"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Messiah Yah'shua (Christ Jesus), who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Ruach (Spirit)" (Rom.8:1, NKJV).
It was a bright and sunny morning, and there was a familiar blind beggar on the street side. He was holding his usual sign asking for money, the usual "I'm hungry", along with his empty bowl.
Many people passed by but none of them bothered to drop a coin. It turned afternoon, still the bowl was empty. Maybe they were too busy or he was too insignificant?
A young man who had been observing him for quite a some time, approached him and said:
Puzzled, upset but hopeful, the beggar agreed. The young man took the board, wrote something and walked away.
Almost at once a miracle happened. The next passerby stopped, read the sign, and dropped a coin into the beggar's bowl. The same thing happenned again and again. Everyone walking by dropped in some change. The beggar's bowl began to fill, one coin after the another, and it was full by the evening.
The next day, it got even better. Finally, the old man couldn't stand the suspense of not knowing why any longer. He couldn't figure out what the young man could possibly have written on his sign that could make such a big difference. So he stopped someone and asked him to read the sign out aloud.
"It says, 'Its a beautiful day and I can't see it'".
There are those who believe that so long as one is honest and blunt in ones speech to others that that's all that matters. In our anecdote this morning, which is a well known one, the error of this position is exposed. The beggar was blunt and honest - his sign said, "I am hungry", but no-one responded. It was a 'truth' statement but not a biblical emet (truth) statement. For there is more to emet than being factually accurate. Emet moves levim (hearts) but factual truth does not. And though this ought to be self-evident you'd be surprised how many are blind to it.
Emet was deliberately linked to two other words by Yah'shua (Jesus) - Derech (Way) and Chayim (Life). However, the Master did not simply say that He was "Derech, Emet and Chayim" but "the Derech, the Emet and the Chayim" (Jn.14:6, NKJV). He is the walking, living emet or truth - the three are inseparably connected.
As I have said before, biblical emet meant more than 'truth' as we usually understand it - it is also linked to the concepts of stability, faithfulness, certainty, rightness, trustworthiness and sureness. When Yah'shua (Jesus) describes Himself as "the emet" He is not describing the sum total of all scientifically-verifiable facts as perhaps we in the West might use the English term, but that which defines His Father's reality. Everything that is within the domain of Elohim (God) is emet and since no unclean thing can live in His presence (Dt.23:14), no spiritually unclean truth-words can either. Thus the statement, "Elohim (God) is ahavah (love)" (1 Jn.4:8,16) is only emet if it is stated in ahavah (love) - it does not dwell in His presence if it is uttered in hate or contempt, as Satan might. There are therefore, from Yahweh's point of view, no words that are emet (truth) unless they are animated by ahavah (love).
This is very different from the kind of jurisprudence that is to be found in the courts of secular lands. When witnesses swear to "tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth", the legal system is only concerned with scientific facts. They are not concerned how these true facts are related. When you hear 'truth' spoken of in society, this is what society basically has in mind.
Not so Yahweh, and not so Yahweh's people. Indeed, it can be reasonably argued that the substance behind any words spoken is far mroe important than the words themselves or the facts that someone may be trying to establish. Thus the following Tanakh (Old Testament) scripture (and related ones) states:
"A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger" (Prov.15:1, KJV).
As believers we are not only responsible for what we say but how we say it. Telling an unbeliever that he is going to hell may very well be a truth statement but it is not necessarily emet. Emet is more concerned that the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) leads a believer into a knowledge that he is hell-bound if he does not repent and this will only be achieved by a perfect knowledge of the unbeliever's lev (heart), which only Elohim (God) has. Therefore both the words and the delivery, both of which must be given by the Ruach (Spirit), are essential if that darkened lev (heart) is to be penetrated.
This is true for everyone. What was it about the second sign that persuaded passers-by to give the begger money? It wasn't that they were convinced that he was hungry but rather they were able to connect to the reality of a greater suffering - and a gift which they had and he did not - sight! The sign, moreover, didn't just say: "It's daytime and I can't see it" but "a beautiful day". An appeal was being made that was very human and very powerful: to the desirability of beauty.
A person can go out on the streets and witness by reading out Scriptures and making a lot of truth statements (as the world generally understands the word) but what penetrates a darkened soul is the beauty of emet - a beauty which comes directly from the Name and Character of Elohim (God). When the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) fills a witnessing soul, it fills that soul with beauty, and that beauty colours the words of the one witnessing, giving them a vitality absent from the one who does not have the Ruach (Spirit).
This same beauty is supposed to fill the actions and words of believers to each other and to unbelievers. Yahweh's staff - symbol of His toqef (authority) is given the Name No'am "Beauty" in the Book of Zechariah (Zech.11:10). That is why Yahweh's toqef is different from all other undelegated toqefim or 'authorities' because the latter are not No'am - they are not "Beauty". And that is one of the things the Ruach (Spirit) gives one who speaks in the Ruach (Spirit), is it not? - beauty of words, beauty of countenance, beauty of spirit!
In the heavenlies, No'am (Beauty) and Toqef (Authority) are not separate things - they are echad (one). But that is only emet in Yahweh's presence. To the world, toqef is ugly, and it ascribes beauty to other, lesser and impermanent things. No'am is, moreover, not merely that which is pleasant to the eyes, but carries the wider meaning of 'agreeable', 'delightful', 'suitable', 'splendid' and 'graceful'. Above all, that which characterises heavenly No'ab or Beauty is GRACE.
The substance of the words of the redeemed is always savoured with grace - undeserved loving-kindness, unmerited favour. It may speak words in emet (truth) that is shattering to the lies a soul believes - as when the Ruach (Spirit) convicts of sin - but it is always seasoned by this healing balm. The two are inseparable if the Words are from Yahweh because every divine rebuke or chastisement is always based in ahavah (love) and simultaneously carries healing balm with it that is instantly applied upon repentance. And even if the soul does not repent, the grace is still there, but the healing power of that grace is unreleased because it is refused by the one refusing to repent. Thus one who has no grace or heavenly beauty in his words can declare that someone is going to hell if he does not repent but at the same time lack the drawing or attractive force that would make contact with his lev (heart) and save him. The one in darkness will be instantly repelled, unconsciously sensing the same darkness in the one that is witnessing to him, making his witness worse than useless, and harmful.
Now someone operating in the prophetic may be called to deliver a message of condemnation from Yahweh, in which case no reply or response is expected. That is entirely different. But when we are witnessing of Messiah, it must always be with "the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of Elohim (God)" (1 Peter 3:4, NKJV).
This same emet was enunciated when I gave a sermon about silver trumpets not so long ago which I invite you to look at again. If Emet (truth) statements are the silver trumpets but without breath - ruach - then that witness issilent in the SPIRITUAL. Unless the Ruach haEmet - the Spirit of Truth - is moving through our words, then those words are spiritually dead, and we might as well be silent because the spirit of the one listening will hear nothing. This is especially true for believers who walk, move and live in the Ruach (Spirit), for that is what they will be listening out for, far more than the plain spoken words.
I can emphasise how important this is. If we say something that may be a truth statement but it is not in ahavah (love) or the Ruach (Spirit), somewhere we are still believing a lie and acting out that lie in our speech which is lacking in grace and beauty. And that false spirit in which we speak these words is implying a lie at a deeper level and is demanding that the listener receive both the truth statement and the spiritual lie simultaneously!
This is how Satan condemns believers - it is why he is called the accuser of the brethren (Rev.12:10). He may make a truth statement about an issue we have but he does it in the spirit of condemnation, and not in ahavah (love). What happens is that he knows that whilst our mind is forced to acknowledge the truthfulness of the words spoken our lev (heart) will tend to assume that the spirit behind the words is justified. And since that spirit is saying 'you can't be forgiven', we can end up either believing in or reinforcing a lie at a much deeper and more dangerous level of our being. Once the Enemy has his foot in the door, he will follow up with a barrage of accusations: 'There is no hope for you'; 'Maybe you can save yourself by earning forgiveness in some way'.
This is why speaking truth at the level of words is never enough and is never emet (divine truth). If we speak out truth-statements but not in the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) then we are doing the devil's work for him. And if we do this habitually, all we will ever succeed in doing is planting bad seeds of condemnation again and again in others. If we express truth statements in a sinful lev (heart) and ruach (spirit), then our levim (hearts) can produce no good thing.
As the seed is in the fruit, so people receive the seeds of Emet (Truth) by partaking of them in the fruit of the Ruach (Spirit). If truth statements are given in a bad spirit, then those truth statements will be spiritually ingested along with the bad seeds and this will produce bad fruit. Thus a lev (heart) must learn to be closed to such a bad spirit or it will rapidly become contaminated. Thus we must be circumspect in what we open our minds and levim (hearts) to for these must both be guarded by the fence of Torah as well as by divine tavnith (pattern) of authentic ahavah (love) and emet (truth) (see The Decree).
Our minds and hearts are under continual assault by the enemy, day and night. His weapons are subtle, blending truth and lies, particularly at multiple levels of soul, like true words and a false spirit. Therefore we must watch out. Words are easier to 'hear' than the Ruach (Spirit) which is why training in the latter, through regular daily scripture study and communion with Yahweh, is essential:
"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Messiah Yah'shua (Christ Jesus), who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Ruach (Spirit)" (Rom.8:1, NKJV).
This is the key. Instead of first worrying about whether the words we say are factually true or not, we should first ensure we are walking in the Ruach (Spirit) and not the flesh - in the spirit of No'am (Beauty), Emet (Truth) and Ahavah (Love) rather than one of ugliness and gracelessness. For then our good intentions - if we had them - and however passionately held - become poisonous seeds, ruining rather than edifying.
Remember the blind man and remember to season with authentic, divine beauty!
