1. YHWH is God.
2. Torah is YWHW’s teachings, instructions, and commands given for our benefit.
3. Sin is violation of Torah.
4. The penalty for sin is destruction.
5. Everyone has sinned and is deserving of the penalty under YHWH’s law.
6. Yeshua (commonly known as Jesus) is Messiah, the Son of God who brought salvation to mankind.
7. Yeshua (Jesus) willingly took our sins upon himself, sacrificing himself in our place.
8. Anyone who believes Yeshua (Jesus) will not be destroyed but will receive eternal life.
YHWH is God
And God said further to Moses, “Thus shall you speak to the Israelites: YHWH, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This shall be My name forever, this shall be my appellation for all eternity.” (Exodus 3:15)
YHWH is a transliteration of the Hebrew יהוה , which is the proper name of God. God revealed his name as YHWH to Moses, and His name appears nearly 7,000 times in the original Hebrew texts.
Knowing the name of God is important because it identifies His nature, His character, and His uniqueness. The name of YHWH identifies Him as the only self-existent God, with no creator and no end to His being. YHWH is, YHWH was, and YHWH always will be.
To seek YHWH, to know Him, and to receive His salvation requires that we first acknowledge Him. We must acknowledge that YHWH is, that He knows us and loves us, that He is our source of life, that He is our source of hope, that He is our source of wisdom, and that He is our only means to salvation.
Torah is YHWH’s Teachings, Instructions, and Commands Given for our Benefit
And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that YHWH, the God of your fathers, is giving you. You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of YHWH your God that I command you. (Deuteronomy 4:1-2)
Torah is commonly translated as “Law” in English translations of the Bible, and Torah does contain commands and prohibitions. However, Torah more properly means teachings and instructions as well as encompassing the concept of commandments. The purpose of YHWH’s Torah is to teach mankind right from wrong, to show us how to distinguish good from evil, and to instruct us on the best way to live. Torah was given to us for our benefit; through it, we learn how to relate to God and walk in His righteous ways.
To have a relationship with YHWH and be His people, we must act in obedience to His word and will. We must have a genuine value of, and desire for, YHWH’s word. We must strive to live according to YHWH’s word out of love and obedience to Him, revering His Torah without adding to or subtracting from it.
Sin is Violation of Torah
Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. (1 John 3:4-6, ESV)
The Apostle John provided us with a concise definition of sin: sin is lawlessness. New Testament writings are often translated with the word “law” in reference to the Torah, and we can understand John’s statement to mean sin is violation of Torah.
When we violate the Torah we spoil our relationship with YHWH and come under His judgement. Sinning is missing the mark, failing to obey God, and our disobedience to YHWH comes with a penalty.
The Penalty for Sin is Destruction
YHWH is concerned for the needs of the blameless; their portion lasts forever; they shall not come to grief in bad times; in famine, they shall eat their fill.
But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of YHWH shall be consumed, like meadow grass consumed in smoke. (Psalm 37:18-20)
Throughout the scriptures we are repeatedly told of God’s fiery wrath, which destroys the wicked. Sometimes it’s necessary to go back to the original language for a full understanding of what is being said. In the passage of Psalm 37 above, the word translated “perish” is אָבַד (abad) and means “annihilate” or “destroy” or “exterminate”. The word translated as “consume” in Psalm 37 is כָּלָה (kalah), which means “to come to an end” or “vanish” or “be destroyed”. The picture we get from Psalm 37 is the enemies of YHWH will be destroyed and brought to an end; they will vanish from existence.
The Bible tells us YHWH’s judgement will ultimately be carried out at the end of the age, when all people will be judged according to what they have done.
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. (Revelation 20:12, ESV)
Everyone has sinned and is deserving of the penalty under YHWH’s law
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10, ESV)
The scriptures are clear: Everyone has sinned. Everyone has violated the teachings, instructions, and commands of YHWH. We need only read through YWHW’s Torah and honestly assess ourselves in comparison with what is written. Have we ever blasphemed YHWH? Have we ever lied? Have we ever cheated? Have we ever stolen? Nobody can honestly say he or she has never violated the teachings, instructions and commands of YHWH.
Since everyone has violated YHWH’s Torah, everyone is justly deserving of punishment under the Torah.
Yeshua (Jesus) is Messiah; he willingly took our sins upon himself, sacrificing himself in our place
Yet it was our sickness that he was bearing, our suffering that he endured. We accounted him plagued, smitten and afflicted by God, but he was wounded because of our sins, crushed because of our iniquities. He bore the chastisement that made us whole, and by his bruises we were healed. We all went astray like sheep, each going his own way, and YHWH visited upon him the guilt of all of us. (Isaiah 53:4-6)
The reason Yeshua (Jesus) came into the world was to take away our sin (1 John 3:5), to cancel the debt we owed for our sin under the Torah (Colossians 2:13-14), and to give us salvation through his own self-sacrifice. Yeshua (Jesus) is the scapegoat of Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16:10, Leviticus 16:20-22); he is the Passover Lamb (Exodus 12). Our sins were conferred upon Yeshua (Jesus) and through his sacrifice our sins were paid.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. (1 John 2:1-3, ESV)
Anyone who believes Yeshua (Jesus) will not be destroyed but will receive eternal life
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:14-18, ESV)
Yeshua (Jesus) willingly sacrificed himself as payment for our sins. To have salvation, we must sincerely believe Yeshua (Jesus) paid the penalty and YHWH accepts Yeshua’s (Jesus’) sacrifice on our behalf. Through faith in Jesus we have YHWH’s forgiveness and our penalty for sin is resolved.
If we reject Yeshua (Jesus) we reject his payment for our sin, and we must therefore personally pay the price for our sins. The penalty for sin is destruction in YHWH’s fire at the end of the age, and if we don’t have YHWH’s salvation we will not survive YHWH’s judgement.
Basic Steps to Obtain Salvation
1. Acknowledge YHWH
2. Acknowledge YHWH’s Torah
3. Acknowledge our sin and its penalty
4. Acknowledge we cannot resolve our own sin
5. Acknowledge Yeshua (Jesus) paid the penalty of sin through his sacrifice
6. Genuinely believe that faith in Yeshua (Jesus) is accepted by YHWH as payment for our sin
God’s promise is that anyone who believes Yeshua (Jesus) will not be destroyed but will received eternal life. And, YHWH promised that anyone who acknowledges his or her sin and asks for His forgiveness will be forgiven.
Things to do After receiving Salvation
1. Be baptized in the name of YHWH, Yeshua (Jesus), and YHWH’s Holy Spirit
2. Study the Bible to learn YHWH’s teachings, instructions, and commands
3. Strive to walk in obedience to YHWH’s Torah and Yeshua’s (Jesus’) teachings
4. Join with other believers in love and brotherhood/sisterhood
5. Take an active role in YHWH’s kingdom, serving Him and His church