Gods Ten Commandments But does this mean that God has no laws by which He governs Himself in His relationship with us? Not at all. I propose that God keeps far more than ten commandments. Every promise in the Bible is a commandment that God keeps in His relationship with us. You can make up your own list. Here are my ten: Commandment 1: I will always love you. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God said, I have loved you with an everlasting love (31:3). Jesus told a story about a sheep that wandered from the flock and got lost. But the shepherd went in search of it until he found it (Luke 15:3-7). Similarly, even when we sin against Him, God continues loving us and searching for us. Commandment 2: I will always be with you. God promises, Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you (Hebrews 13:5; Deuteronomy 31:6). And Jesus assured His disciples shortly before He left this earth that surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20). However discouraging our circumstances may appear to us, we can be sure that God is with us. Commandment 3: I will never force you to believe in Me or obey Me. Jesus said, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). Writing in Revelation, John said, The Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come! Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life (22:17). God invites us to come to Him, but He will not make us come. Commandment 4: I will convict you of the wrong things you do. We can be sure that no one is more anxious for us to enjoy a happy life than God. Unfortunately, we all do things and think in ways that destroy our happiness. We call these actions and attitudes sin. God promises to make us aware of these things so that we can change the way we live and be happier. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin (John 16:8). Commandment 5: I will always forgive you. When we repent of our sins and confess them, we can be absolutely certain that God will forgive us. John the apostle wrote, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). We need not hang on to the guilt for our sins one minute beyond the time we ask God to forgive us. Commandment 6: I will dwell in you. Before He left this earth, Jesus said, Remain in me, and I will remain in you (John 15:4). We need God dwelling in us, because it is only by His power in us that we are able to live His life and to obey His commandments. Commandment 7: I will give you wisdom to understand My Word. In one of His final prayers, Jesus said, Your word is truth (John 17:17). He also told His disciples that when the Holy Spirit came, He would guide them into all truth (John 16:13). Thus, when you study the Bible with a sincere desire to learn Gods truth, He will guide you to understand it. Commandment 8: I will not keep a record of your sins. While God does keep a record of our sins (Revelation 20:11—13), He promises to blot out those that we confess to Him. I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, Isaiah wrote, and like a cloud, your sins (Isaiah 44:22, NKJV). Others may accuse us. Satan may cause us to feel unworthy of Gods favor because of our sins. But we need not fear that God will bring up any of our confessed sins in the judgment. Commandment 9: I will prepare a better place for you to live than your broken planet. Every time a friend or loved one dies, we long for a better world. Shortly before He returned to heaven, Jesus told His disciples that there were many rooms in His Fathers house, and He was going there to prepare a place for them (John 14:2). And Peter said that in keeping with [Gods] promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness (2 Peter 3:13). In this new world there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Revelation 21:4). Commandment 10: I will come again. Jesus also promised His disciples that if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am (John 14:3). One of the most frequent promises in the New Testament is that of Jesus second coming. I propose that this is one of Gods commandments that He is most anxious to keep. Thats my list of Gods Ten Commandments. And since every one of Gods promises in the Bible is a commandment that He pledges to keep in His relationship with us, I suggest you try creating your own list of Gods Ten Commandments. Marvin Moore This article originally appeared in Signs of the Times magazine, September 2011.
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 10:11:42 +0000
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