The Choice to Be Disobedient
Selfishness, is the primary reason for people to be disobedient to God. Most of the time, people tailor religion to fit their habits and lifestyles. They want to be called Christians but they don’t want to change or altar their lives. Jesus said: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS” (Matthew 7:21-27)
Lawlessness is breaking the law (1 John 3:4) or the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17). This law gives freedom from bondage of sin. The apostle James affirms this truth “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom” (James 2:12).
People by nature tend to be creative when it comes to choosing to be disobedient in order to satisfy their selfish lifestyle. So, they substitute something that God has commanded with their own rules. One example to that is what Nadab and Abihu did. These two sons of Aaron were disobedient to what God commanded. Not only were they wicked and sensual men, but we are told that, “each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord” (Leviticus 10:1-2).
Nadab and Abihu choose to be disobedient and used fire in their censers, but it wasn’t fire taken from the source that God has specifically commanded (Leviticus 16:12). They substituted the source for fire that God had commanded for another source.
Today, when we substitute something of our choosing for what God has specifically commanded, we commit this same sin. Perhaps the most common substitution people make is the day of worship that God specified in the fourth commandment which states: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the LORD your God.” This commandment was also given at creation: “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done” (Exodus 20:8-11; Genesis 2:2,3).
In the dictionary and in more than 120 languages, the seventh day Sabbath is specified as Saturday not Sunday (which is commonly accepted as the day of worship). Many people don’t know this truth but those who do know and tend to ignore it and teach others to do so are breaking God’s commandment. How much better would it be if we don’t be disobedient to God’s commands which He wrote by His finger. The Bible warns that we should not add to or take away from His Word, and never substitute anything for what He has specifically commanded (James 1:21).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
