Keep

You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him;

 and you shall KEEP His commandments, 
listen to His voice, 

serve Him and cling to Him.

Deuteronomy 13:4

As we work our way through this verse, we have already seen the call to willingly place ourselves under God's authority (surrender at salvation) and the healthy fear of the power of God.  Today we are going to talk about "keeping."  The full instruction is "you shall keep His commandments."  

We tend to cringe when we hear the word "commandment."  That's for a few reasons.  First of all, we like the concept that we are free in Christ but commands do not equate to freedom.  In our mind, freedom equals the ability to do whatever we please, so the instruction to live within boundaries seems stifling.  Another reason is that keeping commandments sounds like we are earning our salvation and deep down we know we cannot perfectly keep God's commandments, so why is He telling us to do so?

I want to address both of these concerns.  First of all, we must understand what freedom in Christ means.  It DOES NOT mean that we are free to do whatever we want.  That would be foolishness.  That's what got us in trouble in the first place.  Remember, at salvation we are choosing to place ourselves UNDER GOD'S AUTHORITY - which means He is the boss of you.  Freedom in Christ means that we are no longer in bondage to sin, but have the freedom to please the Lord in whatever we do.  And what pleases the Lord the most?  Obedience to His commands. (I"ll explain why in just a minute...)

Secondly, the concern that God is instructing us to earn our salvation when He says that we are to keep HIs commands is inaccurate because of timing.  Remember, we are first called to FOLLOW - that's our salvation.  So how can this instruction save us more than what we already are?  Keeping God's commands has several purposes, but salvation is NOT one of them.  As Hebrews 11:1 tells us that the Law can never make us perfect, so there must be another reason for it.

So, why should we obey God's commands?  Let me give you three reasons. First, God's commands are in our best interest.  Just as a parent lovingly puts boundaries around their child for their protection, God places boundaries around us.  Sexual purity is a great example.  Do you know how simple it is for two virgins to marry?  There's no concern for disease and illness.  There's no partner baggage that comes into the marriage bed.  There are no competing memories or guilt trips.  There aren't any unwanted pregnancies or emotional and physical residue from abortions.  I have heard it said that high school girls who break up with boys they've slept with experience similar emotional loss to a divorce.  Purity guarantees none of that.  And yet, this is a boundary that no one wants to keep.  It's outdated, old fashioned and unreasonable.  Really? 

God's commands are a protection for us.  He is the author of life; He knows what is best.  To keep the commands of the Lord shows that you trust His goodness and love for you.

Second, it's a way to receive blessing from the Lord. Psalm 1 tells us that the person who walks in the ways of the Lord has abundant fruit.  Psalm 119 (all 176 verses) tells us of the blessings and benefits of walking in the Word of God.  Galatians 5 tells us that the flesh produces immorality, impurity, idolatry, jealousy, anger, fighting, envying, drunkenness and things like these, but the fruit of walking in the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control.  I would call those blessings.  If we keep God's commandments, deny our flesh and walk in the Spirit, blessing follows.

Finally, it's a way to show our love for Him.  Jesus said in John 14 that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments.  It's really that simple.  If you have WILLINGLY placed your life in His hands, why wouldn't you obey Him?  It just doesn't make sense to buck against His instruction.  In light of the price paid for our eternity, keeping the commandments of God should flow from an obvious trust in His character.  Would He sacrifice His Son only to leave you with ridiculous instructions to follow?  Come on, friend, we've got to think bigger than that!

So the logical question is this:  what are the commands of God?  Oh, dear!  There are many.  So get in the Word and find them yourself...read the Law of Moses, that's a good place to start!  In the Law you will see the heart of a holy and loving God.  Read the Epistles (the letters at the end of the New Testament) - there are tons of instructions there.  Or just read through a gospel - Jesus gave a lot of commands.  Oh - one more!  Why not just start with the BIG TEN?  You've got to start some place!

Follow.  Fear.  Keep.  

Halfway done.

Fear

You shall follow the Lord your God and FEAR Him;

 and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, 

serve Him and cling to Him.

Deuteronomy 13:4

True or false:

God is scarier than this world.

Is He scarier than terrorists?  Is He scarier than public opinion? Is He scarier than your teachers or your nemesis or your neighbors or your boss? Is He scarier than the thugs that walk down the middle of the road? Is He scarier than your own father?  What do you think?

How you answer that will tell me if you understand what the fear of the Lord truly means. Most will tell you that to fear God is to have an awe and respect for Him, just as you would respect your earthly father.  Um...kinda but not really.  It goes much deeper than that.

When we relate our respect for God to our respect for another human, we're just not in the same ball park. We might do it as a reference point, but it's a pretty simple word picture, compared to reality.

So how do I explain what it means to fear the Lord?  It starts with recognizing Who He is.  I'm not talking about the God who destroyed the world with water, or the God who sent fiery serpents into Israel's camp, or the God who says He'll send hailstones mixed with blood and fire to the earth in the last days.  I'm talking about the God who said, Let there be light and suddenly reality was filled with bright, radiant whiteness.  The God who filled the seas with creatures beyond our wildest imaginations and the heavens with some of the most beautiful aerodynamic wonders.  The God who placed the earth on the exact orbit, in the exact position in our solar system, so that life could exist, who spoke the world into existence, who created humanity in His own image to live forever.  

When we realize that God is not in our category, that He's not a fallible man, with unreasonable outbursts and selfish ambitions, then we need to acknowledge our longing to know Him.  Like an orphan longs to know where he came from, God has set eternity in our hearts and created a longing that only the One whose image we bear can fill.  Not only can we see our Maker's handiwork in all that surrounds us, from the microscope to the stethoscope to the telescope, but we can see Him clearly in His Son.  The life He led, the path He took, the teachings He told, the miracles He performed all pointed to the heart of a loving God.

So, none of this is overly scary, is it?  Why do we call it "fear of the Lord" if it's not a little scary?  Truth be told, there is a scary aspect to it.  Because of our sin, we are born into eternal death.  Death is our destiny, eternally separated from our Creator, in torment, suffering for the rebellion in our hearts against Him.  The flooding, snake-infesting, hail-dropping God is still a reality, but we have to understand that His wrath is a consequence of our rebellion. 

Upon salvation, the wrath of God is appeased because Jesus' sacrifice is sufficient payment.  But we still live in a broken world, where sin and consequences abound.  Sometimes we bear the burden of other people's brokenness, but all too often we bear the consequences of our own sin.  As we walk in the Lord, growing and applying what we are learning about our God and His will for us, we become more vertical in our mindset, knowing that God blesses our obedience and He disciplines our disobedience.  

Knowing that God is loving and kind, gracious and merciful, patient and long-suffering, we can choose to live lives that bring Him glory because we also know He is completely present and involved with us on a daily basis.  Why would we choose to walk in rebellion when we know the goodness of the Lord?  Better yet, why would we choose to walk in rebellion when we know how God deals with sin? 

As believers, we must never forget the awesome power and magnitude of the Lord's strength.  We must not put ourselves even in the same category as Him.  We may bear His image but we are not made from the same materials.  He is God.  He is holy. He is awesome and He is to be feared.  Yes, it is awe and respect, but there is an aspect of understanding His power in His wrath, that although we will never experience it, we still are in fear of it.  This is why Christians are called "God-fearing" people.  We know that God will not sit idly by while sin rules and reigns, and because we fear the Lord, we choose to live lives that are honorable and God-glorifying. Because we fear the Lord, we don't cheat on our taxes or steal from our employers.  We don't cheat on our spouses and we don't lie to each other.  We know God is watching and we desire to live lives that bring glory to Him in all things.

So, is God scarier than terrorists, thugs or others?  He is scarier because He is more powerful and though incredibly, sacrificially loving, He is holy and will pour His wrath out upon sinful man.  Proverbs 9 tells us that fearing this God is the start of true wisdom.  Deut. 13 says that after choosing to follow God, we must fear Him - see Him as He truly is.

Follow

You shall FOLLOW the Lord your God and fear Him; 

and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, 

serve Him and cling to Him.

Deuteronomy 13:4

The first command is to FOLLOW the Lord your God.  This word defined means to go or come after; move or travel behind; strive after; aim at.  It implies that one is in front and one is behind, one is leading and one is following.  

I talk a lot about following when I counsel with women. Following is one of the hardest roles of the wife and it is perhaps the most important.  In Ephesians 5 Paul uses the military term "submit" when he instructs wives to follow their husbands.  This means to willingly place yourself under your husband's authority.  

In our context today, God is not instructing only women to follow Him, but men and women alike.  We are called to willingly place ourselves under God's authority, step aside and let Him lead.  In essence, this is what happens at salvation.

In our fleshly, sinful state, we were not following God but instead rebelling against Him and His lordship.  At salvation we recognize our need for a savior and we willingly place ourselves under God's authority.  When we accept His free gift of salvation, we are turning over the leadership to Him.  Our way is to failure, His way is to life.  We have a new Leader, a new Master and He is not only good, faithful and just, He is a worthy Master.  He proved His love for us when He took our punishment on Calvary.  

Following is an act of trust.  It says, I trust where you are taking me.  I trust what you are asking of me.  I trust that you will not hurt me, but that you love me.  When I was a young girl, my father took my older sister and I to a haunted house.  I thought I was tough enough for it but as I stood outside on that cold October evening, waiting to go in, my confidence started to get shaky.  By the time we entered the house, I knew I had made a big mistake.  So I put my full trust in my father and I followed him...literally.  I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind, dug my head into the back of his jacket and held on for dear life.  Occasionally I pulled away to see if it was as scary as it sounded, and the answer is, yes, it was.  In the end, I made it out of the house in one piece, much in part to my father's sheer strength of pulling me through that nightmare.

When following the Lord, sometimes it is that scary.  Sometimes we have to just hang on for dear life and let Him take us where He wants to. You see, the more you know your heavenly Father, the more you will understand that His heart is for you, not against you.  In Genesis, Joseph went on a journey that was miserable at times, being beaten and sold into slavery by his brothers, lied to and thrown in prison and forgotten for years.  But in the end, where that road took him was beyond anyone's imagination.  Only God could take this young Hebrew boy and place him second in command in Egypt.  What I admire about Joseph is that through it all, he willingly placed himself under God's authority, never doubting that God was good, faithful and that He loved him and had a plan for him.  It required a lot of patience and at times was even painful, but his choice to follow God brought great blessing in his life all along the way.

Colossians 3:1-3 says: 

Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When we set our minds on the things above, we are seeking His face, seeking His will, living our lives with an eternal perspective.  Jesus said it pretty simply:  Follow Me.  The command to follow Jesus is the starting point of your life with Christ.  Willingly placing yourself under His authority - this puts order back into your life and gets you headed in the right direction.

How about reading through Joseph's story today?  I trust you will be encouraged as you see God's love and care, and great provision for this man of faith.  

Genesis 37, 39-45.  Enjoy!

In Christ

You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; 

and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, 

serve Him, and cling to Him.

Deuteronomy 13:4

I love a good "In Christ" series, but this is not going to be the typical one.  The typical one looks at who we are in Christ - adopted, beloved, justified, redeemed, enlightened, saved, righteous, holy, chosen, etc.  Instead of looking at what Jesus has done for us in changing our identity, I want to study what is on our side of the table - what is our responsibility.  Now before any of you cry, "Heresy!", I want to assure you that our ability to be in Christ is solely through His actions, however we do have a response to His gift of salvation.  His redemptive work gives us the ability to respond and transform, but we don't simply wake up one morning, look in the mirror and realize we have become perfect.  Nope, we have some work to do and technically, perfection isn't a "this life" reality anyways...

So, what has been your experience? I know many who have been drawn to the church, moved by the worship and teaching, came forward with a prayer of decision and possibly even a baptism, and then went home and said, "Now what?" It's that question that I want to address. Now that I am in Christ, what do I do?

I have been studying the book of Exodus for our women's group this fall and that study has taken me into the Law.  Oh. My. Goodness!  The Law is WONDERFUL!  Yes, I said wonderful.  As I have studied the Law, I have seen the heart of God for broken man more clearly than ever before.  He understands how sin has infected the mind of man, which has diminished his ability to reason and live sensibly and lovingly, so God has patiently laid out instructions that not only bring Him glory, but also provide stability and justice for His people.  

By the time you get to Deuteronomy 13, God is addressing false prophets, who were alive and well 4,000 years ago, just as they still are today.  These people did not just promote chasing after false gods, but their messages were backed up with signs and wonders.  Now, if a miracle accompanies a message, it has to be from God, right?  But what if that message contradicts the Law?  Then the message must be rejected and the prophet must be put to death!  

It is interesting.  Not just the prophet is to be killed, but even the person who chases after his false god and wants others to do so, as well.  Listen to what the Lord says in verses 6-9:

If your brother, your mother's son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, "Let us go and serve other gods' (whom neither you or your fathers have known, of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you, from one end of the earth to the other end), you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him.  BUT YOU SHALL SURELY KILL HIM; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death and afterwards the hand of all the people." (emphasis mine)

Now, don't start planning the murder of the people in your life who worship false gods because we don't have a government that will allow that, but can you see the heart of God in this?  False prophets and even people interested in worshipping false gods are a threat to the purity of God's people.  God knows how easily our hearts are drawn away from Him and He wanted Israel on the alert, to keep their hearts completely set on Him and Him alone.  

It is in the midst of these verses that we get the answer to our question, "Now what?"  God clearly lays out our instructions for life, not just for Israel, but for believers who are IN CHRIST.  He says:

You shall FOLLOW the Lord your God and FEAR Him;  and you shall KEEP His commandments, LISTEN to His voice, SERVE Him and CLING to Him.  (Debt. 13:4, emphasis mine)

The child of God has clear instructions on how he is to live his life: follow, fear, keep, listen, serve and cling.  In doing these things the transformation process will enfold. Upon salvation, we are immediately transformed from dead to alive, but the sanctification or growth process happens as we follow, fear, keep, listen, serve and cling.  In one verse, we have the answer to "Now what?"

Over the next few blogs, I want to look at each one of these actions.  My hope is that as we work our way through this one verse, we will have greater understanding of the meaning of our lives and the purpose for which we were created, and that we will be inspired to roll up our sleeves and life the God-centered life He wants us to live.