Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. (2 Kings 17:19)

Is Commandment Keeping Necessary?

A commandment is a directive given by one with authority to those subject to that authority. It is the act or power of commanding with a dominating influence over others. Nations are established with laws governing the citizens to maintain order and discipline. The first thing God did with Adam and Eve was to tell them they could eat of every tree in the garden except for one. They were told not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Satan deceived Eve into believing God was unfair in His directive and that she was not accountable for keeping His command. Eve took the fruit and gave it to Adam. The consequences of their rebellion were in direct conflict with the command of God, and they were punished.

Israel was given the law at Sinai to establish them as the people of God. Part of the law included the Ten Commandments, so called because they were commandments, not suggestions. The Lord expected the people to abide by His commandments and laws to receive the blessings. When Moses gave the law to the people, he told them they would be blessed if they obeyed the commandments and punished if they refused. God loved the people, and the people loved God. This did not negate their responsibility to be “commandment keepers” as expected by the Lord. Moses wrote the law down and read it to the people so there would be no misunderstanding about the covenant between the Hebrews and God. The history of Israel is summed up in the realization they refused to keep the commandments of the Lord.

After Solomon’s death, Israel divided north and south, with ten tribes in the north and two in the south. All of the leaders of the northern tribes were wicked without exception. In the southern kingdom of Judah, some kings were good and some evil. The problem with God’s people was they did not keep God’s commandments, statutes, covenant, and laws. The seers of the Lord told the people to keep the commandments of God and His statutes. They refused and rejected His statutes, His covenant, and His testimonies and followed idols. The people of God left all the commandments of the Lord their God and made molded images and wooden images for themselves, worshiped all the hosts of heaven, and served Baal. How could the people reject God? They refused to be “commandment keepers.”

One of man’s struggles in his relationship with God is to accept that He demands that they keep His commandments. The religious world has painted a canvas of God’s grace and love, excluding any commandment keeping. There is no need to follow the will of the Lord if a man loves Jesus. Morality is not based on what God says but on what society accepts. Church services are concerts that make the soul feel good without the guilt of commandment keeping. The result is shallow souls who live as they desire, worshiping the idols of the world and refusing to know and understand what the Lord commands.

There has always been commandment keeping. Satan’s first words to Eve were, “Has God indeed said.” The devil does not object to a person believing in God or Jesus as long as they don’t follow His laws, commandments, statutes, and covenant. Love the Lord and live like you want. Let people hear how much you love Jesus as you enjoy the pleasures of sin. It is easy to criticize anyone who suggests that commandment keeping is necessary because salvation by works does not save. A ‘faith only’ concept of salvation results in a person having to do very little to be saved. That is not the story learned from Judah and Israel. They were punished because they did not keep the commandments of the Lord. Faith only did not save them and grace only could not save them.

Jesus told His disciples the ones who will be saved are those who do the will of the Father. The important part of that teaching is seeing how important the “doing” is to salvation. No one is saved by works alone, faith alone, grace alone, or anything alone. God’s love and His grace save us, but if we do not obey God’s commandments, statutes, laws, testimonies, and word, we will find eternity a very dark and horrible place.