Romans 8:7, The carnal mind. Notice that it is the carnal mind that is not subject to the law of Elohim. Therefore, any theology or philosophy of man that in any way nullifies, does away with, abrogates, invalidates the laws of Elohim by saying such things as “it was done away with,” “it was fulfilled by Jesus so that we don’t have to do it,” “it was nailed to the cross,” or “it was for the Jews, but not for the Gentiles” is a function to the carnal mind of man, and is not of the Spirit or mind of Elohim.
Subject to. This is the Greek word hupotasso meaning “to subordinate, to obey, to be under obedience, put under, subdue unto, (be, make) subject (to, unto), be (put) in subjection (to, under), submit self unto.” Therefore, anyone who says that they are no longer “under the law” and takes it to mean that they no longer have to obey it is confessing that they’re under the influence of their carnal mind and not the Spirit of Elohim as the first part of this verse states.
How many of us have read the first few verses of Romans chapter seven and assumed that somehow Paul is telling us that we are dead to the entire Torah-law—that we are no longer bound to it, that we no longer have to keep it? Is this what he is really saying? If so, does this mean that it’s now all right to violate the Torah’s prohibitions to steal, lie, murder, commit sexual sins, covet, worship idols, dishonor our parents, take YHVH’s name in vain and worship idols? If not, then what is Paul really saying in this passage—one that is often used by perhaps well-intended but misguided people in an attempt to prove that the Torah-law that YHVH Elohim gave to Moses and the children of Israel has been “done away with”?
To understand what Paul is really saying in Romans 7:1–6, let’s take a trip back into the Torah to understand what he is saying with regard to a specific law that has to do with the marriage covenant which Paul refers to as “the law of her husband” (v. 2), and which law a wife is dead to (v. 4) if her husband dies, and then how this relates prophetically to Yeshua’s death on the cross and the saint. You are to discover a deep truth pertaining to the gospel message that has been hidden in plain sight all along!
In Deuteronomy 24:1–5 we read,
1 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her [The Stone Edition Tanach: found in her a matter of immorality; found her offensive in some respect] then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife.
3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife;
4 Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before YHVH: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which YHVH your Elohim giveth thee for an inheritance. [Emphasized sections are to be discussed.]
The word uncleanness orimmorality is the Hebrew word ervah (Strong’s H6172) which according to The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament refers simply to “nakedness or the resulting shame therefrom.” Strong’s Expanded Concordance adds to this definition: an indecent thing or figuratively the idea of disgrace or blemish. According to Strong’s Concordance this word is used in a various ways in the Tanakh (Old Testament) with reference to shameful sexual exposure or nudity as in the case of unlawful cohabitation (Lev 18:6), or the shame resulting from Israel’s spiritual adultery (Lam 1:8); or any “indecent thing” that represents defilement or uncleanness resulting from the misuse of the physical body (e.g. uncleanness [due to not burying human excrement] in the military camp, or violation of any laws of sexual abstinence, or being in a state of impurity from sexual cohabitation or nocturnal emissions). With regard to Deuteronomy 24:1 Strong’s comments, “ervah appears to bear this emphasis on any violation of the laws of purity—if a groom is dissatisfied with his bride ‘because he hath found some uncleanness in her,’ he may divorce her. Obviously this evidence is not of previous cohabitation, since such a sin merits death (Deut 22:13ff).”
The exact meaning of ervah is of great controversy between scholars. In his commentary on this passage, Jewish Torah scholar Samson Raphael Hirsch says nothing about the subject, although he goes into great detail about the peripheral issues relating to divorce and remarriage, the legalities concerning the bill of divorcement (Heb. get), etc., but not the cause of the divorce in the first place (i.e. the biblical meaning of unclean thing). Likewise, a cursory search of the Mishna on the subject reveals dozens of pages of minute details regarding divorce and remarriage and various attendant subjects, but I could find no legal definitions regarding the meaning of ervah or had how a marriage could be dissolved because a man found ervah in his wife. The meaning of this word and what were indeed grounds for a man to “put his wife away” was a controversy that raged in the first century between the two main Pharisee camps as well (i.e. the Schools of Hillel and Shammai). Even Yeshua weighed in on this controversial subject in Matthew 5:31–32 siding with the more conservative school of Shammai. The meaning of his exact words have fueled theological debates among Christian scholars to this day with regard to what constitutes legal grounds for divorce among believers.
In the simple or literal (Heb. pashat) meaning of this text ervah may or may not be specifically referring to the loss of the bride’s virginity prior to consummation of her marriage with her new husband, since Deuteronomy 24:1 neither specifically states, nor implies that this is the first marriage for both of them. This is underscored by the Torah’s use of the Hebrew word ishah (wife or woman) in verse one as opposed to either the words bethulah or almah both of which lexically have stronger references to a virgin, youthful bride or young maiden as opposed to the more generic term ishah. Therefore, based on the generic meaning of the word ervah (as discussed above) there could be broader meanings as to why the husband was compelled to “put his wife away” (e.g. as for adultery). If this is the case, do we find any example of this elsewhere in Scripture which could give us additional insight into the Hebraic understanding into the meaning of ervah?
To many Christins, the concept of grace is a nebulous one that somehow means that YHVH’s Torah-law is now irrelevant. This idea comes from a twisted view of the writings of Paul the apostle.
Are the concepts of law and grace opposed to each other or, rather, are they two sides of the same coin? What does the phrase “under the law” really mean?
Paul uses this phrase in a particular sense the meaning of which is only clear when understood contextually with what he is saying before and afterwards. Often, sadly, naive and uninformed people cherry picks this phrase out of the larger context of Paul’s writings and then hurl it accusatively at anyone who adheres to YHVH’s Torah commands. When Paul uses the phrase “not under the law” is actually declaring that the saint is no longer “under the law”? Let’s see…
Romans 6:14–15, Not under the law…under grace.
For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace.…What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? Elohim forbid!
Here Paul is saying that sin (i.e. Torahlessness) shall not have dominion over those who have faith in Yeshua and who have died to their old sinful nature as pictured by the baptism ritual (Rom 6:1–10). The Bible is clear: the wages or sting of sin is death (Rom 6:23; 1 Cor 15:56), for sin is the violation of the Torah (1 John 3:4), and those who are spiritually alive to Elohim through Yeshua (Rom 6:11) not only have had their sins forgiven, but they’re not continuing in habitual sin (1 John 3:4–9). They are walking under YHVH’s merciful grace, so that if they sin (i.e. violate the Torah), they can repent and receive his grace (1 John 1:9) instead of death. This is why Paul can say that the redeemed believer is no longer under the (penalty of) the Torah, but is under grace (Rom 6:14).
Because we are under grace and we have been spared by Elohim’s mercy from the penalty for sinning (i.e. violating the Torah), which is death, does this mean that we can continue in sin (i.e. continue violating the Torah, Rom 6:15)? Certainly not! Paul strongly affirms this in verse fifteen. Elohim’s grace doesn’t give us a license to sin (i.e. to violate the Torah, 1 John 3:4). If a saint sins, he must repent of his sin and not continue in his sin (1 John 1:9), so that the mercy and grace of Elohim will cover his transgression.
Paul then goes to say (in Rom 6:16–23) that since we are no longer slaves to sin because of our relationship with Elohim through Yeshua, we now have become slaves to righteousness (i.e. Torah obedience, see Ps 119:172 where righteousness is defined as Torah-obedience). The Torah not only defines what sin is, but also shows us how not to sin. It is the grace of Elohim that not only gives us grace or unmerited pardon for violating the Torah (i.e. sin), but the same grace divinely enables us to live in obedience to the Torah, so that we will not come under the (penalty of) the Torah through sinfulness. This is why Paul can go on to declare that the Torah is holy, and the commandment holy, just and good (Rom 7:12). It reveals to us the path of righteousness and how not to sin by showing us how to love Elohim and our neighbor.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of Elohim, to those who believe in His name… (John 1:12)
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of Elohim! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of Elohim; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. (1 John 3:1–2)
Each spring of the year, the saints who are faithful to the truths of the Bible celebrate Passover. Passover is the first step in YHVH Elohim’s plan of salvation or redemption of sinful humans to reconcile fallen man back to him. Did you ever wonder how this process really works?
Let’s now look at this miraculous process of how to overcome sin in more detail through a spiritual magnifying glass. How do we go from being a lost sinner—the walking damned or the living dead—to becoming the glorified and immortalized children of Elohim?
It works like this: When we confess and repent of our sins, Yeshua will pass over or forgive us of our past sins (Rom 3:25); Ps 103:8–12). From this point onward, we must embrace a new mindset and a new spiritual identity and reality; that is, we must reckon our old sinful man as being crucified with Yeshua, in that we are now dead to sin, no longer slaves to sin, freed from the power of sin, and alive to Elohim in Yeshua our Lord (Rom 6:7–11). Yeshua is the one who victoriously defeated the power or sting of sin, which is death, hell and the grave at the cross and through his resurrection (1 Cor 15:56–57; Col 2:13–15). Through our faith in him and our legal identification with his death, burial and resurrection through the metaphorical ritual of baptism, his victory is legally applied to us by the courts of heaven, which is how he has made us more than conquerors over sin and death (Rom 8:37; 6:1–14) such that the power of sin and death will no longer have dominion over us (Rom 6:12–14). He now gives us strength through his enabling and empowering grace to resist and overcome sin, that is, to not let sin control us any longer (Rom 6:12). He promises to give us a new, circumcised heart as he writes his laws or commandments on our hearts, so that we will be supernaturally inclined to love him by keeping his commandments (Jer 31:33; 24:7; Heb 8:10; 10:16; Ezek 36:25–27; Isa 51:7; Ps 40:8; 37:31; Deut 30:6; John 14:12 cp. Rom 7:22). What is that supernatural power that works in us to help keep us from sinning? It the Spirit of Elohim or the Comforter that Yeshua promised would come along side of us to aid us in the process of overcoming sin (John 14:16–18, 25–26; 15:26–27; 16:7–14).
To summarize, this whole supernatural and miraculous process of being victorious over sin is activated when we first acknowledge our sin, confess our sin, repent of our sin and then place our faith in Yeshua’s death and burial. This occurs when we appropriate or reckon, by faith, our old sinful man to have been crucified with Yeshua, and then been resurrected in the newness of spiritual life with him. We now embrace the new identity that he has given us—a spiritual reality that he has imparted to us and has been legally recorded in heaven (Col 2:14)—that we are a new creation and are victorious over sin (Gal 2:20; 2 Cor 5:17), and have become Spirit-begotten sons of Elohim. This whole process is summarized from beginning to end in Romans chapters six through eight. The end result, if we continue in a right spiritual relationship with Yeshua the Messiah for the rest of our lives, is that our names will be recorded in Elohim’s Book of Life, and our physical bodies will be glorified—we will be given immortality—at the resurrection, which occurs at the second coming of Yeshua.
This whole process or chain of events that transforms sinful humans into glorified and immortal children of Elohim begins at Passover which symbolizes the first steps a person takes when he comes to faith in Yeshua the Messiah.
So are YOU saved from the consequences of your sin, which is death and eternal separation from YHVH Elohim, your heavenly Father ?Why not put your trusting faith in Yeshua the Messiah right now?
Romans 5:9, Being justified by his blood.Through Yeshua the Seed of Abraham through whom all nations would be blessed, believers are saved from their sins and blessed. Through Yeshua, the imputation of righteousness by faith and the justification (or right standing before Elohim) that it brings—a spiritual principle revealed in the life Abraham—is combined with the concept of being justified by his blood that is revealed in the Levitical sacrificial system.
Prophetic inferences to the sinner being atoned by the blood of an innocent and blemish-free lamb are to be found in Genesis 3:21 where YHVH covered the fallen Adam and Eve in garments of animal skins (very possibly, the skins of a lamb or some other kosher animal), and at the akeidah (the binding of Isaac) event on Mount Moriah in the substitutionary sacrifice of the lamb. This concept is further developed with YHVH’s command to the Israelites in Egypt to smear lamb’s blood on their door posts to protect them from the judgment of the death angel, and is more fully developed in the subsequent elaborate Levitical sacrificial system.
Broadly speaking, the Abrahamic Covenant and events in the life of Abraham surrounding its implementation reveal to man how to receive right-standing before Elohim, while the Mosaic Covenant and events surrounding its implementation reveal in more detail just how a man’s sins are atoned for, and then howman is to walk in righteousness once he attains right-standing with Elohim. This idea might be also stated in this way: Abraham’s being justified by his faith was a precondition to YHVH’s formulating the Abrahamic Covenant with him; Israel’s coming under the blood of the lamb, leaving Egypt and being “baptized” in the Red Sea were preconditions for YHVH formulating the Mosaic or Sinaitic Covenant with them. For the Renewed Covenant believer, Paul shows us that we must have faith in the Word (Logos) and promises of Elohim as Abraham did, and then come under the blood of the lamb, leave Egypt, be baptized and then follow Torah as the Children of Israel did to obtain and to maintain right-standing with Elohim, to be saved from the wrath to come and to have an eternal inheritance in YHVH’s kingdom.
It might be said, in a certain sense, that aspects of both the Abrahamic and Mosaic or Sinaitic covenants synergize together to construct the whole redemption or salvation “package.” In Romans, Paul weaves elements of both covenants together to form a systematic theology or a complete “package” showing the Renewed or New Covenant believer how to “get saved” and once “saved” how to stay “saved.”
A spiritual relationship with Elohim based on trusting faith after the pattern of Abraham’s relationship with him is available to all men including those who are born and raised within a framework of Torah (e.g. the Jews), and non-Jews who were born and raised outside of a Torah framework. After all, it must be remembered that when Abraham came to faith in YHVH it is quite possible that he had no little or no background in or understanding of Torah. The same could be said of the Israelite slaves in Egypt when YHVH redeemed them because they had faith in the lambs’ blood on their door posts.
Romans 3:30 says that Israel received righteousness by the Torah (which, through the sacrificial system, pointed to Yeshua, the Redeemer and Living Torah), and the Gentiles receive righteousness through their faith in Yeshua (the Living Torah, which leads one to the righteousness of the Written Torah). In either case, both routes lead to the same conclusion—namely, a people who keep the Torah-commandments of YHVH and have faith in Yeshua, the Messiah. John lists these two criteria in Revelation 12:17 and 14:12 as the notable determiners of who the end-time saints will be. They are those who both keep the commandments of Elohim and who have the faith or testimony of Yeshua. This is an important fact that cannot be quickly passed over. Whether the end-time saints are Jews who came to faith in Yeshua through an understanding of and obedience to the Torah, or Christians who came into Torah-obedience through faith in Yeshua, the two groups end up in the same place arm-in-arm worshiping the same Elohim, trusting in Yeshua the Redeemer, and following his instructions in righteousness (the Torah).
The promises to Abraham were based on trusting faithfulness, and not just a legalistic obedience to the Torah-law, so that all his seed (both Jews and Gentile who would be grafted into Israel, see notes on Rom 11) might be included in his promises which would eventually not only encompass the geographical area of Israel, but the entire world as noted in verse 13. This in no way implies that Torah-obedience is incumbent only upon the Israelites and not upon Gentiles. Paul again and again makes it clear that the gospel message he is preaching in no way annuls Torah.
Father of us all.Paul says in a number of places that those who come to Yeshua are no longer Gentiles but are the children or seed (literally “sperm,” which is the meaning of the Greek word) of Abraham (Eph 2:11–19; Rom 4:16; 9:8–11; Gal 3:7, 9, 14, 28–29). The word gentiles as used in Scripture simply means “ethnic groups or nations.” There are many places in Scripture where Jews and Israelites are referred to as “Gentiles.” There is no class of people called “gentiles” in the spiritual body of Yeshua. As proof of this, Scripture uses the following terms for the redeemed of YHVH: the saints, the called out ones, or the one new man or the Israel of Elohim (Gal 6:16), which is another way of saying redeemed Israel or spiritual Israel. Any attempt by anyone to keep the Jew—Gentile division alive within the body of Yeshua is in effect keeping up the middle wall of partition that the Paul spent his life attempting to tear down (see Eph 2:11–19). This mission eventually cost him his physical life.
Furthermore, we must also keep in mind that there are only twelve gates through which one may enter the New Jerusalem, and these gates are named after the twelve tribes of Israel (Rev 21:12). There is no Gentile gate! The only way that one will be able to enter the New Jerusalem will be through spiritually identifying with the tribes of Israel. So which tribe are you?
Finally, YHVH, the God of the Bible, never made any covenants with non-Israelite nations—only with nation of Israel. To be in covenantal relationship with YHVH one has to accept the Jewish Messiah, and be grafted into the Israelite olive tree through the Messiah and become an Israelite—PERIOD! For example, the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews clearly states that the New Covenant is made with the two houses of Israel—not the Gentile nations (see Heb 8:8 and Jer 31:31, 33). This may come as a shock to some people reading this, but this is the truth of Scripture.
Scripture reveals that there are only two classifications of people in Scripture: Israelites and non-Israelites or Gentiles (i.e. people of the nations). The former has eternal life because of their relationship with the Elohim of Israel through the Messiah of Israel. The latter group, unless they repent of their sin (i.e. lawlessness or Torahlessness, see 1 John 3:4), will burn in the Lake of Fire.
Whenever Paul uses the term gentile, he is either referring to ethnicity, and not using the term as a spiritual designation, or he is using the term gentile to mean “worldly.” In this case, it is a moniker referring to those who are carnal in that they act like gentiles (heathens) who are “without God and without hope” (Eph 2:12). The term gentile is not a spiritual designation for a redeemed believer, for they have been called out of the world and have become a member of a special group called “the called out ones” or “church” (the Greek word ecclesia meaning “church, assembly of people”). Scripture also calls redeemed believers “saints” (A Greek word meaning “set-apart”), who are set apart from the gentile world that is without Elohim and without hope. Scripture teaches that those who are redeemed or who are “in Messiah” are no longer Gentiles, for they have been grafted into and become part of the nation of Israel (Rom 11:13–24 and Eph 2:11–19). They have become the one new man about which Paul speaks in Ephesians 2:15.
Now that we know that we are really part of a people group called “Redeemed Israel” or “the Israel of Elohim” (Gal 6:16), what does one do with this information? That is up to you. Pray and ask your Father in heaven to help you to live out your new identity as an Israelite.
Many people upon finding out that Scripture actually defines them as Israelites and not Gentiles, begin to sense a need to begin acting more like Israelites in their lifestyle and beliefs. They become interested in the feasts and Sabbaths of Israel and their life takes on a more Hebraic or Jewish flavor as they see themselves more in light of the book of Acts believers instead of the paradigm of typical Christianity. This is a path that you will need to begin to explore. As you go down this spiritual straight and narrow path, please keep in mind the words of Yeshua in Matthew 5:17–19; John 15:15 and the words of the apostles in 1 Corinthians 11:1 and 1 John 2:3–6 along with Romans 7:12, 14 and 3:31.
Here are some more Scriptures that confirm that the saints are Israelites and NOT Gentiles.
In Romans 4:16, Speaking to both Jewish and non-Jewish believers in the church of Rome, Paul states that Abraham is “the father of us all.”
Paul in Galatians 3:7–9 speaking to the believers in Greece says that those who have faith in YHVH are the children of Abraham, and this includes the heathen to whom the gospel is preached in all nations (see verse 8).
Paul says in Galatians 3:14 that as children of Abraham, the believing Gentiles are entitled to all the blessings YHVH promised to Abraham’s descendants.
In Galatians 3:28–29, Paul states that in YHVH’s view with regard to his plan of salvation, there is neither Jew nor Greek, but all are one in Yeshua the Messiah. If one is a redeemed believer in Yeshua, then one is the seed (or literally, sperm) or offspring of Abraham and heirs to all of the promises YHVH made to him and his descendants.
Paul clearly states in Ephesians 2:11–19 that the saints were in the past a part of the people-group the Bible calls the peoples of the nations (or Gentiles) and as such were at that time without Elohim (God) and (spiritual) hope. As such, they were not a part of the nation of Israel, and were outside of the covenants of promises YHVH had made to Israel, but now, thanks to the redemptive work of Yeshua the Messiah, these people of the nations are no longer considered to be Gentiles, but are actual Israelites through their faith in Yeshua, and have become one people along with spiritually redeemed Jews. This people group is now called “the one new man.”
Believers in Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah, are the seed of Abraham, or what we might call “redeemed Israel” regardless of their specific ethnic origin. Period. Our understanding of Paul’s passages in this light is confirmed by what John writes concerning the New Jerusalem. Again, it is a fact that in the New Jerusalem there are only twelve gates named after—you guessed it—the twelve tribes of Israel (Rev 22:12)! It may come as a shock to some, but there is no “Gentile Gate”! Gentiles are not permitted into the New Jerusalem—only Israelites. So if you call yourself a redeemed believer in Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah of Israel, again we ask you the following question: Through which gate will enter the New Jerusalem, or stated another way, to which tribe of Israel do you belong?
