Thoughts from The Bible

Thoughts from the Bible

Wednesday, 24 July 2024 06:29

His Commands Are Not Burdensome
by Sarah Wootten Corinth Missionary Baptist Church

We had a rule in my childhood home – wash your hands before dinner. It’s a simple rule, one that most of you probably were told before suppertime too. And yet, I despised it. I’m not kidding. I would lie and say I washed my hands when I didn’t. I would hide pretending I went to the bathroom sink. This rule took up precious time I could’ve used playing. And honestly, I just didn’t want to be told what to do. (And yes, I was always the sickest child in my family.)
And although I’m an adult now, I’m afraid this is how us adults far too often view the commands that are put in front of us. I mean, does anyone actually like being told what to do? Which leads me to ask, do we approach the commands of God with this same mindset? Do we look at His commands as despicable burdens?

In 1 John 5, John writes again on the topic of keeping God’s commands as a sign of love toward God. However, he describes God’s commands in a thought provoking way. He says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,” (1 John 5:3, ESV). That last sentence always makes me pause.
To the unbeliever, God’s commands are absolutely massive burdens. It’s by His law that unbelievers are condemned (Romans 3:19-20), and they cannot keep His commands no matter how hard they try. It’s simply impossible. But do believers sometimes fall into the same tendency to view God’s commands as burdensome? If we were honest with ourselves, I think the answer would be yes. Sometimes, the affections of the psalmist are foreign to us when he says that he delights in God’s commands and loves them (Psalm 119:47).

But His commands are not burdens. Since Jesus came to save believers from the punishment of their sins, how can we continue to love the very thing that condemned us? Look at verse 4. John says those who have been “born of God overcome the world,” (ESV). “World” in 1 John often refers to the sinful ways of the world (see 2:15-17 and 4:1-5). But those who believe in Jesus are no longer enslaved to the sinful ways of the world; rather, they have overcome the world (5:5). Sin is the very thing that condemned us before God. How can we view His commands, which lead us away from sin, as burdens? It makes absolutely no sense.

So if you find yourself viewing God’s commands as burdensome, it’s important to ask yourself why. Why do you view God’s law as a burden? And there are a variety of answers you could give. Maybe, you just don’t want to follow God’s commands, just like I didn’t want to wash my hands before dinner. If that’s you, I would submit that you don’t understand what it means to be born again. Believers have been made entirely new (2 Corinthians 5:17) and have been given the Spirit who guides us toward righteousness and away from sin (Galatians 5:16-24). Those who were once slaves to sin, God turned them into slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:18). If you arrogantly ignore God’s commands and follow your own ways, then you don’t have an understanding of how God makes believers into new creations.

But perhaps you find God’s commands burdensome because you fight temptation in your life and often lose the battle. And for that reason, God’s commands seem very heavy. That’s a difficult place to be, but the problem isn’t God’s commands. The problem is that we are considering God’s commands a burden when the burden is actually the sin that is still in our lives. Sin is the burden, not God’s righteous path that leads us to sweet communion with Him and immense joy (Psalm 16:11). So if you find yourselves viewing God’s commands as burdensome instead of your own sin, ask God to help you hate your sin and fight the temptation to sin. God has equipped Christians with everything we need to obey Him (Hebrews 13:21). And two, pray with the psalmist that God would make His commands truly wonderful to you (Psalm 119:18). We can’t love both God’s commands and the sin in this world. If our love for one grows, our love for the other will rapidly diminish.