We are taught that we must become upright people who, in God’s sight, are blameless and fully keep His commandments. “In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly” [(Modern Translation: “When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the division of Abijah, and his wife Elizabeth also came from the family of Aaron. They were righteous before God and faithfully kept all the Lord’s commandments and regulations without fault”)] (Luke 1:5–6). While meditating on this passage, I would like to draw out the lessons given to us: (1) The author of Luke’s Gospel, Luke, first wrote to Theophilus about John the Baptist’s parents. The father’s name was “Zechariah” (meaning, “The LORD remembers...
‘The very commandment that was intended to bring life’ (2) [Romans 7:8-13] Look at Romans 7:10 – “I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.” Here, “the very commandment” is the commandment that leads to the life God has given. If we keep this commandment, we can live (eg, if we keep 10 years, we can live 10 years, if we keep 100 years, we can live 100 years, and if we keep 1,000 years, we can live 1,000 years). D If we live by this commandment, we will be blessed. The first commandment God gave to Adam, the representative of mankind, is recorded in Genesis 2:16-17: “And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will s...