14 Days of Love – Day 10 – It’s in the Book

“For this is the love of God: that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not difficult”  – 1 John 5:3

 

Seriously, are we to believe that we are expected to follow the commandments handed down to Moses on stone tablets.  This is the 21^st century.  We can’t be expected to follow the law written by God’s own hand, and delivered to the children of God in the shadows of Mt. Sinai.  How absurd it is to think that we are to abide by these principles from 3500 years ago.  Times have changed and society is much more mature and advanced today.  We know so much more about the world and the psychology of mankind and human relationships than they did in those days.  Just because these laws were acceptable through the times of King David, the Prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus Christ and His disciples, in no way implies that they are still valid today.  Right?

Ummm… no – this assumption could not be farther from the truth.  God did not reign down from heaven one day in the 3^rd or 4^th century AD and state, “Hey, all those rules and laws I gave to Moses.  Eh, just kidding.”  These are God’s laws and like everything else about God, they aren’t up for debate.  He’s not looking for our input on what the law should be, He’s already established it and made it broadly available to all mankind.  Consider that He carved them out of stone, so as to last for all time.  This leads me to believe that they were not temporary, but very important to all of us.  Just to review what is contained in Exodus:
   Have no other Gods before me
   Do not have idols
   Do not take the name of the Lord in vain
   Keep the Sabbath Holy
   Honor Your Father and Mother
   Do Not Commit Muder
   Do Not Commit Adultry
   You Shall not Steal
   You Shall not bear false witness
   Do not covet your neighbor’s things, wife or servants

It is so unbelievably easy to discount these as old school, just because the appeared in the Old Testament.  Upon the entry of Christ many will interpret the 10 Commandments as less important.  Christ did not come to abolish the laws (Matthew 5:17), but to provide a path of righteousness and salvation for all of mankind, not just the Jewish population of the time.  He broke down the barrier between Jew and Gentile, and opened up the opportunity for eternity to all.  Keeping in mind that at that time the Jew attempted to live strictly by the Mosaic law from the 10 Commandments and would require atonement for their sins when they would fall short in any area.  Jesus Christ was the final sacrifice, the final atonement for all sins; but in no way abolished the laws of God. 

Jesus Christ lived perfectly within the Father’s laws and set an example by His life of how we ought also to live.  These commandments did not dissolve or become obsolete upon Christ’s birth or death and resurrection, but rather are even more engrained as the proper way for us to live our life.  As we strive for these laws, we will stumble and fall short, and this is where Christ’s grace picks us up, washes us clean and strengthens us to continue.  We are redeemed in our unrighteousness and transgressions by the blood of Jesus Christ, just as the Jews are.

If you look closely at the 10 Commandments, they are structured in a perfect way to demonstrate God’s love.  #1 - #4 – provide a structure for loving God the Father; while #5 - #10 give us a glimpse of how we should love one another, based on how God loves us.  These need to be engrained in our memory and in our hearts.  We need to demonstrate them to one another in our daily walk and focus on them when we are tempted to step outside of the bounds.  God loves us so completely that He wants nothing more than for us to abide within these laws and bring Him honor in the process.  Even more so, He knows we cannot because of our humanity and our propensity to sin.  This is why He offers us His grace, even though we don’t deserve it.  That is true love.

Prayer:
Loving Father,
We lift up Your law and honor it before You.  We acknowledge that Your commandments are alive today as much so, if not more so than they were when Moses brought them to the people.  Help us Lord to live within Your law and convict us Holy Spirit when we are tempted.  Thank You for Your grace, to redeem us when we stumble.  We love You for what You have given for us.  In Your name we pray – Amen