Friday, March 15,
2013, 7:44 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Full Release” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is
listening. I read Jeremiah 11:1-17
(NIV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2011&version=NIV
This is the word that
came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Listen to the terms of this covenant and tell
them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. Tell them that
this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed is the one who does not
obey the terms of this covenant— the terms I commanded your ancestors when I
brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.’ I said, ‘Obey me
and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your
God. Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a
land flowing with milk and honey’—the land you possess today.”
I answered, “Amen,
Lord.”
The Lord said to me,
“Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of
Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them. From the time
I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and
again, saying, “Obey me.” But they did not listen or pay attention; instead,
they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all
the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not
keep.’”
Then the Lord said to
me, “There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in
Jerusalem. They have returned to the sins of their ancestors, who refused to
listen to my words. They have followed other gods to serve them. Both Israel
and Judah have broken the covenant I made with their ancestors. Therefore this
is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape.
Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. The towns of Judah and
the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn
incense, but they will not help them at all when disaster strikes. You, Judah,
have as many gods as you have towns; and the altars you have set up to burn
incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’
“Do not pray for this
people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when
they call to me in the time of their distress.
“What is my beloved doing
in my temple
as she, with many others, works out her
evil schemes?
Can consecrated meat avert your punishment?
When you engage in
your wickedness,
then you rejoice.”
The Lord called you a
thriving olive tree
with fruit beautiful in form.
But with the roar of a
mighty storm
he will set it on fire,
and its branches will be broken.
The Lord Almighty, who
planted you, has decreed disaster for you, because the people of both Israel
and Judah have done evil and aroused my anger by burning incense to Baal.
The Covenant
God established a covenant relationship with his people of
old, and then later he established a new covenant relationship with his people via
Jesus’ shed blood on the cross for our sins, and via the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. The book of Hebrews goes into great detail in describing the two
covenants – both their similarities and their dissimilarities. They are
different from each other in many respects, yet they have common elements to
them, as well. The main common element discussed in this passage of scripture
is obedience to God’s commands, i.e. the necessity of keeping to the terms
(stipulations) of the covenant relationship that God established with his
people.
So, what stipulations (commands) has God established with
the New Covenant? The first one is the requirement of repentance as part of
genuine believing faith that leads to salvation (see Mk. 1:15; Lk. 5:32; Lk
13:3; Lk. 24:47; Ac. 3:19; Ac. 5:31; Ac. 8:22; Ac. 11:18; Ac. 17:30; Ac. 20:21;
Ac. 26:20; Ro. 2:4; 2 Co. 7:10; 2 Tim. 2:25; 2 Pet. 3:9; 1 John 3:6-9; 5:18;
Rev. 2-3; Luke 9:23-25; Eph. 4:17-24; Rom. 6; Gal. 2:20, et al).
The second stipulation (command) God has established with
the New Covenant is that of obedience to his commands, also as a requirement of
genuine believing faith that leads to salvation (see Mtt. 28:19-20; Lk. 11:28; John
8:51; 14:23-24; Ac. 5:32; Ro. 6:17; 15:17-18; Heb. 4:2; 5:9; 11:8; 1 Pet. 4:17;
1 John 2:5; Ro. 1:5; 6:16; 16:26; 2 John 1:6; et al).
Yet, it must be noted here that it is by grace we have been
saved, through faith – it is a gift of God, not of works lest any of us should
boast that we gained salvation through human effort (see Eph. 2:8-9). So, even
the ability to repent, to believe and to obey is a gift from God, yet they must
be appropriated to our lives through our cooperation with the Spirit of God in
transforming our lives (see Luke 9:23-25; Eph. 4:17-24; Ro. 6; 1 John, Gal.
2:20; Php. 2:12). In other words, it is the Spirit within us which gives us the
ability to repent, to believe and to obey. If we try to do these things in our
own flesh, we will only fail. It is only by God’s grace and in his strength and
power working within us that we are able to obey.
God also summarized the Ten Commandments into two commands: “‘Love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is
the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your
neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two
commandments” (Matt. 22:37-40; cf. 1 John 2:5, 10, 15; 3:10-11, 14,
16-18, 23; 4:8-12, 16, 19-21; 5:1-3, et al). And, repentance and obedience fall
under these commandments, because the way we show we love God is by obeying him
and by turning from our sins (see 1 John).
The Conspiracy
The conspiracy that was under way in Jeremiah’s day was to
return to the sins of their ancestors, who refused to listen to God’s words,
and to follow after other gods to serve them, thus breaking the covenant
relationship with God. And, the same or a very similar conspiracy exists within
the church today. It teaches that we don’t have to repent of our sins, we don’t
have to obey Christ and his commands, and that God is pleased with us no matter
what we do. It therefore leaves the door wide open for us to continue in
willful sin and rebellion, believing that God’s grace covers it all, but that
is a false understanding of God’s grace which does not liberate the sinner to
continue sinning, but sets the sinner free of slavery to sin.
This conspiracy also focuses much on the teachings,
philosophies and marketing schemes of men (mankind), even to the exclusion of
the teachings of scripture, yet including the watering down (diluting) of the
true gospel of Jesus Christ. Instead of slaying the sinner, it entertains him
(see Tozer: “The Old Cross and the New”).
The Comeback
The people’s response to the stipulations (commands) of God’s
covenant relationship with them was to do what their ancestors did – to not
listen and to not obey, but to keep following their own ways and to follow
after other gods, thus breaking covenant with God. And, many within the church
today are doing exactly the same, because many of them have bought into the
lies of the conspirators who would teach that repentance and obedience to God’s
(Christ’s) commands are no longer required under grace. They are! The
scriptures prove it! And yet so many act as though there are no longer any
requirements of us, but there are!
2 Tim. 2:3-5 says: “Join
with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a
soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his
commanding officer. Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not
receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules.” (cf.
1 Co. 9:23-25)
God told his people then that there were curses for
disobedience and blessings for obedience. The same is true today. When we choose
to walk in disobedience to our Lord we face natural consequences for our
decisions, and we lack the peace and joy of knowing that we are walking in
faithfulness to our Lord. As well, we miss out on many of the spiritual
blessings that are ours in Christ Jesus because we fail to honor him and his
commands. As well, we might face divine discipline and correction in our lives
because we have refused to obey our Lord and to follow his ways (see Rev. 2-3; 1
Co. 11:31-32; Heb. 12:4-12).
The encouragement here, I believe, is to listen to the words
of Christ, to obey them, and to turn from our sins, and then we will experience
the blessings of a close, intimate relationship and fellowship with Jesus
Christ. Stop following the ways of this world, the ways of mankind and that of
our own fleshly desires, but die daily to sin and self and follow Jesus Christ
in humility and surrender to his will for our lives. Then we will know the joy
of the freedom that truly comes by God’s grace, through faith, and not of our
own making.
Full
Release / An Original Work / April 15, 2012
Walking
daily with my Savior brings me joy.
Loving
Father; precious Jesus;
He’s
my Savior and my Lord.
Gently
leads me; follow Him.
I’ve
invited Him within.
Now
abiding in His presence, oh, what peace.
From
my self-life He has brought me,
By
His mercy, full release.
Hope
and comfort, peace and safety Jesus brings
When
I daily bow before Him;
Obey
freely; do His will.
Follow
Him where’er He leads.
Listen
to Him; His words heed.
Now
obeying his words fully, oh, what love
That
He gives me through salvation,
By
His Spirit, from above.
Loving
Father; precious Jesus, He’s my friend.
With
my Savior, by His Spirit,
I
will endure to the end.
Share
the gospel, tell what’s true.
Witness
daily; His will do.
Tell
the world of how their Savior bled and died.
On
a cruel cross He suffered
So
that we might be alive.
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