Keeping the Commands
I remember listening to a John Piper podcast a year or two ago talking about the importance of the commandments throughout the New Testament. The cliff notes version of Piper’s teaching is this: You only get half a Gospel if you only focus on Jesus’ blood-bought Grace, but not Jesus’ blood-bought empowerment for us to obey the commandments. In other words, Jesus not only purchased the forgiveness of our sins–reconciling us to God the Father, but he also purchased our ability to follow God’s commands (joyfully) and to live righteously; in a way that is pleasing to Him. This really struck me. I am so thankful for unmerited favor and for receiving God’s Grace through faith and not initially my works, but it doesn’t end there. There’s more to what Jesus has accomplished for us. Did you know there are hundreds of commandments (not merely ‘suggestions’) in the New Testament? If anything, the NT raises the bar even higher. Commandment-keeping (joyful commandment-keeping) is a fruit/indicator that we are indeed saved sinners.
1 John is a book I have recently been digging into and is a great book of the Bible to zoom-in on regarding this topic. The overall theme of the book is essentially this: How can you know you are of the household of faith? If you have these fruits in your life…
Walking in the light as he is in the light…(1:6-7)
Confessing your sins…(1:9)
Commandment-keeping and doing what pleases God (2:3 and 3:22)
Walking in the way Jesus walked (2:6)
Loving your brother (2:9, 4:7, and 4:20)
Having the Spirit of God in you (4:13)
Confessing that Jesus is the Son of God (4:15)
Joy in God’s commands (they are not burdensome) and overcoming the world (5:3-4).
Indicators that you may not be a Christian:
Love of the world: the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and pride of life (2:15-17)
You make a practice of sinning (3:4-9 and 5:18)
You do not practice righteousness (3:10)
Having the world’s goods and not helping a brother in need (3:17)
So what then?
If you’re like me, it was pretty hard to read through those commands and not feel some conviction. If we’re honest, we are all weak or struggle in at least 1 or more of these areas. We should use the scriptures to examine ourselves to see if we are indeed in the faith. We aren’t just forgiven of sin and reconciled to God to just then sin so grace would abound…
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. – Romans 6:1-4
We then, after experiencing God’s Grace, walk in newness of life (joyful commandment-keeping/righteous living). It is not legalism to walk in newness of life. Sometimes, we are so afraid of being legalists, we err too far the other way and throw the baby out with the bath water I am afraid. We can joyfully keep the commandments by the power of the Holy Spirit through Jesus’ work. Joyful commandment-keeping is evidence we are indeed His. Faith and works are commingled together (James 2:18-26). You do not have faith apart from works. Rather, you show your faith by your works. Don’t neglect the commandments of the NT out of fear of legalism. If the overall trajectory of your life has been and continues to be characterized by joyful (yet imperfect) commandment-keeping, you can rest assured that you are His!