“The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected by this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
Last week we saw that we know we have come to know God WHEN we keep His Commandments. This week, in verse 4, we discover that we are a liar if we claim to know God and yet DO NOT keep His Commandments.
What are God’s Commandments? We know the 10 Commandments:
Deuteronomy 5:7-21
1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
4. Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.
5. Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the LORD your God gives you.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.'
Jesus let’s us know what the greatest commandment is:
Matthew 22:36-40
"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' "This is the great and foremost commandment.”The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."
Why did God give us His Commandments? Was it to be bossy? Was it to keep us from having fun? Was it to be mean? Did He have a purpose? Yes, He did have a purpose. He knew we would need boundaries, because they provide us with security and we know what it expected of us. God loved us enough to give us our boundaries. We see this in our children. If we don’t provide them with boundaries, if they don’t know what is expected of them, they become fearful and out of control. God gave us boundaries to protect us, protect others and to teach us to respect and honor Him. So, if we truly love God, we will demonstrate that love to Him by keeping His Commandments.
No comments:
Post a Comment