We live in a world that can sometimes be a scary place. There are wars, earthquakes, and just recently the coronavirus threatening our peace. On a personal level, we all have things we struggle with, circumstances in our lives that seem to go on forever even though we have prayed, and we have called upon God to help us. How are we, as Christians, to respond to all of this?
A Christian, according to the Bible, is one whose faith is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God who died for our sins. The Bible goes on to say our faith in Him has to show itself in what we do, or else our faith is dead and can not save us. So only those who chose to repent back to obeying the law of Moses have active saving faith in the cross, according to the Bible.
Nowhere in the Bible do we see anything like “the sinner’s prayer.” or the idea of “asking Jesus into your heart” to make Him your Lord and Savior.
So the most important question you can ask yourself right now is this, are you a Christian according to the Bible or according to mainstream Christianity? Only those who are Christian, according to the Bible, will have a share in the promises we will talk about today. If you have asked Jesus into your heart, but you reject Moses, then none of what I am going to speak about today applies to you. If you want to change that, you can right now decide to repent back to obeying the written law of Moses and have faith in the cross.
We Christians are very fond of quoting Exodus 15:26 “I am the Lord who healeth thee” and ascribing this verse to Jesus. In a world with an influenza virus running amok, causing almost everyone to go on lockdown, we need this promise than ever. We need healing and protection for ourselves, our families both from this virus and whatever ailments and illnesses might be troubling us on a personal level every day. But this promise does only apply to those who are true Christians, Christians, according to the Bible.
As with every other promise in the Bible, this one in Ex 15:26 is conditional. If we want to be healed, we have to obey Yehovah’s commandments and laws. If you’re going to be healed of all your ailments, illnesses, and protected from this virus, you have to meet the conditions Yehovah has outlined in this verse and obey Him.
If you are a Christian because you have “asked Jesus into your heart” and “prayed the sinner’s prayer,” this promise in Ex 15:26 does not apply to you. Why? Because your faith is dead and can not save you or do anything for you. (James 2:10-26, 1. John 2:6)
If you are a Christian who has repented from living in sin and are now obeying God’s law, the law of Moses, believing Jesus died for you, this promise in Ex 15:26 applies to you.
Does this mean someone who is obeying Moses’s law, believing in Jesus dying for their sins, will be guaranteed not to be infected by the coronavirus?
As long as they dont have guilt by association, the answer is yes.
What is guilt by association?
The Bible says, in the book of Leviticus, even though we might not do anything sinful approving of someone else’s sins makes us guilty by association. Even though you might not do anything wicked, when you dont take a stand against the sinful behaviors of your family, church, nation, your lack of protest and objection will make you guilty of their sins by association.
We see this time and time again, the book Exodus how one Israelites sin infected the entire camp and affected Israelis relationship with Yehovah. It was not until Moses and Aaron took a stand for righteousness and cleansed the camp of sin; the guilt was taken away.
This is where it gets tricky for most Christians because people around us, and especially in our churches, have sin in their lives. If we dont speak up against it, urging them to repent, we will have guilt by association. For some of us, this will mean we will lose our friends, families, church families, and perhaps even our jobs. But if we were to lose all of these things and gain the approval of Yehovah, our Father, it would be worth it.
Does this mean someone who is obeying Moses’s law, believing in Jesus dying for their sins, will be guaranteed not to be infected by the coronavirus? Yes, as long as they dont have guilt by association.
Yehovah wants to heal you, provide for you, deliver you, and guide you. In the Bible, in Deut 28:1-13 and Matt 6:25-34, He promises that if you will do your part and obey Him, He will do His part and meet all of your needs. But you have to do your part and obey His law, the law of Moses, and make sure you dont have guilt by association.
Where does this leave Jesus?
Every promise in the Bible is conditional upon our obedience to the Torah (the law of Moses). Our salvation is dependent upon us, repenting back to obeying the law of Moses. (James 2:10-26, 1. John 2:6). The Bible also says, in Rev 12, and Rev 14, someone who obeys Moses and believes in the cross will overcome the devil.
Having the Torah (the law of Moses) as the object of your faith does not exclude Jesus. One of the first things you will notice when you make the Torah the object of your faith is how much you have failed to obey it in the past. The Torah calls for a blood sacrifice to atone for past sins (Lev 17), and when you know you can’t go to Jerusalem to sacrifice in the temple, the only solution left is the Blood of Jesus.
When you are genuinely saved, you will have a desire to obey the Torah and feel a deep love for it. But you will also be very aware of how obedience to it requires you to sacrifice for your past sins. The only way to do so is to believe Jesus died for you.
This is why having the Torah as the purpose of your faith will never exclude Jesus and why it is impossible to obey the Torah without faith in the cross.
We live in a world that can sometimes be a scary place. But it becomes a little less scary if you enter into a relationship with Yehovah by repentance back to Moses and faith in the cross.