Cannot

A born-again Christian, it is written, “cannot” commit sin. (1John 3:9)  As we all know, this verse has been the subject of controversy among worldly Christians and lovers of sin.  The reason is that the Bible makes no distinction between practical and theoretical possibilities.  The expressions “cannot” and “will not” are used interchangeably, saying at times of various people that they “will not hearken,” (Lev 26:27) and of the same people that they “cannot hearken.” (Jer 6:10)

In matters of moral weight, if it is said that one “cannot” do something, it means that this is a self-imposed restriction. We know this, because humans were created in the “image” of God, (Gen 1:26 freely able to choose whom they would serve, whether to sin or to righteousness. (Josh 24:15, Rom 6:16)  In other words, a Christian “cannot” commit sin because he has chosen to walk in the spirit, and not in the flesh, “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Rom 8:4)

Just as it was with Christ, it is theoretically possible to do some known, wrong act, but it is a practical impossibility.  Luke was speaking with someone recently about the Victory message, and he shared with me some of how the conversation went.  The individual with whom he was speaking put it very well.  He said, essentially, “There is no way I would commit a known sin.”  That is exactly what the Bible means by “cannot;” that, “there is no way.”  We may just as correctly say, “There is no way I would ever drink poison.”  Of course we have arms capable of lifting a vial of poison to our mouths, and we have mouths and throats to swallow, but our very human nature restricts us (unless we are suicidal) from knowingly doing something that will result in our deaths.  We may, theoretically, do such a thing, but there is “no way” we ever would.  This is how the Bible, when speaking of moral issues, uses the term “cannot.”  Are there any questions on this entry?

Conversation

This is an interesting word.  It does not require a lot of explanation, only a mention that in the language of the earlier translations of the Bible, this word did not mean (as it does today) merely that which you speak.  It also means the way in which you act, think and the overall picture you present to others who are observing you.

In other words, when the Scriptures say, “But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation,” (1Pet 1:15) it does not refer merely to the spoken word (although this idea is definitely included) but to all manner of dealings including social, business and casual.

Dignity

This word is actually not very common in the Bible.  It appears only four times in the King James’ Version, and all in the Old Testament.  Twice, in Gen 49:3 and Hab 1:7, it has the meaning of “exaltation,” or “loftiness;” it has a similar meaning in Ecclesiastes 10:6, although it is there translated from another word.  In Esther 6:3, it means “honor,” such as that which may be bestowed upon an important figure.

Modern use includes all those meanings, but also adds a connotation of composure; in other words, to handle something “with dignity” means to react in a calm and thoughtful manner.  While not appearing in the following passage, Peter’s advice to Christians certainly comes down to a call for Christian dignity in our actions: “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; having your conversation honest among the Gentiles, that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (1Pet 2:11, 12) Remembering what “conversation” means, we find this is certainly good – necessary – advice for all who would be witnesses of Christ Yahshua.

Faith

This one could also be listed as “belief,” because the word is the same in the language of Scripture.  Simply put, the Bible uses this term in a very general way to indicate an individual’s assurance that something is a certain way, and the motivation that this provides for action.  It does not always mean genuine or saving faith, only an acceptance of something as true.  For example, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well. The devils also believe, and tremble.” (James 2:19)

There are some religions that believe, or have faith (same word) that there is only one God.  The Jews, the Muslims, and even some pagan religions, are monotheistic, or nearly so.  They believe that there is only one God.  That is good, so far as it goes, but as James points out, merely having faith in this one aspect of the Creator, that He is one, does not qualify one for salvation.  The devils, the fallen angels, are also monotheists, because they know (from experience) that there is only one Elohim.

The Scriptures, however, speak about a very special kind of faith, a faith in, and of, the Savior; and this is the faith that leads to eternal life.  We read, “But the Scripture hath concluded [grouped together] all under sin, that the promise by faith of Yahshua the Messiah might be given to them that believe.” (Gal 3:22)  And, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Yahshua.” (Rev 14:12)

Nowadays, even this kind of faith is poorly understood, because people will agree with the first part of the definition, that it is a conviction that something is true.  They leave out, unfortunately, the second weight of meaning this term carried in the ancient mind, that belief was also a motivating factor behind actions.  It is not enough, in Bible terminology, to accept something as true intellectually, and particularly so when it comes to the faith of Yahshua.  Some will quote Romans 10:9 and think that this is the whole thought: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Yahshua, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

But Paul goes on to explain exactly what he means by “believe in thine heart,” saying, “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom 10:10)  True belief, according to the apostle, leads to two outward signs of its existence: Righteousness, which is “correctness of thinking feeling, and acting,” and Confession, an open testimony of our state.  In other words, is religion, according to Paul, a “personal” thing in that it is to be kept private?

Not at all… the religion of Christ must be the most public of things, and only those who are ashamed of the things they claim to be true will use, as an excuse to remain neutral or silent, the statement that “Faith is a personal thing.”  In a sense the statement is true, because we must accept it as individual persons, being individually saved… but that is where the individual nature of it ends.  After that we are a part of a community, a fellowship of earthly saints with “an innumerable company of angels,” (Heb 12:22) and a royal nation whose greatest obligation is to teach the world what it knows about Yahweh, and openly so.

Fear

To the world, fear is associated with the desire to avoid something.  The Bible uses the word in this sense when speaking of worldlings, as John writes, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” (1John 4:18)  Love, pure and divine love, casts out all worldly fear.  Yet the Bible also uses the word, when speaking of saints, of a different kind of fear than that which is cast out by true love.

In fact, to have both love and godly fear are a requirement for the service of Heaven.  We read, all in one verse, “And now, Israel, what doth Yahweh thy God require of thee? But to fear Yahweh thy Almighty, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve Yahweh thy Almighty with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” (Deu 10:12)  This is the verse partially quoted by Yahshua in Matthew in response to the question, “Which is the first [i.e., greatest] commandment of all?” (Mat 12:28-30)

We are told to both love and fear Yah, and when used of the Redeemed, it does not have to do with “torment” as John describes of those not yet made perfect in love, but with worship.

The words awful, terror, terrible – these also might have had entries here, except that they are associated directly with fear, so they appear all together here.  Awful originally meant, as you can still understand from its spelling, “full of awe,” or capable of inducing overwhelming feelings.  It now has a strictly negative connotation in modern English.  Terror, caused by something terrible, was likewise a word used to describe great feeling towards either something extremely good or extremely bad.  This is why the translators could rightly describe Yahweh as a “terrible” God. (Deu 7:21)

Firstfruits

This word has a wide variety of applications in the Scriptures.  It may mean the first of the crops to be harvested, a section of the land’s wealth that was specifically dedicated to Yahweh.  We read of that usage here: “And Yahweh spake unto Moses, saying, ‘Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest; and he shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh, to be accepted for you.  On the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.’” (Lev 23:9-11)

The firstfruits were also a type of Christ.  As the first, and best, of the harvest, Yahshua represented the “last Adam,” who would overcome where the former had failed, (1Cor 15:45) and in so doing bring with Him a “harvest” from the earth. (Rev 14:15, 16)  Because of the “type/antitype” symbolism applied from the firstfruits to Christ, we are given the ability to clear up the length of time that Yahshua was in the grave, avoiding the “third day” vs. “three days and three nights” controversy altogether, understanding both of these to simply be different, idiomatic ways of saying the same thing.  Paul writes of Christ, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” (1Cor 15:3, 4)

There are no “Scriptures” that speak specifically about a human rising again on a third day.  The only way we can understand this is to look for a symbol that represents Christ, and fortunately it is Paul himself who supplies it, writing in that very chapter that, “Christ [is] risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” (1Cor 15:20)  Going to the Old Testament to see what we can see about “firstfruits” and a “third day,” we read that on the “morrow after the Sabbath,” the “third day” (inclusive) from the Passover, the “wave sheaf” of the firstfruits was offered to Yah. (Lev 23:15)

The historian Josephus, who lived at the time of Christ, reveals that this was indeed done on the 16^th of Nisan, three inclusive days after the Passover on the 14^th. [Antiquities of The Jews, Book III, Chapter X, Paragraph 5]

So the Firstfruits may be the literal first part of the harvest.  It may symbolically be applied to Christ.  It may also, in a third sense, be applied to individuals who are worthy examples for others to follow.  Paul commends a Church member by calling him “wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.” (Rom 16:5)  In another epistle he compliments “the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia” (1Cor 16:15) In Revelation, the prophet sees the 144,000 as “the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.” (Rev 14:4) In all these cases, the connotations of this word include primary, excellent, the very best of all that may be offered.

Grace

In modern Christendom, the word “grace” almost means, “Permission to do evil.”  It is never openly defined this way, of course, but that is the connotation it is given.  We hear, “Oh, we don’t have to obey [the law, God all the time, the Bible’s every applicable instruction, the Old Testament, etc.] because we are under grace.”  I am sure we have all heard this, or versions of this, as we have spoken to others about the faith of Yahshua.

Biblically, however, Grace is far different from licentiousness, using Yahweh’s mercy as “license” to commit spiritual crimes.  We are told that “Yahweh is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty.” (Num 14:18a) Paul speaks of those who abuse the “riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.” (Rom 2:4)  This is very important!  The grace of Yahweh, the undeserved favor, the un-earned gift of his mercy and longsuffering, is not given to men that they might sin, but that they might be led to repentance.  This is true in two ways: first, it allows us to see His forgiving nature that we might desire to emulate it and surrender our previous life of sin; and second, it gives us time to repent, for a sinner is immediately worthy of death, “in the day”5:28 that he becomes guilty. (Gen 2:17)

If we understand these aspects of Yah’s longsuffering and mercy, then we realize that the grace by which these are provided is rightly described by Ezra when speaking of the earthly temple:  “And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from Yahweh our Almighty, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.” (Ezra 9:8)  Spiritually speaking, this is precisely what grace is to every human being.