| E-MAIL SERVICE | Sign me up to receive the daily Word of Righteousness free via my E-mail address! ( ONLY AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH ) | |
| ARCHIVES | I want to check out the daily Words of Righteousness for any of the last fourteen days or from previous weeks. ( ENGLISH ONLY ) | |
| FEEDBACK | I have a question or comment about today's Word of Righteousness. ( ENGLISH AND SPANISH ONLY ) | |
| BOOK LIST | I would like to see the complete book list of the Words of Righteousness author Robert B. Thompson. (SOME SPANISH TITLES AVAILABLE ) |
The Daily Word of Righteousness
What Sin Is, #8
And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. (II Peter 1:19—NIV)
My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, (Galatians 4:19—NIV)
Spirit-enabled obedience to the commandments found in the New Testament is not the new covenant. The new covenant is the forming of Christ in us until we by nature obey the eternal law of God. The point is (a point much neglected in our day it appears) that we will not gain the new, sin-free nature except as we make every effort in our adamic nature to keep the word of Christ and His Apostles. Our moral transformation depends on our obedience to the numerous exhortations and injunctions found in the New Testament.
As Peter says, we are to attend to the Scripture until the Day Star, which is Christ, arises in our heart.
First: Does the New Testament command us to love and worship God alone? Are we commanded under the new covenant to have no gods other than the Lord, or has this requirement passed away?
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1—NIV)
Under the new covenant God will accept nothing less than the offering of our body as a living sacrifice. This means we are to worship God even though in His wisdom He removes all we hold dear. To love God supremely is the first and greatest of the commandments and to not surrender every aspect of our life to God is sin.
Much of our Christian life consists of God removing the idols that stand between us and Jesus Christ. There must be nothing we are not willing to give to God. Every treasure must be on the altar, whether a thing, relationship, or circumstance.
To hold back anything from the Lord is unthinkable. We are committing sin when we do not love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
We cannot obey this commandment in our adamic nature. But we can finally come to obey it if we will be careful to live in the Spirit of God and to pray always that we may gain victory over the breaking of God's laws.
Second: Does the New Testament command us to refrain from creating an idol?
Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. (Matthew 19:21,22—NIV)
In many instances, particularly in America perhaps, money is our god. We spend much of our life, some of us, amassing more money than we need. We may not realize it but we believe if we have enough money we shall be safe and happy whether or not God keeps us.
To be continued.