“Blessed is the man… who delights in the Law of the Lord” - Psalm 1:1-2
It can be all to easy to assume that those who believe in the inspiration, inerrancy, and reliability of God’s Word would automatically submit to its authority. But that isn’t always the case. Even those who hold to a high view of Scripture sometimes fail to obey it. We need to remember that the authority of God’s Word isn’t simply a theology to be upheld but also a priority to be pursued.
Israel fell into the trap of holding to a high view of Scripture while failing to obey it. Paul says to Israel, “If you bear the name ‘Jew,’ and rely upon the Law, and boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? … You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonour God? For ‘the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you” (Rom. 2:17–21, 23–24).
Israel’s sin led unbelievers to blaspheme God. That is very similar to our society today where the Lord is continuously ridiculed because of the sins of His people. As Christians, we will always be maligned, but let it be for righteousness sake as we obey the Word of God, not because of our sin. As Peter said, “Keep your behaviour excellent among unbelievers, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God” (1 Peter 2:12) May we this morning, show steadfast obedience to the Word of God, as there is no higher authority.
Contributed by Alex Townsend