Goal:

 

This is “Does Torah Cause Someone to Sin More? A Messianic Examination of Romans 5:20.”

 

And so, our survey of the hard-to-understand—those challenging Pauline passages—takes us in today’s installment of TMTO, to Romans 5:20.

 

And the KJV rendering reads:

 

“Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound…”

 

Now, I believe this is definitely one of those challenging and hard to understand Pauline passages that the Apostle Kefa may have been referring to when he wrote:

 

(15) And regard the patience (ie., longsuffering) of our Master as salvation, just as also our dear brother Paul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him, (16) speaking of these things (what things? All things concerning the return of Yeshua Messiah) in all his letters. Some things in these letters are hard to understand, things the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they also do to the rest of the scriptures. (NET)

 

Sadly, as you likely can already see or have previously heard, the denominationalists use our focus verse as one of many proof-positive anti-Torah Pauline passages. And so, with this verse we see yet another example of the Apostle to the Gentiles being wrongly accused of teaching and preaching a lawless grace Gospel by the traditionalists, fundamentalists, and evangelicals.

 

Our goal in this discussion is to accurately and contextually interpret Romans 5:20 and in the process challenge or oppose the denominationalists’ understanding of this verse.

 

 

 Attention:

 

But I must say from the git-go that this verse, as it is written in most English translations of the Bible, does, on the surface, seem to support these Torah-deniers.

 

 

 Need:

 

But beloved of Yah, today we intend to break this verse down to its component parts, and using the umbrella of context as it relates to the whole of the apostle’s writings, show or even prove that Rav Shaul (aka the Apostle Paul) was NOT trashing Torah, nor was he suggesting that Torah was an instrument that Yah used to cause His people to sin so that His grace would completely replace Torah in His people’s lives.

 

And so, what I need from you going forward in this discussion, is for you to recall all of the Paul and Hebrew Roots discussions we’ve posted over the course of the last couple years or so, and have them at the forefront of your minds as sort of a filter by which we may extract the true meaning of our focus verse and not be bulldozed by the false interpretation of it by our denominationalists cousins.

 

And I also need you to remember why we’re doing this when we could be spending our time reading and studying Torah. Well, unless we fully understand the role—the efficacy—the relevance of Torah in a Netzer’s (aka Messianic’s) life, no amount of Torah-studying is going to prove truly beneficial for us. And the best source for understanding the role, efficacy, and relevance of Torah in the life of Yah’s called-out-ones, I believe, is to be found in those challenging writings of Shaul.

 

Thus, it behooves us, if we are going to be true to our calling to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19), to fully understand the role Torah plays in a would-be disciple’s covenant relationship with Father Yah.

 

Furthermore, we must be equipped to “give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope that we possess” (1 Peter/Kefa 3:15; NET).

 

Yes, beloved, we will be challenged or questioned as it relates to our Torah-honoring lifestyle. Challenged or questioned by family members; friends; neighbors; employers and employees; denominationalists; truth-seekers who Abba places in our path. And it’s a fair chance that when the subject of our living a Torah-lifestyle comes up, passages such as our focus verse may be used by those outside our Faith to possibly further their anti-Torah agenda and to discredit our walk in Torah.

 

But, depending on the challenge posed (ie., is the challenger truly interested in understanding why we believe what we believe and live how we live, or is the challenger simply looking for a fight)—for that one who sincerely seeks to understand what we’re all about, for those individuals, by virtue of our Great Commission Mandate, we should be equipped and knowledgeable to explain such challenging passages, and to do so, as Kefa continues: explain what we’re all about in light of such hard to understand passages of Holy Writ “with courtesy and respect, keeping a good conscience, so that those who slander [our] good conduct in Messiah may be put to shame when they accuse you” (1 Peter 3:16; NET modified).

 

III. Satisfaction of the need:

 

So then, by the time we end our discussion here today, we will:

 

1. Have gained an understanding as to how the Denominationalists understand and explain our focus verse.
2. Have broken-down and examined our focus passage within context of what we’ve discussed so far regarding the Book of Romans.
3. Have looked at the reality of sin as it relates to Torah.
4. Looked at how sin does increase in the life of a would-be child of Yah.
5. Have arrived at an as accurate as possible interpretation of our focus passage.

 

 

 Visualization:

 

How Denominationalists Understand and Explain our Focus Passage

 

 

So then, allow me to formerly ask you: Is this Pauline passage an indictment or negative slant against Torah?

 

Well, mainstream, denominationalists seem to think so. And to a greater or lesser extent, I can understand why they may think this passage supports their anti-Torah worldview.

 

Once again, Shaul’s disjointed wording carries part of the blame here. It sort of just comes out of nowhere and hits you right upside your head. Unfortunately, the one who fails to examine this verse in its proper context with the previous parts of Shaul’s letter is almost forced to interpret it as it is written: That Yah introduced Torah so that sin may increase, requiring His grace to override that increased incidence of sin in a would-be believer’s life.

 

In other words, it’s like a local fire department going out and setting fires so that they will have the opportunity to put out those set fires. It’s like a local tire store that throws nails out on a nearby roadway so that those who run over the nails and puncture their tires are forced to purchase replacement tires from them.

 

It’s this idea that Yah had in mind a solution to humanity’s sin problem. But before He would enact that solution, He chose to first show Humanity just how bad they really were through His introducing of Torah to the world. And so, once humanity got a whiff of just how bad it was because Torah somehow incited them to sin more than they ever had before, then Yah would swoop in with a replacement for Torah. That replacement being His grace. And it would Yah’s grace that would bring humanity to a right standing before the Creator of the Universe. And despite Yeshua’s insistence to the contrary (that being He did not come to destroy Torah, but rather take Torah to its greatest level and potential—Matthew 5:17), Torah would have served its purpose and been tossed into the trash heap of ecclesiastical history.

 

And, when you really look at the under-belly of what I just described, there is a great amount of truth connected to it. But it’s an incomplete truth lacking the rest of the story. And the problem with this simplistic understanding of verse 20 that the Church Triumphant has so stubbornly embraced is that it contradicts the teaching of our Master Yahoshua Messiah in Matthew 5:17, as well as it feeds into the insidious anti-Torah mindset that overtook the Body of Messiah almost immediately after the last inner-circle apostle, Yochanan, John the Just, died. This incomplete story and truth—this twisting of the apostle’s teachings—is one of the things that will lead many down the road to destruction as the apostle Kefa/Peter described. These run the risk of hearing Master Yeshua say to them on that epic day: I never knew you…depart from Me, you workers of iniquity or lawlessness (Matthew 7:23).

 

But getting back to the text: Without exception, the mainstream Bible translations do indeed render the verse in an anti-Torah, manner so to speak:

 

• And the law came in…The anti-Torah crowd sees this as if the Law was somehow hidden out there, just waiting for the opportunity to create problems for humanity. It was as if Torah was something that Father intended to use to “trip up” the very ones He claimed to have loved so much. His betrothed. His bride to be. But we have to ask ourselves, is this the type of God we serve and worship and love? I don’t think so. He loved Yisra’el. He intended nothing but good things for Yisrael. As He stated through the Prophet Yermi’Yahu (aka Jeremiah): “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you…thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (29:11; KJV). You see, the God we serve is not that mean, vengeful God of the Old Testament that many in denominationalism love to hate. He is, in fact, all about grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love. And the very Torah that our wayward cousins in Churchianity say is a curse and that causes nothing but trouble for humanity is actually Father Yah’s grace in action.

 

• …that the offense might abound/increase/multiply/proliferate…The Church Triumphant believes and teaches that somehow Torah serves to cause people to sin more than they would without it. Which presents for me a dilemma. Having been in this Faith of ours for going on two-decades now, I can tell you that in all the times I’ve endeavored to be Torah observant, I was never enticed, encouraged, motivated,lured, driven to transgress any Torah mitzvah. Sure, there were numerous times that I faltered in my keeping of Torah. But my failures in keeping Torah at any of those given times had nothing to do with Torah somehow causing or motivating me to transgress it. Rather, I always stood convicted because of Torah, which when one thinks about it, is the most likely point to Shaul’s statement here. It’s not that Torah somehow prompts people to transgress it, but more so, it causes one to be aware of their sins—that is, become sin-sensitive. The combination of Torah and Yah’s Holy Spirit induces conviction within the soul that has sinned. Thus, the Spirit and the Torah work hand-in-hand to shine a spotlight on sin in a would-be believer’s life. So, as it is with many of the apostle’s hard to understand passages, it requires the truth-seeker to filter those troublesome passages through the filters of context as well as perspective. Perspective from the standpoint of how we should approach each of those difficult passages. Are we best served to approach those passages from an anti-Torah perspective, knowing from the start that Shaul was in no stretch of the imagination against Torah (Romans 3:31)? Or rather, are we best served to approach such passages from a pro-Torah perspective? Clearly, the answer is the latter: Approach such passages from a pro-Torah perspective. I know this will wrangle some folk’s feathers. But we must always bear in mind that the whole of scripture was written from a pro-Torah standpoint and basis. So then, as it relates to our study of scripture, it’s always best to examine these difficult passages within the pro-Torah context and perspective of the whole of the apostle’s body of writings and the teachings of our Master Yahoshua Messiah.

 

Now, the wording here can also mislead those who are less savvy in terms of their abilities to rightly divide the Word of Truth. For those who are not scripturally savvy—that is, they are novice to the study of scripture—they could very easily draw from our focus verse the false impression that Torah was something Yah used to trip up His Chosen People. Let us not forget that according to denominationalists in general, it is impossible for anyone to keep Torah. And with that mindset as a primary driver for them, passages such as our focus verse support the false and hasatan inspired doctrine that the God of the Old Testament (ie., YHVH) was harsh and uncaring and mean, but the God of the New Testament (Jesus Christ) was all about love and grace. And so, to these folks, Torah was just another means by which God oppressed His people and the Torah was never truly of any benefit or relevance in the lives of Yah’s people. But as we’ve shown throughout our Paul and Hebrew Roots Series, such thinking is far far from the truth.

 

A Messianic Sides with the Denominationalists’ Understanding

 

I was surprised to read in Messianic author J.K. McKee’s Commentary on the Book of Romans, that although he does recognize the explanation for the increase of sin brought on by Torah that I am putting forth here in this discussion, he leans towards the denominationalists’ rote understanding of our focus passage. That somehow Torah inherently causes people to sin or it increases the incidents of sin in the life of the one in possession of Torah.

 

He writes that “It is appropriate to conclude that with the formal giving of the Torah on the scene of history, that as a consequence of it, human sin was stirred up” (pg. 128).

 

But again, speaking from personal experience, having been Torah-honoring and observant for the better part of two-decades, that not once did Torah entice or cause me to sin or transgress its commandments.

 

If there was any sinning or violations on my part upon my learning about certain Torah mitzvot/commandments, it was me being rebellious. It was me refusing to obey Yah’s instructions. And in that sense, yes, sin awareness, coupled with my inherent rebelliousness towards Yah and His ways, is emblematic or suggestive of an increase in sin in my life secondary to my receiving Torah. But at the end of the day, it’s not Torah that causes the rebellion, because that stiffneck nature was there before I took possession of Torah. Torah simply gave me the opportunity to officially say no to Yah and His Ways.

 

As it relates to our sinful and stubborn ways before receiving Torah, Shaul wrote:

 

“Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression” (Romans 4:15; KJV).

 

I pray that you’re getting what I’m saying here beloved.

 

But if not, here’s a case in point. 

 

The problem we all should have with such erroneous thinking of course, whether it’s coming from brethren within our faith community or those outside our faith community, is that they foster or promote anti-Torah sentiment to a world that is desperately in need of Torah. For to say that Torah increases the likelihood for or incidents of sin in the one who possesses Torah, serves only to promote a lawless, grace perverted way of life, as well as give Torah a nefarious and distrusting reputation. Think about it.

 

If the anti-Torah crowd’s understanding of our focus verse is correct, why would any well-meaning truth-seeker want to take on something that inherently causes them to sin and or fall out of favor with the Creator of the Universe? And the answer is, they wouldn’t want to take on Torah as a way of life. Which seems to be well in alignment with the ploy of the enemy, right? To deceive. To rob. To kill. Right.

 

I was reminded this morning by a dear brother of a well-known and cited verse in scripture, where Shaul reveals to his mentee, the evangelist Timothy, that “in the later times, some will desert the faith and occupy themselves with deceiving spirits and demonic teachings, which are influenced by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared” (1 Timothy 4:1-2; NET)

 

My friends, this anti-Torah sentiment that is born out of a misinterpretation and misrepresentation of Shaul’s teachings is one of the things that caused a falling away or a departing from the Faith just after the apostle John’s death towards the end of the first-century C.E. And that erosion of the faith that began 2,000-years ago, continues even today through the Church Triumphant’s promotion of the grace-perversion. And so, it is uber important that we “earnestly contend for the true Faith once delivered” (Jude 1:3) by always speaking truth and not giving an inch to such anti-Torah false teachings.

 

 

A Contextual Breakdown of Romans 5:20

 

 

Yeshua’s blood reconciles us to Father Yah. Through Yahoshua’s sacrifice many have the promise of life. In contrast, Adam brought death to many. One man’s transgression resulted in condemnation for all people. But through the righteous act of one man, eternal life is available to all people.

 

Contrasting themes speckle the apostle’s writing in this chapter:

 

• Obedience versus disobedience
• Being made sinners versus being made righteous
• Death versus life
• Transgression versus grace
• Transgressions that lead to judgment versus the gracious gift leading to justification and eternal life
• Condemnation versus righteousness

 

Enter the Law.

 

Torah is described by the apostle in verse 20 as “pareiserchomai” {par-ice-er’khom-ahee}. This Greek term is found in only one other place in scripture, as well as in a handful of non-biblical ancient Greek literature. And from those non-biblical Greek occurrences, the word in English means “to insert,” and “to occur” such as that which “creeps into” or “comes to one’s mind.” Or rather, that of an afterthought.

 

Contextually, the term “pareiserchomai” simply means that Torah was given to humanity after Adam’s fall. That’s all. Nothing more to see here as it relates to intentions. In other words, Yah wasn’t trying to “pull one-over” on his chosen people. But rather, Yah’s giving of Torah would serve a gracious and righteous purpose in the lives of His set-apart people.

 

Shaul goes on to state one of the purposes of Torah, which was “that the transgression might increase.” Now, in order for us to understand this critical relationship that exists between Torah and an increase in transgressions, we will first have to define the term “increase” or “abound” as it is used here in our focus verse.

 

Our English term “increase” in the Greek is “pleonazo.”

 

Defining the term “Pleonazo”

 

“Increase” or “abound” in the Greek is “pleonazo” which can have meanings to include:

 

(1) to exist in abundance;

 

(2) to increase;

 

(3) to be augmented;

 

(4) to increase a thing beyond its original state.

 

Now, if we are inclined to simply go with a rote, mechanical translation or interpretation of “pleonazo” in our text outside the framework of Pauline context (ie., those things we already know about Shaul’s beliefs and teachings), we will be forced to interpret this passage accordingly:

 

1. By Father Yah, out of the blue, introducing Torah to humanity through our ancient Hebrew cousins, it caused them to sin in ways that they would not have otherwise done. In other words, Torah served as a “sin” promoter or instigator or inciter. But we must stop and ask ourselves, if we are foolish enough to accept such an understanding, why in the universe would Father Yah give the very ones He claimed to love (His bride to be Yisra’el), something that would incite them to do things (ie., sin) that would in turn result in them breaking covenant with Him and their relationship with Him ended or terminated? Doesn’t make sense, does it?

 

Yet clearly, the way that the apostle wrote this verse, using the verbiage that he did, seems to say that this is the case.

 

We find a related verse just a couple chapters over, in this same book of Romans:

 

“But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence (or wrong or evil desires; all manner of coveting; all kinds of covetousness). For without the law sin was dead” (Romans 7:8; KJV).

 

And so, when we bring these two verses together and examine them side-by-side, we find that they certainly do suggests that Torah somehow incites or entices the one keeping it to transgress or violate its commandments.

 

But once again, such an interpretation still does not make sense on so many levels. For example, did we see an increase in sins by our ancient Hebrew cousins after Torah was passed down to them from Father Yah? Certainly, one could argue that we did see ancient Yisra’el overtly violate Torah when she worshiped the “golden calf” and so forth.

 

But was that “golden calf” incident, and the other transgressions committed by our Hebrew cousins, brought on by Torah? Or was it brought on because of something else? Say, their stiffnecked nature (Exodus/Shemot 32:9; 33:3, 5; 34:9; Deuteronomy/Devarim 9:6, 13; 10:16; 2 Chronicles 30:8; Acts 7:51)? Say, their rebelliousness (Deuteronomy/Devarim 9:7, 24; 31:27)? Say their uncircumcised hearts (ie., wills that refused to bow to Father Yah’s Will; Leviticus/Vayiqra 26:41; Jeremiah/Yermi’Yahu 4:4; 9:26; Ezekiel 44:7; Acts 7:51)? So, it seems to me that Torah did not cause our ancient Hebrew cousins to worship the Golden Calf while Moshe was atop the Mountain Communing with Yah.

 

Well, it is my hope, trust, and prayer that before we end our time together here today, that we come to understand that this is exactly what the apostle is referring to in our focus verse of Romans 5:20 and in 7:8.

 

Continuing with our forced interpretation discussion:

 

2. That Torah instead of inciting, promoting, causing the one who possesses it to sin, it classified certain human behavior as sin whereas before, those same human behaviors were not considered sin by either humanity or Yah Himself such as idolatry and other sins. And so, this would explain the “increase” or “abounding” of sin when Torah was given.

 

Well, that’s kind of a stretch to me. But it is something that we must systematically consider and either accept or reject, depending on our contextual findings.

 

 

The Reality of Sin as it Relates to Torah

 

As I mentioned previously, a rote reading and understanding of our focus verse, outside of its proper context, could certainly lead us to think that the apostle is badmouthing Torah along either or both of these stated perspectives: (1) Torah causes or incites us to sin more than we would without it; and (2) Torah added sins that, before it was given, were not officially viewed as sins.

 

If, as I mentioned earlier in this discussion, we can look beyond the obvious wonkiness of the apostle’s wording in our focus verse, keeping in mind that Shaul affirmed in Romans 3:31 (as in other similar passages) that he and his evangelistic team affirmed the applicability and efficacy of Torah for Yah’s people, that the apostle is saying something altogether different than that which a mechanical reading of the verse would suggest.

 

So, working through this thing systematically, there are a few central truths as it relates to Torah and sin that we must bring to our discussion before we are able to arrive at a more accurate interpretation of our focus verse:

 

1. We know that Torah primarily serves as a revelatory instrument as it relates to sin. In other words, Torah informs, or reveals to the one who receives it, what sin is and the penalties that are connected to/associated with the commission of those sins.

 

Yochanan (aka John) wrote:

 

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: For sin is the transgression (ie., the violation) of the law” (1 John 3:4; KJV).

 

Shaul, using himself as a rhetorical example to the “revelatory nature of Torah” wrote:

 

“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! Certainly, I would not have known sin except through the law. For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else if the law had not said, “Do not covet” (Romans 7:7; NET).

 

So then, we have before us here at least two witnesses to the revelatory nature of Torah. And we find in Matthew an example of how our Master Yahoshua Messiah came to clarify the revelatory nature of Torah:

 

“But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28; NET).

 

2. Sin is a reality of all humanity:

 

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of Yah…” (Romans 3:23; KJV).

 

“So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people because all [have] sinned…” (Romans 5:12; NET).

 

And so, Torah underscores this universal constant of sin in all humanity and the death penalty that sin carries with it, that forces the one to come to terms with their dire situation and their need of a savior. That savior of course is none other than Yeshua Messiah. Torah does not remedy or fix the sin problem. But rather, as the apostle described it, Torah in great part served a “schoolmaster role”. That is, it informed us what sin is; the penalties associated with sin; how we as Yah’s children are expected to behave if we are to escape Yah’s wrathful judgment and remain in covenant with Him. And most importantly, the schoolmaster role of Torah served to show us the dire nature of our human situation and that the only permanent remedy or solution for sin and its associated penalties was none other than Yahoshua Messiah. That is, “the salvation procured by the Messiah” (Tim Hegg; “Paul’s Epistle to the Romans; pg. 129).

 

And beloved, all things considered here, this is the ultimate purpose and role of Torah in the world: Yahoshua our Savior and our Messiah, being the “telos” or main point or purpose of Torah (Romans 10:4). For as Torah shows humanity the futility of its existence outside of Yah and His Ways, it serves as a wake-up call to sinful humanity, which is in essence to say:

 

Wake-up people. The only way to escape Yah’s holy and righteous wrathful judgment is to believe in the atoning sacrifice of Master Yahoshua (Romans 2:5). Believe that the blood that He shed on Calvary’s execution stake covers one’s sins once and for all, making a way for him or her to enter into a true, substantive, faithful, obedient covenant relationship with the Creator of the Universe.

 

So then, as it relates to Torah supposedly causing sin to “increase” or “abound” in the lives of those who possess it, we must consider the reality that comes when one recognizes their “sons of wrath” and “sons of disobedience” status before a holy and righteous Elohim. Such that Torah causes the one who possesses it to recognize how sinful they are and how badly they are in need of Yeshua Messiah’s atoning sacrifice and a covenant relationship with Father Yah in order to escape Yah’s coming wrathful judgment on the world (Romans 1:18).

 

3. A bi-product of Torah, as we’ve discussed numerous times in various postings of TMTO, is the responsibility it places on those who have possession of Torah. In other words, those who possess Torah (ie., those who have knowledge of Torah) bear the greater responsibility of keeping its commandments and living in its ways.

 

That old adage of “those who know better are expected to do better” certainly comes to mind here.

 

For certainly, those who possess Torah are supposed to do what it says to do. But then, those who possess Torah but refuse to follow its instructions in righteousness, disobey it out of a rebellious, stiffneck, uncircumcised heart.

 

And this in a broad sense points us to the likely meaning of our focus verse. The “increase” (ie., pleonazo) in sin in one’s life once he or she receives Torah has nothing to do with a numerical increase in the incidents of sin in a believer’s life. The “increase” or “pleonazo” is highlighted in bringing to the surface one’s rebelliousness and refusal to obey Yah’s instructions in righteousness and conform to the Creator’s Way of Life for His human creation. So then, as one learns of Yah’s Ways and what human behavior Yah considers to be sin, any refusal or rebellion on his or her part only adds to their guilt before the court of heaven. For willful, conscious disobedience leads to death and curses (Deuteronomy 28-29).

 

Another way of seeing how Torah increases transgressions in the life of a Torah-keeper is best expressed by J.K. McKee, who, if you recall, sides with a rote, mechanical interpretation of our focus verse—such that Torah actually encourages one to sin– he does concede that the purpose of Torah was not to solve the problem of sin but to highlight-underscore-stipulate the “seriousness of sin” (pg. 128). For we learned from one of the apostle’s previous passages that the whole of humanity sins, whether the one in possession of Torah is aware of it or not. What Torah does do for the one who possesses it is that it reveals or informs him or her as to that which the Creator identifies as sin and what the appropriate punishment is for committing sin. Thus, what Yah is saying through His giving of Torah to his human creation is that it has been told and warned. The onus then falls upon the one in possession of Torah to seek Yah’s solution and remedy for their dire situation.

 

McKee also states that “the Law could count sin but could not counter it…but however much sin as a result of the Mosaic Law coming into the historical process, grace abounded even more with the inbreaking of the “Christ-event into the historical process” (pg. 128).

 

So then, transgressions increased, not in number, but in awareness when Torah was given to our ancient Hebrew cousins. The possessor of Torah becomes officially sin-aware and sin-sensitive. Couple that sin-awareness with a rebellious nature, it is easy to understand why Shaul would say that Torah or the Law came in so that transgressions may increase. 

 

 

 Action:

 

I see this increase or abounding in sin that Shaul is writing about from the perspective of the Torah-honoring child of Yah having an increased sensitivity and awareness of sin in their lives. What I mean by that is that as the child of Yah grows in their understanding of Torah and they begin plugging in those Torah-principles and mitzvot into their respective walk with Mashiyach, they start to see just how pervasive sin is in their life.

 

Case in point: Adultery and fornication. So, the would be believer has come to terms that they must not physically commit fornication or adultery. But later as they walk out this Truth and the Holy Spirit starts the justification process in their lives, they start to realize that they have other issues related to the mitzvot of fornication or adultery. Maybe they having wandering eyes and lustful desires towards members of the opposite sex that are not their spouse. Maybe they consume some form of pornography or literature or programing that feeds their sinful thoughts and desires in a manner that causes them to violate these mitzvot in ways that may go beyond the physical.

 

You know, we can transgress just about every mitzvot in Torah without our ever physically committing the prohibitive acts. If we are harboring a mindset or incorporating into our lives activities and content that foster the spirit of that thing that Torah prohibits, we are effectively sinning. Oh, we might not engage in outright idolatrous worship practices, but what about the various pagan symbols and objects that we keep in our homes (e.g., Christmas paraphernalia; Buddhas; gnomes in our yards; crosses that we wear around our necks; and so much more?

 

And that’s why it’s so important that we petition Father Yah that His Holy Spirit search our hearts and our minds to expose or shine a light on those things that beset us and cause sin to increase or abound in our lives (Hebrews 12:1).

 

Father Yah requires us to maintain an immaculate, pure, physically and spiritually clean environment in which He may dwell and commune with us. He will not dwell in an environment that is not clean and that is compromised.

 

Throughout Torah, Yah declared to our ancient Hebrew cousins that they were expected to maintain a clean and pure environment because He dwelt among them (Numbers/Bemidbar 5:2; Deuteronomy/Devarim 23:12-14). And the practical halachah that we must draw from these instructions not only applies to the physical, but also applies to the emotional, thoughts, feelings, and the spiritual. And in that sense, Torah forces the child of Yah to see the pervasiveness of sin in their lives and the necessity of somehow getting all that cleaned up. And that’s where Yah’s grace enters and overshadows that overwhelming presence of sin in our lives (5:20b). For the blood of our Master cleanses us from all sin/unrighteousness (1 John/Yochanan 1:7).

 

And as we previously mentioned, when we add to this increased awareness and sensitivity to sin in our lives, our rebellious and resistant nature, we can clearly see how sin or transgressions increase or abound in the life of the one who possesses Torah. For when we know that which we’re supposed to do as told to us by Yah through His Word, but we choose instead to not do that which He instructed, we effectively become “children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2; 5:6; Colossians 3:6) and subject to Yah’s wrath and the curses that come as a result of disobedience (Romans 1:18; 2:5; Deuteronomy 28-29).

 

And so, we see that Torah in and of itself does not cause one to sin more, as the denominationalists have chosen to erroneously interpret and teach as the meaning to Romans 5:20. If there is any adding to the level or number of sins in a believer’s life, Torah is not to be blamed. Torah only illuminates and reveals sin. We, the recipients of that knowledge—of the knowledge of the reality of sin in our lives, instead become all the more sin-sensitive or sin-aware, and are forced to deal with or overcome our rebellious or resistant nature and not allow sin to continue to operate in our lives. And again, this is where Yah’s grace overrides this dire situation. Yahoshua’s sacrifice not only atoned or covered over our sins, He also mediated and ushered in the renewed covenant which makes for the provision of the Ruach HaKodesh—the Holy Spirit—to inscribe Yah’s Words on our hearts so that we no longer resist His instructions. But rather, we desire to walk in Yah’s ways and obey His voice. To effectively fulfill that whole duty of humanity, which is to “fear Yah, and keep His commandments…” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). And this is one of the ways that Yah’s grace abounds or increases over that of sin’s increase in the life of the believer.

 

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Why did Shaul write our focus verse in the first place? Well, if taken in context with what we’ve discussed thus far, Paul’s central theme of salvation coming to the one who trusts in the Person and Ministry of Yahoshua Messiah and that one’s works—be it their Torah-keeping or their Jewishness was incapable of saving them, is being brought to an inevitable head here. Shaul is once again defining and bringing to the attention of his Roman Messianic readers, another purpose of Torah in a believer’s life.  And that added purpose of Torah is that it reveals and spotlights sin in his or her life. And that despite the severity and reality of sin in a believer’s life, Yah’s grace through Yeshua Messiah overshadows and overtakes that pervasive sin reality.

 

And so again, Shaul is in a sense reminding us that Torah does not save us from sin but rather it informs us of sin and informs us of Yah and His Ways. 

 

But praise be to Yah from whom all blessings flow! Yah has a fix for this dire situation…

 

For in the second half of our focus verse, the apostle writes that as sin abounded/increased/pleonazo, Yah’s grace exceeded that increase in sin that Torah highlighted or brought to light. It was in fact Yahoshua who purchased the grace that the would be child of Yah enjoys through a faithful, obedient covenant relationship with Him. And that grace, among a great many things, consists of the Netzer:

 

• Having their sins permanently atoned for.
• Receiving total access to Yehovah through a faithful, obedient, covenant relationship Him.
• Being in a state of peace with Yah.
• Receiving the gift of the Ruach HaKodesh (aka the Holy Spirit) to inscribe Yah’s Torah upon the fleshy tables of our hearts and in our minds, so that we no longer resist keeping Yah’s Torah, but instead, desire with every fiber of our being to obey Yah and walk in His Ways.

 

So then, it is this exceeding grace that overrides the so-called increase in sin that Torah supposedly incites. And we’ve learned that this Torah-induced increase in sin has to do with one’s rebellious and stiffneck nature reacting to Yah’s instructions in righteousness, as well as Torah showing us the pervasiveness of sin in the life of the one who possesses Torah and his or her dire need for a savior. As well as there being an increased responsibility on the part of the one who possesses Torah to actually keep and obey it; supporting that adage of “those who know better are expected to do better.”

 

But Yah’s grace deals with all these issues and so much more. And all that the would be child of Yah need do is to trust in the Person and Ministry of Yahoshua, which actually requires him or her to die to self—to let go and let Yah take over their entire lives.

 

And I absolutely love this statement by Messianic Commentator and Torah Teacher Tim Hegg:

 

“This is, once again, the kal v’chomer argument where the lesser being true guarantees the greater. If the Torah causes sin to abound (as noted above), and if the goal to which the Torah proceeds is the Messiah, then surely the Torah anticipates the grace of Yah which abounds” (Tim Hegg, Commentary on the Romans; pg. 129).

 

 

So then beloved, let us rejoice in the grace that Abba Father has lavished—poured out upon us. For we are no longer slaves to sin nor children of wrath. But rather, we are sin-sensitive, and thus we are acutely aware of the deleterious effects of sin that, as the writer of Hebrews describes, “so easily besets us” (12:1). Furthermore, we need not view Torah as the denominationalists do: As something terrible—bad—not good for God’s people. That Torah somehow causes us to sin and fall from His grace. To the contrary. We know that, as Shaul wrote, the Torah is holy, righteous, and good (7:12; 1 Timothy 1:8). Furthermore, we know that the Torah was not some insufficient, irrelevant relic that was forced upon our ancient Hebrew cousins. But rather, as the Psalmist wrote, the Torah is “perfect, converting the soul: The testimony of Yehovah is sure, making wise the simple” (19:7). Which also goes without saying that the Torah was a gift for all humanity from its Creator:

 

“One Torah shall be to him that is homeborn (that is homeborn Yisra’elite), and unto the stranger that sojourneth among Yisra’el (that is, we who are grafted into the commonwealth of Yisra’el) (Exodus/Shemot 12:49; Leviticus/Vayiqra 15:16, 29).

 

Therefore beloved, we need not be ashamed of Yah’s house rules which is Torah. We instead just need to abide by those house rules as we walk in Faith. For abiding with those house rules, through our trusting Faith in Yahoshua Messiah, keeps us in a substantive covenant relationship with Yah. And in so doing, we glorify Abba and image Him in all the earth.

 

Torah doesn’t incite nor cause us to sin beloved. But rather, it shows us how to properly relate to and love Father Yah—the Creator of the Universe, as well as how to relate to and love one another. Faith-induced Torah-living is the only way to live.

 Musical Intro and Outro by DanOSongs–“Cadmium”