Keeping the Law
Read Deuteronomy 4:1-9 and Matthew 5:17-1
You must obey. Those are three very difficult words to hear. They’re repulsive. Because of sin, we’re naturally hardwired to fight back against ultimatums like this. Why would you blindly obey someone just because they told you to? Were it a teacher or a boss who demanded your obedience, no matter what they were telling you to do, you probably wouldn’t receive that demand with willingness to adhere to it. You would probably be like Adam and Eve and struggle to trust the person who said you had to obey them.
However, in the Scriptures the command to obey is given by the most trustworthy source in all existence: God. He is good. He is righteous. He is loving. He is truth. And He is our Creator. Being our Creator, He alone knows what is best for us. So His demand for obedience actually comes with your flourishing in mind as well. When you obey God, you have life. Adam and Eve rejected that life and received death when they rejected the obedience required from them.
But that’s not the end of the story. Christ came to fulfill the Law that we find repulsive. He didn’t come to rid us of our need for obedience. Instead, He fully obeyed the Law and unlocked our ability to do God’s commands by giving us the Holy Spirit. But there’s a second component to obedience that is often overlooked. Your obedience is beneficial for more than just you. Your rejection of lawlessness shows others that your God is righteous and holy. Your desire to try to keep the Law as Christ kept the Law creates opportunity to have conversations with and share the Gospel with people. Therefore, if you love God and you want others to love Him as well, you must obey.