“For when Your judgments are in the land, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. But if the wicked man is shown favor, he does not learn righteousness. In a righteous land he acts unjustly and does not see the majesty of the Lord.” Isaiah 26:9b-10 HCSB
How is the world to know how to act, by more rules for our government, or by the word of God demonstrated and taught by God’s people? We know that more rules do not bring righteous living! That only brings more rule-breakers into society. And then there are loopholes to be found to get yourself out of the trouble your in. Better would be that God’s people would start living out the Bible and then the world will see that it is the Bible that regulates right living.
“What should we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet. And sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind. For apart from the law sin is dead. Once I was alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. The commandment that was meant for life resulted in death for me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. Therefore, did what is good cause my death? Absolutely not! On the contrary, sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure.”
Romans 7:7-13 HCSB
https://www.bible.com/72/rom.7.7-13.hcsb
“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under law but under grace. What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not! Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey — either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness? But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were transferred to, and having been liberated from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. I am using a human analogy because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you offered the parts of yourselves as slaves to moral impurity, and to greater and greater lawlessness, so now offer them as slaves to righteousness, which results in sanctification.”
Romans 6:12-19 HCSB
https://www.bible.com/72/rom.6.12-19.hcsb
The Bible is not just a book of do’s and do not’s but rather it is God’s love story toward mankind. He loved us so much He gave us a free will to serve God or not. Our ancestors Adam and Eve choose not to obey God. But then Jesus opened up the relationship with us and God. Now through Jesus, we can talk to God and He gets to talk to us. He directs us on how to live. He sent the Holy Spirit to us to be our guide through life. Jesus died to bring us to God, and not God is asking that we live for Him. He is asking us to love Him with all our thoughts, actions, emotions, and beliefs, all of us.
“One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked Him, “Which command is the most important of all? ” “This is the most important,” Jesus answered: Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. “The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.” Then the scribe said to Him, “You are right, Teacher! You have correctly said that He is One, and there is no one else except Him. And to love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
Mark 12:28-33 HCSB
https://www.bible.com/72/mrk.12.28-33.hcsb
“He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
Matthew 22:37-40 HCSB
https://www.bible.com/72/mat.22.37-40.hcsb
“Just then an expert in the law stood up to test Him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? ” “What is written in the law? ” He asked him. “How do you read it? ” He answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. “You’ve answered correctly,” He told him. “Do this and you will live.”
Luke 10:25-28 HCSB
https://www.bible.com/72/luk.10.25-28.hcsb
“Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 HCSB
https://www.bible.com/72/deu.6.4-9.hcsb
Love God with all you have! And Love people as much as you love yourself. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, is the golden rule. Do unto others as Christ has done unto you, is the Platinum Rule. Jesus forgave us when we were in our darkest sin. He served us, in love, to die for us. We need to be willing to do this for our fellow man. Die to self and be the example the world wants to see. Live in sin and proclaim Jesus and you will be mocked and laughed at. Be the brother or sister Jesus would be proud to have!
“Whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.”
Mark 3:35 HCSB
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