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What the Bible says about Commandment Keeping
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Exodus 20:8-11

When God created Adam and Eve, He gave them a law for community relationships. Did He say, "All of My commandments you must keep—except for one"?

The Sabbath is not a minor ceremonial regulation that rarely affects man's relationship with God. It is one of the major Ten Commandments, the laws that spell out God's character, defining love and sin for us. This is why James explained that the law is a package (James 2:10); if you break one law, you break them all. Once the package is broken up, it loses its effectiveness.

The fourth commandment is especially important in keeping the other nine. In Ezekiel 20:7-8, 12-13, God specifies two specific commandments that Israel broke: the ones concerning idolatry and Sabbath-keeping. They are linked: If one does not keep the Sabbath, he will commit idolatry.

In one sense, these are the two key commandments around which all the others revolve. If we break the first one, we will certainly break the rest. If our god is not God, then we are off the track already. In the same way, if we break the Sabbath day, then the others will be broken. Without the Sabbath, contact with God is lost.

God has called a meeting of His Kingdom and Family to occur on that day. If we fail to attend, we are obviously absent and unable to benefit from it. For God to command something that we do not really have to keep would not be beneficial. It would be double-dealing, like handing someone a biscuit with one hand and taking it back with the other.

People observe the practices of their religion because they matter to them. Yet, we have been told that one can be a Christian without keeping this beneficial day. Some people claim that it does not matter. If, then, we can meet the requirements of being a Christian without keeping the Sabbath, a law that does not fit the flow of this world's social, business, and religious activities, then why keep it? That would not make sense.

What has happened? They have bought into the Protestant notion that God is only trying to save people, and that His law only defines sin. Such a belief has ramifications: The law will be seen in a totally negative light, rather than God's intended positive purpose. Law not only defines sin, but also provides a guide that will produce character in us identical to the Creator's, if we live by the power of His Spirit.

Our small part in this entire wonderful purpose is not merely to say, "I believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior," but it is to use our God-given free moral agency to make the right choices in order to do our small part in producing godly attitudes and character.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part One)

Deuteronomy 7:6-11

God succinctly expresses that the basis of His and Israel's relationship is found in His faithfulness to His promises. At the same time, He openly declares His love for her, adding that she could add nothing to Him. In other words, He did not seek her out to "get" something from her as humans do. This passage also stipulates that Israel's responsibility in the relationship was to be faithful to Him by keeping His commandments, statutes, and judgments.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Beast and Babylon (Part Six): The Woman's Character

Psalm 111:10

Solomon's experience is a warning of what will befall us if we follow his example of compromise. His series of compromises gradually but inexorably distorted his understanding of God and His ways. The psalmist of Psalm 111:10 writes, "A good understanding have all those who do His commandments," and its converse is equally true. If we slacken our resolve to keep all of God's commands, even those we might deem as less important, we will gradually lose our God-given understanding of His way to eternal life.

Martin G. Collins
The Enduring Results of Compromise

Proverbs 30:4-6

Verse 5 appears in context with the questions in verse 4. The questioner asks, in effect, "Is anything better than the Word of God? Has any man ascended to heaven? Who is this person? To whom can I turn to receive instruction better than the Word of God?"

Verse 6 warns the reader not to delve into dangerous speculations and then take it another step farther by adding it to God's Word. Nor should one give it authority equivalent to the Word of God, as if the person speaking such things has been to heaven and returned to earth. Doing so is adding to the Word of God.

This prohibition is a well-established principle that first appears in Deuteronomy 4. In this context, "the word" means the commandments of God that appear in Deuteronomy 5:

You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. . . . Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." (Deuteronomy 4:2, 6)

Notice also what David says in Psalm 18:30-31:

As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield [or, defender] to all who trust in Him. For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?

Who can we depend on? We can depend on the Word of God to deliver us, to provide the right guidance, to give us the truth regarding everything we might face in life.

Connecting these thoughts to Proverbs 30:4-6, we find that the way of God is not improved by alloying it with human philosophy and speculations. Blending God's instruction with such things has always been a major problem. Within the framework of a covenant, this idea makes its first vivid appearance in Exodus 32, in the incident of the Golden Calf, and it continues to the end of the Bible.

Philosophies are the conclusions of men garnered through human experience and reason. So far, so good—because God requires us to use our reasoning powers in relation to His Word. So, we must gather evidence from His Word, use our reasoning powers, and then apply our conclusions to our individual situations.

However, human philosophies frequently begin with faulty premises or introduce evidence that does not agree with biblical truth. The conclusions drawn are thus wrong—and sometimes downright evil—because the wrong premise or the faulty evidence skewed the conclusion.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Twenty-Two)

Ezekiel 11:19-20

We once said in our carnal ignorance, "I will not have this One to rule over me." We may not have uttered these exact words, but our conduct in breaking God's commandments and being conformed to this world spoke as if we were literally saying them. That has changed to some degree, has it not? If it happened to us, why can it not happen to anybody? It can, but only if God gives the same things to them as He has given to us. To understand and appreciate properly what He has given us, we must recall our lives before conversion and honestly recognize what we lacked compared to what we now have because of God's calling.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Sovereignty of God: Part Six

Daniel 9:8

The next thing Daniel establishes is why Israel—and in type, the church—is in such disorder. We are confused. Why? Because of sin. "Great understanding have they that do thy commandments." If we do God's commandments, then we will not be confused.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Avoiding Superficiality

Daniel 12:4

The phrase "knowledge will be increased" is a direct reference to the prophecy itself; that is, knowledge of the prophecy will be increased. Many would seek to understand it between Daniel's time and its fulfillment, but its message must be revealed. However, its revelation will not occur until the people of God need to understand it for their well-being and God's glory. What are the chances it will be revealed in its fullness to any of us? My guess is: extremely small!

Not only must its message be revealed, but it will also not be revealed until the time comes that God is good and ready. God adds in verse 10 that only "the wise shall understand." The "wise" are described elsewhere as those who keep the commandments of God (Hosea 14:9).

Moses writes in Deuteronomy 29:29, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." God, for His purposes, chooses to keep certain things to Himself. On the other hand, He reveals a great deal about Himself in nature, revelation that is available to anyone.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Beast and Babylon (Part Three): Who Is the Woman?

Daniel 12:8-10

Many would think to look into it, but the message has to be revealed. The angel did not reveal it to Daniel, and the angel has not yet revealed it to anybody. He does say that it will be given to the "wise," and the wise are described elsewhere in the Bible as "those who keep the commandments of God."

John W. Ritenbaugh
Where Is the Beast? (Part Three)

Matthew 5:19

By a careful reading of what Jesus says here, we can see that He was not speaking about whether God considers breaking these lesser laws to be sin—He does—but about how our keeping of God's law affects our future position in His Kingdom. Transgressing any commandment—even the least of them—can reduce our reward in the Kingdom. On the other hand, if we are faithful to God's Word and teach it, our reward will be great!

Martin G. Collins
Are Some Sins Worse Than Others?

Matthew 13:24-30

As Jesus says, the field is the world, in which He has established His church. The church is not of the world (John 17:14), but within it, just as a farmer may designate a specific plot of his land, separated from the rest, for a particular, unique crop.

However, Satan the Devil has also been at work, sowing his own seeds within the field. Using fragments of God's truth, Satan has founded false religions and counterfeit Christianities that preach distortions of truth. Like the tare that grows masquerading as the wheat, members of these false churches may appear good, pious, and very generous. Worldly Christians may possess a seemingly good heart and act with fine intentions, but when the top layer of goodness is peeled back exposing their core, they reveal deceived hearts lacking understanding or true love.

Further, the world's churches are in constant rebellion against God, refusing to keep His commandments and rejecting the absolute authority of His words. The world's ministers even pervert the Word of God with infusions from such pagan religions as Buddhism, Hinduism, or other mystic or New Age faiths. Through syncretism and false doctrine, these churches accomplish the will of their evil father: deceit and destruction (see John 8:44).

Satan's malignant influence is not felt only within the world. He has planted his own seeds, sowing false brethren and even ministers within the very church of God. However, as Christ reveals in this parable, God permits this intrusion of well-camouflaged counterfeits. Tares in God's church will appear religious and devout, with no obvious warning-flag identifying them to unsuspecting church members.

Ted E. Bowling
Taking Care With the Tares

Matthew 16:18

This is both a prophecy and a promise, and it is based on the authority, power, and faithfulness of God. In this first mention of the Christian church in the Bible, Jesus informs us of its source and foundation: Himself. He is the Rock on which the church rests, and the whole structure built atop it is also His. That is why nothing, not even death, can hope to defeat or destroy it. The church will continue until it has accomplished its purpose—which means that the true church of Jesus Christ is still in existence on the earth, and it can be found.

Of course, one cannot simply decide on one's own to seek it and find it. Jesus says very clearly in John 6:44, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him." No one! The true Christ will not be found unless His Father personally invites some to draw near to Him. God has not chosen to save everyone now, in "this present evil age" (Galatians 1:4), delaying that general calling to a more conducive time (see Revelation 20:11-13). Currently, He is working through a small body of people called "the elect," who are firstfruits of His Kingdom (see Revelation 14:1, 4-5; James 1:18).

Students of the Bible know that "many are called and few are chosen" (Matthew 20:16; 22:14). As the Parable of the Sower and the Seed (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23) depicts, God casts the gospel far and wide, but only those on "good ground" produce results. These are the chosen, the elect, the little flock (Luke 12:32) of true disciples of Christ. These few are the church or ekklesia ("assembly," "those called out") of God. Revelation 14:1 limits the number of these "called out ones" to 144,000 throughout all of human history up to the return of Christ, a mere remnant of humanity.

Ephesians 1:22-23 tells us that the church is Christ's body and that He is the Head of the body. Clearly, this is a spiritual description of the organization and function of the church in the world. The church of God, then, is not necessarily found in one human organization or denomination; instead, the church is a spiritual organism composed of individual true Christians, wherever they may be.

So it was in the first century when the twelve apostles and Paul scattered over the face of the earth to spread the gospel, raising up congregations everywhere. Whether under Peter or Paul or John or another apostle, the truly converted members were all united in the spiritual body of Christ despite having little or no contact with each other and working within different organizations.

Revelation 2-3 more than suggests that the end-time church members will be similarly scattered among at least seven "churches." Whether these are real church organizations or spiritual designations in the mind of God, we cannot say for certain. Nevertheless, to consider only one physical church organization to be the only true church ignores biblical reality.

Even so, there are larger church organizations where true disciples of Christ congregate. In Romans 8:14, Paul gives us the most crucial clue concerning how to find the true church: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." True Christians are those who show by their words and behaviors that God is directing them. God, through the prophet Isaiah, speaks of His people, "'You are My witnesses,' says the LORD, 'and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He'" (Isaiah 43:10). This puts a great deal of pressure on church members to represent Him properly before the world.

Perhaps the simplest test to find members of the body of Christ is one spoken by Jesus just before His crucifixion: "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). In other words, Christ's true disciples will be keeping God's commandments—all of them. They will not pick and choose which ones they will keep; they will in faith follow all of them to the best of their abilities. Paul proclaims concerning the church's teaching, "For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27). In this vein of endeavoring to follow Jesus' complete instruction, members of the true church will be "go[ing] on to perfection" (Hebrews 6:1), seeking first God's Kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33), striving to "be perfect, just as [our] Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). These are tall orders that will quickly eliminate most churches of this world.

A minor point, but a good indicator, is that a true church of God will call itself a "church of God" or some similar form. The New Testament names God's church eleven times, and each time it uses such a phrase (Acts 20:28; I Corinthians 1:2; 10:32; 11:22; 15:9; II Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:13; I Thessalonians 1:1; II Thessalonians 1:1; I Timothy 3:5, 15). It is not named after a man, a doctrine, a form of church government, or anything other than the great God who is its Lord. To do otherwise gives honor and glory where it does not belong.

Obviously, a search for the true church of God will not be an easy one—like trying to find the proverbial needle in a haystack. It takes a great deal of study on the part of the seeker to know what God's true disciples believe and teach, and such a person will likely go through many worldly churches before He finds one of God's churches. However, if God is indeed drawing the individual to Christ, He will put him on the path to making contact with the true church.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Can the True Church Be Found?

Matthew 19:16-22

The young man's question to Jesus is "How can I have eternal life?" In connecting it to the New Covenant terms in Hebrews 8:10, w can see that the writing of the law on the heart is a two-sided affair. Only those who have 1) made the New Covenant with God, and 2) met the terms within the framework of the time that they live, will be given eternal life. The Boss—Jesus Christ, our Lord and Master, the Messenger of the Covenant, our Savior, the One who preached the gospel, who knows what He is talking about—says, "If you want to have eternal life, keep the law!"

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Ten)

Matthew 19:17

Jesus tells him he must do something, not just believe, to gain salvation. By this, He also tells us what works He expects of us, if we would live forever with God.

We must do good works to be blessed with eternal life, and all who have eternal life do such works. Our Savior expects us to become coworkers with Him in our salvation, as well as the salvation of all mankind. Paul writes, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).

God's great law is His way of life! God chooses to live by the Ten Commandments, and they reveal His excellent character. To enter His Family, we also must live by God's law, which helps us to develop godly character. This is how closely eternal life is linked to keeping the commandments.

Staff
Works of Faith (Part One)

Mark 1:15

Not only does Christ come to announce the soon-coming Kingdom of God, in particular to those whom God calls, but also to prepare the elect for their spiritual responsibilities now and in the Kingdom.

Repentance is a prerequisite for belief. What is repentance? Its basic meaning is to change the mind. Once a person hears the gospel and is convicted that his way of life is wrong, he must alter his present behavior and "bear fruits worthy of repentance" (Matthew 3:8).

The fruits of repentance are visible actions—often called "works"—that show that a person has indeed changed. When John the Baptist preached repentance to prepare the way for Jesus' ministry, his audience asked him what they should do to repent. He answered: Clothe the naked, feed the hungry, do not steal, do not use one's authority to oppress, do not lie or accuse falsely, and be content with one's wages (Luke 3:10-14). In general, these actions are either showing love for one's neighbor or obeying God's laws.

Jesus says, "If you want to enter into [eternal] life, keep the commandments" (Matthew 19:17). Later, when asked what are the greatest commandments, Jesus answered, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart. . . .' And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Matthew 22:36-40). When we put all these things together, bearing fruits worthy of repentance is simply living as God does!

Believing the gospel is closely related to having faith. When one believes something, he has faith, trust, confidence, that it is true. This confidence leads him to begin to act in accordance with what he believes, and the result is obedience to it or following it. Notice how the apostle Paul shows this in Romans 10:8-10:

But what does [Scripture] say? "The word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.

Verse 10 provides the balance to verse 9. It is not enough just to confess Jesus verbally and believe in the resurrection as an intellectual exercise. Paul explains that heartfelt belief leads to righteousness, which is simply right doing or godly behavior. Faith, then—living faith (II Corinthians 5:7)—is trusting God's Word and doing it, even in the face of hardship, sacrifice, the contrary opinions of friends and family, or even death. The author of Hebrews, likely Paul, commends the "Heroes of Faith" to us for just these reasons (Hebrews 11).

Thus, Jesus' urgent command for us to repent and believe the gospel provides us with the negative and positive sides of a single, godly action. He tells us to rid ourselves of the evil we have been doing ("repent") and to begin doing what God expects of those to whom He has revealed His way of life ("believe"). This will lead to righteousness and salvation and—God promises—entrance into His Kingdom (II Peter 1:2-11)!

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The True Gospel (Part 5)

Luke 2:6-14

Lately, Christmas-keeping Christians have been forced to stand up for Christmas. Atheists and agnostics have been clamoring for the removal of religion from Christmas celebrations. They want advertisers to market the season without reference to "Christmas," instead using the innocuous "Holiday" moniker. They want businesses to ditch playing traditional Christmas carols over their in-store audio systems in favor of "winter music." Countless courts have weighed in - some on one side, some on the other - concerning Christmas crèches on public property. Christian groups have had to file lawsuits to force school systems to allow their students to sing "Silent Night" - and not some wintry parody - during winter concerts!

This is all extremely ironic - even hilarious at times. Christmas-celebrating Christians rush to the barricades to defend this most sacred holiday from the godless hordes, all the while totally missing the fact that they are defending the indefensible! Where is their authority to keep the day in the first place? Rome? Probably. Jerusalem? Nope. Bethlehem? Hardly. The Bible? Not a chance!

In reality, by its materialism and syncretism, this world's Christianity has helped the modern, secular world sanitize - not Santa-ize - Christmas. This supposedly Christian holiday has been systematically disinfected of its biblical "taint" simply because it is fundamentally unbiblical! Its only scriptural basis is the Gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus, and they prove that the traditional Christmas teaching sits on foundation of sand.

The Nativity - a fancy word for "birth" - of Jesus Christ is found in two of the Gospels, Matthew and Luke. Try as one might, a birth date for our Savior cannot be found in either, and in fact, honest, objective scholars and theologians admit that a winter date is perhaps the least likely time. December, as any biblical geographer will attest, is the beginning of the rainy season in the land God gave to Israel, and shepherds would have stopped leaving their flocks in the fields at night a good month or two before then. Majority opinion places Jesus' birth in the autumn, probably on or near the fall festivals of Trumpets or Tabernacles.

Other aspects of the traditional Nativity also fail the test of biblical authenticity. For instance, the Gospels do not say that there were three wise men, nor are their names anywhere recorded in history. In this case, the number three has its source in the number of gifts the wise men gave to Jesus: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It is certainly possible that He received other gifts from them, but Matthew decided to highlight these particular three for symbolic reasons.

Many of the manger scenes even get details wrong, like the fact that when the wise men showed up, Jesus was no longer a newborn lying in a manger, but as Matthew writes, a "young Child" living in "a house" (Matthew 2:11). Traditional Christmas crèches also tend to combine Luke's account of the shepherds' arrival almost immediately after His birth with the coming of the wise men, which evidently occurred perhaps weeks or months later (see verse 16: Some contend that it could have been as long as two years later!). And, of course, none of the Nativity participants wore halos!

These few scenes are the extent of the Bible's information about Christ's birth. Neither Mark nor John saw fit to add to what Matthew and Luke had already written. Both Mark and John begin their narratives about the time of Jesus' baptism three decades later. Why? In the grand scheme of Jesus' life, His birth is of less importance than His ministry, death, and resurrection. Certainly, it was a wonderful day when God-in-the-flesh appeared among us, but it pales in meaning to what He taught, what He sacrificed for us, and what He now does for us as our living High Priest. Why dwell on His past, helpless infancy when we can rejoice in His present, powerful advocacy?

The Christmas controversy does not hinge on whether it is politically correct to wish someone "Merry Christmas!" but on a factor that is far more significant: truth. Is Christmas true? The biblical facts shout a resounding, "NO!" Then why celebrate a lie? Falsehood is never good, never beneficial, never right. Keeping a false holiday in dedication to Jesus is still a lie. Do we really think He feels honored by a lie, which is sin (check Exodus 20:16 and Revelation 21:8; 22:15)? He receives much more honor when we, instead, keep His commandments (John 14:15; 15:10).

We can only hope that today's swirl over this holiday wakes Christians up - not just to America's eroding Christian values, but to the sad fact that what most assume to be ever-so-Christian is nothing of the sort.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
A Sanitary Christmas

Luke 4:8

Jesus Christ kept the Ten Commandments (Luke 4:8; John 15:10), and taught others to do likewise (Matthew 19:17-19). He elaborated on keeping them in Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28. Jesus emphatically says, "If you want to enter into [eternal] life, keep the commandments." Could anything be clearer? John writes, "He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (I John 2:4). Paul instructs Timothy, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ [calls himself a Christian] depart from iniquity" (II Timothy 2:19).

Martin G. Collins
The Ten Commandments

John 6:44

Genuine repentance is impossible without God first acting in our lives. Nothing truly spiritual happens in our lives until God initiates a relationship with us. Jesus tells us plainly in John 6:44, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day." His wording is definite: No one has the ability to approach Christ without God the Father first calling him, summoning him, inviting him, to draw near. One may think he is seeking God and the truth, but unless the Father has opened his mind, nothing will ever come of all his efforts.

Therefore, any purported repentance that occurs apart from God and His way of life is not biblical, godly repentance. If someone whom God has not called—say, a professing Buddhist or an atheist, to use an extreme—claims to have repented, he has simply altered his lifestyle, a human self-improvement. Positive though it may be, his "repentance" is mere change; God is not involved. A closer inspection of the situation will show that, despite improving in one area of his life, other areas continue to be ungodly, and in the case of the Buddhist or atheist, completely outside the bounds of Christian doctrine.

Unfortunately, many who say they are Christians also fit in this category, claiming to have repented of their sins, but their lifestyles argue against them. Despite the Bible's clear teaching to the contrary, much of the Christian world believes that all they need to do to be saved is to believe in Jesus, and their initial remorse over their previous lifetime of sin fulfills the requirement to repent. From that time on, they believe, the blood of Christ covers their sins, so they have no need to keep God's commandments and to conform to God's way of life since Christ did it all for them.

Yet, the apostle John writes in I John 2:4, "He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." I John 2:9-11 gives the example of a person claiming to be "in the light" yet continuing to hate his brother. The apostle says that such an individual is still "in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes." The fruit of his life shows that there has been no true repentance.

Sin is ever-present with us, even those who are under the covenant. Paul writes in Romans 3:9: "What then? Are we better than they [the world]? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin." We are all sinners. The apostle says in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Earlier in the same chapter (verses 10-18), he had listed quotations from the Old Testament describing the sinfulness of man, beginning with "There is none righteous, no, not one."

For those of us who are truly called and converted, God has graciously forgiven us and cleared the long record of our past sins through Jesus Christ's shed blood (see Romans 3:24-26). But even helped by the Holy Spirit to live righteously, we nevertheless continue to sin. Because sin still relentlessly dogs us, we must repent again and again. Why?

The simple answer is that, even though we have found the truth and started along the path toward the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, we are still very much human, reeking of human nature and constantly influenced by this present, evil world. To transform from sinful to godly is not a matter of divine fiat but a protracted struggle against self, Satan, and this world, with countless turnings of the tide of battle while we surge ever closer to victory. Every time we give ground—after every sin, trespass, or transgression—we must repent and rejoin the fight.

This is not easy to do. In Jeremiah 10:23, the prophet acknowledges, "O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps." Left to ourselves, we would not know how to live properly before God, and even with His help, it takes us years of study and experience to learn God's ways. We spend that time repenting of our own ways and taking on God's.

The same prophet records in Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" The record of mankind has shown that humans are quite adept at deceiving themselves. They are especially good at considering themselves in the right though all the evidence is against them. In most cases, God must work years to show His people that His way is best, and they spend much of that time repenting.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Repentance: The Genuine Article (Part One)

John 14:15

Within our relationship with God, a measure of reciprocity always exists, even though our part is but a tiny percentage of the overall amount. It must be this way because love cannot be one-sided, or the relationship will not exist for very long. This is a major reason why Jesus says in John 14:15, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." Obedience is the way we reciprocate His love toward us.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Christian Fight (Part One)

Romans 2:14-16

Everybody will be judged by or against the same law. God is impartial in His judgments; He uses the same standard for everyone. Just in case one wonders what law Paul means, verse 21 identifies it.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Sixteen)

Romans 2:14-15

People "who do not have the law" cannot do things in relation to God. In fact, they do not consider certain things in relation to God at all.

Nevertheless, every nation on earth supports the keeping of certain laws of God because they know by experience, by history, that they are good for their societies. No government on earth openly supports the murder of their own because they know from history that, if they did, the whole society would be torn apart. For instance, they do not want people to murder because it is not good for the nation.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Twenty-Two)

Romans 2:14

Even before Isaac Newton wrote down his observations about gravity, people had a pretty good working knowledge of the principle. It was widely understood that when an apple fell from a tree, it would hit the earth. Children learned at an early age not to throw rocks straight up—what goes up, must come down. The average peasant did not need Newton's proofs to verify these things; he had enough experience on his own to vouch for this natural law. The effect was easily observable.

The law of gravity exists entirely apart from human legislation. Isaac Newton did not create it, but merely wrote it down. It is a fact of everyday life and cannot simply be ignored. It is always in operation. A man may choose to pretend it does not exist, but he does so at tremendous risk to himself and others.

Gravity is but one of the many natural laws—those phenomena, not of human origin or governance, that have been proven to always occur whenever certain conditions exist. These cause-and-effect principles govern much of our lives. We may not be aware of the specifics—or willfully choose to ignore them—but, like gravity, they operate continuously. These are not laws we can vote on. We either comply, or we suffer the consequences.

The rest of God's laws are no different. They are not of human origin, and thus are beyond human regulation. They are always in force. They were not created by Moses but were merely recorded by him. And, like gravity, a man may choose to pretend they do not exist, but he will still reap the consequences for transgressing them.

One of these very broad natural laws is stated as follows: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life [through] Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). We normally consider "death" just to mean "the cessation of life," yet that definition is too narrow for this verse, where death is contrasted with eternal life. Eternal life is more than just life without end; an endless life would be torment without relief unless it also had with it the proper quality. Eternal life is living the way God lives. It is knowing or experiencing God (John 17:3), which will always produce the best and the most. It is not necessarily synonymous with material success, but instead consists of things that money cannot buy: security of mind, peace among relationships, joy without regard to physical circumstance, etc.

Death, then, while it would include the cessation of life, also means not living the way God lives. It means having a quality of life that is not eternal, whether in duration or in excellence. We can see that sin produces death by three means: 1) Sin brings on the penalty of eternal death, which can only be atoned for by Christ's sacrifice; 2) sin will always diminish the excellence and quality of life, whether it is immediately recognized or not; and, 3) some sins hasten physical death.

A few examples demonstrate this powerfully:

  • The article, "The Empty Cradle Will Rock: How abortion is costing the Democrats voters—literally" (Wall Street Journal), details the "Roe Effect." This postulates that since children tend to absorb the values, political views, and lifestyle of their parents, abortionists are actually damaging their cause through its very practice. They are destroying the individuals in the next generation who would be most likely to support abortion. Abortion not only results in the death of an innocent, but also in a greatly diminished quality of life as the mother copes with guilt, depression, and even an increased risk of breast cancer.

  • As Pam Stenzel discusses in her sobering presentation "Sex Has a Price Tag," some of the most common sexually transmitted diseases may not be fatal but instead render the recipient unable to have children. Incidentally, a large number of these STDs can be contracted even when so-called "safe sex" is practiced. In this example also, the individuals in one generation who practice a sinful lifestyle have a decreased chance of producing another generation. Yet, even if neither pregnancy nor infection occurs, there is still an emotional price to pay. Sex outside of the bonds of marriage will always result in a diminished quality of life.

  • Likewise, the homosexual lifestyle is aptly named the "culture of death." It is more concerned with self-gratification than with having a stable, secure family life as God intends. In addition, this lifestyle is essentially synonymous with AIDS and other debilitating diseases. From 1981 through 1999, there were 751,965 cumulative reported cases of AIDS in the U.S. At least 56 percent of the AIDS diagnoses occurred in homosexual or bisexual men. In other words, two percent of the population had at least 56 percent of those reported AIDS diagnoses (see "A Pharmacist's View on Gay Marriage"). As well, the average life expectancy for homosexuals is 20-30 years less than for heterosexuals, not only because of the high rate of disease, but also because of the extremely high rates of suicide, substance abuse, and "domestic violence."

Natural laws, whether they govern falling apples or human relationships, can be seen as harsh or restrictive, especially if one is on the wrong side of them (Romans 8:7). Or they can be seen as benevolent guides to help us live the way God Himself lives—both with excellence and longevity. The apostle Paul considered God's laws to be holy, just, and good (Romans 7:12) because they instruct us in the best way to live—the way that will not just produce length of days but also true fulfillment. We can either take God's Word for it, or we can observe the consequences of the choices of others. Or we can do what is natural for mankind and personally re-prove each of these laws the hard way.

Jesus Christ was once asked what should be done in order to have eternal life. His answer? "If you want to enter into life [eternal life—godly life], keep the commandments" (Matthew 19:16-17).

David C. Grabbe
Natural Law

Romans 12:8

God has called us to peace. He expects us to keep His commandments, and in return He gives us peace of mind. "When a man's ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him" (Proverbs 16:7). Sin separates man from God, causing a confrontational relationship with Him whereby man receives His wrath. This is anything but peaceful! Peace leads to more peace, washing away strife and fear as a river sweeps away debris.

Martin G. Collins
Peace

Romans 13:10

Paul, apostle to the Gentiles, mentions the commandments frequently in his writings (Romans 1:18-25; 13:9; I Corinthians 10:7; Ephesians 6:1-2; Colossians 3:8; Hebrews 4:9). He summarizes the keeping of the last six as how to love our neighbor (Romans 13:10). If it is sin to break any of the last six that show love toward fellow man, most certainly it is sin to violate any of the first four that show love toward God.

Martin G. Collins
The Ten Commandments

1 John 2:1-6

Eternal life is to know God (John 17:3). Do we want to know God and do His will at the same time? Keep His commandments. Do not sin. Overcome and grow in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ (II Peter 3:18). To do this, we have to desire to live the eternal life given us by the Father through Jesus Christ. This does not come easily. Our Savior describes this way as difficult and narrow, for human nature stands ever ready to throw stumbling blocks in our path.

Sin destroys ideals. As we sin, the high standards of eternal life are gradually eroded away, and we become willing to accept just about anything. Sin destroys innocence, and in the process creates fear, cynicism, guilt, and restlessness. Sin destroys the will, gradually removing the barriers to sin more and the incentive to do well.

Sin produces more sin, sickness, pain, slavery, and finally, death. This cycle will never change unless each person, as God summons him, takes it upon himself to allow himself to be motivated to use the gifts God gives. It takes a great deal of effort to do this. Jesus warns it will be difficult.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Elements of Motivation (Part Six): Eternal Life

1 John 2:8-11

Consider these verses in relation to the meal offering, representing the devoted keeping of the last six commandments. Hating a brother would be breaking those commandments in relation to him. It might involve murdering him, breaking the marriage bond through adultery, stealing from him, lying to or about him, or lusting after him or his possessions.

Verse 10 parallels Psalm 119:165 exactly when it says, "But he who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him." I John 5:3 defines love: "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome." The New Testament strongly affirms that loving one's brother is keeping God's commandments in relation to him, and this provides us strong assurance and stability along the way.

I John 2:11 then shows that the blindness of darkness envelops the eyes of one who hates his brother, that is, breaks God's commandments in relation to him. This blindness produces stumbling and fighting, and thus he has no peace.

It is particularly disturbing if the brother spoken of in these verses also happens to be one's spouse, father, or mother. Old people today stand a high chance of being shunted off into a convalescent or old-age home, if only for the convenience of the adult children. Is that honoring a parent, or is it in some way contemptuous? Are the children unwilling to make sacrifices even for those who brought them into the world? Will this course of action produce peace? Will it produce a sense of well-being in either party?

John says, "He who loves his brother abides in the light" (verse 10), implying that love produces its own illumination. Illumination is what enables a person to see in the dark. Light contrasts to the darkness, blindness, and ignorance of verse 11, which result in stumbling. Illumination indicates understanding and the ability to produce solutions to relationship problems. The difficult part is laying ourselves out in sacrifice to express love. If we fail to do this, we may never see solutions to our relationship problems.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Offerings of Leviticus (Part Five): The Peace Offering, Sacrifice, and Love

1 John 3:16-24

In verse 16, John teaches that we can know love by observing the way Jesus lived His life. He sacrificed His life for us by laying it down each day, as well as in death, setting us an example to follow in our relations with the brethren. In verse 17, he provides a practical illustration of a way we can lay down our life in love. Then, in verse 18, he encourages us not merely to agree with truth but to take action to meet a brother's need.

Verse 19 begins to show the effect of devoted sacrifice to this way of life. The persuasive power of knowing we are doing the right things inspires assurance, confidence, and satisfaction; we feel a positive sense that we are right with God. He then explains that, when these are not produced—but instead we feel guilt and condemnation because we know we are not doing well, and our concern for not being perfect overwhelms us—we need to go to God for forgiveness because He will forgive.

Verse 21 is a subtle encouragement to repent, to turn from our self-centeredness so we can be at peace with God and within ourselves. Verse 22 discloses the positive effect of laying down our lives in sacrifice for our brethren by devotedly keeping the commandments: answered prayers. Living by faith and displaying it through a life of sacrificial love is the theme of verse 23, and finally, in verse 24, he reveals another positive effect: to know absolutely that He lives in us and we in Him. Our lives revolve around faith in this knowledge.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Offerings of Leviticus (Part Four): The Peace Offering

1 John 5:3

The commandments tell us how to express the love of God. They tell us what form our efforts are to take to express this love and how it is to be directed towards both God and man. The first four commandments are primarily directed at God, while the last six are directed at man. Therefore, what we see is a channel that our loving conduct is supposed to take. In one sense, this is where the love of God commences in a human being—when he begins keeping the commandments.

A person may have a thought to do good or to refrain from evil. He may have a feeling of compassion or pity or mercy—or a feeling of revulsion to something that is evil. However, it does not become love until the thought or the feeling motivates the person to act. Love is an act.

Then another aspect of love comes into play. This kind of love can be done coldly, reluctantly, or out of dutiful obligation. On the other hand, it can be done in joyous, wholehearted submission, with a great deal of enthusiasm, warm-heartedly, and with thankful devotion, or anywhere in between. Because of this, we have to ask, "Which is more attractive?" Love that is done in warm-hearted enthusiasm or coldly, reluctantly, or dutifully?

It is better to do an act of obedience, regardless of the feeling, than not to do it at all. Nonetheless, if we cannot get beyond the feeling that it is right, the proper feelings will never be formed, because emotions are largely developed by experience. This is important: The right emotions will never be formed without experiencing the right actions with the right spirit—God's Holy Spirit.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Love's Emotional Dimension

Revelation 12:17

It is evident that the church that Christ built will teach obedience to the Ten Commandments. A sign of God's church, symbolized as a woman, is the keeping of the Ten Commandments. A church that does not teach and keep them is a church of the world.

Martin G. Collins
The Ten Commandments

Revelation 12:17

Verse 17 contains the first allusion to the church. The woman, who is called here a "remnant," keeps the commandments and has the testimony of Jesus Christ. Now we can clearly see Revelation is describing the church.

Concerning the word "remnant," the marginal reference says "offspring." This is being used in the same sense as the woman giving birth to the Christ child. The overwhelming bulk of the church is in Israel. However, if we understand Revelation 12 properly, there is a portion of the church that will go to a place prepared with the nation Israel.

The woman is clearly identified right within the context of the chapter as not being the church until verse 17. Where it says, "which keep the commandments of God and has the testimony of Jesus Christ," further identifies who the remnant is. It identified the offspring as being the brothers and sisters of the Child that was brought forth by the woman, because Israel does not keep the commandments and does not have the testimony of Jesus Christ. The only part of Israel that keeps the commandments and has the testimony of Jesus Christ is the church within it.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Where Is the Beast? (Part Three)

Revelation 12:17

It is not until verse 17 that the church clearly and directly comes into the picture by being identified as Israelthe woman remnant. This is how it is translated in the King James:"with the remnant of her seed." This means her "offspring." The offspring are identified in verse 17 as "those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ," who was born to the woman earlier in the chapter. Israel the nation does not keep the commandments of God, nor does it have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Therefore, in the last half of verse 17, the subject has shifted from Israel the nation to the Israel of God—the church.

The Messiah, who was born of the woman, most definitely kept the commandments of God. The remnant that was born of the woman (identified as her offspring, just like the Messiah), is also clearly distinguished and separate from her, and they too keep the commandments and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Now putting verse 17 together with verses 7 through 12 shows that the church (the woman's offspring) will undergo some measure of persecution within Israel (the woman, the nation) before Israel the nation flees. This is very clear, because verses 7 through 11 come before verse 14 in time. If this is not true, then why does verse 11 say that "they overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and they loved not their lives unto death"? That indicates a pretty harsh persecution within Israel the nation.

The whole subject of chapter 12 is Israel the nation, except for those mentions of keeping the commandments, the blood of the Lamb, and having the testimony of Jesus Christ, which appear in verses 11 and 17. So what do we learn from this chapter? That through the great expanse of time—from the time that woman [the nation] flees into the wilderness until verse 17 (an expanse of about two thousand years), Israel the church [the Israel of God] is within Israel the nation, wherever it is. This is not at all unusual.

Verse 17 then clearly infers that the dragon leaves the woman [the nation] who fled and goes some place else to persecute those who keep the commandments and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. It is at this point that a switch occurs between Israel the nation and the Israel of God (the church). Otherwise, why would it say that Satan leaves the woman that he is persecuting and goes to persecute those who have the testimony of Jesus Christ and keep the commandments? By this time, in verse 17, they have separated from one another. The nation and the church are in different locations at the time verse 17 takes place. If I can speculate, the church has gone to its place of safety that is different from where God caused the nation to flee.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Where Is the Beast? (Part Four)

Revelation 14:13

What does He mean by "their works follow them"? Those whose works follow them are blessed! They are working. It is obvious from verse 12 that part of their works—part of the reason they are so blessed—is keeping the commands of God.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Revelation 2-3 and Works

Revelation 21:4

The time of the new heaven and the new earth is one in which "there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4). The "former things" are the sins and their consequences that caused so much death, sorrow, crying, and pain on earth!

Jesus Christ suggests that behavior and character matter when He says in verse 7, "He who overcomes shall inherit all things." What does a Christian overcome but his own sin, this present evil world, and the Archenemy, Satan the Devil!

Who will be there and who will not? These two chapters make it quite plain: "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city [of New Jerusalem]. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie" (Revelation 22:14-15; cf. 21:8). It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to deny that God says those who live upright lives will enter His Kingdom and those who live sinful lives will not. Righteous behavior and character certainly do matter to God!

We can go to no higher source to receive the answer to "Does our behavior have eternal value?" than to Jesus Christ Himself. A man came to Him and asked him this very question: "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" His answer is unambiguous: "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matthew 19:17). The commandments are a code of behavior that builds godly character in those who keep them, and God wants only those with godly character—character like His Son's—in His Kingdom.

Behavior matters. Character matters. The Ten Commandments matter. They will not "pay our way" into God's Kingdom, since God's salvation is a free gift, and it is humanly impossible to purchase or earn it (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8). Nonetheless, when God judges us "according to [our] deeds" (Romans 2:5-11; cf. I John 2:28-29), the record of our behavior will make the difference between eternal life and eternal death.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Behavior Matters

Revelation 21:8

God's law will still be in effect once His Kingdom is established. Even after the Millennium, when New Jerusalem comes down, no lawbreaker will be allowed in the city. In Revelation 22, the last chapter of the Bible, obedience to God's law is the central issue. This is very clear proof that the law of God, which reflects the holy conduct of the Almighty, will be the standard for all eternity!

Martin G. Collins
The Ten Commandments


 




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