We have a Sovereign and Holy God, righteous and perfect in all His ways. As the Supreme One, He declared, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:9). These character traits earn Him the right to establish commands for those He created.
To learn more, check out the Our Great God from A to Z Discipleship Tool. Helping people grow in their understanding of who God is makes a difference. Notice how according to 2 Peter 1:3 striving to keep His commandments isn’t what makes us godly. — “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
Problem with Too Much Emphasis on the Commands in Scripture
While commands of our Holy God do fill the Bible, we risk the following problems if we primarily emphasize the do’s and don’ts of Scripture.
- People might confuse salvation with works because of all the emphasis on how we’re supposed to please God. Scripture, however, makes it clear that “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8-9).
- If we aren’t careful, our students might come to approach the Christian life legalistically, as religion, rather than relationally, as life itself. Jesus came, however, that we “may have life, and have it to the full” (Jn. 10:10). He came to set us free, not to bind us (Jn. 8:32; Gal. 5:1). We enter into a relationship with Him (Jn. 1:12; Rom. 8:15-17) that guides what we do. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commands” (Jn. 14:15).
- Further, we could turn people off by a God who seems to be little more than a rule enforcer to police their activity. A relationship with God could seem stifling and too hard. We read, however, that “this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1 Jn. 5:3-5)
Emphasis More on Character Traits
First consider how the commands in Scripture tie into God’s character traits.
When we show how the commands flow out of God’s character, obeying His commandments become more about lining up with Him that keeping a bunch of regulations. God uses His commandments as a way of protecting and providing for His people, to make our lives better in ways that truly matter (Jer. 29:11).
Next consider God’s priority on our character over outward conformity.
To emphasize what’s most important to God, we must address the heart. “The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7) “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Prov. 4:23)
God’s wants “doing” what’s right to flow out of “being” so we must emphasize character development and not mere external conformity.