Ecclesiastes 12: | 13: “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”
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Matthew 19: | 16: “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17: And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” |
In view of such statements let all beware of classifying the Almighty’s law as being obsolete.
Question: Verse: | 36: Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
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Answer: Verse: | 37: “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
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Verses: | 38: “This is the first and great commandment. 39: And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” |
Let us examine those two important words ‘fear’ and ‘love’ as used in these passages of Scripture.
Wisdom: | |
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Psalm 111:
| 10: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and a good understanding have all they that do His commandments.”
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Fountain of Life: | |
Proverbs 14: | 26: “In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. 27: The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.” |
Proverbs 15: | 16: “Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith.”
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Proverbs 19: | 23: “The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.” |
John 14: | 15: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
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Verse: | 21: “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
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Verse: | 24: “He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.” |
We see here that obedience is proof of love; and disobedience is proof that love is absent. Obedience is, in fact, faith and love in action. The Bible says that obedience is better than praise or sacrifice and that in the courts of heaven is the most acceptable testimony a believer can give.
1 Samuel 15: | 22: “And Samuel said: Hath the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams.” |
In the final analysis we will all be judged, not by how much we possess, not by how much we know or understand or even by how much we praise God; but by whether we obey Him or not. And though we are not justified (cleared of past sins) by the deeds of obedience, (for justification comes through faith in Christ;) we are nevertheless evaluated, graded and rewarded according to the deeds done in this life.
Romans 2: | 6: “Who will render to every man according to his deeds:” |
Answer: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind and soul.”
This is not just a New Testament concept or command. It is old: and it was, and still is,
possible to keep; as the following examples prove.
Deuteronomy 6: | 5: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
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1 Chronicles 29: | 2: “Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.”
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2 Kings 23: | 25: “And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.” |
Notice how Yahweh wants the whole individual; not to become a slave-like robot incapable of individual thought who mechanically does what he is told. Yahweh wants His followers to respect, love and obey Him, with heart and soul. That, according to king Solomon, is the whole duty of mankind: and, as the Saviour said, was the entrance to life.