“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.”
— 1 John 2:3
In numerous classes, to hundreds of people, I have posed this question: “Can anyone tell me any one single thing any person can do that would please God other than obey His law?”
What would you say?
It’s a tough question, and so far, no one in my classes has come up with an answer. Some have said, “Well, we could love God,” and to do so would be to obey what Jesus said was the first and greatest commandment: to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, strength, and mind. But many others hold the erroneous belief that because Christians are saved by faith—without having done anything to earn our salvation except receive Jesus’ free gift of grace—that we do not have to keep God’s laws after we’re saved.
That’s not what the apostle Paul teaches. In Romans 3:31, he asks and answers the question about keeping the Law: “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not. On the contrary, we establish the law.” When God gave His law in the Old Testament, He also promised to purify us and write His law on the walls of our hearts. Then we would no longer be like the wild horse that does not want to submit to a bridle and does everything in his power to fight against it. Instead, we’d be like the tame horse that willingly and gladly submits to the guidance of his master and wears the bridle.
God promised to take away our wildly rebellious hearts and give us new hearts of glad submission. Because of our new hearts, we can say with David, who was called a man after God’s own heart, “Oh, how I love thy law. It is my meditation day and night.” This should be the attitude of our heart. We should believe, as the apostle Paul did, that God’s law is good and just and holy. We should remember Jesus’ teaching, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”
Will you covenant with me today to obey God’s commandments, showing your gratitude to and love for Him by doing so?
“If we do not have a law of God,
how shall we know His will?”
Horatio Bonar