A word on obedience for ALL....

In this week’s Torah portion we see one of my favorite scriptures - Numbers 15:13-16, where YHWH says four times in a row there is NO difference between His people and anyone else who chooses to accept Him as their God.  ALL must obey His Torah.

Numbers 15:13 "'Every citizen is to do these things in this way when presenting an offering made by fire as a fragrant aroma for ADONAI. 14 If a foreigner stays with you - or whoever may be with you, through all your generations - and he wants to bring an offering made by fire as a fragrant aroma for ADONAI, he is to do the same as you. 15 For this community there will be the same law for you as for the foreigner living with you; this is a permanent regulation through all your generations; the foreigner is to be treated the same way before ADONAI as yourselves. 16 The same Torah and standard of judgment will apply to both you and the foreigner living with you.'" (CJB)

Then He goes on to reiterate it further on in that same chapter:

Numbers 15:28 The cohen will make atonement before ADONAI for the person who makes a mistake by sinning inadvertently; he will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven - 29 no matter whether he is a citizen of Isra'el or a foreigner living with them. You are to have one law for whoever it is that does something wrong by mistake. (CJB)

YHWH never ever suggested that the Gentiles were to have different rules.  Even after Yeshua was “crucified” that never changed YHWH’s Torah/Instructions in Righteousness. He never said He would have different rules for His natural and adopted children!

Note that “deliberate” sinning is NOT forgiven. CHOSING to ignore YHWH's Divine Rules is a sin which can and will cause eternal separation from Him.  If you know the ELOHIM you serve and you have the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit) living within, you are never supposed to commit intentional sin.  (If you do, you will be forcing YHWH to “sin” with you…Please think about that.)

Numbers 15:30 "'But an individual who does something wrong intentionally, whether a citizen or a foreigner, is blaspheming ADONAI. That person will be cut off from his people. 31 Because he has had contempt for the word of ADONAI and has disobeyed his command, that person will be cut off completely; his offense will remain with him.'"  (CJB)

Hebrews 6: 4. But they who have once descended to immersion and have tasted the gift from heaven and have received the Ruach haKodesh 5. and have tasted the good Word of Elohim and the power of the world to come, 6. cannot again sin and a second time be renewed to repentance; or a second time execute him on a stake and insult the Son of Elohim. 7. For the earth that drinks the rain which comes often upon it and produces the herb that is of use to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from Elohim. 8. But if it should put forth thorns and briers, it would be discarded and be approaching closely to a curse, and its end would be a conflagration. (AENT)

NOTE: Huge contrast between Aramaic and Greek. The Greek reads: "once having been enlightened..." This "enlightening" seems logical until we look at Aramaic: "But they who have once descended to immersion..." The difference is acute, since baptism is clearly a subject being introduced just two verses earlier. The reason for the Greek redaction to "enlightenment" may well have been due to early Gnostic influence that stressed Mashiyach's knowledge over his actual power and incarnation of Deity. See also Hebrews 10:32.

Hebrews 10: 26 For if we deliberately continue to sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but only the terrifying prospect of Judgment, or raging fire that will consume the enemies. (CJB)

The above Scripture is not referring to those unclean bondages that dwell in our flesh but to the “conscious” choices believers make. It refers not to our unintentional sins but to those we pursue knowingly and willingly!

How many of today's believers behave in a way they know is sinful and yet they go ahead and do what they feel like doing, anyway? That's because they mistakenly think Divine grace covers intentional sin. That is a huge misconception! Divine grace has made wonderful provision for unintentional sin. But there is no provision for intentional sin. The Bible tells us so.

2 Peter 2:17. These are wells without water, clouds driven by a storm, persons for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness.  18. For, while they utter astonishing vanity, they seduce with obscene lusts of the flesh, them who have almost abandoned these that walk in error.  19. And they promise them liberty while they themselves are the slaves of corruption: for, by whatever thing a man is vanquished, to that is he enslaved.  20. For if, when they have escaped the pollutions of the world by the knowledge of our Master and Redeemer Y’shua the Mashiyach, they become again involved in the same and are vanquished, their latter state is worse than the former.  21. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after having known (it), to turn back from the Set Apart Commandment that was delivered to them.  22. But the true proverb has happened to them: the dog returns to his vomit and the pig that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire. (AENT)

Deliberate, premeditated sin is willful disobedience and rebellion against our ELOHIM. It results in severe punishment or even loss of our salvation.

Leviticus 26: 23 If, in spite of all this, you refuse my correction and still go against me; then I too will go against you; and I, yes I, will strike you seven times over for your sins.  (CJB)

1 Corinthians 6: 9. Or don't you know, that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of Elohim?* Make no mistake! Neither sexual sinners, nor idol-worshippers, nor adulterers, nor the corrupt, nor men who lay down with other men, 10. Nor the oppressors, nor thieves, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, will inherit the Kingdom of Elohim. (AENT)

FOOTNOTE: Compare this to Matthew 5:17-20, where we are told that breaking the least commandment of Torah and teaching others to do the same makes a person "least in the kingdom" but they still get in. Y'shua implies that those with more serious sins won't make it in: "Depart from me, workers of iniquity, I never knew you"; but here, Rav Shaul gives a more specific list of what will keep them out.

1 Corinthians 6: 17. But he that joins himself to our Master (Y'shua), is with him one spirit. 18. Flee from sexual sin. For every (other) sin which a man commits, is external to his body*; but he that commits sexual sin, sins against his own body. (AENT)

FOOTNOTE:Actually the sexual sin goes deeper than the body, as the note on Romans 1:26 shows. But the other point is also that a sexual sinner brings sin upon himself rather than his partner, and vice versa, unless rape or abuse is involved.


It is not sin per se that causes a person who professes to be a believer to be eternally estranged from YHWH but, rather, it is our surrender to sin which causes our faith and faithfulness to dim or completely die out.

We flirt with spiritual disaster if we - by our thoughts, words, and conduct - deny Messiah, reject grace, spurn redemption, and push away the Holy Spirit.

Under the Old Covenant, YHWH put to death people who willingly disobeyed His commands or offered "strange fire" (Lev. 10:1-2). There was no atonement for intentional sin - and there still isn't. All of the sin offerings of the Levitical Law were for unintentional sin.

Case in point, Numbers 15:32-35 tells us: While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, and they kept him in custody because it was not clear what should be done to him. Then YHWH said to Moses, "The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp".

The man who sinned willingly was not deceived in any way. He was not driven by uncontrollable impulses. He simply decided to ignore what God had said about the Sabbath. His reward was death.

Leviticus 4: 27 If an individual among the people commits a sin inadvertently, doing something against any of the mitzvot of ADONAI concerning things which should not be done, he is guilty.  (CJB)

Since the death of Y'shua, people are no longer put to death for their sins.  However, as we see above, the ultimate consequences for DELIBERATE and CONTINUED sinning ultimately result in eternal death/separation from YHWH/Y'shua.

For more, please see our article on “deliberate sinning” ....