Keeping His Commandments

Ec 12:13 ¶ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

The only true way to keep God's commandments is to accept Jesus Christ as Saviour. When you do this, Jesus gives you His Own righteousness. However, the context indicates that Solomon means that we are to live lives of continual obedience to God.

Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

One of the great blessings of obedience is that Jesus manifests Himself to Christians who obey Him. Christians who feel that they need to lie and scheme in order to advance in church authority sometimes find themselves serving in the flesh, because God will have nothing to do with their service. Christians who leave their religion behind them when they leave their homes often find themselves living powerless lives, because God does not want people to associate them with Him.

Do you want to be used by God? Then do it His way, not your way. Obey Him, and then trust Him to show you where to serve.

The Fear of the Lord

Ec 12:13 ¶ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

Man's entire duty to God is to fear Him and keep His commandments. And one of the most widespread errors in Christianity is the belief that the "Fear of the Lord" refers to "reverential awe." A study of the Hebrew and Greek words translated "fear" show that they mean "fear." And  over the decades, I have been amazed at the number of  people who hold positions of Christian leadership, yet do not fear the Lord.

First, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge Proverbs 1:7 and of wisdom Psalm 111:10. A person who does not fear the Lord does not even have the beginning of knowledge or wisdom.

Second, you should be friends with people who fear the Lord Ps. 119:63  ¶ I am a companion of all who fear You, And of those who keep Your precepts. Notice that obedience, the second part of the duty of man, is connected with the fear of the Lord.

Third, remember that people who don't like other Christians don't fear the Lord Ps 119:74 Those who fear You will be glad when they see me, Because I have hoped in Your word. People who go around criticizing Christians and demanding that you have nothing to do with them might be saved, but they do not fear the Lord.

Fourth, the fear of the Lord is to hate evil Proverbs 8:13 The verse goes on to explain that pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth are things that a person who fears the Lord hates.

Fifth, And by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil. Proverbs 16:6 A Christian who fears the Lord doesn't need a bunch of man-made rules; he'll depart from evil on his own.

You're Going To Be A Layman

We have to face reality: most Christians will never enter full-time Christian work. In addition, most full-time Christian workers will spend most of their lives as lay people, because they are not going to be able to stay in their ministry. And if you are going to learn how to be blessed by God, you need to learn how to be blessed by God as a lay person.

Solomon possessed more wisdom that any man who ever lived, and while he served God, Israel reached great success. When he turned to other gods after his many wives corrupted him, Solomon watched as Israel fell backwards. But God never took away Solomon's wisdom. Solomon had the unusual ability to see the work of God through a man's success and failure, and he had the opportunity to use his wisdom in both cases.

Later, when he was old, tired, and discouraged, Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. He had the wisdom of a lifetime to record, and he recorded this:

Ec 12:13 ¶ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

If God Ain't In It, You Ain't In It

1Ki 1:5 ¶ Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king"; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.

As King David lay on his deathbed, his oldest surviving son plotted to make himself the next king. He hired messengers. He consulted with leaders. He formed alliances. He hatched plots. Finally, he threw a great feast to celebrate his ascent to the throne, inviting most of the leaders and all of his brothers except one: Solomon.

Solomon, as far as we know, did nothing to advance himself. If he knew that his life was in danger, he did not do anything that we know of to protect himself. Meanwhile, Nathan the prophet told the aged King David what was happening. He reminded David of David's word, and God's Word, that Solomon would be the next king. David quickly had his loyal servants and leaders publicly anoint Solomon as king, and the people, loyal to their beloved King David, eagerly accepted Solomon.

Hearing the news, Adonijah's loyal followers quickly fled for their lives, leaving Adonijah to plead with Solomon not to kill him. With no known plots or schemes, Solomon had become king.

Christians sometimes hurt themselves by plotting to gain positions of leadership in the church. When they do succeed in backstabbing their way to the top, they often find themselves unable to handle the job, because God isn't with them. More than one successful rebel has watched the congregation dwindle as God led His people to go elsewhere.

Adonijah was definitely a man of ability, who might have gone far if he had obeyed God. He later tried another plot to become king, and this time, Solomon killed him. It is God's responsibility to raise up leaders of His people, not yours. Fear God, obey His commands, and serve Him. After that, it is God's responsibility to decide where to use you.

Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

We have seen that the most important command for a Christian is to have a fervent love for other Christians. This love is more important than other issues, even though the other issues are important. In the above passage, we tend to emphasize verse 35, but there's something in verse 34 that we miss. When Jesus commanded us to love one another, He explained "as I have loved you."

We're to love each other just as much as Jesus loved us. Jesus doesn't become enemies with Christians over dress codes, music, or non-Gospel doctrines. He didn't commit sin in order to get along with Christians, but He didn't become their Enemy, either.

What is the single most important things that you need to do if you want to follow Christ closely? Is it belonging to a certain Christian group? Believing a certain doctrine? Dressing a certain way?

1Pe 4:8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Some Christians are surprised that the Bible tells us that loving one another is the most important thing for us to do. But while you can make mistakes on doctrine, loving other Christians is never a mistake. Fighting among Christians is to be avoided. The idea that we have to warn others against a certain Christian is an excuse for disobeying God's clear command.

Nancy and I are members of a megachurch in Texas, and we watch our pastor every Sunday on the internet. We disagree with some of the dress standards of our church, but we don't disagree with the large numbers of people who are getting saved, nor do we disagree with the spiritual growth that we are getting from listening to our pastor. Because love is more important to us than a dress code, we aren't cut off from getting these blessings.

Don't go to war with every Christian you disagree with. Concentrate on loving one another, and trust God to handle the other problems.

Angry Preachers

In following Christ closely, we have to be careful that we don't wind up following a man or a small group of men. Proverbs 22:24-25 warns us " Make no friendship with an angry man, And with a furious man do not go, Lest you learn his ways And set a snare for your soul."

Some Christians make a ministry out of blasting away at Christians whom they disagree with. But James 1:20 tells us "for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God." Ripping into other Christians is not the way to follow Christ.

Ecclesiastes 7:9  warns us: "Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools."

A ranting, raving preacher might be interesting, but he's leading you away from the direction that God wants you to go.