2 Corinthians 5:9 - "Therefore we also have as our
ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him."
The Christian life is not about keeping a list of rules or
about following a religion, the Christina life is about a relationship. This is
where so much of the world gets it wrong. So many people looking in from the
outside think that it's just a list of do's and don'ts, but that is far from
the truth. But the sad thing is that even many professing Christians, though
they might not realize it, are under the same impression. A part of maturing in
our relationship with Christ is getting past the express commandments of
Scripture, the specifics do's and don'ts, and coming to the point where the
motivating factor in your life is a desire to please Him. To sum it up in one
word, the Christian life is about a relationship.
Now, don't get me wrong, keeping the Lords commands is not a
bad thing, in fact it's a very good thing. The Lord Jesus Himself said in John
14:15 - "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
So keeping the Lords commandments is great, but that is a starting point
not an ending point. Later on in this same passage, in verse 23, the Lord Jesus
says this - "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My
word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode
with him." Earlier in the passage He
talked about keeping His commandments, here He talks about keeping His word,
this sounds very similar and we might pass right by these verses without
realizing that they're not the same thing. There is a distinct difference and a
specific reason that the Lord uses the word He uses in each case. This is
brought out more clearly in 1 John chapter 2 where we have these same two ideas
of keeping His commandments and keeping His word. 1 John 2:3-6 says this
- "By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His
commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not
keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but
whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.
By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought
himself to walk in the same manner as He walked."
These verses obviously contrasts keeping His commandments
with keeping His word. So what's the difference? Keeping His commandments has
to do with obeying the specific commands of Scripture, the do's and don'ts. And
this verse says that if we keep His commandments that's an evidence that we
know Him. But he goes on to say that love, that is, our love for God is
perfected in those who keep His word. This goes beyond the specific commands
and gets down to the very heart of God. Knowing Him to the extent that we know
what delights His heart, even if it's not a direct command, and we do it out of
a desire to please Him because we love Him.
There's an human example of this found in 2 Samuel 23:14-16
concerning three of Davids mighty men. There we read - "And David was in the stronghold,
while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. And David had a
craving and said, "Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the
well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!" So the three mighty men broke
through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem
which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David." This
illustrates very well what we've been talking about. David had a craving for
some water that was right in the midst of enemy territory. His heart longed for
that, it was the desire of his heart. Now, David did not command anyone to go
get it for him, but three of Davids mighty men, out of their desire to please
their leader because of their love for him, they took action. Not because they
were commanded, but because they knew the desire of Davids heart, and out of
love for him they took certain steps. They wanted to please him, and that went
beyond an express command to something deeper. Getting down to what delighted
his heart, what pleased him. And it's the same way with our God.
It doesn't take much spiritual maturity or interaction with God to read a list of do's and don'ts off the pages of the Bible, but keeping His word, living a life that's pleasing to Him is going to take contact and interaction. It's going to take time spent with God, seeing from Scripture what delights His heart, even if it's something we're not directly commanded to do. A part of maturing in our relationship with Christ is coming to the place where it's not about keeping a list of rules. Many Christians, instead of seeking to please the Lord in certain areas of their lives, live with the mentality of "how close to the line can I get without breaking any commandments?" This is so shallow and immature and, while it may be a good starting point, we need to grow up past that. We need to mature in our love relationship with Christ. You'll hear statements like "The Bible doesn't say I can't listen to this kind of music or watch that kind of movie or go to that kind of place." Or "The Bible doesn't say that I have to spend this much time reading my Bible and praying, or say how many services of the church that I have to go to, or even what kind of church to go to." And while this may be the case, we need to mature past a list of rules and grow in our love relationship with Christ in order that we might please Him. In the Old Testament the Lord gave His people a command concerning giving, He told them to give ten percent. What is the New Testament command for giving? 2 Corinthians 9:7 - "God loves a cheerful giver." How much is that? We're not given a specific command in regard to our giving so how are we to know how much God wants us to give? It's going to take interaction with Him. Bringing our paycheck before Him and recognizing that all of it belongs to Him and then asking Him how He would have us use it. And this is just one example, but it applies in several areas of our lives. A love relationship between two people isn't about keeping a list of rules, but it's about coming to know one another and finding out what delights that persons heart, and then seeking to please them in that way, not because I have to, but because I want to, because I love them. And it's the same in our relationship with Christ. We're not confined to a list of rules. The New Testament gives us a lot of liberty. Let's not use our liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but as an opportunity,out of love, to please Him.
It doesn't take much spiritual maturity or interaction with God to read a list of do's and don'ts off the pages of the Bible, but keeping His word, living a life that's pleasing to Him is going to take contact and interaction. It's going to take time spent with God, seeing from Scripture what delights His heart, even if it's something we're not directly commanded to do. A part of maturing in our relationship with Christ is coming to the place where it's not about keeping a list of rules. Many Christians, instead of seeking to please the Lord in certain areas of their lives, live with the mentality of "how close to the line can I get without breaking any commandments?" This is so shallow and immature and, while it may be a good starting point, we need to grow up past that. We need to mature in our love relationship with Christ. You'll hear statements like "The Bible doesn't say I can't listen to this kind of music or watch that kind of movie or go to that kind of place." Or "The Bible doesn't say that I have to spend this much time reading my Bible and praying, or say how many services of the church that I have to go to, or even what kind of church to go to." And while this may be the case, we need to mature past a list of rules and grow in our love relationship with Christ in order that we might please Him. In the Old Testament the Lord gave His people a command concerning giving, He told them to give ten percent. What is the New Testament command for giving? 2 Corinthians 9:7 - "God loves a cheerful giver." How much is that? We're not given a specific command in regard to our giving so how are we to know how much God wants us to give? It's going to take interaction with Him. Bringing our paycheck before Him and recognizing that all of it belongs to Him and then asking Him how He would have us use it. And this is just one example, but it applies in several areas of our lives. A love relationship between two people isn't about keeping a list of rules, but it's about coming to know one another and finding out what delights that persons heart, and then seeking to please them in that way, not because I have to, but because I want to, because I love them. And it's the same in our relationship with Christ. We're not confined to a list of rules. The New Testament gives us a lot of liberty. Let's not use our liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but as an opportunity,out of love, to please Him.
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