But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the Commandments, and the Statutes, and the Judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it. Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess. (Deut. 5:31-33)
God’s commands are not suggestions. He gave them to Israel through Moses but the principles apply to all. We are to worship God alone and not bow to idols and graven images. God is Holy and Israel was to love Him with all their being and worship Him alone for He alone is God. God would provide all that Israel needed and He continues to give every good and perfect gift to His people to meet their needs. God would bless His people when they obeyed and correct them when they strayed from loving Him and from loving their neighbor as He had commanded. God commanded Israel to walk in His ways and not the ways of their neighbors even as they loved their neighbor as themselves. He would bless their obedience with long life, prosperity, and victory over their enemies when they came into the land of Israel.
For the Christian today, we have received His Word and are to be doers of the Word. The disciplined follower of the Master is to study to know His Word and rightly divide it that we may reach the lost with the Gospel, teach the nations all that He has commanded, and preach His Word in every season. God’s commandments are not grievous to us and His Spirit gives those who have repented of their sins and surrender to God on His terms of faith in Him and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary the power to live in obedience and holiness. Because of our faith in Him and the salvation which He gives freely to whosoever will receive it and be born again, we are new creatures in Christ living the life which He desires all to live and which glorifies Him as we grow in Christ to become all that He desires for us to be.
While we are here God has sent those of us that know Him out into this world to reach the lost that they might be saved from sin. He desires that His people strive to be holy and obedient unto Him that we might minister to those around us who are hurting and in need as He provides. We serve others, equipped with the Word of reconciliation and righteousness, rightly divided and fitly spoken, that they may see Christ in us, the hope of Glory. Our God has commanded us to love one another with an unfeigned love, even as He first loved us, and to disciple one another in the Word of God so that we may all grow in grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our Lord has commissioned those who are His with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to go where He sends us in the power of the Holy Spirit. As we go, we are to proclaim the Good News of forgiveness through repentance and reconciliation with the Father through faith in His Son, that those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah of God might have life in His Name.
God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and the knowledge of the Truth. Jesus loves you and wants to establish a covenant relationship with you that is real and personal. Surrender to Him on His terms and He will give you a brand new life of discipleship and fellowship with Him that is abundant and everlasting. God calls you to faith in Christ and His finished and perfect work on the Cross of Calvary to pay your sIn debt. He has provided the only way of reconciliation with God, forgiveness from God, and Salvation through Jesus Christ, the Son of God who is God the Son, to give you a new life in Christ. Turn away from yourself and your sIn and turn to Him alone for eternal Life, now and always.
In Christ,
Jefferson Sweet