re better off than we really are. This was the problem with the Laodiceans in Rev 3.
What’s more, Peter says that the righteous are scarcely saved (1 Pet 4:18), and Isaiah says that ALL our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isa 64:6). Therefore, we would all be well advised to take a dim view of our own righteousness and stay low and humble before the Almighty and to trust in his grace, mercy, and strength through Yeshua and by his indwelling Holy Spirit. Only then will we have the true righteousness that’s pleasing and acceptable to Elohim that will gain us entrance into his eternal kingdom.
Again, thank you for your question and comment.