DISOBEYING GOD (Garland M. Robinson)

Most people live as though they cannot disobey God, or that at least it doesn’t make any difference if they do. There are at least five ways in which people disobey God.
1) By doing what is specifically forbidden. People have always been guilty of violating God’s Will. That’s what sin is -- violating or breaking God’s Will. First John 3:4 says, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”
Sin, any sin, all sin is condemned in the Bible: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like (Gal. 5:19-21). Many other lists of sins are recorded in the Bible. Men must learn of and stay clear of every sin (1 Cor. 6:9-10; Rom. 1:18-32; Col. 3:5-9; and many more).
There is not enough paper and ink to list all those who have sinned. Romans 3:23 says “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” In the Old Testament we read, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). Also in the New Testament we read, “the whole world lieth in wickedness” (1 John 5:19). People love sin. They love evil. They love “doing their own thing.”
We must take great care to do our best to not sin (cf. 1 John 2:1). But, even with our best efforts we still sin (1 John 1:8). We often end up doing that which is specifically forbidden.
2) By refusing to do what God has commanded. There are times when we are not directly involved in breaking a specific law of God. But instead, we ignore and/or fail to do what God commands us to do. These are sins of “omission.” We omit doing what God says. James 4:17 says, “To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
God commanded king Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites along with all they had. But instead, Saul spared their king and claimed it was the Israelites who brought back the spoils along with many sheep and oxen. When confronted with his sin, his excuse was that he brought them back to offer as a sacrifice. He sinned in not doing what God commanded him to do. We can read about it in 1 Samuel 15.
Whatever God commands, we must do, no questions asked! It is our task to do God’s will. It is not burdensome to do so. First John 5:3 says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
3) By adding to what the Bible says. God has never allowed men to add to his word. Near the beginning of the Bible we read: “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you...that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you” (Deut. 4:2). In the middle of the Bible we read: “Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar” (Prov. 30:6). And, at the close of the Bible we read: “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book” (Rev. 22:18).
Men today add to God’s word when they refer to themselves by names not found in the Bible, such as: Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Holiness, Catholic, Mormon, etc. Men add to God’s word when they use mechanical instruments of music in worship, when they burn candles and incense, when they have creeds and manuals, etc. All these things go beyond (add to) that which is written. Such is forbidden in 1 Corinthians 4:6. Those who add to God’s word bring upon themselves God’s judgment.
4) By taking away from what the Bible says. God has never allowed man to do so. In respect to God’s word, Deuteronomy 12:32 says, “Thou shalt not diminish from it” (see also Deut. 4:2). In Revelation 22:19 we read, “And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which are written in this book.”
Denominational churches take away the name of the church and add man-made names (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 1:2). They take away scriptural worship by adding mechanical instruments of music to singing (Col. 3:16), by eating the Lord’s supper on any day of the week and/or only occasionally (Acts 20:7), by teaching the doctrines and commandments of men (Matt. 15:8-9), by not worshipping in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). They take away the Lord’s plan of salvation of faith (John 8:24), repentance (Acts 2:38), confession (Acts 8:37) and water baptism (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16). Woe be to those who take such liberties with the word of God!
5) By substituting something else for what God commanded. Nadab and Abihu substituted a different fire than what God had commanded (Lev. 10:1-2). Jeroboam substituted the cities of Dan and Bethel as places of worship instead of Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:25-19). Denominations today substitute fund raisers in place of the first day collection (1 Cor. 16:1-2), sprinkling instead of baptism (immersion) (Col. 2:12; Rom. 6:4), entertainment and recreation instead of Gospel preaching (1 Cor. 1:18-21; 2 Tim. 4:2). There is no end to men substituting for God’s divine arrangement!
Men everywhere must love, respect and obey what God says in His holy book, the Bible. You will never be saved any other way than obeying God’s commands. The apostle Paul wrote by inspiration, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for IT is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16). Jesus made clear that the inspired word is what will be used to judge us in the last day. “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). The only way we can be saved is by obeying the truth, the Gospel. Peter wrote, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently” (1 Peter 1:22).


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Sent by Brother Morris Bowers.