2John 1:6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
Love to God is the spring of true
obedience to God.
One who is not obedient to His commandments, is evidently not a true
believer...
For although good works do not save us...yet, being saved,
believers are sure to produce good works.
Though the fruit is not the root of the tree...yet
a well-rooted tree will, in its season, bring forth its fruits.
So,
though the keeping of the commandments does not make me a child of
God...yet, being a child of God, I shall be obedient to my heavenly
Father.
But this I cannot be, unless I love God.
A mere external formal obedience is not
sincere obedience in God's sight.
He abhors the sacrifice, where the
heart is not found.
I must obey Him because I love Him or else I
have not truly obeyed at all.
See then, that to produce the
indispensable fruits of saving faith...there must be sincere love for
God.
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:21 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.
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
John 14:24 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. ~Charles Spurgeon~
1Ki 11:39 And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever.
In the family of grace there is discipline, and that discipline is
severe enough to make it an evil and a bitter thing to sin.
Solomon,
turned aside by his foreign wives, had set up other gods and grievously
provoked the God of his father; therefore, ten parts out of twelve of
the kingdom were rent away and set up as a rival state.
This was a sore
affliction to the house of David, and it came upon that dynasty
distinctly from the hand of God, as the result of unholy conduct.
The
LORD will chasten His best beloved servants if they cease from full
obedience to His laws...
Perhaps at this very hour such chastening is upon
us.
Let us humbly cry, "O LORD, show me wherefore thou contendest with
me."
What a sweet saving clause is that..."but not for ever"!
The
punishment of sin is everlasting, but the fatherly chastisement of it in
a child of God is but for a season.
The sickness, the poverty, the
depression of spirit, will pass away when they have had their intended
effect.
Remember, we are not under law but under grace,
The rod may make
us smart, but the sword shall not make us die.
Our present grief is
meant to bring us to repentance that we may not be destroyed with the
wicked.
Put
the law into the heart, and the whole man is right.
This is where the
law should be; for then it lies, like the tables of stone in the ark, in
the place appointed for it.
In the head it puzzles, on the back it
burdens, in the heart it upholds.
What a choice word is here
used, "the law of his God"!
When we know the LORD as our own God His law
becomes liberty to us.
God with us in covenant makes us eager to obey
His will and walk in His commands.
Is the precept my Father's precept?
Then I delight in it.
We are here guaranteed that
obedient-hearted man shall be sustained in every step that he takes.
He
will do that which is right, and he shall therefore do that which is
wise.
Holy action is always the most prudent, though it may not at the
time seem to be so...
We are moving along the great highroad of God's
providence and grace when we keep to the way of His law.
The Word of God
has never misled a single soul yet...
Its plain directions to walk
humbly, justly, lovingly, and in the fear of the LORD are as much words
of wisdom to make our way prosperous as rules of holiness to keep our
garments clean.
This is a Promise Indeed! Here
is an urgent occasion..."the day of trouble." It is dark at noon on
such a day, and every hour seems blacker than the one which came before
it. Then is this promise in season: it is written for the cloudy day. Here
is condescending advice, "Call upon me." We ought not to need the
exhortation: it should be our constant habit all the day and every day. What a mercy to have liberty to call upon God! What wisdom to make good
use of it! How foolish to go running about to men! The LORD invites us
to lay our case before Him, and surely we will not hesitate to do so. Here
is reassuring encouragement: "I will deliver thee." Whatever the
trouble may be, the LORD makes no exceptions but promises full, sure,
happy deliverance. He will Himself work out our deliverance by His own
hand. We believe it, and the LORD honors faith. Here is an
ultimate result: "Thou shalt glorify me." Ah, that we will do most
abundantly. When He has delivered us we will loudly praise Him; and as
He is sure to do it, let us begin to glorify Him at once. ~Charles Spurgeon~
