John 15:10a If ye keep my commandments…

I understand that the standard interpretation of commandments is one associated with the Mosaic Law, the Levitical Law, the Talmud. I also know that we all failed to keep them. I also understand that Christ died to put an end to obedience of the law as the only means to righteousness. He did not change the law, He completed the law. Its goal had always been to convict us of sin.

So if we could not obey the law then, why should we think we can obey the law any better now? There is a clear and distinctive difference in the OT command and the NT command. That is in obedience by faith. Once we placed our faith in Christ and made Him our Lord, He has every right to give us specific commands, not just general orders.

Yes, we are to love God and love one another, but that is a general command and does not specify how to obey those orders. We learn that as we grow in Christ. What is obedience of faith and how does it differ from general commands?

Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

By faith you will hear specific instructions. It might be anything at any moment for any number of reasons. We have the right to choose to obey or ignore. We still have free will. Since He is Lord and has the right to tell us specifically what to do, what are the consequences of ignoring His order?

If you are a good parent, how does it make you feel when your child says no to you? Do not gauge your reaction as it might not be the same as our perfect Lord. In general, we take another approach to obtain obedience. But God knew you were going to say no before you did. The lesson is for us to learn how it feels to be on the wrong side of opportunity.

Every specific order is an opportunity to glorify God.

How many of those will you miss before it starts to impact your relationship?