The Truth

11/01/2026

The Arrow, the Target, and the Law

I've been studying the word "law" as it's used in the Bible. Many of us hear that word and think of the Mosaic Law, or of rules we have to obey, like driving the speed limit when we see a cop nearby. As if Jesus were parked on the freeway with a radar gun, hoping to catch the next person speeding. But the word paints a very different picture.

The Hebrew word for law is Torah (תּוֹרָה), and it comes from the root yarah (יָרָה). Yarah is an action word. It means to throw or shoot, like an archer letting an arrow fly: "Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot" (2 Kings 13:17). But the same word also means to point out the way, to teach. God told Moses, "I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say" (Exodus 4:12). David wrote, "Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way" (Psalm 25:8). Both times the word is yarah. So Torah isn't a list of rigid restrictions. It's instruction. It's direction. It's the path pointed out.

Now think about the word for sin. The most common Hebrew word is chata (חָטָא), and at its heart it means "to miss." Judges 20:16 describes seven hundred soldiers who "could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss." That word "miss" is chata. Proverbs uses it for someone who rushes ahead and misses the way: "he that hasteth with his feet sinneth" (Proverbs 19:2).

That's all of us. God set the mark: holiness, love, and a right relationship with Him. And every one of us has missed it. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

But God didn't leave us guessing where the target was. He gave us His Torah, His instruction. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105). "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go" (Psalm 32:8). The law was never a trap set to catch us. It was God, in His grace, pointing the way to life. As Moses told Israel, "it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life" (Deuteronomy 32:47).

Then God did more than point the way. "In the beginning was the Word… And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:1, 14). Where every one of us missed, Jesus never did. He "did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth" (1 Peter 2:22). He's the only one who ever hit the center of God's righteousness. Jesus said it Himself: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil" (Matthew 5:17). The Greek word for "fulfil" means to fill something up completely, to the brim. Jesus didn't throw out the Torah. He filled it full, and everything it pointed to found its target in Him. "All things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me" (Luke 24:44). "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (Romans 10:4).

In Scripture, arrows are often a picture of judgment. "He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow" (Lamentations 3:12). "For thine arrows stick fast in me" (Psalm 38:2). But at the cross, Jesus stepped in front of the target and took those arrows into His own body. "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).

He took our sin, and through faith in Him, He guides our lives for His purpose. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5–6). "For what the law could not do… God sending his own Son… That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:3–4).

So the next time you hear the word "law," don't picture Jesus with a radar gun. Picture a loving Father pointing the way home, and a Savior who took every arrow that was meant for you.

10/29/2026

I would like to take a moment and welcome the new followers to The Truth. I don't share names without permission, but I pray the teaching brings you all closer to God.

09/28/2026

09/16/2026

God gave the law before He instructed Moses to build the Ark of the Testimony, or the Tabernacle. The Apostle Paul and the Author of Hebrews both refer to the propitiation of sin. This is also used for the pure gold of the Mercy Seat in Exodus. The Mercy Seat sat inside the Holy of Holies, and contrary to popular belief, it was a flat slab covered in pure gold; it represents the footstool of God's throne. The law is not Christ; He is always referred to as THE WORD that tabernacled among us. The Mercy Seat was always a sign of propitiation, a shadow of good things to come. During Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, the High Priest sprinkled the blood of sacrifice on the Mercy Seat, and the atonement, or propitiation, for sin became active. In Leviticus 17:11, it says, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul." Paul speaks of this in Romans 3:21-26 and tells us that the righteousness of God apart from the law has been revealed. He then says the Law and the Prophets testify to God's righteousness through faith in Christ, freely by His grace, for the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. In 3:25, it says "propitiation," but Paul uses the word ἱλαστήριον, which means an atoning sacrifice, a place of propitiation, or the Mercy Seat. In verse 23, Paul says we have all fallen short (sinned), but in His righteousness and forbearance (the passing over) of our sins. Paul uses the words "sins having taken place beforehand." The sins beforehand are the condition of humanity (falling short); sin is the falling short we see in Genesis 3. Hebrews 9:22 tells us again that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. Without the remission of sins, we are all dead men walking. The life is in His blood. 1 John 2:2: John uses the same word, propitiation, as the atoning sacrifice for our sin. He is called our advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. It is not just erroneous but a perversion of God's word to quote 1 John 3:4 without 1 John 3:5, when John writes that He (Christ) appeared to take away our sins again, the condition of falling short. 1 John 3:4 says sin is also a transgression of the law. Why? Because the law points to the righteousness of Christ. Not the righteousness of the law. John is telling us that we who practice sin (falling short or missing the mark. are transgressing the Mosaic Law (anomia, without law). He is not telling us to keep the Mosaic Law, but pointing us to the One (Christ) who fulfilled the (nomos) Mosaic Law. The law is not abolished, again, because it points to Christ's righteousness. Jesus Himself says this about the Mosaic Law and the Prophets in Matthew 5:17. He uses the same grammar for the words "abolish" and "fulfilled," meaning He came not to destroy the law (remember, the law points to His righteousness; the Prophets testify of Him. ) but to fulfill He came to fulfill. It is a complete, single event in which He performs the work. In Matthew 5:17, He uses the word nomos, referring to the Mosaic Law. In Matthew 5:18, He uses the word nomos again, but in 5:19 He uses the word entolé, not nomos. This word brings the reader back to the end result of the command, including the Mosaic Law, in which not one jot or tittle will pass away. It's a direct revelation in which He is saying every stroke of the pen in His word, including the Law, the smallest component (least) of the commandments. He is telling us that it is He who preserves the smallest part of His word. He then says that, setting aside this command as the least, he who teaches and does them would be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Teach (διδάσκω) is translated in Hebrew as Torah, meaning teaching and training. The root of Torah is a pictograph of an archer. Both the Hebrew and the Greek are verbs, but the archer is the one doing the casting, shooting, or pointing out. It is He who never misses the mark. What is sin? Missing the mark. It is our faith, trust, confidence, and our practicing of His righteousness in Christ. His blood atones us. The law points to His righteousness, not our own.
God bless you.

09/13/2026

This is an AI-generated picture. The churches are identical. The pastors are identical; however, the pastor on the left is holding a thorn bush, and the branches on the table are thorny. In my next teaching, I will explain why.

09/12/2026

Once saved, always saved gives us comfort, but is it true? If it isn't true, then the comfort is false!

09/10/2026

Sometimes my teaching can seem rather complicated. As always, I urge people to hang in there. Please use your Bibles. There is so much being taught in the name of Jesus, but without true discernment of God's word, how will we know if what we hear is correct?
(https://biblehub.com/genesis/26-5.htm) because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

Tonight, I want to go back to Genesis 26:5 and look at the Hebrew word Torah. The word's history reveals a rich meaning in the bible. It is always used with the Hebrew root word Yarah. It helps define the meaning of Torah, or, in English, we see it as the word “Law”.

Torah (law) means directing, teaching, or instructing. In Genesis 26:5, it is not a legal code, as we will see in the Mosaic Law. It is a relational term. It is used as a plural word in this verse, but that is not always the case. The relationship is easy to explain. Abraham listened (obeyed) to GOD. He heard Him. Simple huh?

My Charge in this same verse means to guard diligently; Abraham kept or took heed of all that GOD had told him.

My Commandments in this verse refer to something that GOD prescribed. It has a different meaning than law. The word refers to the mandates and ordinances, or precepts, of what is said. GOD is setting things in order through His word.

My statutes mean decree. It’s like a picture etched in stone. Please don’t think of the Ten Commandments. Think of decree as a fixed boundary, or as unchanging. Better yet, think of it as His word being forever settled.

The root word Yarah, as I said above, is always part of the word Torah. Always! Look at the definition it carries.
To flow as water
To rain
To lay or throw (an arrow)
To shoot
To point, as in a finger (Think finger of God, only)
To teach

There are different uses in grammar. I gave them all without explanation. I may teach on them later, but for now I hope people will see an archer shooting an arrow or laying that arrow in your heart and mind. Sin misses the mark, or falls short. This archer does not miss His mark. Who is this archer? He is the debar in Hebrew, the Logos in Greek. He is the Logos that became flesh and dwelt among us. He is the Living Word of GOD. He is the water that flows to us through His Spirit and His truth. It is He who teaches us His word; it is He who points our way. He is the living word, powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.

Abraham understood this; he guarded it diligently with his heart. Take His word; read it. Take it to your heart and mind. With prayers, making your supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to Him, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Are we like Abraham; do we believe Him (Christ)?

God bless you all.

09/07/2026

Faithfulness to God. 2018