Striving
Disclaimer: “ 10. And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. 11. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. 12. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 13. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 14. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
- Revelation 22:10-14 KJV
Let’s Walk
We are persistent in complaining about this fallen world drowning in a cesspool of sin but reject the notion of obeying God’s laws and commandments, opting instead to dispose of them as acts of legalism, Romans 3:31.
Some, just like the Pharisees of old, go so far as even to twist and manipulate Jesus’ good works, to accuse him of sin, to facilitate their own fleshly agenda! John 9:16. Was he sinless or not? 2 Corinthians 5:21.
We have become accustomed to harping less about iniquity and more about the abundance of grace. Put it plainly, it is less about doing what’s right and more about ‘getting away’ with doing what’s wrong in God's eyes! 2 Timothy 2:11- 12.
How can striving to obey God’s laws and commandments be worse than what we have now? Think about it.
Who ultimately should be the governor and authority for how we live? Yahweh. And He has given us the laws and commandments for how we should be living. Matthew 5:18-19
God’s laws and commandments were given for our good and His glory. Yet we rack our brains trying to find ways not to keep them rather than ways to try to keep them. Let me ask, as a nation, how has that been working out for us?
Christian vs. Man-made Religion
On first reading the subheading, one might be tempted to think I am pitting the two terms against each other. I am not. I am highlighting the distinction between the two.
Let's dive in, shall we? Acts 11:26;
26. and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Those early disciples were not called Christians because they were members of a man-manufactured religion but rather because they were followers of Christ and His teachings (Acts 11:26).
When first used in Antioch to describe the disciples, the interpretation of this term has been widely accepted as one intended to be contemptuous. We are undoubtedly familiar with the concept of repurposing a word meant to insult and applying different usage.
Therefore, I do not internalize the word Christian as the slight it is often intended, nor even as a badge of honor; it is simply another term for who I am, 1 Peter 4:16, which is a follower of Christ.
You will find the term Christianity, however, nowhere in the Bible. Christ certainly didn’t use that term to describe His OWN ministry. But I guess we know better than he, Colossians 2:6- 7.
Christ teaches that we should love God; he gives this as the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:36- 38, of which there are more than ten.
3. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. 1 John 2:3-6
Even as he walked.
Jesus walked in love…he also lovingly walked in keeping the law and commandments and hung His greatest and first commandment on it, which is to love God. And this love of God is not left to our own interpretations or imaginative narratives, for Yawheh tells us himself how to love Him;
3. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
1 John 5:3
Let’s dive further;
10. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
After those days, saith the Lord;
I will put my laws into their mind,
And write them in their hearts:
And I will be to them a God,
And they shall be to me a people:
Hebrews 8:10
What would be the use of God putting the laws in our (Israel's) hearts and minds…if he didn’t intend for us to act upon them accordingly? Was it for mere retrospection or simple decoration?
Yeshua, in His obedience to the Father, has ended, with His life, the need for any further living sacrifices offered for the atonement of sins (Matthew 1:21, Hebrews 10:1- 18, Acts 3:18-19). Put your faith in Yeshua. All glory be to God.
According to his own words, Yeshua did not destroy all of the laws or the need to keep them, Matthew 5:17. How do we know this? He said it, and he kept them. In other words, he…walked it.
Perfection
Yeshua lived a life of perfection. But what does that mean?
Biblically, that would mean he was obedient to the Father and kept the law and commandments. He instructed us to follow the same;
48. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:48
The predominant message here is not that we can't be perfect, for it’s clear that if we had been, there would have been no need for any sacrifices at all, Hebrews 10:4-5.
Indeed so much imperfection that God gave the flesh of his only son as the final perfect sacrifice for our sins, rendering now no need for animal sacrifices. Hebrews 10:8-10.
Furthermore, the condemnation for breaking the law is canceled for those who are in Christ, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit (Romans 8:1- 4).
This is simply about obedience.
Who among us would tell their children that if they don’t think perfection is attainable, they shouldn’t bother to try their best?
How much more so, then, does a perfect God require us to extend the effort in striving for perfection (Matthew 19:16- 19), especially if we say we love Him? Or is our heart more talk than it is…. walk? Isaiah 29:13. Love you. His Glory.
