Obedience is Worship
Love of God’s Law is evidence of relationship with God. When
we despise the law, it is likewise evidence of our relationship. We do not have the right, nor should we have
the desire, to change the law to conform to our behavior, but rather, should
desire to make our behavior conform to the law. Obedience to God is true
worship. Our Holy God desires, and requires, holy worship.
I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my
heart." ( ps 40:8)
We know that we have come to know him if we keep his
commands. (1 John 2:3)
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin
against thee. (Ps 119:11)
I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
(Psalm 119:16 )
I teach college classes at both the Bachelor’s and Master’s
Degree levels of learning, in three different Christian institutions. Usually,
but not always, students who sit in my classes are either Christians, or at
least are not hostile to the Christian Message and Doctrines. It is not
uncommon to find students who, having been educated in secular and state-run high
schools and colleges, subscribe to a belief that the U.S. Constitution should
be altered or amended (or altogether replaced) in order to accommodate a
changing culture and changing standards of conduct. I absolutely agree with those students who
argue that there is a great chasm between the principles of the Founding of the
Republic and the practices of society today.
But I argue that the solution is NOT to change the rules to conform to
our changing morals. Rather the rules (laws) are the proper standard by which
we must judge our conduct. WE must
conform our behavior to the law, which we understand to flow from the authority
of God through the institution of government (Ro 13:1-7)
If it is true that the principles of self-governance require
self-discipline, and that that self-discipline is best achieved through a right
relationship with Jesus Christ, then it is reasonable to conclude that the greatest
success of our legal/political/economic system will be achieved through
adherence to the laws of God. Our Founders
gave us a doctrine called the “Rule of Law” which presumes that legitimate
authority comes from God, and is delegated by the people to a governing body,
which is divided into three branches to achieve a balance of power. Since the laws promulgated by that government
are presumptively valid, originating as they do from the people, who are
themselves acting in the constraints of their faith, then the law is presumptively
good. (This is of course a rebuttable presumption since the government does not
always operate within its legitimate constraints) Starting with a presumption that the Law is
good, then conforming our behavior to the law is therefore also good. When our behavior departs from the standard
of the law, our behavior is presumptively bad.
It will be therefore destructive of the government, and the law, and the
authority from whence those derive, if we grant our behavior supreme authority over
the law. This NEVER works out well.
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what
was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25)
In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did
what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 17:6)
Following the death of Joshua, there merged a new political
model in Jewish history for over 200 years. For the first time in history, the
Jewish people were independent in their own homeland. Perhaps more importantly
they did not have a single, strong leader to unify and direct social
interaction. Besides lacking central temporal authority (i.e. central
government) at the time of the judges, there was also little reverence for
religious law as well. Differences between people were resolved at the tribal
level by leaders chosen from among the people of the tribe. Sometimes this worked well, but often it did
not because politics has not changed. History reveals to us that leaders who
neglect the Law of God, and become a law unto themselves, will ultimately
destroy their own system of governance.
In every case where man “does what is right in his own eyes” he will
ultimately be destroyed.
The king is the actual and symbolic figure of authority
which is presumptively established by the people and anointed by God and
therefore “legitimate”. (Ro 13: 1-7) When there is no “king” (no law-no
authority) then people are left to do whatever THEY think is best and the end
result is NEVER happy. Because when everyone
follows their own path, and seeks only their own self-interests, there is no “community”
(common + unity = community). The law “regularlizes” our relationships and
gives predictability and stability to society. When it is absent, so is social
stability.
“Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the
people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how
I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you
will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured
possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me
a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Exodus 19:3-6
If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that
I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.
(PS 132:12)
The way that you show someone you love them is that conduct
express that you are putting the other person ahead of yourself. We worship God when we demonstrate that we
are placing EVERYTHING in subjection to Him.
The First Commandment is that we shall have no other gods before the
Lord God. All of the other Commandments illustrate the principle that God is
supreme. His rules require obedience. We
demonstrate worship by honoring God and obeying His Commandments. Conversely,
we dishonor God when we take matters into our own hands, and we pursue OUR
interests above His. The very idea that
we should re-interpret the law (whether Scripture, or the U.S. Constitution
which is presumably based upon His Holy Principles) is tantamount to “placing
other gods” before Him. Trashing the Constitution and replacing it with
something that reflects our godless, permissive, self-indulgent lifestyles
would be the exact opposite of worship.
It would be the polar opposite of giving God Honor. It would be showing
God our heel, turning our back on Him, rejecting Him. If we desire HIS
blessings, we are to honor HIS Word.
Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves
me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them
and show myself to them." (John 14:21)
Jesus replied, "Anyone who loves me will obey my
teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home
with them. (John 14:23)
If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished
in my affliction. (Ps 119:92
There is much hand-wringing these days about the state of
our nation. America is in decline and
most people seem unable to propose a “fix”.
It seems clear to almost everyone that society is in a mess, yet the
popular “solution seems to be to go even further away from God. Suggesting that we abandon the fundamental
principles articulated in the Declaration and the U.S. Constitution would be
just another move in the WRONG direction. If we truly desire to correct the
problems of our society, our ONLY answer is to return to the God of our
fathers.
For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly
hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see
with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn,
and I would heal them.' (Acts 28:27 )
My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves
my life. (Psalm 119:50)
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble
themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I
will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
(2 Chron 7:14)
Because of our selfish and inward-looking nature, we have
accepted the lie of the Devil that obedience to God is to hard, too cumbersome,
too painful. But those who walk in
obedience soon discover that Jesus told the truth when He said, my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light. (Mt 11:30).
We also read in 1 John 5:3 that “In fact, this is love for God: to keep
his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.” We will discover that giving God our due
worship in the form of obedience to His Word, will reap enormous rewards in
terms of Peace, Security, and confidence. That is the life to which we have
been called.
John Sterling, MA JD 2/4/15/2015
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