Here I come griping again. In my opinion, when God gave Adam that one command not to eat the fruit, it was for Adam’s good and by extension, our good also. Consider what would have been the result had he not obeyed his wife, instead of God, and refused to eat. Within that single command of God was embedded the principles of the TEN that God later handed Moses after He singled out the children of Israel as His ambassadors to a then sinful world.
Follow me here: Did Adam recognize God as his creator and father? Ex. 20:2 Was there any other God for him to choose? -v.3 Being created in God’s image, was he aware of his limitation, his power of choice and obligation to his Lord v.4-7. Did Adam need a reminder to honor and respect God because of God’s creative power? v.8-11. When Adam ate the fruit, was he showing disrespect to his parent by
disobeying? v.12. Did he commit murder by causing all life after him to die physically and spiritually v.13. Did he commit spiritual adultery by abandoning the nature of God for Satan’s? v.14., Jer. 31:32. How about stealing what he was told not to take? v.15 Was he calling God a liar when he ate and didn’t immediately die, contrary to God’s statement? v.16 What about coveting that which was not his? v.17.
So Adam sinned by disobeying; and now needed grace; but grace is dependent on his outreach for mercy. Would he have any need for grace if he hadn’t disobeyed his parent? No way Jose! Grace is the only antidote for the sin disease. Like Jam 2:10 puts it, ‘break one you are guilty of all’. It seems to me that Adam implicitly broke all TEN; and all human after him became slaves to sin as a result of his disobedience. “For as through the disobedience of one man many were made sinners so through the
obedience of one many shall be made righteous” Rom. 5:19. What is Paul talking about here? Obedience to God’s Law! But did he not say in Gal. 2:21 that if righteousness came by the law, then Christ died in vain? I think Paul was referring to the law of sacrifices for sin instituted under the Mosaic Law and abolished by Christ’s death on the cross.
Still on the subject of obedience to God’s commands, God sent Saul to completely destroy the Amalakite nation. Saul went, but kept back some of the spoil to sacrifice to God provoking His anger. God sent Samuel to confront Saul in the matter; who defended his action by pointing finger at the army whom he said wanted to do sacrifice to God. 1Sam. 15:10-11, 13:26. (Wasn’t this what Adam did, blaming Eve for his own disobedience)? We should be careful not to break or disobey any of God’s commandments, said Jesus, Matt. 5:19. Notice that Saul acknowledged his sin, but offered no atonement to God. On the contrary, his request was through Samuel. We should obey God rather than man, Acts 5:20. God does not accept any other worship except the one He specified for our good. His righteousness is defined by His character and his character is expressed in His law. It’s impossible to attain to the character of God outside of obedience to His law “Be ye holy for I am holy” (righteous), He said in Lev. 11:44.
So if we can’t get to heaven without being righteous; which is obedience to His law, where does grace take us? To heaven of course, but not without mercy after breaking His law. Some will say that I need my head surgically examined; after reading the story of ‘the thief on the cross’ who requested mercy for breaking the law and was assured by Jesus that he, (the thief) would be in paradise with Him that day, short of obedience to the law, Lk. 23:43. But according to scripture Jesus did not leave earth for
heaven until weeks after His resurrection; So His reference to paradise, ’today’ was most certainly to the grave, where they both went that day, check out 1Pet. 2:17, (such a relief from the pain and suffering they were under). Another interpretation of the phrase, ‘today shalt thou be with me in paradise‘ is that Jesus was merely assuring the thief that his request for mercy was granted immediately and their future meeting in paradise was assured. In either interpretation of the phrase, it is fair to assume that the thief received grace through mercy. It would appear then, that this thief would have escape to heaven without obedience to the law, because after receiving grace his probation was closed which robbed him of the opportunity to live obediently to the law; a requirement after the reception of grace, Jn. 5:14; 8:11; Rom. 6:1.
Back to obedience: Here is a parallel to our present-day respect for God in the story of the Israelites’ return from exile to rebuild the temple and the wall of Jerusalem, where they encounter the inhabitants of Samaria, who offered their help, claiming that they seek and worship the same God as the Israelites, Ezra. 4:2. The story continues in 2Kgs. 17:24-34, where the Samaritans feared God (v. 32-33) but refused to give up their traditions of idol worship. Surely the facts are different but the principle remains
the same. When we choose our own way of worship over God’s way we are in effect asking Him to lower His standard to accommodate us. Listen to His complaint to Isaiah ‘For as much as this people draw near to me with their mouth and with their lips do honor me; but have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the precept of men’. Isa. 29:13.
It is so easy to believe mistakenly, that we are on God’s side, when we are not. Ask Paul about his steadfast belief that he was helping God by persecuting Christians until God met him on the Damascus road and told him straight out, you are not with me, you are against me, Acts. 26:9-12. Shocked and surprised, Paul could only mutter, ’What do you want me to do Lord’? Implicitly asking for mercy through his question and obtained grace and a mission. It is this same Paul that later declared that we obtain grace because we broke God’s commandments. Rom. 6:14-15. Scripture is pregnant with stories of commands to obey God’s law, from Genisis to Revelation. In fact, the gospel of Jesus is one
of obedience to the Ten Commandments in its entirety.
Let your finger walk through Matt. 5:17-48; Jn. 15:24; and ch. 17; Mk. 12:28-34; Lk. 5:32 for just a few examples. Let’s backup a little and assume that Adam did not know the consequence of his sin; would that absolve him from its penalty? Isn’t obedience the essence of righteousness by faith? Then consider this: ‘Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes and my laws, Gen. 26:5. Was Abraham aware of the blessing that would follow his obedience? No! The supreme test of faith in God is obedience; and true Christians are called children of obedience, 1Pet. 1:14. It is impossible to please God short of obedience to His law. Equally, it would be impossible to convince my wife that I truly love her if I continually refuse to fulfill her wishes, despite my polished words and beautiful gifts.
My belief is that only a living obedience to the Ten Commandments allow Christ to declare us righteous, a condition we achieve after grace. Don’t be fooled by the phrase ‘once saved always saved’. If that is true, then why did Paul uttered, ‘I die daily’ 1Cor.1 5:31; and in Rom. 7:24 he cried out ‘O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death’ after declaring in v.22. that he delights in the law of God? In verses 21-23 Paul explain the struggle he had with a desire to serve God
according to the law and a desire to serve the law of sin which is in his mind. When Jesus was asked which is the greatest commandment in the decalogue He replied that it was love to God, Matt. 22:38; and how did He define love to God? ‘If you love me you will do what I say’ Jn. 14:15. How then can I say that I love God and refuse to do what He commanded? The world calls that politics, but God calls it lying, 1Jn. 2:4; (a sin), which means that all my professed respect for God and my good deeds towards my fellow men will count as naught until I repent of that one sin of disobedience to God’s Law. Isn’t this what Jesus was talking about in Matt. 7:22-23, where He said, after we reminded Him of our good works, He will declare that He never knew us?
Lastly, consider Noah’s exhortation of obedience to his countrymen while the ark was being constructed; and the message of this boat, pointing directly at a closing window of opportunity, rescue and final judgement for rejecting God’s instructions. Is this world promised a similar fate based on the same principle of disobedience? Read Jesus’ words in Matt. 24:38-39.
