Commentary on "Walking in the Light:
Keeping His Commandments"

TERRY MIRRA

 

Day 4: Tuesday, July 21, 2009

 

Overview

This lesson is focusing on what we “do” and how being obedient (to the 10 Commandments) is “walking in the light” and “to know God”. It discusses Jesus’ actions and asks, “How similar are you to Him in these areas?” The ending question posed to the reader is, “What’s stopping me from doing the same?”

 

Problems

One of the main problems I see is the statement “walking in the light and knowing God means to be obedient”. If we’re walking in the light, indwelt by the Holy Spirit and in relationship with Christ, we will be obedient to His leading, but following a list 10 Commandments relatively well does not necessarily indicate that a person is “walking in the light”. Walking in the Spirit will automatically lead to the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23). Gal. 5:16-18 says,

“I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want, but if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

Our focus should be walking by the Spirit, not externally trying to follow Christ’s behavior. It all comes down to a changed heart, through the work of the Spirit—this will lead to obedience and being led by the Spirit. If our focus is obeying the 10 Commandments, we’re missing the point. Once we’re being led by the Holy Spirit, our life should be yielding fruit of the Spirit. Though Christ does a work in us, we are not Jesus and will never achieve perfection or live the perfect, sinless life He did. Yes, He’s the ultimate example of a life walked with God, but since we are human, we will fall and fail. It’s our obligation to continually and daily submit to God--with His help we can live a Christ-centered life.

According to Ellen G. White, “True religion is the imitation of Christ.” (SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 7, p. 949). A changed heart should produce a Christ-like character, but a changed life/behavior has to come through a relationship with the living God and not a preoccupation with looking good. Doing the right things—without the Holy Spirit doing a work in us-- is for nothing. It’s meaningless, because God desires our heart, not empty “sacrifices”. This could mean anything we do because we should, and somehow this “obedience” will increase our standing with God. Only when we are “born again” (made spiritually alive) will be have His power in us to overcome the desires of the flesh and walk in the Spirit, not external commandment keeping (Gal. 5:16). It’s not about how “strong” we are to keep the rules, but about our humility to continually rely on Christ’s power within us to overcome our sinful, carnal nature.

 

Summary

1. Being obedient to the 10 Commandments doesn’t automatically mean we’re “walking in the light”
2. If we’re indwelt with the Holy Spirit, our lives should naturally reflect His image and produce fruit of the Spirit. It’s a natural outpouring of our gratitude and relationship with Christ.
3. If you are led by the Spirit, you’re not under the law. The law was a tutor until Christ (Gal. 3:19, 24-26).
4. Our focus should be on having a relationship with Christ and living by the Spirit, not external rule-keeping. If you focus on the relationship, the obedience will follow. It takes time, like any relationship. There’s no shortcut—going straight to the rule-keeping doesn’t work. Having a relationship with the living God is the most wonderful blessing imaginable.
5. Obedience is not about how well we can keep the rules (how close to Jesus’ behavior we can get) but about how closely we walk with the Lord and submit to Him.
6. We will never live a sinless life as Christ lived—we are not perfect as He was.

 

 

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