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How Obedient does God Demand us to be ?
William J.D. Shaw updated: Sept 23, 2018
1. Introduction:
A critical question one needs to ask oneself is how obedient
does God demand us to be to
His commandments and laws. You need to use God’s Holy Word in
order to answer this question.
Much of the answer is found in examples of the Nation of the
Israelites and of specific individuals in
their disobedience to God, these are located throughout the Old
Testament. They have been
recorded as directed by God’s Holy Spirit working through those
that were given the task to write
the various books that comprise our current Bible.
2. Background:
First and foremost before starting to search out the answer, one
needs to recognize that
Jesus was the mediator and the Son of God throughout the Old
Testament. He was the Word, the
Rock, the Cloud and was the one acting on the Fathers behalf,
that made everything including man,
He was the mediator that dealt with Abraham, Moses, the
Israelites, David and all the prophets. He
existed in the beginning and was given the responsibility to
deal with man, and in the New
Testament He was introduced to us as the Son of God, who in turn
introduced the Father to us. The
Ten Commandments were written on the tablets of stone by the
finger of the Son of God. It was
His back that Moses saw when he was placed in the clift of a
rock. The Son of God was the one
that rewarded and punished throughout the Old Testament books.
If you do not know this look at
the following verses; Joh 1:1-3, Joh 1:14, 1Co 10:1-4, Heb
1:8-10, Tit 2:13, Col 1:14-18, Rev 19:13,
Eph 3:9 and Psa 45:6-7.
If you look at Jesus as only a Being that loves and does not
punish, you deceive yourself.
We are told to fear God, to reverend God, to worship and to
serve God and to obey God. All of these
refer to God the Father.
Deu 8:6 Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD
thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.
Ecc 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear
God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of
man.
Heb 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be
moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with
reverence and godly fear:
Rev 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to
him; for the hour of his judgment
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is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the
sea, and the fountains of waters.
Rev 19:5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our
God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and
great.
Recognize what God said about the Israelites, who were His
chosen people.
Deu 5:29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they
would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might
be well with them, and with their children for ever!
Understanding that Jesus was the mediator of the Old Testament,
and that when Jesus
walked on earth as a man in the flesh, there was only the Old
Testament. All of the statements
made by both Jesus and His disciples refer back to the Old
Testament. There is no difference
between the Old and New Testament with respect to the Words of
God and what obedience is
required of us. We are to live by every Word of God. If you
believe there is a partition between the
Old and New Testament you deceive yourself. God does not change,
He is the same Past, Present
and Future. God speaks truth, God does not change what He says.
What Jesus spoke came directly
from the Father.
Now let us examine what God has told us about obedience.
Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and
keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me
above all people: for all the earth is mine:
Deu 11:27 A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD
your God, which I command you this day:
Deu 11:28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of
the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command
you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
Deu 13:4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him,
and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve
him, and cleave unto him.
Deu 27:10 Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the LORD thy
God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee
this day.
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1Sa 12:14 If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his
voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then
shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue
following the LORD your God:
1Sa 12:15 But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but
rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of
the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers.
Job 36:11 If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their
days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.
Job 36:12 But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword,
and they shall die without knowledge.
Jer 7:23 But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice,
and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in
all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto
you.
Act 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We
ought to obey God rather than men.
Act 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is
also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal
salvation unto all them that obey him;
What one should learn is that obedience to God is rewarded, or a
blessing is bestowed upon
those that obey. However those that do not obey receive a curse
or are punished. The punishment
is one of discipline of the Father to His children, hoping to
correct the disobedience. Note that the
Holy Spirit is given to those who obey God (Act 5:32 above).
Did Jesus tell us to obey ? Yes He did, examine the following
verses from both Jesus and
His disciples.
Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it
is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my
Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his
commandments.
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1Jn 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his
commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jn 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of
God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
1Jn 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to
walk, even as he walked.
1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when
we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his
commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that
keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they
may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the
gates into the city.
Notice that keeping of the commandments is tied to showing love
for God and to obtaining
a right to the tree of life or eternal life. Recognize that when
you really consider what God asks of
us in keeping His commandments is not an unbearable burden,
rather it is not at all grievous.
Keeping the commandments makes a person more righteous, the law
makes the present world a
better place to live in. We are to keep the intent of the laws,
written on our heart, not the legalistic
approach to keeping laws. Keeping God’s Word is keeping God’s
commandments and this then
sets God’s chosen people apart from the rest of the world. Note
that God’s commandments and
laws are Holy.
Rom 7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy,
and just, and good.
In the end we are judged by Christ and the judgment is based
upon how we went through
life, what were the actions that we made as we encountered
challenges, what were our works, did
our actions show love to God and love to others. Repenting
requires going forth and sinning no
more, changing to a new person, obeying God’s laws, going forth
in action or in works. This results
in growing in faith and love to God and others, it is going
forth by active works, not by fuzzy warm
emotional feelings.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God;
and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is
the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things
which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and
death and hell delivered up the
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dead which were in them: and they were judged every man
according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of
life was cast into the lake of fire.
3. Examples:
Let us now examine examples of those in the Bible who did not
keep the commandments
or the instructions given to them from God by the Son. This is
well documented in the Old
Testament.
A. Adam through to Babel:
First there was Adam, he ate the fruit that God told him not to
eat. This led to Adam being
removed from the Garden of Eden. Next Cain killed his brother
Abel and God cursed the earth
towards him. Recognize that Cain was a farmer initially. Later
man became so evil in thoughts
of his heart and wickedness prevailed. So God destroyed man and
started anew with Noah and
his family. Following this as the world repopulated the people
were building the tower of Babel,
so God created different languages and scattered the people
abroad.
B. Abraham through Lot:
Then God made a Covenant with Abram and his people, even the
strangers that dwelt with
Abram. Later in the days of Abram or now Abraham, Sodom and
Gomorrah were wicked
sinners and God destroyed their cities and all the people in
them except for Lot and his two
daughters. Lot’s wife looked back as they fled and was turned
into a pillar of salt. She
disobeyed what God told them.
Gen 19:17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth
abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee,
neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest
thou be consumed.
Gen 19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she
became a pillar of salt.
Lot’s wife must have thought what can a short look do, she did
not obey what God directed
through His angels, she thought it was a meaningless little
thing. That mistake resulted in the
immediate loss of her life.
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C. The covenant and Moses:
Then Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Joseph evolve as families of
the chosen people. The Israelites
are God’s chosen people starting from the Covenant with Abraham.
Later things become clearly
defined with commandments, laws, statutes, and ordinances being
given to Moses. In other words
the Covenant and laws with the Israelites is stated in very
clear and specific terms that leaves no
doubt on what God expects of His chosen people, how they are to
live and to be examples for all
other nations. Since God does not change, those laws are still
the directives that we have to guide
us forward through this present life.
D. The Sabbath:
Now that the commandments are clearly defined, God expects His
people to follow them
and not to deviate from any one of the rules in the manner which
they are to walk. The first
example of how serious God was with respect to having His word
followed is seen by the
punishment to a man who went out and gathered wood on the
Sabbath day.
Num 15:32 And while the children of Israel were in the
wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath
day.
Num 15:33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him
unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.
Num 15:34 And they put him in ward, because it was not declared
what should be done to him.
Num 15:35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely
put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones
without the camp.
Num 15:36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp,
and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded
Moses.
In other words God explicitly forbid doing any work on the
Sabbath day and gathering wood
was work. The penalty for breaking the rules for God’s Sabbath
day was death. Note that the
Sabbath Day is the last day of the week or the seventh day,
which is Saturday. God has never
changed this day which He sanctified and made as a Holy Day at
creation of the world. It is a day
of rest and of growing close to God.
E. Moses error:
Next consider the error of Moses in not obeying God’s
instructions to him, where in the
second event of providing water to the people in the wildreness,
he was to speak to the rock in
order to have water flow out of it, rather Moses struck the rock
with his staff in anger to the
rebellious people.
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Num 20:7 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 20:8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together,
thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before
their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring
forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the
congregation and their beasts drink.
Num 20:9 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he
commanded him.
Num 20:10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together
before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must
we fetch you water out of this rock?
Num 20:11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he
smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the
congregation drank, and their beasts also.
Num 20:12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye
believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of
Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the
land which I have given them.
This angered God, that His instructions were not carried out,
therefore a penalty to Moses
was made, that he could not enter the promised land. So Moses
wandered in the wilderness,
leading the Israelites for forty years and after all this time
was not allowed to go into the promised
land. Note that Moses had a special and exceptionally close
relationship with God, yet his
disobedience in not following what was commanded of him,
resulted in a very severe punishment.
F. Disbelief by the Israelites:
Also God’s anger at the people for not believing Him and sending
spies into the promised
land, that came back reporting that the people were too strong
for them. For this God made the
people wander in the wilderness for 40 years until the last of
the original men that left Egypt had
died, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb. God had directed
the Israelites to go into the land
and take it as their possession. They failed to trust in God and
do what he told them. They were
trusting in themselves.
G. Aaron’s Sons:
Next consider what happened to Aaron’s two sons. They were made
priests serving God in
the tabernacle that was in the wilderness. They were given
instructions by God on what incense to
burn and how. They through they knew better and would please God
by taking the initiative and
burning some other incense offering strange fire.
Lev 10:1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of
them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and
offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them
not.
Lev 10:2 And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured
them, and they died before the LORD.
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They paid with their lives for doing what they thought would
please God, rather than
following what God told them to do.
H. Miriam and Aaron Opposition to Moses:
When Miriam and Aaron opposed Moses, God became angry and made
Miriam become
leprous. If it was not for Moses asking God to punish her for
only seven days, she would have been
ostracized and died a leper.
Num 12:9 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and
he departed.
Num 12:10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and,
behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon
Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.
I. Korah’s rebellion:
Then there was Korah’s rebellion against Moses. This angered God
such that first had the
earth open and swallow Korah and His people. The next day when
the people rebelled against
Moses, God sent a plague to destroy the people. It was only by
Moses action that the plague was
stayed.
Num 16:19 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them
unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory
of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation.
Num 16:20 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron,
saying,
Num 16:21 Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that
I may consume them in a moment.
Num 16:22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the
God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou
be wroth with all the congregation?
Num 16:23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 16:24 Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from
about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
Num 16:25 And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and
the elders of Israel followed him.
Num 16:26 And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I
pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of
theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
Num 16:27 So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan,
and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and
stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons,
and their little children.
Num 16:28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD
hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of
mine own mind.
Num 16:29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if
they be visited after the
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visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me.
Num 16:30 But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open
her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them,
and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that
these men have provoked the LORD.
Num 16:31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking
all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under
them:
Num 16:32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up,
and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and
all their goods.
Num 16:33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down
alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they
perished from among the congregation.
Num 16:34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the
cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
Num 16:35 And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed
the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
Num 16:36 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 16:37 Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that
he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the
fire yonder; for they are hallowed.
Num 16:38 The censers of these sinners against their own souls,
let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for
they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and
they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
Num 16:39 And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers,
wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made
broad plates for a covering of the altar:
Num 16:40 To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no
stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer
incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his
company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.
Num 16:41 But on the morrow all the congregation of the children
of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have
killed the people of the LORD.
Num 16:42 And it came to pass, when the congregation was
gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward
the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered
it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.
Num 16:43 And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the
congregation.
Num 16:44 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 16:45 Get you up from among this congregation, that I may
consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
Num 16:46 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire
therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto
the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is
wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun.
Num 16:47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the
midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among
the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the
people.
Num 16:48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the
plague was stayed.
Num 16:49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen
thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter
of Korah.
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J. Achan’s disobedience:
Then there was the sin of Israel in taking spoils and the
accursed thing form the destruction
of Jericho. This was taken by Achan in difference to the
commands of the Lord, in not taking
anything. This lead to Israel’s defeat against the people of Ai.
When Achan was found out, he and
his family were stoned in order to turn the fierce anger of the
Lord away from the people. Here we
see that the action of one can have very serious consequences on
the whole nation.
Jos 7:19 And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee,
glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and
tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.
Jos 7:20 And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have
sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I
done:
Jos 7:21 When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish
garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of
fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and,
behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the
silver under it.
K. Saul’s disobedience:
Next consider Saul, when he was sent by God to destroy the
Amalekites entirely. Saul did
not follow and carry out the instructions of God as were made to
him. He took a spoil of the
livestock in order to sacrifice to the Lord.
1Sa 15:18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and
utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them
until they be consumed.
1Sa 15:19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the
LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of
the LORD?
1Sa 15:20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the
voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me,
and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly
destroyed the Amalekites.
1Sa 15:21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the
chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to
sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
1Sa 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in
burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the
LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than
the fat of rams.
1Sa 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and
stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast
rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from
being king.
Saul thought he knew best and ignored Gods instruction to
destroy all. Saul thought he was
honoring the Lord by taking the spoil for sacrifice and that it
would please the Lord. Rather God
wants obedience above sacrifice, so Saul was then rejected by
God as being King.
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L. Uzzah’s disobedience:
The instructions by God were that the ark of the covenant was
not to be touched, it was to
be carried and positioned only by the Levites through the use of
wood poles. When the ark was in
a cart, the oxen shook it, making it appear as if it was going
to tip or fall. Uzzah put forth his hand
to steady the ark. In anger God smote him for his error in
touching the ark which would not of
happened if it had been carried properly.
2Sa 6:6 And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put
forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen
shook it.
2Sa 6:7 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and
God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of
God.
Uzzah intended to save the ark from tipping and disobeyed God’s
warning to all in not to
touch the ark under any circumstance. Uzzah should have trusted
in God, that God would look after
the ark in the cart. So the intent of Uzzah was an act to save
the ark but this contravened God’s
commands and therefore he was killed by God.
M. Punishments of the Nation for disobedience:
There are other examples where the Israelites disobeyed God’s
rules to them. This often
resulted in the penalty of death or in other punishments to the
nation as a whole. This resulted in
defeat from enemies that God used to send against the
Israelites, being taken into slavery, being
dispersed throughout the world, which these various punishments
happened a number of times.
When the nation of Israel did not follow God’s laws they were
punished. From these examples we
can see that God requires our obedience to His laws and
commandments. God is very serious
when it comes to our obedience to Him.
Hos 6:6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the
knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
4. God is very serious on obedience:
You need to ask yourself, when you do something that the Bible,
God’s Word, does not tell
you to do, are you really pleasing God. When you take the
initiative and think you know better than
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God, you had better reflect and consider again. God knows more
than man, His ways are Higher
than ours, we either obey or we do not. There is no partial way
of obedience to some of God’s laws,
it is either all or nothing. God’s laws and commandments to us
do not change, they are truth, God
does not change.
Mat 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least
commandments, and
shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom
of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be
called great in the kingdom of heaven.
5. Examples of today:
If you change God’s Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, you go
against the instructions God
gave to His chosen people. If you believe that Jesus rose on
Sunday and you are honoring Him by
changing the Sabbath day to Sunday or the first day of the week,
you are going against His laws. If
you say the laws were only for the Jews, when in fact they are
for all of God’s chosen people, Jew or
Gentile, then you have stated by your action that you are not
one of God’s chosen people. There is
no verse in God’s Holy word that changes the Sabbath from the
last day of the week to the first day
of the week. If you go in this deceptive direction you are not
obeying God’s Will. Think hard on
what you follow that are man’s traditions or man’s commandments
and how they contravene the
commandments of God.
When you accept Christ as your savior and follow Him, you now
are the seed of Abraham,
you are grafted into the tree of God’s chosen people, there is
no difference between Israelite and
Gentile.
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ
Jesus.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ
have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond
nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in
Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and
heirs according to the promise.
Rom 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the
apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
Rom 11:16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy:
and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou,
being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them
partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
There is one law and one judgment that is for all of God’s
chosen people.
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Think about Easter, what are you doing there that contravenes
God’s instructions to you ?
The Bible or the Holy Word of God tells you to keep God’s Holy
Days of Passover, Unleavened Bread
and First Fruits. Passover is according to God’s calendar on
Nisan 14th, where the day of the week
that it falls on changes every year. It is in the night portion,
or starting portion of the 14th, that
Jesus established the act of communion for His broken body and
spilled blood, until He returns. It
is in the day portion that He was crucified and died. Nisan 17th
is the day of Jesus resurrection,
three days and three nights later, we are not instructed by God
to celebrate this day, only to accept
Jesus death and resurrection by faith as atoning for our sins.
We are told to keep the days of
Unleavened Bread and the Holy Convocation of the first day of
Unleavened Bread. We are told to
keep the day of First Fruits that occurs within the days of
Unleavened Bread. Nowhere are we
instructed to celebrate what the Catholic and Protestant
Churches call Palm Sunday, Good Friday
and Easter Sunday. These in fact are traditions of man and they
contravene God’s instructions to
us, for in obeying God we are to keep these first three of His
Holy Days that contain the crucifixion,
resurrection and Jesus presenting Himself, as the first of the
resurrected, before God on the Day of
First Fruits or waving of the spring sheave. God’s calendar and
timing is different from man’s. The
day of Christ’s death and resurrection are set according to the
first two of God’s Holy Days, these
days are tied to the new moon in the month of Nisan and the days
of the week on which they fall
changes every year. They do not coincide with the days set by
the Catholic Church and followed by
all the Protestant Churches.
These are but two of the traditions of man that contravene God’s
laws and commandments
to us, there are others. We are to obey God’s “Holy Days” and
not man’s “Holidays”.
6. Summary:
Recognize that God is very, very serious when it comes to our
obedience to His Will. His Will
is given throughout the books of the Bible. They are basically
the laws and commandments given
by God to His chosen people, they are to help us grow and mature
as God’s children, to shape our
heart and mind to become holy. If you truly and deeply love God,
you will strive to please him,
keeping His laws and commandments is showing our love for God.
We should now find His laws
and commandments a joy in our heart, not a burden and not
grievous. Jesus told us how to pray,
“thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. This is when
Jesus returns to set up the kingdom of
God on earth at the beginning of the millennium. This is where
the whole world will be required to
follow God’s laws and commandments. God’s chosen people are
expected as part of the covenant
with God, to follow His laws and commandments at present, and to
be an example to all others
around us. In keeping God’s commandments and laws, we become
God’s children and if we
persevere to the end we are one of God’s chosen saints. We are
His saints if we are following in the
same manner as the early congregation as set up by Christ, just
after His resurrection. Providing
we walk the narrow path God laid out for us and are faithful to
doing God’s Will, then we will be
-
ready and found acceptable when Jesus returns to collect His
chosen bride. The first resurrection is
a relatively small or medium sized group, it is the summer
harvest. This occurs prior to the
millennium. The large group of those saved occurs at the second
resurrection, which is the fall
harvest. This occurs at the end of the millennium.
***