The Law is Righteous

I have to be speaking of the Law of God, right? I am of course, although as I was reading and working to understand my reading this morning, I was no so sure at the start. I was seeing things through the lens of man and not of God.

You see, sin cannot take hold of one if sin is not understood to be sin. Think about small children and the grocery store. The children will reach out and grab things from the shelf and unknowingly the adult leaves the store and the child will therefore have “stolen” the item. The child is not a sinner, as there was not an understanding that the sin had occurred. And in the animal kingdom, killing is a part of the circle of life and is not considered sin. In each of the above circumstances, for me if I were to commit either of those, I would have sinned. And so, the law of God was introduced through Moses to call out the sin and define it for you and me.

“¹²So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” – Romans 7:12 (ESV)

The law of God is holy, and righteous, and good. The LORD would not have introduced them if they were not. The Ten Commandments that are referenced here by Paul were given to the people to deter them from sin. They are for our benefit to keep us on the path to righteousness. They are good and fair and healthy to uphold.

Paul specifically refers to the commandment related to covetousness. We are not to covet that which is not ours. If the commandment had not been introduced, then we would not know that covetousness is even something to be concerned with. I can see something and believe in its goodness and want to have something like it, but now, I know that I should not want that thing exactly. And there is the conflict with my heart and in my body. The commandment is there to let me know it is not right, yet all I can think of is how I want it.

The law is in place to guide and are put in place with all good intention by the one who placed it there. Regardless of where the law comes from, it was enacted with the right intention at the time and for the one who enacted. The thing is that laws of man are of the flesh and the Law of God is of the heart. God’s Law is for all and man’s law is for the one. Therefore, God’s Law is righteous. Man’s law may come from righteous thought and/or action, yet they are generally directed at a select situation and not for all.

I have to do things according to God’s Law to ensure that I am taking actions that are righteous. I know that there are others in this world with more than I have and to remember the commandment of covetousness and know that it is okay to want to have things like that, yet I have to avoid wanting what they have.

What is your view of the law? Are they there for you to do with what you please? What if you viewed the Law of God as righteous and for everyone as a guide through this world?

Follow Instructions of the LORD

This morning I was led to 1 Timothy for my study in God’s Word. I am continuing to study the word “honor” and chapter six leads with instructions to the church that largely are related to that subject.

I am again reminded that God’s Word is constant. It is the same today as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow. He gave instructions to honor in the Ten Commandments (in Exodus) and then again we see His instruction to those who would lead the church (1 Timothy). He does not waver and is as true today as He was in those times.

“³Honor widows who are truly widows.” And, “¹⁷Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.” – 1 Timothy 5:3&17 (ESV)

Notice here that Paul reiterates the honor that is to be payed to those in the church. There are a lot of details in the instructions between and after these verses, and we should all take a look at them, study them, and work to understand them, but the verses themselves tell us where to begin. We are to honor those owed the payment as noted.

Instructions are there to be followed. When we make a purchase of something that needs to be put together, we follow the instructions to do so. We have become dependent on instructions from our GPS to get somewhere and we follow them almost without question. What better instructions to follow than those given by God. He is instructing us to honor and that is what we should do, almost without question.

I know, “almost without question”. That seems a bit vague and needs some clarification. Yes, “almost”. God’s Word is final and we can rely on the instructions that we are given. We should trust that what He is telling us is true. As Ronald Reagan used often, “Trust but verify”. It is good for us to ask questions to understand and clarify the instructions to ensure that we get it right. Carpenters are taught to measure twice and cut once to ensure that they get it right (something that I have learned the hard way a number of times). My role here as relates to God’s instruction is to follow. I can and should question to understand, but ultimately I am to follow.

God has given us instruction to honor those owed. It is my duty to do so. I am here to spread His gospel. I am here to obey. I am here to follow the instructions of the LORD.

What is your approach to instructions? Are you just throwing them aside as you go and look for things to turn out well? What if you took the instruction of the LORD as the constant that it is?

Honor for Your Parents for the Promise

As I study God’s Word, it seems as though I am coming back to the same passages again and again. God has new things for me to learn as I do. Now I know that over a lifetime, there are many days and the odds of coming back to the same passages are really good, it is just that I have been doing a dive into God’s Word over the past number of years and I have really noticed the guidance through His Word. This morning I am led back to Ephesians as I study the word “honor”.

“‘²Honor your father and mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise),’³that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.’” – Ephesians 6:2-3 (ESV)

Familiar passage indeed. Yet, I still learned something this morning. The parenthetical statement above, “this is the first commandment with a promise”. I had not thought of it from that perspective before. God not only gave us a commandment, but told us the outcome of keeping it. It will “go well”. God has told us that doing that which we are commanded to do will result in good things to come.

I know, well bring on the good things. It is simple, yet difficult at the same time. Saying that I honor my parents in public and even in private is one thing, but really putting it into practice is another thing all together. Honoring them is an action and not just words. I have to remember to show them that I honor them and not just tell them that I love them.

Recently, my family traveled and my mother went along with us. My mother is into her 70s and where she is relatively healthy, she is not able to keep up with us young kids (we are in our 50s, LOL) like she used to. At one point my wife and our boys went on a hike to see a site and mom and I were tagging along. We got about half way to the destination and I realized that my mother was likely not to make it. Where seeing the site would have been nice, I elected to turn back with my mother to wait on everyone to return. Mom was more important to me than seeing something that was not going anywhere. I honored her by being there with and for her.

Now, honoring our parents is not to be done for some reward. I did not think about the reward when I stayed with mom. I did not want something out of it. But thinking back to the time spent with her, I see that I may have received the reward. Things for me did “go well” as I was able to have some good private conversation with mom and connect with her away from the formal setting of most conversations. It was all, in the moment and was very real and lovely.

Our role with our parents is to honor them through our action. We are to demonstrate to them that they are indeed important and when it comes down to it, they were the first to love us and for that, they deserve our honor.

What is your approach to your parents? Are you seeing them as just another person in your life? What if you were to honor them for the position they hold or held in your life?

Revisit the Ten Commandments

As a corporate trainer and my wife as a teacher, we understand the importance of having rules and setting expectations. People want order and structure to understand what they can and cannot do. Even those who do not follow the rules want them so that they understand what it is they are working toward, in their case, breaking those rules. In our roles as educators, we often have to revisit the rules and expectations to bring things back in line. We do not come back to the rules and expectations to rule over others, but to ensure that we are able to progress in an orderly, efficient, and effective manner.

God gave us rules and expectations in the form of the Ten Commandments. And if you remember, He gave them directly to the people and did not work through a proxy (Moses or Aaron) that was there as the leaders of the people at the time. God set forth what and how we were to act daily as people.

This morning, I am reading in Deuteronomy in chapter 5 which leads with the topic of the Ten Commandments. Here, Moses is revisiting and reminding the people of the rules and expectations that were given to them by God directly.

“¹And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them…⁴The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, ⁵while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said: ⁶”I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”’” – Deuteronomy 5:1,&4-6 (ESV)

Often, we just keep moving forward and forget all that we have learned in the interest of learning more. Where that is not a bad approach to growth and improvement, it is also important to remember that which we have already learned. As a history teacher, my wife Lori makes it a point to remind that we learn from history so as not to repeat it, or to repeat those things that worked. The rules and expectations that are in place are there for the same purpose.

God’s rules and expectations, the Ten Commandments, were put in place to give us guidance into how to progress through this world in the interest of doing the Will of God. They are set up as the framework of a society that loves the LORD and will do all to advance Him throughout the rest of the world. It is important to revisit these rules and expectations, the Ten Commandments from time to time to ensure that we are indeed following the framework that was laid out for us from the very beginning.

What rules and expectations are you able to recall? Are you even aware that they are applicable even today? What if you revisited the rules and expectations, the Ten Commandments, set forth by God regularly to guide and direct you through this world?

Commanded to Honor Your Father

I know that I have left off the other we are to honor in this world, “Mother”. I will say that I am currently studying the word “father” and will come back to “mother” in the coming weeks.

This morning I was brought to the Ten Commandments in my study. I forget the full daily value of these Commandments from God. I believe that we take them for granted in our daily living. We have been given the Commandment of not stealing, not killing, not bearing falsehoods, and yet we miss the Commandment to do something, remembering the Sabbath and honoring your father.

“¹²Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” – Exodus 20:12 (ESV)

God tells us to give honor to the ones that brought you into this world. There is no mention as to whether or not you like them or that you are near them. In fact as I noted in another study and post, men are to leave their fathers. God is telling us to honor them. We are to love them and treat them with the respect.

I think the thing to remember here is not that we have a father and mother to be honored, but rather it is the Commandment of God to do so. It is such and important part of who we are as Christians to live out the Ten Commandments, I have to remember those telling me to do something is just as important as those telling me not to do something.

What is your approach to your father? Are you forgetting that you have been commanded to honor him? What if you approached all of the Commandments the same and in this instance, focused on the doing of honoring your father?