The Choice Between Life and Death

In the Torah

Everyone on this earth must make a choice between life and death. The only exception is when someone dies at an extremely young age. This idea of choosing life or death did not begin with Paul in Romans 6:16. It really began in the Garden of Eden, which is where Elohim (God) told Adam that eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil would bring certain death (Genesis 2:16-17). By the time we get to Genesis 3:22-24, we can understand that if Adam had eaten from the Tree of Life, he would have had eternal life (Genesis 3:22-24).

The Torah – the first 5 books of the Bible – can be described as representing the two trees in the Garden of Eden. The Torah defines good and evil, which is righteousness (lawfulness) and unrighteousness (lawlessness). The Messianic Siddur contains a blessing regarding the Torah that says, “It is a tree of life to those who take hold of it, and those who support it are praiseworthy. Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace. Bring us back Lord to You, and we shall come, renew our days as of old.

In Deuteronomy 30:11-20, Moses gave the people a choice between life and death. He explained that obedience to YHVH’s commandments would bring blessing and life. This refers to the law/principle of the Spirit of life. He also explained that disobedience to YHVH’s commandments brings cursing and death. This refers to the law/principle of sin and death. Over the years, YHVH’s people failed to choose wisely. They engaged in idolatry, which eventually caused them to become exiled from the land for a time.

 

In Proverbs

King Solomon had several things to say about the choice between life and death:

• Proverbs 10:18-19 – The wage of the righteous leads to life, the gain of the wicked to sin (punishment of sin; condition/guilt of sin).
• Proverbs 12:28 – In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.
• Proverbs 19:16 – Whoever keeps the commandment keeps his life; he who despises his ways will die.

 

In the Apostolic Scriptures/New Testament

This choice between life and death is still valid today. Paul taught the following:

• Romans 3:23 – for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
• Romans 6:16 – Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
• In Romans 6:17-23, Paul encourages us to abandon lawlessness, which leads to death, and to be slaves of righteousness, which leads to sanctification (being set apart to God).
• Galatians 6:8-10 – For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life… Do not equate this with earning salvation; it is the maturing process that leads to life. The opposite would be choosing death, which results from pursuing lawlessness.

 

Choosing Life Requires Love and Obedience

1 John 5:2-3 teaches us that if we love Elohim, we will obey His commandments; these commandments are not burdensome. In Matthew 11:28-30, Yeshua said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ 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. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Galatians 5:16-26 commands us to avoid and/or do certain things: But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law (of sin and death). ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

I have found that, when looking at the above list of the desires of the flesh, many people today do not know what sexual immorality entails. This is because our society has normalized it to the point that anything is acceptable in the name of love. If you do not know what it is, you cannot repent of it. Sexual immorality according to Scripture includes certain forms of sexual relations and a couple of other things:

• Fornication – relations between people who are unmarried.
• Adultery – relations between people, one or both who may be married to another person.
• Rape – forced or non-consensual relations.
• Incest – various forms of relations listed in Leviticus 18.
• Relations during a woman’s menses. Since no new life began, it is a time of death in the uterus.
• Offering a child to Molech, which is the murder/death of a child by passing it through the fire. This is the same as abortion and having the products of conception burned in a hospital incinerator. One of the primary purposes of sexual relations is to bring forth life, not death.
• Same-gender relations as mentioned in Leviticus 18:22, 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 and Timothy 1:10. This kind of activity cannot produce life.
• Bestiality – relations with animals. This has the potential to result in an unholy, unauthorized genetic mixture. See Leviticus 18:23; 19:19.

Exodus 20 contains the Ten Commandments, which are a good starting point for most people who come to faith in Yeshua Messiah (Jesus Christ):

1. Remember, YHVH is your Elohim; have no other gods before Him.
2. Do not make or bow down to idols, which can take the form of various objects, people, or anything else we raise up in place of YHVH in our hearts.
3. Do not take the name of YHVH your Elohim in vain; do not misuse His name.
4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy; rest on the Sabbath.
5. Honor your parents.
6. Do not murder.
7. Do not commit adultery.
8. Do not steal.
9. Do not witness falsely against others.
10. Do not covet anything that belongs to others.

How well are you observing these commands in your life? Ask the Lord to reveal to you what you can do to improve your level of obedience and be set apart to Him and set apart from the world. This is how we demonstrate our love to the Lord. If you are struggling in certain areas of your life, there may be a stronghold of the enemy in your life that must be broken and removed before you can experience freedom and victory.

The greatest commandments – loving YHVH and others – are mentioned in Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18, 34; and Matthew 22:37-40.

• Matthew 22:37-40 – And he (Jesus) said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

We need to learn how to love the Lord like He loves us, so we can have a better understanding of how to love others the way YHVH expects us to.

 

Your Decision Between Life and Death Has Eternal Consequences

Have you chosen wisely by choosing life over death yet? If you have not, you need to be aware of what is still to come.

Revelation 21:1-4 reveals that Elohim will dwell with man again, and the new Jerusalem will come down to a new/renewed earth. There will be no more crying, pain, or death. That sounds wonderful; however, Revelation 21:8, 27 reveals what will happen to those who chose foolishly during this life:

• Revelation 21:8, 27 – But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death… ²⁷ But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelation 22:1-5 takes us back to one of the trees from the Garden of Eden, which is now in the new Jerusalem.

• Revelation 22:1-5 – Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Take a look at Revelation 22:14-15 below. What tree do the righteous get to eat from, and where will the wicked be?

• Revelation 22:14-15 – Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs (Sodomites) and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Back in the wilderness, those with physical conditions like leprosy had to remain outside the camp (Leviticus 13:46). The same concept is going on here. The lake of fire is “outside” the new city of Jerusalem. Those with leprosy were like the living, walking dead. They are a picture of the spiritual condition of the people who choose foolishly; they are spiritually dead.

You will notice that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is not mentioned as being in the new Jerusalem. This is because of its connection with death. Death is connected to the kingdom of darkness, and life is connected to the kingdom of light (Elohim, heaven).

So, what are you waiting for? Choose life while you still have the opportunity! Allow the Lord to save you by rescuing you and redeeming you from the kingdom of darkness. He will cause your dead spirit to be reborn/made alive. Next, begin being cleansed by the Scriptures as you read them daily. Develop your relationship with the Lord through prayer and journaling. Ask the Lord to heal the wounds of your heart by the power of the Holy Spirit as you renounce your sins, as well as generational sins. Speak blessings over people instead of curses. Walk in the Spirit, and do not give in to the desires of the flesh.