|
Keeping God’s Law in
Faith
Driggs Matabaran
Obedience to God is of
utmost importance. His
laws must be obeyed and
followed. However, is
obedience enough?
Obedience alone is not
sustainable. In the Old
Testament, we see that
Israel was not able to
sustain following God’s
commandment: there was a
missing ingredient.
There is no doubt that
obedience is very
important. God
instructs us to follow
Him obediently.
Obedience is a vital
requirement to our
Christian life so that
we can develop the
character necessary to
be a worthy citizen in
God’s kingdom. However,
obedience must be
reinforced with deep
understanding of God’s
law, ways, character and
plan,
in which we must have
total faith.
Do we thoroughly study
and understand God’s law
and what is required of
us? Do we deeply
understand why God
requires us to follow
His law? Could it be
that we simply follow
His law out of
obligation or because we
fear the consequences of
disobeying it? How do
we view God’s law?
Do we feel it restricts
us or helps us?
Our answers to these
questions are very
important as we urgently
allow God to refine our
character in the little
time available before He
comes ‘as a thief in the
night’. Many perceive
laws and ordinances as a
means to be controlled;
many view God’s laws as
a way of restricting our
‘freedom’. This is the
usual misconception. The
problem is that many do
not usually look deeper
into the spirit and
purpose of the law to
understand that God’s
laws were given to be a
solution to
ensure our well-being,
and not a means of
control.
Like in any country,
laws are put into place
as a solution to
problems. Let me cite
only one common physical
example: the law of
using seatbelts.
Seatbelts are required
as a solution to the
number of injuries and
deaths caused by car
accidents. However, if
it were not for the
traffic police who
strictly implement the
law, most drivers would
probably not observe it
– even though the law is
put in place for their
own good. Many observe
this law to avoid being
fined or penalized.
This is possibly the
same attitude with how
some might view and
apply God’s law.
Let us consider a
spiritual example: God
has given us a command
to keep the Sabbath day
(Ex. 20:8). How do we
consider this law? Do
we see it as a solution,
or as a means of
control? Do we see it as
interfering with our
freedom, work and our
ability to earn more
money?
After Mr. Armstrong’s
death, the observance of
the Sabbath day was
relaxed in the Church,
especially throughout
the 90’s. This made some
members happy, probably
because for them the
Sabbath was a burden and
seen as pure
restriction. Some have
meanwhile stopped
keeping the fourth
commandment altogether!
People who have fallen
into this trap did not
understand that the
Sabbath was God’s
solution for man to
rejuvenate himself
physically and
spiritually – to be able
to fellowship with Him
and to strengthen the
relationship with His
Maker. The Sabbath is
God’s appointed time of
rest, giving us extra
time to meditate and
deeply appreciate God’s
plan of salvation. It
is an identifying sign
of His people (Ex.
31:12), purposely made
so that God’s begotten
children have the
opportunity to commune
with each other and
fellowship.
In order to enjoy the
benefit of God’s law,
one must obey the law.
Obedience implies that
rules, instructions,
ordinances or laws have
to be followed and
adhered to. People
violate God’s law
because they are
deceived. Satan the
Devil deceives the whole
world (Rev 12:9).
If we want to follow
God, we should be
vigilant and submissive
to Him. Being vigilant
implies that we should
be carefully watching
ourselves, that we do
not transgress God’s
law. As we transgress
God’s law, we commit sin
(1 John 3:4). We should
examine ourselves daily
and ask ourselves
whether we are really
abiding by God’s law.
We must do whatever it
takes to obediently
follow God. Christian
life has to be a life of
continual repentance as
we overcome and endure
to the end. We must be
careful of simply
absorbing what we are
taught, but should
instead prove all things
(1 Thess. 5:21) and test
our leaders (Rev. 2:2).
In the book of Exodus
after Moses read and
explained to the people
of Israel their covenant
with God, they stated:
“All that the LORD hath
said will we do, and be
obedient” (Exod. 24:7).
Unfortunately, the
Israelites failed to
keep their promise!
The Bottom line – Faith!
Our Faith enables us to
obey God’s law.
Obedience must lead to
the building of that
faith. It would follow
that the more faith we
have, the more this
should give us courage
to obey the law. God’s
word is replete with
example of persons
obeying God in faith.
The patriarch Abraham is
one example. Israel
enjoyed God’s blessings
because of his obedience
and faith.
The prophet Jeremiah
reminded us about
obeying God’s Voice:
“But this thing
commanded I them,
saying, Obey my voice,
and I will be your God,
and ye shall be my
people: and walk ye in
all the ways that I have
commanded you, that it
may be well unto you
(Jer. 7:23 ). What if
God’s people will not
obey? He pointed – “But
if they will not obey, I
will utterly pluck up
and destroy that nation,
saith the LORD” (Jer
12:17). The Bible shows
that there are blessings
for obedience and curses
for disobedience.
We should obey the Truth
of which God’s laws are
a part. We should
continually seek God’s
Truth and obey it once
we find it by proving
it. We should
continually live by
God’s Truth, by being in
constant submission to
His law.
We should grow far
beyond mere obedience.
We should have total
faith that His laws are
in place for our own
good; this is one
essential aspect of
God’s plan. God’s laws
will totally be enforced
in God’s kingdom. These
are the set of laws that
will govern the
peaceful, harmonious and
eternal glory of God’s
sovereignty. It is for
this reason that we
should have total faith
in God’s law and His
plan, while striving to
perform our duties in
God’s Work. The faith of
Jesus Christ that is in
us will enable us to
succeed and claim the
victory.
Related Articles:
|
