NO MORE YOKES!
"NO MORE YOKES" - GALATIANS 5:1
Yoke.
- A well-known implement of husbandry, frequently used metaphorically for subjection , e.g. ( hence an "iron yoke" represents an unusually galling bondage. (Enslaved by..)
- A pair of oxen, so termed as being yoked together. The Hebrew term is also applied to asses, and mules, and even to a couple of riders. (Yoked Together..)
- The term is also applied to a certain amount of land, equivalent to that which a couple of oxen could plough in a day,(Authorized Version "acre"), corresponding to the Latin jugum. (Determined boundary / limitation, responsibility / irresponsibility or commitment/complacent..)
Are YOU in a yoke of "sin"?
READ "search" scriptures from Bible App.
Genesis 27:40 (Jacob and Esau - heart envy and jealousy is destructive)
Exodus 6:6-7 ("Egyptian bondage is a choice")
Leviticus 26:13 (God won't humiliate you while you learn..)
Deuteronomy 28:48 (Jesus redeemed us from "the curse", staying in it is your choice)
Isaiah 58:6-10 (Repentance leads to redemption, refreshing and release)
Jeremiah 2:20 (At the moment your heart became indifferent, you starting serving the kingdom of darkness)
Jeremiah 30:8 (When you hear HIS voice, don't harden your heart)
Lamentations 1:14 (We NEVER get away with "sin", even if we choose NOT too believe)
Ezekiel 34:27 (Now that you've figured out that YOU can't "deliver you", you're ready)
Additional Scriptures:
Matthew 11:29-30
Acts 15:10
Galatians 5:1
1 Timothy 6:1
1 Corinthians 15:12-34
Who is your "yoke fellow"?
Yokefellow - associate or companion; "your roddie", "your homie", your brother or sister, etc (alliances, allegiances, agreements)
Cultural commentary: Society seems to be returning to the pagan religious worldview that predated Christianity's rise.
This worldview locates divinity inside the world rather than outside of it; God or the gods are part of nature rather than an external creator. Meaning, as Douthat describes Smith's thesis, is therefore to be sought "in a fuller communion with the immanent world rather than a leap toward the transcendent."
This old/new spirituality can allow for belief in the supernatural and eternal, but it focuses on the material and temporal. This brand of religion is therapeutic, a means of seeking harmony with the world and ourselves. It finds meaning less in revelation from outside us than in so-called truth discovered "inside us".
A pagan culture would much prefer spirituality that requires no repentance and offers only affirmation. That's why much of today's most popular teaching in churches seems to focus more on personal therapy than on biblical theology. Who wouldn't prefer a doctor who only delivers good news?
William Booth (1829-1912), the founder of the Salvation Army, predicted: "The chief danger that confronts the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, heaven without hell."
**Matthew 6:24 (Singleness of eye)
Yoke of FREEDOM (Liberty = life, peace and joy with blessings,
vs
Yoke of BONDAGE (Slavery = entangled, restricted and enslaved with burdens, cares and concerns)
**ANYTHING that diminishes the importance or value of Jesus Christ is BONDAGE, whether it seems like "freedom to you" or not.
CULTURAL CONTRADICTIONS and INCONGRUENCES
- "Save the tree" vs "Abort the child"
The best usage of yoke by Jesus is:
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
(Matthew 11:29–30, New Revised Standard Version, Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 11:29-30 - Revised Standard Version)
Jesus used the yoke as a metaphor for the heavy burdens imposed upon the people by the religious leaders (such as the Pharisees) of his day, and for the much more manageable burdens the Gospel imposes.
Yeshua's gospel message was, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." In other words, "Stop doing things your own way! Turn back to the Torah, because when you do the Kingdom of Heaven can be made manifest on earth!" Repentance means turning back to and submitting ourselves to the Torah. It means coming under its yoke. But that yoke does not have to be attached to an impossible burden.
God gave His People basic guidelines for a holy life, but the Pharisees ended up making God's Law inaccessible and impossible to follow. For the orthodox Jew, religion was a matter of burdens: 613 Mosaic laws and thousands of oral interpretations which dictated every aspect of life. Jesus invites burdened Israel and us to take his yoke upon our shoulders. In Palestine, ox-yokes were made of wood and were made to fit the ox comfortably.
For a contemporary analogy, consider the advantages of new, high-tech, custom-made athletic equipment. The yoke of Christ can be seen as the sum of our Christian responsibilities and duties. To take the yoke of Christ is to put ourselves in a relationship with Christ as his servants and subjects and to conduct ourselves accordingly.
The yoke of Christ is not just a yoke from Christ but also a yoke with him. A yoke is fashioned for a pair -- for a team working together. So we are not yoked alone to pull the plow by our own unaided power; we are yoked together with Christ to work with Him using His strength. By saying that his "yoke is light" (11:30), Jesus means that whatever God sends us is made to fit our needs and our abilities exactly.
Walter L. Smith III
Founder/President
Pure In Heart Int'l Ministries, Inc./
The Center For Kingdom Advancement
1-800-973-8533, Ext. 700 and 701
**Leadership Greater Rochester, Class of 2018!
**Gallup Strengths: Positivity, Learner, Connectedness, Responsibility, & Activator
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