Do you know some people will have a bad resurrection? While there will be people who have a good resurrection, there will be others who have an even better resurrection.
In Hebrews 11 the writer explains all the actions the people did because of their faith, and then sums it all up and explains why they lived the life of faith in verse 35 when he says, “…that they might gain an even better resurrection.” Many of us in our journey of faith have primarily been focused on only going to heaven. That may be why some initially accepted Jesus in their heart – to make sure they get to heaven, and that becomes their primary focus their entire life. It is good to remember there is a lot more to salvation than just ‘going to Heaven’.
Desire is Your Responsibility
Where you end up in the resurrection depends on your ability to overcome your flesh and learn to keep God’s commandments. Paul says in Galatians 5:16
“… walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
Sometimes that is easier said than done. The Spirit of God empowers us to overcome, and is working in us, but we first need to make a decision and put effort into desiring the things of God and not desiring the things of our flesh. Once we take action to move forward towards God, He will guide us towards understanding what it means to walk by His Spirit and how to live a life as His child . God gives us strength to master our fleshly desires as we desire Him more, and as we continue on a path of righteousness.
For some, it may be difficult to recognize that the desires of our flesh are evil. It is important to know that we were created to overcome them and we will be accountable for our actions.
Paul says in Romans 2:5-11, “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God will repay each person according to what they have done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.”
God has given us the gift of repentance to grow and work out our relationship with Him, and to overcome the flesh. Jesus said to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). It is a journey, but the reward is the resurrection and an eternal life.
Belief Produces Actions
In Romans 2, Paul did not say we will be judged by what we believe, he said we are going to be accountable and judged for what we do, and that means there are consequences for our actions. Our actions do reflect what we believe. Paul says in Romans 7:15-20, “… I do the things I don’t want to do …”, but he also says in verse 25, “So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law [Torah], but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” The law of sin is the law of death, which means sin will produce death. Each of us are set free from this law of death because Jesus gave us the possibility of repentance. If we repent and turn to God, the desires of the flesh will fall away as we seek God and apply His ways in our life.
Growth Takes Dedication and Commitment
As it has already been discussed in previous days, in order to repent you really need to start out and take a good assessment of where you are at in your life, make a list of things to work on, prioritize your list, and then come up with a plan of action to grow. A practical way to do this is by dedicating time to read the Bible in the morning, take notes of scriptures that are speaking to you. It is also a great idea to study the scriptures with good commentary from a Jewish perpective. We recommend the Stone Edition Chumash, or any of the books that are under The Rubin Edition of the Prophets collection of books. Another practical way to grow is through prayer. Here is a really good article on prayer along with a podcast of a real example of how prayer can impact your life in a positive way. We have also found it works best to have an accountability partner to talk about what you are learning, and someone you can work with to apply what you are learning. You could also join a good discipleship program such as Jesus My Rabbi.
Are People Cursed Because They Keep God’s Commandments?
Above we mentioned Paul said, “I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law”, it is worth mentioning something very important here about God’s law. Many people believe the law of God – a.k.a. the Torah – will bring a curse by trying to keep the laws of God, but the very core of what the curse is – not knowing God. One may ask the question – why would God curse us for trying to keep His commandments? Does that even make sense?
The curse would be – not having the ability to repent. At the other spectrum, the blessing is to be able to fully know God. So, doesn’t it make sense that you will know God when you keep His commandments (1 John 2:3), and not know God when you do not? Jesus said if you love Him you will keep them (John 14:15).
Below we have put a list of blessings and curses of the Torah:
To understand this principle further, in Deuteronomy 28:45-47 it says
“All these curses will come on you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you … because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity.”
A Rabbi once said, nowhere in the Torah does it say you have to be perfect. It says if you obey God and follow His instructions you will be blessed and know Him. He also pointed out Deuteronomy 28 does not say because they only disobeyed God’s instructions a curse came, but it was because they were not thankful and grateful when God had given them prosperity. They did not serve God with a joyful and glad heart for all the good He did. They became arrogant and conceited, unthankful, and self-seekers. Chapters 26 and 27 of Deuteronomy explains that when the children of Israel were in the land, they were to bring their first fruits and make a declaration about how good God was to them and their ancestors. They were to remember where their blessings had come from. God just wanted them to be thankful – was that too much to ask for?
An Ungrateful Child
If you gave your child a gift, and they refused to acknowledge you, how would you feel? God has been trying to explain from the very beginning of Genesis, that if you are not content and thankful for what you have, you will always desire to have more, and you will desire the things of this world that you should not have. You will desire them so much they will ultimately destroy you. That is the result of the curse, and it does not come because you sinned a little bit, or missed a few commandments. It comes because the desires of this world will only lead to what you cannot have, and the insanity of always wanting more will lead to your destruction. From the beginning God said what was good and evil, but every single one of us try to decide that for ourselves. Eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was how Adam and Eve were trying to decipher that very question; what is good and evil? Each one of us chooses if we will accept God’s interpretation – or our interpretation.
God has given you an opportunity to have a better resurrection. It is by you cultivating the seed of repentance in your own life and growing, accepting that God decides what good and evil are, being thankful and grateful for everything God has given you, and listen to the word of the prophet in Micah 6:8 where he says,
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
God wants you to learn His instructions (Torah) of what good and evil are so you can make correct decisions, show mercy and love to your fellow man, and not to be arrogant or conceited in the knowledge you have before God. When accepting Jesus in your heart, you must accept God’s Torah, or the relationship will not work. Jesus is the Torah in the flesh (John 1:1-18).
Jesus said in Matthew 5:19, “Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
You should always be serving God and working with Him, not working against Him. The difference between a bad and a good resurrection is how much you know God.
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