The old hymn goes, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.” When God gave the ten commandments, He did not begin by barking orders at the Israelites. In fact, the ten commandments do not even start with commands. They begin with the reassuring words, “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” (Exodus 20:1-2).
In other words, God reminded them: “You can trust Me; that is why you should obey Me.” The real motivation for obeying God and living righteously should not be, “I have to obey God,” but, “Given everything I know to be true about Him, why would I not obey God?” He is faithful (Romans 3:3-4; Hebrews 6:10), glorious (Psalm 24:8-10; Romans 11:36), good (Acts 14:17; James 1:17), gracious (John 6:44-45; Romans 3:22-24), holy (1 Samuel 6:10; Romans 1:23), incomparable (Exodus 15:11; Job 4:17-19), and longsuffering (Exodus 34:6; Mark 12:1-9).
You have to admit; if you know someone who even remotely has these characteristics, you would admire and respect them! Why would you not do this with God? The best task you could ever take on for yourself is to look at all the characteristics of God in the Bible, and then come to the conclusion that this is a Being who deserves your love and obedience via your belief (Hebrews 11:6), repentance (Luke 13:3, 5), confession of Christ (Acts 8:37), and baptism (Galatians 3:27). You will then have a relationship with our God that will change your life.
Kyle Campbell
