Following Guidelines vs. Following God

1.  You shall have no other gods before Me.
2.  You shall not make idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
4.  Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5.  Honor your father and your mother.
6.  You shall not murder.
7.  You shall not commit adultery.
8.  You shall not steal.
9.  You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10.You shall not covet.

Why are these commandments in place?  They are restraints against the sinful, fleshly nature of humans.  They instructed the Israelites to come out from sin.

In the new testament, Jesus showed a better way.  He did not abolish the law-- instead, He said that "not the least stroke of the pen" would ever disappear from these commands (Matthew 5:18).  Instead, He showed us how to fulfill it!  Love for God is the fulfillment of the law.  When we love God, we will have His love for our neighbors.  God doesn't command us to love like the world does; He wants us to love like He does, because He first loved us (1 Joh 4:19).

God wants us to seek His face.  That's the best way; that's the ancient path.  The Creator is more important than created guidelines, even if He created those guidelines.  If we seek His face, we will fulfill the law as Jesus did.  Jesus raised the standards when He came, but He also gave us the Spirit to enable us to love!  Yielding to His Spirit will lead us to completely obey His commands, and not be distracted by the devil or the flesh.  The Spirit will preoccupy us with Jesus to the extent that we leave the letter of the law far behind.  With Him, we will fly to higher ground, and become passionate about God and passionate about His passions.

If we walk in the Spirit and stay filled with the Spirit, we will not be tempted to "just" follow the Ten Commandments.  We will become more than conquerers over the sinful nature.  We won't be concerned over the law or it's gray areas.  Instead, we will be distressed over possible insensitivity to His leadings and flee from sin of all kinds!  Let's earnestly follow God today.