Lately
my thoughts have been exercised by a wonder. I wonder if there might be a possibility that the two greatest commands in Scripture have slipped off the table in our communication of the Truth of the Word of God. Do you know what they are? I hope so. Do you refer to them often in your own life issues and in being an encourager to others?
Jesus identified the commands for us.
In so saying he poured all of the Law and the Prophets
into them. These are the sovereign commands of the
sovereign God. They are the DNA of divine revelation. All the rest of the
Word of God is informed by them, and they should be on our mind when we read it and seek to apply it to our lives.
Of course, some may object that other religions say the same thing. By that they mean the "Golden Rule." Yes, Jesus did tell us to do
to others as we would have them do to us. But this is an observable guideline for living which outside of Christianity becomes a philosophical platitude. Man's Golden Rule has no God to be loved, and submits to no revealed truth concerning what the Rule should look like. He is left to his internal instincts based on self love.
My purpose in raising this subject is to explore the relationship of the sovereign commands to our ministry of building one another up in our faith in Jesus Christ and in communicating his gospel to those who are yet without hope. There is a danger the commands may become such an assumed part of our theological framework that we neglect them. Familiarity does not always bring contempt. It is more apt to bring carelessness or forgetfulness.
NEXT ARTICLE: The Sovereign Commands and the Need of a Savior
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