Why Must We Obey God's Commandments?

“When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.’” (Deuteronomy 6:20-25 ESV)

 

What this is for us today is a prefiguring of our deliverance out of our slavery to sin, by the grace of God. Jesus Christ, who is God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – is our deliverer. For those of us who have trusted in Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior, although we were once slaves to sin, the Lord has brought us out of that bondage to sin with a mighty hand, i.e. with the power of the cross of Christ where Jesus sacrificed his life for us in order to deliver us from our addiction to sin.

 

For in Jesus’ death on that cross, he who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God via genuine God-persuaded faith in the Lord Jesus. He died in order that we might die with him to sin. And he was raised from the dead in order that we might be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For Jesus shed his blood for us to buy us back for God out of our lives of slavery to sin so we will now serve him.

 

For Jesus did not die that painful death on that cross just to deliver us from the punishment of sin so that when we die we get to go to heaven. He died to deliver us from our addiction to sin so that we will now live holy lives, pleasing to him, in his power and strength, but only as we cooperate with him in his work of grace in our lives. We have to surrender our lives to the Lord and submit to him as Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives, and submit to dying with him to sin and to now walking in obedience to his commands.

 

But this is not a one-time in, done deal, over and done with kind of thing and now we are good to go. Faith in Jesus Christ has to be something that is ongoing in our lives, and it has to be faith in action and not in words only. For the faith to believe in Jesus comes from God, it is gifted to us of God, and it is persuaded of God as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to die with him to sin and now walk in obedience to his commands in holy living day by day, in his power and strength.

 

And so he has given us commands that we are to follow under the New Covenant to keep us in line with his will and purpose for our lives, and so that we continue to walk in freedom from slavery to sin, and so we continue to live for him, to do his will. But included with those commands are warnings to us of what will happen to us if we refuse the Lord, and if we refuse to obey him and to go with him wherever he leads us, and we decide to continue to live as lords over our own lives, doing whatever we desire.

 

And under the New Covenant we are taught the fear (honor, respect) of the Lord. We are taught that we are to deny self and die daily to sin and walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. And we are taught, as well, the consequences if we should refuse to bow the knee to Jesus, and if we should choose to chart our own course, and to go our own way, and to do what our sinful hearts desire, and to not walk in obedience to his commands. We will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess.

 

For if we profess to be in fellowship (partnership) with the Lord, but while we walk (in conduct, in practice) in darkness (sin, wickedness), we are liars. And if we claim that we know God, but while we do not obey his New Covenant commands to us, we are liars. So, we do not know God and we are not in fellowship with him. For whoever practices sin is of the devil. But whoever practices righteousness (in the power of God) is the one who is righteous in the sight of God (1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10).

 

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

 

As the Deer

 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

 

As the deer panteth for the water

So my soul longeth after You

You alone are my heart's desire

And I long to worship You

 

You alone are my strength, my shield

To You alone may my spirit yield

You alone are my heart's desire

And I long to worship You

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70

 

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Why Must We Obey God’s Commandments?

An Original Work / February 1, 2025

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love