From Generation to Generation

^“22 This righteousness is given through faith in Yeshua HaMashiach to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Romans 3:22-23

I wanted to open today’s Message with this verse, to set a foundation regarding our understanding of Sin, and what Sin is.

I think that over the ions, theology has lost touch with the original understanding of Sin, and what Sin is.  We’ve simply packaged “Bad Behaviour” as to be the all-encompassing idea of Sin.  It’s more than this.

In reality, the Torah does break the concepts down into 3 categories. 

We find this in Exodus 34:7 where it reads: “The LORD” …

7 keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and unto the fourth generation.

In this one verse, it depicts the 3 Categories of the Concepts Sin:

1)    Iniquity (Avon)

2)    Transgression (Pesha)

3)    Sin (Chattah)

Now, let’s look at the 3 Categories and see if we can gather a better understanding of what it is that we are up against, and why it is such a struggle to overcome this this thing we call Sin.

1)    Iniquity - “Avon” – Interpreting the Ancient Hebrew: “The Eye is set upon This Life,” This is the nature of “The Flesh” – The Consuming Nature – To Destroy.  The Flesh is in sync with the Yetzera, “The Fallen Nature.”  The instinct of entropy.  The Earth is doomed, and so am I – therefore partake of its demise.  “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.”  The Lust of the Flesh.  This is a state outside of Covenant.  It has no desire for God.  Therefore, as Exodus 34:7 states:

“and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and unto the fourth generation.” 

There is no forgiveness, because this nature does not seek it.  Those living by the mere lust of the Flesh are not in Covenant with God.  This is a life without rules and boundaries.  Whatever feels good, do it.  This is Iniquity.

2)    Transgression – “Pesha” – The Ancient Hebrew: “The Mouth, consumes the Eye.”  Or “The Flesh obeys its nature.”

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. Genesis 3:6

What Lust Iniquity brings, the Transgression is to Give In.  It means to Rebel against the Command, and Step out of line.  In spite of the fact that you know the correct way, you do not do what you are supposed to, or do what you are not supposed to.

¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Paul’s words from Romans 7:15

This is different from iniquity.  Iniquity is based upon a nature to sin, a subconscious lust, to Sin without remorse – “A Free for all.”  Transgression is a conscious rebellion against The Word and The Law of God.  Therefore in this case, you are in Covenant and desire God, but you rebel against Him anyway.  This is Transgression.

3)    Sin – “Chattah” – The Ancient Hebrew: “Captured by the Serpent (Separated from God) - Separated from The Head, but “behold” – Meaning: “There is a plan” -- God has made a Way.  Simply put, Sin is Failure – Missing the Mark.  In spite of your efforts, you were unable to complete the Mitzvah.  Whether it is due to limitations, or circumstance, or lethargy, regardless of the reason, you were unable to complete the objective.  This is “Chattah” – Failure – Sin. 

Therefore, God provided a Sacrifice within the Aaronic Priesthood that was made for Chattah (Sin), and Chattah Shagagah, which is “Unintentional Sin.”  Meaning that even Sin that has no Malice is still Sin, in the eyes of God.  Therefore, He has provided a way, even if you are unaware of what you have done or not done.

This is again why Romans 3:23 states;

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Therefore, to recap – Sin is not simply “Bad Behaviour,” it is more complex than that, but in its simplest state, it simply means, “You Failed.”

Now that we have a better foundational understanding of Sin, let’s have a look at today’s Message.

I’ve entitled this Week’s Message, “From Generation to Generation,” because this statement depicts the nature of God’s demand for Relationship with each Generation.  He may bless Israel, because of promises that He made to our Forefathers, but this does not mean that He doesn’t want a personal relationship, with each and every Jew of every Generation, and now through Yeshua to every Gentile as well.  He wants to know us, and for us to know Him.

In this Week’s Parasha, we had a double portion, which takes us to the end of Numbers, or in Hebrew, “Bamidbar” - “The Wilderness.”  Next week we begin Deuteronomy, or as said in Hebrew, “D’varim.”  It would appear that as much as D’varim, is called “D’varim” or “Words,” or as it is interpreted, “The Second Giving of The Law,” this “recap” had already begun in the Previous Parasha.  Last week in Pinchas, we began to see language demonstrating the End of the Journey through the Wilderness. 

As we draw to the end of the Wondering in the Wilderness, Moses is preparing the Children for their final days before they enter the Land, and do so without him.  In fact, it is within this Parasha that The LORD tells Moses that after the War with Median, then it will be the time of his passing.

We (The Generation of Today), in the Weekly Readings of Torah, have come to witness, once again, the Exodus from Egypt, and the Journey to The Promised Land.  Today, Our Generation reads the same words that have been read over and over, from Generation to Generation.   Once again, we are Witness to Israel’s Sin and Rebellion in the Wilderness.  We read, and experienced the story again, so that it becomes personal to us.  It is important that it becomes personal to us, so that we do not make the same mistakes that they did.  We are going to be too busy making our own Mistakes!  It is through these Readings, that God makes that Covenant with us.  We hear His Words, reiterated in D’varim, and we know that this is an Everlasting Covenant, in fact, a Renewed Covenant with His Chosen.

In essence, Deuteronomy IS a New Covenant.  It is a New Covenant, based upon the Old, much in the same way that the New Tablets, represented a New Covenant, after the incident of the Golden Calf, although it was the same Law. 

Now, this may ruffle some feathers, but I say this in confidence, and in spite of what “Theology” teaches, The Covenant that we refer to now as, ‘The New Covenant,’ is just as well based upon the “Original” Covenant given to Israel, through Moses.  It may be a New Covenant, and different in the sense that Messiah came to usher in these latter days, but it is still based upon that Foundational Covenant made with Israel. 

Now I know that I have taught this before, but I’m going to give this point out again to make sure that we are getting it.

Let’s look back to what the Prophets told us what The New Covenant would be.

Turning to Jeremiah 31, we read:

30 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah;

31 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; forasmuch as they broke My covenant, although I was a lord over them, saith the LORD.

32 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the LORD, I will put My law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people;

33 and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying: 'Know the LORD'; for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more. {S}  Jeremiah 31:30-33

Therefore, as written in the Brit Hadasha:

“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”  Romans 14:11

And -

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Yeshua HaMashiach is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.  Philippians 2:9-11

These words originate in Isaiah 45:

21 Declare ye, and bring them near, yea, let them take counsel together: Who hath announced this from ancient time, and declared it of old? Have not I the LORD? And there is no God else beside Me, a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside Me. 22 Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. 23 By Myself have I sworn, the word is gone forth from My mouth in righteousness, and shall not come back, that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. 24 Only in the LORD, shall one say of Me, is victory and strength; even to Him shall men come in confusion, all they that were incensed against Him. 25 In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.  Isaiah 45:21-25

From Generation to Generation, this has been told to us.  The Torah is passed on from Generation to Generation, so that we would know.  Now, even amongst the Gentiles, the most sold book, the most read book, the most studied book, in The History of the World, are These Words.

“D’varim”  - From Generation to Generation.

D’varim is referred to as a “Recap,” because The Law that Moses gave to Israel at Sinai was simply being readdressed to Israel’s Next Generation. 

However, although it is based upon the same Covenant established with their Fathers in Sinai, this Covenant is just as much for them to accept, as it was for their Fathers 40 Years earlier. 

Therefore Moses, reiterates The Law to Joshua and the rest of Israel, and they accept the Covenant, as did their Fathers.

There is an old saying, “God has Children, but He does not have Grandchildren.”

This is to mean that HaShem desires, and demands, a personal relationship with each and every Generation, and with each and every individual.  We cannot ride the coattails of our Parents to get into Haba Olam – The World to Come.  We must have our own experience with YHVH.

Yes, The LORD made a Covenant with our Fathers, even before Sinai, even before Egypt.  Nevertheless, in spite of those Covenants, He wants to make a Covenant with us -- with YOU.

It’s interesting how we refer to “The New Testament” today, as if it were a book.  We treat the Gospels, and the Epistles, as though THEY WERE, The New Testament, because this is how we refer to them.  The New Testament is revealed within the context of these writings, but The Act, that established The New Covenant, is what He did upon the Tav, the Cross.  

If you noticed, I just referred to The Cross as, The Tav.  The Tav is the last letter of the Hebrew Aleph-Bet.  In the Ancient Hebrew, the symbol looked similar to a Cross, and held the meaning “Covenant.”  It is the last letter of the Hebrew Aleph-Bet, and it also has symbolic meaning to be The End or The Last.  The Covenant of The Tav, is the Goal of The Law…  Not the End of The Law.

What’s more is that, the Parameters of this New Covenant are mostly outlined within the Context of Tanakh or as some call, “The Old Covenant.”  The History shared within these writings called “The New Covenant,” simply demonstrate how the Prophetic Promises of the Tanahk, were fulfilled in Yeshua HaMashiach.  All the while, a lot of the “specifics,” are held within “The Old.” 

This is because you cannot have The New, without The Old – The Old makes way for The New.  Furthermore, the New is based upon the foundation of the Old, much in the same way Deuteronomy is based upon the earlier Covenant of Sinai, as is The Covenant of Sinai, the fulfillment of the Covenant made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  All the Covenants are a progressive path, one leading into the next.

Now, let’s tie these ideas together with the idea of Sin, and look at HOW we all ended up here.

As you recall from Parasha Shelach, when the Spies were sent in to survey The Land, most came back with a Bad Report, and Israel accepted this assessment, Sinning against The LORD.  Therefore any Israelites from the age of 20 up, were told that they would not enter into The Promised Land, less Joshua and Caleb. 

Then, as we recall from Parasha Chukat, Moses too disobeys The LORD, and due to his sin of striking the Rock, he too was not allowed to complete the Journey into the Promised Land. 

This is how we end up at the End of Bamidbar, and the beginning of D’varim.  The Next Generation is about to enter The Land, and there is a Hand Off taking place.

Now, does this mean that since they Sinned, and were not allowed into the Promised Land, that this also determined their Eternal Salvation? 

No – It means that they could have repented of their “Pesha” (Transgression), making T’shuva, and followed the LORD for the rest of their journey, until their passing.  At which time, “They were gathered unto their People.” 

This term is an idiom of Torah, holding a similar meaning as to “Going home to be with the LORD,” opposed to the other thing, which is referred to as being, “Cut off from their People.”

This is to demonstrate that our Sin can cost us Great Blessings here, in this World, but if we have Faith in Yeshua, and T’shuva (Turn away and “Repent”) from our Sin, then we may have Eternal Life in Him, in The World to Come, and like our People of Old, “Be gathered unto them.”

Therefore the Question Stands, “Can we overcome Sin?”

I guess that all depends on what you think “Sin” is. 

If you are referring to “Avon,” (Iniquity), then –yes- By entering into Covenant with YHVH, by His Son, whom He provided for this purpose, then you acknowledge that “Avon,” is unacceptable, and that we must not live by the Flesh, but by God’s Word.  Then you will have overcome Iniquity. 

Does this mean that you will no longer Sin?

This still depends on what you regard as Sin.

If you are referring to Pesha, (Transgression), then – yes – By obeying His Commandments, and staying within line, then you show your Love for HaShem by staying within His Word.  If you do not see His Word as Truth, or binding, then you are right back to the state of Iniquity, and out of Covenant. 

This may happen from ignorance, meaning that you have not come to a full understanding of His Commandments, and how to fulfill them, for which is Grace. 

There is also the plague of habitual behaviour, which lingers within your life, due to your past walk in iniquity, but if you still acknowledge that His Word is Truth, and that your Sin is Sin, repenting of it, then He is just and willing to forgive you.

This is providing that you do not continue in your sinful ways, regarding it as “Nothing to be concerned with.”  God hates Sin – Go to Him, and ask for Strength to overcome this.  The fact that you desire to overcome this plague, demonstrates to Him, your hunger and thirst for His Righteousness.  Then follow Him with a sincere heart.

Does this Overcome Sin?

If you are referring to Chattah (Sin), then I would have to say –No.

I say no, because Chattah is the only thing that Sacrifice was made for.  Sacrifice for Chattah and Chattah Shagaggah, was accounted for by the LORD, knowing that even if we were to be perfect in guarding ourselves from Sin, there would always be Sin that we are unaware of, and this is WHY He provided for such a Sacrifice. 

I know that the Theology in the Church today teaches, that we cannot overcome Sin, and this is why we needed Messiah, which is true, but we have misconstrued the ideas of what Sin is. 

If we think that Iniquity is Sin, it is not.  If we think that a Transgression is Sin, it is not.  Sin is simply Failure, and this is what He died for, so that we would not fail, in the end.  Iniquity and Transgression is something that we must overcome.  Iniquity without question, because if we live in iniquity, we have no Covenant with Him.

^“And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”  Matthew 7:23  (Lawlessness)

Now Transgressions, on the other hand, Transgressions are part of our Walk.  As we walk with Him, and learn from Him, we grow in Him, and as we do, His Grace is sufficient for us.  As we learn how to overcome the Transgressions, as He gives us the strength to do so, we mature in Him. 

Now, I’m not saying that Transgressions are “Acceptable.”  What I am saying is that He recognises our weakness, and offers His strength to us.  When we are in this Halacha (Walking) Relationship with Him, He promises to Teach us His Ways, and as we grow in Him, the Transgressions are removed from our Walk, until we learn to walk upright.  It is when we walk in arrogance, within the Covenant, that we find ourselves in trouble, and in danger of serious chastisement.  We must walk humbly before The LORD, working out our Salvation with fear and trembling.

If this were not so, then why would Paul speak in this manner about Himself?

Turn with me to Romans 7 – Here Paul is addressing Sin within Covenant:

⁷ What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

⁸ But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.

⁹ Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.

¹⁰ I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.

¹¹ For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death.

¹² So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.

¹³ Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

¹⁴ We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.

¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.

¹⁷ As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

¹⁸ For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.^[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.

²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;

²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.

²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?

²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Yeshua HaMashiach our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. 

Here Paul is explaining the wrestle that we, in our Fleshly form, undergo on daily basis.  We desire to do that which is right, but somehow, our sinful nature continually stifles our attempts at righteousness.  Does this mean that we should give up, and just Sin, because “What’s the Point?” – Heaven Forbid – No!

Get Up!  T’Shuva – Keep Going – His Grace is sufficient for you.  This does not mean that you have licence to Sin, but it does mean that as long as you have breath in you, strive for the Higher Calling.  If we have Faith that He is able, and we ask for His Strength, then He will provide.  This is the provision of Messiah!

Hebrews 4:15, speaking of Yeshua, states this:

¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are —yet he did not sin.

I remember questioning this notion, as a child, thinking, “But He is The LORD!”  Which in my childlike mind was saying, “But He is Superman…  There is nothing that He cannot do…  How can I be compared to Him?”

As an adult, and as I have matured in Faith, I realize now that this verse has nothing to do with comparison, but rather about “Understanding,” and is focused upon His source of Grace.  He has Grace for us, because He understands what we go through.  What’s more is that since He is The LORD, He also understands that in spite of the fact that He was temped, we are human, and weak.  We will fail.  This understanding becomes the power of His Grace.  He has full understanding of WHY we fail.  He gets it.  This is the very reason that He did what He did.

Again, as a child, I looked at how he was tempted, and I questioned the comparison. 

“Rocks to bread?” – “Jumping off the Pinnacle of the Temple?” – “Bowing down to Worship Satan…  For something that He already Had?”

“How is any of this, like what I am tempted with?”

From Generation to Generation, we are temped in the same manner as the Israelites were tempted in the Wilderness.

This is why the Torah was passed down from Generation to Generation, so that we would have the tools to overcome these temptations.

In every Generation we experience lessons from the Torah.  Life “As we Know it,” is a Trial, teaching us about ourselves.  If we walk with The LORD, we learn the lesson, and overcome the Fleshly Nature, which is at War with HaShem.  If we continue down that road of Self-Will, and do not submit to the reality that this life is not “reality,” but merely a Test, we will be Lost. 

In each Generation, the Trials are renewed, and may not appear the same as the previous, but the underlying nature of the tests, have not changed.  We all experience the same Trials, much in the same way that all tests are encompassed within 3 temptations.

1)    “Turn these Stones into Bread” – Meaning: “Give into the flesh…Instant Gratification” - Iniquity

2)    “Cast Yourself off the Temple” – Meaning: “If this is Truth, Then cast yourself down… Test the Covenant” – Transgressions. 

3)    “Bow down and Worship me” – Meaning: “Miss the Mark  – Fail and you will Win.  Believe a lie” - Sin

The common denominator within these temptations is: “Skip the Process” – “Take the Easy Way.” 

1)    For Bread to be Bread, it must begin with a seed that grows into grain.  The grain is tended to and nurtured until harvest.  Then the grain is harvested, and processed to make flour.  The flour is then mixed with water and yeast to become bread.  There is a method – A process – A design, and this process must be followed.  Messiah was born of Flesh, and needed to go through all the steps in order for Him to become our Bread.  We need to get our minds away from Instant Gratification, this is NOT God’s Way.  YHVH is He whom designed the Universe, and there are reasons that He has designed it the way that He has.  It is HaSatan that provokes us to embrace, “The Easy Way.”  The process -- demonstrates the investment of Faith, believing that if we work towards this goal, His Goal, we will be greatly rewarded with the Fruit of the Harvest, but we must Trust Him that it will come to fruition.

2)    The Covenant is meant as a Bridge to bring us together with HaShem, not a Shield to protect us from His wrath.  It is when we misunderstand His Covenant, and we walk away from Him, and His wrath is kindled against us, do we turn the Covenant into a Shield.  The point is that the Covenant does not need to be a shield, if we use it for its intended purpose, to bring us together.  Therefore, when HaSatan told Yeshua to “Cast Himself off the Temple,” he was temping Him to use God’s Word as a Shield against the very Law that God had created.  Turning the Word of God against itself, to temp His Wrath.  The Covenant was meant that if He should “Slip,” the Angels would protect Him.  Midrashically, this is a metaphor for “Sin.”  The Angels were to watch over Him, lest He sin, and defeat the purpose of His Coming.  The Angles were commissioned to protect Him, and preserve Him, so that He would be pure and spotless for the purpose in which He had come.  What’s more, in the underlying temptation, there is a Trick.  The act of casting Himself off the Temple, to fall upon the Rocks, would be as to fall upon the Azzazel.  He was the chosen Sacrifice, the pure and spotless Lamb, not the Goat for the Azzazel.  HaSatan was trying to mix up the Sacrifice, so that He could disrupt God’s Order.

3)    What’s interesting about this process is that HaSatan is working backwards.  He is progressively getting more and more desperate to defeat Yeshua, and so in the 3^rd temptation, he goes “All in.”  If you bow down and worship me, I’ll just Give up.  I’ll just Give you the Kingdom (The Malkut) and then you will no longer have to do what it is that you came to do.  We can end this right here, right now.  I’ll I want is this one act, and I’ll give up.”  This is when Yeshua quotes the 1^st Commandment, which is also the premise of The Shema, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”  There is only One God, Echad, not Echar.

These 3 Temptations are replicated in various ways throughout every Generation, teaching us that we must respond to these temptations with the Scriptures that the LORD has taught us.  Now, notice where they all come from:

1)    “And He afflicted thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every thing that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” D’varim 8:3

2)     Ye shall not try the LORD your God, as ye tried Him in Massah. D’varim 6:16

3)    Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; and Him shalt thou serve, and by His name shalt thou swear. D’varim 6:13

Yeshua quotes from D’varim more times than any other part of Torah.  I believe it is 85 times during His Ministry.  From Generation to Generation, for this purpose.

All Temptation is encompassed within the Essence of these 3 tests.

1)    Why Nurture a Real Relationship, when we can have what we want today – cut to the chase?  Eat without the work.  Fast Food, Fast Cars, Fast Women.  Credit – Promiscuity – Convenience.  Lusciousness.

2)    Why develop a relationship with God, when you can be your own god, and just call upon Him when you really need His help?  Name it and Claim it.  Prosperity Gospel.  Endorsement through Blessings.  Focus upon the Material gain of this World – fleeting.  

3)    Instead of God’s Plan – God’s Way – Make another Way.  You still get the same Goal – The Same reward, just without all the Work, and Hocus Pocus.  You can have all that He promised you anyway – and still do it YOUR WAY.

Do you buy any of these lies?  Well, we have, and these are the sources of our Sin. 

If he, the Evil One, can convince us that we have failed, then he has us.  This is why Yeshua came to take our “Sin,” because we have failed, but through Him, the Victory over Failure has been won.  HaSatan, “The Accuser” has nothing on us.  We have been redeemed by the blood of the pure and spotless lamb.  Amen?

This is why we are given The Law, The Instruction, The Covenant, from Generation to Generation, so that we may have the tools, as Yeshua used them, to shield against the attacks of his temptations.

I want to conclude, as I began in Romans 3: Turn with me:

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.

²² This righteousness is given through faith in Yeshua HaMashiach to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Mashiach Yeshua.

²⁵ God presented Messiah as a sacrifice of atonement,^[i] through the shedding of his blood —to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished —

²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Yeshua.

²⁷ Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith.

²⁸ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

²⁹ Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,

³⁰ since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

³¹ Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. Romans 3:21-31

Haverim, we have suffered the onslaught of the enemy.  We have all experienced these temptations, and we have failed.  This is what defines Sin.  Today, as we conclude the book of The Wilderness, and look to next week, of which a New Covenant is established with Israel, let us too, in our Generation, look to establish this New Covenant upon the foundation of the Old.  Knowing that you have been engraphed into the Covenant of Israel, let us rejoice together that we are justified by the same Faith that has brought us all to the feet of Messiah, crying out to the Name of the LORD, “Yeshua” – “Save Us!”

Let’s Pray: