I think one point from Psalm 119:8 is worthy of special emphasis. The verse reads: “I shall keep Your statutes; do not forsake me utterly.” Both parts of this verse must be kept together. David first expresses his determined resolve to obey God’s commands. This is a necessity for every serious believer. We will not keep God’s commands without this kind of firm purpose. But our obligation to obey cannot be grounded on our own resolve. That is to set human authority above God’s. David continued by asking God not to forsake him. He knew that without the Lord’s power, his resolution to obey would prove fruitless. Every Christian who sincerely tries to obey God’s commands will come to realize that divine power is required. Obedience based on human effort is not Christianity! So, resolve with all your heart to obey God, and depend utterly on Him to enable you to do so. It continual amazes me to see that every verse of Psalm 119, which is a song that expresses truth in poetic form, harmonizes perfectly with the most precise doctrinal statements in the New Testament.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
A Good Heart—Part 4
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2 comments:
Mike, I enjoyed this days blog because I am learning about the inter-dependent walk that we are called to have. I think I have spent much of my Christian life asking God for direction but then trying to obey independently.
Elaine,
Learning to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling because God is at work in us (Philippians 2:12-13) is indeed the dynamic of the Christian life. It is one of the great spiritual facts that makes Christianity unique from all other religions.
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