God’s plan of salvation was to have his Son Yeshua, the very image of himself, come to earth as a man to become the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. He did this in order to give all mankind an opportunity to be reconciled to himself. God previously gave his laws and commands to his chosen people, the Israelites, with whom he made an eternal covenant with Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel. God didn’t change his mind about his people, although he made a way for everyone to become children of God.
This plan of salvation was proposed before time and kept secret until the revealing of Yeshua the Messiah. John the Baptist proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom of God and immersed people in water who vowed to turn from sin and follow God. It was symbolic of the death of Christ on the cross; dead to sin, alive in righteousness. But Yeshua gave even more – the Holy Spirit – to lead those who belong to God in paths of righteousness. This plan of salvation was never meant to be a continuation of the law and commands given to the Israelites, but was meant to empower those set apart for God to turn from sin and depend on the righteousness of Christ to lead godly lives that are pleasing to God. Christ is our example of obedience, dependence, reverence and love for God.
So what went wrong? Following the resurrection of Christ, men set about to codify salvation into structured man-made laws and taught them as if they were doctrine, eventually leading to numerous and varied religions. This led to legalism rather than trust in the sacrifice and resurrection of God’s Son, Yeshua, resulting in self-righteousness of those who carefully follow the tenets of religion – any religion. Adding to the misdirection is the widely accepted heresy that purports that God does not remember our sins. As long as a person continues to seek God’s grace given through his Son, to be slathered over their sin, they are ‘saved.’ The Bible is clear that the purpose of God sending his Son into the world is to turn people from their sin, and not expecting this to be accomplished on their own, sent his Holy Spirit to facilitate what is humanly impossible. Only with God is salvation possible (Matthew 19:26).
It’s all in God’s Word. If it’s being read as a devotional, habit, or if someone is interpreting scripture for you (this applies to congregants as well as ministers/pastors/priests), it becomes merely human knowledge. When read with the Spirit of God, it convicts of sin, exhorts, comforts, and becomes a guide for living a life that is pleasing to God (II Timothy 3:16-17).
“My Lord said: Because that people has approached [Me] with its mouth and honored Me with its lips, But has kept its heart far from Me, And its worship of Me has been a commandment of men, learned by rote-” (Isaiah 29:13, Tanakh, cf. Colossians 2:22; “…they are based on man-made rules and teachings.”)
“Therefore, we hold the view that a person comes to be considered righteous by God on the ground of trusting which has nothing to do with legalistic observance of Torah commands.” (Romans 3:28)
“the secret hidden for generations, for ages, but now made clear to the people he has set apart for himself. To them God wanted to make known how great among the Gentiles is the glorious richness of this secret. And the secret is this: the Messiah is united with you people! In that rests your hope of glory!” (Colossians 1:26-27)
“Come to your senses! Live righteously and stop sinning!…” (I Corinthians 15:34)
“By God’s grace, without earning it, all are granted the status of being considered righteous before him, through the act redeeming us from our enslavement to sin that was accomplished by the Messiah Yeshua.” (Romans 3:24)
“and after you had been set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.” (Romans 6:18)
“But to as many as did receive him, to those who put their trust in his person and power, he gave the right to become children of God, not because of bloodline, physical impulse or human intention, but because of God.” (John 1:12-13)
“But when the kindness and love for mankind of God our Deliverer was revealed, he delivered us. It was not on the ground of any righteous deeds we had done, but on the ground of his own mercy. He did it by means of the mikveh [bath or pool for purification] of rebirth and the renewal brought about by the Ruach HaKodesh [Holy Spirit], whom he poured out on us generously through Yeshua the Messiah, our Deliverer.” (Titus 3:4-6)
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with feelings of compassion and with kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” “Above all these, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together perfectly; and let the shalom which comes from the Messiah be your heart’s decision-maker, for this is why you were called to be part of a single Body. And be thankful-” (Colossians 3:12, 14-15)
*All scripture is from the Complete Jewish Bible unless noted otherwise