Are You Putting Conditions on God's Commands?

Sometimes professing Christians put conditions on God’s commands. For example: 

"I’ll give something to God’s work when I make more money."

"I'll be sexually pure when the temptations aren't so great."

"I'll study the Bible when I'm not so busy."

"I’ll honor my parents when they live up to my expectations."

If a person puts conditions on God’s commands, they aren't taking their faith seriously. In fact, they need to ask themselves if they've made a genuine commitment to Christ.

Jesus says people who love Him obey His commands (John 14:15; John 14:21; John 14:23). That's how we “remain in His love” (John 15:10). Scripture says we can know if someone has come to the Lord by the fact that they are living as He commands (1 John 5:1-5).

None of us is perfect, but genuine believers take God's commands seriously. We seek to obey wholeheartedly, letting God change us from the inside out (Philippians 2:12-13).

We sometimes think we're being gracious to remain silent when a fellow-believer excuses their sins, but we're actually being disobedient. God commands us to gently correct them (Galatians 6:1; 1 Corinthians 5:12; James 5:19-20). And if we're not taking our faith seriously, God commands others to correct us.

He died for us. We need to ask ourselves if we're genuinely living for Him (2 Corinthians 5:15).  

Bible Love Notes