Obeying the Word of Christ

The second form of Divinely enabled righteousness is that of keeping the commandments of Christ and His Apostles; in other words, doing what the Bible teaches.

One would think that after two thousand years of Church history we would not have to be told that in order to please God we have to do what the Bible says. But Christian doctrine has so distorted the Apostle Paul's teaching of grace that the commandments of Christ are viewed as not an essential part of our salvation.

The truth is that we cannot possibly attain the third form of righteousness, which is the fullness of God in our personality such that we do right by nature, unless we are willing, in our adamic nature, to read the Scriptures and do what they say.

It is maintained in our day that no one can keep the commandments of Christ and His Apostles. This is to ascribe foolishness and cruelty to our Father in Heaven who has told us (we claim) to do things we cannot possibly perform, keeping us at a distance from Himself.

It is maintained in our day that the purpose of the commandments is to make us see our need of a Savior. The idea is that we cannot do what God has commanded and so we have to accept Christ in order to go to Heaven. Once we accept Christ we are in a "state of grace," meaning we are walking in disobedience but God sees us through Christ. This may be one of the main doctrines of Christianity but it is totally unscriptural, totally destructive of God's intention under the new covenant.

Let us look at one of the commandments of Christ:

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16—NIV)

Look at the verse above. Is this just a nice thought or is it a commandment? Is it necessary that we do it or not? Will we be "saved" anyway even though we do not do it? What is your answer?

"But we cannot do it in our strength!" I understand this. My question is, are we supposed to do good works in the sight of people or not? Is this a commandment we are to observe or did God issue it so we would confess our need of a Savior and trust in God to forgive us continually because we cannot possibly do good works and glorify our Father in Heaven?

Which is it? It is not both, it is one or the other.

Did Jesus say we are to keep His commandments or did He say we could not keep them and must come to Him for continual forgiveness? Which is it?

"If you love me, you will obey what I command." (John 14:15—NIV)

Can you see from the above verse, and it is not the only one of its kind, that we do not love the Lord unless we obey His commandments?

Can you see that Christian teaching needs to be reformed just as the Catholic sale of indulgences had to be reformed a few centuries ago? We are teaching error. It is not true that we are not to keep the commandments of Christ.

What did the Apostles command (actually it was Christ in the Apostles)?

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, (I Thessalonians 4:11—NIV)

Are we supposed to do this, to lead a quiet life and mind our own business, or must God forgive us continually because it is absolutely impossible for us to work with our hands? Will we go to Heaven anyway even though we have not led a quiet life, have not minded our own business, and have not worked with our hands?

Are we to keep the commandments of Christ and His Apostles or are we not? Our common sense tells us we certainly do have to obey what Jesus and His Apostles commanded. But Christian doctrine states that these are works and we are not saved by works but by grace, meaning God continually forgives us because we are not doing what the Bible teaches.

What a mess we are in today! The question is, how many are willing to turn from their apathy and begin to read the Bible and do what it says?

But has God made a provision for us so we can keep the commandments of Christ and His Apostles, as well as obey the injunctions of the Old Testament that are not part of the dietary statutes and other regulations of the covenantal Law of Moses?

Absolutely. God's provision is as follows:

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16—NIV)

God has given us much grace under the new covenant so that we can keep His commandments. This is why He has given us grace—so we can keep His commandments! The idea that every Christian, Jew and Gentile alike, can enter the Holy of Holies and make his request known to Him who sits between the cherubim is a grace that staggers the mind of those familiar with the rigors of the Day of Atonement.

As we study the Bible we become aware of areas of personality and behavior in which we are falling short. Or sometimes we are convicted by the Word as it is being preached. Or our conscience may bother us.

The modern tendency of Christians when they are made aware of their sins is to fall back on imputation, believing God has forgiven us and we soon are to be "raptured' to Heaven. This is not true. If we do not repent and turn to the Lord we are facing the fires of Divine judgment.

The correct procedure is to go to the Lord in prayer, to confess our sin, to turn away from it by the Lord's help, to denounce and renounce it vigorously, to accept the Lord's forgiveness, and then to draw near to God and resist the devil.

Some deliverances from the compulsion to sin occur immediately. Others may take years, but meanwhile the Lord gives us the strength to overcome moment by moment.

It never is God's will that a Christian walk in known sin.

The Lord is speaking to us today in America that the Christian people must begin to keep the commandments of Christ and His Apostles. If we do not humble ourselves, pray, seek God's face, and turn from our wicked ways, our nation is going to be punished severely.

We have had incorrect teaching concerning grace. We must immediately turn away from it and begin to seek God's will for our life.

While we are striving against sin, when practicing the second form of righteousness, Christ in us does not do all the work for us. It is taught today that He does, but He does not. Keeping the numerous commandments of Christ and His Apostles is a joint venture of the adamic man and the Holy Spirit.

The adamic man cries, "I must decrease but He must increase." Then the adamic man places himself on the cross with Christ. As he is made aware of the areas of his personality that are not obedient to the Scriptures, he goes to God for help. He desires grace and mercy so he can remain free from condemnation and also have the ability to reject his sinful nature and embrace the righteous ways of the Lord.

This is why a person cannot be a victorious Christian if he does not have a faithful personality. If the Seed, the Word of God, does not fall into an honest and good adamic heart, no lasting fruit of righteousness can be brought forth. This is not to say there is not wickedness in every heart. There is. Neither is it to state the true Christian will never stumble. He may stumble. But if he stumbles he gets up and continues onward, faithfully following Christ.

The great need of the hour, at least in America, is for the Christian people to read the Bible, find out what it says, and then pray to God in Jesus' name for the wisdom and strength to keep the Lord's Word. It is only then that we have a chance of passing to the third kind of righteousness—that which comes from within us as the Divine Nature fills our personality.

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