Many people believe that Works cannot make us right with God, that the only way is by being Baptized.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV).
“…he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit…” (Titus 3:5 ESV).
“…who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace…” (II Timothy 1:9 ESV).
Many other religions believe that, if a person can do enough good, they will be approved by God.
Good works from a Jewish point of view
Feeding the poor, acting kindly to the stranger, or observing the Sabbath are much more significant in the Jewish tradition than mere divine suggestions on how to be good. Mitzvot are commandments, traditionally understood to come from G-d and to be intended for the Jewish people to observe.
Torah itself says that when G-d gave the commandments, G-d declared,
Devarim - Deuteronomy - Chapter 11
26 Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse.
27 The blessing, that you will heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today;
28 and the curse, if you will not heed the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn away from the way I command you this day, to follow other gods, which you did not know.
Notice verse 28, seems plain enough, a warning!
“and the curse, if you will not heed the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn away from the way I command you this day”
It seems that even God recognized that the Jews had a choice in the matter– and a warning!
Humanity was formed with two impulses: a good impulse (the yetzer tov) and an evil impulse (the yetzer ra).
I like to think of it like the old cartoons where there is an angle on one shoulder telling you not to listen to the demon on the other shoulder.
These cartoons were produced when we taught our children right from wrong! Today society is to wrapped up in Woke! They now teach our children gender diversity, and we now are starting to see the undesired results.
People have the ability to choose which impulse to follow: the yetzer tov or the yetzer ra. That is the heart of the Jewish understanding of free will. If G-d wanted perfection, he would have created robots with computers for brains, that could only obey it’s programming. But a machine cannot love.
The Talmud notes that all people are descended from Adam, so no one can blame his own wickedness on his ancestry. On the contrary, we all have the ability to make our own choices, and we will all be held responsible for the choices we make.
The Torah itself does not offer many enlightened reasons, but generally explains that the Jewish people should observe the mitzvot simply because God commanded us to do so, or because of the potential negative consequences that would result from non-compliance. Other thinkers have endeavored to prove that the mitzvot are all completely rational, logical actions which any moral and ethical people would welcome. Still others claim that the commandments actually improve us as human beings, refining us as upright and just people, or that doing God’s commandments actually has a cosmic effect upon the spiritual fabric of all creation. And some thinkers even reject the importance of asking this question entirely, arguing that the only legitimate reason for the performance of mitzvot is in order to obey God’s commandments and fulfill our part in the covenant between God and the Jewish people.
Lyrics:
העושה מצוה אחת קטנה בשמחה
יגלגלו לו לעשות מצוה גדולה מהראשונה
שכר מצוה מצוה
אין לדבר קצבה
ווען מען טוט א מצוה, כאּפט מען נאך א מצוה
פרותיה בעולם הזה ומתרבה לעולם הבא
One who does a small mitzvah with happiness,
HaShem will send him more opportunities to do even bigger Mitzvos.
The reward for a Mitzvah is a Mitzvah, there is no limit!
When you do a mitzvah, you'll get another mitzvah.
You'll collect the fruits of that Mitzvah in this world and in the world to come.
That is, how we behave in this world, towards our fellow human beings and the world we live in, is ultimately of more importance than what we may believe. In the final analysis, the mitzvot are a uniquely Jewish approach to living a holy life in this world.
The simple translation of mitzvah is commandment, but Chasidic teachings find a deeper meaning in the word. Mitzvah comes from the root word tzavta, which means connection. There are 613 mitzvot, and therefore, 613 ways to connect to G d. It's almost as if each mitzvah is a phone number with a direct dial to G d.
A mitzvah is a connection a way to get closer to G d that transcends logic. We affix a mezuzah to our doorposts, not just because it makes sense to us, but because this is G d's wish. When we fulfill the request of G d, we are strengthening our bond with Him.
Jesus Christ died on a cross to pay for our sins (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17; I John 2:2, 4:10). There is nothing we can do, apart from trusting in Him, that enables us to have our sins forgiven and begin a new life with God. “No other religion in the world teaches our need for God to save us by His finished work. They are all based on man working to develop his own righteousness by good deeds” (Kern, p. 235).
Jesus could not die for anyone’s sins, whether they were committed intentionally or accidentally. To begin with, the Jewish people were strictly prohibited from offering human sacrifices under any circumstances. There is not one place throughout the entire corpus of the Jewish Scriptures where human sacrifices are condoned. In fact, over and over again, the Bible warns the Jewish people that it is a grave sin to bring a human being as a sacrifice. In the Book of Leviticus, only distinct species of animals are permitted for use in blood sacrifices.
The ancient pagan religions promoted the same idea about atonement as Christendom continues to preach today (e.g. Molech). They would joyfully offer humans to the fires of their sacrificial offering in order to expiate their sins and appease the gods. The Torah therefore condemned human sacrifices, and forewarned Jewish people of terrible consequences if this commandment were violated.
This message was conveyed at Mt. Moriah, where Abraham prepared to offer up his beloved son Isaac as a sacrifice. At that epic moment in history, as Abraham was ready to sacrifice Isaac, the Almighty admonished him that He did not desire human sacrifice, and directed Abraham to sacrifice the ram caught in the thicket instead. The Almighty’s directive – He only wanted animal sacrifices rather than human sacrifices – was immediately understood. This teaching has never departed from the mind and soul of the children of Israel.
Let’s take a closer look at this as it is written in the Tanakh.
Bereishit - Genesis - Chapter 22
2 And He said, "Please take your son, your only one, whom you love, yea, Isaac, and go away to the land of Moriah and bring him up there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains, of which I will tell you."
RASHI’s Commentary
your son: He [Abraham] said to Him,“ I have two sons.” He [God] said to him,“ Your only one.” He said to Him,“ This one is the only son of his mother, and that one is the only son of his mother.” He said to him,“ Whom you love.” He said to Him,“ I love them both.” He said to him,“ Isaac.” Now why did He not disclose this to him at the beginning? In order not to confuse him suddenly, lest his mind become distracted and bewildered, and also to endear the commandment to him and to reward him for each and every expression. — [from Sanh. 89b, Gen. Rabbah 39:9, 55:7]
bring him up: He did not say to him, “Slaughter him,” because the Holy One, blessed be He, did not wish him to slaughter him but to bring him up to the mountain, to prepare him for a burnt offering, and as soon as he brought him up [to the mountain], He said to him, “Take him down.” - [from Gen. Rabbah 56:8]
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife, to slaughter his son.
11 And an angel of God called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham! Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."
RASHI’s Commentary
“Abraham! Abraham!”: This is an expression of affection, that He repeated his name. — [from Tos. Ber. ch. 1, Sifra Vayikra ch. 1]
1 2 And he said, "Do not stretch forth your hand to the lad, nor do the slightest thing to him, for now I know that you are a God fearing man, and you did not withhold your son, your only one, from Me."
RASHI’s Commentary
Do not stretch forth: to slaughter [him]. He [Abraham] said to Him,“ If so, I have come here in vain. I will inflict a wound on him and extract a little blood.” He said to him,“ Do not do the slightest thing (מְאוּמָה) to him.” Do not cause him any blemish (מוּם) !- [from Gen. Rabbah 56:7]
for now I know: Said Rabbi Abba: Abraham said to Him, “I will explain my complaint before You. Yesterday, You said to me (above 21:12): ‘for in Isaac will be called your seed,’ and You retracted and said (above verse 2): ‘Take now your son.’ Now You say to me, ‘ Do not stretch forth your hand to the lad.’” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him (Ps. 89:35): “I shall not profane My covenant, neither shall I alter the utterance of My lips.” When I said to you,“ Take,” I was not altering the utterance of My lips. I did not say to you,“ Slaughter him,” but,“ Bring him up.” You have brought him up; [now] take him down. — [from Gen. Rabbah 56:8]
for now I know: From now on, I have a response to Satan and the nations who wonder what is My love towards you. Now I have a reason (lit. an opening of the mouth), for they see “ that you fear God.” –
The prophet Ezekiel warned the Jewish nation that a righteous man could not atone for the sins of the wicked. The prophet warns that no innocent person can die for the sins of the wicked!
Yechezkel - Ezekiel - Chapter 18
20 The soul that sins, it shall die; a son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, and a father shall not bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
21 And if the wicked man repent of all his sins that he has committed and keeps all My laws and executes justice and righteousness, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
22 All his transgressions that he has committed shall not be remembered regarding him: through his righteousness that he has done he shall live.
23 Do I desire the death of the wicked? says the Lord God. Is it not rather in his repenting of his ways that he may live?
24 And when the righteous repents of his righteousness and does wrong and does like all the abominations that the wicked man did, shall he live? All his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered; in his treachery that he has perpetrated and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die.
Finally, the prophets loudly declared to the Jewish people that the contrite prayer of the penitent sinner replaces the sacrificial system. Therefore, atonement for unintentional sins today is expiated through devotional supplication to God, the Merciful One.
In fact, in the third chapter of Hosea, the prophet foretold with divine exactness that the nation of Israel would not have a sacrificial system during the last segment of Jewish history until the messianic age. Hosea declares,
Hoshea - Hosea - Chapter 3
4 For the children of Israel shall remain for many days, having neither king, nor prince, nor sacrifice, nor pillar, nor ephod nor teraphim.
5 Afterwards shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God and David their king, and they shall come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness at the end of days.
Who can argue with verse 5?
If the prophet is testifying that the nation of Israel will indeed be without a sacrificial system during their long exile until the messianic age, what are we to use instead? How are the Jewish people to atone for unintentional sin without a blood sacrifice during their bitter exile? What about all the animal sacrifices prescribed in the Book of Leviticus? Can the Jewish people get along without animal offerings? Missionaries claim they cannot.
The Bible disagrees.
For this reason, the teaching highlighted in Hosea 14:2-3 is crucial. In these two verses, Hosea reveals to his nation how they are to replace the sacrificial system during their protracted exile. The prophet declares that the Almighty wants us to “render for bulls the offering of our lips.” Prayer is to replace the sacrificial system. Hosea states,
Hoshea - Hosea - Chapter 14
2 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled in your iniquity
3 Take words with yourselves and return to the Lord. Say, "You shall forgive all iniquity and teach us [the] good [way], and let us render [for] bulls [the offering of] our lips.
The prophets never instruct the Jews to worship any crucified messiah or demigod; nor does Scripture suggest that an innocent man could die as an atonement for the sins of the wicked. Such a message is utterly antithetical to the teachings of the Jewish Scriptures. Rather, it is the prayers of the sinner that would become as bulls of the sin offerings.
King Solomon echoes this sentiment as well.
Melachim I - I Kings - Chapter 8
46 If they sin against You, for (there is) no man who does not sin, and You will be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, and their captors will carry them away captive to the land of the enemy, far or near.
47 And they shall bethink themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of their captors, saying, 'We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness.'
48 And they shall return to You with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, who led them away captive, and pray to You toward their land, which You gave to their fathers, the city that You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your Name.
49 And you shall hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven, Your dwelling place, and maintain their cause.
50 And forgive Your people what they have sinned against You, and all their transgressions that they have transgressed against You, and give mercy before their captors, that they may have mercy on them.
There was no mention of a cross or a dead messiah in King Solomon’s prophetic message. Only the contrite and repentant prayer of the remorseful sinner can bring about a complete atonement. Although King Solomon’s timeless message stands out as a theological impossibility in Christian terms, it remains the warm, centerpiece of the God’s system of atonement throughout his long and bitter exile.