Blessed Commandments

 

No idolatry, no taking the Lord’s Name in vain, remember the Sabbath, honor your parents, don’t murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, or covet what your neighbor has.

These commandments cover all facets our lives when taken to their full intent. John says they are not a burden (1 John 5:3).

Without a proper view of God, these commands will be burdensome. What human, without the power of the Holy Spirit, could not sometimes covet what their neighbor has? Who is capable of never dishonoring his/her parents and what man could say he would never commit adultery with pornography so available?

When we see the love that God has for His people behind these commands, we can see them as a source of blessing, not bondage.

Consider the goodness of God in His command to the Israelites for circumcision on the eighth day of life. This was a command, not a suggestion up for discussion. The Israelites were not a perfect people. We read of some who were not circumcised when they should have been. What is sure is that the priests who were to perform it knew it was not to be done before the eighth day. Why?

Though, we do not know the mind of God, in modern times we have learned that it takes seven days for Vitamin K to be produced in our bodies. It is a coagulant that keeps a little boy from bleeding to death. The command was for the good of the baby boy!

God is good in every instruction He gives us. If this foundational truth is not deeply held in our hearts, God’s commands will seem burdensome.

We face a time when there seems to be more and more evil in our midst:

• the spilling of so much innocent blood through abortion
• the perversions that are being touted as healthy to our children in public schools
• the attacks on God’s plan for families
• the woeful ignorance of God’s Word in our nation
• the revealing of so many lies coming from “trusted” public officials (and media)

Christian, do we trust God with what is happening in our midst? If this is all part of His judgment because we have not listened as a nation nor stood up for Truth in our churches (Jeremiah 26:4-6), will we do what He tells us and trust Him to resolve it?

When we obey God’s commands we show our love for Him and our faith to the world. Will we obey Him for the good of those we love, God’s glory, and to bring our nation to repentance?

For more people to see this truth and live it will require changing hearts, one at a time, with the help of the Holy Spirit. Are we willing to tell others about their and our sins, the debt to God it incurs, and the redemption in Jesus Christ? Will we disciple those in whom the Lord is at work?