Foundations

This blog is a bit of an addendum to my blog entitled “The Substitute” it carries on with the same ideas.

Luke 6:46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do what I tell you?

47 “Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them into practice – I will show you what he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep, and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the person who hears and does not put my words into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against that house, it collapsed immediately, and was utterly destroyed!”

In this parable Yeshua is telling his listeners that something based on a strong foundation will stand strong because it is built upon something immoveable. Likewise, if something is built without a strong immovable foundation it will fail in a time when it is tested.

Can you imagine someone building a house on a good foundation and then someone coming along and intentionally destroying that foundation from beneath it? If the house continued to stand at all it would be a total shambles. 

This blog will be about foundations and you may hear things that you haven’t heard before. Let’s start with a few scriptures.

Deuteronomy 32:3 For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;

you must acknowledge the greatness of our God.

4 As for the Rock, his work is perfect,

for all his ways are just.

He is a reliable God who is never unjust,

he is fair and upright.

Psalm 89:14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.

Psalm 97:1 The LORD reigns, may the earth rejoice;

May the many islands be joyful.

2 Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 5 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 And you shall repeat them diligently to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk on the road, when you lie down, and when you get up

Deuteronomy 6:24 So the LORD commanded us to follow all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God for our own good always and for our survival, as it is today. 25 And it will be righteousness for us if we are careful to follow all this commandment before the LORD our God, just as He commanded us.

Mark 12:28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Righteousness and justice are foundational. To love YHVH with all your heart, soul and strength is foundational. To love your neighbor is foundational. YHVH’s commands as given to Moses on mount Sinai and as they are established in the Torah are foundational. I frequently quote Yeshua on the subject of the Law of Moses,

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

These are the things that should be the foundation of your religion.  Righteousness, justice, devotion to YHVH, obedience to His commandments and His Law and the love of your neighbor.

There are many false foundations. Let me point out a couple that still exist and are quite popular.

Luke 3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.

5 Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall become straight,

and the rough places shall become level ways,

6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”

John the Baptist was warning the Jews in attendance that they would not be received into God’s kingdom simply by virtue of being the seed of Abraham (by virtue of ancestry or being a member of the Jewish religion ). He warned them that they must bear the fruits of their special relationship with YHVH and that YHVH could raise up other children to Abraham. He warned them that they could be suddenly and catastrophicly destroyed if they didn’t repent and bring forth good works. 

The first false foundation is that one is saved simply by ancestry or by being a member of an elect group. You will not be saved because you are a Jew, a Catholic, a Mormon, a baptist or any other group.

The second false foundation is the belief that one is saved by faith in Jesus Christ’s sacrificial atonement alone. That all that is necessary for salvation is to believe in and confess with your mouth that Jesus died was buried and arose on the third day. No repentance, obedience to YHVH’s Law or good fruits of your salvation necessary. Yeshua’s death was not necessary for YHVH to forgive your sins. Forgiveness of peoples sins was always available even before Yeshua’s crucifixion. 

In the next passage the people that YHVH had delivered out of Egypt had sinned and had made a golden idol and worshipped it. YHVH was angry with them because of their sin.

Exodus 32:1 The LORD said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. 3 No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.” 4 So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. 5 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. 9 And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

And YHVH did just that. He forgave their sins. David also sinned against YHVH. He seduced a married woman and had her husband sent to the front lines in a war so that he was killed. Yet, David repented and wrote these words,

Psalm 86:5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,

abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

Matthew 9:1 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. 2 And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” 4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 7 And he rose and went home. 8 When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Yeshua was a Jew. He practiced Judaism as it was commanded in the Torah. That was the strong foundation of his teaching.

YHVH has always been ready to forgive those that earnestly repented of their sins and would turn away from wrong doing and do good works. That is established in the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms.

When a person is caught breaking a civil law and is brought to trial and the judge finds him guilty a penalty will be given to him. Either a fine, inprisonment or something of the sort. That person is made to atone for their crime. Forgiveness is not atonement. With forgiveness there is only forgiveness. No penalty is put on the one forgiven. No fine is paid. No sentence is given. It isn’t complicated. The person is simply forgiven. Just like the woman caught in adultery. Yeshua said “neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more”.

He saw her shame, he saw her tears, he forgave her and warned her to stop sinning.  That’s how it works. Build your faith on the strong foundation not the shifting sands.