Deuteronomy 6:1-3 ESV
“Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Jesus Christ said that if anyone wants to come after him he
must deny self and take up his cross daily (daily die to sin) and follow (obey)
him. For, if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin, we will lose them
for eternity. But if we lose our lives for Jesus’ sake, i.e. if we die with him
to sin, then we will have eternal life in him. For, what does it profit us to
gain the whole world and yet to forfeit our own souls?
Jesus also said that if we keep (obey) his word, we will
never see death. And he said that if we love him we will keep (obey) his
commandments. For whoever keeps (obeys) his commandments is he who loves
God/Jesus. And whoever loves Jesus will be loved by God the Father, and Jesus
will love him and he will manifest himself to him, and the Father and Jesus
will come to him and they will make their home with him. And he has eternal
life.
[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 8:51; Jn 14:15-24; Jn 15:10; Jn 10:27-30; Matt
7:21-23]
For, not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does (who is doing) the will of God the
Father who is in heaven. For those who are self-seeking and who do not obey the
truth, but who obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. So, as
obedient children, we are to work out our own salvation with fear and
trembling, for it is God who works in us to will and to work for his good
pleasure.
And by this we know that we have come to know the Lord, if
we keep (obey) his commandments (New Covenant). For, if we say, “I know him,”
but we do not keep (obey) his commandments, then we are liars, and the truth is
not in us. And whoever makes a practice of sinning has neither seen the Lord nor
known him. For it is whoever practices righteousness who is righteous. So,
whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God.
Whoever keeps (obeys) the Lord’s commandments abides in God
and God in him. We know that we love the children of God when we love God and
obey his commandments. And this is love, that we walk according to his
commandments. For we are slaves of the one we obey, either of sin, which leads
to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness. For Jesus became the
source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.
And we are chosen in Christ for obedience to Jesus Christ.
And so we are to be doers of the word of God and not hearers only. For God sees
faith in him as obedience, and he sees disobedience as unbelief, both in the Old
Testament and in the New Testament, both under the Old Covenant and under the
New Covenant. So, if we obey sin, it ends in death, but if we obey the Lord, it
ends in eternal life with God.
[Rom 2:6-8; Php 2:12-13; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10, 24; 1 Jn
5:2-3; 2 Jn 1:6; Rom 6:16; Heb 5:9; 1 Pet 1:1-2; Jas 1:21-25; 1 Co 10:1-22]
So, it is quite clear here that obedience to the Lord is not
just Old Covenant teaching. Yet obedience is not just keeping a set of rules,
either. Obedience to the Lord is surrender of our lives to him, forsaking our
lives of sin, and now walking (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit
and no longer according to the flesh, living holy lives, pleasing to God, which
is our acceptable worship of God/Jesus (Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 4:17-24).
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 ESV
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
To love God is to obey him. It is to prefer what he prefers,
and to do his will in his power and strength. It is to live holy lives,
undefiled by this sinful world, separate (unlike, different) from the world
because we are being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. And this
involves leaving our lives of sin behind us to follow our Lord in obedience to
his ways, in step with him, walking now according to the Spirit and not
according to the flesh.
And let me say this: We can plaster
Scriptures all over our houses, on all our walls, our doorposts, our mirrors, our
refrigerators, our bulletin boards, and on the internet, and on social media,
etc., but if we aren’t walking the walk, it doesn’t mean anything to God. It is
just fluff. But yes, share the Scriptures, teach what they teach, but then live
what they teach! Do what they say, don’t just say what they say. Don’t just
share it. Live it!
So, when we share the Scriptures, and when we do teach them
to others, including to our children and to our grandchildren, if they are what
we practice, we will not do so hypocritically. We will be able to speak the
Scriptures from our hearts, in truth, because they are not just stored up in
our minds, but they are stored up in our hearts, and they are being lived out
in our daily lives, in practice, as an example to others.
[Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph
4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,
15; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:22-25; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Col
1:21-23; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Heb 10:26-27; 1 Jn
1:5-9; Rev. 2-3; Rev 18:1-6; Rev 21:8, 27; Rev 22:14-15]
Broken
and Contrite
An
Original Work / May 13, 2012
I come before You, Lord, my Savior,
With humble heart and crushed in spirit.
I bow before You, I implore You,
Heal my broken heart, I pray.
Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master,
You are the King of my heart.
Lord, purify my heart within me;
Sanctify me, whole within.
Oh, Lord, I long to obey fully
The words You’ve spoken through Your Spirit.
I pray You give me grace and mercy,
Strength and wisdom to obey.
Father God, my heart’s desire,
Won’t You set my heart on fire?
Lord, cleanse my heart of all that hinders
My walk with You, now I pray.
Oh, Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,
My heart cries out for understanding.
I want to follow You in all ways,
Never straying from Your truth.
Holy Spirit, come in power,
Fill me with Your love today.
Lord, mold and make me;
Your hands formed me;
Live Your life through me, I pray.
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