“For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for Elohim [God], but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of Elohim’s [God’s] righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of Elohim [God].”
Romans 10:2-3
Most Christians today have a zeal for the Most High. They say they love God, and I believe that they are being truthful. But their love for Him is rooted in ways that are not righteous according to HIS definition and standard. If your love isn’t in alignment with HIS truth, your doctrine is false and your worship is vain—it’s meaningless, no matter what your heart tells you. You can be sincere and sincerely wrong at the same time, and it’s very possible for your heart to justify your error, especially when you don’t know the truth.
The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).
Most Christians’ zeal does not come from understanding God’s heart. Their zeal comes from a contentment that “God knows THEIR heart.” And this is a very dangerous mindset to rest your faith and belief in.
Understand what Paul is saying in those verses. He is saying in Romans 10 that the brethren have zeal, but it’s very displaced because they aren’t submitting to the righteousness of Yahuah, and it’s because they’re ignorant to it.
I believe Hebrews 3:10-11 can be a second witness to my plea.
“Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’”
“They always go astray in THEIR heart because they have not known MY ways.”
What are His ways?
Well, being that Hebrews 3:10-11 is a direct quote from Psalm 95:10-11, I think this points us to Yahuah’s ways and His heart: His commandments.
And if you don’t believe what I’m saying is true, maybe the life and testimony of our Messiah could explain it better:
“For Messiah is the goal of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes.”
Romans 10:4
I know many Bible translations say “end of the law,” because the lying pens of the scribes have enabled us to have been taught by others that He did away with the commandments, but the Greek word used for “end” is “telos.” It is a grievous mistranslation when you consider that the actual definition of telos in this context is “to set out for a definite point or goal.”
If we understood that our Messiah is the goal of the law for righteousness, in which He obeyed the Father’s commandments, we might live our lives a bit differently. It wasn’t until several years ago that I realized my own zeal was in error. I realized that the enemy had used my zeal against me, because I was ignorant. I had to take a 6 month break from social media because of how devastated and angry I was about this. Yahuah had to heal me first before He would let me speak on and expose the error the church is in right now.
Now my zeal is in proper alignment, where it wasn’t before, because although at one point I was in ignorance, Yahuah delivered me into deeper understanding because I was staying in the Word constantly as He was building me up in the Spirit so that I could understand how to be led by His Spirit and into truth. Our minds being renewed and being molded into the image of Yahusha is a process that we submit to for the rest of our lives. I am nowhere finished and am still learning—praise Yah!
Many have erred in their heart and have not sought the righteousness that is defined for us in Scripture because we have been deceived by false teachings. We have set up our own definition of righteousness and Paul’s message still rings true today: “For they are ignorant of Yahuah’s righteousness.” Ignorance of the Scriptures is what is keeping many from submitting themselves to the true righteousness of Elohim. They would rather lean on arms of the flesh to teach them rather than allowing the Set-Apart Spirit to be their Teacher.
You are declared righteous by your faith because faith is actually supposed to be the reason that leads you to obedience. If our Messiah came to take the curse and penalty of sin away from us (which is death), and you believe that to be true, doesn’t that make you want to learn what righteousness is and submit yourself to the pursuit of that for the rest of your life?
If your answer to that question is a sincere yes, then I challenge you to ask the Father to begin to write His commandments on your heart. Because that is where HIS heart is found. And if that’s not what you’re after, then...do you really want the truth?