Love of God

1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
1Jn 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
1Jn 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?


God's commandments- commandments that were instituted when?
We know for a fact beyond any doubt that at least ONE of the ten commandments was instituted in Eden- before sin entered the world.


Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.


Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.


Do you see the similarities?


The seventh day, the Lord created heavens and the earth, rested, blessed, sanctified-hallowed.


Is there really any doubt that the sabbath was instituted during creation week?


God's commandments are NOT grievous.


Grievous- Strong's Greek Dictionary
G926
barus
bar-ooce'
From the same as G922; weighty, that is, (figuratively) burdensome, grave: - grievous, heavy, weightier.


God's commandments are not weighty, they aren't burdensome, they aren't heavy upon us.


God's commandments are blessings to us not restrictions. We are blessed to have a God who counsels us and gives us guidance. People talk about God NOT conversing with them, how they pray and yet never get any real response. I've had people say that to me just recently and my response was God gave us His word in the Bible. Though nothing more was said I had the distinct impression that the answer I gave wasn't the sort of answer the person was looking for.


God has given us all the direction we'll ever need in life, but it's easy to overlook that direction because we want the answers to all come out in our favor. We want God to answer in our way- leaning to what we desire more than anything else. We say we are prepared to accept God's guidance in all things and yet we secretly (or not so secretly to God) really want our will to be done. In God's commandments we find so much more than just a lot of shalt nots. If God were to spruce up His commandments we'd find things like this…


Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you


Heb 13:16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.


Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Mat 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.


Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.


Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.


Mat 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.


Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.


Mat 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.


While these are NOT the ten commandments - not the sacred ten commandments- not the ONLY commandments written by the finger of God Himself- all these things Jesus told us when He walk the earth, God with us- are all embodiments of those ten sacred commandments written by God's finger and etched in stone by God.


Exo 31:18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.


Those ten commandments contain every other commandment.


We are to LOVE GOD and LOVE OUR FELLOWMAN. Out of that love we are to live our lives and by the grace of God we can do that. God's commandments are NOT grievous, they just aren't. The devil would have us believe they are chains wrapped around our neck weighing us down. The devil would have us treat God's commandments as something horrifically grievous to bear.


If we are to OVERCOME this world-we will live God's commandments- ALL of them for the love of God is in those commandments.


1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.


By His grace!


Amen.