The Blessing Of Those Who Study His Word Despite The Impending Judgment Series

The blessing of those who study His Word despite impending Judgment of God

Psalm 1:1, “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with scoffers.”

Psalm 174I have followed your commands, which have kept me from going along with cruel and evil people."

Psalm 26:5, “I hate the gatherings of those who do evil, and I refuse to join in with the wicked.”

Proverbs 4:14, “Do not do as the wicked do or follow the path of evildoers.”

Jeremiah 15:17, “I never joined the people in their merry feasts. I sat alone because your hand was on me. I burst with indignation at their sins.”

Living a godly life as a believer is not a choice, it is a mandate. It has often been said by many teachers that who we associate will we become. If we desire to live a godly life in a world full of cynicism and pagan thought, then we will in turn be drawn back upon the precepts of understanding that is found in the revealed truth of God’s Word. It is there that we can know most fully and aptly, appreciating and understanding fully His Word so that we can in turn lead joyfully lives for Him. So you see if we stand around in the advice of the wicked and heed the counsel of those who are unrighteous what part of we are we now not walking in the counsels and precepts of God? The Messiah does not want us to be influenced by the surrounding world, but to be an influence to the surrounding world around us. If we desire to live such godly lives, then we will in turn point our whole attention to His truth and study His truth. We ought as believers to be influential upon our circles of influence bearing eternal fruit. Those who abide in Christ will bear fruit like healthy fruit-bearing trees planted along a riverbank with strong roots (Jeremiah 17:7-8). There are only two paths in life, the path towards heaven and Christ or the path towards destruction and hell. Be sure what path you are choosing today is the path towards Christ, the path towards eternal life, not eternal damnation, the path towards influencing others, towards joy of the Lord, not the damnation of their souls.

Psalms 1:2, “But they delight in doing everything the LORD wants; day and night they think about his law.”

Psalm 255, “Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.”

Psalm 63:5, “You satisfy me more than the richest of foods. I will praise you with songs of joy. 6 I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night.”

Psalm 11913I have recited aloud all the laws you have given us. 14 I have rejoiced in your decrees as much as in riches.15I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. 16 I will delight in your principles and not forget your word.”

There is such a huge misunderstanding today in Christianity in that matter about studying. Studying is the highest form of worship unto God. In study we learn of God’s character and attributes and can appreciate at least in a finite sense God’s greatness and glory as revealed through His Son Jesus Christ. Study is important for it helps us understand the nature of the Law. While Jesus set the Standard of the Law in His life (Matthew 5:17-20), He also fulfilled its standard through His death (Romans 7:7-13). The Law in this sense means the whole of Scripture. Scripture reveals God’s Law and the means by which He provides salvation through that very Law. While we are under the New Covenant that doesn’t mean that the intent of the Old Covenant isn’t still there, as we are children of Abraham through faith in Christ (Galatians 3:26-28). While not bound to the Law its intent was all along to expose sinners dependency upon self so that the God self within them would arise and live to its fullest expression and height as it did in the Garden of Eden. This was Christ’s full intent in coming down for us as the Son of God, to declare that He hath fulfilled the Law, His Divine Law in His death, Resurrection and Ascension yet at the same time its intent of the Cross is to expose our human inability to come unto Him except through that Passover sacrifice.

It is only through that very sacrifice that we can be made right with the Law for Christ is still the Law Giver as He was in the Old Testament. If we desire Christ then we will have to see the Law within us (Romans 7:14-25). The reality though is that many view the Law as wrong as it is not pertinent to us today. This is a wrong misconception that has to be corrected. Paul taught that we are to remain even as we are when we are saved. 1st Corinthians 7:20, “Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called. 1st Corinthians 7:24, “Brethren, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called.” Yet this still does not mean that the Law is not still pertinent to us today as we will see today. If we study God’s Word will understand the Law’s intent that its purpose in this age is to expose sinful human beings so that they will in turn, turn towards God not towards man. The more we understand God the more we will understand in turn His law and its purpose for us today. The more we know of the whole scope of God’s Word, the more resources we will have to guide us in our daily decisions. This is not to say that the Law itself will save us, because we know from Galatians 3:14-21, “14When I saw that they were not following the truth of the Good News, I said to Peter in front of all the others, "Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you trying to make these Gentiles obey the Jewish laws you abandoned? 15You and I are Jews by birth, not `sinners’ like the Gentiles. 16And yet we Jewish Christians know that we become right with God, not by doing what the law commands, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be accepted by God because of our faith in Christ--and not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be saved by obeying the law."[4] 17But what if we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then find out that we are still sinners? Has Christ led us into sin? Of course not! 18Rather, I make myself guilty if I rebuild the old system I already tore down. 19For when I tried to keep the law, I realized I could never earn God’s approval. So I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ. 20I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21I am not one of those who treats the grace of God as meaningless. For if we could be saved by keeping the law, then there was no need for Christ to die."