March 17, 2023
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8
Isn’t the word of the Lord amazing? Its harmony and consistency are undeniable, although many attempts have been made to accuse the Lord of “schizophrenia” or altering His character. But if it is true what He said of Himself, “For I am the LORD, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6a), any passage that may seem to contradict another warrants a closer look, just as the Holy Spirit intends! The Bible tells the story of the workings of God to save fallen man. It begins and ends with perfect people in a perfect setting with their loving Creator. Genesis and Revelation are the bookends to the greatest story ever written.
Through historical recording, illustrations, examples, and loving reminders—all inspired by the Holy Spirit of God—we are given choices to make. Ultimately, we choose whether or not to believe what is laid out for us in the Bible and whether or not to act upon those beliefs. These two, belief and action, are inseparable if we are to gain eternal life.
Because of the time element given to us as an important part of Creation, there is a sequence, an order, of things that need to occur in the salvation process. In our opening verse above, Jesus’ statement covers all of time and eternity.
Notice in the Exodus story that the children of Israel were not saved from Egypt because they kept the Ten Commandments. Their expedition toward freedom began with the Passover sacrifice. After they were delivered from Egypt, they didn’t immediately go north to the Land of Promise, but to Sinai where the LORD Himself spoke the Ten Commandments with His own voice and wrote them in stone with His own finger. Thus far, here is the sequence: because of His love, He led them out of slavery. Then He reminded them of His perfect law of liberty. Continuing on, it is the One who is that provides the grace to help us obey in any and every situation. Love for Him renders us receptive to this empowering grace to obey His law, the succinct and complete guide for righteous living.
On the other hand, any effort to obey His commandments in order to be saved amounts to legalism. This kind of “obedience” is counterfeit. The word that Jesus used for counterfeit obedience was “hypocrites.” While saying they revered the law of God, they exalted man’s traditions above God’s law (Mark 7:13).
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” Matthew 23:29
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15