We have mandates and the solution is to walk in faith.  Mark 10:17 says, a young man came running and knelt before Jesus and asked Him, “Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.  Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.  And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.  Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.”  And he left sorrowfully.  A couple of things we can learn here.  First of all, when Jesus spoke to him, He recited the second tablet of the ten commandments.  How we’re to relate to one another, interpersonal relationships.  The first tablet started with, “Thou shalt not have any other gods before Me”; amen?  The full revelation of the law and the prophets, love God, keep His commandments.  “The first, ‘love God with all of your heart,’ and the second is like unto it, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”  And we find those being very clear statements of the Lord Jesus.

As we’re being admonished to obedience to the commandments, don’t get caught up in all of the periphery of trying to itemize every little transgression.  Step back as you’re looking at your life and look first and ask the question first, “Am I loving God with all of my heart?  Am I, as He admonished this young man, going to take up my cross and die to this thing?”  Because here is the real issue beloved, when we are in disobedience, we know it, we try to justify it, and then we go around looking for some of our best supporters.  You know, the people that cheer us on, “Yeah keep sinning, keep sinning; good for you, hallelujah!”  Don’t you want somebody to tell you the truth?  Understanding the consequences of continuing in that way?  If that’s our mindset, guess what’s going to happen?  You’re going to drop your head and walk away sorrowfully.  If we’re going to continue in that vein, tragically we may hear, “Sleep on.”  You can’t even tarry with me one hour?  I am in my greatest need and you can’t give me an hour?  I’m over here bleeding, sweating drops of blood in agony, going to go to the cross.”  We have no concept of how pure and holy Jesus was when our sin was dumped on Him.  And He was made sin with our sin and suffered the wrath of God on our behalf and we can’t give him an hour?  And then we justify it.  You say you love Me.  My requirement is that you love me with all of your heart; amen?  I don’t want to be on a list of people you love; I am the list; amen?

He makes it very clear:  you do not love mother or father or houses or land or wives or children more than Me, if you do, you’re not worthy of Me.  How much worth do we really put on the Lord?  We are not worthy of Him if anything is distracting us from absolute purity, pursuit, obedience to His commandments.  What are His commandments?  Love Me with all of your heart.  It’s all included in that.  What are His commandments?  You can find fifty or sixty of them, but they are all included in this: love Me with all of your heart and don’t say you love Me if you don’t.  So, if we start obedience there, it will help us out to really understanding that all of these other things are just consequences of that disobedience, and therefore our flesh, Satan, circumstances take advantage of us, and then we find ourselves committing sins.

The good news is this: when we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  “Confess your sins and He’s faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness,” hallelujah!  But we’ve got to have a love for the Truth, we’ve got to have a love for holiness, we’ve got have a love and a fear for the purity of God.

Father, we thank you for Your love and for Your Truth.  We ask that You would continue to cleanse us with the water of Your Word, that we’re to come to that light as You’re in the light, and have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus will cleanse us from all of our unrighteousness.  Thank You for Your love, thank You for Your mercy.  Empower us by Your Holy Spirit, Father, that we might fulfill these great commandments to take up our cross daily, and follow You.  We seek You for greater empowerment and You say, “He gives the Holy Spirit to those that obey Him.”  Thank you for that grace, Father, in Jesus’ name, amen.