What We Believe & Why - Chapter Eight

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What We Believe and Why - Vol. II
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

Copyright - Lester Hutson - 1982
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson.

Chapter Eight
Keeping The Commandments

INTRODUCTION: TEXT: I John 2:3-8

Most of the religious world (and in one form or another, that involves most of earth's people) believes that being saved is a result of doing good. Most, who call themselves Christians, believe you are saved only if you keep the commandments of the Bible. Very few are certain just what they mean by "keeping the commandments." Some say you must keep the Ten Commandments. Others say that to be saved you must keep a good percentage of the many commandments in the Bible. Most of these are not sure just what the percentage is. A few even say that, in order to be saved, you must keep all the commandments of the Bible.

The text, I John 2:3-8, deals with this very subject. Verse 3 says that, "We know him, if we keep his commandments." Verse 5 says we know that "we are in him" if we keep "his word." It becomes evident by comparing these two verses that "keeping his commandments" and "keeping his word" refer to one and the same thing. Now, if "knowing him " (verse 3) and being "in him" (verse 5) depend upon keeping all of His commandments, and keeping all of His Word, then there is no one who knows Him or is in Him, for no one knows all of His word, or keeps all of His commandments, as I John 1:8,10 will show.

Whatever the word or commandments referred to in this text are, they must be kept, for failure to keep them means the person is lost and without a Saviour. Therefore, every earnest person should want to know what the word or commandments are which he must keep in order to have eternal life. It is true that there is a word or commandments which must be kept for one to have salvation, but we maintain that the word or commandments are specific, and do not refer to all of the word of God, nor to all of the commandments that are found therein. This is the point that we shall endeavor to prove in this lesson.

I. THE COMMANDMENTS OR WORD MENTIONED HERE RELATES TO THE GOSPEL, NOT TO EVERY WORD OR COMMANDMENT OF SCRIPTURE.

A. Many people jump to conclusions when reading or studying God's word.

1. They assume too much. For example, there are several ladies named Mary mentioned in the Bible. Would it not be foolish to assume that every Bible use of the name Mary is an automatic reference to Mary the mother of Jesus?. Certainly it is important to see which Mary is under consideration in each reference.

2. We are instructed to "rightly divide the word of truth." (II Timothy 2:15) Failure to do that, regardless of the sincerity of the student, often results in erroneous interpretations of the scriptures. False doctrinal positions can thereby be easily established.

3. Things that appear to be the same are not necessarily the same. An understanding of that fact is particularly important in considering this text and the subject of keeping the commandments.

B. The commandments and word that is mentioned here and which a person must keep in order to be saved, is limited to the gospel, and the love that automatically accompanies belief of the gospel:

1. Not every use of terms such as " the truth," "the word" and the "commandments" in the scriptures is a reference to the whole Bible and all the truths, words or commandments therein.

2. For example, Jesus told the Pharisees, who keep many commandments of the scriptures such as praying (Matthew 6:5), giving alms (Matthew 6:1-2), tithing (Matthew 23:23), and others, "my word hath no place in you." (John 8:37) He was obviously not referring to the whole of God's Word but to a specific aspect of it. To the same group He said in John 8:45, "Because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not." Again, it is clear that all the truths of the Bible are not under consideration but a specific aspect of truth.

3. The fact that "the truth," "the word" and similar terms are not always references to the whole of the scriptures is illustrated in I Peter 1. Of believers, verse 23 says, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." At the time a person believes in Christ, he doesn't know all the Bible and he doesn't have to know it all in order to be saved, or born again. What he does have to know is that Word, which is defined to be "the gospel" in verse 25. The gospel is the fact that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day, according to the scriptures. (I Corinthians 15:1-4) If you will compare verse 23 and 25 of I Peter 1, it will be as clear as the nose on your face that "the word" of God under consideration is the gospel, not the whole of the scriptures. "The truth" that is mentioned in verse 22 is likewise a reference to the gospel truth, not to all the truths of the Bible.

4. This was "the truth," which their refusal to believe had left the Pharisees lost. (John 8:45) It was the "word" that had no place in them. (John 8:37) The word and the truth in these references are identical and correspond to "the truth" and "the word" which are mentioned in I John 2:4,5,7. These are references to the truth or word which is to be preached to alien sinners, by belief in which they become the children of God. These are not references to all truth, nor any truth, which is designed to appoint the walk of those who are already the children of God.

C. The word and the commandments of our text stand closely related.

1. "The word of God" is the instrument of revelation whereby a lost sinner perceives his condition and the remedy for it.

2. "The commandments" mentioned in our text deal with man's responsibility toward the revelation of the word.

3. The combined significance of the word and the commandments is "belief of the truth," as mentioned in II Thessalonians 2:13. It is belief of the gospel (Mark 1:15), receiving the divine testimony (John 3:33) or believing the divine report. (Romans 10:16)

4. "The truth," "the gospel," "his testimony" and "our report" in light of the context, correspond exactly to "the truth," "his word," "his seed" and "the record" of I John 2:4,5,21; 3:9 and 5:10. None of them refer to all of the truths of the scriptures but rather to "the word of truth" by which we are begotten into the spiritual family of God. (James 1:18) These are references to "the gospel" (I Peter 1:25) by which you are "born again." (I Peter 1:23) This is the gospel by which you are begotten into God's family. (I Corinthians 4:15)

5. "Belief, believe, receive" etc., correspond to "the commandments" of I John 2:3-4, for the sinner's response to the truth, or the word of the gospel, should be belief, or reception. He is commanded to believe the gospel. (Acts 16:31)

D. Thus, it becomes evident from an examination of the scriptures that I John 2:3-8 is not teaching that a person must keep all the word, or all of the commandments in order to be saved. The passage is teaching that a person must hear that portion of the word related to the lost and obey the command to believe it if he is to be saved.

II. THE COMMANDMENTS OF I JOHN 2:4 ARE TWO IN NUMBER AND INVOLVE BELIEF AND LOVE.

A. The first commandment is called an "old commandment."

1. Notice I John 2:7, "Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning."

2. This "old commandment" is specifically stated in I John 3:23, "This is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son, Jesus Christ..." We shall discuss the latter part of this verse shortly.

3. John said we have had this commandment "from the beginning." (I John 2:7) Jesus mentioned this beginning in John 15:27 and Mark 1:1 speaks of "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God." In the beginning of His preaching, which dated from the baptism of John, Jesus was affirmed to be the Christ or Saviour. God said, "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew. 3:16,17) Mark 1:14-15 says Jesus preached "the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye, and believe the gospel." All of these scriptures are designed to enable you to see that the old commandment which Jesus preached from the beginning was that men believe the truth, the word, or the gospel, that God's Messiah and great sacrifice was come in the person of Jesus Christ.

4. Jesus affirmed from the beginning of His earthly ministry that He was the Messiah and that salvation could only come through Him, (John 8:24) and, thus, could say the He had declared that to His hearers from the beginning in John 8:25. And, what He told His hearers from the beginning was no different than Moses and all the prophets had consistently declared since the beginning of the scriptures. Paul declared himself to be a witness of those things "which the prophets and Moses did say should come; that Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first to rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people, and to the GENTILES." (Acts 26:22-23) Notice that this is the gospel, and Paul said it is set forth in Moses and the prophets. After Jesus was risen from the dead, He appeared unto two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus and "said unto them, Oh fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." (Luke 24:25-27) Anyone who thinks that the command to sinners is not an age old command does not know much about the scriptures. The coming work of Jesus Christ, and the necessity of faith in Him, is announced time and time again in the Old Testament, both by direct announcement and by types and symbols.

5. The old commandment, which is also called "no new commandment" in I John 2:7, is not difficult to distinguish. God's commandment to the lost has always been for them to believe the gospel.

B. In I John 2:8 John mentions "a new commandment."

1. John 13:34 tells exactly what this new commandment is. "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."

2. Now, as John 13:35 shows, this commandment is actually to a child of God. This is true because we cannot have the love of God within us until we are saved, for it is only upon entrance of the Holy Spirit, which we receive at faith in Christ (Gal. 3:2), that true, Godly love is given to us. Romans 5:5 says, "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given us." Of course, the Holy Ghost is only given us when we believe, thus, we receive true love at belief. That is why I John 4:19 says, "We love him, because he first loved us." At the point of faith in Jesus Christ, we are taught of God Himself to love. Thus, I Thessalonians 4:9 says, "But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you; for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another."

3. Thus, love (not necessarily the proper manifesting thereof) becomes an outward testimonial of our obedience to God's command to believe the gospel. In other words, it testifies that we are saved. Thus, I John 3:14 says, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death."

C. Now belief and love, the old and new commandments are inseparable.

1. Once a person believes, the love is automatically shed abroad in him. This is why I John 3:23 says, "And this is the commandment, that we should believe on the name of his son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he gave us commandment." The two commandments become inseparable. You cannot truly believe without having a love for the brethren. Evidence of that love may vary in us, but the love itself will always be there. I John 5:1 proves it by saying, "Whosoever believeth that Jesus if the Christ is born of God: and everyone that loveth him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of him."

2. God is love. I John 4:8,16 say so. At spiritual birth, He gives His children of His love. (I Thessalonians 4:9 and Romans 5:5) Thus, John can say in I John 2:8, that this love is "true in him and in you." Love comes at belief and is a sign of that belief.

3. The commandments to believe and to love are separated and called commandments (plural) here for the purpose of distinguishing the order of their occurrence. Though they both are involved at the time of salvation, belief of the gospel precedes love for the brethren, for it is only when a man believes that the love is shed abroad in his heart. (Romans 5:5)

4. It is in view of the fact that the two commandments are inseparable that they actually become one and are thus called "commandment" (singular) when mentioned in I John 3:23. "And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he gave us commandment."

CONCLUSION

Therefore, we conclude that God's word does not here, or elsewhere, teach that men are saved by keeping all the commandments of the Bible. The commandments, which we are told to keep, are specific and limited and do not relate to those many commandments that have to do with a child of God's daily walk. The apostle Paul wrote in Gal. 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." On the other hand, he said in Romans 3:28, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." These truths still stand, and I John 2:3-8, or any other scriptures, do not in any way conflict with them. Salvation from sin's penalty is still the result of a sinner's obeying God's one command to the lost to believe the gospel, not the result of his obeying many, or any, commands related to the walk of a child of God.

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"