⁣Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Romans 12:19 ESV

"Vengeance is mine, says the Lord" does not mean we shouldn't pursue justice or restitution, but it does mean that we shouldn't be trying to get even, to make other people hurt just because they made us hurt. Our goal should always be to make the world a better place, not to make everyone equally miserable.

From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).

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⁣In Genesis 49, Jacob blesses his sons, but many of these blessings sound more like curses. What's really going on? By recognizing who each of his sons were and prophesying over them accordingly, Jacob set them on a course to reinforce each other's strengths and minimize each other's weaknesses.

This is how the body of Christ should be. A blessing for one of us should be a blessing to all of us, and a curse to one of us should be an opportunity to defend and encourage a brother, not to tear him down.

Wild Branch Community is a home fellowship of Torah-observant believers in Texas between Houston and Austin. Find out more about us at https://WildBranchTX.org.

⁣We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”
Romans 15:1-3 ESV

Who are the strong and the weak? What does it mean for the strong to "bear with the failings" of the weak? It most definitely does not mean that those who have rejected the Law of Moses should be patient with those who are still trying to keep the commandments. That's exactly the opposite of Paul's meaning. Paul was not an antinomian nor even a metanomian.

From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).

This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.

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⁣I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:14-16 ESV

Paul says “able to instruct one another” for two reasons. First, the prophecies that he quoted just prior describe a priestly role of discipleship in which Israel instructs adoptees from the nations in the ways of YHWH. Second, the primary responsibility of a disciple is to become like his master, but the next is to make more disciples. As he has described elsewhere, this is one of the primary reasons we are instructed to gather together regularly as believers: to encourage and instruct each other.

Christianity has developed a "church culture" in which everyone expects one person to stand before the congregation and teach them everything. The rest of us are just supposed to sit in the pews and be "fed". This passage from Romans shows that this isn't what God intended. Certainly God has specially commissioned some people to be Teachers, but we are all supposed to be learning and becoming teachers of one another. Nobody has a monopoly on all knowledge. We all know some things better than the people around us, and we should be willing to teach when the need and opportunity arises.

From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).

This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.

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Messianic Torah Portion Vaera (I appeared) chronicles the beginning of the Exodus. In our study, we parallel the plagues of Exodus with those in Revelation 6 and contrast the purposes of each set of plagues.

⁣At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.
Romans 15:25-26 ESV

Paul explains that the Jewish believers in Jerusalem deserved the help of the new Gentile believers, but he doesn't explain why they needed help. In this video, I offer some possible reasons.

From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).

This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.

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Revision 2 of a message about the myths that circulate the commandment keeping Christians such as Messianic, Hebrew Roots, and Sacred Name Movement folks.
A print of the pdf is available at ⁣https://firstcenturychristiani....ty.net/myths-versus-

⁣In Memory of Him