The Whole Duty of Man
Posted by Joseph Iwaye on Thursday, February 21, 2013 Under: Christian Devotions
Scripture reading: Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
Memory Verse
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.(Ecclesiastes 12:13)
As
a Christian, we have a bunch of obligation laid upon us – obligation
that must not be neglected under any circumstance. The scripture in
Ecclesiastes 12:13 group our moral and spiritual obligations into two
categories: The fear of God, and obedience to God’s commandment. These
two forms the whole duty of man: they are the essence of our being, our
creation, and our whole obligation as children of God.
In our devotion this week, we shall look into ‘the fear of God’ as a whole duty of man. To do this we would ask ourselves a simple question “how do I fear God?”
Before attempting to answer this question, we need to bear in mind that God does not give us any obligation without attaching blessings to it. The fear of the Lord for instance comes with a lot of promises and blessings such as long life (Proverbs 10:27), satisfaction, riches and honour (Proverbs 22:4).
The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.(Proverbs 19:23)
So how do we fear the Lord?
When God ask us to fear him, he’s simply saying “DO NOT have anything to do with evil because I will judge all evil doers and punish them for their evil work”. In Proverbs 8:13, the scripture says
“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.”
All sins are evil. Whether it is murder, witchcraft, backbiting, covetousness, pride, envy or adultery, they are all evil that will receive their just punishment. Depart from them, don’t envy those that prosper in these evil ways nor even talk about them. Instead, do what is good and seek peace with all men (Psalm 34:11-14).
God is a great judge and whenever He passes his judgement, no one can reverse it. That is another reason why he wants us to fear him. Our God (the creator of heaven and earth) is a Judge of judges (Psalm 82:1). He is the Most High in the congregation of the mighty. He is also a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29, Deuteronomy 4:24). If you can stand the intensity of the most ferocious fire and not get burnt, then don’t fear Him, wait for the judgement of fire. But if otherwise, please fear God!
Memory Verse
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.(Ecclesiastes 12:13)
As
a Christian, we have a bunch of obligation laid upon us – obligation
that must not be neglected under any circumstance. The scripture in
Ecclesiastes 12:13 group our moral and spiritual obligations into two
categories: The fear of God, and obedience to God’s commandment. These
two forms the whole duty of man: they are the essence of our being, our
creation, and our whole obligation as children of God.In our devotion this week, we shall look into ‘the fear of God’ as a whole duty of man. To do this we would ask ourselves a simple question “how do I fear God?”
Before attempting to answer this question, we need to bear in mind that God does not give us any obligation without attaching blessings to it. The fear of the Lord for instance comes with a lot of promises and blessings such as long life (Proverbs 10:27), satisfaction, riches and honour (Proverbs 22:4).
The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.(Proverbs 19:23)
So how do we fear the Lord?
When God ask us to fear him, he’s simply saying “DO NOT have anything to do with evil because I will judge all evil doers and punish them for their evil work”. In Proverbs 8:13, the scripture says
“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.”
All sins are evil. Whether it is murder, witchcraft, backbiting, covetousness, pride, envy or adultery, they are all evil that will receive their just punishment. Depart from them, don’t envy those that prosper in these evil ways nor even talk about them. Instead, do what is good and seek peace with all men (Psalm 34:11-14).
God is a great judge and whenever He passes his judgement, no one can reverse it. That is another reason why he wants us to fear him. Our God (the creator of heaven and earth) is a Judge of judges (Psalm 82:1). He is the Most High in the congregation of the mighty. He is also a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29, Deuteronomy 4:24). If you can stand the intensity of the most ferocious fire and not get burnt, then don’t fear Him, wait for the judgement of fire. But if otherwise, please fear God!
Salvation Corner
The
Lord, our God, has commanded every soul to fear Him and has attached
his blessings to it (Psalm 34:9). If you will like to be partakers of
God’s blessings and inheritance, you will need to be a true follower of
Jesus Christ. To do this, you will need to pray the prayer of salvation
and be born again. If you are ready, click here to say a short prayer of salvation and let Jesus be the ruler of your life.
Devotional Prayer
Almighty
father, I thank you because you are God. Please fill my life with your
fullness, give me the grace fear you and live a victorious life through
obedience to your commandments in the name of Jesus.
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In : Christian Devotions
Tags: "duty of man" devotions "fear god"
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I'm a lover and preacher of gospel of Jesus Christ by His grace. I'm blessed with a beautiful wife and wonderful children. We all live together in Scotland, UK.
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