“Seek Yahweh while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to Yahweh, and He will have compassion on him. Turn to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55: 6-7
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John 3:16 for Sure, but What About John 3:36?
Many believers love to quote John 3:16. Why not? It’s a very comforting promise:
“For Elohim so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
John 3:16 is the beginning of a thought that is fleshed out in John 3:17-21:
“For Elohim did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of Elohim [Yahweh]. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in Elohim.” (John 3:17-21)
I have said these things before, but I need to repeat them again here. Elohim, not God, is the correct title for Yahweh. God is the name of a pagan deity. How it came to be used as the generic title for Yahweh is a mystery to me. Sometimes it’s pronounced Gad, Gaud, and Gawd. All of those names refer to the god of good fortune.
Yahweh does not appreciate being called by the name of a pagan deity, and He doesn’t appreciate being connected with luck. Nothing Yahweh says or does has anything to do with luck.
Also, notice that those verses tell us that people are judged already if they choose not to believe “in the Name of the only begotten Son of Elohim.” Yahweh is the Name referred to in that instance, because it’s the Name of the Son of Elohim. That’s what Yahweh told His prophet Jeremiah:
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch. He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will live securely. This is His Name by which He will be called: ‘Yahweh Our Righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23:5-6)
In Philippians 2: 9-11, Paul provides an explanation about why the Name “Yahweh” is so important. It’s not a complete explanation, but it’s sufficient:
“Elohim highly exalted Him [the Messiah], and bestowed on Him [the Messiah] the Name which is above every name [Yahweh], so that at the name of Yeshua [Yahweh] every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Yeshua the Messiah is Yahweh, to the glory of Elohim the Father.” (Philippians 2: 9-11)
Every created being in heaven and hell and every person on Earth will bow down and confess that the Messiah is Yahweh to the glory of Elohim the Father. Regrettably, most believers have been taught in churches mostly that those verses refer to the name “Jesus”. That’s not correct. Paul is elevating the Messiah and His real Name, Yahweh, to their proper place.
The Messiah’s Name is not a matter of opinion. It’s a matter of fact. It’s either right or wrong. The Name “Yahweh” is right. The name “Jesus” is wrong. That’s not my opinion. It’s a fact.
It’s true that believing in (or having faith in) the Messiah leads to salvation, but as I say in The Trilogy, it’s faith with legs. It’s not a mere acceptance of the fact that the Messiah exists. As James said, demons believe that, but they are not saved. Faith that leads to salvation is faith that is willing to go where Yahweh’s Spirit leads and to do what Yahweh’s Spirit says.
That’s exactly what John 3:36 says:
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of Elohim abides on him.” (John 3:36)
In most of the churches that I’ve attended and been a part of over the years, the faith part is emphasized and the obedience part is minimized or left about completely. The entire focus is on faith, believing.
I would never attempt to minimize the importance of faith. Neither would I attempt to minimize the importance of obedience. Both of them are important. The apostle James addressed this issue, and he nailed it:
But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that Elohim is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “and Abraham believed Elohim, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of Elohim. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. (James 2:18-26)
We should not cherry pick Yahweh’s word. We need to understand what Yahweh said and is saying and to do what He says. His faithful followers will do that. Others won’t.
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“I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”
John 10: 14-18
