Does Hebrews 8 suggest Torah is no longer valid?

SOMEONE RECENTLY WROTE TO MY WEBSITE to inform me that Hebrews 8:13 supposedly proves that Torah is no longer valid, and he offered the following passage as proof:

Hebrews 8: 13 "In that he saith, A new "covenant", he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." (KJV)

MY RESPONSE:

Good Bible students recognize that Hebrews 8 refers back to Jeremiah 31:31-34, which says the following:

Jeremiah 31: 31 "Here, the days are coming," says ADONAI, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Isra'el and with the house of Y'hudah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers on the day I took them by their hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt; because they, for their part, violated my covenant, even though I, for my part, was a husband to them," says ADONAI.

33 "For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Isra'el after those days," says ADONAI: "I will put my Torah within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people.

34 No longer will any of them teach his fellow community member or his brother, 'Know ADONAI'; for all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest; because I will forgive their wickednesses and remember their sins no more." (CJB)

SO, RETURNING TO HEBREWS 8 (specifically, verse 8:10), an astute mind would begin to wonder why YHWH would write a "decaying and vanishing covenant on our hearts"... Right?

Therefore, when we knit it all together, we can see that Hebrews 8 couldn't possibly suggest that the Torah is obsolete! If you read all of Chapter 8 in context, you'll see the author was implying the LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD is what is being replaced by the Messiah...

In the realization of the above, let's take a closer look at Hebrews 8 via the Hebrew mindset:

Hebrews 8: 6. But now, Y'shua the Mashiyach has received a ministry which is better than that: as also the covenant of which he is made the Mediator is better, and is given with better promises than the former. 7. For, if the first (covenant) had been faultless, there would have been no place for this second (one).

8. For he rebukes them and says: Behold the days come, says Master YHWH, when I will complete with the family of the house of Israel and with the family of the house of Yehuda, a renewed covenant;[1] 9. not like the covenant which I gave to their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt; (and) because they continued not in my covenant, I also rejected them, says Master YHWH.

10. But this is the covenant which I will give to the family of the house of Israel after those days, says Master YHWH: I will put my Torah in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts; and I will be to them a Elohim, and they will be to me a people. 11. And one will not teach his son of the city[2] nor his brother, nor say: You shall know your Master YHWH: because they will all know me, from the youngest of them to the oldest. 12. And I will forgive them their iniquity; and their sins will I remember no more. 13. In that he said a Renewed (Covenant), he made the first old; and that which is old and decaying, is near to disappearing. [3] (AENT)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Most seem to forget that without the first covenant, the second one is impossible! In very short order Rav Shaul (Paul) will quote Jeremiah 31:31-34, indicating that the Renewed Covenant is a contingency triggered by, and deriving authority from, the first covenant. YHWH declared that the Ancient Covenant He made with Israel was good; it was to bring life, but the people of Israel chose to willfully break this Covenant and treat it as a vain thing. See Deuteronomy 32:46, 47.

[2] The phrase in Aramaic is bar medintheh, which literally means "son of his city" but idiomatically carries the meaning of "fellow citizen, neighbor" and most definitely a metaphor Greek does not have. This fact puts Peshitta well before the end of the Second Century when the mistranslated Greek texts were done. It is also important to note that this is the last book of the Eastern canon. As a result, the entire collection must have circulated prior to this very early date.

[3] The context is Jeremiah 31:31-34, what is "near to disappearing" is the sinful nature of man that breaks Torah, not the standard of Torah. Remember that we broke Torah, not YHWH!

YHWH did not drop the standard of Torah because Israel chose disobedience; rather, He installed a Renewed Covenant to write Torah upon the heart through the work of the Ruach haKodesh, according to Mashiyach.

The fact of the matter is that in Mashiyach, YHWH raised the bar; He magnified Torah; see Isaiah 42:21. Because mankind broke Covenant, YHWH requires complete renovation on our part, not YHWH's part of the Covenant. This verse in its twisted form, became one of the "crown jewels" of Torahless Christianity which teaches that Torah is decaying and is near to disappearing, but nothing could be farther from the truth. See 2 Peter 3:16.

A note for those who don’t believe in keeping the Seventh Day Sabbath…

Folks, Scripture speaks for itself. Please take a look:

Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, along with everything in them. 2 On the seventh day God was finished with his work which he had made, so he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 God blessed the seventh day and separated it as holy; because on that day God rested from all his work which he had created, so that it itself could produce. (CJB)

NOTE in the above that He "BLESSED the Seventh Day and separated it as holy"... (The Seventh Day on our Gregorian calendars falls on Saturday.)

Exodus 31:16 The people of Isra'el are to keep the Shabbat, to observe Shabbat through all their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between me and the people of Isra'el forever; for in six days ADONAI made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and rested.'" (CJB)

NOTE:  Since God’s people AND the “grafted-in” are “one in Messiah” ((Ephesians 2:15 and Galatians 3:28), this means ALL who accept the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are required to keep God’s Seventh Day Sabbath HOLY!

Ezekiel 20:11 I gave them my laws and showed them my rulings; if a person obeys them, he will have life through them. 12 I gave them my shabbats as a sign between me and them, so that they would know that I, ADONAI, am the one who makes them holy. (CJB)

Exodus 20:8 "Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for God. 9 You have six days to labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Shabbat for ADONAI your God. On it, you are not to do any kind of work -not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property. 11 For in six days, ADONAI made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why ADONAI blessed the day, Shabbat, and separated it for himself. (CJB)

Isaiah 56: 2 Happy is the person who does this, anyone who grasps it firmly, who keeps Shabbat and does not profane it, and keeps himself from doing any evil. 3 A foreigner joining ADONAI should not say, "ADONAI will separate me from his people"; likewise the eunuch should not say, "I am only a dried-up tree." 4 For here is what ADONAI says: "As for the eunuchs who keep my Shabbats, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant: 5 in my house, within my walls, I will give them power and a name greater than sons and daughters; I will give him an everlasting name that will not be cut off.

6 "And the foreigners who join themselves to ADONAI to serve him, to love the name of ADONAI, and to be his workers, all who keep Shabbat and do not profane it, and hold fast to my covenant, 7 I will bring them to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples." (CJB)

Isaiah 58: 13 If you hold back your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call Shabbat a delight, ADONAI'S holy day, worth honoring; then honor it by not doing your usual things or pursuing your interests or speaking about them. 14 If you do, you will find delight in ADONAI - I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Ya'akov, for the mouth of ADONAI has spoken." (CJB)

Isaiah 66: 23 And it shall be that from one New Moon to another New Moon and from one Sabbath to another Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before Me, says the Lord. (CJB)

Jeremiah 17: 21 Here is what ADONAI says: "If you value your lives, don't carry anything on Shabbat or bring it in through the gates of Yerushalayim; 22 don't carry anything out of your houses on Shabbat; and don't do any work. Instead, make Shabbat a holy day. I ordered your ancestors to do this, 23 but they neither listened nor paid attention; rather, they stiffened their necks, so that they wouldn't have to hear or receive instruction. 24 However, if you will pay careful heed to me," says ADONAI "and carry nothing through the gates of this city on Shabbat, but instead make Shabbat a day which is holy and not for doing work; (CJB)

THERE ARE MORE PASSAGES, but hopefully the ones I posted here will suffice. Just please remember that, when ADONAI commands something, it should never be ignored.

It is unfortunate that most people don't seem to realize that some common sense is needed when reading Scriptures. For instance, we today, cannot possibly (nor are we expected to) keep all 613 original commands.

Why? Because they didn't all pertain to "everybody!" Most were meant for the Levite Priests, while some were meant only for men and others only for women...

However, we should definitely pay attention to those that we CAN keep ... the ones that have the word "forever" or "throughout your generations" attached to them. They were never meant "just for the Jews!" (Remember, there were 12 tribes in the desert with Moshe for 40 years - along with myriad foreigners" who had followed Israel out of Egypt ... and they were told to obey "exactly as" God's people did... See Numbers 15:13-16.)

The truth is, if you believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then you are "grafted in" and required to keep God's "forever" commands. (For proof, re-read all the above mentioned passages and Numbers 15: 13-16, and Deuteronomy 31:11-12.)

Did you know that the “cock” that crowed at “just the time” was NOT a rooster?

Did you know that the “cock”that crowed at the appointed time was NOT a rooster?

Matthew 26:34. Y’shua said to him, Truly I say to you, that in this night before the cock crows you will deny me three times. (AENT)

The Greek translations would have you believe that it would be a rooster crowing ... but the truth is this: the Aramaic word used was "gaver" which is a slang term for "cock" or "rooster" - referring to the town crier blowing his shofar (ram's horn). ”

The "gaver" was responsible for opening the temple before dawn and calling out loudly, two or three times to announce the early morning services. So, the reality is, "the cock crowed" simply referred to the town crier doing his job.

A mini-lesson on the importance of holiness in the Presence of ADONAI: never offer “strange fire”…

Leviticus 10:1-3 provides a tiny inkling of what transpired during the consecration of Aharon (Aaron) and his sons, who were killed on the spot for adding "unauthorized fire before ADONAI":

Leviticus 10: 1 But Nadav and Avihu, sons of Aharon, each took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and offered unauthorized fire before ADONAI, something he had not ordered them to do. 2 At this, fire came forth from the presence of ADONAI and consumed them, so that they died in the presence of ADONAI. Moshe said to Aharon, "This is what ADONAI said: 'Through those who are near me I will be consecrated, and before all the people I will be glorified.'" Aharon kept silent. (CJB)

Before I continue, please note that Nadav and Avihu were certainly NOT guilty of worshiping other gods or being purposely disrespectful; they apparently thought Yahweh would be pleased if they added, or did something spontaneous, to honor Him.

But He wasn’t, and for that, they lost their lives.

Can you even begin to imagine how Aharon felt in that moment when he saw his sons lying dead on the floor?

We are told Aharon was too stunned to speak over the deaths of his sons. As a matter of fact, he and the others were so distraught, they couldn't even bring themselves to eat the goat of the sin offering as Moshe had ordered (Leviticus 16-20). How unimaginably tragic and shocking it must have been for Aharon yet, as high priest, he had no choice but to carry on with the holy activities!

What the incense or the “strange fire” actually was is really anybody’s guess; but the fact remains that the two new cohanim (priests) clearly did something that displeased Yahweh, something He had not commanded them to do while honoring Him. Therefore, we have no choice but to realize that they obviously disregarded God’s commands and treated the holy things casually, as if they could approach God on their own terms.

This reveals just how serious an offense it can be when we “add to” or “subtract from” what He commanded! We simply cannot decide to make up our own stuff, and expect ADONAI to bless it…

As hard as it is to hear, unlike most priests, pastors and rabbis who are often prone to "think carnally" and overlook "little indiscretions," YHWH our God shows over and over again that He is NOT tolerant of anything that adds to or subtracts from His Word! (This is why we at The Refiner's Fire constantly reiterate the importance of stopping the nonsense of "religiosity" which insists it's okay for believers to ignore the commanded Seventh Day Sabbath and the Biblical Feasts and to eat "unclean" foods. (Since we are “one in Messiah” it would be a smart idea to apply the “same God, same rules” concept whenever possible.)

In conclusion:

Experiencing our ancestors through human emotions helps us to see them (and history) in a completely different light, doesn’t it? If you haven’t already done so, in the future, try putting yourself into each Bible story, to really get to KNOW the people who lived centuries ago.

And remember to never take lightly your worship of our Living God who expects pure holiness…

Leviticus 11: 44 For I am ADONAI your God; therefore, consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy…. 45 For I am ADONAI, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. Therefore you are to be holy, because I am holy. (CJB)

A deeper explanation of Passover…

The following was borrowed from “Yael’s Letters”…

Israel’s Firstborn, God’s Son, and the Beloved Son at the Cross

Counting of the Omer – Day 7

The story of Passover is not just about deliverance. It is about the firstborn, and that detail is not incidental.

From the very beginning of the Exodus narrative, God frames the entire confrontation with Pharaoh around identity, inheritance, and sonship.

Before the plagues intensify, before the sea opens, before freedom becomes visible, God defines Israel with a title that carries covenant weight.

“Israel is my firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22).

In the ancient world, the firstborn is not simply the first child in a family. The firstborn represents authority, inheritance, continuity, and the future of the father’s house.

What belongs to the father passes through the firstborn. The name, the blessing, and the responsibility all converge there.

So, when God calls Israel His firstborn, He is not speaking sentimentally. He is making a covenantal claim.

Pharaoh’s refusal to release Israel is therefore not just political resistance. It is a rejection of God’s declared sonship. And God’s response mirrors the offense with exact precision.

“If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son” (Exodus 4:23).

This is not arbitrary judgment. It is measured justice, answering defiance with a response that exposes the weight of what has been rejected.

When the final plague comes, it is not generalized destruction.

It is targeted, deliberate, and focused on the firstborn in every household, from Pharaoh’s throne to the lowest servant.

“Every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die” (Exodus 11:5).

The strike is not random. It is aimed at inheritance itself, at the future of every house.

And yet, in the middle of that judgment, a distinction is made that cuts deeper than ethnicity, status, or lineage. The dividing line is not who you are, but what covers you.

A lamb is chosen, examined, and killed. Its blood is placed on the doorposts and lintel, marking the threshold of the home. When judgment passes through the land, it does not pause to evaluate identity or intention. It responds to the covering.

“When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:13).

This establishes a pattern that is both simple and severe. The firstborn either dies or is covered. There is no third category.

That reality sharpens the tension in the story.

Israel is called God’s firstborn, yet Israel is also spared only through the blood of a lamb. The identity is real, but the protection still requires substitution. Even the firstborn of God must be covered.

This is not a contradiction. It is a revelation of how covenant operates.

From that point forward, the firstborn belongs to God in a unique and costly way.

“Consecrate to me all the firstborn” (Exodus 13:2).

The firstborn is claimed, set apart, and often redeemed through sacrifice. The principle becomes embedded in Israel’s understanding: the firstborn carries weight, the firstborn is costly, and the firstborn cannot be treated casually.

As the narrative unfolds, the language of sonship begins to deepen and narrow.

Israel is called God’s son, but within Israel there are firstborn, and within that structure a greater pattern is forming. By the time we reach the Psalms and the prophets, the idea of “the Son” begins to take on a more focused, forward-looking shape.

“You are my Son; today I have begotten you” (Psalm 2:7).

What began as a national identity is becoming personal, prophetic, and anticipatory.

When we arrive at the Gospels, that anticipation resolves into a declaration and at Yeshua’s baptism, a voice from heaven identifies Him unmistakably.

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

The language is intentional. The beloved Son stands in continuity with Israel, but also in fulfillment of what Israel was always meant to embody.

Matthew makes this connection explicit when he writes, “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Matthew 2:15).

Yeshua is not separate from Israel’s story. He is walking it out, carrying it, and bringing it to its intended completion. The identity of “firstborn” is no longer just corporate. It is concentrated in a person.

This is why the timing of the crucifixion matters. The final week does not unfold randomly. It aligns precisely with Passover. The Lamb is chosen, examined, and found without blemish. Everything about the moment echoes the instructions given in Exodus, but now the pattern is intensifying.

At the first Passover, the firstborn in Egypt dies, and the firstborn in Israel lives because a lamb dies in its place.

At the cross, that structure turns in a way that should stop us. The Son, the true Firstborn, the beloved Son, becomes the One who dies.

The direction has reversed.

No longer does the lamb die so the firstborn can live. Now the Firstborn Himself becomes the Lamb.

This is why Paul can say, “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). He is not borrowing imagery. He is identifying fulfillment.

The categories that once stood side by side have now merged into one person. The Lamb and the Firstborn are no longer separate roles. They are embodied together.

This changes the entire frame of the story. The question is no longer simply who holds the position of firstborn. The question becomes who stands under the covering that the Firstborn Himself has provided.

At the cross, the judgment that once moved through Egypt moves again, but this time it falls on the Son. Not because He deserves it, but because He stands in the place of those who are covered by His blood. The substitution that was patterned in Exodus reaches its full expression here.

The pattern is complete.

This is why Scripture calls Him “the firstborn of all creation” and “the firstborn from the dead” (Colossians 1:15, 18).

He is not only first in rank, but first through death and out the other side. He is the Firstborn who enters death and the Firstborn who rises beyond it, carrying others with Him.

And just as in Egypt, the dividing line remains unchanged. It is still the blood.

The story that began in Exodus finds its fulfillment at the cross. The themes of firstborn, lamb, judgment, and covering are not separate ideas. They converge into a single moment where the Son stands in the place of many, and the weight of substitution is no longer symbolic, but complete.

So, when we read Passover, we are not just reading history. We are reading a pattern that was always moving forward. And when we look at the cross, we are not simply witnessing an execution. We are seeing the Firstborn take the place of the firstborn.

And because He does, those who are covered live.

Does God really hate dogs?

SOMEONE ONCE SENT AN EMAIL TO MY WEBSITE TO INFORM ME THAT GOD HATES DOGS - and as "proof" he provided Matthew 7:6 and Revelation 22:15...

I was left speechless over that ridiculous train of thought, but it also made me realize how easily Scripture can be misunderstood, taken out of context and downright twisted (which explains why there are some 50,000 different Christian denominations, and myriad Hebrew Roots and Messianic sects, each believing themselves to have cornered the market on ADONAI's Truth.

And so, to help weed through the Greek and/or other "interpretations" of the Word, I decided to write this short explanation of the context of those two passages from the Hebrew viewpoint:

Matthew 7: 6. You should not hang earrings on dogs and you should not place your pearls before pigs that they should not trample them by their feet and they overtake and wound you. (AENT)

Revelation 22:15. Without (will be) dogs and sorcerers, and whoremongers and manslayers and idolaters, and everyone that loves and does falsehood. (AENT)

The word “tithlon” (hang) was misunderstood as “talon” (to give); “qudesha” (earrings) was misunderstood as qudsha (holy). The picture of hanging earrings on dogs dovetails with giving pearls to pigs, and the symbolism of the two animal groups could not be clearer, as dogs represent apostate Jews, and the pigs, apostate Gentiles who are ignorant of YHWH and His Torah.

Either way, the lesson here is do not give what is precious to those who will not appreciate the value. It's got nothing, whatsoever, to do with God "hating dogs"....

THE MORAL OF THIS LITTLE ARTICLE IS:

Be very careful about whom you choose to believe, as there are many opinionated people "out there" making wild accusations on things about which they know absolutely nothing.

...And yes, they ARE ready, willing and able to take their "truth" and trample you to death with it, tearing you to pieces verbally ... all while believing themselves to be doing God's Work.

Some musings about “lost folks” on this overcast and cloudy day…

I’m so sad for all the lost people of this world, because they don’t realize they are lost (they don’t even know the meaning of that word!); and nothing you can say or do will change their minds. I can’t even imagine the pain Yahweh or His Divine Messiah experience from the constant rejection!

However, as you all know, the Bible warns us about what those types will do at the very mention of “God”:

Matthew 7:6“Don’t give to dogs what is holy, and don’t throw your pearls to the pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, then turn and attack you.” (CJB)

Truer words were never spoken! My Facebook post on April 6 about “gender issues” is proof of that, as most of the comments were downright vile and disgusting – made by those who troll around Facebook in hopes of finding people to verbally attack.

(Ironically, when checking out some of their profiles, you can see that they spend an enormous amount of time and energy discussing the very Entity they proclaim to hate! While their comments are meant to be derogatory, they don’t even seem to realize the irony of the fact that HE is always on their minds!)

Anyway, the attacks on my April 6 post were seemingly endless, and after a couple of days, instead of leaving it open for “Public,” I decided to make the post for “Friends Only” because, over the past couple of decades, I’ve learned that anything we can possibly say about God and the Bible is met with hostility, fights and arguments. It’s a total waste of time.

The only GOOD news in this is that the detractors – if nothing else – at least SAW the post, which means “seeds were sown!” So, there’s that…

Truth is, their “spirit” recognizes OUR Spirit, and it makes them angry, because they have absolutely NO clue what we’re talking about – yet, something inside of them spurs them into a blind rage and an unquenching desire fight and rant and viciously argue their respective viewpoints with anyone they can entice into a verbal duel.

Those people don’t (and can’t) realize that their actions illustrate the rude and crude behavior of this fallen world” (Genesis 3:17, Romans 8:22) in which we live; as "the world" - which is run by Satan (2 Cor 4:4; John 12:31, 14:30, and 16:11), has been busy trying to normalize things that are, in the Eyes of our Heavenly Father, totally abnormal, evil and even downright abominable.

As is obvious to anyone with “eyes to see and ears to hear,” EVIL is rampant, and myriads of lost souls are busy spewing forth hatred and force-feeding their garbage down the world’s collective throat, in hopes of getting us to accept evil as “good” and “normal.”  The “powers-that-be” INSIST we accept it, no matter how disgusting or ridiculous! 

It’s forced on us EVERYWHERE, not just on television or in the movies, but also in stores, restaurants, schools and other public places. (I mean, it’s pretty pathetic to discover, for instance, that bakeries that refuse to put a “same sex couple” on their cakes, can be put out of business!)

Unfortunately, this has been working (in part, because people like former President Obama insisted “wrong” was to be considered “right and acceptable,” and “right” was now a thing of the past…

We Believers have, for some decades now (pretty much since the advent of TV and movies and the behaviors of the elite – Hollywood’s “Rich and Famous)” been mentally raped into “acceptance” and “tolerance!”

But the bottom line is, “abnormal” is NOT normal, and never will be - no matter how much anyone wants to whitewash it!  The Bible – for good reason - tells us what constitutes “evil” and even outlines its “ripple effects.”  “Bad” is NEVER a “good” thing, period!

Anyway, this "forcing us to accept the abnormal" has been going on for the last few decades now - and in short, it's maddening. As far as I’m concerned, it reveals that God has removed His Mighty Hand from the world, and is allowing mankind to wallow in our own muck.

The Books of Daniel and Revelation are literally unfolding before our very eyes; and everything that is happening today, reveals that Satan is VERY busy and seems to be winning the race for now.  That’s why Believers must keep our minds stayed on the TRUTH that at least 300 Bible prophecies have already come pass … and we are quickly heading toward the ones that tell us how THE BOOK ends, where Yeshua returns to rule and reign for a thousand years; and at the end, Satan (and his followers) ARE GOING TO LAND in the Lake of Fire!

What many don’t realize is that Messiah Yeshua has so far fulfilled FOUR of the SEVEN Biblical Festivals (ADONAI’s Appointed Times) in perfect sequence, and the next one will be what Christians are calling “the Rapture.” (Please see my article .) Judging by everything that is happening in today’s crazy, war-ridden world, I personally don’t believe Yeshua will be tarrying much longer…

That is why Believers MUST stand firm for Yahweh's TRUTH! We don’t need to engage in fights and arguments; we just need to present HIS Truth! (Just make sure the Truth you present lines up with the Bible, instead of personal opinions.)  The Bible is REALITY; it speaks for itself. It promises that one day, EVERY KNEE WILL BOW! (Philippians 2:5-11)

In the meantime, we will simply have to keep watching events unfold, and putting up with the attacks of the “lost souls of this world” and all the things foretold in the Bible …  things like the ones outlined in just this one example:

Romans 1: 22 Claiming to be wise, they have become fools! 23 In fact, they have exchanged the glory of the immortal God for mere images, like a mortal human being, or like birds, animals or reptiles! 24 This is why God has given them up to the vileness of their hearts' lusts, to the shameful misuse of each other's bodies. 25 They have exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, by worshiping and serving created things, rather than the Creator - praised be he for ever. Amen.

26 This is why God has given them up to degrading passions; so that their women exchange natural sexual relations for unnatural; 27 and likewise the men, giving up natural relations with the opposite sex, burn with passion for one another, men committing shameful acts with other men and receiving in their own persons the penalty appropriate to their perversion.

28 In other words, since they have not considered God worth knowing, God has given them up to worthless ways of thinking; so that they do improper things. 29 They are filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and vice; stuffed with jealousy, murder, quarreling, dishonesty and ill-will; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God; they are insolent, arrogant and boastful; they plan evil schemes; they disobey their parents; 31 they are brainless, faithless, heartless and ruthless.

32 They know well enough God's righteous decree that people who do such things deserve to die; yet not only do they keep doing them, but they applaud others who do the same. (CJB)

May our Heavenly Father richly bless you in your ceaseless efforts to thwart the darts of the Evil One who desires to take as many to Hell with him as possible, before he meets his fiery end!