Line Upon Line

LOVING LOYALTY TO GOD IS FOR OUR BENEFIT AS ARE ALL GOD’S LAWS

Christ made a major revelation to his critics regarding the purpose for the Law. Christ said the Law was made for man-not man for the Sabbath law.

Mark 2:27-28 NKJV 27 And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28 “Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

This concept no doubt, applies to all Ten Commandments when understood deeply. They are the laws of love and liberty. The wise Solomon was inspired to write that the most important thing in all our lives was the keeping of the Commandments. The First Commandment tell us the most important thing to God, showing love for God.

Matthew 22:36-38 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him,” ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 “This is the first and great commandment.

Loving God is vital to our growth and development. We must learn to love, honor and respect God to develop as happy, mature people. A child who does not learn to respect his/her parents is headed for a trouble filled life just as people who do not learn to love and respect God. Obedience and loyalty are what leads us to deeper love of God.

OBEDIENCE TO ALL TEN COMMANDMENTS IS TAUGHT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

Obedience as we have seen helps us learn to be loyal to God first and foremost. The man who wrote the New Testament witnessed and displayed this publicly for all to behold.

Acts 21:21-26 And they are informed concerning you, that you teach all the Jews who are among the nations to forsake Moses,… 24 taking them, be purified with them, and be at expense for them, so that they may shave their heads. And all may know that what they have been told about you is nothing, but you yourself also walk orderly and keep the Law.

Church leaders knew that the New Covenant church obeyed the law appropriately and so did the Apostle Paul so they arranged a demonstration for all of Israel to see this truth. The point is that Paul also kept the law and rumors and propaganda against him were false nothings.

26 Then..Paul went into the temple, declaring the fulfillment of the days of the purification, until an offering should be offered for each of them.

Paul followed thru with his demonstration of obedience but those with a deranged syndrome against Paul refused to believe their very eyes. Paul was not against the Temple or the Law. The law teaches loyalty to God above all else. We must put God first , period.

Acts 22:3 I am truly a man, a Jew born in Tarsus in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the exactness of the law of the fathers, being a zealous one of God, as you all are today.

God needs sons who will put Him first and love and loyalty are essential. Why ? Because we will be with God for all eternity.

WHY WAS KING DAVID A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART ?

The best example of love and loyalty to God is King David. He loved God with a passion and God loved him. Note what the Bible reveals:

Acts 13:22 KJV 22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

How was this achieved by King David ? He learned to love God and His laws. He was ardent and loyal.

Psalms 63:1-3 A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. 2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. 3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.

2 Samuel 6:14 NKJV 14 Then David danced before the LORD with all his might;..

The Temple of God in Jerusalem was David’s idea not God’s. He wanted to honor God, note the response:

2 Samuel 7:12-16 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 “He shall build a house for My name,..If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. 15 “But My mercy shall not depart from him,..16 “And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.”‘”

God loved that David wanted to build a fabulous house for Him but told King David no. Instead I will build a house for you. Your dynasty will last forever, wow! What love! Even when David sinned his repentance seems to have given God another reason to love him even more note:

Psalms 51:1-10 A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him.., Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness…; 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight… And blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

The first commandment teaches us to put God first in our lives. Learning love and loyalty to God is our number one objective so we can have a trusted relationship with God forever.

Acts 2:30 “Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,

What a stupendous love gift to David. We believers are not King Davids but in a lesser but still wonderful way can have that kind of relationship with God. Follow the spirit of the first commandment and all the commandments, especially the first four. They tell us how to love God and the last six- how to love each other- note.

Matthew 22:39-40 “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

The law teaches us to not use false images of God or idols because no picture or statue can fully capture all of the Eternal glory- it will just be a misleading false illusion. The third one tells us to honor God’s name. Honoring God in our mind and speech is good for us. The fourth commandment teaches us to dedicate some of our time to God. The seventh day is also a sign to all others that we belong to the creator God.

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT IS ABOUT LOYALTY TO GOD

Learning loyalty is so essential for being with God for all eternity. Lucifer was given the opportunity and he and a third of
the angels failed utterly. When a society is not loyal to the Great God it hurts them. Jeremiah told the decadent Israelites that their worship of the feminine goddess Ishtar, consort to all the Baal’s was driving them to confusion and shame. They were harming themselves.

Jeremiah 7:18-19 “The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. 19 “Do they provoke Me to anger?” says the LORD. “Do they not provoke themselves, to the shame of their own faces?”

Turning away from God is like a plant turning away from sunlight.

Loyalty has two sides. God is loyal to us and we need to believe in and trust God. However, God needs to know that He can also trust us. Romans 8:28-37 proves we can trust God. Nothing will keep him from loving us. As we practice and keep the First Commandment we are learning how to be faithful and loyal to God. Then God will know that throughout all eternity He can trust us. People who are loyal to the Supreme Being and respect his authority will make better and also more loyal spouses, workers and comrades in any situations as well.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.

Christ told all of us on the last night before his sacrifice for us that if we loved him we would ‘Keep the Commandments ‘! See John 14:15, 15:10.