Will you order a plate of food at a restaurant without knowing what is going to be on it and then only eat the things that you like? If you were building a house and the blueprints showed a wall that you did not like or want, would you include that wall in your construction?
These things would be pretty silly actions on the part of a theoretically highly sophisticated and educated modern person, would they not?
Most of the time, we are going to know something about the options that we have, and then make our choices based on the knowledge that we have gained about those options. All through our lives, day by day, we sort through options on things that we like and things that we dislike. We pick and choose our way through life. Do you want a black car or a red car? Do you want a hamburger or a cheeseburger? Lettuce and tomato or plain? Baked potato or French fries? When you do make a choice, what you get is what you asked for, sometimes.
For the most part, modern people are not willing to give up their options to make informed choices about what they can wear, eat, the kind of house they live in, or the color of their car. Yet they willingly give up their right to exercise the single most important option in their lives. This is the option to know and understand the reason why they are on this earth to begin with, and what they should be doing while they are here.
This option, and its alternative, are spelled out very plainly in the Scriptures. If you care to acknowledge it, the Scripture is actually the blueprint to life. If you build a house and totally ignore the blueprint, how do you think that house will turn out? Do you think that it will be built to perfection if you do not follow the blueprint? Absolutely not!
Likewise, can you reach perfection if you do not follow the blueprint of life? Absolutely not! If a house blueprint calls for a three-inch nail and you use a one-inch nail, it will not hold together properly and fall prematurely. If that same blueprint calls for a four by four and you use a two by four, the structure will not be as sturdy as it should be, and probably will fall down at the first opportunity. If you look at the blueprint to your new house and you do not understand something on that blueprint, will you guess at what it is and try to improvise, or will you do the research necessary to find out what it is and how to build it correctly?
MattiythYahuw (Matthew) 5:48 You be therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in the sky is perfect.
2 Korinthios (Corinthians) 13:11 Finally, brothers, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the Eloah of love and peace shall be with you.
Both Yahushua and Sha'uwl (Paul) told us to be perfect. Hopefully all of us have a desire for perfection (some people think that they already are perfect). Before we can determine who is perfect and who is not, we must first determine exactly what perfection is. Very simply stated:
The Sovereign Yahushua the Anointed (Mashiach or Christ) is perfection.
Yahuwah who is the Father made perfection. Yahushua who is the Anointed modeled that perfection. Through the Sacred Scripture Yahushua and His delegates communicated the blueprint for life that will lead us to perfection.
There are many different versions and translations of the Scriptures around today. Aside from a few translational differences and some outright apostasy, most of them say the same thing about this subject. So why are there so many differences of opinion?
Remember the plate mentioned above that all that was on it was not known, but it was ordered anyway? Many congregations, and entire denominations, take the word of Yahuwah in that fashion and then pick and choose the parts that they like, discard or ignore the parts that they don't like, and base their whole so-called "religion" around the parts that they kept. When we as a human race do this we do nothing more than to add more confusion to the issue for those who sincerely seek the truth.
We must submit ourselves 100% to the word of Yahuwah, or not at all! One is either with Yahuwah, or against Yahuwah! There can be no in between.
MattiythYahuw 12:30 He that is not with Me is against Me and he that does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
Listed below are several verses concerning salvation:
Markos (Mark) 16:16 He that believes and is immersed shall be saved but he that does not believe shall be damned.
MattiythYahuw 10:22 And you shall be hated of all men for My name's sake but he that endures to the end shall be saved.
Acts 2:38 Then Keph (Peter) said to them, "Repent and be immersed every one of you in the name of Yahushua the Anointed for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Sacred Spirit.
Rhomaios (Romans) 10:9 That if you shall confess with your mouth the Master Yahushua and shall believe in your heart that Yahuwah has raised him from the dead, you may be saved.
In these four verses we are told that we must believe and be immersed, that we must endure until the end, that we must repent and be immersed for the remissions of sins, and that we must confess with our mouths the Sovereign Yahushua.
What if you believe and are immersed but you do not endure till the end?
What if you confess with your mouth but never repent or are immersed?
What if you repent and do not confess the Sovereign Yahushua with your mouth?
IT'S ALL OR NOTHING!!
Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear the Elohiym and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
Yahushua told His prospective followers to count the cost before they made the decision to commit to Him. That admonition still stands today. Also, take a very close look at the alternative.
It is very difficult to follow the word of Yahuwah 100% because that means giving up some of the things that you enjoy, and most of all that means if any one of us is to be 100% in obedience to Him WE must change our ways! The Greek word that is translated as repent literally means to think differently.
Many people who claim to love our Sovereign are in disobedience because they are unwilling to change their way of thinking to comply with what Yahuwah requires. They are unwilling because they do not want to leave their comfort zones. That requires some study and effort to determine if what they believe is true. Also some people's egos will not allow them to admit their error.
Let us put our egos behind us. Let us admit to our errors. Let us submit ourselves to each other and to Yahuwah the Father in the love of Yahushua. Let us work at obeying the Gospel 100% together. Let us truly be faithful children of Yahuwah and therefore brothers to Yahushua and each other.
C.F. Castleberry
http://www.considerthis.net
buck@considerthis.net