[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":403},["ShallowReactive",2],{"letters":3},[4,37,220],{"id":5,"title":6,"body":7,"date":28,"description":21,"draft":29,"extension":30,"meta":31,"navigation":32,"path":33,"seo":34,"stem":35,"__hash__":36},"letters\u002Fletters\u002Fletters-of-introduction\u002Findex.md","Letters Of Introduction",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":25},"minimark",[10,18,22],[11,12,14],"h1",{"id":13},"",[15,16],"binding",{"value":17},".title",[19,20,21],"p",{},"I want to write some letters. Like what the New Testament is made up of but probably not so ... revered. Famous? You know, not part of the actual cannon of scripture. Mostly I want to explore the gifting Yahweh has given me and need to find an appropriate outlet for the result of hearing from him.",[19,23,24],{},"Joshua x x x",{"title":13,"searchDepth":26,"depth":26,"links":27},2,[],"2121-06-24",false,"md",{},true,"\u002Fletters\u002Fletters-of-introduction",{"title":6,"description":21},"letters\u002Fletters-of-introduction\u002Findex","vNJhRZp4Gt_nwAxiJaA5SQcX28n8W6hu8b0nlJzkHwQ",{"id":38,"title":39,"body":40,"date":214,"description":48,"draft":29,"extension":30,"meta":215,"navigation":32,"path":216,"seo":217,"stem":218,"__hash__":219},"letters\u002Fletters\u002Fso-you-want-to-learn-biblical-hebrew\u002Findex.md","So you want to learn Biblical Hebrew?",{"type":8,"value":41,"toc":205},[42,46,49,54,57,60,63,67,75,84,88,103,109,112,116,125,134,138,141,156,164,168,181,185],[11,43,44],{"id":13},[15,45],{"value":17},[19,47,48],{},"Good for you. Great idea! What now? Well, I don't really have all the answers but I do have some resources and a rough plan to follow. If you want it.",[50,51,53],"h2",{"id":52},"overall-method","Overall Method",[19,55,56],{},"The big picture plan is to get familiar enough with the language that you can start reading the Hebrew bible. There are some great tools out there now which don't have to cost you any money if you can't afford it. Where resources cost a bit of money I will flag this up. There is no right or wrong way to learn Biblical Hebrew and it might be worth dotting about the different methods a bit to keep it interesting and fresh.",[19,58,59],{},"There actually is a number of words you can memorise which will mean you can read 90% of the Hebrew bible and that number is a little over 650, which depending on your perspective isn't all that bad...",[19,61,62],{},"Not sure where to start? Then start with Aleph with Beth.",[50,64,66],{"id":65},"aleph-with-beth-free","Aleph with Beth (free)",[19,68,69],{},[70,71,72],"a",{"href":72,"rel":73},"https:\u002F\u002Ffreehebrew.online\u002Fhow-it-works\u002F",[74],"nofollow",[19,76,77,78,83],{},"This is the absolute beginners guide to Biblical Hebrew. They are essentially a series of YouTube videos that you watch in order, repeatedly watching each section so that it sinks in. They are following the ",[70,79,82],{"href":80,"rel":81},"https:\u002F\u002Ffreehebrew.online\u002Fwhy-our-method\u002F",[74],"Comprehensive Input"," method which means you will only hear Hebrew in their lessons. Their website has many more resources to support their videos including schedules which you can use to watch their content. Through this you will pick up vocab, grammar and how to follow narratives.",[50,85,87],{"id":86},"anki-with-deck-free","Anki with Deck (free)",[19,89,90,91,96,97,102],{},"While Aleph with Beth does teach you vocab, it can be a little slow going. ",[70,92,95],{"href":93,"rel":94},"https:\u002F\u002Fapps.ankiweb.net\u002F",[74],"Anki"," is a digital flashcard program. The digital equivalent of those little cards with the question on one side and the answer on the other. A system where you can test your knowledge retention. Anki is this but with algorithmic maths ... or something. It will show you the cards you know less well more often and the cards you know well, less often. You can add your own cards but there is a lot of pre made decks available to download. Get ",[70,98,101],{"href":99,"rel":100},"https:\u002F\u002Fankiweb.net\u002Fshared\u002Finfo\u002F819202036",[74],"Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary (Schwartz-Groves WHV)",". From their introduction :",[104,105,106],"blockquote",{},[19,107,108],{},"This deck currently contains 686 Hebrew words, sorted by descending order of frequency, excluding proper names. This is all the Hebrew words that occur 47 or more times in the Hebrew Bible. The cutoff of 47+ frequency was chosen because, according to the calculations behind this list, it enables 90% recognition of the words in the Hebrew Bible.",[19,110,111],{},"The trick to start with is finding the right number of new words that you can cope with in a day. You can change this in the deck options. Once you have watched a few Aleph with Beth videos to get the feel for the language, it might be worth starting to ingest the vocab starting with the most frequently used words. Maybe 3-5 new words a day, don't get too confident, the reviews can add up and it can be frustrating struggling to tuck new words back into your long term memory.",[50,113,115],{"id":114},"reading-appsbibles-freepaid","Reading apps\u002Fbibles (free\u002Fpaid)",[19,117,118,119,124],{},"One day you will have enough vocab under your belt and enough grammar to read anything. Until then you have ",[70,120,123],{"href":121,"rel":122},"https:\u002F\u002Fglobalbibletools.com\u002Fen",[74],"a bible reading app",". This one in particular is very good. It will tell you what the word means with a tap, a long press will pull up more details about the word as well as roots, definition and most importantly it will help parse what you can see. Prefixes, suffixes and stems. It is really helpful for when you want to practice what you have learnt so far but don't have the vocab to sail through.",[19,126,127,128,133],{},"So far we have seen a lot on a backlit screen which isn't ideal. They have all been resources you can get without money but access to a computer. ",[70,129,132],{"href":130,"rel":131},"https:\u002F\u002Fzondervanacademic.com\u002Fproducts\u002Fa-readers-hebrew-bible-2",[74],"A readers Hebrew bible"," is a physical book which is a bit spenny. The key feature of this Hebrew bible is that less common words are translated in the foot notes so in theory with enough of a base in vocab, you can start sailing through the texts with nothing but this book. This is for later though, not the early game, you need to put in the work first.",[50,135,137],{"id":136},"textbooks-paid","Textbooks (paid)",[19,139,140],{},"Textbooks can also be expensive. There are two which I have been recommended and which have been interesting but most importantly complement some other resources on the internet. Video lectures for example.",[19,142,143,144,149,150,155],{},"Learning Biblical Hebrew: A New Approach Using Discourse Analysis by Rocine ",[70,145,148],{"href":146,"rel":147},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.logos.com\u002Fproduct\u002F3438\u002Flearning-biblical-hebrew-a-new-approach-using-discourse-analysis",[74],"Logos Digital Version"," or ",[70,151,154],{"href":152,"rel":153},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.co.uk\u002FLearning-Biblical-Hebrew-Bryan-Rocine\u002Fdp\u002F1573123242",[74],"Paperback",". I have both as I originally couldn't get hold of the physical copy. It was listed for thousands of pounds due to the robots trying to outdo each other. With Logos, you don't actually own the book, you can access it in your account but not anywhere else, which makes me feel a bit uneasy. With the physical book, the publisher can't take that back from you.",[19,157,158,163],{},[70,159,162],{"href":160,"rel":161},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.co.uk\u002FIntroducing-Biblical-Hebrew-Allen-Ross\u002Fdp\u002F0801021472",[74],"Introducing Biblical Hebrew by Allen Ross"," is another good option as there is an in depth video course that goes along side it (see below)",[50,165,167],{"id":166},"online-courses-free","Online Courses (free)",[19,169,170,174,175,180],{},[70,171,172],{"href":172,"rel":173},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.animatedhebrew.com\u002F",[74]," is a bit of a treasure trove of resources and information. It has been around for a very long time and maintained by a nice man in Canada. They were super helpful to me getting started and publish all their resources up for free. The ",[70,176,179],{"href":177,"rel":178},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.animatedhebrew.com\u002Flectures\u002Findex.html",[74],"Ross lectures"," are a little old now but are still great at walking you through the grammar.",[50,182,184],{"id":183},"references","References",[186,187,188,194,200],"ul",{},[189,190,191],"li",{},[70,192,121],{"href":121,"rel":193},[74],[189,195,196],{},[70,197,198],{"href":198,"rel":199},"https:\u002F\u002Ffreehebrew.online\u002Fresources\u002F",[74],[189,201,202],{},[70,203,172],{"href":172,"rel":204},[74],{"title":13,"searchDepth":26,"depth":26,"links":206},[207,208,209,210,211,212,213],{"id":52,"depth":26,"text":53},{"id":65,"depth":26,"text":66},{"id":86,"depth":26,"text":87},{"id":114,"depth":26,"text":115},{"id":136,"depth":26,"text":137},{"id":166,"depth":26,"text":167},{"id":183,"depth":26,"text":184},"2026-06-06",{},"\u002Fletters\u002Fso-you-want-to-learn-biblical-hebrew",{"title":39,"description":48},"letters\u002Fso-you-want-to-learn-biblical-hebrew\u002Findex","IA0XQFX0efrUeSoRXfGgWgTFk656cy8_lvStTm0kl_s",{"id":221,"title":222,"body":223,"date":397,"description":13,"draft":29,"extension":30,"meta":398,"navigation":32,"path":399,"seo":400,"stem":401,"__hash__":402},"letters\u002Fletters\u002Fbe-perfect-as-your-father-in-heaven\u002Findex.md","Be Perfect as Your Father in Heaven is Perfect",{"type":8,"value":224,"toc":391},[225,229,254,262,266,269,275,285,288,292,295,309,312,315,319,322,325,331,334,340,351,357,364,368,371,378,384],[11,226,227],{"id":13},[15,228],{"value":17},[230,231,233,240,243,251],"bible-quote",{"verse":232},"John 8:10-12",[19,234,235,239],{},[236,237,238],"span",{},"Jesus"," said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”",[19,241,242],{},"She said, “No one, Lord.”",[19,244,245,246,250],{},"And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; ",[247,248,249],"strong",{},"go and sin no more.","”",[19,252,253],{},"Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”",[19,255,256,257,261],{},"I remember quite clearly the first time this concept was raised in a discussion group (this one was called a small group at the time) and the reason I remember it so well was because of the reaction. The question is, can humans live without Sin? The response that evening was an aggressive and emphatic \"no\". An appropriate counter response to this would be, but what if we ",[258,259,260],"em",{},"can"," live a life free from sin?",[50,263,265],{"id":264},"what-i-dont-think-is-being-suggested","What I don't think is being suggested",[19,267,268],{},"The conversation here can be taken in a few directions. What I think is quite clear cut is the idea that no one, other than Jesus has been able to live their life free from sin since their birth. Consider the following excerpts from the New Testament :",[230,270,272],{"verse":271},"Romans 3:23",[19,273,274],{},"... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ...",[230,276,278],{"verse":277},"1 John 3:4-5",[19,279,280,281,284],{},"Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and ",[247,282,283],{},"in Him there is no sin",".",[19,286,287],{},"This seems unambiguous, that there is a distinction between humans in general and Jesus in particular which actually becomes crucial to the original question. While all humans have been subject to sin at somepoint in their lives (Paul called it being slaves to uncleanliness in Romans 6), what does the payment Jesus made on the cross do to this state of being?",[50,289,291],{"id":290},"here-is-the-rub","Here is the rub",[19,293,294],{},"We cut short 1 John chapter 3 in that previous blockquote, how does it continue?",[230,296,298,304],{"verse":297},"1 John 3:4-9",[19,299,300,301],{},"Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. ",[247,302,303],{},"Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.",[19,305,306],{},[247,307,308],{},"Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.",[19,310,311],{},"This reads similar to Galatians 6:7 where the author tells us \"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.\" The verses in John consistently being hard hitting and to be honest a little uncomfortable. Is this my experience of being a follower of Christ? Does the existence of sin in my life after this confession put my soul in danger? These are the sorts of questions which arise when circling this particular subject.",[19,313,314],{},"To keep on this track for a little longer, this shouldn't really be a surprise to the bible reader. It is not an insignificant statement to say that to sin is to be incompatible with Yahweh and such a condition makes a relationship with him difficult. Perhaps the Garden of Eden narrative is taken for granted in this area, Adam and Eve needed to leave the presence of Yahweh when they chose their sinful act. Paul makes the connection as well when he says \"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.\" (Romans 6:23).",[50,316,318],{"id":317},"slow-down-slow-down","Slow down, slow down.",[19,320,321],{},"It is at this point I get concerned about how this comes across. It is worth bearing with the flow of the conversation a little longer however.",[19,323,324],{},"All have sinned but Jesus was able to avoid this in order to pay for our sins by forfeiting his own life. This is the Good News that followers of Jesus are keen to share. But what exactly is this Good News? What was Jesus freeing us up to do? Let's take a moment to think about some thing Jesus said about what our lives will look like, given we accept and are filled with the spirit.",[230,326,328],{"verse":327},"Matthew 7:15-20",[19,329,330],{},"“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.",[19,332,333],{},"On the subject of his followers standing out from non believers Jesus instructs his listeners thus :",[230,335,337],{"verse":336},"Matthew 5:48",[19,338,339],{},"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.",[19,341,342,343,346,347,350],{},"There seems to be a connection between what we ",[258,344,345],{},"do"," and the ",[258,348,349],{},"consequences"," of these doings. Enter stage left a discussion on works based salvation. What we are dealing with here is not works based salvation. Salvation is a grace fuelled gift, it is what happens after this salvation which is up for discussion here. Do we take this salvation and mix it in with the sin and it neuters it like alchemy? We can rely on Paul to comment on this :",[230,352,354],{"verse":353},"Romans 6:15-19",[19,355,356],{},"What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.",[19,358,359,360,363],{},"Being free from sin we become slaves to righteousness, being filled with the spirit we become a good tree that bears good fruit. Paul again, \"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.\" (Galatians 5:16). This, if true, is the ",[258,361,362],{},"best"," news.",[50,365,367],{"id":366},"whats-the-problem","What's the problem?",[19,369,370],{},"Conflict will always be a part of reading the scriptures. There is too much translation for their not to be. There is a language translation to the majority of it's readers but arguably there is a cultural translation to all modern readers of the scriptures today.",[19,372,373,374,377],{},"Sometimes there is conflict which encourages greater understanding and sometimes there is conflict because the Spirit is trying to communicate that something isn't right. From considering the question, is it possible to live a Spirit filled life without sin? I have read enough to suggest that this is possible. Not only that, it is ",[258,375,376],{},"advisable"," to do so. Jesus instructs the woman at the well to do just that. If the problem is that your life doesn't bear out the descriptions that the authors of the New Testament letters describe then that can be conflicting, absolutely. The scriptures address this as well :",[230,379,381],{"verse":380},"1 John 2:1",[19,382,383],{},"My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.",[19,385,386,387,390],{},"The ideal scenario is that, ",[258,388,389],{},"through the power of the Spirit"," a follower of Christ will live their lives free from sin. However, if sin does find a way in then all is not lost (more good news) but it can be dealt with in the same why when a believe is first born, through Jesus the righteous. How amazing would it be to live an obedient life, in the spirit, and serve Yahweh in all the ways he is communicating to us ?",{"title":13,"searchDepth":26,"depth":26,"links":392},[393,394,395,396],{"id":264,"depth":26,"text":265},{"id":290,"depth":26,"text":291},{"id":317,"depth":26,"text":318},{"id":366,"depth":26,"text":367},"2021-12-18",{},"\u002Fletters\u002Fbe-perfect-as-your-father-in-heaven",{"title":222,"description":13},"letters\u002Fbe-perfect-as-your-father-in-heaven\u002Findex","CltxkrsH5BRSRHEsBlaBwk28GAt_uLkrdmyrn7cXuzY",1780762737506]