Parents have
the responsibility to teach and train their children if they expect them to
grow into responsible adults. If children are not instructed, they won’t know
what’s expected of them. But if they fail to carry out orders after they’ve
been instructed, the parent has the right and responsibility to correct the
child by whichever means would be effective. The same is true of boss-employee
relationships; employees can’t be expected to perform duties that have not been
assigned to them.
In the same
way, God instructs us before demanding obedience. For example, He wants the gospel preached to
everyone, giving them the opportunity to accept or reject Him. He’s given man
the freedom of choice; that way, people are totally responsible for the outcome
of the choices they make. When Jesus foretold the future in Matthew 24, He
said, “The Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole
world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come” (verse
14). When people choose to not accept salvation, they have by default accepted
the alternative—judgment.
After the
Israelites returned from captivity and were settled in their towns (during the
Nehemiah and Ezra era), they requested Ezra the priest to read to them the Book
of the Law of Moses. He did, and they had a wonderful time of worship,
celebrating that they had heard and understood the Word of God (see Nehemiah
8:12).
The
following day, the family leaders, priests, and Levites met with Ezra to go
over the Law in greater detail. “As they studied the Law, they discovered that the LORD had commanded
through Moses that the Israelites should live in shelters during the festival
to be held that month” (Nehemiah 8:14). So, they did! “Everyone who had
returned from captivity lived in these shelters, during the festival, and they
were all filled with great joy!” (Verse 17) It is obvious that they obeyed
because they knew what God wanted
them to do. Without that discovery, they wouldn’t have obeyed.
The only way
we can know what God expects of us is to read and study His Word; we need to
know the specifics. If we are really interested in pleasing Him through
obedience, we can’t live our lives on guesswork and assumptions. After the
death of Moses, God instructed Joshua, Moses’ assistant, to lead the Israelites
into the Promised Land. God gave him the formula for success: “Be strong and
very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not
deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be
successful in everything you do. Study
this book of instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you
will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and
succeed in all you do” (Joshua 1:7-8).
The apostle
Paul, in admonishing Timothy, taught him the benefits of the Scriptures.
Scripture teaches us what’s right and what’s wrong, and corrects us when we are
wrong (see 2 Timothy 3:16). If we desire to obey God, we must know what His
Word says. I should also mention that in addition to success, obedience brings
us joy.
Let’s study
the Word, and let’s obey it!
All quotes
are from the New Living Translation (NLT).
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