Yeshua Said “I Am the Way”
Table of Contents
First and foremost I want to make clear that this is not a teaching website. I am not a teacher. These are basic concepts that nearly all believers should have in common. If you find a teaching here it is because it isn’t a controversial issue. My teachings are nothing more than basic instructions on how to begin to walk as Yeshua walked.
This website is designed to be an encouragement and very little more than that. I recommend deep prayer in all seriousness to be led to someone else who is better qualified and has the proper temperament and mindset, and more importantly, who has been called to teach the details of the faith.
This website might be a first step for some people, but we are to learn to walk even as He walked. The Way is a walk, not a one time prayer. The Way is a lifestyle brought about by a heart change.
Baby Steps
The first thing to do after a decision to follow Yeshua is to get a Bible. Learning the Way to follow Yeshua can only be done by reading His written Word.
The funny shaped letters in these passages are the Name of Yeshua (יהושע ) or Yahweh (יהוה) written in the modern Hebrew language. These exerpts come from The Scriptures, 2009 version of the bible.
There are a million variables and considerations when choosing translations. I’m choosing to use The Scriptures 2009 one because I have it available and I like it. Translations matter and some are certainly better than others. However are ALL translations and lose their value to some degree or other. For a new believer most translations will do just fine.
If you are concerned with deeper study then a more thorough understanding of translations and their issues is important. Some are more difficult to read but perhaps provide a more literal, word for word understanding. Some translations are thought for thought, or concept approaches. Whatever works for you is fine, but there is certainly a difference when it comes to deep study. Caution should be used when choosing a favorite translation.
This is something a better informed teacher should explain to you.
E Sword, a Free Resource
A fantastic free resource is https://e-sword.net/ . There you will find tons of translations along with concordances, or Hebrew and Greek dictionaries, to help you learn the meanings of words. There are devotionals, maps and commentaries, and more is available if you wish to pay for certain materials.
In truth, the essence of a relationship with Yahweh is not in mysticism or personal experiences. The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. Who can know it? If your personal experiences disagree with the Scriptures then those are false experiences and will lead you astray. Confirm everything with the Bible.
This is the way to be saved. Life after salvation is an entirely different question and involves learning and effort and living your life in a certain manner. The Way to live isn’t the scope of this article. Regardless, some methods taught here could help you to learn the Way for yourself and help you to avoid deceit and lies as you search for fellowship.
How to be saved:
Yeshua said:
John 14:6 יהושע said to him, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
The Bible tells us in the simplest possible terms that Yeshua is the only path to the Father. No other faith, no other method is acceptable. Consequently, to climb up some other way is to make yourself a thief and a robber.
Act 16:30-32 And having led them outside he said, “Masters, what do I have to do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe on the Master יהושע Messiah, and you shall be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the Word of יהוה to him and to all who were in his house.
Again, this is written in clear, easy to understand language. Yeshua is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. Believe in Him and you will be saved. That is the answer to the question of salvation. Furthermore that is the whole answer. However that simple answer opens up a lifetime of other questions.
Single verse doctrines are extremely dangerous. It’s easy to make the Bible say anything you want it to say. The Scriptures have been twisted and used as weapons ever since they were written down. To properly learn a biblical passage is to learn the full paragraphs, chapters and even books surrounding it. That way it can’t be twisted or taken out of context.
Work Out Your Own Salvation in Fear and Trembling
There simply isn’t enough time for even an honest pastor to fully explain everything in its proper context. To be responsible as a believer is to read the Word for yourself. All of it. Genesis to Revelation. It’s not as hard as it sounds and when you have eyes to see and ears to hear it is fascinating. The Bible is anything but a boring book.
In the preceding passage from Acts, an earthquake had opened the cell doors of a jail in Philippi, a Roman province. The jailer was distraught because he supposed the inmates had all escaped.
Rome was not a forgiving place for a lax jailer who let prisoners escape. Rather than wait for Rome to do something even more unpleasant than death to him the jailer was in the process of falling on his own sword. He was intent on killing himself. This is when he learned what the good conduct of real believers in Yeshua looks like.
Paul, who was imprisoned, cried out for him to stop. He told the jailer that all the prisoners were accounted for. The jailer was so grateful that he asked how he could be saved himself. The preceding verse in Acts was Paul’s response.
Saved by Grace Through Faith
Belief in Yeshua is the one and only requirement to be saved, according to the apostle Paul. Admittedly, that sounds pretty easy. But what does that even mean? To believe? That’s all?
To find out what belief means we can look at https://e-sword.net/ and go to the Strong’s Concordance. That is a free Bible which comes preinstalled in the program. Go to KJV+. What that means is that you will access a King James Bible which has definitions in the appropriate language, keyed to the King James version.
Then go to the book of Acts, chapter 16. Find verses 30-32 and you can see exactly what the Greek word for believe means in this particular instance.
When you click on the word “believe” this strange series of letters and numbers is displayed.
G4100 (The Strong’s number assigned to this word. G- meaning Greek. 4100 G4100 Hebrew words from the “Old” Testament will say something like H4100)
πιστεύω (The word written in Greek letters)
pisteuō (An English transliteration of the Greek word)
pist-yoo’-o (The best understanding of the pronunciation of the Greek word)
From G4102; to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), that is, credit; by implication to entrust (especially one’s spiritual well being to Christ): – believe (-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with.
Total KJV occurrences: 248
Where the definition says “From G4102” you can find the root or origination of the word, which usually gives deeper insight into how the word was used. In E-Sword you can click on the highlighted number to see the definition, and right click to open it up.
G4102
πίστις
pistis
pis’-tis
From G3982; persuasion, that is, credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly constancy in such profession; by extension the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself: – assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.
Total KJV occurrences: 244
We can look at the first definition and see that to believe in Yeshua is to have faith in, give credit to, to entrust, believe, commit to Yeshua. It is fair to add to this the origination of the word. Additionally we are to be persuaded or give credence to, or have a moral conviction and reliance on Yeshua. We must give Him our fidelity.
This is a Greek rendering of the word, but Yeshua was a Hebrew. In fact Yeshua was Jewish, something many people are still not aware of.
Hebrew Thought of Yeshua
The “New” Testament may or may not have been written in Greek, but the majority of the Bible and the culture with which it concerns itself, was Hebrew. It contains a few parts written in Aramaic, a closely related language to Hebrew and in the same Semitic family.
Truly Greek is a different world from Hebrew, both in culture and in language.
Therefore it is not at all improper to look at the Hebrew understanding of the word believe. That way you can get a fuller, possibly more accurate picture of what is being said in the “New” Testament. It is thought that the “New” Testament was written in Greek by some and in Hebrew by others. That’s a rabbit hole I’m not going to go down here.
The fact of the matter is that Yeshua was a Hebrew of the tribe of Judah, making Him a Jewish person. He lived in a Roman world dominated by Greek culture. It’s sort of like a culture salad with vinegar and jalapenos.
It isn’t a bad idea to eventually try to understand the massive differences between these cultures and their languages. The languages operate differently, and something may mean entirely different things to a Hebrew and a Greek mind. Hebrew operates primarily on function, and Greek utilizes abstractions and physical features.
Different Strokes For Different Folks
For an example I’ll use a pencil. This is not my illustration, but sadly I’ve looked at so many teachings from so many people that I can’t remember who to attribute it to.
In your mind show an ancient Greek and an ancient Hebrew a pencil. Then ask them to describe it.
A Greek mindset would probably use descriptors such as long, yellow, made of wood and filled with graphite. Likely someone with a Greek mindset would describe what the pencil looks like.
An ancient Hebrew would probably say it writes. The physical description is less important than the actual function.
With that in mind let’s look at the Hebrew “Old” Testament version of the word believe.
H539
אָמַן
‘âman
aw-man’
A primitive root; properly to build up or support; to foster as a parent or nurse; figuratively to render (or be) firm or faithful, to trust or believe, to be permanent or quiet; morally to be true or certain; once (in Isa_30:21; by interchange for H541) to go to the right hand: – hence assurance, believe, bring up, establish, + fail, be faithful (of long continuance, stedfast, sure, surely, trusty, verified), nurse, (-ing father), (put), trust, turn to the right.
Total KJV occurrences: 108
All in all, as in the pencil example, the Greek mindset describes what belief is or what it looks like. The Hebrew mindset, of which Yeshua was a part, describes actions associated with belief. Put another way, Greek belief is a moral or intellectual idea, an abstraction. The Hebrew version assigns actions to it, meaning that Hebrew belief is not only an idea of the mind but something you DO in concrete real terms.
You NURSE your belief. You are TO BE true or certain and we’re TO GO to the right hand. Believers should BRING UP and ESTABLISH and BE FAITHFUL. The Hebrew perspective of belief requires more than intellectual thought or conviction. Hebrew belief requires action.
How Do We Live?
Frankly the answer to the question of how to be saved is simple and only requires a single, crystal clear verse. However there are thousands of verses and 66 books of the modern Bible, and all of it has value and meaning. It’s within those books that we find out what it means to believe.
How do we nurse our belief? How do we bring up and establish our belief? What do we do to be faithful and walk like Yeshua walked?
Of course, this isn’t a teaching on doctrine. I am not your teacher, and you must learn doctrine for yourself. Contend for the original faith of the apostles of Yeshua.
The person or better yet people you choose as teachers are your teachers, but Yeshua must be the Head. He must be the focus of your entire spiritual life. Because as you learn to read the Bible you will find that He is without doubt the focus of the entire thing. The Bible is about Yeshua. All of it.
The Old Testament points to Him in some subtle and some not so subtle ways. It teaches that He is the Prophet like Moses and the King whom we are to rely on for our understanding. It is through Him that we receive the Holy Spirit which teaches us all things. This Holy Spirit will lead you to the human teacher or teachers that Yahweh wants you to learn from.
Fellowship is Crucial
I recommend finding a church or assembly of believers. They will love you, make you feel welcome and will help you keep yourself accountable. Your choice of a church or group is very important.
Assembly isn’t about the music program or the lighting system or a funny preacher. Crucially, the most important thing is whether or not that preacher stands on the Rock of Yeshua, or Jesus Christ. All that really matters is whether his preaching is based on the Bible in it’s complete, unfiltered form.
Your preacher should be unapologetic and uncompromising in his adherence to the Scriptures. If he is not then walk away. Of course not everything in the Bible is pleasant. The Bible is not designed to bring all peoples together. It is designed to sift wheat from chaff. The Word separates the sheep from the goats.
A watered down doctrine is in all likelihood a dangerous and false doctrine. Avoid it.
Don’t let your ears be tickled by what you want to hear, or what sounds easy and pleasant. What you want to hear does not transform lives. Music programs and singles programs and activities and awe inspiring architecture do not transform lives. They may not be bad in themselves, but these things are no measure of a good church.
The Good News of Yeshua
The Gospel, or the Good News, of Yeshua of Nazareth in all it’s fullness, transforms lives. His Spirit will transform your life. The Good News in it’s fullness is the measure of a good church. All you need is belief in Yeshua, or Jesus, and repentance from sin.
Contrary to popular belief, sin matters. If the preacher does not talk seriously about turning from your sins and being transformed into the likeness of Yeshua then he’s not the right preacher for you.
In secular terms you might say that not everything that glitters is gold. You may find that the hard truth is better. The Bible tells the painful, terrible story of a homeless traveling Preacher who was nothing special to look at. However He had the power to never sin even once in His life. Furthermore He could do healing miracles and save souls only by His words.
The King of Kings Yeshua was tortured to death on a cross for the forgiveness of sins for all mankind and yet ROSE FROM THE DEAD. That hard truth is better. Sadly, His story is harsh and dirty and gory and in some ways revolting. But this is the true story. Ultimately it’s a glorious story, and Yeshua is at the right hand of the Father in Heaven now.
In summary the truth of the Bible is this.
“Elohim so loved the world that He gave His only brought-forth Son, so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish but possess everlasting life. For Elohim did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not judged, but he who does not believe is judged already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only brought-forth Son of Elohim.” John 3:16-18
Remember always that Yeshua died for your sins and was raised from the dead. All you need to do for His salvation is to believe in Him. The catch is that He was a Hebrew, and to a Hebrew mind belief requires action.
Faith Without Works is Dead- Apostle James
In the same chapter as John 3:16 a very important man named John the Baptist says this:
John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son possesses everlasting life, but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of Elohim remains on him.”
Amazingly in the very same sentence John uses two different words, which to most of us have two different meanings. “He who BELIEVES…” has life. But if you do not OBEY the Son you won’t see that life. That may be confusing to some.
Thankfully now you can use your newfound knowledge about Strong’s Concordance and reading the bible. Open your new free https://e-sword.net/ app or program and learn what it means to obey and how it relates to belief.
Then you can put your Greek intellectual knowledge into Hebrew action and be saved by the Blood of the Lamb Yeshua.
Sing praise here, or check out tons of Gospel and praise music online. Change your music, change your mindset.
